EBAY!

So, I know a lot of people already know about Ebay, but I'm going to touch on a few things I think are important.

First I want to start out by addressing the people who think EVERYTHING on Ebay is used stuff. Well here's news for you, IT'S NOT! I know this isn't earth shattering news... but I still get the statement from time to time from people, "I don't want to buy that used!" when I tell them to find it on Ebay. There are tons of legitimate stores that sell NEW, never used, never opened items on Ebay. With that out of the way I'm going to discuss a few things I think are important about Ebay.

The trick to Ebay is being patient and sniping out the best deal you can. I know that the Buy It Now feature is a great thing to use, but you can generally get an item for cheaper if you just bid on it. For some people time is very important and they don't have a ton of it to invest in looking around on Ebay for a $5 discount on a $200 item, but for those of us who are bargain hunters, waiting for a great deal to come around can be nice. So if you don't need an item right away, scope out the auctions for a few days to weeks before buying it, see how much the price fluctuates, then when you have a good idea on how much you would like to spend on it, make your move.

As I said earlier, patience is key. If you really want to win an item, make sure you know when it is going to end. Set an alarm to remind you. Do not bid on that item when you first see it. I know putting your max bid on an item and forgetting about it is an awesome feature, but if you really want to get an item and you want it for cheap, wait till the last minute to bid. This is called sniping. I generally try and do my research as stated in the paragraph above, determine how much I want to pay. I will find an(or a few) auction then that ends at a time I will be able to be at a computer and bid on it. I use my phone for Ebay, so I just put it on my watch list and my phone has an application that tells me 15 minutes before an auction ends. I then wait till about 20 seconds are left and bid my maximum I wanted to pay bid. If you have a slow computer or connection, you may have to give yourself more time than 20 seconds. But the key is to have screen where you hit confirm payment and it puts the bid in ready to go. This takes practice and won't win you the item EVERY time, but when you do win it, you will get it cheaper than you expected.

That's all the tips I have on Ebay for now. I have been using Ebay for about 10 years now and most of my online purchases come from there. Hope you enjoyed!

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