EBay (How to buy on eBay. Tips from personal experience)

Ebay



  • How to make friends with a monster
  • How to buy goods on Ebay
  • How to buy goods on Ebay (description and personal experience)



  • Part 1. Debunking myths.

    With ebay, everything is perfectly delivered to Russia! Most sellers send their things to Worldwide (yes, they do not care, where to send, you pay for delivery), or in several countries, including Europe (which we also enter). To use the services of all intermediaries makes sense except that if the seller sends the parcel only in the US (and refused to send you a request to send it to Russia). But then it should be a particularly valuable thing, because you overpay the middlemen a lot of money. And with direct purchase there is no overpayment - you only pay the cost of the lot, the shipping cost and - everything!

    Part 2. Shipping

    The question immediately follows. How much is shipping and how is it delivered? Here, too, everything is simple. It costs an average of 6-20 dollars. Depending on where the goods are sent (there are more American sellers on ebay.com, but also from Europe, a lot of Asian shoes, clothes, equipment) and how big it is, the amount can vary. But 30 dollars is, in my experience, the maximum for devices or clothes like coats. Something shallow like a negligee or mascara does not cost 5-6 dollars. Something average-15 dollars. Delivery from Europe (many products are exhibited from the UK) and Asia is usually a little cheaper than from America. It also happens that the seller offers free shipping (most often it is like doing salesmen from Asia).

    These prices are for delivery by USPS. This is US state mail. The organization is reliable and well-functioning. Not that our mail is Russia ... The prices are the most acceptable, the timing is also good. There are several types of delivery of USPS ( more on their website ), but there is not much difference between them. The type of delivery is chosen by the seller, the price is also set by him. More expensive shipping usually comes with insurance and tracking number (to track the parcel). For important lots I would recommend USPS Express Mail - this is the fastest and most reliable delivery. A little easier - delivery USPS Proirity Mail. For some trifles the simplest delivery of First Class Mail is suitable.

    Some sellers send some things (often expensive electronic devices) using courier services such as DHL or UPS. It is usually very expensive and there is no sense in courier delivery. Well, except that the thing will come much faster and straight home. Although I do not see the reason for overpayment. If only you really buy something very expensive. In addition, keep in mind that parcels from the USPS customs are often not delayed (if things are not more than 10,000 rubles), but our customs office loves to detain and send DHL or UPS promptly, requesting payment of a fee if the thing costs more than 5000 P + delivery.

    By the way, about the customs. As I have already said, things are usually not requested for things cheaper than 10,000 rubles (I repeat - if sending by regular mail or EMS, if courier services, then the threshold is 5000), although everything happens at times. In any case, you can negotiate with the seller - for example, send a thing without original packaging as used, declare it as a gift, or write a low appraised value in the hope that it will not be checked (and USPS shipments are usually not checked). But personally, I did not encounter this at all, since I did not buy very expensive things on ebay.

    About the delivery time. They are long, get ready for it right away. If the US sends a parcel to the Russian customs in less than a week, then it will be "humming" for 1-3 weeks, as luck would have it. Especially if you do not live in Moscow. The post of Russia is an unhurried organization. The average delivery time is 3 weeks. In my practice, there was still no loss of the parcel (although one was almost 2 months old and I was already desperate). In any case, even if the post office of Russia lost your order, you are insured by Paypal and eBay, about this below.

    Finally - the order of receipt. In your mailbox, notice drops, take it and go to the post office. There you stand half an hour-hour (as luck would have it) :) )) And get the coveted parcel. In general, everything is very good, except for frequent queues at the post office.

    Important addition: write the address when registering with eBay and Paypal. But do not be bored and write like street, house, etc. Here is my address so there it looks:

    Olga Shagalova
    Engelsa, dom X, korpus X, kv. XX
    St-Petersburg St-Petersburg 194000
    Russian Federation

    Part 3. Payment

    Most sellers on ebay accept payment through Paypal . Some still take credit cards, but I would not recommend that you use this method of payment. Because if something goes wrong (the parcel will be lost, the thing will not come as it is in the description), then to prove it ebay, it is necessary to run after bank statements. With paypal everything is easier - this system insures you. If the item does not come or comes with defects, you create a claim on Paypal or eBay (there has been a recent "Buyer protection") where you make all the claims. You can create such an application no later than 45 days after sending the lot (so if the parcel is delayed, do not wait, and the day for the 40th create a claim, if the lot comes - the dispute can always be canceled). In most cases, the system returns money to the buyer. However, the loss of parcels is rare. Let's talk better about registering with Paypal.

