Successful eBay Buying Tips - By John J. Foley

eBay buying is a great way to have fun while saving money. eBay buying is easy, and there is no charge to register as an eBay buyer. The key to eBay buying is to find quality brand name products at low or wholesale prices.

Ebay

There are millions of products available through eBay auctions. Products for babies, holiday gifts, kids products and toys, computers, games, clothes, crafts, movies, electronics, household items, and many others all exist every day on eBay. eBay auctions offer a fantastic and fun opportunity to shop online and get great items at wholesale or near wholesale prices. eBayers buying in specific categories get to know others over time and even though they're competing for the same items it also makes for an interesting aspect.

On eBay, you enter the maximum amount for the item you are willing to pay, and then eBay's bidding system bids for the items on your behalf. Of course you will not always win if someone bids a higher maximum value, but then it will not make you over spend, and because it's eBay you can always come back again and bid on a similar item from a different seller. Also, very important, keep in mind, many common phrases and brand names are often mis-spelled on ebay. Because most ebay buying is based on the correct spelling, the mis-spelled versions have fewer visitors, less competition and lower prices.

It's a bit scary to jump into the eBay auction waters unaware, not knowing where to look and how to find exactly what you are looking for. When I first started off with eBay, I had no idea what I was doing. But with some guidance and support from other eBay Power Sellers (people who sell more than $1,000 on eBay on a monthly basis) and a couple of hard knocks of my own, I figured out what works and what doesn't. I now know that with the right information, some time and energy and a bit of direction from an expert, that even a complete moron could transform a potentially difficult eBay purchasing experience into a profitable pastime or money-saving endeavor. Start by making some small purchases to get a few positive feedbacks and to get your feet wet on ebay.

Bidding

Bidding on eBay is meant to be fun, but remember that all bids on eBay are binding, except in the sales of real estate or businesses and the sales of items that are prohibited by law or by eBay's user agreement. On eBay, you enter the maximum amount for the item you are willing to pay, and then eBay's bidding system bids for the items on your behalf. A good strategy here is to use eBay's proxy bidding system to automatically bid on your behalf. This means you don't have to keep coming back to re-bid every time someone places a higher bid.

For a example,search for an item you want to bid on. say the current minimum bid on the item is $18, enter your maximum bid of $30, if there are no other bids on the item, eBay's proxy server will bid for the item at the minimum of $18. EBay then emails the other bidder to inform them that they have been outbid. If there is another bidder with a higher maximum, you will obviously be outbid. But if no other bidder has a higher maximum, you win the auction, and the item is yours and this saves you the time and effort of having to sit around to bid again anytime you are outbid.

Keep in mind that the starting bid price might be well below wholesale but could easily go over regular retail during a bid war. Keep your cool when bidding and don't get caught up in the emotions of the moment. Most bidding is done on the last day of the auction and in the last hours of the auction. Catch auctions at the last minute and make sure no one else can bid any higher than you have. You should never bid, without knowing the exact amount that will be charged for S&H to your postal address. If the seller does not reply to your request, then don't bid.

Knowing who you're bidding against(which is a controversial topic at the moment) is also sometimes the impetus behind whether or not you make an offer at all. If we can't see who else is bidding on items, then how will we be able to know if there are fake bids going in in order to raise our buying price. I am upset about this hiding of bidder IDs and think it will be problematic. As a buyer, I am very worried that this is going to encourage sellers who shill bids with their friends, and from a seller's standpoint, I see it taking confidence away from a lot of bidders.

I have been told by bidders that have bought from me before that they are less likly to bid on high ticket items since they can't see the ID of the people bidding against them. Buyers who bid in competitive areas of collectibles and jewelry know more or less who their competition usually is and they feel mistrustful now that they can no longer openly see who else is bidding. They are worried about getting bid up high by a fake bidder and are therefore not putting in maximum bids as high as they used to. I am also hearing from people that since they can no longer see what other people are actively bidding on in the buyer lists, that they have lost an important research tool and are finding it harder to find the items they're wanting to bid on. This is making for less bids on any given item.

These things will definitely hurt sellers, and as a buyer myself, I have also lost the feeling of confidence in being able to put a high bid in and have the auction run with fairness. I, also, am putting in lower maximum amounts on my own bids because I am afraid of getting shilled. My Suggestion: I wish eBay would at least give an option to sellers to have all their auctions open or not- and then buyers who want an open community could gravitate to the openly displayed auctions and they would also know that when they bid on those items their IDs will be displayed like they used to be.

Article Written By J. Foley

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Write eBay Auction Titles That Really Work - By Ian Marples

Your auction title is probably the most important part of your listing. If your title doesn't inform and entice potential customers then they simply won't open it. eBay allows you to use around 56 characters in your title, so use them wisely. Note that subtitles are not searchable, so make sure you include as many keywords and selling points in your main title as possible.

It's important you spend time analyzing past auctions, comparing different titles and decide which have been most successful. You can view completed auctions by searching under the "Advanced Search" section.

You'll notice that the titles of the auctions with the most success will usually be very clear, to the point and include a lot of keywords. Keywords are words that potential customers will use to search by. When these words are entered into eBay search field, if they match your title, then your auction will be displayed. So, the more keywords you can squeeze into your title the better.

For example, someone looking to buy an iPod Nano may enter the following keywords into eBay's sear field: iPod Nano, iPod MP3 player, Apple MP3. For your auction to generate a lot of views, you should try to use as many as these keywords as possible.

Below is an example of a poor auction title I recently found on eBay.

IPOD - L@@K BARGAIN @ 1p START WOW ! ! !

Whilst the brand "iPod" is included in the title, there is no mention of Apple, MP3 player or the condition of the item, which are all things users are likely to search for. The remaining part of the title is wasted with gimmicks that serve no purpose. They may catch a users eye, however no one will ever search for terms and characters such as "@ start wow !!!" By adding these to your title you are simply wasting space, and furthermore, making your entire listing look very amateurish.

Below is how I would rewrite the title for optimal results:

Apple iPod Nano 2GB White MP3 player, Brand New, Boxed

I've included a whole host of keywords, and listed any main selling points such as "brand new" and "boxed". Should a potential customer search for any of the words in the title, or a combination of them, my auction would be displayed.

So, before you begin to write your auction titles make a list of any keywords that you can think of. Perform a search to see if anyone else is selling the same item as you. Do any of the auctions catch your eye, what's appealing about them? Analyze the title variations and decide which works best. However, don't completely copy another title as you're trying to make your auction stand out from the crowd.

Remember, a poor title will result in fewer visitors, and therefore will result in less money.

Read more; advice on selling on e-bay

Ian Marples is an Internet marketer and web author who runs the website http://www.uncleslinky.co.uk to help budding online entrepreneurs succeed.

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