It was my very first time to try eBay and I loved it. eBay, a popular online shopping site, has been around for years already but it was only in July 2009 that I signed up an account with it and browsed through its shopping catalogs. I once heard a blogger friend said UK sellers are the best. They're easy to deal with and they ship products for real. And so with this testimony, I made sure UK sellers would be my priority.
My first eBay purchase? A pair of mid-calf, black buckled boots. The rainy season has started in the Philippines and what better way to use the boots for? Armed with my Paypal account, I bought the pair of boots for 18.99 UK Pounds on August 2, 2009. Twenty five days later, my postal claim card arrived. I did not waste time to claim my package at the main office of the Philippine Postal Corporation (PhilPost) in Lawton, Manila.
Here are some tips to make your eBay shopping experience more fun and definitely not a waste of time and money:
1. Browse items like a pro. You don't know what treasure you could find in a list of auctioned items until you see the last product. Patience is a virtue. Sometimes, the best product lies underneath the mountain of so-so items.
2. Use keywords. When shopping at eBay, supply the search engine with appropriate keywords to narrow your search. This will save you time and energy. For instance, if you're looking for a vintage bag, cite the material and/or color.
3. Bid like a seasoned shopper. All eBay items are up for bidding. The search engine serves as your gateway to auction listings where each item are sold to the highest bidder. As much as possible, bid for items that are about to expire in three to five days. This way, you'll get a feel of how much the item is wanted in the eBay community.
4. Look for items that offer free shipping. Again, this requires patience. But lemme tell you, there are lots of sellers that offer free shipping. You just have to find them.
Did you know that most eBay sellers earn most of their money from shipping fees? I once encountered a nice black top that sells at $2 but when I looked at the shipping fee, it was a big $10 (standard). See what I mean? For Philippine-based buyers, shipping fee runs anywhere from $5 to $15, depending on your purchase.
5. Go for the bargain items. There's this section at eBay where bargain items can be found. Normally, the bidding for these items are expiring in a day or two and so, the sellers decide to lower their prices for faster disposal. Go for these items and you'll save a lot of money.
6. Suggest alternative shipping packages to lower your shipping fees. If the items will be shipped in a box, contact the seller and suggest an alternative way. Instead of putting the item in a box, why not put it in a bag? This way, the shipping fee may be reduced.
7. Mark your favorites. Each seller has a home page where you could view all the items they are selling. If you got satisfied with a particular seller, mark him/her as your favorite so that you can get easy access to their offerings.
8. Never hesitate to ask questions. If you want to know more about the product you are eyeing, or you simply wanna clear something, contact the seller and send all your questions.
9. Always double check the seller's online reputation. Not all sellers are the same. While many are legit, there are still others that are not. Prevent scams and avoid being a victim of scammers by scrutinizing the seller's online reputation. Normally, the seller's profile has star marks (credibility rating) and comments where you could read about how good or bad his/her customer service is.
10. If possible, deal only with power sellers. Power sellers are identified by a "PowerSeller" logo located next to their eBay user ID in auction listings. eBay invites qualified sellers to join this program via email and this depends on a list of requirements such as eBay values, feedback rating, sales volume, financial standing, etc.
Shopping at eBay is always fun. Waiting for the items to arrive is another story, especially if they come from the United States and the United Kingdom. The Philippine Postal System can be a pain in the ass, and I mean that big time! I've had my share of the blatant corruption of the personnel there. I will blog about it at another time.
Now back to the topic. While it is recommended to shop at eBay in your own country, you can't just deprive yourself of the wide offerings from abroad. If you think the item is worth the long wait, grab it at once. A package from the US or UK or just about any country overseas can go anywhere from 1 week to 2 months before reaching you. Blame it to our (in)efficient postal system that really needs to undergo comprehensive reforms, otherwise it would go bankrupt in a few years.
If you'd like to share your own eBay shopping tip here, lemme know through the comment section and I will add your tip here.
If you liked this post and would be interested to get updated with The Life of a Breadwinner, bookmark this site or subscribe to my feeds.
