Buying and Selling Successfully on eBay, Part Two
Buying
by Deborah Gray
So you've registered with eBay, thoroughly explored the tutorials and possibly and glossary, you've browsed the Help Topics, and you're ready to bid. Or are you? Make sure you're a smart bidder, and your eBay experience should be a positive one.
Smart Bidding
Smart bidding involves doing your homework in several different areas. First, but possibly the least crucial, is investigating the category of item you're interested in buying from. For example, I have a passion for vintage costume jewelry. As soon as I realized that I would be spending a fair amount of money on this pursuit, I went to the bookstore and read up on it. This helped me identify which designers I was the most attracted to (Coro, Weiss), and which designers were rare. I picked up a smattering of information about the materials used to create costume jewelry and the terms that were used to describe it.
Secondly, you will learn much by browsing the category you're interested in to find out what the average prices are for the item you want to buy. On eBay, I'll go to the Jewelry/Gemstones category, then the Vintage/Antique subcategory, and then the Costume subcategory. When I'm in the right category, I'll then click on "Ending Today" or "Going, going, gone," which will show me the auctions that are about to close or have already closed. It's not possible to determine much about an item's value in the beginning of an auction - the amount you see is usually the minimum bid the seller assigned to that item and auction. I see that Weiss jewelry is generally selling for fairly large amounts of money, often in the high double digits, but most Coro pieces are in my price range. I subsequently see that Coro jewelry is much more common than Weiss, which explains the valuation difference. When I see that a seller is asking a minimum bid of $50.00 for a Coro necklace which is nothing special, I leave it alone. It's definitely not worth that much. The seller probably won't be able to find a bidder for the item, and may relist it at a lower minimum bid.
I decide to browse the Gallery display view of vintage costume jewelry - this is a section of eBay that displays thumbnails (miniature pictures) of auctions in which the seller has provided a picture and paid an extra $0.25. It's a fairly convenient way to browse the large quantity of items in the Vintage Jewelry section. I see a bracelet I like and click on the picture, which takes me to the auction listing. Here's where the third phase of smart bidding comes into play.
I read the description accompanying the item very carefully to answer several questions:
Recently I ignored my own advice and bid on a bracelet without first reading the description carefully. When the bracelet arrived, I noticed that it was cracked. Fuming, I went back to the description and re-read it. Sure enough, the description mentioned the crack; I must have skimmed it instead of reading carefully. If you have any questions about the item, email the seller and ask.
- When does the auction end? Will I be able to be there at the end? It's not necessary, since eBay will automatically counter any other bids until it reaches my maximum, but if I have to have the article, I want to be there at the end, just in case.
- What payment methods does the seller accept? I tend to favor paying with Paypal, an electronic payment service, over having to mail a check or money order.
- Who pays for shipping?
- If I'm paying for shipping (generally the bidder pays), how expensive is it?
- What condition does the seller say that the item is in? If there are defects, can I live with them?
Lastly, investigate the seller. Check the feedback rating to see what others have said about the seller. Does the seller ship quickly and pack the item well? Is the seller professional? Have other bidders been satisfied with the merchandise? If the seller has had a large number of transactions (in the hundreds) you might want to cut them a little slack if there are one or two negative comments. It's difficult to please everyone. However, if the comments seem to form a pattern, and mention the same negatives, you might want to steer clear.
Finally!
Now I'm ready to bid. The minimum bid the seller is asking is $9.99. I could place a bid for that amount, but I'm going to use proxy bidding, since I'm going to be at work when the auction closes. In other words, I'm going to tell eBay what the maximum I'll pay for an item is, and eBay will then bid for me. I decide that I'm willing to pay up to $30.00 for the bracelet, and I enter this number at the bottom of the screen. Ebay determines that my opening bid matches the minimum bid of $9.99 and sets my bid to that amount. If someone else comes along and bids $12.99, for instance, eBay will bid on my behalf up to the next increment (probably $13.99). I will then be the high bidder again, unless the other bidder set their maximum bid above mine. Let's say that they don't, but someone else comes along and bids $20.00, which pushes my bid up again. This continues until the end of the auction. This process is a bit confusing, but becomes clearer when you are involved in your first auction.
One important thing to be aware of is that you cannot lower your maximum bid once it has been placed. You're stuck with that amount.
If my maximum bid had been topped by another bidder, eBay would send me an email to let me know, which gives me the chance to raise my maximum bid. Which takes us to another aspect of auctions - auction fever!
Auction Fever
Auction fever is that regrettable condition which occurs when the auction stops being a simple transaction and turns into something else. Competitiveness against other bidders or the desire to have the item at all costs can make you lose sight of whether you can actually afford the item at a certain amount or how much you need it. The best way to combat this is to coolly and calmly decide what your absolute maximum bid is, and stick to it. Don't watch the auction's progress. If eBay emails you to notify you that you've been outbid, remember why you decided on your maximum bid.
Along those line, one of the fastest ways to damage your reputation at eBay is to be a deadbeat bidder. If you've given in to auction fever, and bid more money than you have, chances are the seller will not take kindly to your reason for backing out. Of course, we all have financial reversals, and the seller might be sympathetic. But don't count on it. Know when to walk away from an auction.
Sniping
A bidding technique that you will probably run into at some point is sniping. You placed a bid on an item a few days ago, and no one else has bid on it, so you're feeling pretty confident as the closing time approaches. Then, at the very last minute, someone comes out of nowhere and outbids you. You lose out on the item, and they avoided a bidding war by refraining from bidding till the end.
It's of course very irritating when this happens to you, but very useful if you do it yourself. A very convenient way to snipe is to use sniping software like Auction Sentry. Features vary among different software programs, but their main purpose is to place the snipe bid for you so that you don't have to be waiting at your computer at the end of an auction.
I Won! Now What?
Soon after the auction ends, both the seller and winning bidder will receive an email from eBay confirming that the auction has ended, and confirming the specifics of the transaction such as the final amount of the auction and item number. EBay etiquette says that the seller should get in touch with the buyer, so chances are that you can sit back and wait for the seller to email you with the total amount due them, including shipping costs and insurance, if appropriate. However, if you don't hear from the seller within three business days, you should send them an email similar to the one below:
Hi,
I am the high bidder in your auction of the Coro Rhinestone bracelet, item #204516890. Please let me know how much I should include for payment, as well as your mailing address, and I will send payment right away.
Thanks,
Deborah Gray (eBay user ID: debeg)
Wrapping it Up Successfully
Once you've made contact and determined where to send the payment, print out the seller's email to you and include it with your payment. Writing the item number on the check or money order is a good idea also. Remember that some sellers have many auctions going on at once, and seeing just your name might not mean anything to them.
Send your payment out as quickly as possible. If payment is delayed a few days for any reason, email the seller to notify them. If you send a personal check, chances are that the seller will wait for it to clear before sending the item out. If you send a money order instead, most sellers will send the item out the next day.
Once you have received your item from the seller, and are satisfied with it, be sure to post positive feedback for them on eBay. If you're not happy with the item's condition, email the seller. Most want to know if something was damaged during shipping, and will work with you to resolve the problem.
In the next installment, we'll look at selling on eBay. If you have a small business, you might want to start thinking of how to get images of your products online, and how well prepared you are to ship items. If you don't have a business, chances are you have some items around your house that are just collecting dust and could be turned into cash. Just a small investment in time can pay off handsomely.
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