So uh how does ebay work?

[cobl04]

There's a couple of things that I really want to buy, and haven't found anywhere else, but I've got no idea how to use the site... I can search and find the thing I'm looking for, but that's about it. Do I email the person? Place a bid? Click buy now? How do I pay? I don't have paypal. Is there anyway to see if people are reliable or anything like that.

any help appreciated because I would rather keep this from Dad as ebay is 100% flawed website.

 

[indra]

You have to register to use the site (very simple to do -- very much like registering for this one). You can place bids or do buy it now (if you really want it and the price is acceptable to you) -- don't contact sellers off site to place orders because that can get you booted out (ebay considers that trying to get around paying fees and doesn't take kindly to it).

Read the sellers descriptions and policies carefully. If you have questions, do contact them (there is a link to contact the seller under the seller's info). This type of contact is fine. Sometimes a seller will take several types of payment -- if you can't use PayPal look for one that doesn't require it. Unless a seller has in their listing that they absolutely do not take any other form of payment, you can contact them and ask if other forms (specify which you would like to use) of payment are acceptable. They might say no...but they might say yes.

Look at the seller's feedback (the number beside the seller id is the number of positive feedback from unique users). If they have negative feedback -- especially recent ones -- make sure you read those comments. Often this will give you a feel for if they are a bad seller or if they just got a kooky buyer. Be aware that some sellers do not accept bids from no feedback or low feedback buyers. Even if you place a bid on these listings some sellers will cancel it. Why don't they accept bids from no or low feedback buyers? Because new users make a lot of mistakes and can be a pain in the ass to deal with. Plus they may be troublemakers who have re-registered under a new name. I had a new user be the high bidder on a painting I had listed, but when I invoiced him he emailed me and said he'd made an error and couldn't take that one. It worked out ok as we substituted a different painting and a couple of prints to come up to the same price so everyone (including ebay) did ok, but it was a bit of a pain, and I still haven't sold that first painting. It almost seems as if it kind of has a hex on it. Some sellers want no or low feedback users to contact them before bidding, but then usually allow the bid.

The big things you need to do are read the listing and seller's policies carefully and check the seller's feedback. Do not bid if you don't intend to actually buy the item.

 

[cobl04]

Ok thanks heaps!

 

[Babydoll]

Ebay rules!

It's the best thing to have happened since the Internet.

 

[waynetravis]

eBay

Use it all the time.
Dont we, Babydoll

 

[cobl04]

So I bid on something for the first time. But weird shit is happening, want to know the deal.

I was bidding on a Gamecube game, and I probably bid about 10 times. On 8 of those occasions, I was immediately outbid. It's like someone's stalking me. There'd be no action on it for two, three days, and then as soon as I went to increase my bid, as soon as I hit confirm, it said "you have been outbid", by either 50 cents or a dollar every time. If I'd refreshed the page, as opposed to bidding, I'd swear it would still be the same price.

Is something up or do I have an ebay stalker.

 

[Liesje]

No, when you bid you enter a max. bid you want and it proxy bids for you. So if the other person entered a max way above the current bidding price, when you bid say 50 cents higher, you are automatically outbid.

So, like say there's a camera I want currently at $500. If the previous bidder put in a $700 bid and I'm only bidding up by the required 50 cents (or whatever it is), I will be instantly outbid until $700.

You can enter a bid much higher than the minimum required and it will not automatically jump up to that unless the current high bidder has beat that amount.

Where is Sicy? lol

 

[cobl04]

Ah... okay I see. So there is a hidden maximum bid. Thanks

 

[RedRocksU2]

Where is Sicy? lol

that's what I first thought.

 

[Sicy]

Everyone who has given information has it right

There isnt 'always' a hidden max bid. It just depends on if someone else decided to bid on that item, and they wanted to put a high max bid so that they wouldn't get outbid. The bidding will always go up in small increments even if you put down a large max bid. Unless another person comes along and keeps bidding to try to get over the other person's max bid. So just because you put down say $500 as your bid, doesn't necessarily mean you will pay $500, if no one else outbids past that.

