eBay Buying Tips - Saving money at Ebay.com

Cost Coach on saving money at eBay.

A great place to shop online for anything is at eBay.com. Obviously, be sure to evaluate the shipping costs associated with buying 100 pounds of cat litter for your mother-in-law to sleep on or that four-ton brass anchor you have always wanted for her to wear around her neck.

Here are a few online buying search tips when you want to buy from eBay.

* Try different search terms: There are many words to describe any item. Imagine which words a seller might use to describe the item you're looking for. Try several different options and combinations -- but use just two or three words at a time to be sure you get a variety of results. If you are discreetly searching for those hard-to-find extra small condoms, be sure to search XS condoms, XXS condoms, xtra small condoms and "why even bother" condoms.

* Use specific words instead of general words. Examples might be if you are searching for a treadmill to hook up to your desk, you can search brand names like Nordic Track Treadmill, or NordicTrack (one word) Treadmill.

* For a closer match, specify a treadmill model, manufacturer or brand, i.e., Model Number "Teenie-Weenie XXS"

* Try typo's for search terms: I know this is hard to believe, but there are a lot of idiots out there in la-la land.

Somethymes theeze stoopid peepul dn't spel two welll. Just look at search for California, except spell it Californai, you get 96,000 web pages with that typo. Gawd, why does Governor Arnold's (I won't even try to spell his last name) Caleeefornya get all the blonds?

If you have an item that is commonly misspelled, take for example Hartmann luggage is sometimes spelled Hartman. Or the athletic gear maker Under Armour is also spelled UnderArmour, Under Armor, UnderArmor and the like. eBay does have some automatic programming that auto corrects for typo's, but it does not fix all.

* Get *wild* at eBay. Use the wildcard search feature at eBay. For example, to find a particular treadmill item, don't just type treadmill in the search box. If you're looking for a treadmill belt treadmill belt* to cover both belt and belts. If you are searching for XXS condoms you can also use the exclude feature which is a "-" sign, as in XXS condoms -"polka dots"

* Search titles and descriptions to get more positive matches: eBay search always looks for your keywords in the title of the items for sale, but NOT the description. Click on search titles and descriptions under the search box to also search item descriptions. In this way you can search for both the item and "your city name."

* eBay offers a favorite or saved searches feature: This is handy as you can specify multiple treadmill searches and then save them so you don't have to retype them. You can also set up an eBay alert so when new items meeting your parameters show up to auction, you automatically receive an email.

Also read our information on auction sniping at eBay (coming soon)

One other difference with Craig's List is that generally it is almost always a used item that you will find, whereas with eBay you will find both new and used items.

Read how to use super secret CraigsList software to save money when shopping.






In this video interview eBay consultant Allison Hartsoe explains how to use the Terapeak research tool to assess overall sales for a category or product and determine average sales price, so that you can determine net sales costs and whether product sales on eBay will be profitable for your company.


eBay consultant Allison Hartsoe offers several tips to help sellers optimize sales on eBay. eBay Pulse displays popular keywords that should be included in product titles. The volume of products listed in eBay's core auction area determines one's sales growth potential. Don't pay optional listing fees except for 'gallery.' Detailed Seller Ratings (DSRs) affect both search rankings and sales potential, so customer service must be primary.