Are you an ebay addict? (ebay.co.uk)

Member Name: kiss_me2070

Product:	ebay.co.uk
Date:	23/10/08 (44 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Bargains, Find that specific item you are looking for

Disadvantages: Dis-honest sellers/buyers, Ebay Fee's

****WHAT IS EBAY?****
Ebay is an online auction web-site where you can buy many items such as clothing, electronics, collectables, toys, books . . literally anything! You can also sell any of your unwanted gifts or items which you no longer want.

Ebay is a great way to find items from your child-hood or to find specific items that you are looking for. You may be looking for 1 final item to add to your Smurf collection ofr you may be looking for a special, specific birthday or christmas present. What-ever you are looking for ebay are bound to have it.

Ebay exist's not only just in the UK but america and lots of other countries too so although you may have to pay more for postage you are likely yo get the item you want.

***SEARCHING FOR SPECIFIC ITEMS***
Searching for item is easy, just type what you are looking for into the search bar or you can choose to search by catagory. More than 1 person may be selling the item you are looking for and if this is the case, the items will be listed as one long list and normally the item with the best match will be at the top. How-ever you can change this option and arrange them in order by the cheapest in price, cheapest in postage, highest price, new condition, used condition, and distance from where you live.

***VIEWING AN ITEM***
You can view the item you are looking for from the list to get more details and infromation about it. It should tell you what condition the item is in, whether it's from a smoke and pet free home and other obvious details. You also have the option to e-mail the seller and ask a question if you have an queries.

***WATCHING AN ITEM***
If you dont want to buy or bid on an item but want to watch it, there is a button you can click on and this item will be under your watched items on your summary page.

***BIDDING ON ITEMS***
To place a bid on an item you need to create an account which you will see on the main page when you go to ebay. Registering is quick and easy. To bid on the item, simply type in a price and click on the bid now button. It will then ask you if you commit to the bid and if you are the winning buyer you are commitiing to pay for this item. If you agree then you can go ahead and place your bid. All the items you are bidding on will appear on your summary page under your account. Any items you are bidding on and winning the price you entered for the bid will b in green. if you get outbid on an item the price will go to the current price and it will be in red.

***WINNING AN ITEM***
When you win a item, you will most likely be notified by e-mail and you can then request and invoice from the seller for the total amount inclduing the postage. Normally invoices will be sent to you as soon as the item has ended.

***PAYING FOR ITEMS***
Before bidding on any items check to see what methods of payment the seller accepts as they all tend to accept different methods. Most seller's will accept paypal as this is a quick and easy option but other methods of payment are Postal Order, Cheque and banker's Draft, how-ever this is the seller's choice and it will tell you on the listing whether they accept these or not. Some sellers require immdediate payment and some will wait for a few days.

***LEAVING FEEDBACK***
When you have received your item you will then need to leave feedback which can either be positive or neutral feedback. It will also ask you to rate them on depatch time, was the item as described, communication and postage and packaging charges. You should also received feedback which the seller should leave for you about how quickly you paid for the item, etc.

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***SELLING/LISTING ITEMS***
You can sell your own items on ebay which is quite simple and easy to do. Simply click on the sell tab in your account which is on the top right hand corner and type the item you are selling into the box, for example 'Fisher Price Toy', it then come up with a number of catagories which you item should fit into. Simply tick the box the list the item under the correct catagory. Please note you are charged a fee for listing items.

***ADDING DETAILS ABOUT YOUR ITEM***
You can add a titile for your item and other details. You can also describe the item you are selling and add pictures of your item. If you add pictures you are more likely to sell your item. You can choose a starting price for your item or a buy it now price. You can then choose your prefferred payment method and add all the details for postage and if you will accept returns. You can choose to donate the winning cost of the item to a charity of your choice.

You can choose to high-light your listing or make it appear at the very top of listing's so it stands out but this will cost you extra and the prices will be shwon next to the options when you create your listing.#

***FIXED PRICE/AUCTION***
You choose whether you have a fixed price for your item which is known as the Buy it Now Price or you can choose to have a starting price will be auctioned for what-ever the highest bidder bids on it. You can set a reserve price but this is only avaliable on expensive items as the lowest reserve amount you can put on is £50.

***POSTING ITEMS/LEAVING FEEDBACK***
Once you have posted out the item you can let the buyer know it has been despatched by clicking on the mark as despatched under your sold items which is also on the summary page. You will need to leave feedback about the person who won the item, whether payment was received quickly or not.

