For more than twenty years now eBay is one of the leading e-commerce sites that every day allows millions of users to sell and buy lots of items. At least once in our life we have all found a unique opportunity for the object of our desires right on eBay, or we have managed to sell that famous unwanted gift that we wanted to get rid of. Buying on eBay is simple and intuitive, but do you really know everything about the platform? there our Guide to discovering every eBay secret from a shopper's point of view.
What is eBay
eBay is the famous online shopping site where it is possible to sell and buy, through direct purchases with the modality Buy it now or through This week online, a huge amount of products. On eBay it is possible to buy and sell new, refurbished or used products, both working and not working (as long as it is specified in the product description).
eBay was founded in 1995 by Pierre Omidyar, an Iranian businessman with French citizenship naturalized by the US. The first item sold on the e-commerce platform - then called AuctionWeb - was a laser pointer, broken, by Omidyar himself, for $ 14,83.
EBay soon became well known, immediately expanding to Canada, Austria, Germany, the United Kingdom and arriving in Italy in 2001. In just six years since the launch of eBay Italy in 2007, there were five million registered users.
Create an account to be able to sell and buy on eBay
Create an eBay account to register on the platform is very simple: all you need is an email address. Once you have entered the eBay site, you can go to the registration page, then enter your name and email address, choose a password and select "Sign up".
After registration it will be necessary verify the newly created account. eBay will send you an email with all the instructions to complete the step.
In addition to the email address, you can also create an eBay account with Facebook, Google o Apple. When registering, simply select "Continue with Google", "Continue with Facebook" or "Continue with Apple", enter your credentials for one of the three services and complete the registration.
You can buy most of the items for sale on eBay too without being registered on the platform, but some advantages reserved for registered users will be lost. For example with your account you can view all buying and selling activities; send messages to other users; create a list of "observed objects", i.e. products that may interest you in the future and save your favorite searches or sellers.
As unregistered users you can make purchases, track orders and return purchased items. Also you can only buy items that cost less than 1000 euros e only in Buy It Now mode (an account is required to participate in online auctions).
How to manage your eBay account
Once you have created an eBay account, you can change some settings, such as password, username and contact details.
To change the settings, simply go to the Account tab in "My eBay", which is located on the top of the site's homepage:
- press on your name at the top left
- select "Account settings"
Here you can change your password for security reasons, activate two-step verification, connect your social accounts, change your addresses - for shipments, returns and collections - and manage all your account settings.
Change the password
change the password enough:
- select "Personal Information and Privacy" in "Account Settings"
- then select "Access and security"
- choose "Change" next to the wording that prompts you to change your password.
Change the username
change your eBay username it is necessary:
- select "Personal Information and Privacy" in "Account Settings"
- select "Personal Information"
- choose “Edit” next to your username.
Close the eBay account
By closing your eBay account you will no longer be able to access your personal area and sell on eBay, until a subsequent new account is created. You will also lose any feedback you have earned on your account, that is, your trust score as a seller and a buyer, and your purchase and sale history.
To close the account, go to this dedicated page and send the account closure request. eBay will confirm the initiation of the procedure within 24 hours, either by email or by sending a communication in the eBay Messages section. After approximately 30 days the account closure will take effect.
It is not possible to close an account if there are:
- balance of the suspended account
- unfinished transactions, such as open offers or pending payments
- suspected fraudulent or illegal activity
The eBay Purchase History
In this section they can be found all orders from the last 3 years to view details, return an item or pay for purchases. It is the hub for managing all orders.
For each order it is possible to find out the seller, buy a similar item or select “More actions”. Here you can see the seller's other listings, save the seller or contact him.
The Messages section of eBay
This section is dedicated to all messages exchanged with other eBay users, both buyers and sellers, and the important emails you receive from eBay itself. Messages are available in My eBay> Messages, at the top right of each e-commerce platform page.
You can contact eBay users via the button Contact in your profile, or you can initiate conversations with users who have sold or bought with us, through your Purchase History. Once you have identified the object bought or sold, you can choose to contact the seller or buyer. The whole conversation, then, will be found in the Messages section.
