The online car boot sale! (ebay.co.uk)

Member Name: Coraline

Product:	ebay.co.uk
Date:	27/10/09 (102 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: You can get a bargain.

Disadvantages: Some postage costs and other users.

Ebay is a website designed as an auction site, it is a place where people can list products and services for sale. You can bid or set your item to buy it now. If you use bid, it means the item has a bidding/auction period of 5, 7 or 10 days. If you put buy it now, then your item will sell when someone clicks on it to buy it.

A lot of businesses and individuals use ebay, it is a quick way to make a sale. You do have to be computer illiterate and it helps if you set up a paypal account or already have one.

Paypal is a separate entity but works in co-ordination with ebay, it is a payment system and ebay allow you to use paypal when paying for items and services. This is for the customer's protection, it safe guards your bank account and money, instead of providing a seller or buyer with your details, they can put their money in to paypal and you receive it. No other details given.

Ebay is an easy site to navigate, you can type anything in to the search bar and it will bring up the results. Each item that is put on ebay is put in to a category for identification, when you type in women's watch, it will identify all items put in that category when they were listed.

Ebay provides the service for both buying and selling yourself. You must set up an account, it isn't hard and takes a few basic details, and you get a log on and create a password for your own use.

Once you have bought or sold any item, you are required to fill in feedback, this is to help show people whether the seller / buyer was good, for example, was the item as described, how quick was postage or on the flip side, how fast was payment made.

This can be a little like dooyoo, and people do revenge rate, which isn't the idea, ebay is a service provider and being nasty is not the idea, most people like myself who have had a problem with a buyer or seller will contact them, if the issue is not resolved or ignored, I then leave feedback which says so.

You have a log in name, which is your buyer / seller name too, you will have a number and star next to this, this is your feedback score, it doesn't mean it is all positive, it just means this is how much you have bought or sold, it doesn't specify on the star, but you can look this up. It is supposed to tell you how reliable the buyer / seller is. Anyone can join ebay, so you could be buying or selling to anyone anywhere.

There is an option to have pick up only, this is when you sell something that is too big to be posted, like a 50 inch TV, you would specify that if you bid and win this item you must collect it. The only reason I don't like this option is due to, anyone could be buying it, do you really want to give out your address? I wouldn't.

The ebay website does break down all monies received and spent as well as items distributed or not. It is a very basic concept but one that is worth millions. On the home page there is a link to paypal as well.

Ebay is a good way to make some extra cash, it is essentially a car boot sale online. You can pick up bargains and get rid of all your old junk, without even going outside.

Some people do rip people off with postage and try and make their money there, I always charge what the postage is, I don't want the item, and getting it another home that isn't the bin, is enough for me.

Summary: A good way to get rid of your junk.