My Tips for eBay

Because of all the vehicles I have (and have had), and because of the amount of work they have needed, I have bought more than a few things on eBay. I've talked a little about eBay before (mostly about some of the goofy things that sellers do). But this post is different...I'm going to talk about the success I've had. I've only been burned one time on many transactions on eBay and that is primarily because I broke one of my own rules. Lots of people believe eBay isn't safe and that you'll find nothing but scam artists there. In fact, 99% of eBay transactions are completely legitimate and go off without a hitch. EBay would not still exist today if it were nothing but a haven for crooks. This doesn't mean you can just take it easy; it does mean that if you're smart and careful, you can get what you want on eBay for a good price, win nearly every time, and most importantly, not get screwed on the deal. I've bought TWO cars on eBay. I've bought a laptop computer. I've bought Christmas gifts and musical instruments, and I regularly buy auto parts there. So I've purchased some big-ticket items, and I have done so with no trouble.

Here are a few of my personal rules, which I provide to you as recommendations (though if you already buy on eBay and have a good strategy, more power to you). Also note that these rules are for buying...I don't do much selling on eBay so I haven't really been able to find a decent strategy for that yet (aside from what I've already seen sellers do).

1. NEVER even think about bidding on an item unless you have the money to pay immediately if you win. I know this sounds logical, but apparently many people think eBay is some sort of play area...they just bid, pretending they're going to buy, and then back out at the end. Or, they have second thoughts after bidding because they get all excited, and they end up in trouble. You are REALLY bidding on REAL items on eBay. Personally, I find it dishonest to jerk someone around that way, and I would be very frustrated if I were trying to sell something and someone bid and told me they were going to pay, but didn't. Bidding means you're going to buy if you win, so don't mess around. It makes you look like a dork if you bid then ditch it (unless you have some really good reason, like the item was not what it was supposed to be or you found out something that the seller didn't disclose that alters the value of the item, in which case you can go through eBay to cancel your bid). You can dream just by looking, but don't bid unless you're done with dreaming and are ready to MOVE. Have the money in hand or in the bank, and go for it.

2. When you find something you like, do your due diligence on the seller. Check their feedback. See how recently they've had negative feedback (if any). See how much of their feedback is from selling versus how much is from buying. Look at the items that they've sold recently. Look at how recent their last bits of positive feedback were. Most sellers are obviously OK, and there usually isn't a problem. On eBay, feedback (and thus reputation) is everything. If you're REALLY paranoid, use Google to check on the seller's username. (Any good security guy will tell you that people are pretty predictable; they tend to use the same usernames/screen-names over and over. This means if they use it on eBay, they've probably used it somewhere else and you can find it.) The one time I got burned, I bought from someone who had positive feedback, but not very much, and almost none as a seller. It came back to bite me. So make sure you like how the seller looks before you bid.

3. Next, do your due diligence on the item itself, especially if it's big-ticket item like a car or a computer. Usually, the more expensive an item is, the more understanding the seller will be. Experienced sellers will do just about any reasonable thing you ask. It is in their interest to answer your questions, just as it is in your interest to ask them. If you're buying a car, ask for as many photos as you can get: body, underside, engine, interior, VIN plates, anything. The car is not usually close by, where you can go look and test drive, so ask for whatever you want to see. Run a VIN check (or two). Ask to see the title and any other paperwork, by fax or high-res close-up photo (to make sure it's legitimate and matches the VIN you run). This holds true for anything you buy, and especially any big-ticket items. A good seller will be helpful and understanding. (This process can also tie into your due diligence on the seller, as mentioned in Item 2 above. If they're not reasonably helpful and understanding, they're probably hiding something...in which case it's time to move on.) If they ever hesitate to provide something you ask, or don't answer a question, don't do the deal. The item you are looking at is likely not one-of-a-kind, so you can probably find another one from a seller who is more willing to help you. If it IS one-of-a-kind, do you really want to slack on due diligence and possibly get ripped off?

Also, ignore the seller's obvious marketing. Most items are not "extremely rare" or "one of a kind" or "difficult to find". Make sure you know the market for the item you're looking for. When I buy car parts, I know what parts will fit my vehicle, what I've found based on how much I've looked, so I know if something is hard-to-find or not. It's like this with everything, be it golf clubs or old record albums or collector shot glasses or original Star Wars collectibles.

