Online Dog Resources

It’s easy and fun to shop at eBay… that’s why it has become the world’s largest marketplace. It never closes! You can shop at any time of day or night, and you don’t have to go out to do it! Here are seven tips to make the most of your shopping experience.

[1] Go ahead and register at eBay if you don’t already have an account. See my page on the three easy steps to register at eBay.

[2] Once you’re registered (whether that’s now or previously), take a little time to become familiar with how to buy things. You may want to buy 10 or more small items at eBay to become more experienced as a bidder and to show a higher number next to your Username.

[3] Look at the “Meet the Seller” section which is on the upper right of any page that describes an item for sale. You’ll see a number in parentheses right after their username. This is the total of all the things that they have bought and sold on eBay.

I haven’t ever bought from someone where this number was under 10, though once I did buy from someone whose number was exactly 10. He had a very clearly written item description, and I used the “ask a question” feature to get a sense of his professionalism.

You can learn a lot about a seller from this upper right part of the page, and if you see “me” you can click through to a page they have created about themselves.

[4] Be sure to check what the seller’s feedback percentage is. If it’s between 95% and 100%, I don’t generally look further, but if it is lower than that, you can right-click on the number to open a feedback page in a new window. There you can look around a bit and see what caused the number to be low. I don’t usually buy if it is below 90%, but it all depends on the circumstances. Decide how you feel.

[5] Read the full description of the item, to be sure it sounds like something you want. Notice what the seller’s returns policy is, and take a glance at the shipping charges to be sure they seem fair to you.

[6] If you are bidding on an auction (rather than getting a Buy-it-now item), decide what the most is that you want to pay, and type it in the box. You won’t pay that much unless other bidders bid up to that amount. Also, you may want to bid something like $41.17 instead of $40, since most people use round numbers.

[7] There are terrific help pages you can use on eBay, available by clicking on Help in the top left corner of any page.