How to buy on ebay: subtleties and useful tips. What is eBay: basic concepts about the auction

Those who came to the ebay site for the first time are primarily interested in the question - what is it actually? On the one hand, it looks like an online store, on the other hand, not quite, and on the third, something completely different. How to buy here, how to pay, how to receive? But let's talk about everything in order.

What is ebay?

The ebay.com marketplace is owned by the American company of the same name, founded in 1995. Unlike its main competitor - Amazon, ebay INC does not independently sell goods, but only provides a trading platform for sellers and buyers.

The number of registered users of the service in 2017 crossed the mark of 170 million. Today, ebay is one of the ten most profitable IT companies in the world.

Screenshot from ebay.com

Why is ebay called an auction?

In addition to the traditional sale of goods at a fixed price on ebay, there is an auction format - the seller sets the starting price, and buyers bid. Whoever offers more, he gets the right to buy the goods. This format is one of the most favorite among buyers, because. often allows you to purchase goods at a symbolic price.

How does ebay make money?

Each seller, in case of a successful sale of goods, pays a commission depending on the amount of the sale. In addition, sellers are provided with additional paid services. For buyers, ebay services are completely free.

Why do I need ebay?

First of all, ebay is attractive as a place for profitable shopping. Here you can buy clothes and shoes of well-known brands, laptops, smartphones, cosmetics and perfumes, auto parts, and millions of other goods for next to nothing. Goods for the home, everything for sports and recreation. Both private sellers and large companies offer their goods. Some products are offered directly by manufacturers who have official stores on the site - ebay store.

Official Samsonite store on ebay.com

How is ebay different from online stores?

If you try to be concise, then you can formulate the answer to this question in one phrase: “ebay, or rather its business model, makes products available to you that you, for one reason or another, cannot afford.”

The beauty is that here, in addition to the usual assortment, you can purchase goods that are simply not available in traditional online stores due to the “shop” format itself. Here's an example: Prada women's leather shoes with a price tag of almost $500, which apparently spent the season in the store window. New and original. But exposure to direct sunlight slightly changed the color of the product. What to do with them? Were sent to one of the most famous American clothing and footwear retailers, who put this pair up for auction. As a result, they went to the buyer at the auction for $36. He was very pleased with the purchase. And there are many such examples. Dressing and shoes on ebay at symbolic prices is only a matter of desire.

There is a large amount of refurbished electronics sold on ebay, the condition of which is defined by the term "refurbished". It is common practice in the United States for devices sold to be returned to the manufacturer for one reason or another, who will thoroughly inspect and, if necessary, repair. Then similar goods, which, in fact, do not differ from new ones, are sold with a good discount and a guarantee. “Refurbished” iPhones, iPads and other Apple products are in particular demand on ebay.

What condition are the items in for sale?

When placing a product for sale, you can specify the following options for its condition: “new in box”, “new (with comments)”, “used”, “refurbished”.

How to pay for goods?

When placing the goods for sale, the seller determines the method of payment. Usually payment is made through the payment system Paypal. It is enough to have a payment card to register.

What about delivery?

The rules are determined by the seller. Before buying a product, you need to check the conditions, the cost of delivery and make a conclusion about the expediency of the transaction. Goods can be shipped worldwide or to certain countries. Some sellers offer free shipping, others pay, and others combine something. You need to check every time. There are few sellers who offer inexpensive international shipping and the usual practice is to order goods to the warehouse addresses of forwarding companies, which then combine purchases in one box and send them to the client by the chosen method.

Does each country have its own ebay site?

There are a dozen regional ebay sites that differ in interface language and product description - in Russia, Germany, Canada, France, Great Britain, Italy, Spain, Poland, etc. The most popular and visited is the American ebay.com. Each is designed primarily for the audience of the country where it is located. It is enough to register on one of them and you get access to all the others under the same login and password. Profile data with shipping addresses will be available, you won't have to re-enter anything. You can buy at any of the sites without restrictions with direct international delivery or with delivery to the address of a forwarding company that has a warehouse in the country where the seller is located. The most popular foreign branches of ebay among our compatriots are the American ebay.com and the German ebay.de.

How to search for products?

Although the goods are in a single database, the search is based on the visitor's localization data. On German ebay, you should not look for products sold in the USA. Therefore, choose a regional site based on the country in which you intend to shop.

Is it safe?

If you follow the simplest rules for evaluating the reliability of a seller, buying on ebay is completely safe. Moreover, if there are problems with the order, you can file a complaint - use the dispute resolution tool. With it, you can fully refund the amount spent on the purchase of goods, including shipping.

Thousands of online purchases are made every day on the Internet. A significant part of them takes place on eBay, one of the popular auction-type trading platforms. What is eBay, how to use the platform site and purchase goods?