    https://www.paypal.com/ru

    For Russia, paypal has already been available for some time and has even been transferred (although not for the reception of money, but it does not matter, we just pay). Registration is quite simple, it only requires a bank card - MasterCard Standart or Visa Classic. Please note that Visa Electron, for example, will not work - it is not intended for payments on the Internet. The card can be either a credit card (with a withdrawal limit of "minus") or a debit card (the most common salary). You can get a plastic card in almost any bank - it takes about a week to make it, the card maintenance fee per year is rarely more than 300 rubles. If you are too lazy to receive a card, you can use the possibility of creating a virtual bank card (such a card allows you to create PrivatBank (privat24)) and put money on it through terminals or cashier without%.

    When you sign up for Paypal, you will be charged $ 1 (later returned on your first purchase) to verify that the card is working. In principle, everything - it is already possible to pay lots. True, if the card is not verified, then the amount of your purchases will be set a certain limit (you can see it in your personal account). In principle, the limits are sufficient for some inexpensive orders. But if you want to spend more - verifying the card is very simple. Follow the instructions on the site, your card will be withdrawn from a certain amount (then also returned), you will need to know the transaction number (by phone, online banking or SMS notification) and enter it in a special box in Paypal. All - the card is confirmed, the limits are withdrawn.

    Part 4. What are the lots at the auction

    Since ebay is primarily an auction, and not an online store, then most often there are auctions here. That is, you make a bet (the maximum amount that you are willing to pay for this lot) and wait for it to be interrupted. If the bet is broken, you will immediately receive a letter. If there are no bets higher than the current one, you will buy a lot on the after-bid rate, and not at your maximum.

    ebay

    To make it clearer - an example. The current price of the lot is 5 dollars. You bet on him at most 10 dollars. If there are no more bets, you will buy a lot at the current price of $ 5. If someone gives you more than $ 5, then ebay will make automatic bets, not raising your bet a little. If someone puts more than 10 dollars, you will receive a letter - and you can either raise the maximum rate, or refuse to buy.

    By the way, on ebay is popular the winning of the lot with the countdown. If you come in the last seconds to the end of the auction and place a bet, then it may not be able to kill it. And, maybe someone more nimble and have time :) .

    Auctions often last for a long time. If you are reluctant to wait, some sellers offer, along with the auction, the opportunity to buy the item immediately (buy it now).

    Купить сейчас

    This is a convenient option if you are reluctant to wait for the end of the auction and want to buy a thing faster. On the other hand, at the auction you can save. You decide.

    Often lots of "bui it now" can be without an auction. Often, they are dodavlyaetsya opportunity best offer - a small bargain. You can enter your amount, which the seller will reject or approve. True, for a big bargain there is hardly anyone going. You can get rid of the power of 5-10 percent. I saw reviews that some fold and up to 50 percent (when buying some music CDs), but this is more likely an exception. It's unlikely that you will be sold for 400 iPhone worth 800 bucks or 50 new clothes worth 100 bucks.

    Part 5. The buying process

    It's still easier. Register on ebay, open its wonderful home page. If you have already made a purchase, you will be shown a bunch of everything here so that you would rather rush to spend money - goods that could be of interest to you based on your previous purchases and bets, goods with free shipping, the best deals of the day, etc.

    Next, you just need to find what we need. This can be done through the catalog of sections (at the bottom of the page):

    Разделы ebay

    But it's easier to use search, it's on ebay just gorgeous! Let's say we need a woman's woolen dress.

    Поиск на ebay

    However, "woman" (woman), we could not write, because the right column of search results are very convenient tools for the criteria of this search to narrow down as much as possible and find what we need. There is absolutely everything there, depending on what you are looking for. On the floor - female, male, unisex. By color, by category (for example, if you write bluetooth, you will be offered to search in cell phones, computers, players, etc.), in size, style, manufacturer, time of use (new, second-hand, one Once worn, etc.), etc.

    ebay

    ebay

    поиск ebay

    Also search results can be divided into all lots, buy it now and auctions.

