A penny saved is a penny earned!

Useful Buying Tips
Winning an auction or successfully making an e-Bay Store purchase is gratifying.  Especially when you know you got a great deal or you've looked all over for the item.  We also know that saving money whenever possible is important and sometimes there are so many sellers selling the same thing that it's hard to decide which one to place a bid on.  Here is some helpful information to help you win your auctions and save money shopping our favorite on-line merchant *~*e-Bay*~*.

Tips on WINNING your auctions

When I first started on e-Bay I discussed it with an experienced buyer & seller.  He made a point of telling me that in order to win an auction you should wait until the last minute to bid.  However, this method is not always successful because sometimes life gets in the way, unexpected things occur & lead to the possibility of forgetting to bid.

As many sellers will tell you, people often wait until the last few hours of an auction to place a bid - and the last 30 minutes are crucial.  Here are a few things you can do to ensure you are the winning bidder.

First, always add your item of interest to your "My eBay" watch page by clicking the gray rectangular box that says "watch this item".  Most buyers forget about the auction once they leave the listing & have a difficult time finding it again even if they want to.  Placing the item in your watch list will allow you to access it endlessly with the click of your mouse via your "My e-Bay" page in your "watched items".  Your watched item page contains a lot of information such as the current bid price, the shipping charge (when a sellers supplies that info.), the number of bids on the item, the seller's ID & feedback rating as well as the time left until the auction or store listing ends.  It even gives you a "bid now" button!  Remember, some information will change so your screen will need to be refreshed to be kept up to date.

When To Place Your Bid

While it is true that sometimes bidding only leads you to be outbid by another buyer, therefore raising the price of an item, sometimes it is better to bid on an item early if you really want to win the auction.  The benefit of bidding early is that you'll be notified by e-mail if you get outbid.

Before you bid or "buy it now" it's a good idea to do some research on the item you're interested in.  In order to see if the item has generated much interest, search the seller's other items for sale or store items to see if similar items have bids.  Next, check other seller's items and stores to see if the same item has bids.  If not, your chances of winning with an early bid are greater & you'll also have done the research required to assure you're getting the best price & buying from the most competant seller. 

If you are able to watch the last 30 minutes of the auction, place the minimum bid early to get in the running; then place your maximum bid in the last few minutes to 30 seconds before the end of the auction.  Remember to place your maximum bid even if no other bids have been placed because other buyers may be using the same method or a sniping service (see more info. on this method below) and the winning bid goes to the one who placed the highest maximum bid soonest.

     Buy It Now Auctions & Store Listings    

A great way to save is when a seller lists an auction and adds the "Buy It Now" feature.  This allows you to purchase an item instantly without waiting for the auction to end.  Sometimes you end up paying less for an item since auction formats can lead to a buying frenzy and might cause you to over pay for an item in order to win it.  Plus, with "Buy It Now" you don't have to worry about being outbid & you can receive your purchase faster.  For auctions with a "buy it now" option, the opportunity to "buy it now" disappears once an item has received its first bid.  In this case, the amount you pay can be more or less than the original Buy It Now price depending on the item's popularity & number of bids placed.  Keep in mind that some sellers require immediate Pay Pal payment when you use the Buy It Now button.

You reap the benefits when you find a store listing you are interested in because they are all Buy It Now & store owners usually set lower prices for "buy it now" items because it is less expensive for them to list the item.  Most "buy it now" items are hidden treasures since most store inventory items cannot be found by the regular e-Bay search.  When you find an item you like by using e-Bay's auction search it's a good idea to check if the seller has an e-Bay store.  If they do it is likely you'll also find similar merchandise you would like that is available for immediate purchase from them.  Most e-Bay sellers will combine multiple purchases into one shipment to save you shipping costs.

Comparison Shopping Tips

In some cases you can find what you're looking for from a select few sellers & it's not too much trouble to decide which you choose to place a bid with.  However, there will be times when a large number of sellers will be offering the item you are interested in purchasing.  e-Bay has added a new feature to your My e-Bay page to help make the decision easier.  After you've saved the auctions you are interested in to your "watch list" go to your watched items page.  Under the "Buying" section you'll see that there is a little empty box to the left of all the auctions or store items you are "watching".  Click the empty square box to the left of all the auctions you would like to "compare" to each other, then click on the "compare" button.  This will take you to a new page with pertinent info. on each auction such as the current bid, the seller ID & their feedback rating, the shipping (when supplied by the seller), the time left on the auction & more.  If you find something you do not like about an item you can remove that auction from your comparison until you have whittled them all down to the one you are most interested in bidding on or buying.

Don't get tricked

Although eBay has guidelines that limit the handling charges sellers require, some avoid paying the dues to e-Bay by charging an outrageous amount which boosts their profit margin & might trick an unknowing buyer into thinking they're getting a good deal only to find they've been burned by the shipping price.

My advice to you is to make sure you check the shipping charge you will be paying BEFORE you bid.  If a seller does not list their shipping charge or offer you a postal calculator don't bid on or buy their item.  Contact them to get a shipping quote & save the e-mail to compare to the invoice you receive if you win the item.  I have seen shipping charges for the same item where one seller charged $100 while another charged only $10. 

Save on shipping

While big time corporations may have multiple locations & disallow combined shipping, many seller's have made use of eBay's combined shipping feature.  This lets them offer discounts on shipping when a buyer purchases two or more items that are shipped together to the same location.  These discounts can be found at the bottom of the listing, in payment instructions, or in the seller's shipping policies.  If a seller does not advertise combined shipping do not assume they will, make sure you contact them before placing your bids or making multiple purchases in their eBay store.