3 Tips on Buying at eBay Auction

When you want to buy something, you will probably look for it in local stores, but it is often the case that you can find good deals on eBay auction. Not everything on eBay is used. Most of them are actually brand new products. When it is in auction format, it gets tricky. First of all, you can't get it until the bidding ends, unless they have "buy now" option. Even if that is listed as 0.01 dollars as starting bid, it doesn't mean that you can get it for very low price. Sometimes price goes up beyond your reach. So how can you get what you want for the lowest possible price? Here are some tips.

1.  Wait until the last minute --- When you see something you want for a very low bidding price on eBay, do not bid right away. First of all, check the shipping fee, also read condition of the item before you start bidding. Then add in "watch list". Wait until the last minute before the bidding ends, then you should start bidding. Sometimes there are several people interested in bidding on the item. If they are lost on bidding early on, they have time to rethink and bid higher. If you really want the item, for lowest possible price, bid at the last minute of the auction, and set to your maximum amount you will pay.

2. Make sure that you see all of the same item listed --- When you find the item you want on eBay auction, don't start focusing on it right away. First research to make sure that you know the status of the item listed by different sellers, or the same seller at different time. If you are bidding on something, never go over other listing of "Buy Now" price. Once I wanted to get something that was listed as $18.00 for "Buy Now" price by one seller, and there was an auction of the same item started at $5.00. At the end of the auction, another bidder bid for over $18.00, so I stopped there and bought from other seller right away.

3. Try getting a good deal on the item closing during long weekend --- People are often busy during long weekend and don't have time to bid on the last minute. So if you have time, search the item ends during long weekend. You might get something for a good price because no one is bidding against you.

Image by Ryan Fanshaw Photography on flickr