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I have been giving you some tips for buying and saving on eBay. Here are some more for you.
Tip: Be certain you know the regular in store price or catalog price for the item you want. Do NOT get into a bidding war just because you want to win. Most newbies on eBay do this at least once. They get into a bidding war and do win but the price of the item ended up being so much higher than for what they could buy it anywhere else. Do not be emotional about the bidding. The other guy is NOT trying to steal what you want. He or she is simply trying for the same item.
Tip: Watch the auctions for buy it now. If that price is only pennies or a dollar higher than the starting bid and the price is within your idea of great, grab the buy it now. Takes the problems out of the deal by giving you the item without it being sniped at the last moment. If you really want the item don’t save a few pennies by bidding instead of buy it now. You might just lose or the bid may go much higher than the original buy it now price.
Tip: Many items end up ending without any bids at all. They are good prices, good items, sometimes new. What’s the problem? Spelling. If the item description or title is misspelled, it will go unnoticed in the searches. So, type in keywords and try it. Try the common misspellings of words to see what comes up. You might just find a super bargain or gem for a fraction of what you normally would pay.
Tip: The best time to shop on ebay for bargains is late at night and early in the morning. My sister does that and comes up with incredible bargains. The best days are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays are the high traffic times. Monday isn’t too bad but it can be difficult to find good things then. The peak hours are bad for buyers to find bargains. Everyone wants the them at the same time. That would be when people are taking the items at the last minute.
There will be more tips on other topics soon. Happy Shopping!
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8 Comments
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You also have to ask how much it will cost to send the item to you.
Some people offer something at a low price, but ask too much for sending.
Yes, in another post I mentioned that some sellers will give a very low start price but the shipping charges are excessive. They are beating the eBay fees that way. eBay charges for the listing and a percentage of the end price when sold. They do not keep track of the shipping fees. So when the seller has a low, low price and the shipping fees are outrageous, that would be why.
Can you believe that up until about two months ago I’d never purchased anything on ebay??? I’ve been on the net since 91 you’d think I would have bought something from ebay before now.
I needed a computer part - fast and ebay was the only place I could find it. I took the “buy now” option.
My buying experience was a good one so I’m pretty sure I’ll end up buying something else before the year ends … maybe a nice lens for my new camera?
It was my experience on eBay when we were buying camera lens for my bro-in-law that as long as you know what you want, you can get a fantastic deal in camera equipment and accessories. My sister bought her husband (same guy) a beautiful camera for much MUCH less than it was worth. He loves it!!
“The other guy is NOT trying to steal what you want”
Haha the first point made me laugh.
Thank you. I do love to make folks laugh.
I ended up getting burned out on Ebay, even though I someties found great prices on the things I wanted. More often thatn not, it did not matter if I bid early or waited until the last hour, I was sniped in the last seconds. I have no idea if this is because I was buying kid’s desinger clothing and that it just a catagory where people snipe, but I just coudn;t keep up.
I think it is likely that you were in a very popular category. Trying to raise kids who grow out of the clothes as fast as you buy them comes to mind. Add designer clothes and you have a lot of competition.
However, if you were to filter out the auction and stick with “Buy it now” items, you will find good prices too…as long as the seller is putting it in Buy it now. A lot of times, the sellers see how popular the category is and not put a buy it now on the items. On those things, I am ready to find it elsewhere. That works too. Thank you for commenting.