Why take my advice?

Although I’m not sure I should admit to this (my accountant and my boyfriend may be reading), I’m pretty good at spending money on eBay. It all began with a limited addition Coldplay poster from their ‘Parachutes’ album release, and it continues to this day with weekly browsing of the shoe section. Some of my best buys have been an Abercrombie & Fitch ski jacket in cream with a rabbit-fur hood (it retails at $260 USD and I paid $60 AUD for it), a pair of caramel colour leather peep-toe heels from Tony Bianco (they retail at $110 AUD and I paid $20 AUD for them), and two Art Deco travel posters. Because I have purchased my fair share of items from eBay, and because many of my friends are absolutely clueless when it comes to online auction websites, I thought it would be helpful to put together a quick tutorial on the best way to use eBay for buying items.

The best things to bid for on eBay

I think a common mistake people make with eBay is that they assume it’s the best place to buy just about anything. This certainly isn’t true - for example, I would hesitate before purchasing beauty products as quite often they have been unsealed and used once or twice before being listed (even if the seller states otherwise!). You also have to question the authenticity of some of the ‘designer’ brands listed - there are an awful lot of Gucci and Chanel watches and Tiffany’s jewellery up for auction, and you have to assume that a large portion of the items are in fact fake. That said, eBay is a fantastic place to get bargains on other items, so I’ve put together a quick list of my picks for the best buys:

- High-street brand clothes and shoes: Without a doubt, eBay is heaven for fashionistas on a budget. There is certainly no shortage of drastically reduced items of clothing (and shoes and accessories) from brands such as TopShop, River Island, Sportsgirl, Witchery, and Cue. Party tops from the big UK brands and shoes and hand bags from Witchery are some of the most popular items on eBay, and are sure to gain a lot of attention from bidders. That doesn’t mean you won’t score a bargain - just be prepared to wait out the auction end so that you can get in a last minute bid.

- Vintage clothes: Since the boho look came back into fashion (and was quickly followed by the mod and then the seventies look) eBay has become somewhat of a mecca for vintage fans. You may have to browse through a bit of tat before finding a real bargain (just as you would if you went to a vintage clothes shop), but generally it’s worth it. Just be wary of the size differences in older clothes - label sizes have changed dramatically in recent decades so it may be worth knowing your measurements (in inches and centimetres) and checking that the garment will fit. If the garment doesn’t have measurements posted in the listing you can email the seller to ask.

- New release books: I can’t tell you how often I’ve seen a book I desperately want in store (but can’t afford at the brand new full retail price), but have then found it on eBay a few weeks later for a smidgen of the original recommended retail. This is because a lot of people get given new release books as gifts (particularly around Christmas), and are either uninterested in them or they read them quickly and want to sell them on. If you’re not fussy about your covers being a bit bent or your pages being dog-eared, eBay should become your new best friend.

- Shoes: Yes, some people are dissuaded from buying shoes on eBay because they don’t want to wear shoes that have already been worn by other people. If this bothers you, I might also point out that every shoe you try on in store has probably already been tried on by ten other people, so why let a pair listed on eBay as being ‘worn once’ worry you? Recently there has been an increase in the number of eBay businesses and resellers honing in on the shoe market online, and as such there is now a proliferation of brand new (often still in the box) shoe listings for the bigger brands. Tony Bianco, Pierre Fontaine and RMK are popular in Australia, and often these shoe brands sell (brand new) on eBay for a fraction of their retail price.

- Guy’s T-shirts: Whether it’s the big brands (Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, and so forth) you’re after or the vintage finds, eBay is a great place to look for guys tees. There are still bargains to be had, partly because guys seem to be immune to the attractions of browsing eBay endlessly… why is that?