    аукцион eBay

    Now let's take a closer look at what we see in the search results.

    ebay

    To the left, of course, the title and the first lines are described in the lot, its minicart (by the way, you can make thumbnails with the option at the bottom of the search page). Then there may be information about the seller. The icon of Top Rated Seller means that the seller has the highest marks from customers and can be trusted 100 percent. However, it is not necessary to choose Top Rated Sellers. If the seller has a lot of positive feedback, he can already be trusted. Next is the number of bets already placed on the lot and a note about the possibility of Buy it now or Best offer. Further the price plus the cost of delivery (or mention of free shipping), in the very right part - the time remaining until the end of the auction.

    In order not to get confused in the variegated search variants, they must be sorted using the drop-down menu at the top right.

    I think everything is clear from the screenshot. Sorting depends on your personal preferences, but if you are interested in a product with delivery to Russia at a low price, then the best sorting option is Price + Shipping: lowest first (cost + shipping, starting from the cheapest one). Thus, you can immediately see the value of the lot and its delivery to Russia. With this sorting, ebay can refine your location:

    Next, you will see already well-sorted lots and flipping pages, finding the one you like.

    However, if you want to win the auction in the last minutes, you can sort the lots by the end of the auction. There are options for sorting the lot in the order of their addition, in descending order of the price (someone wants to buy the most expensive? :) ) And depending on how close to you the seller (for us it is clearly irrelevant). There is also the Best match - something like the best offers for the price, the seller, etc. (ebay somehow sorts itself). But I prefer to sort by increasing the price + shipping cost, because only in this case you see the cost of shipping it to Russia, and not in the US and will be able to choose the best option for the price.

    So, let's say you liked this dress and you want to make a bet on it. We are looking at what to look for.

    Right-hand column - Seller Info (information about the seller). The main thing is, of course, the seller. Be sure to check how many reviews he has (the figure in brackets after the nickname). How many reviews are enough - it's up to you. Usually I have enough and 100-300, but of course, sellers with 30,000 reviews inspire respect :) . But the number of reviews is not the only important figure. After this number there are percentages - this is the percentage of positive reviews among all the reviews. This is the basic figure. If the reviews are even only 100, but 100 percent positive - why not trust the seller? I recommend to read reviews. After all, even if there are negative - and where without them - it's not so bad. Most often, there are moments of misunderstanding between the seller and the buyer. For example, the buyer did not see that the shoes are small and left a negative feedback that the description is incorrect. And if I read the description, I would understand everything in advance. Well, reviews like "disappeared and did not send the goods" or "the goods turned out to be of poor quality" should make you think - is it worth buying from such a seller?

    Ebay is generally good in that everything is based on feedback. There are a lot of sellers and things too. And if the seller receives several negative feedbacks, then buyers will simply stop ordering from him! Quite a convenient self-regulating system. Therefore, sellers are in every way afraid of bad reviews and are ready to do everything to make you satisfied (in our stores it would be so!). For example, when my parcel disappeared, the seller assured me that even if paypal suddenly turns out to return my money after the investigation, she will return them to me in full! Let even remain in the red. And all in order to get a positive feedback from me. Fortunately, the parcel was found and everyone stayed with their own.

    Also note the column on the right of the Other Item Info. There is a unique lot number, the location of the seller and the country to which he is ready to send the lot, as well as an acceptable method of payment. In the screenshot below, for example, United States - this means that there is no delivery to Russia and you will not even be given a bet. But if the lot really wants, you can contact the seller by clicking Ask a question - he will suddenly come to meet you.

    eBay

    On the left, as is easy to see, the image of the lot. In the middle its name, next state (new, second-hand, etc.), then the time until the end of the auction, the number of bets, the starting rate, the field for entering your maximum bet and the Watch this Item button (the lot information will be displayed in your Personal cabinet My ebay, closer to the end of the auction you will send a reminder). Just below the cost and method of delivery, the terms of the return of the lot and information about the security of your payment.

    By the way, on ebay a lot of both new and used things. In the case of clothes, there are two grades of the state - New (sometimes with tags, that is, with tags or in box - in the box) and Used (a synonym is Pre-Owned, second-hand). If the thing is not new, carefully read its description. For example, I ran into a directory with a non-working iPhone, which looked perfect in the photo and there was not written about the defect in the title. If you hurry up to make a bet, you will have to redeem the broken device. Fortunately, in most cases, for damaged items, they write in the title - Broken (or more specifically, type water damaged). Well and as a whole I quite often buy second-hand shoes or clothes. Lots come almost in perfect condition, and you can save a lot on this purchase (especially in the case of branded things).

