Ebay Shopping Tips

With the holidays approaching ever so quickly the thoughts of shopping for those special gifts are on all our minds. If you are like many you might be heading over to eBay to try to pick up a few great gifts with hopefully low prices. But before you start that bidding war or using the Buy It Now features there might be a few things that you might want to think about first.

Most sellers on eBay are honest. The news media will begin the throng of horror stories for those that have been ripped off which will of course scare the heck out of many. Which using common sense about who you are buying through you should be OK.

Check the feedback. Just because they have a feedback of a zillion does not mean that they are not scandalous in their selling practices. Read what others have said. Slow shipping? Never received item? No contact? Disputes that were won by buyers? I might place the item on the watch list and try to find someone else. Push come to shove and you really want this item, purchase it. A high feedback and low percentage score might mean trouble.

Purchasing your item before you need it. The mail will begin to slow up. I mean drastically. Purchase your items in advance. Or use Priority or Expedited. Using Parcel Post is one of the slowest methods, besides Media mail, to have an item shipped. Yes, it is cheap but you know that saying? You get what you pay for

The USPS will state it takes 3-9 days to get somewhere. Not always true. In fact Parcel Post may take up to 21 days the same as Media. USPS does not want you to know this. Then when it happens the buyers get angry at the sellers. Unfair but true. Remember that sellers are not responsible for transit time. We can not control how long anything takes to get anywhere.

Priority may take longer than the 3 days as well. I have had Priority delivered in 7 days. Especially in the holiday season. Make your on line purchases ahead of time and allow for slow shipping.

Free shipping offers. What a joke. Do not and I repeat DO NOT be fooled by this. The shipping and handling charges are included in the price of the item. No seller in their right mind is actually giving you a free delivery. Unless of course it is a high ticket item and even then I will wager that the shipping is included. Right now sellers are using the Free Ship option to get a higher ranking on the eBay search engine and if they are a Power Seller we get a discount off our Final Value fees if the item is sold.

I admit I have a few of these free ships but not a lot. I used this free ship way before eBay wanted us to on items that I just wanted to post and move on. Yes, I am lazy

Buying from individuals that are new or low feedbacks. Be wary. During the holidays is when those scam artists come out strong. Especially in the electronics departments. Just be careful. There are many though that are just trying to make some extra money to buy gifts or pay bills. Use your head when buying with low feedbacks. Personally, I rarely purchase from those that are new. Especially when they just signed up in November or December. I realize everyone has to start sometime but just having an account during these two months leaves me with a lot of skepticism.

If you do not receive an item contact the seller. Wait for the item 7-10 days though. That is the average time for many items. Don't run off half cocked, filing a dispute or ranting to the seller. Don't accuse them of stealing or not sending the item either. Simply explain you have not received the item and would they please look into it for you. You get more done for you by being nice than being a raging beast.

You will now have to use a credit card and Pay Pal. Buying through them is safe and you are covered through their Terms of Service. If it is proven that the seller did not in fact send you will be refunded by Pay Pal and get your money. To me this should be used with discretion only. More of a last resort.

During the holidays shop with care. Read the posting down to the seller's own terms of service. Such as if you do not insure you are not covered with loss or breakage. Read and research everything that you want to buy.

Just because it looks like a deal it might turn out to be a nightmare.

Happy Shopping!