daclassicgamingmaster
It Is Your Birthday.
Starting a few months back, I began to receive PMs from people who had questions about Ebay.com. More than one or two might I add. For this reason, I've decided to create a thread where I can give back to the community in some sense. Kind of a way to say thanks for all the questions I've gotten answered throughout my Gamepark ventures. 
Let me start by saying that I am no "expert" in the extreme sense of the word. I do, however, have some knowledge I'd like to share with everyone, in hopes that more people will feel comfortable with the greatest website ever created. If you know how to use it properly, the possibilities are literally endless.
This is part one of two.
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There are a few things which are essential to mastering Ebay. They're pretty obvious, but I'll list them anyway:
The first thing is using the search engine. Once you know how to do this, you can find things that others cannot.
The ebay search engine picks up keywords. For this reason, you do not want to overly describe something. If anything, underdescribing it would work more to your benefit, as you aren't ruling anything out by accident. For example, if you search "The legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time", you would get significantly less results than if you searched "Ocarina", and simplified the search by selecting catagories such as "Video Games>Games>N64". Also make sure to search out different names that your item could fall under. An example of this would be "Dragonballz", "Dragon Ballz" or just "Dragonball". All of these turn up different results, so be aware that you could be missing a few listings.
Watching items
The next handy option to get down is the ability to "watch" your items. It's as simple as this: If you see something you like, click the option to "watch this in My Ebay". After shopping for your item, you can look at all the candidates conveniently in one location, and see the ending times as well.
Fully utilizing "My Ebay"
The next thing is utilizing "My Ebay". It is here that you can keep all watched items, won items, lost items, feedback overview, and seller information such as items sold. Other information contained here is paid for items, feedback given received, and whether that feedback was positive, neutral, or negative. The only thing to keep in mind is that this little section can do wonders when you are looking to buy/sell an item.
Placing a bid
Next comes placing a bid. To many, this is the most important part of Ebay. The thing is, many people screw this part up, which ends up blowing everything for them. The key thing to remember is, never bid more than you want to pay, especially on impulse. I can’t even count how many times I’ve bid too much in the heat of the moment. You wind up kicking yourself afterwards if you’re hasty though.
Remember that the key time to bid is when there are a few seconds left. That way, you cannot be outbid, especially by novices who haven’t mastered the refresh button. This can be tricky though; you need to find the maximum amount you’re willing to pay, and throw it all in at once (since you’ll be bidding the last second). If you bid too little, kiss the item goodbye. If you bid too much, you may wind up paying more than you’d like to have paid. This takes time to perfect, so don’t be too hard on yourself if you haven’t mastered bidding just yet.
Getting the item you want: A technique called "sniping"
- Thanks to iignotus for contributing this information
Whenever you see an auction for an item you want, one of the things you notice immediately is how much time that auction has left. Most auctions are listed for 7 days, though they can also be listed for 1, 3, 5, or 10 days. When you watch an item in My eBay, it will automatically tell you when there are less than 24 hours left to an auction.
The reason why keeping a good eye on the item you want is important is that it leads to a technique known as sniping. Sniping is when you place a high bid, many times your only bid on that item, very near the end of the auction. When I say very near, I don't mean 'one hour left'. I mean less than one minute left. Since the eBay website (and web pages in general) take time to load or refresh -- sometimes a long time -- waiting to place your high bid until the last minute means you have a much greater chance of locking other bidders out of placing a higher bid. There is almost never any logical reason why you'd want to place a high bid early in the auction, as doing so gives many eBayers an idea of not only what the item may sell for, but also what you're willing to bid.
The morality of sniping is a contested subject. There are people who believe that sniping is an unfair and un-sportsman-like tactic that is tantamount to selling an item for $0.99 and charging twice what the item's worth for shipping. However, sniping is completely unavoidable on eBay, due not only to eBay policy, but also human nature. Everyone will be sniped in an auction if on eBay long enough, and almost everyone will snipe at least once or twice themselves. The best way to overcome the subject is to understand it, and that means using sniping to your advantage whenever possible.
Proxy Bidding
Now to discuss proxy bidding. For those who don’t know what that is, it’s pretty simple to understand: Ebay will bid up to your maximum amount in the designated increments of the auction. For instance, if the item’s current price is 20 US dollars, the bid increment is 25 cents, and you place an automatic proxy bid in the amount of 50 US dollars, Ebay will only bid in increments of 25 cents up to your maximum bid. This works to your benefit, as you wont necessarily end up paying that 50 dollar bid you placed.
