Ever used Ebay? Ever bought anything on Ebay? I just set up an account. Wanted to hear some feedback.

I've been doing Ebay forever - sold a ton of stuff, bought a ton of stuff... I have 250 + Feedback...it is great because you can get items shipped to you within a week - voila! (you pay the shipping which the Seller lists in his auction but no sales tax) For hard to find items it is a great place to shop. I also have helped people sell items who were not experienced in running ads etc.. although it is really simple to post and sell. I've sold a few vehicles and my motorhome on Ebay. I just bought Mavs/Hornets tickets last week - Row B. I love it.

But, I would watch out for the following - when bidding on items be very careful of those who have zero/low feedbacks .. in fact I wouldn't bid on something offered by sellers with zero/or more than one or two negative feedback (check the percentages and comments).

Put the highest amount you are willing to pay early on because people bid at the last seconds and win if your initial bid is too low.. Ebay will bid it for you incrementally if someone else bids. It is a proxy bid and you don't have to keep entering new bid amounts, the auction does it automatically up to the highest bid. You will also get emails telling you when you have been out bid or when an auction you are watching is ending soon.

Set up a PayPal account and use that to pay - you now have proof of payment and protection in case of fraud.

Never, ever send money via Western Union. Always check what other items that a Seller has for sale. ( Example, I was so excited when I saw Hornets tix offered as a Season Ticket package and it appeared that this seller had premium seats and had to leave the country and no longer needed the tickets.. I checked his other items and he had about 100 identical auctions for different sports teams - all with the same sob story! I emailed a bidder on one of his auctions to warn him and this guy was a PowerSeller and told me the scammer with the tickets tries this at least once or twice a month - changes user names) and asked people to get pre-approved before bidding - this way he can get into email conversation with you and ask you to send him money via Western Union... jerk - I always report him but I'm sure people have been suckered into it.

Again, don't bid on a zero feedback seller and rely on feedbacks posted - reputation is everything on Ebay.

I've done a few eBay transactions and I've never had a problem. Like Karried says, buy from the high-reputation people for the most part. I've only had one guy who refused to pay after winning an auction, but that was years ago. When selling, always get the money first and do your homework on the low-rep bidders. ;)

When selling, use paypal!

I hate winning auctions and finding out that they either want you to directly submit your cc# (NO!) or to go get a certified check or something of that nature. I'm having that very issue right now.

I read the selling rates on Ebay. Seems like they charge a lot. Then you have Paypal fees on top of that. If your item doesn't sell, you lose the money it cost to list the item. How do you make money doing this?

Never sold anything, but I've bought a few items (and by "a few" I mean "around 160"). Never had any problems.

Love ebay. If you item doesn't sell you don't loose very much, and the first re-listing used to be free (not sure anymore) If you do just a basic add, it's around $2.00 to place an ad. You can easily make up for the fee's by adding a bit more on the shipping and handling fee.

Jack, many people have become millionaires through Ebay selling.. the first few years I sold the fees were a lot less. Yes, they have gone up.. but I believe you can still relist for free if it doesn't sell the first time like ibda12u mentioned. Just don't go for the fancy frills like Bold or Highlight or Featured Auctions and start the auction low so it will encourage more bids.. research closed items and see what they have gone for and are going for - that will give you a good starting place to start the bidding. If you use a reserve and it sells, that will be added back to you..

as a seller, it's important to specify in the ad what pmts you will accept like Midtowner mentioned - buyers get frustrated...( Paypal does charge but it offers protection and more people will bid if they know you will take it) I never bid on items where I have to send a check or money order, it takes forever.

The other thing is as soon as you get your payment, pack the item very well and ship it out immediately. On high ticket or fragile items, make insurance mandatory and add that cost to the shipping. (There are shipping calculators you can use on Ebay that you add to your listing for a more accurate shipping cost).

It can be a lot of fun to sell things you aren't using and get some extra cash. If you collect things, it's amazing what you will find on Ebay and sometimes you can get the deal of a lifetime... I just got about $400.00 of new lined, thermal drapes for $30 bucks and I bid on the Sirius Sportster Replay for Christmas and with the rebate it cost me $49.00! Have fun! Once you try it - you'll get hooked!

It's been good to me so far, but a buddy of mine had a bad deal with it. It was not any fault of ebay though. He was buying something and the guy wanted to deal with him directly thru their personal email accts and wanted the money sent Western Union. EBay strongly warns against this, so don't fall for those scams. Just make sure your dealing with other Ebay users via ebay guidelines only.