Use the search tools to shop on eBay
After creating your eBay account, changing the main settings and understanding how your reserved area works, the time has come to fully enter the world of eBay and browse through the offers and items for sale. In short, to become a real user of eBay to make purchases.
The platform offers various useful tools to search for the object of your desires and keep track of your favorite products. The simplest way is to search for an object using the standard search bar present on the homepage and almost all eBay pages. Here you just need to type in keywords, for example “MacBook Pro”, to find all the items for sale on the platform.
You can too use filters, by selecting them on the left side of the results page, to find specific objects. For example, in our case, MacBook Pro equipped with 16GB of ram, or only new, with free shipping and many other options.
Advanced search
If the filters aren't specific enough to find an item, eBay offers advanced search. Just select "Advanced" to the right of the "Search" button.
Here they can select specific price ranges, search in a specific category, purchase format (Online Auction, Buy It Now or Direct Contact Listings), condition and more. On the left you will also find a box that allows you to search for items by seller, bidder or item number.
Saved searches
If you find yourself frequently searching for a keyword in hopes of finding the right listing for you, you can save a search. This allows you to receive a new notification when new items matching your search are offered for sale and they will also be displayed in your feed.
To save a search:
- search for an object via the search bar
- click on "save search" at the top of the results section
view your saved searches just go to the Saved Searches section of My eBay and select “View items”. Here you can also change the search or delete one.
Observe the objects
It can happen to find an object but to be undecided about the possible purchase. eBay gives the possibility to add the product to the list of objects you observe, with a limit of 400 objects, to be able to keep an eye on it and also receive notifications about it. For example, you will be notified if the listing is expiring or if there are new bids in an online auction.
To observe an object just select "Add to Items I'm Watching" under the purchase options in the listing. All watched items are listed in the Watched section of My eBay. Here you can delete the objects observed in case of second thoughts or filter the advertisements.
How to buy on eBay
If you have created your account and found the item of your wishes, the next step is to make a purchase on eBay. On the platform you can buy in two ways: Buy It Now and Auction Online.
The first option allows you to pay a price set by the seller and buy the item directly. The second, on the other hand, allows you to participate in a real virtual auction, where you can bid to try to win that item at a lower price than the Buy It Now one. The auction has a deadline and the item is won by the buyer who makes the last bid before the deadline. At the discretion of the seller, it is also possible to send one Purchase proposal to propose the price you would like to pay.
Use the shopping cart to shop on eBay with Buy It Now
It's possible add items from various listings to your cart Buy It Now to then complete the purchase and pay for multiple items at once.
To add an item to the cart select "Add to Cart" under the "Buy It Now" button within the listing. To view all the items in the cart instead, just press the cart icon at the top of the eBay site.
If you want to go on and buy the items in your cart on eBay, you can select "Go to the payment form". Here it is possible to pay one seller at a time by selecting "Pay only this seller"; it is also possible to select "Request the total from the seller" if there are more items from the same seller and you want to know the total of the shipping costs.
Buying on eBay: how online auctions work
Le This week online eBay allow you to win an item potentially paying less than its actual value or less than the official Buy It Now price. The seller will in fact choose a starting price and users can compete by making their offers: the highest bidder will win the item.
To participate in an online auction just enter an advertisement and fill in the field "Enter the maximum bid" with a figure in line with the last offer made by users and then click on "Make an offer". Next to the price of the last offer you can click on "xx offers" to see all bidder history.
Automatic bids
To increase the chance of being the highest bidder in an eBay Auction you can use the automatic bids. In practice, just enter the maximum price you are willing to pay and eBay will take care of bidding for you, surpassing the other buyers, until the maximum amount set has been reached.
To set up automatic bids just enter the maximum amount in the "Enter the maximum bid" section and then select Make a bid. Once the maximum bid is exceeded, eBay will notify you to give you the option to increase that limit and compete with the other bidders again.
