ebay tutorial requested

[Chris in MO]

I am extremely technologically backward. Or so my teenagers tell me :>).

I have never done anything with something like ebay. It is raining cats and dogs and has been since last night. Other than fixing fence at a water crossing this morning, I've got nothing else to do and am climbing the walls. So I decided to do some surfing. I skimmed through ebay and noticed some interesting things. But I know absolutely nothing about it. I am familiar with in person auctions and how to bid, etc, etc.

How do you do ebay? Is it worth the trouble? Or is it just another way to spend money on stuff you don't need? Or a little of both? We don't use credit cards, so how could we pay for purchases, etc?

As the subject implies, I am looking for an informal tutorial on this and I know this is the right place to go for OPINIONS and INFORMATION.

Thanks for your time.

Christopher

 

[neblinc]

Start here

http://pages.ebay.com/education/index.html?_trksid=m37

Randy

 

[Anonymous-0]

Hey Chris,
I'm sure you'll get a wide variety of replies on this subject from it's the worst thing ever to happen to humanity to it's the best thing since sliced bread. Since we're a bit isolated here, I find ebay useful when I need something I can't find locally. Just as with anything, you need to shop around... not any one source is the "best" in every situation. Before I buy ANYTHING, I look at feedback... if you look carefully, you can tell a lot about a seller by the feedback and comments (keeping in mind that you just can't please everybody all the time), although there is some fraud going on even with the feedback system, so be careful... Another thing to be extra careful about is shipping and handling charges. Many on ebay sell stuff at bargain prices, then make their profit on shipping. Finally, payment methods... I refuse to use credit cards via any electronic media... instead, I use postal money orders, or, for anyone that insists on plastic, I've bought the "visa gift cards" from my credit union... cost about 1% of card amount... I also use these when buying anything from any web site. My theory is that if I do get "ripped off", at least I'm only getting taken for the amount of the gift card or money order... I'm not compromising my entire financial future. Ebay is not a lot different than any regular auction. There are bargains to be had, but... "Buyer Beware"!!!!

 

[Walt Davies]

I personally like PayPal you will see it on most eBay sales. just click on it and follow the directions. It about as safe as going to ones bank to cash a check so don't get worried about it.
You don't need a CC a debit card is handy or just set it up to go direct to your bank by using the numbers at the bottom of a check.
If you want to get something as cheap as you can watch for items with no bids and then bid at the last minute. You can put in an amount that is the most you want to spend and eBay will bid for you as other out bid you but only to the next level not your Maximum bid. when you reach your Max they will send you an e-mail telling you so.
All in all it pretty safe.
Walt

 

[rustyfarmall]

Here is another place to find some very interesting and useful items. Just click on "categories at the top of the page, and then pick your favorite.

http://www.ecrater.com/

 

[Bob]

The MOST important thing to remember when becoming an ebay member is that they will NEVER ask in an email for passwords or other security information. If there is something you need to interact with ebay on, it will be on "ebay messages" on your "My ebay" secure webpage.

Review and respond to messages THERE ONLY, NEVER direct from an email.

If you get a suspicious-looking email from ebay or PayPal, FORWARD it (NEVER reply) to "[email protected]" or "[email protected]", respectively.

They will reply shortly, comfirming (almost ALWAYS) that it is a "phishing" or "scam" email.

The QUICKEST way to compromise your ebay identitiy is to respond to and "official-looking" email that's actually from an identity thief or a scammer.

 

[noncompos]

Quite a few people that don"t list personal checks as acceptable payment will accept them on the understanding they hold the manual etc as long as they feel necessary for the check to clear...of course, if your engines apart, and you need the manual right now, that won"t work...

 

[Anonymous-0]

(1)You must register with Ebay before you can bid
(2)check shipping charges as they can get pricey
(3) If its a big item find out where it is in the country before you bid . Going after a piece of machinery 3 states away is expensive with $3.+ gas and $4 Diesel
(4) If it sounds too good to be true ,it probably is
(5)there are a LOT !!!!! of scams out there and don't expect help from Ebay
(6) BE CAREFULL

 

[Chances R]

Ebay is worth doing! I have found a lot of stuff that I know I would not be able to find in a life time any place else. It is also great for selling items that you are not really for sure what they are worth. Example I sold a Japan tin car nib for $950 that I thought was most likely worth around $75. I dont care to use Paypal when I am selling. If I remeber right they charged me like $75 to put a $1600 item in to my checking account. I am a Ebay fan. Enjoy it.