My first eBay purchase? A pair of mid-calf, black buckled boots. The rainy season has started in the Philippines and what better way to use the boots for? Armed with my Paypal account, I bought the pair of boots for 18.99 UK Pounds on August 2, 2009. Twenty five days later, my postal claim card arrived. I did not waste time to claim my package at the main office of the Philippine Postal Corporation (PhilPost) in Lawton, Manila.
Here are some tips to make your eBay shopping experience more fun and definitely not a waste of time and money:
1. Browse items like a pro. You don't know what treasure you could find in a list of auctioned items until you see the last product. Patience is a virtue. Sometimes, the best product lies underneath the mountain of so-so items.
2. Use keywords. When shopping at eBay, supply the search engine with appropriate keywords to narrow your search. This will save you time and energy. For instance, if you're looking for a vintage bag, cite the material and/or color.
3. Bid like a seasoned shopper. All eBay items are up for bidding. The search engine serves as your gateway to auction listings where each item are sold to the highest bidder. As much as possible, bid for items that are about to expire in three to five days. This way, you'll get a feel of how much the item is wanted in the eBay community.
4. Look for items that offer free shipping. Again, this requires patience. But lemme tell you, there are lots of sellers that offer free shipping. You just have to find them.
Did you know that most eBay sellers earn most of their money from shipping fees? I once encountered a nice black top that sells at $2 but when I looked at the shipping fee, it was a big $10 (standard). See what I mean? For Philippine-based buyers, shipping fee runs anywhere from $5 to $15, depending on your purchase.
5. Go for the bargain items. There's this section at eBay where bargain items can be found. Normally, the bidding for these items are expiring in a day or two and so, the sellers decide to lower their prices for faster disposal. Go for these items and you'll save a lot of money.
6. Suggest alternative shipping packages to lower your shipping fees. If the items will be shipped in a box, contact the seller and suggest an alternative way. Instead of putting the item in a box, why not put it in a bag? This way, the shipping fee may be reduced.
7. Mark your favorites. Each seller has a home page where you could view all the items they are selling. If you got satisfied with a particular seller, mark him/her as your favorite so that you can get easy access to their offerings.
8. Never hesitate to ask questions. If you want to know more about the product you are eyeing, or you simply wanna clear something, contact the seller and send all your questions.
9. Always double check the seller's online reputation. Not all sellers are the same. While many are legit, there are still others that are not. Prevent scams and avoid being a victim of scammers by scrutinizing the seller's online reputation. Normally, the seller's profile has star marks (credibility rating) and comments where you could read about how good or bad his/her customer service is.
10. If possible, deal only with power sellers. Power sellers are identified by a "PowerSeller" logo located next to their eBay user ID in auction listings. eBay invites qualified sellers to join this program via email and this depends on a list of requirements such as eBay values, feedback rating, sales volume, financial standing, etc.
Shopping at eBay is always fun. Waiting for the items to arrive is another story, especially if they come from the United States and the United Kingdom. The Philippine Postal System can be a pain in the ass, and I mean that big time! I've had my share of the blatant corruption of the personnel there. I will blog about it at another time.
Now back to the topic. While it is recommended to shop at eBay in your own country, you can't just deprive yourself of the wide offerings from abroad. If you think the item is worth the long wait, grab it at once. A package from the US or UK or just about any country overseas can go anywhere from 1 week to 2 months before reaching you. Blame it to our (in)efficient postal system that really needs to undergo comprehensive reforms, otherwise it would go bankrupt in a few years.
If you'd like to share your own eBay shopping tip here, lemme know through the comment section and I will add your tip here.
If you liked this post and would be interested to get updated with The Life of a Breadwinner, bookmark this site or subscribe to my feeds.
Get the latest updates on the Life of a Breadwinner by subscribing to my RSS feeds. This entry was posted
on 02 September 2009
at Wednesday, September 02, 2009
and is filed under
Corruption,
Ebay,
Ebay Shopping,
eBay Shopping Tips,
Online Shopping,
Package Delivery,
Parcel Delivery to the Philippines,
Philippine Postal System,
PhilPost,
Postal Claim Cards
.