Withdraw an offer
Each offer has a weight and before participating in an auction you have to think about it, to avoid being forced to pay for an object you no longer want. In some cases, however, it is possible to withdraw an offer, for example in the event of an error or problems with the seller. In the event that it is not possible to withdraw an offer, you can decide to contact the seller asking to withdraw your offer for you: he is not obliged, so it will be at his discretion based on your motivation.
eBay allows the buyer to withdraw an offer if:
- the seller has clearly modified the description of the object
- you have entered a clearly incorrect amountby bidding the wrong amount, for example by accidentally adding a 0 to your bid. The correct price can be entered once the offer has been withdrawn
- in the event that nCan't contact the seller
In other cases the offers cannot be withdrawn, but you can speak to the seller and ask if he is willing to cancel your offers. The seller, in fact, has full power over the offers received.
The reserve price
It may happen that you are the highest bidder when the Online Auction expires, but you are unable to win the item. This because the seller can set a reserve price, which is the minimum amount he accepts to sell that item. If the minimum amount is not reached, the item will not be sold to the highest bidder.
The seller can decide whether or not to enter the reserve price and whether to make it visible to bidders. Otherwise, the amount of the reserve price can only be known when a buyer makes an offer equal to or greater than that amount.
Direct offers
In the event that the seller does not successfully conclude an Online Auction because the reserve price amount has not been reached or in the event that the highest bidder gives up the item by withdrawing his bid, the seller can make a direct offer to another user participating in the online auction.
If you receive a direct offer from the seller, you can buy the item at the price proposed in your last offer. At that moment it is possible decide whether to accept the offer and make payment, or don't answer and let the offer expire. When a direct offer is received, it is notified by email and is also visible in the Messages section and in the Offers / Proposals section in My eBay.
Purchase proposals
A purchase proposal allows, as can be understood from the term itself, to propose to the seller the maximum price you are willing to pay for an item for sale in Buy It Now or Online Auction mode. This allows, in the first case, to buy the object by paying less than what the seller decided and, in the second case, to win the object without having to participate in an auction. The seller can then decide whether to accept or reject the offer or make a counter-offer.
In the event that the seller accepts the purchase proposals, the message "Make a proposal" will appear in the advertisement, therefore:
- select "Make a proposal"
- enter your proposal and an optional message for the seller
- choose a deadline for the proposal
- confirms the information entered and sends the proposal
The seller can then choose whether accept it, reject it or make a counter-proposal containing another amount. In the case of the latter option, you in turn can choose whether to accept, reject or continue the negotiation with a further counter offer.
Once a purchase proposal has been made, it can be withdrawn - as for offers - only if an incorrect amount is entered, the item description is changed or the seller cannot be contacted. You can withdraw a proposal by going to the Offers / Proposals section of My eBay.
Buying on eBay: how to pay
If you have won an item through the Online Auction or Purchase Proposal or you have purchased it through Buy It Now, the next step is make payment. Here, in addition to the actual payment, you can confirm the shipping address and view the order details. Payment must be made within 4 days from the end of the Online Auction or from the purchase of the item via Buy It Now.
To reach the eBay payment module just select "Pay now" in the "Purchase history" section, or "Complete the purchase" in the email received from eBay. If an item is in the cart instead, just select “Go to the payment form” and complete the purchase.
To complete the payment:
- once inside the eBay payment module, select the payment method and enter the requested information
- if you have configured a shipping method for your eBay account, at this time you can confirm it or add a new one with "add a new address"
- select a shipping option
- confirm payment
Usually on eBay you can pay with PayPal, a credit or debit card or other payment methods decided by the seller, such as Google Pay or Apple Pay. The payment methods accepted by the seller are in the "Shipping or Payments" section of the listing.
Buying on eBay: canceling an order
You can cancel an order, either in Buy It Now or Online Auction formats, by contacting the seller and asking them to cancel it for you. The seller may cancel or refuse the cancellation request.
