Stated simply, like any other auction site eBay functions in the same manner. The only difference between eBay and other similar auction sites lies in size. No other site comes even closer to eBay in terms of number of items on sale at any given point of time.

It is very easy to understand the basic functioning of eBay. This functioning is similar for seller and buyer. Both the parties have to register themselves on eBay. Registration process is easy to understand and follow.

Once the seller has registered himself on eBay, he can think of putting an item on sale. This item could be new or old. This has to be specified at the time of putting the item on sale or listing the item. There are charges in the range of 25 cents to $5 for listing an item for sale.

Then you have to define the time period of bid - in other words, how long this item will be on sale on eBay. In addition to this, the seller has to decide the minimum amount for the bid i.e., the amount below which the seller will not accept the bid for selling the listed item. People interested in buying the listed product start bidding for the item. After the expiry of the time frame, the person (buyer) with maximum bid gets the item for the amount he has placed the bid for. The seller has to make arrangements for delivering the item (as decided at the time of listing the item) after receiving the payment from the maximum bidder.

Donny Lowy runs http://www.closeoutexplosion.com an online wholesale and closeout business that supplies eBay sellers, retailers, and flea market vendors.

Share This

Since their introduction several years ago, online auctions, such as eBay, have been one of the hottest destinations on the World Wide Web. Auction sellers are attracted by the prospect of a broad venue for their products and the possibility of high profits resulting from emotion-driven bidding wars. Bidders on online auction sites are drawn to the unique shopping opportunities and potential to purchase hard-to-find items at low prices. One technique many successful auction bidders employ is called sniping.

Auction sniping is waiting to place your bid until seconds before the auction closes. In most cases, the last-minute bid precludes competing bids and assures the sniping bidder the winning bid at the lowest price. Some web sites estimate that sniping occurs on 5 percent of all eBay auctions that close with bids.

While this technique is not without controversy - mostly from disgruntled sellers or competing bidders - it is permitted on most online auction sites including eBay. In fact, an eBay Community Development representative related eBay’s position on one of eBay’s message boards:

From: daphne

Topic: Re: Snipers How To Workshop

Just for the record, contrary to what some people think, there’s no rule against “sniping,” or bidding in the last moments of the auction. You will hear all kinds of debates about which method (proxy bidding or sniping) is more effective, and eBay would recommend proxy bidding, but bidding at the last moment of the auction is perfectly acceptable and legal.

Daphne

eBay Community Development

There are several advantages to sniping on auctions. The first is that the sniper prevents counter-bids and is more likely win the auction. The most significant advantage is that sniping prevents emotional bidding wars. These are events that auction sellers dream about - two or more bidders start running up the price of a listed item because they get caught up in the excitement of the moment. More often than not, the sniper will win the auction at a lower price if they do it correctly.

There are some problems associated with sniping manually. First, you must be online to bid when the auction closes. This may not be convenient if the bidding for that PEZ dispenser you’ve been drooling over ends in the middle of the night or while you are at work. Second, depending on your connection speed, your last second bid may be submitted too late. The auction might close before your bid reaches eBay.

Not to worry though, there are several software and web-based solutions to automate the sniping process for you.

Sniping software programs, such as iSnipeIt reside on your computer. You simply enter the item number you wish to bid on and input your maximum bid. At the appropriate time, the sniping software connects to the internet and places the bid for you. This requires your computer to be on, the sniping program to be active, and a connection to the internet. One advantage to having sniping software resident on your computer is increased security. Most desktop applications don’t require your eBay ID and password to reside on servers continuously connected to the internet. However, the timeliness of your snipe depends on your connection speed and your internet service provider. This can be a problem for some people.

Online services such as http://AuctionInsights.AuctionStealer.com mitigate these connection issues. They have high-speed connections to the internet and can place your last second bid regardless if your computer is on or not. While web based services are generally more expensive than a desktop software application, their reliability is remarkable. An advantage to online sniping services is that they respond quickly to frequent changes in eBay’s web site that can disable a desktop software program. The hapless auction sniper who is attempting to use a desktop solution is often out of luck until the programmer modifies his or her code and the user installs the update.

Sniping online auction sites such as eBay can be of great benefit to the bidder. It saves them money and greatly increases the chances that they will win the auction. Give it a try on the next auction you bid on!

______________________________________________

Doug Feiring publishes “AuctionInsights.com”, an all-encompassing FREE resource guide that provides nuts-and-bolts strategies, ideas, and tools to build a successful eBay online auction business from the ground up, visit http://www.auctioninsights.com

Share This

On eBay it is utterly simple to list an item in the featured auction section! If you are able to spend on substantial extra fee, you can get your auction featured. There are two price tags for two different kinds of auctions featured viz. for $99.95 you can have a regular auction featured on eBay. And for $19.95 you can have your auction featured in its special category. You will find the featured auction appearing at the top of its category. In the regular auction listing it shall appear in bold.

While you are opting for featured auction section of eBay you have to judge for yourself whether your item for auction is worth it or not ? For most items auction featured section does not work since when potential bidder is looking for something specific, they are least likely to browse through the featured sections. So you have to be very careful while selecting items to be in the featured auction section. Items that are supposed to be bought on impulse might get sold well in the featured sections. It is mostly seen that many people who visit the featured sections are actually browsing only to look for something to buy.

If an item of yours is not being identified with keywords or is really difficult to search for then the section for featured auction is best to sell your product as the visitor shall find the same on a listing with a huge number of auctions. Featured sections also prove to be good when the eBay users are new and are unable to search effectively with proper keywords. Even if you are selling a popular consumer item, featured sections help you to sell well.

Donny Lowy runs http://www.closeoutexplosion.com an online wholesale and closeout business that supplies eBay sellers, retailers, and flea market vendors.

Share This