Are you impulsive or deliberate? If you're deliberate, eBay's Proxy bidding can make bidding relatively painless. After you find the item to bid on and decide the very maximum you are willing to spend, bid that amount and then forget about it. Of course, that's easier said than done, but it's one way not to get swept up into the passion of a bidding war.
Learn More:
Automatic/Proxy and Reserve Bidding Examples
Incremental Bidding
This is when you bid enough to be high bidder, but not your maximum, bidding again when someone tops your bid. In this instance it's important to stay close to the computer in the last hours of the auction to continue bidding if you're outbid. If you're not willing to put your maximum bid up early, someone could come in and bid their top dollar in the last few seconds, not giving you enough time to respond.
Buy it Now
Many items with have the Buy it Now feature, which is exactly what it says. The auction will close as soon as someone meets the sellers price.
Sniping
Is when a bidder comes in at the very end of the auction, the last few seconds, and puts a winning bid in. There are services that will actually do this for you or do it yourself with quick fingers and a fast connection. Of course, sniping doesn't always work, the sniper has only one shot to get the item and the sniper's bid has to be high enough to be the winning one.
Learn More{
What is Sniping?
Time to BID
Everything checks out, you're
logged in and ready to bid:
- Click the Place Bid Button
- Enter bid amount, then click Continue.
- Review your bid and then click the Submit button.
- Click the Place Bid button
- Enter bid amount, then click Continue.
- At this point, the eBay sign-In screen will pop-up.
- Log in, then click Submit button, which will register the bid.
Paypal
Note: This this article was written eBay has changed the rules again. Now it only allows Paypal as the only payment option on the auctions. But some buyers will still let you pay with a check or money order.
It's the most popular payment option for sellers and an account is definitely worth considering. The account is free to set up and never charges a fee to the buyer. Payment is instant when using your charge card and purchases are usually on the way within a few days.
There are several different Paypal accounts -- Personal, Premier and Business. If you're only buying, a Personal account will work. You can pay with a credit card or by a transfer from your checking account.
Since I also sell on eBay, I have a Premier account and get charged a fee for every payment coming into the account. When I purchase with this account and don't have funds to cover the transaction, I use the bank feature (no credit card on file). This is a no-fee electronic withdrawal from my bank account covering the purchase price. To help safeguard this even further, I use a separate bank account that is only for Paypal transactions and transfer monies in as needed.
Money Orders
Some sellers will prefer to accept money orders, although they cannot state that in their auctions. Although I understand they don't want to pay the additional fees, it's a big hassle for the buyer. I would rather pay with a personal check and wait for the check to clear, if Paypal is not an option.
Personal Checks
There is always the old-fashioned bank check! Many sellers still prefer them, the only problem is the longer wait for the items while the check clears.
Cash
Don't send cash, too many things can happen to that envelope!
Do's and Don'ts of Paypal
Don't use it as a savings account, keep a minimum amount in the account. Over the years, I've heard stories of Paypal freezing accounts and that means you can't get at your money until the problem is resolved. The reason might be only a problem with a password or something equally innocuous, but it does happen, and it can take a while to be straightened out.
Thieves will try to access your account by sending phony emails, purportedly from Paypal, asking you to respond with your bank account number and/or password. The emails look very official, except they never ask for confidential information to be send via email. DON'T EVER give any confidential information like this through an email to anyone. Go to the Paypal site and check to see if the information was really requested.
Learn More:
Paypal eMail Fraud
The ABCs of Buying on eBay
- Starting Out
- Search & Find Your Stuff
- Don't Bid Yet
- Bidding & PayPal
- Completing Your Purchases & Possible Problems
More Resource Links:
eBay's Bidding Basics
Retracting a Bid
eBay's Paypal Basics
Paypal's Fraud Prevention Tips