 

[old]

Well Chris, at least you don't have the problem I have. 2 ponds on my place that never hold any water or over flowing and that over flow is filling my pasture with water. I might have to go out and pull one of my boats up close to the house so I can go out to pick up my mail a little later today.. LOL
Hobby farm

 

[Coloken]

Short course:
If you are going to buy just several item..use money order to pay. Lots of buying, use Pay-Pal
If you really want it, bit up to your limit or some one will over bid you the last second. Your bid will not raise your own bid.
Last but not least. If it smells as too good to be true---Run!!.

 

[Chris in MO]

I just came in from getting cold and wet.

A little washout started at the end of our driveway at the road during the storms we had during February. I have really been meaning to get to it....

Well, it is no longer a "little" washout. About 2' deep at the road and getting less as it snakes back and forth across our driveway for a distance of 75'. A stitch in time saves how many...

Christopher

 

[Bob]

Instead of: "If you really want it, bit up to your limit or some one will over bid you the last second", do NOT bid at all 'til just seconds before auction end, and SNIPE your highest bid in the last few seconds.

Bidding BEFORE that time simply "tips your hand" to any other interested bidders, and they can plan to out bid you.

This WON'T guarantee you'll get the item, but gives you your best chance to get it, while staying within the limits of what it's worth to you.

 

[Coloken]

Bob. you are right of course. I just wanted to keep it very simple for a beginer. Some are a fraid that they will raise their own bid. My self, I snipe at 5 seconds to go. But lets not give away all our secrets--

 

[Bob]

Keeping secrets? Now, WHAT fun would THAT be?

 

[old]

Watch for my next post. I'm going to post a few pictures of my driveway and my pasture

 

[MarkB_MI]

First thing is, just like in gambling, never bid more than you can afford to lose.

Do a sanity check before you bid: If nobody is bidding on something, or the bid seems too low, chances are there's a reason. It could be that something doesn't jive: maybe the seller claims the object is located in the US, yet they're located outside the country, something's fishy. Check out the seller's rating, past feedback, etc. Many times you can get a good deal because other buyers are wary of the seller. Sometimes you will pay extra to buy from a seller with a very high rating.

Always check out the shipping charges. If they are high or aren't specified, reduce your bid accordingly. Many sellers make their money on shipping charges; otherwise there's no way you can sell an item on eBay for a buck come out ahead.

"Sniping" (waiting until the last minute to bid) is a bit overated. Yes, if you time it right you can probably get it cheaper than if you bid the day before. What happens is that if there's a lot of interest in an item, people will think it's worth more than it is and bid the price out of sight. But I just bought a fairly expensive item last week by bidding about ten minutes before the auction ended. The seller told me that he received a call after the sale from another buyer who wanted the item if I backed out. He had planned to bid 300 bucks more than I paid, but he waited too late to bid and missed out. Sniping is pretty much out of the question if you're on dialup, unless you pay to use a sniping sevice. I say bid when it's convenient to you. If the auction ends at 2 am and you go to bed at 9, bid what you think it's worth before you go to bed. If you didn't get it, then it went for too much money.

Last point: Have FUN!

 

[1936]

Postal money orders are safe way to work over the scammers via the postal inspectors. Able to check if the money was cashed. Good for just buying a few times a year. Pay pal works best for the buyer. You dispute the billing via the credit card co. along with ebay. The three sellers I had to call either gave me part cash back of credit card credit and did not have to shout. Ebay has forced the sellers to up the shipping to cover the new ebay rates. The shipping become a back end load such as banks have used. If you become a frequent flyer keep a log book of each buy so you can track what has arrived or what is pending. Record as much info as you can about the seller ie., address and etc for future reference.

The feed back says a lot more that just what meets the eye. 100% for 99.5% looks sound for most. Read the feed back for one worders ie., thanks, arived, OK, nice, A+ and so on. You should see word such as good communicator, fast shipping, excellent, as listed, well packed, will buy again and so on.

