Buying & Selling on Ebay

www.ebay.com is an on-line auction web site that serves as an international marketplace.Virtually anything legal can be bought or sold on ebay.

BUYING

Register First

You must be registered with ebay in order to place a bid.There is a place on the page for new users to register.Registration requires name/address/phone/e-mail address/user is/ password.You must agree to their terms—over 18 etc.Ebay will send you a confirmation e-mail that requires you to click on to complete registration.You can now bid.The entire process takes 5 minutes or less.

Bidding

The main page has a link for buying tips.Topics include:
1.Learn how to find items

2.Learn how to bid

3.Find out why eBay is safe

4.Getting Started: Guided tours and tutorials

These are very good and worth taking a look.

Browsing

Browsing is clicking through categories and lists of items until you find what you're interested in. To browse ebay requires nothing other than logging on to the site and clicking the topics/items that interest you.

Searching

If you know exactly what you're looking for,just type a few words into the search box on the home page and you'll get a list of relevant items.
To view items, click on link and get more details.

Bidding

Enter your maximum bid in the box at the bottom of the page. (Make sure you calculate shipping costs when placing bid.The buyer generally always pays shipping.) Then, click the Place Bid button.There will be a minimum amount you will have to bid.Enter your user id and password and click on confirm bid.Your bid is now registered.If you are the high bidder, you will receive an e-mail.If you are outbid by another bidder, you will be notified.

Winning an Auction

If you are the high bidder at the end of the auction, you will be notified that you have won the auction.Generally, the seller will notify you by e-mail requesting payment and giving you an address to send payment to.

Payments

Payments can be made a variety of ways and varies by seller.Make sure you understand the payment method before bidding.

Money Order:Most sellers accept money orders, but there is a fee to purchase money orders at either the bank or post office.You generally must present cash to purchase a money order.They are also sold other places such as Dillons.

Personal Check:Some sellers will accept a personal check, but will wait a week or so after they receive it for the check to clear before sending your item.This can take a long time to receive your purchase.

On-Line Payments:Most sellers accept on-line payments such as Paypal. (www.paypal.com) You must have an account with paypal to send or receive payments this way.It takes a little time to set up—several days, but speeds up the paying process considerably as well as the shipping process.

Shipping

Most items are shipped via U. S. Mail.Some will ship UPS or Fed Ex depending on the item.Most sellers charge actual shipping costs or a fixed fee.Make sure you understand shipping costs prior to bidding.Delivery confirmation and Insurance add to shipping costs but may be worth it depending on the item and your confidence in the seller.I recommend these on items being shipped a long distance (I sent something to Alaska during the holidays, for example).I also recommend this for breakable items.I had an item broken and received my money back from the post office because it was broken in shipment.The seller also received her money for the item she sold.

Feedback

Feedback is very important on ebay.Feedback lets other buyers/sellers know of your experience with a particular buyer/seller.As a buyer, this gives you confidence that the seller is authentic and can be trusted.People do take advantage of others via ebay.You need to protect yourself.I have had buyers never send payment.My sister paid for an item she never received.Feedback must be left within 30 days of the auction ending.A seller’s feedback rating can be viewed by clicking on the number next to the sellers id on an item.



SELLING

Registration
You must be registered to sell on ebay.The process and is the same as for buying.You must also set up a seller’s account.You will need to provide a credit card so they can bill you for selling fees.(I use a separate credit card for all on-line activities.)You also have the option of giving bank information and having fees deducted directly from your checking/savings account.

Listing

To list an item, you need the following information

Then, click on the Sell button at the top of any page. This will bring you to the Sell Your Item form. Once you fill in all the necessary information, you're ready to sit back and watch your very own auction progress.

 TIPS

1.Always use a picture if at all possible.It helps items sell and sell higher.
2.Include shipping costs in listing.

a.Calculate costs in advance if possible

b.Insurance/Delivery Confirmation fees

c.Combine shipping for multiple items won by the same bidder.

3.Include payment information in listing

a.Cashier’s Check/Money Order

b.Personal Check

c.Credit Cards

d.Billpoint or Paypal

4.Use HTML to enhance your listing

a.<b>Bold</b>

b.<hr> horizontal rule

c.<i>italics</I>

d.<a href>links

e.<img src>pics

5.Know your fees.See the fee structure on ebay’s web site.

a.Insertion Fee—varies by starting bid price

b.Selling Fee—based on final selling price of item

c.Special Fees—bold, icons, buy it now, etc

d.Vehicle/Real Estate—one time only fees

On-Line Payments

You can sign up to accept credit cards or electronic checks through eBay Payments by Billpoint or through Paypal. (paypal.com).

After the Sale

After the sale, notify the high bidder through e-mail with a message stating your payment information (ie where to send payment) and the total final price including shipping. I always ask for them to reply in confirmation that they received the e-mail and are following through with payment.

The winning bidder should send you payment however you specify.When you receive payment, ship item and leave feedback for buyer.

The buyer should notify you when they receive the item and leave feedback for you.

Fee PaymentEbay will bill you for your fees on a monthly basis.Generally, these are billed to your credit card and you pay with your credit card payment.