George Halt asked: eBay has become the authority site on providing good products at a price way below retail. It’s not just a site where people dump their ‘junk’. You can find items that are of high-quality, and many times even retail stores sell directly through eBay at wholesale prices. That means you can get a brand new item, still sealed in the box, for less than you would pay for it at a local super store.
There are some caveats. Even though eBay offers a ‘Buy-it-Now’ option, it is, at its core, an Auction site. The best deals will come from winning an actual auction with a bid, not a flat buy-out. Most sellers put a ‘Buy-it-Now’ price that they know will be good for THEM. And you have to be alert for dubious sellers, fake items or knockoffs, and shipping fees.
Below are some strategies for getting the best deal, safely, on eBay:
Find the Right Price
To figure out what an item sells for on eBay, do an ‘Advanced Search’, and checked the ‘Completed Items’ checkbox. This will list all items that have ended, and you can see the closing price on the bids. Items with their prices in green had a successful transaction…in other words someone paid that much and actually bought the item. Items in red had a listing but never had any bidders/buyers. By knowing what people are actually paying on eBay for an item, you can set a target budget for how much you should plan on spending.
After researching Completed Auctions, search current auctions and look at just the ‘Buy-it-Now’ auctions. Calculate an average price for the item, and ensure you do not pay more than that.
Research the Seller and Validate the Item
All sellers have a rating next to their name. The higher the number, the more folks have given positive feedback. If you click on that number, it will show you the comments that other eBayers have made. Look for positive comments from BUYERS, not sellers. An old tactic used to be to buy a bunch of one-cent items and get the sellers to give you positive feedback to bump up your numbers. Also, look for any negative feedback, and see if and how it was resolved. Don’t just look at the first page of feedback…scroll back a few months to see what people are saying.
In addition, if it is an item that is frequently faked, such as certain watches, jewelry or purses, make sure there is some kind of certificate of authenticity, or some proof that it is legitimate. Again, sticking with a seller with stellar reputation can help.
Timing your Bid
Avoid bidding too early. The way proxy bidding works is that you put the max amount you are willing to pay and eBay automatically raises the amount to just barely beat the previous bidder. The problem is that other folks can keep entering bids bumping up the price a little at a time until they pass your proxy bid. Generally, smart bidders wait until the last few minutes to place their proxy bid so that others can’t bid up the price. In fact, there is a process called ‘sniping’, which is waiting until the last few seconds to place a bid. You have to take into account the time lag of your computer, the internet, and eBay’s servers. There are even some services out there that let you enter your eBay account information and will automatically time the placing of your bid to snipe. eBay frowns upon this and some of the services are questionable, but the option is there.
Whether or not you use a sniping service, do not enter your proxy bid too early. Use the Watch List and add the auction to that so you can know when it will end and just visit the auction right near the end.
Finding Rare Deals
Other tips for finding good deals include entering misspellings of the item. For example, if you are looking for a Longaberger basket, you might check for LongabUrger (with a U instead of an E). Fewer people will be seeing the auction, which means fewer people to bid against.
Likewise you can find items that have been listed in the wrong category. That will also create less competition.
Lastly, you can target auctions that end in the wee hours of the night. Find auctions that will end when everyone else is asleep. If it is something worth fighting for, you might even set an alarm and wake up to bid at the last minute.
The strategies above should help you in your quest for the best deal you can find on eBay.
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