5 Things You Need to Know When Shopping on Ebay

Now, I don't know how to start but let's just say you happen to read this because you want to flex some muscles and be fully-equipped with enough tips before dashing to a tough shopping battle!

We've probably heard of Ebay, have the littlest knowledge about it, even think that it's one of those typical online shops but what sets it apart from others, little did we know, is the unique buying-selling environment and feedback system.

If you are a new Ebay shopper, you might find it hard to decide on the smartest way of buying stuff because of the different buying formats on Ebay. Oh, been there. Anyway, here's five  (5) things you might want to know before you start hoarding! ;)

1. EBAY IS LIKE A VIRTUAL MARKETPLACE. Whatever your concern is--from home to personal necessities, Ebay got tons of sellers who could offer you what you need. Just check out the shopping categories below so you get an idea on what you could buy from this online shop.

2. PRICE CANVASSING COULD SAVE YOU MONEY. Always. You should know that there are lots of sellers on Ebay who sell the same items. The main difference could be their selling price. This process actually takes time but it ensures that you get hottest deals from everything. To save both money and time, the quickest way to do this is by clicking the 'Refine' button, click 'Sort by' then 'Lowest Price + Shipping'.

By the way, international sellers who offer worldwide shipping offers the cheapest items. Most probably, a specific commodity retails, say, P200 on other online sellers, but on Ebay, you can get it only for a fraction of its price. You just work hard and be patient enough to do lots of scrolling! While comparing prices, you might want to click the 'Watch' button because it lets you monitor their status. Whether you want to buy it right away at a fixed price or bid in an auction-style listing, putting it on your 'watch list' is probably the most convenient thing you could do.

Anyway, just wanted to show some of my recent purchases on Ebay. I won the mushroom brush (the second brush) for only P67.91 when lots of IG sellers's mushroom brushes are priced between P150-P200. Same with the other brushes.

3. SPOTTING LEGIT AND BOGUS SELLERS IS EASY. You may use your detective skills when shopping on Ebay. Prior to committing on buying a specific item, check the profile of the seller by visiting the feedback corner and read some of the comments for references. At Ebay, you feel safe because you can easily tell if sellers are legit based on the number of positive feedback versus the negative ones. Sellers and buyers rate each other (could be an agreement to rate each other or one has to initiate the rating) based on their performance as such. When there is less feedback or if the items that they are selling is questionable, then it's time to steer away even when their pricing is hard to beat. This might not be 100% accurate, but it does help!

4. THERE ARE THREE (3) BUYING FORMATS: AUCTION, BUY IT NOW, BEST OFFER. In my whole shopping experience with Ebay, buying things in whatever format is almost the same when you want to get the best deal/cheapest priced item. Usually, I save more when I join auctions because it let me bid for an item for as much as I can afford while also considering the 'Buy It Now' price of that specific product. There are instances when a product is sold both in an auction-style listing and at a fixed price (you really have to watch out for it). If the fixed price is lower compared to the current bidding price, then forget about placing bid and buy it right away. Unpaid won items could get you in a bad situation when your buying privileges gets limited.

Tips: You have to be clever when you place a bid. You might want to join an auction on a time of the day when competitors are less AND when you really want an item but still prefer to buy it on a cheap price, place a bid when the auction listing is about to end (e.g 1 minute left on the timer countdown). This will prevent other bidders from bidding at a higher price and beat you to it! It's bad when you lose money on bidding but it's even worse when you don't win!

5. YOU CAN NEGOTIATE WITH SELLERS. Before you buy an item on Ebay, make sure you understand the terms and conditions of the seller--shipping couriers, mode of payment, shipping and returns, etc. If you want to combine all your purchases into one shipping, contact the seller right away. By the way, buying from different sellers meant different shipping packages. Isn't it cool? I mean receiving lots of packages? Hihi! By the way, there are lots of international sellers who offer free shipping but usually, it takes weeks before the arrival of your parcel. Also, you can check their different modes of payment. Sellers from different country collect payments via Paypal and seldom accept bank transfers so that is just one of the things you should research about before making a purchase.

I hope you are now well-equipped with all the knowledge you need to make Ebay shopping as exciting as I find it! If you have questions, just comment below and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Thank you for reading and shout out to Ms. Iris (fellow blogger---raveandview.com) and she's the one who requested this blog post! Thank you, Ms. Iris! :)))