How does the auction work?

which was founded in the USA. Today, residents of various countries order goods here. Sellers can be ordinary people who need to sell used items, or those who start their own business without investing large amounts at the initial stage.

The seller on eBay gets the opportunity to bring the goods to the target audience and sell things without much investment.

At the same time, buyers have a wide choice from a large number of offers on the site at an affordable price, and sometimes even for ridiculous money.

So what is eBay? This is a service where anyone can buy things. The main thing is your ability to pay, as well as the ability to deliver goods to your country. The auction does not limit the possibility of trading, it is only done by the seller at will.

For example, the largest American branch of eBay conducts more than 90% of payment transactions through, so sellers often refuse another payment method. In addition, sometimes American sellers refuse the buyer due to the fact that they do not want difficulties with the transportation of the order.

What can you buy on eBay?

We figured out the benefits of eBay, as well as what it is. Now let's talk about what you can buy here.

As practice shows, the eBay marketplace provides an opportunity to buy almost any product. Rather, you can specify what is not for sale on eBay than list all available items on auctions. Here they buy real estate, appliances, household goods, branded clothes, antiques, and much more. These can be things with the status of used or completely new; broken, refurbished and ready to use.

Varieties of trading

There are two types of bidding on the site: fixed price bidding (or "buy it now" - buy it now) and an auction.

Auction trading provides the buyer with the opportunity to purchase goods by placing bids on time. The one who offers the highest price gets the goods. Bidding with fixed prices does not require a bid from the buyer, because the goods can be bought at the price indicated on the page by the seller.

At the auction, the seller has the opportunity to specify a reserve value, below which it is impossible to buy a lot put up for sale. Buyers are interested in this type of auction, as practice shows, much less than auctions without a fixed reserve. This is due to the fact that reserve prices do not allow you to win goods at a record low cost, and this opportunity is sometimes one of the reasons for contacting the service.

Bidding with fixed prices does not exclude the right of the buyer to offer his own value for the goods - If you do not try to save too much and reduce the price by a few roses, then using this option, pay 5-10% less.

Both varieties may be combined in the same auction. So, some items on eBay are put up for auction, but the description indicates the option "Buy it now." Then the buyer has a choice - to place a bid and participate in the auction, or to buy the item at the minimum cost and pick it up immediately.

Customer ratings

eBay has sellers and buyers. Each client of the trading platform after the sale of goods or their purchase has the opportunity to vote and evaluate the work of the seller or the responsibility of the buyer. For example, the former may speak positively about buyers for the quick payment of the lot, while the latter praise the sellers for the high quality of products, compliance with the described characteristics, and attentiveness. However, the reviews of those who do business on eBay are more important.

The ratio of negative and positive feedback from the seller allows buyers to evaluate his work. The more positive recommendations (“Positive Feedback”), the more likely that you will enjoy working with the seller and not have to worry about the delivery and quality of the goods.

Warranties and Buyer Protection

Before that, it is important to familiarize yourself with the rating of the seller on the site. If you realized after payment that you were faced with deceit and fraud, then you can ask for help at (of course, if you paid for the goods using this payment service).

If the product was purchased on the American branch of eBay, then the order is protected by a special program from the trading platform. Such a function provides, if necessary, a refund to the buyer (ie, compensation for damage).

eBay World Wide Program

In browsers, you will often see an extension or PC program called eBay WorldWide. What is this program? This program guarantees the successful purchase of lots and the sale of items on eBay. Access is possible from different countries, you can change the domain in the My eBay menu. Please be aware that when you go to the eBay Worldwide option on the trading platform website, you will not see all listings in all countries. You will only see products from the UK or the US. That is why changing your country settings is important for shopping without restrictions.

The new versions of the program have a length converter and a special calculator. Using the shortcut buttons, you can order a product, view lots, quickly contact technical support or link to another site.

Why is eBay profitable?

The answer to the question of whether it is profitable to sell or buy on eBay is obvious. With the help of this platform, sellers can increase their sales or say goodbye to things that have lost their need.

Buyers, in turn, find it convenient to work with a wide range and order lots at the lowest prices, without the risk of encountering scammers and not returning money in case of fraud.

For more information about what eBay is, see the video:

Last update: 03/16/2019
Publication date: 06/16/2014

Conclusion:

Well, it seems to me that I have told all the basic information about the features of shopping on the ebay website. The site interface is now in Russian, the translation is not very high quality, but in general you can figure it out. If you have questions about a particular product, for example, if the seller did not indicate some important information for you - do not hesitate to ask him (preferably in English;)

Some points listed by me need a more detailed explanation and I will write my comments - in separate posts, if you suddenly want to clarify something - ask, also do not be shy. You can even ask me in Russian.

Also, what do you buy there? What do you like and dislike on ebay?

