THE SAFE AND SUCCESSFUL BUYING GUIDE
 
In this guide you’ll find loads of comprehensive bidding tips as well as invaluable info on buying safely on eBay. Read on and enjoy, and if you find it useful, please vote ”Yes” at the end – thank you!

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Successful BIDDING TECHNIQUES: the cleverest of ways that you can grab that bargain!

Proxy bidding – the most straightforward bidding method: you enter your highest bid and eBay will bid up for you at set increments in opposition to other bidders. Ebay will keep bidding up as far as your maximum bid, and if another bidder puts in a higher amount, you will be outbid. This simple method is great if you know your maximum limit and want a steady, controlled auction.

Low bidding – buyers who don’t want to pay very much will often submit low bids on a large number of items. Out of sheer probability, they will reap a proportion of those items. This kind of bidding technique is usually employed by more experienced eBayers looking to take advantage of poorly listed items in order to re-sell them for profit. As a result they are content with the associated risk of this kind of bidding – the fact that by submitting simultaneous bids, they are likely to win more than one of the item in question. If used strategically, ensuring that bids are kept in check, this technique can be used successfully by anyone looking for a bargain. Alternatively, if you’re not prepared to manually keep check of a number of a large number of auctions yourself, you can employ a software package to do it for you! 

Intelligent maximum bids – after you enter your maximum bid, eBay will bid up on your behalf according to set bid increments. By knowing the bid increments you can effectively outbid another bidder by1p! If you’re not sure of the increments, a nifty technique is to bid a few pence above your maximum bid. So by entering £5.54 rather than £5.50 your bid will be a few potentially invaluable notches up the bidding scale, and will put you in a stronger position to win the auction.

Sniping – Sounds sneaky – and by some people’s standards it is! It’s simply when a bidder puts in a last minute bid at the end of the auction, outbidding all other contenders at the last minute. Great for the winning bidder, but not so desirable if you’re the unsuspecting defeated party, or even if you’re the seller and were hoping to reap the outcome of a more exciting bidding war. This method of bidding is very common and is potentially very successful, and again you can employ a software package to do it for you! 

Edit blocking – Once you place a bid, the opportunity for the seller to revise their listing is removed. This can work very much to a bidder’s advantage when a listing contains errors or is of a low standard. By recognising this, the opportunist bidder can place a low bid to prevent the seller from improving their listing. Owing to the low quality or mistakes in the listing, the item is likely to sell for a much lower amount and the canny bidder gets a good deal!

Make an offer – If you’re not prepared to pay the list price, you can always make an offer on an item. This is the principle behind eBay’s “Best Offer” facility – put in an offer and hope the buyer accepts. By making an offer you are entering into an agreement, and the buyer has up to 48 hours to consider your bid.

… even if an item appears to sell – there is a chance that the winner of the auction will pull out. In this situation some sellers might initiate a second chance offer, but if they don’t then you may be able to ask the seller to re-list the item for you at an agreed lower price.  

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SAFETY TIPS for the eBay marketplace
 
Buying and selling on eBay can be so much fun, but as with any other marketplace it pays to be safe, and the best way to be safe is to get clued up!

SHILL BIDDING

The whole point of an auction is to bid for an item based on the maximum price you’re willing to pay. When we spot an auction on eBay, we all hope to encounter as little bidding competition as possible. The fewer bids, the more likely you are to get a real bargain, and after all, that’s what eBay is all about. However, what if your bidding opposition never intends to pay and may not even exist?

According to eBay, shill bidding is “the artificial increase of an item’s price or apparent desirability”.

Bidding psychology is such that an item which already has bids appears more safe, and/or or attractive to other bidders. By adding “artificial” bids, a shill bidder encourages other bidders by instilling a sense of confidence. It’s typical “sheep” behaviour and in part, an exploitation of our tendency to laziness: instead of reading the full listing and terms, we assume that they must be reasonable based on the fact that the auction already has bids. It ought to be noted that it is always advisable to read the listing and terms, as well as the seller’s feedback before even contemplating the submission of a bid!

Aside from being mislead over a seller’s reputation in this way, shill bidding essentially cons the buyer financially too. Such activity is in actual fact illegal, and of course eBay are extra-vigilant against such cons. While it may appear that eBay would benefit from auctions being sold at higher amounts as they would inevitably be paid greater final value fees, it is absolutely against their interests. Members would have no  confidence whatsoever in a system that allowed shill bidding to take place, and the very foundation of the eBay ethic is based on trust.

When trust isn’t enough, eBay will indefinitely suspend the accounts of shill bidding offenders, and it’s down to us to be aware and to act upon such violations. It is against eBay's policies to for a member to sell auction items to friends and family, though it is worth noting that this only applies to auction style listings and not set price “Buy It Now” listings.

So how do you protect yourself from Shill Bidding?

Unfortunately, since eBay now hide bidder IDs in order to enhance privacy, it is no longer possible to see who you are bidding against. However, they have apparently put into place new and improved measures to protect us from shill bidding, and there are still listing behaviours that will help you to identify a shilling-seller.

