SolveYourProblem
Article Series:
Small Business Guide To Buying Items:
eBay Auctions
Do
Your Holiday Shopping on eBay
by Jeff Cohen
Most people do far more shopping in the holiday
season than they do for the rest of the year – and now you
know how to use eBay, why not do it there? If you know what
kind of thing your friends and family like then eBay’s categories
are ideal places to get ideas. Plus, you won’t have to fight
your way through the holiday rush when you’re getting everything
posted to you at home!
Buying
Presents for People
Here’s how I do it: think of the last thing the person you’re
buying a present for bought for themselves. Type it into eBay’s
search engine. Now take a look at which category it’s in, and
click the link to look at everything in the category. Straight
away, you have a huge list of things that they’re probably
be happy to receive – and if you know them well, you should
have no trouble picking through to find something really special.
Look
at Their eBay Histories
If the people you’re buying presents for use eBay, and you
know their eBay usernames, then you can take a look at what
they’ve been buying to see what they might want. To look at
a user’s history, just click ‘Advanced Search’ on the main
page, then Find a Member on the left-hand menu. Type in their
username and you should reach their user page, complete with
all the item numbers of things they have bought. Just paste
any item number into the eBay search box to see what the item
was. That should give you a few ideas!
Shop
in Advance
It’s a bad idea to use eBay for your holiday shopping at the
very last minute – prices will be high, and items might not
turn up in time. Every year there’s a present that children
want so much that all the shops sell out, and it starts appearing
on eBay at a premium. Parents then pay hundreds of dollars
and still don’t get one in time for the big day. Don’t fall
into this trap.
Remember
You’re in Silly Season
The holiday season is peak time at eBay – loads of people
are there, and they’re often inexperienced, bidding things
up far higher than they should. Try not to end up paying far
too much for an item just because it’s the last one that would
turn up in time, or because everyone else is bidding too high.
You should always know when to cut your losses, stop bidding
and just go get something from the shop instead.
Have Fun!
Don’t take eBay too seriously – treat it like a game, and
don’t be too disappointed if you lose. It can sometimes feel
like gambling, but when you get that really rare and special
thing in the post, it’s all worth it.
# # # # # SolveYourProblem.com : 2007
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