| re than two years of selling on Ebay there's one | | | | page, under Ebay's usually-irrelevant advertisements, |
| frustration I hear from shoppers more than anything | | | | you'll see three tabs. Clicking "Buy-It-Now" shows only |
| else: "I got outbid at the last second!" If you're relatively | | | | fixed price listings and auctions that have no bids yet. |
| new to the online auction world you're probably sick of | | | | Now sort by "Price: Lowest First" or "Time: Newly |
| bidding wars, sketchy sellers, and wading through | | | | Listed" to see if there are any good deals that were |
| illegible blocks of tiny print to find an item description. | | | | recently added. |
| Before you give up and go back to paying retail prices | | | | Now instead of fighting for the last minute items that |
| at Amazon, consider that with the right tools and | | | | everyone else is bidding on, you got a great deal |
| techniques you can often reduce the price you pay for | | | | immediately by being the first to find it! |
| an item by over 50% by buying from online auction | | | | Tip #4: Find the Hidden Store Items |
| sellers. This article will equip you with the secret | | | | "Ebay Stores" are like hidden storefronts within Ebay |
| techniques Ebay doesn't want you to know. | | | | where medium and high-volume sellers can cheaply list |
| Why So Cheap? | | | | their complete inventory. Sellers pay almost nothing to |
| Many people think that anything you can buy for half | | | | list items in their Ebay stores but there's a catch: Ebay |
| the retail price must be counterfeit or stolen. But | | | | will usually not include these items in search results |
| consider that most of what you pay a large retail or | | | | (store items only show up if there aren't enough |
| web store is for overhead: renting commercial space, | | | | regular auctions to display). Ebay wants shoppers to |
| web site maintenance and design, employees, | | | | bid on auctions that have higher listing fees. |
| advertising, and so on. Many products are sold for | | | | Because the fees are cheaper and the items are |
| more than double their cost and still barely cover these | | | | harder to find, Ebay Stores will often have lower |
| expenses! | | | | prices and less competition. But to find these items you |
| In contrast, Ebay sellers operate small businesses with | | | | have to dig a little. |
| few or no employees and many sellers work out of a | | | | If you're searching for something general like |
| home office with no overhead at all. This means they | | | | "Playstation Games" or want to find a seller with a |
| can sell to you for less and still make money. Major | | | | good selection, check the "Shop Ebay Stores" box in |
| retail stores build a reputation through expensive | | | | the left-hand column of your search results page. You'll |
| advertising and charge you higher prices to pay for it. | | | | have to scroll down a ways and it will only show a |
| Ebay's feedback system provides the same security | | | | few stores. Click the "See All Matching Stores" link for |
| by letting you gauge the seller's reliability with no extra | | | | a list of stores you can browse. |
| cost. | | | | If you're looking for something specific, you'll need to do |
| The deals are out there, so how to you find them? | | | | an advanced search for Store Items only. Click the |
| Tip #1: Don't Bid, Snipe! | | | | "Advanced Search" link in the top-right and ignore the |
| Bidding at the last second is called "sniping." This is why | | | | resulting page. You want the "Items in Stores" link in |
| you got outbid 2 seconds from the end that time you | | | | the box at the left of the page. Believe it or not, if you |
| stayed up until 1 AM to babysit an auction you really | | | | do a search on this page it will still only show auction |
| wanted to win. Many people will check a listing | | | | items. You have to check the box that says "Search |
| periodically, rely on Ebay's smart bidding, or wait for | | | | Store Inventory items only"! Now that you've jumped |
| Ebay's outbid-notices and then enter a new bid. Usually | | | | through all of Ebay's fee-maximizing hoops, you're |
| these people lose to last-minute bidders or get into | | | | ready to view actual store inventory items. |
| bidding wars and pay too much. | | | | Tip #5: It Pays to Save on Shipping |
| Planning your schedule around an auction can be | | | | Most Ebay sellers have great prices, but shipping can |
| tedious and impractical. That's why most experienced | | | | be expensive. Ebay search results show the shipping |
| "Ebayers" use sniping tools like Auction Stealer to | | | | column by default so be sure to factor that in when |
| place bids for them. These tools let you schedule a bid | | | | making bids. |
| to be placed 1-20 seconds before the auction's end, | | | | If you're looking for multiple items it's often worthwhile |
| greatly increasing your chances of winning and | | | | to find a seller that has all of them and will give you a |
| removing the risk that you'll forget or be otherwise | | | | combined shipping discount. Consider that if you bought |
| occupied (or asleep) when the auction ends. | | | | 3 DVDs at $10 each and $4 shipping from 3 different |
