How to Get Started and Find the Best Deals

How to Get Started and Find the Best Deals - eBay Guide

Are you planning your first eBay order or want to know how you could make better purchases? We have gathered all the necessary information on one page. Read our comprehensive eBay guide to learn how to get started and how to make the best eBay discoveries.

What is eBay?

eBay is a huge international trading site with over 30 different sites. The sellers are both companies and individuals. Any individual or company who logs in to an eBay marketplace as a user can trade or auction on the site for almost any product or service. Other users registered on eBay can purchase the product or make an auction bid if the item is for sale at auction. eBay is a similar marketplace to AliExpress, Wish, or Amazon. However, eBay is the largest of these online stores, and the difference from other marketplaces is the auction function as well as private sellers.

eBay was founded in 1995, and today the company employs more than 11,000 people.

Creating a username on eBay

Creating a username on eBay is easy and only takes a few minutes. When you create eBay IDs on a single eBay site, the same IDs work on sites in all countries. Your personal information, payment method, and previous purchases will be updated in your account on all pages. Site-specific information, such as your current Shopping Cart, is not transmitted between sites in different countries, as US (ebay.com) and UK eBay (ebay.co.uk), for example, are separate trading venues.

1. Click the icon at the top of the screen to start creating a username. While on your computer, click the Register link on the left side of the page.

2. Create a username with an active email address and phone number. It's a good idea to register your phone number, as it will make it easier to recover your account if you forget your password.

3. You can start shopping immediately.

Payment - credit card and PayPal

The most popular payment method on eBay is PayPal, although some sellers offer other payment options. PayPal is the safest option for both the buyer and the seller, and there are no significant additional costs associated with using it. PayPal charges a few cents a commission on purchases, but it does not significantly affect the price of the purchase.

A PayPal account is simple to create on PayPal's own website. Registration is quick. Be sure to check with your online bank that the card you link to your PayPal account is activated for online payment.

Here's how to link your debit card to your PayPal account:

Register your Paypal account and browse to the Summary page.
Click Add a bank account or card.
Fill in the card information. Card number means the 16-digit number sequence on the front of the payment card. You can find the three-digit security number, or CSC number, on the back of the card. Check the information and click Save.
A security fee of € 1.50 will be charged to the account linked to the debit card, allowing PayPal to identify you as the cardholder. The charge will be refunded to your account 24 hours after you verify your card.
The backup payment will be transferred from your account within a few days. Go to online banking to see the account transaction for that backup fee and the four-digit code provided in the transaction.

14 Tips - Get the Best Deal

Start with small purchases - If you’re shopping on eBay for the first time, it’s a good idea to start shopping for small items that cost a few euros. This is how you learn to make a purchase from the start.
Last Minute Auctions - Sometimes sellers put up a very low starting price hoping the auction will go off fast, but that may not be the case. You can search for upcoming auctions yourself using the search function, or browse sites that list upcoming auctions.
Night-End Auctions - Track auctions that close at a time of day when people tend to be inactive online.
Seller's Best Deals - Check if the seller has had the same product on sale at a lower price. If so, send him a message and make an offer at a lower price.
Similar Products - Make sure you get the best price for your product by looking at similar products from other vendors.
Use alerts for products you're looking for - If you're looking for a product that's hard to find, you can set an email alert to let you know when a product matching your search is listed on eBay.
Checking for typos - Sometimes there may be typos in the product title or description that prevent buyers from finding the product. Finding typos is especially easy with sites that do this for you.
Bargaining - Bargaining on eBay is perfectly acceptable - especially if it’s a more expensive product. You won’t lose anything by sending a message to the seller asking if they would be willing to sell the product at the price you suggested.
Search titles and descriptions - If you're looking for a specific product, it's a good idea to search so that the search text matches the title and description. For example, if you are looking for a Michael Kors bag, but the seller has written only the Designer hand back in the title and mentioned the brand only in the description text, the product may go unnoticed if you search only with the title.
Would you lose the auction? Don’t give up yet - Sometimes you might lose an auction for just a few cents. At this point, it is not yet worth throwing gloves on the counter, as for one reason or another the shops may be canceled. If you are still interested in the product, send a message to the seller. The seller may send a second chance offer, which may be sent to the buyers who made the offer if the winner does not redeem the product. If you forgot to make an offer, ask the seller if this could put the product up for resale in a buy-in store.
Place your offer at the last minute - If you are interested in a particular product, it may only make sense to submit your offer at the last minute. Auctions in which bids have been submitted easily attract the interest of other buyers.
Add a few cents to your bid at the auction - Bidders may estimate the price of the product and the maximum bid for the same price, so adding a few cents to your bid may solve your trade advantage at no extra cost. If you were thinking of setting a bid limit of $ 20.00, add a few cents to the price and bid $ 20.03, for example.
Ask for more information by message - If the product information is incomplete, contact the seller by private message. Others may disregard the product if it lacks relevant information. Because sellers cannot make large additions to product information after the auction begins, and if you ask a question on the product page, the question and the seller’s answer will be visible to everyone. This can attract other providers.
Check the lowest price of the product - Check the average price of the product on the site if you are not sure if the price is good enough. Do a Product Search and select "completed items". This will give you a list of prices for similar products. Sort products by price and see the price level of the product and avoid paying too much. If the price is black, this means that no one has bought the product.