So, you have heard a lot about this ebay thing and you want to start buying some of the great bargains on Ebay. Only problem: You live halfway across the world from most sellers on Ebay. Here are some tips for you.

Find a good seller:

- Feedback is the backbone of Ebay. The better a seller has behaved in the past, the better your chance of having a smooth transaction. Its not all about quantity, but also quality. 500 positive comments for $0.99 items is not the same as 50 positive comments for items over $500.

- Try checking out sellers in your country before you decide to go international. Besides ebay.com, there are several local ebay sites you can visit with sellers in your country or who specialize in selling to your country. Check out http://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?GlobalTradeHub&hubType=0 for a list of satellite Ebay sites.

- Find a buyer that is willing to work with you to on shipping and payment options. Many if not most sellers specially in the US do not know that much about international sales. 70% of Ebay members are in the US, so many sellers don't know much about selling internationally.

- Contact the seller before buying to work out shipping and payment options.

Learn about shipping options:

- USPS First Class International (FCI): This is the cheapest option by far for international shipping. The bad news is that it is only for packages 4lbs or lighter and there is no tracking. Also it is not available through Paypal shipping so some sellers might not know about it if that is how they research their rates. It is handled by the local mail courier once it arrives in country.

- USPS Priority Mail International (PMI): Unlike FCI, PMI provides tracking to "major destinations". It is spotty at best and the tracking sometimes has to be done on the local mail courier's website rather than USPS's and even when there is tracking information, it can take a while for USPS to update their website. Its listed at 6-10 days

- PMI Flat-rate envelopes and Boxes: They are a very good option for something small and heavy. Flat-rate envelopes do not provide tracking. Flat-rate boxes do to a limited extent. Its listed at 6-10 days

- USPS Express Mail International (EMI): A lot of sellers who do a lot of international sales really like EMI. It provides tracking everywhere, though it can be spotty. The cost can also be an issue. Its listed at 3-5 days

- USPS Express Mail International Guaranteed: The major advantage of this service is that it is handled by Fedex once it arrives in country. That is good news if your local mail courier has a tendency to lose packages often. It is a bit expensive, but cheaper than UPS or Fedex. It is guaranteed to be there 1-3 days to major destinations. Drawback is there is no way of knowing what they mean by major destinations and the guarantee doesn't apply to packages that get stuck in customs.

- UPS or Fedex: Do not UPS or Fedex. They are quite expensive and charge very large custom clearance fees. Use USPS Express Mail International Guaranteed instead. A lot of US sellers use UPS or Fedex only. Avoid them.

- Shipping Safely: Before asking for your seller to send the item with FCI, PMI or EMI, you need to ask yourself: how safe are the mails in my country? Some countries have really terrible mail systems. Italy, France, Latin America, the Middle East come to mind. Insurance claims take forever to process, so if don't want to have to take any chances, take a look at Express Mail Guaranteed again.

Understand payment options:

- Paypal: Some US sellers may have a problem with receiving payment from Paypal from sellers outside of the US, Canada and the UK. Paypal's Seller Protection Policy does not extend to purchases from buyers in any other countries. That's why many sellers, including myself, will not accept paypal payments from buyers outside those countries.

- Bidpay: Bidpay is another payment service. Many sellers who do international sales like it because it does not have the geographic limitations paypal does. Bidpay pre-approves payments to check for fraud. You might have your payment denied if they feel the transaction is to risky for them to handle.

- Bank Transfer: Bank transfers are irreversible. That is, unlike with paypal or bidpay if there is a problem, there is no way to get your money back. Many sellers like it because there is no chance of fraud on their end, however you should only make payment through bank transfer if the seller's reputation is undoubtable. Some sellers are not used to the idea of giving their bank account information on the internet. Bank transfers are very common in some countries, but not in the US. Make sure you communicate well with the seller. Also, the seller usually has to pay his bank a fee for international bank transfers, usually $10-$20, so he will not agree to it for a small transaction.

- International Money Order: These are only easily available in some countries, so you might have trouble finding out where to get one in your area. If your seller asks for one, explain to him/her that they are not easily available in your country. Otherwise, keep in mind that they are also irreversible and that it might take a long time before it clears and your seller can send you your item.

Additional costs:

- There are additional costs that can sometimes make your purchase more expensive than you originally thought. Please be aware of these before buying/bidding. - Carrier customs clearance/handling/administrative fees: These fees have many names in many countries, but they are always unwelcomed. What basically happens is that the courier will pay the customs charges and bring the package to its destination. They will then charge you for that tax as well as their fee before they deliver your item. Sometimes the fee is nominal. Sometimes it is outrageous. You can usually find out this information on the courier's website.

- Customs duties/taxes: Don't expect your seller to know about your local taxes. You are the importer, you need to find out before buying. There are over 100 countries in the world. You can't expect your seller to know and warn you about your specific taxes. A good place to find out is the Ebay discussion boards, specially the ones in your satellite ebay site if there is one. A lot of times items sail through customs without being charged tax, but you need to know what the chances of that happening are and how much you will have to pay if its not. You might be tempted to ask the seller to misrrepresent the item on the customs form in order to avoid high taxes. Sellers can only insure at the customs declared value, so you are taking your chances that it won't be. It is unreasonable to expect the seller to take that loss if the item is lost or seized.