Online auctions newbie

b3t4

Hi everyone,

As the title suggest I'm new to the area of online auctions. As I'm new I can see myself being a prime target for scammers and I'd like to avoid this as much as possible. I would, at this present time, hope to purchase items from said auctions.

What I'm hoping for is that ye people can give me some tips on how to approach this whole area?
What tips have ye learnt/picked up in yeer experiences?
What should I look out for?
Any other advise is more than welcome?

Thanks,
A.

rubadub

do advanced searches in ebay for completed listings and sort by price to find out the real going rate for common items.

read the feedback and study it to see that they are not puppets boosting the sellers. If unsure about a seller post a link here and we will tell if it is dodgy.

enter the user name into www.toolhaus.org to show all his negative feedback.

if no postage is listed always email prior to bidding and ask for the lowest shipping to ireland. even if the seller says they only post to the UK or US IME about 95% will post to ireland when they see you speak english.

Read all the info on the product, some sell "links to a free ipod", some have insurance on top of postage. some are refurbished goods.

check online shops, some stuff is overpriced on ebay, ask in the bargain alerts forum right here under "shop"

do not believe ANY emails you get from ebay or paypal, the only ones to beleive are when you are logged into your account, never log in via an email.


Post your first few items you are considering buying here and people will check it out for you.

zenzen

what kindof things were you planning on looking for? i have got some clothes and jewlerry items and it all worked out fine. if you are using ebay i would definitly say to read the sellers feedback as the other poster suggested. make sure they have a high satisfaction rate. depends a lot on what you wanna get too? you know if its bags, clothes etc sometimes they are fake, just be careful with that.

b3t4

Thanks for all the advise. I haven't dipped my toe in just yet but I'll keep an eye on what ebay has to offer.

Zenzen, you guessed it it's a bag that I'm after. :-) I've noticed alright that it appears that a lot of sellers sell fakes, claiming them to be real, but for the price I shouldn't expect too much.

Thanks again for the advise, I'll keep it all in mind.

johnnyrotten

AVOID sellers from Hong Kong and Singapore.
As previous poster says email and ask postage to Ireland. The auction listing may state Ireland as say £15 but it may only be £3 as Ireland comes into the international category.
I have bought about 150 items on ebay and was stung once or twice. Be very weary about sellers with zero or negative Feedback.
Good Luck!

b3t4

Me again,

I think I might be ready to bite but would like some reassurance by ye good folk. I've had a look at the seller and their reviews and all seems to be well but I'm still not sure.

There is a couple of hours left on this auction. Could ye please have a look to see if I'd be advised to bid on this item? http://cgi.ebay.ie/Gorgeous-Auth-Chloe-Paddington-Bag-Black_W0QQitemZ5467516692QQcategoryZ15729QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

There is a few hours left on the aunction so I won't be doing anything just yet. And yup I know it's a crazy amount for a bag

Thanks for all the advise so far I've been taking it all on board,
A.

BuffyBot

Well their feedback seems extremely good, and for similar items too so I'd say they seem fairly genuine.

A Dub in Glasgo

I would be concerned with the fact that the seller is using private auctions

zenzen

hey, cute bag! did you get it in the end? zenzen

b3t4

Yup, I got the bag

I made my purchase on the Sunday and it arrived yesterday.

It's real soft leather and the most beautiful bag in the world (possibly a slight exageration )

Thanks all again for yeer help. Here's hoping I haven't got the ebay bug.

A.