Paying
Finally, I’d like to touch down on methods for paying. Paypal, which is an Ebay company, is the safest, hands down. In the even that you get some asshole who thinks he can rip you off, you not only have the paypal crew to help settle the dispute, but your bank is also on your side. Deadbeats are aplenty on Ebay. They are UNAVOIDABLE! Thing is, I’ve never lost a penny to a scammer since I originally joined nearly 5 years ago. Save all emails and make sure to maintain contact with your seller, and you will be fine. Money orders are also accepted by the vast majority of sellers, but again, a credit card through paypal is the safest method.
Final thoughts
In closing, I’d like to give a few more tips. First and foremost, confirm that the seller you intend to deal with is reputable. Ebay created the feedback system for a reason! Remember to establish your reputation, as well as help others to establish theirs. I have over 250 feedbacks, 99.3% of which are positive (taken directly from my stat chart in My Ebay). Don’t be afraid to make mistakes at first. I remember my first 2 items I won when I first signed up. I was 13 years old at the time, and hastily bid on a simpson dartboard and an overpriced neo geo pocket color system. Needless to say I didn’t pay for either, and was quite shocked when I discovered I had strikes against me. I never backed out an auction again.
Also, if you see the seller you have just purchased from is “no longer a registered user”, don’t panic. If you haven’t paid yet, I would advise against it. If you have, and the feedback doesn’t reflect him/her being a deadbeat, email the person! Ask why his/her account was suspended, and when the account will be reinstated. Go with your gut feeling. If you don't get a response, or the feedback starts to dip into the negatives, it's time to file a dispute with paypal.
The last tip I have to make sure to read the auction carefully. You DO NOT want to get ripped off on shipping. I have friends who saw a PSP or whatever for a Buy It Now of 10 dollars, clicked the option, and then were told they had to pay 250 US dollars on shipping from Europe. Confirm shipping prices (including the elusive “required insurance” which could cost you upwards of 10 dollars more), confirm feedback, confirm that the item is new, used, or anything otherwise that you’re looking for, and make sure that your preferred payment method is accepted. Be weary when buying from new members with little to no feedback, but also keep in mind that if you use paypal, you really cannot be ripped off. All I can stress is READ, READ, READ, and you will be fine.
Hope this is somewhat of a help to you guys. Any additional questions please don’t hesitate to drop a reply, and I’ll get back to you asap. I’ll also try to get out that guide to selling when I have more time and feel up to it.
Peace
- DCGM
Let me start by saying that I am no "expert" in the extreme sense of the word. I do, however, have some knowledge I'd like to share with everyone, in hopes that more people will feel comfortable with the greatest website ever created
. If you know how to use it properly, the possibilities are literally endless. This is part one of two.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
There are a few things which are essential to mastering Ebay. They're pretty obvious, but I'll list them anyway:
- Using the search engine
- Watching items
- Fully utilizing "My Ebay"
- Placing a bid
- Getting the item you want: A technique called "sniping"
- Proxy Bidding
- Paying
- Final thoughts
The first thing is using the search engine. Once you know how to do this, you can find things that others cannot.
The ebay search engine picks up keywords. For this reason, you do not want to overly describe something. If anything, underdescribing it would work more to your benefit, as you aren't ruling anything out by accident. For example, if you search "The legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time", you would get significantly less results than if you searched "Ocarina", and simplified the search by selecting catagories such as "Video Games>Games>N64". Also make sure to search out different names that your item could fall under. An example of this would be "Dragonballz", "Dragon Ballz" or just "Dragonball". All of these turn up different results, so be aware that you could be missing a few listings.
Watching items
The next handy option to get down is the ability to "watch" your items. It's as simple as this: If you see something you like, click the option to "watch this in My Ebay". After shopping for your item, you can look at all the candidates conveniently in one location, and see the ending times as well.
Fully utilizing "My Ebay"
The next thing is utilizing "My Ebay". It is here that you can keep all watched items, won items, lost items, feedback overview, and seller information such as items sold. Other information contained here is paid for items, feedback given received, and whether that feedback was positive, neutral, or negative. The only thing to keep in mind is that this little section can do wonders when you are looking to buy/sell an item.
Placing a bid
Next comes placing a bid. To many, this is the most important part of Ebay. The thing is, many people screw this part up, which ends up blowing everything for them. The key thing to remember is, never bid more than you want to pay, especially on impulse. I can’t even count how many times I’ve bid too much in the heat of the moment. You wind up kicking yourself afterwards if you’re hasty though.
