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rt 3TIPS FOR MORE SUCCESSFUL BIDDING

The only bad thing about buying items on eBay is that you won’t win everyauction in which you bid. How do you increase your odds of winning—withoutoverpaying for the items you win?

Experienced eBay buyers know the tips and tricks that help them win moreauctions. For some buyers, that means doing pre-bidding research to makesure they don’t overpay. For others, that means waiting until the last secondsof the auction to bid so competing bidders can’t respond. For still others, thatmeans bidding a few pennies more than the required bid to throw off compet-ing bidders. It’s all about giving yourself an edge over anyone else bidding onany particular item.

So read on to learn some of the most effective tricks—and become more suc-cessful on eBay!

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(PT) SCREENSHOT BELOW

FAVORITE SEARCH EMAIL

Click to connect to eBay and view an item listing

Emailed to you every dayMost recent results of your saved search

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Enter a description of the item in the search box at the top of the eBay home page.

Click the Search button.

56 RESEARCH BEFORE YOU BUYSmart eBay buyers don’t bid blind, and they don’t bid on the first item they see. Before youmake a bid, make sure you know the true value of an item, which you can do by researchingsimilar eBay auctions. The key is to search completed auctions to find out what similar itemsactually sold for—so you don’t overpay!

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Be Informed!When you know what similar

items sold for, you’ll know not tobid too high—or too low.

TIPResearch Outside of eBay

Don’t limit your research strictly to eBay auctions. You can often find what you’relooking for at a discount store, in a catalog, or at another online site. Shop around,and don’t assume that the price you see on eBay is always the best deal available.

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When the search results page appears, check the Completed Listings option.

Click the Show Items button.

Examine the final price for those items that actually sold (prices are in green). Don’t paymore than this for similar items.

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Don’t Bid on the First Item You SeeThere are probably several other items on eBay that are similar to

the first item you saw. Use eBay’s Search function and look at theentire list of items—and their current bid prices—before you choosewhich one to bid on. The first item you see isn’t always the best deal.

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Sellers with a high feedback score are likely to be more reliable than sellers with a lowerrating.A feedback percentage of 95% or lower indicates the seller has an unacceptable numberof negative feedbacks and should be avoided.

Click the Read Feedback Comments link to see the complete Member Profile.

58 CHECK THE SELLER’S FEEDBACKSavvy buyers always check the seller’s feedback rating before they bid. Make sure that theseller of the item you want has a good feedback rating—and avoid any sellers who don’t.The best way to avoid bad sellers is to find out that they’re bad sellers beforehand!

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Check the Seller’s Other AuctionsYou’d be surprised how many times a seller has more

than one item you’re interested in. Click the View Seller’sOther Auctions link (on the item listing page) to see every-thing else the seller has for auction—and bid accordingly!

TIPSearch for Sellers

You can use eBay’s search function to search for specificsellers (by user ID) and their current and completed auctions.Just click the Advanced Search link under the home pageSearch box, and then click the Find a Member link.

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Click the From Buyers tab to view only those comments from buyers.

Read the individual feedback comments to get a feel for how this seller conducts business.

Look for any negative feedback comments.

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Check the Seller’s Past AuctionsWhile you’re on the Member Profile page, click through

to individual auctions to see what types of items he’s sold inthe past. There’s no need to get into a bidding war if the sellerwill have a similar item for auction again next week.

TIPRead the Seller’s About Me Page

You can find even more information about a sellerif she has created an About Me page. Click the meicon next to her user ID to view the About Me page.

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Begin your search by entering a query into eBay’s search box.

Click the Search button.

From the completed search results page, click the Add to Favorites link.

60 SAVE AND REPEAT YOUR FAVORITE SEARCHESIf you’re always on the lookout for the same type of item, there’s no need to start a newsearch every time you log on. eBay lets you save your favorite searches—and receiveupdated search results every day via email!

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Search Results in Your Inbox When you sign up to receive search results via email,

eBay will send you a list of the most recent items listed,once each day. Click any link in the email to connect toeBay and view that item listing.

NOTEView Your Favorite Searches Online

You can also view and run your saved searches fromthe All Favorites page in My eBay. Just click the link for

a specific search, and eBay will display the most currentresults.

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Enter a name for this search into the Search Name box.

Check the Email Me Daily option.

Pull down the accompanying list and select how long you want to receive this search.

Click the Save Search button.

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Don’t Let Your Search Run OutWhen you sign up to receive search results via email,you sign up for a limited duration only. When that timeperiod is over, make sure you revisit the Edit FavoriteSearch Preferences page to select a new duration.

CAUTION

Read the Fine PrintWhat methods of payment can you use? What about ship-

ping and handling fees? Are there any other details that mightimpact your decision to bid? Read the entire listing before youplace your bid—so you aren’t surprised by the fine print.

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On the item listing page, click the Ask Seller a Question link.

Pull down the Subject list and select a subject.

Enter your question in the text box.

Click the Send button.

62 ASK QUESTIONSIf you’re unclear about any aspect of an item you’re interested in, pose your questions tothe seller via email. In addition to answering your specific questions, some sellers haveadditional information or pictures they can send to you one-on-one. There’s no excuse forignorance; if you’re not sure, ask!

