Sorry - I know it has been a while since I posted Step 2. What can you do? Life happens...but onward and upward we go!
I have always been firmly and thoroughly convinced that, in order to become a successful eBay seller and start making money on eBay, not to mention starting an eBay business, it is absolutely essential that you understand how buying on eBay works as well.
If you know what it's like to bid on and buy items on eBay, you'll be able to develop an understanding of how and what eBay buyers think, what they want, how they search, etc., which will be not only invaluable but also completely necessary in order for you to be a successful eBay seller.
Therefore, the rest of this article will focus on how to bid on and buy items on eBay. If you are already an avid and experienced eBay buyer with at least 100 buying feedback on eBay, you probably don't need to read the rest of this article.
But for the rest of you...please don't ever underestimate the importance of understanding how eBay buying works. I've seen literally dozens of eBay sellers stumble and fall because they weren't also active eBay buyers, and therefore, were essentially out of touch with their buyers and their needs.
BIDDING AND BUYING
Bidding
Every eBay user should bid on an auction at some point, at least for the experience if nothing else. It's a valuable lesson in how eBay works, what the auction dynamic is like, and how bidders behave in auctions. It's fairly easy to find auctions to bid on in the search results; if there's no black and red icon that says "Buy It Now" next to an item in the search results, that means it's an auction.
The main thing to remember is to not place a bid that's too low, or that's too close to the current bid price, or you're likely to be outbid. Instead, bid the maximum amount you're willing to pay for that item should you win it, and eBay will gradually raise the current price up if other users come in and place bids after you and try to outbid you, up until your maximum bid amount is reached.
That way you shouldn't be disappointed if you get outbid, because you didn't want to pay more for that item anyway, right?
When you go to an auction item page, put your maximum bid amount in the field that says "Place Bid," then confirm it's correct on the next page and click "Confirm Bid." That's all you have to do. At that point, you can just sit back and wait for the auction to end to see if you won the item.
You can bid more than once on an item, but you shouldn't have to if you entered the correct maximum amount you were willing to pay the first time you placed your bid on the item. Be careful, though; even though you're primarily placing bids right now to learn the bidding process, your bids are still binding, so you WILL need to pay for these items if you win them.
I have always been firmly and thoroughly convinced that, in order to become a successful eBay seller and start making money on eBay, not to mention starting an eBay business, it is absolutely essential that you understand how buying on eBay works as well.
If you know what it's like to bid on and buy items on eBay, you'll be able to develop an understanding of how and what eBay buyers think, what they want, how they search, etc., which will be not only invaluable but also completely necessary in order for you to be a successful eBay seller.
Therefore, the rest of this article will focus on how to bid on and buy items on eBay. If you are already an avid and experienced eBay buyer with at least 100 buying feedback on eBay, you probably don't need to read the rest of this article.
But for the rest of you...please don't ever underestimate the importance of understanding how eBay buying works. I've seen literally dozens of eBay sellers stumble and fall because they weren't also active eBay buyers, and therefore, were essentially out of touch with their buyers and their needs.
BIDDING AND BUYING
Bidding
Every eBay user should bid on an auction at some point, at least for the experience if nothing else. It's a valuable lesson in how eBay works, what the auction dynamic is like, and how bidders behave in auctions. It's fairly easy to find auctions to bid on in the search results; if there's no black and red icon that says "Buy It Now" next to an item in the search results, that means it's an auction.
The main thing to remember is to not place a bid that's too low, or that's too close to the current bid price, or you're likely to be outbid. Instead, bid the maximum amount you're willing to pay for that item should you win it, and eBay will gradually raise the current price up if other users come in and place bids after you and try to outbid you, up until your maximum bid amount is reached.
That way you shouldn't be disappointed if you get outbid, because you didn't want to pay more for that item anyway, right?
When you go to an auction item page, put your maximum bid amount in the field that says "Place Bid," then confirm it's correct on the next page and click "Confirm Bid." That's all you have to do. At that point, you can just sit back and wait for the auction to end to see if you won the item.
You can bid more than once on an item, but you shouldn't have to if you entered the correct maximum amount you were willing to pay the first time you placed your bid on the item. Be careful, though; even though you're primarily placing bids right now to learn the bidding process, your bids are still binding, so you WILL need to pay for these items if you win them.
Buy it Now
Over half of the items purchased on eBay are bought using Buy It Now as opposed to auctions, so obviously, eBay has become much more than just an online auction site. It's just as important to learn how to buy items at fixed prices (aka "Buy It Now") as it is to learn how to bid on auctions, as there are several fundamental differences between the two formats.
