SolveYourProblem
Article Series:
Small Business Guide To Buying Items:
eBay Auctions
Buying
Collectibles on eBay: My Top Tips
by Jeff Cohen
Buying collectibles is one of the most enjoyable
things to do on eBay, simply because you can find so many things
that you just can’t get anywhere else. Here are a few tips
to help you on your way.
Find
your Category
You’ll probably find that all the items you’re after are listed
in a single category. Add this category to your browser’s Favorites,
and keep coming back.
Look
for Mistakes
If you collect something, the chances are you know a lot about
it. This can be your opportunity to make a mint from a seller’s
mistake. They might not realise that they have a rare version
of an item, or they might have left off the key information
that makes it valuable. If you’re willing to email the seller
and ask them a few questions about the item to confirm that
it is what you think it is, then you should be able to buy
items like these. You can then resell them at a big profit,
if that’s what you want to do.
Don’t
Always Believe Descriptions
If you find something you haven’t heard of, and the description
calls it ‘rare’, don’t assume that it actually is. Far too
many sellers just put ‘rare’ into all of their descriptions
– the chances are that the item is common and has just been
described wrongly. Don’t bid unless you know what you’re buying.
Stalk
Other Users
When you collect something, you’ll probably notice that there
are four or five sellers who seem to come up with consistently
good items – and the same buyers buying them. Add their user
pages to your Favorites, and check back often to see what they’ve
got – or what they’re bidding on – that you might be interested
in.
Don’t
Get Too Attached to an Auction
There are millions of items being listed every day on eBay
– whatever you want, it’ll come around again, and if you don’t
get it there are plenty more things to buy. This is similar
to the golden rule of negotiating: always be prepared to walk
away. If you can’t walk away, then expect to pay over the odds.
There are few things so rare that another seller won’t have
one to sell. Go and bid in a lower-priced auction, instead
of getting into a bidding war in one that is already expensive.
Beware
of the Postage
If you collect lots of small things with a relatively low
value, you might end up paying as much for postage as you do
for each item. You should take these costs into consideration
when you make your bid. Another good strategy is to always
buy a few things at once from the same buyer, as they will
almost always offer you a discount on the postage.
# # # # # SolveYourProblem.com : 2007
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