Oh no! What have I done!!! About This Page:

[jpod523]

I've had an eBay account for a few months. I signed up one day, with no intentions to purchase anything. Then last week, I made a PayPal account to pay for something online. Then I put two and two together and realized I could now bid safely on eBay. I don't think I have this bidding thing down yet. I've bid on close to 20 things since Friday. It's so addicting!

I haven't won anything yet (thank goodness), but I'm the highest bidder for 8 items at the moment. (If anyone wonders, I'm so jealous of the blue YOMD Mickey Ears, I've resorted to paying for them. I've also bid on a pal mickey, but it's close to $65, and for that price, I'd rather get a new one.)

Does anyone have any tips for me? I think my problem is that I haven't grasped the concept of actually having to pay for winning items yet. Right now, if I win everything, it's over $100. So i'm kinda hoping someone bids more than me, even though I really want those ears! Seriously, if anyone has any tips for me, let me know! And, could someone give me a crash course in selling? Eventually I'd like to sell some of my stuff, but I have to get the buying down first!!

[korki-rad]

I will admit that I am a complete ebay addict!!! It's horrible sometimes! And it's sooooo easy to just click on the "bid now" button!! I get in a lot of trouble with DH sometimes!

A bidding rule of thumb I use...I do a little research and find out what it would cost to buy the item new, then most of the time, I bid half of that cost (including shipping). I never understand when bids go higher than what you could buy the item for on Amazon.

Of course, there are a lot of items there that you can't get anywhere else, and those are the trickiest ones! Those, I think you just have to decide what the value is to YOU, what works with your budget and hope for the best.

Oh, and if I *really* want something, I do "snipe" it using auctionsniper.com. This will bid for you right at the last second...I have gotten several things this way, but I miss sometimes, too.

Another thing....I often get caught up in the "if I don't buy this right now I will never see it again" mentality. But, almost always, I can find the same thing or a similar thing later on. There's maybe been 3-4 items where that wasn't the case, but most of the time, if I miss something, I get a second chance with another seller. So don't get too bummed if you don't win!

My other trick is to "play with pennies." For example, I will bid $10.56 on an item...so that if someone bid $10.50, I would win instead.

Oh -- and check people's feedback scores and REALLY check the shipping costs and terms. I got into a real pickle on a $10 terra cotta pot I bought that the shipper charged $50 to ship (supposedly for all the extra packing materials to protect it)...and the darn thing arrived broken anyway! (Also check the sizes on thing -- same pot in the photo looked to be about 12" tall -- turned out it was 24", which was the other reason shipping was so high....I hadn't paid attention to the size in the description.)

Happy bidding -- but please don't bid against me now that I've told you all my secrets!!

[Colexis Mom]

I became an e-bay addict this summer As mentioned above, do your homework. I've now learned to just watch something for a couple of days, to see what the going rate is. Also use the max bid option, and stick to it. I too have gotten caught up in the continous bidding because someone has a higher bid and I've just got to have that item (or think I've got to have it). I've now learned to set my maximum and stick to it.

I've done a lot better lately....gotten a bunch of new DVDs for the kids for Christmas, and got some extra pieces of my flatware that is no longer sold (at a steal)! And a great Columbia winter jacket for DD (new) for $40! You just need to learn when to watch, and when to walk away

[jpod523]

UPDATE!!! I just won my very first eBay item. Anyone want to guess?

Okay...

[Teresa]

Congrats on the ears!

As a rule, if I'm tempted to bid on an Ebay item, I always think -"How much will I be willing to let DH know I paid for this?" (If no DH - imagine having to justify this purchase to the most respected person in your life)

[Angileyze1]

Personally, I think there should be an e-bay support group for us junkies. Just this holiday season, my purchases total more than 300.00. Dh is just about the point of furious. And he doesn't even know about MOST of it. I like it when the packages come when he's AT WORK!!! Yesterday though he was off and 3 came at the same time!!!

[wayneava81]

Originally Posted by Angileyze1

Personally, I think there should be an e-bay support group for us junkies. Just this holiday season, my purchases total more than 300.00. Dh is just about the point of furious. And he doesn't even know about MOST of it. I like it when the packages come when he's AT WORK!!! Yesterday though he was off and 3 came at the same time!!!

I like when my packages come when he's at work too. Like my Baggallini last month. I could hear him now "Do you really need another bag?"