As an experienced thrifter, I was somewhat surprised to hear somebody recently commenting that she did not have a clue as to how ebay worked. What!! So, to set the record straight I decided to write this mini tutorial to help the uninitiated understand better what ebay is all about. Here is part one of the series....
If I had to name a business concept that ever revolutionized the way people buy and sell, transact, wheel and deal just about anything– it would be eBay. eBay can be a mysterious place for the un-initiated but this online auction website is truly exceptional on its organizational front and its diversity, literally providing you with a minute-by-minute rendezvous of your sought-after items any time of day or night.
http://www.ebay.com/ will get you into the home base which is American, but it is accessed by thousands of people the world over, many of whom deal from their own territorial base which may be the UK, Italy, France, Germany, Australia, China, Korea, Mexico and a host of others – what changes is simply the email address. So for instance www.ebay.it would be the Italian site, in Italian. www.ebay.cn will get you to the Chinese site – very obviously in Chinese. Most people just stick to the .com site which rallies most of the English-speaking sellers in too.
It can sound like a complex, complicated way of shopping, and this is understandable – something I can fully comprehend, because I was just as wary of the whole concept before I tried it out for myself. My fascination with this online auction intrigue started as most things do – I heard about it from enthusiastic buyers, read about it fleetingly and then was enticed to enter the e-bay site out of curiosity and a penchant for unusual vintage jewellery.
Be prepared – it can look like a maze until you get the hang of it. But just start by accessing the site’s homepage, clicking on the BUY tab and typing in anything you can dream of - tablecloth, print cartridge, cocker spaniel, jaguar, rivet, bed. And yes, something will come up in each instance – lists after copious lists of anything and everything including any one of these words in its title. It is up to you to learn how to sift through, choose, reject, watch, compare prices or buy.
....... next time.... Part 2: Who are the sellers, how to start buying.......
4 comments:
Hello,
I just starting selling no ebay, but seems that is not that easy.I registered on ebay.ca and i had several books on auction for 7 days and not even one was sold. My prices were below similar ones on ebay already.
Can you tell me what I did wrong?
Thank you
gigisanders
Hi - thanks for your comment. Well,good luck on your new adventure on ebay. Remember that listing on ebay does not automatically mean you will be selling. It may seem disheartening but you must be tenacious. Then again, it may mean you are doing something wrong. If you are completely new to ebay, prospective buyers will be checking out your feedback. Poor feedback or no feedback will make buyers wary. If you are not new to buying off ebay but are new to selling, it may still keep your buyers away because they see you are not an experienced seller and therefore won't want to risk. You may be listing the item in the wrong category or you may be using the wrong keywords so people don't even ever get near your listing when they do their search. Perhaps your postage costs are very high or perhaps you come from a country which is risky where the postal services are concerned. Then again if you don't accept paypal, many people won't want to know as it becomes very complicated to pay somebody from a different country with cheques etc. If you want me to check out your listings and tell you what I think is wrong or what needs improving, let me know & I will be glad to help. Persevere! :)
Hi there-I do love ebay too, its great to find that item which cannot be found elsewhere-a great post!
Terrific tips, I'm sure many will finds these points helpful. (I'm a veteran eBayer myself, but definitely remember what it was like when I was navigating the eBay waters).
Wishing you a gorgeous and serene month of December,
♥ Jessica
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