eBay¹ is an auction-based web site where one can buy and/or sell just about anything². About 750,000 new items are put up for sale daily, and buyers can find both new and used items for sale in just about any category.

It is not hard to find out of print items or items that are no longer in production on eBay (or, indeed, anything else you are after) due to the search feature. New items are usually available at a lower starting price than you would see in the shops.

In order to buy and/or sell on eBay, you first need to register. This is a free, and simple, process and involves entering your First Name, Last Name, Street Address, City, State, Zip Code, Telephone Number, E-Mail Address, User ID³, Password⁴, Secret Question⁵, and Secret Answer⁶.

Buying

Bidding on eBay is very simple - you just click on the item you wish to bid for, enter the amount you wish to bid (remember to check what currency the item is being sold in) and click 'Place Bid'. The minimum amount you can bid is stated, but of course the maxium bid you can place is only limited by your own wallet.

Most eBay ads include a picture of the item being auctioned.

Another nice feature of eBay is "proxy bidding". Proxy bidding enables the potential buyer to enter the maximum amount he would be willing to bid on an item and his bid is automatically increased until it reaches this amount as others place their bids. At the same time, the amount bid never goes above the minimum amount necessary to achieve success for the bidder.

Bidding

One mistake a lot of first-time eBayers make is to push the price of the item they are after up, due to bidding a lot at the beginning of the auction. The best tactic is to place a bid at the beginning, to show your interest, and then wait until there are only, say, two minutes of the auction left to bid, so there is no time for anyone to out-bid you. This isn't an option for anyone with a slower browser/internet connection, or if you aren't available at the time the auction ends, in which case the best advice is to place a proxy bid.

Selling

Selling on eBay is also quite simple - you just upload a picture of your item, a description, and decide what the starting price of the item should be. You have to decide on a method of payment, (eg cheque, cash, PayPal etc) all of which are explained on the site. You can also add a reserve price, although people tend not to bid for items with reserves as there is less chance of them getting a bargain. If you have more than one item, you can either list them separately, or together as a 'Dutch Auction' where the top few bidders (depending on how many of the item you are selling) each win one⁷.

It is generally advisable to set the length of your auctions to be at least a week, to enable people who only have internet access at either work or during the weekends to view, and bid for, your item.

Communication

All communication, both to/from eBay itself and between the buyer and seller of an item, is conducted via e-mail. E-mails are sent from eBay to you when you win an item, are outbidded, have sold an item etc, and it is up to you to contact the buyer/seller of your item to arrange payment and delivery of the goods.

Safety

But how can a person protect him/herself from getting ripped off? While the system is not infallable, a helpful feature of eBay is the "Feedback Forum". The Feedback Forum is a system for buyers and sellers to report to others the results of their transactions with any particular eBayer. Some questions often answered on the Feedback Forum are: Was the item delivered quickly? Was the item delivered as described in the ad? Was it packaged well? Was the buyer/seller a good communicator? Did the buyer pay in a resonable amount of time? Feedback is readily available on every registered user of eBay.

The feedback is supposed to stop 'dodgy deals' from going on, however there is, in theory, nothing to stop someone 'selling' something to you, taking your money, and then disappearing. Obviously the feedback should prevent it from happening again, but it's worth being wary about what you buy, and who from. Using escrow⁸ is therefore advisable for expensive goods.

The feedback is also not secure from being abused, there have been cases where the transaction has gone smoothly and bad feedback has still been given, or where the seller decides to change the terms and conditions of sale after the end of the auction, and then gives bad feedback if these are not accepted.

What Do People Sell On eBay?

Almost everything you can think of. Certain things (like body parts...) are banned from being listed, however people sell everything from toys to books to ceramics to cars to tours of the Arrows F1 team factory... Take a look here to see some of the stranger things people have attempted to sell.