Jump and enjoy the wide world of traveling the USA from you chair looking for that special item. Only thing I miss about not having stand at a auction for hours and get out bid is the good pie. Three dollars and a half gas and a 250 mile trip to an auction gas cost will buy a lot on ebay.

 

[Tradititonal Farmer]

Ten minutes is an eternity on ebay,I like to get it down to around 6 or 7 seconds so no one has time to rebid.

 

[MarkB_MI]

TF, you don't think anyone else has the same idea?

I'm on dialup, it can take a full minute to refresh an auction on eBay. Even if you have broadband, you don't know if the kid next door is going to choose that moment to download a video from YouTube.

I'm glad it works for you; it's never worked for me.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Chris, ebay has become the breeding grounds for the sneakiest bunch or bottom feeding last minute bidding b@stards that are on the planet. That being said, you have to join them if you are going to beat them. Basically you have to lower yourself to their behavior and be better at it than they are. If I bid ahead of time on 10 items I will not get 9 out of 10 because nobody will bid on it all week and somebody will take it in the last 10 seconds and outbid you by a dollar or two. If I can't be home now at the end of an auction I won't bother bidding anymore. I was bidding on a ditch witch one day and it went through the week before with no bids at $5000. Next week it was listed for $4500 and I couldn't be there for the end so I put a bid of $5100.So the bid sat there all week at the opening of $4500. Of course a lowlife came along in the last ten seconds and bid $4600 but he was still the low bidder. So he quickly came in again and bid$4900 and was still outbid. Now the dumb%ss was in a panic so he put in a bid of $5100 which was my highest bid. Since I bid $5100 before him I got the trencher. When I looked at the bid history I never laughed so hard in my life. I thought, finally one of these A holes gets paid back for the millions that don't. And the trencher is a jewel. I would rather use the buy it now feature on ebay but if I want something really bad I wait till the end and drill them with a high bid and usually win. Just had to do it on some snowmobile cylinders the other day. I have dial up but I have it figured out because I know how long it takes to send in my bid for the most part. Just have the old watch ready. Good luck if you do it. It's about like mad max from thunderdome on there. Just make sure you are mad max and not one of the bottom feeders!

 

[Anonymous-0]

Kinda harsh to call someone a lowlife just because they paid more than you were willing to pay, regardless if they did it a week out or 5 seconds out. They could turn around and call you a cheap lowlife, sore looser, or any number of things. There's two sides to everything. You have dishonest sellers that open up another account to bid their stuff up and just idiots that play around and bid up prices. Waiting until the last few seconds helps weed them out.

Now, a peave of mine is people that only use UPS regardless of the size of the package and are not willing to flex. I say a peave of mine because my address is the equivelant of a PO box and UPS won't recognize it.
Another is people that try to get business with low prices and make it up with shipping (ie. I got 2 B&C combos for my saw that advertised 13 bucks shipping, then got an email from the seller that there was a mistake and the shipping for the second would be an additional 50% (19 bucks total). I agreed and the guy put everything in one envelope, taped it up, and mailed it for 6 bucks and some change. I emailed the person and was told they had to cover costs somehow. I still got a deal compared to what I would have to paid over here, but it's the principal.

You may look into paypal, not sure how it works out on the seller side, but for the buyer it's great.

Remember, one man's junk is another man's treasure. Meaning don't pass listing something because you think noone will want it.

Dave

 

[rustyfarmall]

(quoted from post at 10:51:30 03/18/08) Here is another place to find some very interesting and useful items. Just click on "categories at the top of the page, and then pick your favorite.

http://www.ecrater.com/

I need to add that with e-crater, there is no need to register, and you don't have to bid. All you need to do is just buy it. There are brand new items listed there that sell for less than than what the used, beat up stuff brings on ebay.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Your right Dave, it was kind of harsh, but unfortunatly it's true. Do you ever watch Judge Judy? Human nature will always find the sneakiest, criminal low life way of doing anything if given the opportunity. They call ebay an "auction" but I would call it a race to bid in the last ten seconds. Not the way most auctions are held. I would rather just use the buy it now. But if I want something like I said I have to get in the dogfight pit with the rest of the lowlifes and fight to the death.

 

[Anonymous-0]

That's half the fun........ I got overbid on a harrow about an hour ago just like that. Win some, lose some.

Dave