Over half of the items purchased on eBay are bought using Buy It Now as opposed to auctions, so obviously, eBay has become much more than just an online auction site. It's just as important to learn how to buy items at fixed prices (aka "Buy It Now") as it is to learn how to bid on auctions, as there are several fundamental differences between the two formats.
Although there is a standard type of fixed price listing where there is just one item for sale and you just click on "Buy It Now" on the item page to purchase the item, there are many other variations to the buying process as well, all of which are used frequently on eBay and are crucial to learn.
Besides buying a single item in a regular Buy It Now listing, there are multiple-quantity fixed price listings too, as well as Markdown Manager, Auction with Buy It Now, Immediate Payment, Second Chance Offer, Best Offer, etc. and each one of these variations of the fixed-price format has unique characteristics and aspects to be learned in order to use it properly.
Besides buying a single item in a regular Buy It Now listing, there are multiple-quantity fixed price listings too, as well as Markdown Manager, Auction with Buy It Now, Immediate Payment, Second Chance Offer, Best Offer, etc. and each one of these variations of the fixed-price format has unique characteristics and aspects to be learned in order to use it properly.
AFTER WINNING/BUYING AN ITEM
Paying for an Item
As soon as you have won an auction, or have purchased an item, through any method, you should pay for the item as soon as possible. You can do this by clicking "Pay Now" on the item page itself. You can also click in the drop-down menu to the right of where the item is listed in your Won list in My eBay, or from the purchase notification email you'll receive.
Paying for an Item
As soon as you have won an auction, or have purchased an item, through any method, you should pay for the item as soon as possible. You can do this by clicking "Pay Now" on the item page itself. You can also click in the drop-down menu to the right of where the item is listed in your Won list in My eBay, or from the purchase notification email you'll receive.
All of these options will take you to a checkout page. Confirm that the details are correct and indicate which shipping method you want (if more than one was offered on the listing). Then go on to pay for the item using PayPal if possible.
After You've Paid
The seller will be notified and should contact you very soon to confirm he received the payment. He should also let you know when the item will be shipped out, which is usually within four or five days.
The seller will be notified and should contact you very soon to confirm he received the payment. He should also let you know when the item will be shipped out, which is usually within four or five days.
Every seller should have a tracking number he can provide to you if you'd like, and you can then monitor the progress of the package online at the website of the shipping carrier. The most common shipping carriers' websites are USPS, UPS, FedEx, and DHL.
Opening a Dispute
If you pay for an item but don't receive it within 30 days, or if the item is significantly different than it was described in the listing, and you can't get in touch with or resolve the situation with the seller, you can open an eBay/PayPal dispute. You'll choose between the options "Item Not Received" or "Item Not as Described" in the Security Center on Paypal and/or the Resolution Center on eBay. You can access this from your Account tab in My eBay.
You only have a total of 45 days to open the dispute, though, in order to qualify to obtain a refund of your payment, so be careful not to delay doing so, if warranted. In cases where you didn't receive the item, if the seller doesn't respond to the dispute, or if he responds and is unable to provide PayPal with a tracking number proving the item was delivered, PayPal will almost always be able to refund your payment in full.
If the item was not as described, however, it's a more complicated process, and can vary depending on the situation, so just follow the directions given to you by PayPal and/or eBay to resolve the problem.
If you pay for an item but don't receive it within 30 days, or if the item is significantly different than it was described in the listing, and you can't get in touch with or resolve the situation with the seller, you can open an eBay/PayPal dispute. You'll choose between the options "Item Not Received" or "Item Not as Described" in the Security Center on Paypal and/or the Resolution Center on eBay. You can access this from your Account tab in My eBay.
You only have a total of 45 days to open the dispute, though, in order to qualify to obtain a refund of your payment, so be careful not to delay doing so, if warranted. In cases where you didn't receive the item, if the seller doesn't respond to the dispute, or if he responds and is unable to provide PayPal with a tracking number proving the item was delivered, PayPal will almost always be able to refund your payment in full.
If the item was not as described, however, it's a more complicated process, and can vary depending on the situation, so just follow the directions given to you by PayPal and/or eBay to resolve the problem.