    If you are interested in more information about the return and delivery, go to the appropriate tab. There you can choose your country from the list (if it is not selected by default) and see the exact shipping cost.

    Let's return to the tab with the description of the lot (description) and scroll slightly below - here most often with colorful design is a detailed description of the lot. If for some reason the seller has indicated incomplete information (the period of use of the used thing, detailed dimensions, completeness) or provided insufficient number of photos, you can always contact him by clicking Ask Seller on the left in the column with information about the seller. Do not hesitate to ask questions, yet you buy the thing remotely. In the case of clothes, in order not to get burned, it is better to ask to measure the dress or shirt (and then yourself) in full and check if it suits you. By the way, keep in mind that in the US the dimensions are indicated in inches. In the case of shoes, it is good to ask to measure the sole, because even the same size in different manufacturers may be small or vice versa.

    So, the seller suits you, you like the lot and it is suitable, you can either bet or "buy now". In any case after winning the lot you will receive a letter with congratulations and a button "pay" (pay now). In case you are delayed for some time with payment, the seller can send you an Invoice request for payment. In addition, you can also pay for the lots from your private office, where there will be a line with the name of the lot and a reminder Pay now. Payment terms are indicated in the lot description, it is rarely more than 7 days. Do not delay to not receive negative feedback.

    By the way, here's for you to have an idea, you have a screenshot of my office My eBay:

    ebay

    my

    my2

    There are lots I follow, which I bet on, which I won, etc. Here you can change the address and other account settings.

    Here you can see (in the section Won - won lots) - whether your parcel was sent. If sent, then the box is colored, if not - black and white. However, keep in mind that not all sellers mark this icon after sending. If it's been a long time after payment (usually the time for sending the parcel is specified in the lot description and it's usually 1-3 working days after receiving the payment) and you did not receive any email about sending your purchase, contact the seller.

    feedback

    Part 6. Fidbeeks

    In your personal account, if you have already made purchases, you will see a line that should leave feedbacks (...).

    I already wrote, how reviews are important for ebay. Thanks to them, buyers can choose bona fide sellers, and sellers - honest poyupatelya. Therefore, the site (as well as the sellers themselves) in every possible way remind you of the need to leave the fidbeek. Vendors often leave feedback immediately after you pay the lot (the faster the payment, the more positive the feedback). We, as buyers, leave fidbeki only after receiving the lot. After all, feedback is essentially our insurance. If the purchase turns out to be something wrong and the seller does not help, the only way out will be to ruin his business, leaving as much negative feedback as possible. But before this on ebay comes very rarely :) .

    Part 7. Warnings

    Please treat auctions seriously and do not make rash bets "just like that." For example, if you bet on several similar sneakers, then you should be ready to EVERYONE BUY them! You do not need to bet in the hope that something you will not suddenly win. But what if you win? On ebay there is no way to win a few lots, and then buy the one you like! And if you make a bet, then it's final. You can cancel it, but not less than a day before the end of the auction and only if you make a mistake in the amount (for example, you wrote $ 99 instead of 9, after the cancellation of the bid you must immediately enter the correct amount), if the lot description has changed after your bid Or if the seller disappeared and did not answer your questions. I had cases that I mistook bets on shoes of the wrong size. The sellers came forward and canceled for me even the won lot. But you should not abuse this in any way - you can run into negative comments and sellers will no longer want to deal with you.

    Part 8. Conclusions

    As you can see, there is absolutely nothing complicated in ebay purchases. Requires at least a basic knowledge of English and a bank card. All your payments are securely protected, it's very easy to choose a reliable seller by reading his reviews, and what a choice of things! A certain technique can be taken inexpensively only on ebay. Well, clothes or shoes - it's just a fairy tale! I often buy quite a few pennies from famous brands for just a penny. However, the new ones will cost you much less than in our stores (a simple example with Nike, Ecco or Lacoste shoes - ebay prices are 3 times lower than in shopping centers and branded stores). Personally, I really like the sellers from Asia who offer chic clothes from Japan and Korea (or cosmetics). We can not find such things at all desire. You'll look awesome in such a thing and everyone will ask - where did you buy it.

    eBay Japan Hoodie

    Author: olyapka.ru