If a shill bidder wins their own auction in a greedy attempt to push the bids up too high, they will of course be out of pocket, and the immediate reaction will be for them to either re-list the item, or to offer the next highest bidder a second chance offer. It pays to be vigilant, and a simple solution is only ever bid as much as you are willing to pay.

OVER PRICED POSTAGE

A well known but wholly frowned upon way to avoid eBay fees it to over-inflate postage rates. We’re not talking about sellers who charge a pound or so more for carriage costs here, we’re talking those who charge ridiculous amounts for postage as a way of increasing the overall sale amount and usually so they won’t have to pay so much to eBay in fees. 

Understandably eBay are pretty hot on this, encouraging members to report such listings and to reflect on P&P rates in the detailed feedback ratings. Obviously, it’s not just eBay who can loose out in these listings: if you’re not aware of the postage price of an item before buying, it can come as a bit of a shock at checkout, and not all sellers are prepared to negotiate on the price of postage - and to these guys the threat of negative feedback just isn’t a deterrent.

So how do you protect yourself from overpriced postage? 

Make sure that you’re well aware of the postage costs before bidding or buying. If you’re not happy with the postage price on a listing, either look for other similar items or contact the seller to ask if they are willing to send the item for a lesser amount. Postage amounts are shown at the top of most listings – if it isn’t shown then you may need to contact the seller to find out. Most sellers do include a price up front as a lack of discernable postage information can understandably put off a lot of buyers. You can also customise your search settings to show postage prices in your searches. Simply put, make sure you’re aware of the postage on a listing first!

COUNTERFEIT GOODS

Ebay have put many measures in place to ensure that the marketplace is kept as fake-free as possible. Again, it is very much in their interests as well as ours to ensure that trade is kept not only fair but also legal! However, the fakes still get through - sometimes it’s just a case of a seller just not being aware of the rules, but sometimes counterfeit selling is a mark of serious fraud.

So how do you protect yourself from counterfeit sales?

In an ideal world, every eBay member would be endowed with a conscience, and we would be able to rest assured that every listing was honest and true. But of course that’s not the case! Unfortunately there are holes in the system which means that even good feedback can be faked by the more serious con-artists, so it is wise not just to rely on feedback. Good communication with an honest seller is one of your best tools – if in doubt, ask for more information, and if, God forbid you do get scammed, make sure you your report it! When buying designer goods, educate yourself on the relevant marks of authenticity.

ITEM NOT AS DESCRIBED

Always beware of listings that use vague descriptions. In terms of item condition, a seller’s subjective judgement of “good condition” can vary considerably from your own! One that you’ll see time and time again is “newly new” or “worn once”, terms which can cover all manner of states!

Good, clear pictures may give a reasonable idea of condition in general, but if in doubt always ask the seller for more info before bidding/buying.

Sometimes “vague” listings can be more than just a disagreement over semantics, as there are instances in which sellers deliberately create misleading listings. The well known example comes from the Games Console seller whose carefully worded listing allows them to deliver an empty box in exchange for your £200! It’s an extreme example of what can happen if you combine a cunning, unscrupulous seller and a naive or over enthusiastic buyer who hasn’t given full attention to the listing.

So how do you protect yourself from deliberately misleading listings?

Essentially, it’s up to you to make sure you know what you’re bidding on – and it sure helps if you know your rights too. If you’re buying from a business seller, you’re covered by the Distance Selling Regulations, and if you purchased a set price item and you can return it for any reason within 14 days. If you paid using Paypal, you’re also eligible for buyer protection if you item is significantly not as described.

YOUR ITEM NEVER ARRIVES

There is a slim chance of items being lost in the post and Royal Mail consider an item lost and eligible for compensation after 15 working days. If your item does not arrive and is not at your local sorting office, your seller should be in a position to reimburse you after this period. It is possible that, if won on the first bid, the apathetic seller may be so disappointed with the winning bid that they choose not to send the goods, blaming Royal Mail for the “disappearance”. If this is the case, the seller is likely to relist the item at a later date – so if you suspect foul-play, you could keep an eye on the seller's listings. In the case of a genuine postal “loss”, items can be found and returned to the sender and then relisted, so this isn’t a conclusive method, but it can prove effective when coupled with astute feedback assessment. If the item has been relisted at a higher price and the seller’s feedback suggests that they “loose” a lot of post, then chances are that they never actually sent your item.

FEEDBACK SCAMS

Although eBay have tightened up on sources of manipulated feedback, there are still lots of sellers out there whose apparently impressive feedback scores aren’t entirely reflective of their true service. As a result, it pays to pay close attention to a seller’s feedback – if they have lots of ratings as a result of eBook sales, or even the obviously crude "feedback for 1p" exchange type auctions, then their feedback is likely to be misleading.

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And so concludes my Guide to Safe and Successful Buying - be aware and be safe, but above all have fun buying on eBay! Don’t forget to check out my selling guide too, and if you find my guides useful, please vote me a “YES”! Thank you!

Anna @ Scene Dead