Perhaps someday some seller will write about you that you are “A++++ excellent ebayer”. And you will feel like a real person of the World, shopping in the most exotic corners of our planet.

subscribe to my blog updates via bloglovin, page in

In this article, we will talk about the eBay marketplace - how to register and search for products.

Navigation

About the international Internet auction eBay many Internet users know. Here you can buy almost everything at a bargain price. But the most important advantage of the site is that you buy goods at a price that is convenient for you.

But some people are still afraid to take advantage of such bargains simply because they don't know how it's done. In this article, we will analyze how to register on eBay and search for products. So, let's begin .

How to register on eBay?

First, open the official page of the site eBay .
Top left where the line is "Log in or register" select « Register» .

Wait for the registration form to load.
Enter all the data that the system asks you. Everything must be written in Latin letters. If you are registering as a company, then you need to check the box « Register a company account» .

In the first and second lines write your email address and its confirmation.
Next, enter a password, to check the correctness of the input, check the box to the right of the line "Show".
In the next two lines write your first and last name.
On the last line, select your country of residence and enter your phone number.

Now check all the information provided and select « Register« to complete registration .
In a new window, the system will offer you to increase the level of account security. If you would like to do so, please select "Tell me PIN code", if not, then - "No thanks. Go to shopping».

Now you are a full user of the site eBay. To start using all the features of the site, you still need to fill in the data in your profile, indicate the address of residence, telephone numbers for communication, link a card and enter the address for delivery of orders.

How to fill in the address of residence and delivery?

So, let's start by specifying the delivery address of the goods and accommodation. Primarily
it's the same address, but eBay I decided to distinguish between these concepts, so that later there would be no problems. Maybe you decided to receive your orders not at home, but at work. To provide this information:

Login to your page eBay
Go to "My eBay"
Select tab

From the left menu select

Here in the section "Registration address" enter the address on your passport, as sometimes the security service sends you a request to verify your address. Then you will have to upload a copy of the passport with the registration page or another document indicating the address.
"Primary Shipping Address"- here sellers will send you orders. Its confirmation is not required and you can write anything. By the way, you can specify several such addresses, and it is not even necessary that they be within the same country. The site administration does not set restrictions on this.

This is how the form looks like where you need to enter your address. Once again it is worth recalling that all data is entered in Latin letters so that sellers do not experience writing problems addresses, as well as for the parcel to go where it is needed.

When you write "Registration address", then the system will automatically enter it into the delivery address. If yours is different, you can specify it. If it matches , then leave everything as it is .

Linking a payment card

It remains only to link your card to your account eBay or take advantage account paypal. Why paypal? This is a subsidiary eBay and almost all payments are made by the site through this system. In addition, it is convenient to use.

To add an account:

open "My eBay"
Go to tab «»
Select "Paypal account"
Now enter the email to which registered paypal, as it acts as an account for transactions

If you are not yet in the system registered then press « Register paypal », and register.

Now you are a full-fledged buyer. You can view the product catalog , place orders and much more . Now let's look at how to search for products.

How to find the right item on eBay?

The most interesting process eBay is product search . All categories , except for products for adults , can be browsed without problems . You will be admitted to this category only after confirmation coming of age. To do this, you must provide information from your credit card.

The search is pretty easy to use. But first, let's talk about what auctions are:

is a simple auction where you can bid.
Buy now- These are lots with a fixed price and you cannot bargain for such goods.

Let's look at the example of finding a smartphone Nokia N97.

Enter in the search bar Nokia N97 White and press "Find".
You will see results with multiple positions.

To get more accurate results , you can select a section to search . In our case, this "Mobile phones and accessories" .
If there are too many results now, then use the option next to the search button. It allows you to set more precise parameters - price, type of auction, form of payment, end date of the auction, and even the number of bids made.

Although , sorting can be done after the search . Usually , the best prices are at auctions , so it 's better to sort by parameter right away .

Additional sorting options

Depending on the selected category, sorting is carried out according to various parameters.

In our case, sorting is possible by:

Brenda
Condition (new, used)
Type of purchase (auction, buy now)
Shipping Options

How to trade correctly?

For example , you have found a phone you like . According to the owner , it is new , but there is no factory seal on it . Its cost is 1600 rubles. Click on a product and read the description.

First of all, we see the price in Australian dollars converted into US dollars. It's quite normal . At the time of payment paypal will convert at its own rate. Here you can set the highest price you are willing to pay .

Let's say an item costs $100. If someone is ready to pay more, then the system independently increases the rate. If the bet is outbid , you will receive an email . Then you can either increase the rate, or completely abandon the product.

How to work with a seller?

For convenience, all information is displayed in the middle of the screen, that is, you will immediately find all the important indicators.
If the seller has less than 95% good reviews, then it is better not to contact him. It is better to cooperate with those who have a score of at least 98%. Don't be lazy and take a look