Remember that the key time to bid is when there are a few seconds left. That way, you cannot be outbid, especially by novices who haven’t mastered the refresh button
. This can be tricky though; you need to find the maximum amount you’re willing to pay, and throw it all in at once (since you’ll be bidding the last second). If you bid too little, kiss the item goodbye. If you bid too much, you may wind up paying more than you’d like to have paid. This takes time to perfect, so don’t be too hard on yourself if you haven’t mastered bidding just yet. Getting the item you want: A technique called "sniping"
- Thanks to iignotus for contributing this information
Whenever you see an auction for an item you want, one of the things you notice immediately is how much time that auction has left. Most auctions are listed for 7 days, though they can also be listed for 1, 3, 5, or 10 days. When you watch an item in My eBay, it will automatically tell you when there are less than 24 hours left to an auction.
The reason why keeping a good eye on the item you want is important is that it leads to a technique known as sniping. Sniping is when you place a high bid, many times your only bid on that item, very near the end of the auction. When I say very near, I don't mean 'one hour left'. I mean less than one minute left. Since the eBay website (and web pages in general) take time to load or refresh -- sometimes a long time -- waiting to place your high bid until the last minute means you have a much greater chance of locking other bidders out of placing a higher bid. There is almost never any logical reason why you'd want to place a high bid early in the auction, as doing so gives many eBayers an idea of not only what the item may sell for, but also what you're willing to bid.
The morality of sniping is a contested subject. There are people who believe that sniping is an unfair and un-sportsman-like tactic that is tantamount to selling an item for $0.99 and charging twice what the item's worth for shipping. However, sniping is completely unavoidable on eBay, due not only to eBay policy, but also human nature. Everyone will be sniped in an auction if on eBay long enough, and almost everyone will snipe at least once or twice themselves. The best way to overcome the subject is to understand it, and that means using sniping to your advantage whenever possible.
Proxy Bidding
Now to discuss proxy bidding. For those who don’t know what that is, it’s pretty simple to understand: Ebay will bid up to your maximum amount in the designated increments of the auction. For instance, if the item’s current price is 20 US dollars, the bid increment is 25 cents, and you place an automatic proxy bid in the amount of 50 US dollars, Ebay will only bid in increments of 25 cents up to your maximum bid. This works to your benefit, as you wont necessarily end up paying that 50 dollar bid you placed.
Paying
Finally, I’d like to touch down on methods for paying. Paypal, which is an Ebay company, is the safest, hands down. In the even that you get some asshole who thinks he can rip you off, you not only have the paypal crew to help settle the dispute, but your bank is also on your side. Deadbeats are aplenty on Ebay. They are UNAVOIDABLE! Thing is, I’ve never lost a penny to a scammer since I originally joined nearly 5 years ago. Save all emails and make sure to maintain contact with your seller, and you will be fine. Money orders are also accepted by the vast majority of sellers, but again, a credit card through paypal is the safest method.
Final thoughts
In closing, I’d like to give a few more tips. First and foremost, confirm that the seller you intend to deal with is reputable. Ebay created the feedback system for a reason! Remember to establish your reputation, as well as help others to establish theirs. I have over 250 feedbacks, 99.3% of which are positive (taken directly from my stat chart in My Ebay). Don’t be afraid to make mistakes at first. I remember my first 2 items I won when I first signed up. I was 13 years old at the time, and hastily bid on a simpson dartboard and an overpriced neo geo pocket color system. Needless to say I didn’t pay for either, and was quite shocked when I discovered I had strikes against me. I never backed out an auction again
. Also, if you see the seller you have just purchased from is “no longer a registered user”, don’t panic. If you haven’t paid yet, I would advise against it. If you have, and the feedback doesn’t reflect him/her being a deadbeat, email the person! Ask why his/her account was suspended, and when the account will be reinstated. Go with your gut feeling. If you don't get a response, or the feedback starts to dip into the negatives, it's time to file a dispute with paypal.
The last tip I have to make sure to read the auction carefully. You DO NOT want to get ripped off on shipping. I have friends who saw a PSP or whatever for a Buy It Now of 10 dollars, clicked the option, and then were told they had to pay 250 US dollars on shipping from Europe. Confirm shipping prices (including the elusive “required insurance” which could cost you upwards of 10 dollars more), confirm feedback, confirm that the item is new, used, or anything otherwise that you’re looking for, and make sure that your preferred payment method is accepted. Be weary when buying from new members with little to no feedback, but also keep in mind that if you use paypal, you really cannot be ripped off. All I can stress is READ, READ, READ, and you will be fine.
Hope this is somewhat of a help to you guys. Any additional questions please don’t hesitate to drop a reply, and I’ll get back to you asap. I’ll also try to get out that guide to selling when I have more time and feel up to it.
Peace
- DCGM
