It still amazes me how few people actually understand the principle of eBay. You’d think that by now everyone would know how to use eBay properly, wouldn’t you? If that’s the case, how come auctions get botched up and prices get driven through the roof due to bad eBayers?

Especially when talking about technology, eBay is (or used to be?) a prime marketplace to find great deals on good technology. However, as of late, the number of bad bidders and overpriced goods on eBay has caused me to look elsewhere for my tech needs. Firstly, it seems as though buyers don’t do research before bidding. Secondly, sellers are taking advantage of this and really marking up the price of new, refurbished, and used goods. As for me, I don’t like to pay more than retail price for used goods, so I haven’t used eBay in a while when buying electronics.

I am writing this article in the hopes that people will learn some of the finer points of using eBay. If you follow the steps listed below, you will not only be able to find the products you are looking for but you will also know what the “going rates” are for these products so that you know what you should pay, and you will learn a few tips on how you can save money by using eBay.

Do Your Research

Spending money on eBay is easy. Too easy, some will say. However, anybody who is buying anything on eBay should go in to an auction knowing what a fair price is for the certain product they want to buy. It doesn’t make sense to pay sticker price (sometimes people pay even more than sticker!) for something on eBay. It makes even less sense to pay full price for something that’s used or refurbished. So, how should you know what to pay for something? Easy. Let’s say you are looking for a USB turntable. Specifically, the ION iTTUSB turntable.

• Check Amazon’s price. Go to Amazon.com and search for the item you want. Chances are you’ll find a variety of goods in varying quantities. For example, check out this turntable (click to make it big):
  
  You can get it new for $109.97, but used from $87.73. Does it make sense to pay more than this from eBay? No, it doesn’t.
• Check Google’s price. Likewise, check out Google’s search results and click on “shopping” at the top of the page. You’ll see a listing similar to this:
  
  You can see that even Google finds deals for under $107. Does it make sense to pay more than $107 on eBay? No, it doesn’t.
• Check eBay auctions have gone for in the past. Now head on over to eBay’s site and do a search for the item you’re looking for, but before you click “search”, click on “advanced search”. You’ll see an option that lets you select “Completed listings only”. This means that your search results will only include those auctions that have already ended. You’ll have to log on to see the results, but it’s worth your keystrokes. You’ll get to see what others have recently paid for this item and you can know what to you should expect to pay for this item on eBay.
  After running this search, I see that people have paid roughly $89 and got free shipping for this item. So, in this case, buying this turntable on eBay is a good investment.

Ok, now you’re done with step 1. You know that it’s a good idea to buy a certain item on eBay. Now you MUST learn how to bid properly on eBay. You can’t just go into the auction when there are 6 days left, enter $89 and assume you’ve won the auction. If you do this, chances are almost 100% that you’ll enter into a bidding war and end up overpaying for the item. You need to learn the art of patience, aka “Snipping”. The fewer people that bid on an auction prior to its end, the lower that the item’s final price will be. So sit back, add that auction to your favorites, and check back when there are roughly 2 hours left for the auction. Don’t bid yet, either. Enter your bid with less than 30 seconds to go in the auction and your win is almost certain.

Now you know the proper way to eBay. Go on and start researching. Find those hot items and get them at a discount, but remember to do your research and most importantly, be patient with your bidding!