Grantos1's Guide To Buying And Selling On eBay : eBay Guides

I've been using internet auction sites for over 6 years now.  I have experience in both buying and selling, so I'll offer my top tips to help you with eBay.

Buyers
I buy many items from eBay, but unlike getting a DVD from Play.com or MP3 Player from Amazon, you have limited comeback using eBay if the item is not as described.

- ALWAYS check the seller's feedback. Over 10,000 looks great as a feedback number beside your user name, but always check a potential seller's recent activity. Sellers can sometimes 'go off the rails' and offer a very bad service for reasons which are not your problem. A 10,000 rating at a glance looks great, but with 256 recent negatives against it...well, that's bad.

- What are the postage charges? Are they fair?  You could raise an army of iPods if you bought every one of them on eBay that was under £30, yet with £60 postage charges.  Always check to see if the amounts are not crazy or are just plain unfair, like £3 or over for first or second class postage for a CD or DVD.  I can post a DVD first class for under one pound with either an old or new padded envelope.  Some sellers realise that 99p is all they will get for an old movie or album, so they try to scrape back more by over-charging for postage and packaging.  Sure, if they want to add on a small amount to cover the time to package the item, that's the buyer's choice. I never overcharge for postage, I have a set of scales (geek!) to keep me right and the rates from Royal mail's website.  I charge enough to cover postage and the envelope and round it up to the nearest 10p.  I can send a DVD worldwide via airmail for £2 maximum, without adding any money on for my time.  And it doesn't cost triple this for our cousins in the States or Japan to send here, so rip off postage is not just a UK problem.

- Don't get caught up in the heat of an auction. That DVD that started at 99p and has £1.80 postage is now past £7 and chances are Play.com have it cheaper.  If you see what looks like a bargain, scour your favourite shopping sites for the product, chances are you may find it cheaper.

- There are scam artists selling fraudulent goods on eBay all the time.  Some originate from the far east that sell items at prices too good to be true, items that are very good counterfeits and that often cost the buyer crazy money for shipping.  It can take me months to find a legit copy of a movie on eBay because every search can bring up fakes (no cases, vaguely written descriptions that lead you to believe it is a DVD-R, is on a DVD with other movies, a region ) release).  If you see the latest movies that are at the cinema on DVD on eBay, chances are they are fakes.  If you win an item that is an obvious illegal fake, let the seller know you will contact the authorities if you don't get a full refund for the fake you are having to destroy.

- If an item seems too good to be true, it normally is. I always, always go over the item page a few times, check out feedback for the seller, search for the item elsewhere on eBay and online.  I was about to buy a PSP for £70 this week, but realised there wasn't much interest in it.  Guy's feedback didn't paint a pretty picture, so I left it, rather than risk being ripped off.  People were selling photos of X-Box 360s for £400 Christmas 2005 because the auction had a small line about "this auction is for the photograph only" and they were getting away with it.


Sellers
I pride myself on offering a quality service on eBay. I don't sell items as a business, it's when I get the free time to actually list the items.  I always put myself in the shoes of would be buyers - do my listings look appealing; is the item described properly; is the item packaged well?  No one likes being ripped off or disappointed on eBay.

- If your item description doesn't reflect what you are selling, then buyers have every right to demand a refund / leave you neutral / negative feedback. I sold a PC game in the wrong case a few years back on another site and got burned for it because I made a genuine mistake.  A couple of negatives kicking about your feedback can put many users off.

- As far as I am aware, 'As new' still means As new.  The last DVD I bought off Play didn't have a dent on the case or light scratches on the disc, so your items that are as new must reflect this.  Some items don't need to have their original tags - if it does, then point this out with a BNWT (Brand New With Tags) on the auction title, this will boost sales. It doesn't need to be 100% perfect, but must be good enough to be classed 'as new'.

- If you have a nice mobile phone or PSP you are selling, you will attract attention from con artists.  They are registered in the UK on eBay, but many in fact live in the far east or Nigeria.  These scam merchants will bid over the score for your item, as they know in the end they won't pay a penny for there winnings.  Scammers will win the item and will want you to post the item to their aunty / cousin / sister in Nigeria. They will ask if they can pay you with a money wire, certainly not paypal, as this is part of their scam.  I normally sell worldwide, but any expensive goods are sold UK only and have statements to warn would be scammers I won't waste my time with them.

- I have one negative to my name on eBay: some magazines were damaged in the post and the buyer blamed me, after accepting a full refund of course. If someone rates you unfairly and removing feedback by mutual agreement isn't tickling their fancy, then don't rip into them with UPPERCASE SLAGGING.  State the facts on your feedback and comment on their unfair feedback. If you look legit, then would be buyers inspecting your feedback won't be put off when the other party looks to be the one in the wrong.

- Check out the Wanted Now section of eBay from time to time.  You can discover here that some items you thought were not worth much are being sought after.  I had an old issue of FHM I was going to throw on as a 50p buy it now. After seeing requests for that issue on Want It Now, it went for £21.