PayPal
Your PayPal account will store a record of every payment you send to a seller (or anyone else, for that matter), including the item number in question, the seller's email address, the price and shipping cost charged, etc. In almost every case, as soon as you pay for an item, it should immediately show up as "Completed" in your PayPal Account History, and the dollar sign icon to the right of where the item is listed in your Won list in My eBay should be highlighted in blue.
If it says "Pending" or "Unclaimed", that usually means the seller put the wrong PayPal email address in his listing, in which case you should email the seller and let him know.
Your PayPal account will store a record of every payment you send to a seller (or anyone else, for that matter), including the item number in question, the seller's email address, the price and shipping cost charged, etc. In almost every case, as soon as you pay for an item, it should immediately show up as "Completed" in your PayPal Account History, and the dollar sign icon to the right of where the item is listed in your Won list in My eBay should be highlighted in blue.
If it says "Pending" or "Unclaimed", that usually means the seller put the wrong PayPal email address in his listing, in which case you should email the seller and let him know.
Once he gives you the correct email address, you can go to the Details page of the transaction in PayPal and cancel the payment if it is still Pending or Unclaimed, and then pay the seller again with the correct email address, using the "Send Money" tab at the top of PayPal page, and selecting "Goods" instead of "eBay Items", since eBay's and PayPal's systems won't allow you to pay twice for the same item through the normal payment flow, even if you cancel the first payment.
Feedback Basics
Feedback is the hallmark of using eBay, the lynchpin (so to speak) of your eBay success. Whenever an eBay user completes a transaction, either buying or selling an item, they have the ability to leave either a feedback comment and rating(s) for their transaction partner. While sellers can only leave positive feedback for buyers (or no feedback), buyers can choose to leave positive, negative, or neutral feedback for sellers, as well as give them a rating (using the 5-star system) for the following 4 areas:
Feedback is the hallmark of using eBay, the lynchpin (so to speak) of your eBay success. Whenever an eBay user completes a transaction, either buying or selling an item, they have the ability to leave either a feedback comment and rating(s) for their transaction partner. While sellers can only leave positive feedback for buyers (or no feedback), buyers can choose to leave positive, negative, or neutral feedback for sellers, as well as give them a rating (using the 5-star system) for the following 4 areas:
- Item As Described
- Communication
- Shipping time
- Shipping & handling charges
The number you see in parentheses next to every eBay member's User ID is their feedback score, reflecting how many positive feedback comments they have, minus any negative comments they might have received as well (neutral comments don't affect the score either way).
INTRODUCTION TO MY EBAY
In order to help eBay users keep track of all of their buying, selling, and other activities, eBay has created a "My eBay" page for every eBay user. This page allows you to monitor everything in which you're currently involved on eBay at any given time, and take various actions regarding those activities. The sooner you review and become familiar with My eBay and how to use it, the easier eBay will be for you to use. Click the "My eBay" button that appears in the top right corner of almost any eBay page to access My eBay.
There are 3 main tabs in My eBay: Activity, Messages, and Account. On each tab, the names of the different sections on that particular page are listed in the left column of the page, so you can get a clear idea of what you'll find on that page.
One of the first things you'll want to do is make sure your PayPal and eBay accounts are linked together, and if not, to link them together on the Account tab in My eBay. As soon as you've done that, start spending some time going through all of the parts of the "Buy" and "Lists" sections (accessible from the left column of the page), including the Watch List and Saved Searches & Sellers. And make sure to notice that eBay has (recently) created a separate link called "Purchase History" for all of the items you've bought or won on eBay, so be aware of that as well.
In order to help eBay users keep track of all of their buying, selling, and other activities, eBay has created a "My eBay" page for every eBay user. This page allows you to monitor everything in which you're currently involved on eBay at any given time, and take various actions regarding those activities. The sooner you review and become familiar with My eBay and how to use it, the easier eBay will be for you to use. Click the "My eBay" button that appears in the top right corner of almost any eBay page to access My eBay.
There are 3 main tabs in My eBay: Activity, Messages, and Account. On each tab, the names of the different sections on that particular page are listed in the left column of the page, so you can get a clear idea of what you'll find on that page.
One of the first things you'll want to do is make sure your PayPal and eBay accounts are linked together, and if not, to link them together on the Account tab in My eBay. As soon as you've done that, start spending some time going through all of the parts of the "Buy" and "Lists" sections (accessible from the left column of the page), including the Watch List and Saved Searches & Sellers. And make sure to notice that eBay has (recently) created a separate link called "Purchase History" for all of the items you've bought or won on eBay, so be aware of that as well.
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