eBay Tips for Buyers
Almost everyone starts his or her eBay experience as a buyer. Learning how to buy effectively will improve your eBay experience and prepare you for becoming a seller. I recommend you make at least ten successful transactions on eBay before trying to sell. We hope the following tips will make you a better and more successful buyer.
1. Build A Positive Feedback Rating Give and get good feedback. This is less critical for buyers than for sellers, but having a good feedback rating makes other eBayers comfortable doing business with you. For example, I accept checks for immediate shipment if the buyer has a good feedback rating. If someone has very little feedback (less than 20) or several negative comments, then I hold the checks until they clear before sending an item.
2. How to build feedback quickly? Here is a quick way to build good feedback: make some purchases for a few lower cost items you use everyday or that you would normally buy at a store. There are plenty of items in the Health & Beauty category that you buy every day such as shampoo and razor blades –often at prices less than you would pay at Wal-Mart. Pay promptly using PayPal and immediately post feedback for the seller as soon as you get the item. If the seller does not post feedback, send them a short email telling them that you posted feedback for them and you would appreciate them reciprocating.
3. Be generous with your feedback Post feedback quickly and leave specific comments. Leaving a comment that says: "great seller," is nice –but it is more helpful to say, "Item arrived quickly in perfect condition, just as described." Or: "Quick Professional transaction –good email and just what I ordered." If the seller sells something specific you can mention it such as: "Beautiful Print –I will enjoy for many years." This type of feedback is very helpful to future buyers and it tends to get you better feedback comments in return.
4. Use PayPal Sellers want to be paid quickly and everyone is concerned about fraud. There is no faster or safer way to complete an eBay transaction than PayPal (owned by eBay). PayPal is now used by over 100 Million users around the world and now processes more debit and credit card payments than Citibank. Over 80% of registered eBay users accept PayPal and eBay has fully integrated PayPal into their systems. Take the time to become a verified seller and always give your verified shipping address. This gets you the fraud protection. Go to www.paypal.com .Did you know you can also use PayPal as a savings account? According to Money Magazine, PayPal now pays the highest rate on ordinary savings accounts. When I wrote this PayPal was paying 4.8% while my bank, Wells Fargo, was only paying 3.3%.
5. Avoid Fraud on Large Purchases Given the millions of transactions that occur each month, fraud is actually rare on eBay but it does exist. The most common type of fraud on eBay is a seller that offers an expensive item for sale at an unbelievably good price. When you win the item the seller asks to be paid in cash, cashiers check or money order. You send the money and then the seller disappears. Demanding a cashier’s check or a money order only is a red flag. Never bid on a large purchase if the seller will not take PayPal or a credit card. Always check the seller's feedback and how long they have been registered on eBay. Most fraudsters set up an eBay account, run a few quick expensive auctions, get the money and either disappears or are kicked off of eBay as soon as they are discovered. Be especially careful if the seller is located outside the U.S.
5. Avoid Fraud on Large Purchases Given the millions of transactions that occur each month, fraud is actually rare on eBay but it does exist. The most common type of fraud on eBay is a seller that offers an expensive item for sale at an unbelievably good price. When you win the item the seller asks to be paid in cash, cashiers check or money order. You send the money and then the seller disappears. Demanding a cashier’s check or a money order only is a red flag. Never bid on a large purchase if the seller will not take PayPal or a credit card. Always check the seller's feedback and how long they have been registered on eBay. Most fraudsters set up an eBay account, run a few quick expensive auctions, get the money and either disappears or are kicked off of eBay as soon as they are discovered. Be especially careful if the seller is located outside the U.S.
6. Pay sellers quickly Paying quickly will help you build feedback faster and you will get your item sooner.
7. Be honest – admit your mistakes If you forgot about the auction and are late getting a payment off or you forgot to ship something you sold – be up front and honest. Apologize and admit your mistake. People can be very forgiving if they believe you. They can be unforgiving if they think they are being B.S.’ed.
8. Create an About Me page on eBay. EBay allows you to create a page to describe you and your family or even include your pets. You can put a photo on the page, talk about your hobbies, your family – basically anything you like. The About Me page is where a person can get a sense of who you are and if they would like to do business with you. If you have a web site, this is the one place on eBay where it is allowed to direct buyers to your web site.
9. Master the power of searching. According to eBay, about 65% of bidders find their item by searching. Including the exact name of the product you are selling is key to bidders finding your auction. Some sellers place a tilde (~) or a star * next to their auction title to help get attention. Place a space between a tilde (or *) and a word, or the word will not come up in a search. For example: *Nikon* would not result in any items found, because eBay’s search engine sees the * as part of the word. According to Power Seller News, some of the most searched words on eBay are: DVD, Art, BMW, Gucci, Longaberger, Louis Vuitton, Laptop, Playstation 2 and Paintball. Use eBay’s powerful search engine to find items and to see what items are selling and how much they are selling for.
10. Be sure to thank people Send an email to your seller when the item arrives. Thank them and let them know you posted feedback and are happy with the transaction.
