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Ok, you have heard the word a million times but
what is eBay exactly? In a nutshell, eBay is the world's largest online auction.
A place for buyers and sellers to come together and buy or sell just about
anything. So if are wondering how to buy on ebay or how to sell on ebay, relax
right here is the information that you need to get started.
Here is basically how it works:
To get you started, here are the basics that
will get you trading on eBay today!
First, open
an Account on eBay: You don't HAVE to have an account to buy, but
you do to sell on ebay. But, it is much easier if you have an eBay
account. It is free to open an account and it just takes a few minutes.
How to Buy on eBay
You can shop for almost anything on
eBay. Get started using these steps according to eBay:
- Find an item. Enter keywords into
the search box located at the top of any page, or browse through our
list of categories on the home page.
- Learn about the item you found.
Read the item description carefully. If you have any questions about
the item, you can find answers by clicking the Ask a question link.
- Review the seller's Feedback. View
the seller's business reputation by looking at his or her Feedback
score, and read the comments left by previous buyers to be sure that
this is a seller you feel you can trust.
- Bid or Buy It Now. Check the item
page to see what purchase options are available. You can either
place a bid on an item or purchase it instantly using Buy It Now.
Remember, all bids are active until the listing ends. If you win or
click the Buy It Now button, you're obligated to complete the
transaction.
- Pay for the item. After you've won
or bought the item, send your payment to the seller within 3 days.
To pay with one of the electronic payment methods offered by the
seller, click the Pay Now button in the listing or email
notification If you're picking up the item, you can pay by any
method the seller accepts (including cash).
eBay Buying Tips
- Do your research. If you are
looking to buy something on ebay dont just look at onen item. look
at several to compare condition and price.
- Look and the quality of the
listing. Do the details of the item make you feel comfortable that
you understand what you are buying? Are the pictures of the item
nice and sharp representing the item well?
- Ask the seller a question. You can
click on the sellers name and send them a question within ebay about
the item.
- Keep all correspondence inside
eBay. It is a violation of ebay policy to communicate with a buyer
or seller about a listed item outside of ebay. Keep all
communication between you on the record, and inside ebay messages
for your protection.
How to Sell on eBay
Before you can SELL on ebay you must
have an active ebay account. Once you are setup, here is an outline on
how to sell on ebay. (for official rules and policies, refer to eBays
seller and listing policies for all rules and details, this is only an
outline reference:
- Research: First, do a
search for similar items on ebay for a couple of reasons. First it
will give you an idea of what it should look like, and also you need
to see how much similar items are selling for. This will help you
determine how much you should ask for your item being listed.
- Click on the SELL button in
your eBay account. A wizard will walk you through the process step
by step, don't worry.
- Assign a Category: The item
being listed will need to be assigned to a category (car parts,
books, electronics etc). Once your category is selected you move
forward.
- Provide Item Details: You
will be asked to provide full details about the item you are
selling. This includes a TITLE for the listing, pictures and full
details of the item. This is very important so take the time to word
your item carefully. Refer to step one to compare how others are
listing similar items. You don't want to be exactly the same, the
whole idea is to stand out from the crowd. But until you get up and
running, it will help guide you by comparing.
- Pictures. Sharp pictures
are the most important part of a listing since that is all the buyer
has to go one. Take crystal clear and accurate pictures, this will
make or break your listing.
- Choose your selling price.
There are basically 2 methods of selling, AUCTION style and FIXED
price. If you want a flat rate and will accept nothing less choose a
fixed style listing. If have patience and don't mind waiting, an
AUCTION style could bring a higher price. Be careful not to list
your item too low in an auction style listing. You HAVE to sell it
to the highest bidder. You can set a RESERVE price to protect you
here.
- Review your Listing: You
will be given an opportunity to do a final review of your listing
prior to officially listing it. Take your time here and read over
every word. Your seller reputation on eBay is built solely on
honesty and accuracy of your listings.
eBAY SELLING TIPS:
- Be honest. You are building a
reputation from day one. Honest sellers with a high level of
integrity will always be the most successful. Treat people wrong, or
try to mislead you will go down fast in the ebay community. Start
off on the right foot.
- See "Completed listings". In the
left column you will have this option which will show you what
similar items are ACTUALLY selling for. You should base your selling
price accordingly.
- Take better pictures than anyone.
This is key when selling. A blurry picture that was taken quickly
will make it more difficult for a buyer to get an accurate feel for
the item. Take pics of all angles of the item. What would YOU want
to see if you were buying something site unseen? Imperfections? Most
important that you take pictures of those. Dont try to avoid
it because that is the first thing a buyer will look at when he or
she receives the item. Refer to previous point.
- Pack your item well. You have gone
to a lot of effort to list and sell your item, you want to make sure
it gets there in one piece.
- Ship promptly. Once a buyer pays
for your item, they will expect it to ship in the next day or so,
don't procrastinate. Ship it right away.
- Keep all correspondence inside
eBay. It is a violation of ebay policy to communicate with a buyer
or seller about a listed item outside of ebay. Keep all
communication between you on the record, and inside ebay messages
for your protection.
- Refer to eBay for safe selling
tips and full details and policies for sellers.
How do I pay for an item I bought?
Every seller accepts different payment methods,
and has different processes for closing the sale and receiving payment.
PayPal is by far the safest and most common
method to pay for or receive payment from.
If the seller offers PayPal, you can
click the Pay Now button to go directly to PayPal and pay using a credit card or
electronic check. PayPal is the quick and easy way to pay on eBay. If you want
to send a check or money order (and your seller accepts these payment methods),
the seller's contact information will appear in the End of Auction notice. If
you do not have the End of Auction notice, you can ask for that information
through the "Ask seller a question" link on the closed item page.
Tip You should only bid on or buy
items where the seller accepts payment methods that you want to use. If you want
to pay by credit card, and the seller states "money orders only", you should not
bid on the item.
Note: You are only obligated to pay the
seller using one of the payment methods specified in the eBay listing. If the
seller wants to change payment methods after the listing has ended, you should
insist on paying through the method stated in the listing.
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