How to Start Buying On eBay

Are you interested in doing your online shopping on eBay?  If you are and if this is your first time using eBay, you may be a little bit nervous, as many first time eBay buyers are.  The good news, however, is that buying what you want on eBay is a relatively easy process.  To get you started on that process, you will want to read on.

The first thing that you will want to do is register for a free eBay account.  Although you do not need an eBay account to view all of the items that are currently available for sale, you do need an eBay account to bid on items listed for sale on eBay.  When it comes setting up a free eBay account all you need to do is provide personal information about yourself. This information includes your address, your phone number, and your email address.  You will also have to create an eBay sign in name and a password for yourself.  These items will be used to login to your eBay account.  Once your account has been verified by email, you should be able to start buying right away.

Speaking of buying your items; one of the reasons why eBay is so popular is because it is one of the largest online marketplaces.  Internet users are not only able to shop on eBay, but they are also able to sell on eBay.  That is what has led to millions of items available for sale on eBay, at any given time.  While having a large selection of items to choose from is nice, it can make finding what you want hard; however, there are ways that you can easily navigate the eBay website, to find exactly what you were looking for, in a relatively quick way.

Perhaps, the easiest way to find exactly what you are looking for on eBay is to perform an eBay search. Towards the top of eBay’s webpage, you should see a search box.  This is where you will want to key in what you are looking for.  The more descriptive you can be, the more accurate your results will be.  For instance, if you are interested in purchasing a ladies shirt, you will want to search with “ladies M shirt.”  Incorporating the size or even a brand into your search is likely to eliminate purchases that aren’t want you want or need.  You should also be able to perform an advanced eBay search, which will let you enter in price ranges or only show items that are from a specific seller.

Whether you perform a standard eBay search or an advanced one, you should be presented with a number of auction listings.  In most cases, those listing are listed in order based on the time that is left. For example, online auction listings that are ending soon will likely be listed first; therefore, if you see something that you like at the top of your screen, you may want to act fast.  You can also, easily, choose to have all auction listings listed in order based on the time each auction was started, current location of the item, as well as by price, including highest to lowest and visa versa.  

When you see the auction listings outlined from your eBay search, no matter which order you have them showing in, you should be able to see the current asking price, the cost of shipping, the amount of time that is left in the auction, a short description of the product being sold, and possibly even a picture.  You can also tell what type of auction listing it is.  For instance, most eBay sellers use the traditional auction listing format, where you and other buyers bid on their products, but some use “Buy It Now,” formats, which is where you can buy an item right away, without having to bid on it.  To learn more about an item appearing on your screen, simply click on the short product description link. That link will take you to a detailed sales page, which should have product descriptions, pictures, information on shipping, information accepted methods of payment, as well as instructions on how to buy the item or items in question.
 
As you can see, getting started on eBay is a relatively simple process.  To start taking advantage of the millions of items listed on eBay, register for your free eBay account today.

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