Cancel an order placed less than an hour ago
eBay allows you to cancel an order very easily if it has passed less than an hour from the purchase of the object. Just go to Purchase History, find the order you want to cancel, and under “Other Actions” select “Cancel this order”.
The seller will be notified of cancellation and, if he agrees, will cancel the order.
Cancel an order placed more than an hour ago
In case it has passed more than an hour from the purchase, you will have to contact the seller and ask for cancellation. To contact the seller:
- go to the Purchase History page
- select "contact the seller" in correspondence with the order to be canceled
- choose "order cancellation request" and explain to the seller your reasons
If the seller accepts the cancellation, will have 10 days to refund via the same method used for payment. If not, you will have to wait for the seller to ship the item and then proceed with the return request. If the seller is a private individual and has stated in the listing that they do not accept returns, they can refuse the return if you have changed your mind about the item. The advice, in any case, is to pay for the item and have it sent to you so as not to risk resorting to a warning for unpaid item.
Return an object
If an item has arrived damaged or defective, you can return it and receive a refund, as they are covered by the EBay customer guarantee. This allows you to return the item even if the seller does not accept, among its rules, the return.
To return an item you must:
- find the item in your Purchase History and select "Return this item"
- choose the reason for the return
- add up to 10 optional demonstration photos and submit your request
The seller has 3 business days to reply, after which eBay can be asked to intervene.
You can also return an object in case of afterthought, but the seller - if private - can also refuse the return request. Professional sellers, on the other hand, are obliged to accept the return within 14 days and offer a full refund.
Once the request has been accepted, you will have 10 working days to return the item via a traceable shipment. When the seller receives the product back, they will have 2 business days to send a refund.
As with order cancellations, if a buyer tends to request too many refunds over the course of their eBay experience, they may be sanctioned for misconduct and receive warnings or the revocation of asking for returns, refunds or even the suspension of the account. Before buying on eBay, therefore, you need to think about it.
The disputes of eBay
In the event that you have won an item in an Online Auction or you have purchased with Buy It Now, but you do not pay, the seller can open an unpaid item dispute. In that case, if you believe you are on the right side, you can appeal the dispute so that eBay looks into the situation.
To appeal for an unpaid item you must go to this page and provide proof that you have paid for the item or your reasons for not paying for it. Evidence can be attached as email communications between you and the seller.
If eBay decides that you are wrong, one will appear on your account infringement for unpaid item and your reputation as a buyer will suffer.
Dispute for item not arrived
Even in the event that an item is paid for but does not reach its destination, it is possible to open a dispute. First, however, it will be necessary to check that the object is not yet in transit due to logistics delays. To do this you have to go to your own Purchase history e check the expected delivery date, the shipping address and track the shipment using the tracking number provided by the seller.
If the item does not arrive on time, you must inform the seller through this page within 30 days of the expected delivery date. The seller then has 3 working days to respond by updating you on delivery, offering a replacement item or sending a refund. In the event that the seller does not respond, you can ask eBay to intervene.
What feedback is and how it works
Il feedback it is nothing more than an evaluation that users, both sellers and buyers, exchange after a sale. This score is very important especially for sellers which are better based on the feedback score and the number of items sold. Surely, if an item is available from two different sellers and one of them has more feedback, the user will tend to buy from him.
When you buy an item on eBay you can leave feedback to the seller based on their experience, as a kind of review. You will have to take into account theaccuracy of item description, communication, shipping times and shipping and packaging costs. Each seller will then have a score that indicates the percentage of satisfied buyers. The number in parentheses next to his name, on the other hand, indicates how many buyers have left feedback for the seller. Sellers classified as "Top reliability" they are the ones who have offered an optimal experience to buyers.
Feedback must be left within 60 days of completing a transaction by going to the eBay Feedback Area or selecting "Leave a Feedback Comment" in your Purchase History.
The sellers, in turn, will also leave feedback to the buyer based on the speed of payment and high-level communication.
If you liked this guide and want to know more about other topics like Apple Pay, Google Pay, YouTube, Ask.fm and much more, you can read other Techprincess Guides.
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