How to bag a bargain on eBay

I am a fan of eBay. Before buying anything online, I will see if I can get it on eBay. It’s even more enticing now that I can collect Nectar points for my purchases.

Recently, I picked up a brand new steam generator iron for £50 less than the cheapest online store, and that was Argos. The item has a guarantee card and arrived within a couple of days. I also recently bagged some Berghaus walking boots for £35 inc postage and package. They had been worn but were in fantastic condition (as good as new as far as I was concerned)  and better than paying £115 for boots I will wear only a handful of times a year. I buy lots of other things and price is nearly always the reason I choose eBay.

I don’t like loosing, so I have honed my skills on pipping others to the post when there is an auction.

Firstly, I will decide how much I am willing to pay and check out how much similar items sold for in the past.

I watch the item via the eBay dashboard, and then put a note in my online calendar to remind me to bid. On the day the auction ends, I set an alarm on my phone 20 minutes before bidding closes. I know that eBay will also alert you but sometimes I don’t have access to my email/Internet immediately.

I am a sniper. I take that horrid risk of bidding at the last moment.

If there are no other bids, I will wait till two minutes before the auction closes and put in a bid. This will often flush out other snipers. Whether or not anyone else reveals themselves, I then put in another bid for the amount that I am willing to pay with around 10-30 seconds left. I want the other bidders to feel secure that’s why I leave it so late. I add on a few pence to make it harder to beat me, for example, if the bidding is going up in 50p, I will bid 53p.

Sometimes, if I really like the auction item, I will get in touch with the seller and ask if they would switch to buy it now. If I like the offer, I have beaten others to it, if I don’t like it, I haggle and chance my arm.

I look for good brand names and BNWT (brand new with tags) or only worn once items. I recently sold a new top (I bought it too small and it still doesn’t fit) on eBay and some expensive trainers that I had worn three times. These goods were in good condition but just taking up space. So if I have these items (which I sold on eBay) so do others.

If you feel like just browsing around, look to see what items are just about to finish and you can often bag a bargain on items with no bids.

Finally, eBay also does Daily Deals from well known retailers and brands….scroll down their homepage and you can bag some products that are overstocks, returns and more.