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***EBAY SHOPS***
Sellers who sell items regularly and have large stock of items normally have an ebay shop, where they list all there items by catagory or by size, etc. You can add an ebay shop to your favourites shop by clicking the tab saying 'Add to my favourites'. Most shops will have a buy it now price and will sometimes have a starting price for bidding as well. Before you bid ensure the seller will take refunds/exchanges as some clothing sizes on ebay come up a bit strange. You will also need to leave feedback in the same way if you buy or bid on anything.

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***DISPUTES***
Disputes can be opened against you if you haven't paid for an item or you can open a dispute against an ebay member if you have not received and item or if they haven't paid for an item. You can also report them to ebay if the item they sent you is different to what it described in the listing. If a buyer hasn't paid for an item, and you decide to close the dispute you will get a Final Value Credit fee and you will get the option to list the item again for free. The person who didn't pay/send the item will also get a strike on their ebay account.

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***MY SUMMARY PAGE***
On your summary page it will show you if you have any new message's it will also show you the following things:

* Items I'm Watching - These are all the items you have chosen to watch but have not placed any bids on. They will be listed with the item endest soonest at the top.
* Items I'm bidding on - This will show you any items you are currently bidding on and whether you are winning the bids and how long there is until the bidding ends.
* Items I have won - This will list all the items you have won and you can also see what items you have paid for and if feedback has been left.
* Selling totals - This will tell you how many of your items will definately sell and the total amount of items which have sold.
* Item's I'm Selling - This will show you what items you are currently selling and if there are any bids on them. If there are bids on the items it will also show you what price the current bid is at. This will be listed in items endig soonest.

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***CUSTOMER SERVICE SUPPORT***
I had the unfortunate experience of having my account hacked into. I came home from work one evening and had received an e-mail saying I had changed my password which I clearly had not done. I contacted customer services and had an online conversation with one of their advisors and they asked me to confirm some details which I did.

The advisor asked if I had put some designer bags onto ebay which I clearly hadn't. They told me how to re-set my password and to change my password every few months to avoid someone hacking into my account again.

I also installed the ebay tool-bar which is like a security system to avoid hackers and enables you to report any problems to ebay straight away if you suspect anything suspicious.

***MY EXPERIENCE AS A BUYER***
As a buyer my experience hasn't been too bad, how-ever you do get some scammers out there who try to con you. I bought a dress from an ebay shop and the sizing was totally wrong so I asked for a refund which is clearly said on the listing that they would do. How-ever when I requested a refund they said that a refund wasn't possible on thie particular item. In the end I exchanged it for something else.

Another item I had won which was some make-up clearly said it hasn't been used as it was un-opened in its packaging still. I received it and sure enough it looked new but when I received it, you could see it had clearly been used and there was finger marks in it. The seller agreed to give me a refund so I sent the item back and they claimed they never received the item so never gave me a refund. The item was sent recorded delivery so i know they received this item back!

***MY EXPERIENCE AS A SELLER***
As a seller I have had a lot of people bidding and them deciding not to pay for the items or taking ages to pay giving me excuses why they haven't paid.

One particular buyer had bought 11 of my ty beanie babies I had listed and she wanted to come and collect them rather then pay for postage which was fine by me. This lady gave me a contact number and for 3 weeks I tried to get in contact with her, leaving voice messages but never heard anything so I had to re-list the items again.

Another buyer won 2 items from me and said he would pay in 1 week and they kept putting it off until I opened a dispute. I eventually received payment 1 month later. There was really no excuse for this as there for 4 different payment methods to choose from.

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***OVERALL OPINION***
Ebay is great for finding that special item and you can get great bargains on ebay, I end to buy all my hair product on here because they are at least £4.00 cheaper than they are in salons and thats including postage and packaging.

I have also managed to get some great bits for my nephew such as children's books and designer clothing.

Ebay can be very addictive as I was going on there every day for a few hours bidding and looking at random stuff. Luckily I've got out of that habit now. It's a great way to sell the bits you no longer want and its a good way to get some extra cash. Even if you don't think anyone will want it you'd be surprised. Some of the items I didn't think would sell have sold for a lot more than I items I thought would sell.

Have a look and give ebay a go!

(Review also on ciao)

Summary: From Smurfs to Jaffa Cakes, you can find anything on here!!