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1 ► Best Offer Feature
– You can search for “Best Offer” items only using the advanced search feature. Make low offers. A price will be listed but the “Best Offer” listing says they will accept less. The question is, how much less? You might get lucky with a much lower price. There are a couple of times that you can counteroffer as well. I have gotten some steals this way!
2 ► Buy Coupons – You can bid on and purchase manufacturer and retailer coupons on eBay. To some people that might seem counterproductive. Here’s how I look at it. I know that I routinely purchase items from Bed, Bath & Beyond. A quick search on eBay for Bed Bath Beyond Coupons pulls up several results. Most are for more than one coupon. I found one that includes (2) $5 OFF coupons plus (2) $10 OFF coupons and (3) 20% off one item
. It is listed for $13.49. The math – $30 in coupons less $13.49 price = $16.51 that I would come out ahead without taking into consideration the saving of the 20% OFF Coupons! It happens to be a best offer auction so it CAN be had for less that the $13.49 listing price.
3 ► Sell Coupons – This seems to work best with High Value Coupons. There are people out there that will buy coupons for just about anything. Buying a $5 OFF coupon for $3 still saves them $2. There are some limitations as to the number and type of coupons that you can list.
4 ► Gift Cards – People sell gift cards that they do not want on eBay AND people also purchase those gift cards. Depending on what side of the auction you are on, you can make some money or save some money. Purchasing gift cards on eBay could save you a significant amount toward larger purchases, like electronics and appliances.
5 ► Wholesale Lots – This is going to take a little time, but it can be lucrative. Purchase lots of an item in larger quantity because the price per piece will be less. Then sell the items indiviually, on eBay, at a garage sale or even for a fund raiser. Check out this example – this DVD Lot of 65
sold for $40, that’s about 62¢ each. Sell them at a garage sale for $2 each and make $90 profit! NICE!
6 ► Daily Deals – There are some AWESOME deals to be found on the Daily Deals page – HUGE savings often more than 75%! Of course, new deals are posted daily, so you will want to check it out often.
7 ► eBay Credit Card – For a limited time when you open an eBay MasterCard and make a purchase with your new card you will get a FREE $30 Statement Credit.
8 ► Penny Items with FREE Shipping – Yes, you can find them. Here’s how – search for an item (e.g. rings), then sort the search from the drop down menu by “Price + Shipping: Lowest First.” If there are any items listed for 1¢, they will show at the top of the list. Surprisingly, there are quite a few Penny Rings!
9 ► Timing Bids – Don’t bid early! It just drives the price up. You can “watch items” and receive reminders when they are about to end. THEN go check on them to see if you are still interested in the item at the current price.
10 ► FREE Shipping – Don’t pay for shipping, or at the very least remember to factor the shipping in to the total price when you are comparing prices. You can search for “Free Shipping” items only using the advanced search feature.
11 ► ASK – There’s no such thing as a dumb question, right? Send a message through eBay inquiring if the seller will accept less than the starting price, especially if the end of the auction is nearing. If there is an agreed upon price, the seller will have to relist the item at that price with a Buy it Now option. You will have to then purchase the item immediately so that no one else can. You never know – you might be surprised!
12 ► Completed Listings -From a buyers point-of-view – you can view recently closed and sold auctions of the same and similar items that you are interested in. You can search for “Completed Listings” items only using the advanced search feature. This should give you an idea of what you should expect to pay.
From a sellers standpoint – the Completed Listing feature helps you to better price your item for a successful sale. See what similar items are selling for and start your bid in the same ballpark. Don’t undercut yourself and don’t out-price yourself either.
What are you waiting for? List, sell, bid and buy on eBay
now!
