Browse, bid and buy on eBay

Find just about anything you can imagine on this popular online auction site

By Leah Macpherson

For avid collectors and bargain hunters alike, eBay is the place to find rare collectibles, unique treasures and great deals on just about anything you can imagine. Indeed, eBay is now the world’s largest, most diverse marketplace with something for everyone.

In Toronto, eBay is a family affair for Melanie and Patrick Tidy. While Melanie shops for clothes, video games and toys for their three children, Patrick indulges his passion for Star Trek memorabilia. “I got the entire seven seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation on DVD, including all of the extra features and options, for $200 including shipping. To buy them retail would cost about $1,000. Fantastic!” says Patrick.

For this busy family, saving time by shopping online at eBay is a big plus. “I love the convenience of shopping from home at any time of day and having things delivered right to our door,” Melanie adds.

So why don’t you hunker down in front of your computer and join the 100 million people who’ve registered to shop on eBay? It’s easy and it’s fun, but beware — it can be addictive.

Register to shop

Anyone can browse — just as you do in a retail store — but to place a bid you have to become a registered member of the community. Registering is fast and free.

Provide your name, address, telephone number, date of birth and e-mail address.
Read and agree to the eBay User Agreement.
Choose a User ID that you’ll want to use for the long term, as other eBay members will come to recognize you by it.
Create a password.
Answer a question for future ID verification (e.g., your mom’s maiden name).
To continue, click the confirmation button in a verification e-mail.

Once you’ve gotten these basics out of the way, it’s time to shop. There are two main ways to browse: by category and by keyword.

Search by category

On the home page, click on a category of interest: art, for example. You can choose from a wide selection of subcategories: sculpture, paintings, posters, etc. Each search can be as narrow or as broad as you choose. If you’re looking for a particular item, you can follow the subcategory links to find it: for example, art-paintings-antique (pre-1900). Peruse what’s available and let your mouse be your guide.

Search by keyword(s)

If you’re looking for a specific item, doing a keyword search will help you find it quickly. You can search in all categories or narrow your hunt to a particular category: coins, sports, travel, etc. You can browse worldwide or limit your search to Canadian sellers. Your search can be general (e.g., pants), but such a request will likely result in tens of thousands of pairs of pants. Your search can be specific (e.g., pants, green, size 4, ladies) and may turn up just one pair in hunter green, “gently used.”

Demystifying listings

The list page is the seller’s sales pitch and provides all of the relevant information about the item and the auction:

detailed description of the item
current bid price and/or fixed price
start time/time left in the auction
number of bids
item location
a Feedback score that reflects the number of positive comments from other eBay members and a link that allows you to read those comments
a Buy it Now option on some items that allows you to buy at full price if you do not wish to participate in an auction
a link to ask the seller a question, such as shipping costs or an item’s compatibility with other products (If you have doubts of any kind, ask the seller for clarification before you buy.)
forms of acceptable payment
shipping information (If costs to Canada are not specified, you should contact the seller before placing a bid.)

Bidding 101

When you’ve found an item you like, it’s time to go to auction.

On the listing page, click the Place Bid button. eBay will automatically ask you to sign in with your user ID and password.
Insert the maximum price you would be willing to pay for the item. This figure cannot be seen by other bidders or the seller.
Confirm your bid.
Now eBay takes over using a proxy bidder system. As others place bids, eBay places incremental bids on your behalf in an attempt to win the auction at the lowest possible price. eBay will never go above your specified maximum.

Now you have to play the waiting game. You can watch the auction online or wait for eBay to notify you of a change in status. If someone tops your maximum bid, you’ll receive an outbid notification e-mail. If you are willing to pay more than originally planned, you can return to the listing and place a new maximum bid. You can continue to bid until just seconds before the clock runs out. This phase is when the competition can be fierce.

Win, pay and wait

When an auction closes, eBay e-mails all bidders an end of auction notice. The winner receives an invoice confirming the final price. The buyer must contact the seller within three days of the auction to supply mailing and payment details, and buyers can choose any form of payment specified by the seller. Most sellers accept payment through PayPal, a secure online service that allows sellers to accept credit card payments over the Internet.

Most vendors also accept money orders, and some accept personal cheques. Do not pay with cash. Any seller who insists on using instant money transfer services — such as Western Union and MoneyGram, which send cash instantly from storefront locations, by telephone and over the Internet — should be reported to eBay immediately. When payment is received, your item will be shipped by the vendor. You usually pay shipping costs.

After you have received the item, return to eBay to leave Feedback comments to assist the seller and any future buyers.

Learning the risks and rewards

The eBay community is founded on trust in the seller’s veracious description of the product and in the buyer’s intent to pay the winning bid price. In his book eBay Scams! Protect Yourself as You Master eBay (Mimosa Books, 2005), Mark Gabriel acknowledges that though the chances of fraud are low, it does happen. “eBay is a safe, secure environment, but there are scammers out there. My goal is to help people be informed about the risks.”

Gabriel suggests these top three tips for buying on eBay.

Never wire cash to a seller unless you know that seller extremely well. Wire transfer is the number one method used by scammers. Use PayPal instead.
Always ask the seller a question before putting in a bid — even if you don’t have one. Develop a rapport. A lot of information can be gleaned from a seller’s response.
Always confirm shipping and handling costs before you bid. Read the fine print to be sure that you’re not on the hook for outrageous shipping fees.

Using word of mouth

After each transaction, buyers and sellers rate each other through eBay Feedback. Rating is very serious business. Bad feedback can ruin a vendor’s reputation, and sellers can refuse bids from buyers who lack positive feedback scores.

Andrew Morris of Toronto is an avid eBayer who buys everything from batteries to collectible cufflinks. He believes that the feedback system has made eBay so successful.

“It’s ingenious. People will do anything to avoid negative feedback,” he says. “I trust the system completely and the convenience is paramount — find it, buy it, and forget about it until it shows up at your door.”

Click here to learn how to sell items on eBay.

Photo: Geoff Manasse/Getty Images