Tips for New Ebay Buyers - By Randy Heavner

Ebay is a huge marketplace comprised of thousands of different sellers. The vast majority are perfectly honest sellers operating a legitimate business. And as with any selling venue of this size, there are some also a few that are less than honest . For the new Ebayer, telling the difference and learning to negotiate the Ebay site can be a time consuming process.

The first order of business, if you have not done so already, is to sign up for an account with Ebay. This is a relatively straightforward process of entering information and obtaining a screen name and password.

After registering, you will be directed to a few pages for new members. These pages will explain the different buying formats and give a general idea of how Ebay works. Taking the time to read these pages will make purchasing a lot easier.

Consider how you will pay for your purchases. Most Ebay sellers accept Paypal. This is also the safest method for buyers, as Paypal provides buyer protection for items not received, a system for mediating disputes, and will accept major credit cards through their system. The sign up process is quite simple.

The easiest way to find what you are looking for is through the search bar on the main page. This works like any other search engine, in that you need to use specific terms to

locate an item. For example, MP3 player brings up about 20,000 items. Adding IPOD to the search narrows it down to 5,000 or so. Experiment with different search terms to find a good combination. When you have reached a page with what you are looking for, you can then narrow down your search using the Search Options box in the lower left corner. This will allow you to view only the items which fall under certain categories you chose, such as buy it now only, listing country, free shipping only. You can also narrow your search to specific price ranges and item ending times.

When considering an item for purchase, it is very important to carefully read the sellers terms. Shipping charges and return policy should be clearly spelled out. Be careful to read ALL of the sales copy. Make sure you understand whether an item is new or used, what condition it is in, and what exactly is included with your purchase. For questions about a listing you can email the seller through the ask seller a question link at upper right of page.

The one other thing that must be done before committing to buy is to check the sellers reputation on Ebay. The feedback link at upper right will give an indication of how many positive feedbacks the seller has received, what percentage of the sellers transactions resulted in positive feedback, and how long they have been an Ebay member. You can also read comments from other buyers. To go a step beyond, you may also want to take a look at the sellers About Me page.

There are literally millions of transactions on Ebay each day, and the vast majority are problem free. While nothing is perfect, the built in safeguards of Ebay / Paypal make Ebay as safe as any internet venue for the prudent shopper.

For more information on both buying and seling at internet auctions, please vist www.auction-lynx.com Internet Auction Directory