Written on April 4th, 2010 by l2cadminno shouts
How to buy smart on eBay
If you’ve never used eBay before visit the eBay how-to-buy page. Otherwise, jump right into our step-by-step article.
Step 1 Decide on the specific product that you want to purchase (brand, model, etc.)
Step 2 Use Internet Resources like google and Amazon.com to determine the going retail and used prices on the specific product that you decided on in step 1 (above). While researching, be sure to check on return policies and warranties being offered on new, used and refurbished products. These considerations should be taken into account before you buy.
Step 3 Armed with the information that that you collected in steps one and two above, you need to consider how much the product is worth to you. Write down the maximum dollar amount that you are willing to spend on this product.
Step 4 Consider the shipping costs. If the shipping costs include insurance and/or rapid delivery, slightly higher than normal shipping costs may be worth it. However, keep an eye out for sellers trying to boost their profits by adding costly shipping and handling charges.
Step 5 Know the risks and how to deal with them.
| Risk |
How to reduce the risk |
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| Buying from an unscrupulous character |
Review the feedback from prior customers of the seller.
After you select a product on eBay, look for “Positive feedback” percentage information located in the upper right hand side of this screen.
Next, Click on the buyers eBay name (located directly above the “Positive feedback” information) to review more information about the customer feedback.
Next, Click on the “See all” link located on the first line of the “Latest Feedback” section. This link will allow you to review specific actual customer comments about the seller. |
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| Ending up with a product that does not match the condition and/or functionality of what was described on the eBay listing |
Checkout the stated “Return Policy” on the eBay listing. This should be located directly below the “Current bid:”
Review the eBay buyer protection page
Buyer protection
http://pages.ebay.com/help/buy/protection-programs.html#bpp
Limit your purchases to only sellers located within the country that you reside in to enjoy the consumer protection laws that your country offers.
Carefully inspect the product as soon as you receive it. Make sure that the product that you received matches the seller’s description. If you are buying an expensive product, it may be worth spending a few dollars to have it inspected by an expert. |
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| Never receiving the product that you order and paid for. |
After purchasing, ask the seller for a delivery tracking number (e.g. UPS or U.S. Post Office tracking number) that you can use to track your shipment online. |
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Step 6 Bid or Bail. Now that you’ve completed your homework assignments, it’s time to decide if biding on eBay is right for you.
Written on February 2nd, 2010 by l2cadminno shouts
Similar to the shocking cost of your popcorn at your local movie theater, the price tags on college text books also come as an unwelcome added expense to college students (and their parents).
OK, it may be more convenient to snag your text books from the on the college book store, but like the popcorn, you’ll end up paying dearly for it. Instead check out these simple alternative options.
- Cross the street – Closely located off-campus book stores stay in business by beating the prices being charged on campus.
- Plan ahead and surf the savings – Try to obtain your upcoming course requirements and surf the web to find lower prices. Check out Bestbookbuys.com . It’s a great eMarketPlace site that allows people to do one stop shopping through tons of different stores. . Note: It is always easier if you have the ISBN number handy for searching. Make sure to pay attention to the price as well as the additional shipping charges and shop total price, not just list price.
- Go digital and save – Look around for cheaper digital versions of text books (e.g. ebooks, PDF’s, kindle books from amazon.com, etc)
- Free is a good price – Check with the college and/or public libraries to see if you can check out the books you’ll need.
- Previously owned – Check out the prices of used or earlier editions of the textbook.
Written on August 23rd, 2009 by l2cadminno shouts
When you look at TV, radio and print ads, there are several little understood marketing tricks that are used to get people to pay more than they need to. Here are just a few of the popular tricks:
- Advertising products as FREE or at ridiculously low priced and making good money by:
- Charging jacked up Shipping and Handling (or Processing) charges to customers.
- Offering a return policy with required jacked up return shipping and handling charges.
- The old “Priced as Low As” trick:
- When you think hard about this, it becomes crystal clear what they are really saying. We translate it as something like “We may sell you item(s) no cheaper than this price”. Hey, what does that really mean anyway? Most folks don’t think to hard about it and assume that they are selling stuff at fantastic prices. As you can image, this is often not the case. Maybe we should ask them to advertise using this phrase “Priced as HIGH as…”. Hmm, that probably would not sell as good.
- The old, if it’s sold at auction, it must be cheaper trick:
- In reality auctions can bring out the competitive nature in people. Some people need to win at any cost. Since most auctions have a fixed minimum price set before the auction start, the seller is protected and may make more profit in less time using this approach.
- So, you really need to do your homework before putting that bid out there on ebay. Make sure you know what the item is really worth before you bid.
- The “If we call it a Factory Outlet store, people will assume that the prices are less than the mall” trick:
- In reality, you may actually pay less at the mall if you catch a good sale. Also, don’t be surprised if you end up paying the same prices than you can find at the mall.
- When you think about it, it is brilliant to setup factory outlet stores (that have less overhead cost than being in expensive mall space) and pricing them at the same or higher prices. Also, many outlet shops are closer to upscale residential neighborhoods. Someone really thought this one out.
- Of course you may be able to find lower prices at the outlet stores at times. Our point is, don’t assume that outlet store prices are cheaper before doing your homework first.
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