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If It Sounds Too Good to Be True, It Probably IsA rare copy of Action Comics #1 for only $25? A brand-new laptopcomputer for only $100? There has to be a catch. Be suspicious ofimprobable or impossible deals; always ask questions that confirm orreject your suspicions.

CAUTION

Hide Your Address If you’d prefer that the seller not have

your email address, you can hide your addressfrom him. Just select the Hide My EmailAddress option on the Ask a Question page.

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The seller receives an email containing your question and responds to you via anotheremail.

The seller’s response may also be displayed in the item listing, for other potential biddersto read. 66

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Response TimeNot everyone reads her email daily, so don’t expect imme-diate response to your questions. If you don’t receive aresponse within 24 hours, send another email. If you stilldon’t get a response, you should avoid this seller’s auctions.

CAUTIONDocument Everything

Print copies of the confirmation email, plus all emailbetween you and the seller. Write down the seller’s userID, email address, and physical address. If the transactionis ever disputed, you’ll have all the backup you need.

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On the item listing page, click the Watch This Item link.

To view your watched items, click the My eBay link in the navigation bar.

All the items you’ve chosen to watch are displayed in the Items I’m Watching section ofthe My eBay page. Click an item title to view the complete auction listing.

64 WATCH INSTEAD OF BUYWhen you place an immediate bid on an item you’re interested in, this tips your hand andcould result in other bidders forcing the price higher. Fortunately, you can choose to watchthe item instead of making a bid. Just use eBay’s Watch This Item feature in conjunctionwith My eBay—and save your bidding for the end of the auction.

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Watch the DetailsThe Items I’m Watching section of the My eBay page

lists all important item details—the current bid price,shipping cost, number of bids, and the current high bidder.

NOTEUse the eBay Toolbar

eBay offers the eBay Toolbar, a neat little add-on foryour web browser that makes it easy to track auctions you’vebid on or that are on your watch list. The eBay Toolbar isfree and available at pages.ebay.com/ebay_toolbar/.

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BID IN ODD NUMBERSHere’s a way to win auctions without having to overbid—bid a penny or two more than aneven dollar. For example, if you want to bid $10, bid $10.01 instead. Your bid will beat anybids at the same approximate amount ($10.01 beats $10.00), without your having to place anew bid at the next whole bid increment.

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Put Your Best Foot ForwardWhen you place your bid, don’t weasel around.

Make your bid the maximum amount the item isworth to you (plus a penny!), and be done with it.

NOTELast-Minute Bargains

When you search the eBay listings, be sure to display theresults with auctions ending today listed first. If you scan the listfor soon-to-end items with no bids or few bids, you can pick offsome bargains that have slipped others’ attention.

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Identify the item you want to buy—and then don’t bid! Instead, put the item on your watchlist and make a note of the closing day and time.

Five minutes before the close of the auction, make sure you’re logged on to the Internet,and access the auction in question.

66 SNIPE TO WINExperienced eBay bidders know that the best way to guarantee a successful bid is to snipe.Sniping happens when you hold your bidding until the final seconds of an auction. Byswooping in at the very last moment with your high bid, you don’t leave any time for otherbidders to respond. Plus, you haven’t bid up the price over the course of the auction!

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Zero Bids Doesn’t Mean Zero BiddersIf you’ve ever seen an item go without any bids for six

full days, and then all of sudden have a flurry of bidding inthe final minutes, you’ve seen sniping at work!

TIPWhy Sniping Works

Sniping happens on eBay because the end time ofeach auction is rigidly enforced. If you know that an

auction ends at 12:01:30, you can time your snipe to hit at12:01:29, leaving no time for any other bids.

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Open a second browser window to the auction in question.

In your first browser window, enter your maximum bid.

Click the Place Bid button.

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Snipers Don’t Always WinCan a sniper lose an auction? Yes, under two conditions. First, yoursnipe might be too early, leaving time for another sniper to respondwith a higher bid. Second, your bid might not be high enough; anearly bidder with a higher bid will beat a late bidder with a lower one.

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66 When the confirmation screen appears, don’t confirm your bid yet; leave the confirmationscreen open.

In your second browser window, click the Refresh or Reload button to update the officialauction time. Keep doing this until the time remaining until close is 60 seconds.

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Look for Off-Peak AuctionsBecause sniping is such an important part of the eBay

experience, you can often save money by bidding on auc-tions that close when few people are awake. Look for auc-tions ending between midnight and 5:00 a.m. Pacific time.

TIPBid in the Off-Season for Bargains

Although there is some category-specific seasonality,the best overall time of the year to pick up eBay bargainsis during the summer months. Summer is the slowestperiod on eBay, which means lower prices for you.

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Use a stopwatch or clock to count down until there are only 10 seconds left in the auction.

When exactly 10 seconds are left in the auction, click the Confirm Bid button in your firstbrowser window to send your bid. If your snipe was successful, you should be the winner!99

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Why 10 Seconds?It takes about 10 seconds to transmit the bid from

your computer to eBay and for the bid to be registered.If you bid any earlier than this, you leave time for the auc-tion to send an outbid notice to the previous high bidder.

NOTEAutomated Sniping Services

If you can’t personally be present to snipe, use an auto-mated sniping service instead. Check out AuctionSniper(www.auctionsniper.com), BidSlammer (www.bidslammer.com),and HammerSnipe (www.hammertap.com/hammersnipe/).

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