When you first start out on eBay.com, the huge site with dozens of bulletin boards, chat areas, articles and over 27,000(!) categories can be intimidating and confusing. And you don't have to be a novice to get lost, I've been on eBay since almost the beginning and still can have trouble finding my way around some of the areas.
Fortunately, you don't have to know everything about eBay's site, if you just want to do some simple buying and selling, eBay is very easy to use .... too easy in many cases.
First You Have to Find It
Unless you are looking for something extremely rare, eventually the collectible or antique will show up on eBay. Trust me on this. Items previously thought rare or hard to find, many times aren't! But you still have to find it on eBay and there are several to start your search.
As an example, you're a collector looking for "Gizmos". And you want any antique "Gizmo" you don't already have.
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Go to Gizmo Category and do a search for "Antique Gizmo" -- you will find some, but not all buyers will be very descriptive and might have left off the word "Antique". Depending on what box you clicked in Search (see below), these might or might not show up in the results.
OR - Go to Gizmo Category on eBay.com and look through all the listings -- easiest way, but time-consuming and you still won't find all the Gizmos for sale.
OR -
Go to main search box on eBay's home page and do a search for Gizmo in all categories. In this case the Antique Gizmo might have been listed in the "Antique" category, not the Gizmo category that you are expecting it to be in. Now you will have many more results to check out.
ALSO - After you do the preliminary search and look around, go back to the main search box and type in the item you are looking for, but spell it wrong! You'll be amazed at how many items come up with the wrong spelling.
When doing a search, always use the Advanced Search link at the top of the page (right hand side). There are more options than just the simple Search box. The Advanced Search link will also give the option to search by buyer, seller or store.
If there is more than one word in the title use the "+" between the words. e.g. My Size Elmo" has 534 matches with everything from t-shirts, slippers to the actual doll. My+Size+Elmo has six matches, all with the exact doll I was looking for.
Exclude any words that would bog down the search, one example is when searching for a pottery catalog, I would exclude the word barn and slipcover. (Pottery Barn Slipcovers are very popular on eBay!) e.g. As an example I would type in Pottery Catalog -barn -slipcoverin the search box.
There are several choices in the drop down box next to the words you type in. As an example, this time I typed in the words cookie jar and had my choice of picking:
- All of these words - This is the one that gets the best results with 7954 listings.
Any of these words - I almost never use this box, as an example clicking on this box gives a grand total of 41,900 results for those same words cookie jar!
Exact Phrase - Don't use this one, unless you are sure all the sellers are going to think exactly like you. This time search came up with 7450 listings.
The ABCs of Buying on eBay
- Starting Out
- Search & Find Your Stuff
- Don't Bid Yet
- Bidding & PayPal
- Completing Your Purchases & Possible Problems
Advanced Search
Searching for eBay Members
More Ways to Browse
