Welcome to Ebay!
You are a first time buyer as I was once. At first, I should say congratulations, you are in! But, this guide is just to help you realize is not about opening an account and buying impulsively. No-no-no; here you can find good sellers and bad sellers too. It's imperative that you learn some of the basics, and that you learn them well. Inform yourself well about these waters.

Ebay is one of the greatest places to get what you want at great prices. I have found items on Ebay that though I would never find, at great prices too!

First, you need to understand the basics about sellers:

-There are millions that are reliable, honest and professional. Find them through their feedbacks. Check how many negative and positve feedbacks they have; how many happy customers and returning customers the seller has. This is very important since you wouldn't come back to a place where you were treated unprofessionally and with no respect at all.

-There are lots of dishonest sellers on Ebay too! Be aware, learn how to avoid them. Check their feedbacks. If you see too many negative feedbacks within a week or two, or even within a month avoid it. There is a great possibility that the seller is not taking this place seriously. There are lots of scammers out there and you need to protect yourself from them. Let me give you an example: If you find a seller that offers an X-box that is brand new for $50 ...Be really careful! Most professional sellers offer their products for that amount in auction format, but they protect their investments using a feature call "reserve". If the auction does not reach this reserve amount the item can not be sold and the seller will be protected from losing money. If you purchase a brand new X-box for a very low price is either that it has been stolen or the seller is a scammer that wants to get as much money as possible before he is caught. You might lose your money and you will not receive the merchandise. Everybody knows that X-boxes retail for over $300 purchasing it from a reliable and professional seller.

So, check their feedbacks, about me pages, websites (if they have any), time in the market... Are they power sellers with high reputation? Well, this is very important since Ebay is not about buying bargains, but buying bargains from honest sellers.

Second, Know what you want and do your research before bidding on any item!

- It's very important that you write on a notebook what you want or what you are looking for. Write the style, model,  color, size, company that manufacture the item, retail price, etc. After this, look through the Search box and you will find many or little items that are close to what you want. (below I will provide you with some tips about searching for an item). Not everything that looks like gold is actually gold! Be careful at this point. Check them all if it's possible, narrow your search by color or style, size, etc. to make the search easier. Check item's description carefully before bidding (do not bid the last minute unless you have added this item to your watching list a few days before and you are waiting for the last minute to get it at a better price). If you bid at the last minute chances are that you will be committed to buy an item that does not meet all your expectations. Also, is very probable that you didn't have sufficient time to read their policies and you found out that you have to pay even more for shipping or handling. Once again, read their feedbacks, policies and every single detail within their pages. If you see a flaw ask the seller because it can be a mistake and it can be fixed immediately by the seller. In this case you can finally purchase this item that you liked so much, but it had some flaws. If the seller does not fix it and the description keeps having inconsistency, then don't buy it.

- TIP FOR SEARCHING: this is one of the most important things about Ebay. This I use every time I want to purchase something for a low price. When searching for an item you should search for different words, well spelled and wrongly spelled words too! A few days ago I was looking for a DVD for my son " 101 dalmatians". When I made my search I chose Dalmatians, dalmations, 101, puppies, 101dalmations, 101dalmatiansII, etc. It's incredible how many sellers make mistakes when writting the titles and descriptions. These mistakes help the buyer to get the item for a lower price. I found it for $10 shipping included, an original DVD just because it was spelled wrong. Most sellers does not check their items after they submit them. You should take advantage of these mistakes, but they just need to be typos only. Always check other details as well.

Another idea is looking within the seller items page for additional bargains that are not located within the right category. Is also very surprising to find items placed in a category that does not match their criteria. Another hit for smart buyers. Look aoutside categories that you will see on the left side of the navigation.

-BE CAREFUL WITH FAKE ITEMS: There are lots of incredible findings on Ebay, but there are lots of fake ones as well. Learn to recognize them is not an easy task. I have learned my lesson well. It's very easy to follow this rule: If you are not 100% sure the item you are looking at is real, DON'T BUY IT! Ask questions, do more research, keep looking, find codes, model numbers, tags, etc... Original versions are relativily expensive even if they are used. If you are lucky enough you can get them for a bargain, but just compared to the retail price only. Lets' say 25%, 30% or even 50%. Research...Ask sellers questions about authenticity, they should answer this kind of questions. If they do not answer your question then don't bid. You have to learn how to ask questions too! Questions shouldnt be basic unless the seller does not state anything on their pages. Ask the question about authenticity in case is not explicit within the item description. Reliable sellers make their description straightforward and honest because they want the buyer to feel confident about what they are purchasing. This is very important, you need to feel confident and relax when purchasing from a seller. If you feel uncomfortable when reading descriptions do not bid from them.

-BID, WIN & PAY: It's one of these days worries for any seller. There are several new buyers on Ebay that bid, have fun and when they win they just don't follow through the whole transaction. If you win an item you must pay it. Just put yourself on any seller's shoes and don't play games. I leave negative feedbacks to non-paying bidders and report them to Ebay too! Some of us don't leave negative feedback due to retaliation, but others just don't care because they are doing other sellers a favor.

Don't get upset when you find a seller that does not accept first time buyers, they do it for a reason. They are taking care of their business, their time is very important, and their money too. Every time a buyer purchase something from a seller this last must pay a fee to Ebay for selling the item that is only refunded if the seller reports the buyer. This process is very frustrating and time consuming for any seller. I have been there too. I ask every single first time buyer to be considerate and follow through the whole process once they win an item.  

-FEEDBACK: This is one of the most important points about buyer-seller relationship. When a buyer purchase an item he gets committed to a seller until the buyer receives the item. At this point, either the buyer or the seller should have left a feedback. Feedbacks are left at every party's discretion. Some sellers leave feedback as soon as the buyer pays; others just wait until the buyer leave feedback to leave feedback for the buyer. Feedbacks are not mandatory, but is part of this community. Feedbacks guarantee the buyer he is dealing with a professional and not a fraudulent person. Don't get mad if the seller does not leave feedback as soon as they pay, I'm one of those. I need to have the transaction "finished and sound" before leaving or receiving feedback. I don't get mad when I don't receive a feedback, that is up to every person. I have received feedbacks after 2 or three months of finishing the transaction. Buyers also forget to leave them, or they just go on vacation and simply forget it, etc...Please, do not use feedbacks as retaliation as some buyers do when are sent to dispute for not paying. Try to fix the problem amicably and you will see that both parties will win at the end.

Think about Ebay as something fun, enjoyble for both parties... Everybody receives something here! Buyers get great items at great prices and sellers receive new good customers everyday... Itsn't this wonderful!