| Set up your snipe 12-24 hours before the auction ends | | | | sellers you'd pay more than if you paid one seller $11 |
| so you have some idea what the current price is. | | | | per DVD and $2 shipping on the second and third |
| Remember that prices sometimes double in the last 12 | | | | DVD. And it's a lot less work for you to pay one seller |
| hours because the auction is at the top of search | | | | and get one package. |
| results. For items you really want, be sure to set your | | | | Plan your shopping ahead of time. When you're making |
| snipe at the absolute maximum you're willing to pay - | | | | a purchase, see if the seller has any other items you |
| you won't have time to react to other people's bids! | | | | may want to give as a gift or add to your collection. |
| Remember that Ebay bidding rules still apply - Ebay will | | | | You'll save in the long run and won't have to spend as |
| place bids up to your competitor's maximum even if | | | | much time managing auctions and tracking packages. |
| your bid is entered in the last second of the auction, so | | | | When to Avoid Ebay |
| make sure your maximum is higher. | | | | Ebay usually has the best prices. Usually. There are |
| Sniping tools do require access to your Ebay ID and | | | | times when an item is so popular that people are |
| password in order to place your bid, so be sure to | | | | flocking to Ebay to get one and the prices skyrocket. |
| thoroughly research a tool before creating an account. | | | | The day the x-box 360 was released units sold on |
| Many tools let you do a few snipes a week for free | | | | Ebay for up to $6000 each. In cases like this the prices |
| but place your bids in the last 10-30 seconds, instead | | | | soar because every other store is sold out, but there |
| of 1-10. This means that a paying subscriber would get | | | | are some people that do all their shopping on Ebay |
| the chance to outbid you. If you do a lot of shopping or | | | | and just assume that they're getting a good deal. |
| bid on highly competitive items, a subscription will | | | | Before you bid for that PSP or Ipod, make sure you |
| quickly pay for itself. | | | | know what the retail price is and how much you'd |
| Tip #2: Timing Matters | | | | have to pay from an independent online retailer. Don't |
| Even if you use a sniping tool, it still matters when the | | | | bid higher than the suggested retail price unless you |
| auction ends. Since the majority of bidders don't snipe, | | | | can't find a site with the item in stock and you know |
| you'll have less competition on the late-night, | | | | your local retail store isn't getting their next shipment |
| early-morning, and weekday auctions. Less competition | | | | anytime soon. |
| means lower final price and a better chance of | | | | Don't fall into the shipping fee trap either. You may be |
| winning. Sort your search results by "Time Left" or | | | | able to buy a new release DVD for $14.99 but if the |
| "End Date." You can customize your display to show | | | | seller charges $5 for shipping, you're better off buying |
| the actual ending date and time rather than the time | | | | from an independent online DVD store for $18 and |
| remaining. This makes it easier to identify listings that | | | | paying $1.50 shipping. Remember that most Ebay |
| are ending during off-peak hours. | | | | sellers include an extra handling fee with the shipping to |
| Focus on sellers that only ship to your home country, | | | | help cover the many fees they pay Ebay and PayPal. |
| or others in similar time zones. If you're competing with | | | | Because independent retail sites have almost no fees, |
| people from all over the world, it doesn't matter when | | | | they often have more reasonable shipping prices. |
| the auction ends because it's always peak shopping | | | | The stores with the best prices spend very little on |
| somewhere. | | | | advertising. Try using tools like Froogle that offer |
| Tip #3: Sorting is Your Friend | | | | sellers free listings or find out if your favorite Ebay |
| Sometimes it's better to buy than to bid. Unless you | | | | seller has their own web store. Ebay doesn't let sellers |
| change your settings, all your searches will be sorted | | | | advertise off-Ebay sales in their listings so try doing a |
| to show the items ending soonest. Most of these have | | | | web search for the store's name or look at the |
| bids already so the "Buy-It-Now" ("BIN") option is no | | | | domain name of the contact's email address. These |
| longer displayed. These are the items everyone else is | | | | sellers would rather have you buy from their web |
| looking at too, so you're not interested in them. Force | | | | store and you can still refer to their Ebay feedback to |
| yourself to look away! You want to find the item that | | | | determine their reliability. |
| was just posted with a low "Buy-It-Now" by a seller | | | | Finding the best prices can be time consuming but the |
| who doesn't know what the item will sell for and made | | | | money you save makes it well worth it. Remember |
| the BIN price too low. | | | | your favorite sellers and stores and online shopping will |
| First get rid of the auction listings. At the top left of the | | | | be faster and easier than ever the next time around. |