How to win an auction at the cheapest price possible

If you’re new to eBay you may not have figured out the exact science that is involved in placing a winning bid on a highly sought after item. It took me a good year or two before I realised there was a technique involved in bidding, and it’s still not unusual to see items be bid on early on in the auction period by users with low feedback scores (indicating that they are new to the eBay game). Here are my tips for making sure you have the best chance of winning an auction on eBay:

- Use the ‘Watch this Item’ function. The first and most important rule of bidding on eBay is not to bid as soon as you see the item (unless it’s ending within the next few minutes). Most people’s first impulse is to enter a bid and click the big blue ‘Place Bid’ button. This is a big no-no, as it can spark a bidding war with another interested buyer and will inevitably raise the end price of the item. Instead of bidding straight away, click the ‘Watch this Item’ link in the top right-hand corner of the listing. This will save the listing in the My Ebay section of the eBay website, and you should receive email updates for the listing as the auction end draws closer. You may find that over the auction period the price rises above your budget anyway, and you’ve saved yourself the extra hassle of bidding on an item you can’t afford. Watching items is also a great way to get an idea of what values items sell for, particularly if there are a few similar pieces listed on eBay at the same time.

- Be online when the auction ends. If you’re watching an item on eBay you really should do your best to be online when the auction comes to a close. This allows you to place a last-minute bid, known as ’sniping’. Sniping raises your chances of not only winning the auction but also getting it at a cheaper price.

- Understand the science of sniping. When eBay really took off a few years back (and started appearing in fashion magazines and in popular culture references), one of the buzz words that was bandied about was ’sniping’. In essence, sniping means placing a bid right at the last minute (or even the last second) that the auction is open, beating any other watchers who may have placed a bid within the last few hours before the item’s end. Successful sniping depends on several factors, such as how many people are watching and bidding on the item, how fast your internet connection is, and how competitive the bid is that you decide to finish with. If there are several people bidding on the item (you can tell how many different people have bid by clicking on the ‘Bidding History’ link on the item listing page) there may be someone else planning on sniping at the last minute. If you have a slow internet connection, you won’t be able to rely on your bid being received by eBay in time for the auction close. If the bid you place is too low (and others are also bidding), someone’s previous maximum bid may still beat your snipe.

- Place a competitive bid. There are two schools of thought when it comes to bidding on eBay: ‘bid low but bid often’ and ‘bid once but bid high’. If you’re counting pennies and really looking for a bargain, and you have the time to watch an item in the last few minutes before it ends, you might want to try bidding low initially and continually refreshing the page to watch incoming bids. You’ll either have to bid a few times to keep up with your rival bidders, or your low bid will be uncontested and you’ll score a bargain. The second theory, placing one high bid, is a better idea if you desperately want the item or if you won’t be at the computer when the auction ends. Of course there is always the chance that your high bid will be outbid by someone else who is equally desperate, but at least you’ve given it a fair go.

Sure-fire tricks of the trade

Finally, here are a few tips I’ve picked up along the way:

- Don’t bid an even amount of money. If there are other interested bidders competing for an item you’ve bid on, it may come down to who has put the hightest ‘maximum’ bid. A maximum bid, of course, is the amount that eBay bids up to on your behalf if others bid against you. Once the bidding has passed your previously entered ‘maximum’ bid, you will be out of the race unless you enter a new maximum. If you have told eBay that your maximum bid for an item is $50.00, any bidder that enters a price over $50.50 will become the new highest bidder. Chances are, however, that most other people will also enter a maximum bid at around the same price as what you have, and that they will also enter it at an even cut-off (on the dollar or on the fifty cent mark). If you entered a maximum bid of $50.87 instead of $50.00, and your competing bidders enter a maximum bid of $50.50 (sticking to the trend of bidding even amounts), you would remain the winner without having to bid too much higher. Bidding a maximum amount that is rounded up or down is one of the easiest ways to lose an auction, and you may have noticed that you have previously been beaten out by a meagre $0.50.

- Look for auctions ending at strange hours. You’re more likely to get a lower price on an item if the auction closes in the wee hours of the morning or during the middle of a work day. You can expect to pay more for an item if the auction ends after 5pm on a week day or on the weekend. It’s a simple matter of how many people are awake and at their computers with free time. If you’re lucky enough to be interested in an auction that ends at an odd hour, you will probably score a bargain.

- A low starting price doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a good deal. One of the ways eBay businesses gain bids is by having ludicrously low start prices of $0.99. People see the low price and think the item is a bargain that can’t be passed up, and quickly place a bid. What bidders miss is that the postage costs for the item may be incredibly high, or that the eBay business is based outside of their home country. Mobile phones and designer brands are sold cheaply out of Hong Kong and China, for example, but the postage costs for the international shipping more than outweighs any savings made on the purchase price.