Also, if the seller only takes paypal dont bid because then you'll find yourself in some trouble if you cant pay by the payment method specified in the auction. Most sellers will also take money orders so look for that when you are bidding.

 

[cobl04]

There isnt 'always' a hidden max bid. It just depends on if someone else decided to bid on that item, and they wanted to put a high max bid so that they wouldn't get outbid. The bidding will always go up in small increments even if you put down a large max bid. Unless another person comes along and keeps bidding to try to get over the other person's max bid. So just because you put down say $500 as your bid, doesn't necessarily mean you will pay $500, if no one else outbids past that.

Ah okay, cheers, will remember that for the future

 

[gman]

COBL....i hope you realise that ebay is HIGHLY addictive and VERY convienient! My mate who hardly had a clue how to work a pc a few yrs ago has now got a far higher ebay rating then me!

 

[Sicy]

^so true. I cant seem to tear myself away from ebay, ever!
I think I'm up to like 3170 feedback. Buying as well as selling.

 

[cobl04]

COBL....i hope you realise that ebay is HIGHLY addictive and VERY convienient! My mate who hardly had a clue how to work a pc a few yrs ago has now got a far higher ebay rating then me!

don't have the money at the moment anyway, and nothing to sell!

 

[gman]

COBL....wait till you get a few quid in yer pocket. there is ALWAYS something you find to buy on there...whether you need it or not

 

[cobl04]

I bid on an item. I was the winner all week. I had to go out for a party and so I missed the end. My max bid? $35 bucks. The sale price? $36

Cos you all care.

 

[Liesje]

Rest assured though, if you had bid up to $36.50 I pet their proxy would bump it to $37!

 

[Sicy]

Yep. I am a big fan of this program too. Auction Sniper : eBay Sniper and eBay Bidding snipe, bid sniping for eBay

 

[Babydoll]

Justsnipe.com is a good one too...

 

[pepokiss]

does it work outside the US?

 

[cobl04]

I just won something

 

[cobl04]

Quick question... what do you do after you've sent payment, not recieved the item, placed negative feedback, tried in numerous ways to get in contact with the seller with not a single response?

 

[Sicy]

Did you file a dispute with paypal to get your money back?

 

[cobl04]

I did it through a bank deposit, not paypal, so I'm assuming there's no buyer's protection?

 

[Sicy]

Ahh I've never done bank deposits, don't trust them. I believe paypal is the only way you can be protected/get your money back.

 

[cobl04]

Fair enough, I think i'll take out an account.

I brought the item from I think it was called ebayihub, or something like that, it must be like an ebay store or something, but it just didn't work. Luckily it was only like 15 dollars.

 

[MooMoo!]

I think you can still complain to ebay....

Also maybe you're bank protects against internet fraud? I dont know if it still counts if you were aware of the transaction but I know my bank protects against online hackers and whatnot.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

I did it through a bank deposit, not paypal, so I'm assuming there's no buyer's protection?

i'd still suggest filing a dispute with ebay and also contacting your bank. ebay and paypal tend to side with the buyers so if your bank won't do anything, ebay probably will. good luck

i've only been screwed over once on ebay in over ten years. it was by someone who works for the red cross..

 

[Popmartijn]

Quick question... what do you do after you've sent payment, not recieved the item, placed negative feedback, tried in numerous ways to get in contact with the seller with not a single response?

Just a quick question. How long have you waited for the item? And where is it coming from?
Keep in mind that it may take a while for an item to arrive, up to several weeks. So please be patient if an item hasn't arrived in a week or so. It may take longer.

 

[Lila64]

Didn't know where to put this. I just want to gripe about
a) Non-paying buyers. Why are you bidding?
.....yes, I contacted eBay at the time to resolve, and the person is now no longer a registered user. So I relisted my items, and they sold for a bit less than the original buyer was going to pay
b) People not paying on time. My auctions state that payment is due within 7 days of auction closing. So last night (day 7) I contacted two people. One responded today (he's overseas) and he said he'd pay by Wednesday. WTF? Did you ask if that would be okay beforehand, before you even bid? Mind you, this is the second thing he's won from me, but still... The thing he bought is one of the relisted items from above.

Why bid if you can't pay? For the thrill of it all?

\endrant