how does ebay work?

Question

there are a lot of things i wanted from ebay, but i don't simpy understand the website. the prices look weird.

Answer 1

I know, I remember when I first came to eBay. It was so confusing and strange! You just have to jump in and try it out. I love it now, I am totally an eBay addict!

The most important thing to remember is before you purchase something to read the description thoroughly. Each seller is an independent person selling through the site, and whatever terms they have outlined in their listing you are automatically agreeing to when you win or purchase the item.

And when you're shopping around, don't just pay attention to what they say, what they don't say is also important. If they don't specify a shipping charge make sure you get one before you bid. They can ask for anything, they don't have to be reasonable ... unless it's already stated in the listing.

And never assume part of an item is included unless they say it is. For example, I bought a postage scale when I first started. It was cheaper than the rest, and when I got it I figured out why. No power cord. So I asked the seller ... and he says tough luck, the listing didn't say it came with a power cord. And sure enough, all the other listings for the same item said power cord was included ... except for mine :o)

Some listings will be Auctions and some will be Buy-it-now. It's important that you don't get them confused. There are also eBay "store" listings. Don't be afraid of them ... they're just regular listings to you. They will all be BIN (buy-it-now) listings, and the prices might be higher than in the normal part of eBay.

And always, always check the seller's feedback. A 100% is best, but it doesn't mean much if a seller only has a few hundred feedback points. I always try to find more experienced eBayers with a higher feedback percentage. But don't exclude a seller because their rating isn't perfect. Just be more cautious.

I can't even begin to cover everything here, but this is a start. Just go in and win some stuff and have fun!

Answer 2

There's a discussion board on the Ebay site just for newbies. You'll get more and faster answers to your questions there:

http://forums.ebay.com/db1/forum.jspa?forumID=120

Answer 3

u bid on an item, or "buy now" an item, you pay them with wat kind of payments they want (it is at the bottom of the item discription page) then they send you the shipping number to your email, not ur ebay email. then u leave feedback, but u dont have too.

its really not that hard. im 14 and i can do it all by myself :)