10 Easy Steps to Buying at eBay

1. 10 Easy Steps to Buying at eBay Chuck Eglinton - ChuckEgg.com • Powerpoint slides 2010 Mensa AG. • Remember FREE TRIAL: • http://www.BidRobot.com • Use coupon code: ChuckEgg

2. 10 Easy Steps to Buying at eBay Chuck Eglinton - ChuckEgg.com • Mensa member • Self-employed PC programmer since 1983 • Self-employed web developer since 1997 • Specialize in “Dynamic” websites (database driven). • eBay Power Seller since 1998 • eBay Trained “Education Specialist” • Ebay Certified “Trading Assistant” • “10 Quick Steps” available at Audible.com • BidRobot.com has been mentioned in “eBay for Dummies,” “Internet Auctions for Dummies” and in Readers Digest.

3. 10 Easy Steps to Buying at eBay  Create accounts at eBay and Paypal • At eBay.com, click the “Register” link • Complete and submit the form • Eventually you’ll need to provide a credit card number to pay eBay insertion fees & commissions. • At PayPal.com, click the “Sign-Up” link • Complete and submit the form • Eventually you’ll need to provide a credit card number and /or bank information so you can fund your PayPal account and transfer balances to your bank account. PayPal.com is owned by eBay.com and is currently the only way to accept payments from winning bidders.

4. 10 Easy Steps to Buying at eBay  Learn Basic Search Tool Tricks(part 1) Asterisk (*) for a wildcard searchExample: 196* Mustang displays all 1960’s Mustangs Quotation Marks to display an exact phrase with words in the exact order shown.Example: “Nightmare Before Christmas" will display only auction titles that contain that exact movie title Commas and Parenthesis to display auctions that contain any of the search words Example: “(ibanez, takamine)” will display a list of auction titles that contain any of those words. Use a comma to delimit search syntax if you’re looking for several similar items or several different brands in a single search.

5. 10 Easy Steps to Buying at eBay  Learn Basic Search Tool Tricks(part 2) Minus Sign (-) to remove specific words from search results.Example: “mustang wheels –hot” will show results containing ‘real’ mustang automobile wheels exclude any of the auction titles that also have the word “hot.” Plus Sign (+)to prevent some search engines from including synonyms for the word in search results.

6. 10 Easy Steps to Buying at eBay  Check Recent Sale Prices on the Internetat eBay.com • You’ll need a (free) eBay account • Click “Advanced Search” link • Type Keywords, Model, Item Description • Check “[X] completed listings” • Click the [Search] button • Refine Search using links in the left column • Only GREEN prices had winning bidders, disregard other colors.

7. 10 Easy Steps to Buying at eBay  Check Recent Sale Prices on the Internetat Amazon.com Go To www.Amazon.com … • Type Keywords, model, Item Description • Click “Go” button • Look for links: “Buy New, ?? New, ?? Used” • Click the “?? Used” link to see range of used prices BTW, It’s easy to sell at Amazon after setting up a seller account. Just click the “Sell Yours Here” button.

8. 10 Easy Steps to Buying at eBay  Check Recent Sale Prices on the Internetat Google Shopping Go to: http://shopping.Google.com • Type Keywords, model, Item Description • Click “Search” button • Use the options in the left column to filter your search. • Use the drop down and select “Sort by: Price - Low to High”

9. 10 Easy Steps to Buying at eBay  Go hunting for deals at eBay Misspellings - 80,000 items have Disney correctly spelled in the listing, but dozens of listings have the misspelling “diseny” in their title Search with and without hyphens, punctuation and special characters - For example search for both “t shirt” and “t-shirt” Search both titles and descriptions - click the “Include Title and description” checkbox

10. 10 Easy Steps to Buying at eBay  Go hunting for deals at eBay (cont.) Auctions that end on Holidays - Fewer bidders to compete against. Auctions closing on non-peak days and non peak times - Fewer bidders to compete against. Poor item descriptions - Some bidders ignore poorly worded titles and descriptions. Miscategorized Items - will be found by fewer bidders.

11. 10 Easy Steps to Buying at eBay  Buyer Beware • Read the item description carefully • Be aware of the condition of the item • Be aware of guarantees and return policies • Be aware of the item location • Be aware of sales tax • Beware excess shipping and handling • Ask the seller questions

12. 10 Easy Steps to Buying at eBay  Look out for “shady” sellers • Be aware of the seller’s RECENT feedback rating(click the number in parenthesis near sellers eBay id) • Do NOT be afraid of foreign sellers if they have a very good recent feedback score.

13. 10 Easy Steps to Buying at eBay  Understand eBay’s bidding rules • Understand eBay’s “Bid increment” rules. • Understand eBay’s “Proxy Bidding” mechanism • Understand how to win “Reserve Price” auctions. • Understand how to win “Dutch Auctions”

14. 10 Easy Steps to Buying at eBay  Time your bids to increase your odds of winning. Be a SNIPER! • eBay auctions have a specific “hard” ending time. • To “blindside” your competition, become a “sniper.” • Last minute bidders, or “snipers,” have a philosophy similar to people who submit sealed bids at a traditional auction. They have one true maximum amount they are willing to pay and they are willing to walk away if they don’t win the item with their best bid. Last-minute bidders have no desire to waste their energy engaging in an ongoing emotional bidding war with other bidders.

15. 10 Easy Steps to Buying at eBay  What to do when the auction ends If you lost… • Look for your next chance. Most items quickly become available again. What if your deal goes bad? • First contact the buyer through eBay. • Resolve the issue through eBay’s Buyer Protection program • Leave negative feedback. What to do if you won… • Pay the seller promptly.

16. 10 Easy Steps to Buying at eBay  Build the eBay community by leaving feedback • Wait a few days until after the auction item has been received and has been inspected - Post your feedback only after you’re sure that everyone is completely satisfied with the transaction. • Click the “My eBay” link, then review the “Summary” column for feedback reminders.

17. 10 Easy Steps to Buying at eBay  Create accounts at eBay and Paypal  Learn Basic Search Tool Tricks  Check Recent Sale Prices on the Internet  Go hunting for deals at eBay  Buyer Beware  Look out for shady sellers  Understand eBay’s bidding rules  Time your bids to increase your odds of winning. Be a SNIPER!  What to do when the auction ends  Build the eBay community by leaving feedback

18. 10 Easy Steps to Buying at eBay • BidRobot.com - Don’t lose eBay auctions! • AuctionZipCode.com - Display eBay search results on a map • AuctionIncome.com - Auction Blog • RSSauction.com - eBay search results delivered by RSS feed • ChuckEgg.com - Gadget & Tech Blog