4. Make sure you know what your ceiling is. Before you bid, you need to decide how much you really want to pay for the item you want, and you must resolve not to pay one penny more, period. During your due diligence on the item, you need to make sure you understand the general market price range for whatever you are buying. With cars, it's easy...just go to the online NADA guides or the Kelley Blue Book website and look it up. Tie that into the VIN check and the pictures, so you have a rough idea of what price you should be paying, and shoot for getting in under that. If it's electronics or golf clubs or whatever, look at what other stores have it for. Just because you're buying on eBay doesn't always mean it's an instant bargain. If the auction price goes above what you can get the same item for from somewhere else (either online or brick-and-mortar), go buy it there. The point being, don't get so caught up in buying the thing, or in winning the auction, that you spend more than you should. Some folks get addicted to buying on eBay and end up overspending and getting into financial trouble. Showing a little discipline in this critical phase is a good way to avoid that miserable fate.

5. So...you've found the item you want, you've done your due diligence on the seller and on the item itself, you've got your money, you know your ceiling, and you're ready to bid. DON'T BID RIGHT AWAY. This is VERY important. EBay auctions are not human-mediated the way a traditional one is, so the bid amount is not the key factor in winning. An auctioneer will simply wait until he has the highest bid (because that's his job, maximizing the seller's profit), then close the auction when no one else wants to bid more. Some eBay users are what I call "nibblers"...they just bid whatever they want whenever they feel like it. They treat the auction as though it were a traditional, human-mediated auction. They usually don't win and they do nothing more than drive the price up. (Sometimes I wonder if some bidders use a separate name to bid on their own items this way...just to push the bids up more to their liking.) If you want to WIN the item, just put it in your watchlist and wait. Auctions are usually 5 to 10 days long, so there's plenty of time...don't get impatient. While you watch, either the price will stay low (within your budget) and you have a great chance of getting a good bargain; or the price will be driven up out of your budget, in which case you can move along anyway without a backward glance. As a buyer, it is pointless to add to that frenzy.

Since eBay auctions are timed only, getting the best bid in at the end is the key. This means that your best chance of winning is by "sniping." Make sure you're fully signed in and everything is ready to go. Wait until the very end of the auction, until there's about 30-60 seconds left. Enter your bid for the MAXIMUM amount you are willing to pay for the item, and submit it. When you do this, again, one of two things will happen: you will win because no one else will get a sufficient counterbid submitted in time, or you will not submit a bid high enough to overcome someone else's maximum bid (regardless of when it is entered, even simultaneously to yours). This might seem odd, but another quirk of eBay is that just because you enter a higher maximum bid doesn't mean that you will actually pay that amount for the item. Let's say you're bidding on a beautiful milkglass vase and you snipe in your max bid of $75.00 using the above method, and your bid is the highest. Let's further say the highest max bid from the second-place user was $50.00. You will end up paying $51.00, not $75.00, because eBay will select a sufficient amount for you to win because you were willing to bid higher. However, it does not penalize you because it also knows you're seeking to pay only enough to win the auction. In this way, it compensates for its lack of a human auctioneer, who also understands that just because a buyer might be willing to pay more doesn't mean he actually wants to pay more. So if you snipe in your max bid of $75 for the item, you will only lose if it is you don't put in the highest maximum bid, in which case you would've lost regardless of what you did.

6. Keep up with the auction. Sometimes this means you need to think about when the auction ends before you decide to bid. If you're going to use the sniping method, you don't want to bid in an auction that ends at 2:37am your time, or that ends while you are at work or during an appointment, when you can't use the method properly. Make sure you keep that in mind. Sniping is a little more time-critical method to use, but it does work. You just have to be really committed to buying what you're bidding on.

7. Use Paypal and only Paypal to pay for your item. All serious eBay users use Paypal, and especially serious sellers. Paypal is great because it allows you to pay immediately, so the seller is happy (and gives you positive feedback). Also, if there is some sort of problem with the item, or if you never get the item, you have recourse through Paypal to get your money back if the seller gives you a hard time about it. So you get a lot more protection this way than you would if you just sent some money. The one time I got burned, I didn't use Paypal.

8. Once you've gotten the item, make sure you give (and receive) feedback. Everyone needs positive feedback to survive on eBay (especially you, since some sellers won't accept your bid for certain items if your feedback is too low). Don't quibble about feedback; if you get the item in a reasonable amount of time, and if the item is as described, you've gotten the best you could expect. Some buyers get mad if the item isn't clean and pristine when they get it, for example. As long as you get it and it isn't damaged, it's needless to cause trouble for the seller and for yourself.

9. Finally, be prepared to lose every once in a while. I've used these methods to near-perfection, but I did lose a couple of auctions. One auction for an item I really wanted to win was because I didn't check in at the end of the auction; I didn't pay attention and realize that the auction ended while I was going to be unavailable to bid. The other time, I didn't put in a maximum bid that was high enough to win. If you lose, no big deal; there's probably another one of what you're looking for out there, or there soon will be.

So there you have it, my own personal rules for eBay strategy. You're free to agree or disagree, but whatever you do, find what works for you, and go win! (You might be amazed at what you'll find that you would be interested in.) Thanks for reading along.