How To Securely Shop On Ebay

EBay’s online shopping by millions of people have made them the largest and most successful auction spot on the Internet.

So how do you cash in on the Internets largest flea market?

Ebay online shopping has big as it has grown still only occupies a share of about the less than 7 percent of all retail sales revenue. 

 This is part of the over 150 Billion dollars worth of transactions a year.  

 It is estimated that internet sales will account for about the total for computer software and hardware a year.

Also it will account for 28% of tickets, 26% of travel and 20% of book purchases.

Ebay online shopping auctions are attracting because of lower prices, the large selection of products and services.

It is easier than going out to yard sales; live auctions and you can shop in your pajamas if you like.  

 A complete retail store at your finger tips.  Also it is international; you can buy not only in an auction form against others or a fixed priced environment. 

To participate in the Ebay online shopping adventure there are a few things you must do. 

The first being you must be at least 18 years old and register.  This is just to verify your identify.  

 You must also accept the terms of use and privacy policy. 

Next you must create a user id and password.  This is how others will know you as when you are dealing with them. 

  You then will receive an e-mail confirmation.  This is possibly the most important since it is the way you will correspond with sellers.

Ebay online shopping is very easy.  You are able to search for specific items you are looking for. 

 You can just browse thru categories to see if any items are there you would be interested in.  

What happens when you find a item?  If the item has a buy now price.   

You can purchase it at that price.  If it is a auction type format you then are able to place a bid for that item.  

 There also is the option of setting an amount that is the highest you will go and then the ebay online shopping system will bid for you up to that amount.

The bottom line is bid and walk away, don’t get caught up in the auction hype and pay to much.

You can make your Ebay online shopping experience safe and enjoyable by following a couple of guidelines.

  One of the basic things to watch for is shipping and handling charges these can significantly add to the price you pay. 

Know who you are buying from.   

Be sure to check the feedback from other buyers regarding the seller. Make sure the other party has a rating as a seller and not just a buyer. 

 Read the auction description carefully and request more information by e-mail if necessary. 

 Look for auctions that have no minimum winning bid.  Sometimes these minimums are as high as retail prices. 

 Try and bid on auctions that have a return policy in case of damage, misrepresentation, or in some cases turned out just wasn’t want you expected. 

By biding on auctions that have pictures is a much better way of buying since you can see what you are bidding on.

Other tips for ebay online shopping are research your items value, make sure the item is legal and allowed. 

 Consider buy it now if available and is within the range you are willing to pay.   

Finally make sure your contact information and email information is all up to date to make sure you are able to communicate with the seller. 

Consider signing up for a free PayPal account to ease the payment process.  

 It is free and secure also some sellers will only accept PayPal as a payment method.

You can see ebay online shopping is secure, fun, and cost effective if approached correctly. 

 Also you can do it from the comfort of your home.

Stay Safe.

The Importance Of Ebay Feedback

Ebay feedback was designed to let you know a bit about who you are dealing with online.  Is the seller ethical, does the buyer pay immediately or not at all?

Ebay feedback was originally put in place to view buyer and seller reputations.  It is based on member to member comments to share trading experiences with others in the online community.

Ebay feedback is set up so that for each sale, the seller and buyer get to rate each other. 

  Every ebay feedback consists of positive, negative, or neutral. 

 Then there is a place for a short comment.  Now for every positive you get one point, negative you get -1 point and neutral you get no points.  For every 10 comments or ratings you receive a star.

Ebay feedback is then broken down on a member’s profile into subsections.  Feedback score is how many members were satisfied with their business transaction with you. 

 It is usually the difference between the number of buyers who left a positive score and those who left a negative score. 
 
You then have positive feedback which is the positive feedback left displayed as a percentage.  If one person had multiple dealings with one person the feedback is considered as only one.   

Negative feedback would then be the number of negative feedback that members have left.  

 As in the positive feedback above if there has been more than one dealing with an individual all that feedback is still considered one.  All positive feedback is all the positive feedback the member received. 

  Recent rating is a tool used to show all ratings left for this individual in a certain customizable time frame such as 30, 60 or 90 days.  Ebay feedback can be left up to 90 days after a sale is complete.

Ebay feedback does have its opponents.  Some point out the ratings for ebay feedback is overly positive.  They view this as the fear of retaliatory negative feedback.  

 You gave me a negative ebay feedback (even if it was deserved) and now I am going to give negative feedback. (even if not deserved) one of the proposed remedies for the ebay feedback is to not show feedback until after both the buyer and seller submitted their ratings. 

The other concern of some is that the only way you can submit feedback is if you purchased the item. 

For example, if you saw what was a fake or misleading auction you can not leave any type of feedback to alert others.

There have also been reports of Ebay doing nothing on a complaint and leaving the only option of the ebay feedback.  The fear then of negative feedback in return means that nothing is done. 

 The idea of seller being treated better than the buyer has also been explored. 

  It seems that for a buyer to have an account canceled it takes only 4 uncompleted transactions.  

 However, a buyer has to make a complaint to ebay and the seller’s ebay feedback is looked at to decide if something should be done.  This as stated above is questioned since they feel the feedback may not be accurate.

Ebay feedback is a possible indicator of the type of buyer or seller your dealing with.  You should use other avenues to protect yourself.  As a buyer ask questions of the seller and note how they react. 

  If they answer in a timely manner and offering you a straight forward answer goes a long way to helping you make a decision on if you want to do business with the individual. 

 Ebay feedback can help but is not the only answer to the question of an individual seller or buyer’s integrity in business matters.