Fat Boy (Category: Motorcycles )
Harley-Davidson : Softail Softail BADDEST BIKE EVER! 2006 Harley Davidson Fat Boy Fatboy
 | US $13,500.00 End Date: Thursday Jan-08-2009 15:57:32 PST Buy It Now for only: US $13,500.00 Buy it now | VIEW FULL DETAILS |
Harley-Davidson FLSTF Harley Davidson fat boy
 | US $12,500.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Thursday Jan-08-2009 16:06:05 PST Buy It Now for only: US $14,500.00 Bid now | Buy it now | VIEW FULL DETAILS |
Harley-Davidson : Softail FAT BOY 2006 HARLEY DAVIDSON FLSTFI SOFTAIL FAT BOY CRUISER
 | US $11,600.00 (19 Bids) End Date: Thursday Jan-08-2009 19:00:00 PST Bid now | VIEW FULL DETAILS |
Harley-Davidson : Softail NIGHTRAIN HARLEY DAVIDSON SOFTAIL NIGHTRAIN FXSTBI
 | US $9,000.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Thursday Jan-08-2009 20:38:56 PST Buy It Now for only: US $12,500.00 Bid now | Buy it now | VIEW FULL DETAILS |
Harley-Davidson 1992 Custom Fatboy
 | US $7,100.00 (19 Bids) End Date: Thursday Jan-08-2009 20:52:35 PST Bid now | VIEW FULL DETAILS |
Harley-Davidson : Softail FLSTF 1998 Harley Davidson Fatboy FLSTF
 | US $8,990.00 End Date: Friday Jan-09-2009 7:55:13 PST Buy It Now for only: US $8,990.00 Buy it now | VIEW FULL DETAILS |
Harley-Davidson : Softail Fatboy 1990 Harley-Davidson FLSTF-1st year of the Fatboy
 | US $6,600.00 (3 Bids) End Date: Friday Jan-09-2009 9:34:03 PST Bid now | VIEW FULL DETAILS |
Custom Built Motorcycles : Exile Custom Exile Cycles Motorcycle Chopper Bobber One of a Kind
 | US $13,200.00 (15 Bids) End Date: Friday Jan-09-2009 10:18:52 PST Bid now | VIEW FULL DETAILS |
Harley-Davidson : Softail Fat Boy FLSTF Harley Davidson Fat Boy FLSTV 1996 Less than 2500 Miles
 | US $8,500.00 (20 Bids) End Date: Friday Jan-09-2009 10:42:59 PST Bid now | VIEW FULL DETAILS |
Harley-Davidson : Softail 2000 HARLEY DAVIDSON FAT BOY
 | US $9,500.00 (2 Bids) End Date: Friday Jan-09-2009 15:17:31 PST Bid now | VIEW FULL DETAILS |
Harley-Davidson : Softail FLSTFSE MAKE OFFER!! 2005 HARLEY FLSTFSE SCREAMING EAGLE FATBOY
 | US $17,495.00 End Date: Friday Jan-09-2009 16:15:02 PST Buy It Now for only: US $17,495.00 Buy it now | VIEW FULL DETAILS |
Harley-Davidson : Softail FLSTF 1996 Harley Davidson Fat Boy Black & Chrome
 | US $6,790.89 (10 Bids) End Date: Friday Jan-09-2009 16:59:08 PST Bid now | VIEW FULL DETAILS |
Harley-Davidson : Touring CUSTOM 2001 CUSTOM BUILT FAT BOY 96" S&S LOW MI. HARLEY STYLE
 | US $8,500.00 End Date: Friday Jan-09-2009 21:25:49 PST Buy It Now for only: US $8,500.00 Buy it now | VIEW FULL DETAILS |
Harley-Davidson : Touring FLHTC 2001 FLHTCI Electra Glide Classic - LOADED - BIN!!!!!!!
 | US $13,250.00 End Date: Saturday Jan-10-2009 7:27:41 PST Buy It Now for only: US $13,250.00 Buy it now | VIEW FULL DETAILS |
Harley-Davidson : Softail 2001 HD FLSTFI FAT BOY-CUSTOM PAINT-LOW MILES-PRISTINE
 | US $7,800.00 (21 Bids) End Date: Saturday Jan-10-2009 9:01:08 PST Bid now | VIEW FULL DETAILS |
Harley-Davidson : Softail 2007 HARLEY DAVIDSON FAT BOY PEARL OLIVE 1 OWNER 3k
 | US $16,900.00 End Date: Saturday Jan-10-2009 10:12:17 PST Buy It Now for only: US $16,900.00 Buy it now | VIEW FULL DETAILS |
Harley-Davidson : Softail FLSTF Flame Blue Fat Boy, Detach. Windshld & Pass. Backrest
 | US $14,700.00 (8 Bids) End Date: Saturday Jan-10-2009 10:44:37 PST Bid now | VIEW FULL DETAILS |
Harley-Davidson : Softail FAT BOY LIKE NEW 2007 HARLEY DAVIDSON FATBOY FLSTF! EXTRAS! WOW
 | US $12,100.00 (13 Bids) End Date: Saturday Jan-10-2009 11:03:48 PST Bid now | VIEW FULL DETAILS |
Harley-Davidson FAT BOY-LOADED WITH CHROME AND BILLET
 | US $13,500.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Saturday Jan-10-2009 11:09:14 PST Buy It Now for only: US $16,500.00 Bid now | Buy it now | VIEW FULL DETAILS |
Harley-Davidson : Softail FLSTF/FLSTI Fat Boy 2003 100th Anniversary Edition Fat Boy
 | US $10,000.00 (1 Bid) End Date: Saturday Jan-10-2009 11:41:08 PST Bid now | VIEW FULL DETAILS |
Custom Built Motorcycles BLOW OUT PRICING... DON'T WAIT TO BID!
 | US $11,995.00 End Date: Saturday Jan-10-2009 12:45:39 PST Buy It Now for only: US $11,995.00 Buy it now | VIEW FULL DETAILS |
Harley-Davidson : Softail FLSTFI Fat Boy Used 2004 Harley-Davidson Fat Boy Custom motorcycle
 | US $5,100.00 (3 Bids) End Date: Saturday Jan-10-2009 13:53:26 PST Bid now | VIEW FULL DETAILS |
Harley-Davidson : Softail FAT BOY 2000 HARLEY DAVIDSON FAT BOY CUSTOM ! DAYTONA READY!!
 | US $5,000.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Saturday Jan-10-2009 14:04:07 PST Buy It Now for only: US $12,800.00 Bid now | Buy it now | VIEW FULL DETAILS |
Custom Built Motorcycles : Chopper HARLEY FATBOY CUSTOM HARLEY CHOPPER PRO STREET FLSTF SOFTAIL FATBOY FLORIDA
 | US $9,999.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Saturday Jan-10-2009 20:30:57 PST Buy It Now for only: US $11,900.00 Bid now | Buy it now | VIEW FULL DETAILS |
Harley-Davidson : Touring 2000 Road King Custom Build
 | US $12,500.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Sunday Jan-11-2009 6:23:55 PST Buy It Now for only: US $13,000.00 Bid now | Buy it now | VIEW FULL DETAILS |
Harley-Davidson : Softail Fat Boy FLSTFSE2 Harley-Davidson Soft Tail Screaming Eagle Fat Boy 2006
 | US $15,100.00 (2 Bids) End Date: Sunday Jan-11-2009 7:22:09 PST Bid now | VIEW FULL DETAILS |
Harley-Davidson FLSTFSE 2005 Harley Fat Boy Screaming Eagle FLSTFSE Lots of Ads
 | US $12,101.00 (9 Bids) End Date: Sunday Jan-11-2009 7:38:22 PST Bid now | VIEW FULL DETAILS |
Harley-Davidson : Softail 2001 Harley-Davidson FLSTFI Fuel Injected FAT BOY
 | US $13,100.00 End Date: Sunday Jan-11-2009 9:51:12 PST Buy It Now for only: US $13,100.00 Buy it now | VIEW FULL DETAILS |
Harley-Davidson : Softail 1995 FAT BOY CUSTOM SOUTHERN COMFORT FAT BOY
 | US $1,025.00 (6 Bids) End Date: Sunday Jan-11-2009 10:31:49 PST Bid now | VIEW FULL DETAILS |
Harley-Davidson : Softail flstfi 100th anniversary fatboy with over 31000 invested cheap
 | US $12,101.00 (10 Bids) End Date: Sunday Jan-11-2009 13:11:27 PST Bid now | VIEW FULL DETAILS |
Harley-Davidson : Softail FLSTF/FLSTFI Fat Boy 2005 Harley-Davidson Fat Boy
 | US $200.00 (1 Bid) End Date: Sunday Jan-11-2009 13:30:10 PST Bid now | VIEW FULL DETAILS |
Harley-Davidson : FLSTF Harley-Davidson Fat Boy
 | US $10,500.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Sunday Jan-11-2009 13:35:39 PST Bid now | VIEW FULL DETAILS |
Harley-Davidson : Softail HARLEY DAVIDSON FAT BOY
 | US $6,000.00 (1 Bid) End Date: Sunday Jan-11-2009 13:37:55 PST Bid now | VIEW FULL DETAILS |
Harley-Davidson : Softail FATBOY FLSTFI 2005 HARLEY FLSTFI FAT BOY, NO RESERVE, ANNIVERSARY
 | US $6,089.00 (30 Bids) End Date: Sunday Jan-11-2009 15:25:07 PST Bid now | VIEW FULL DETAILS |
Harley-Davidson : Softail NICE 1981 WG HARLEY DAVIDSON MOTORCYCLE 1340 RED CUSTOM
 | US $13,500.00 End Date: Sunday Jan-11-2009 17:03:00 PST Buy It Now for only: US $13,500.00 Buy it now | VIEW FULL DETAILS |