5 Mistakes New Buyers Make on EBay

I've been a member of eBay for many years and I often see new buyers making the same mistakes over and over again. These mistakes can cause new buyers to lose money and hurt their future on eBay. The mistakes that are often made are due to new buyers not understanding how eBay works, coming across a bad seller and being careless.

Please keep in mind the tips I give below are my own point of view. These are tips I've learned from my years on eBay plus mistakes I've made myself or seen others make. I am not an expert on eBay.

Take the time to read up on eBay's help section which is full of basic tips of how eBay works. They have sections for both buyers and sellers. Taking the time to do this will prevent you a lot of trouble in the future.

Here are the 5 mistakes new buyers make on eBay -

• Not reading the listing

• Not checking the sellers feedback

• Changing their mind after winning an auction

• Buying something that you need very quickly or is very important. aka Time sensitive items

• Leaving negative feedback without contacting the seller

Let's look at these mistakes one by one.

1. Not reading the listing - You see a picture of a beautiful vase that looks just like the one your grandmother had. You are excited and click buy it now. You pay right away.

Example end result - You are thrilled to get a box in the mail less than a week later. You quickly open it up and you see a large chip in the top of the vase, the inside is stained & part of the bottom is discolored. You are very angry. You complain to the seller who tells you this was all shown in the photos plus explained in the listing which you did not read.

As an eBay buyer myself I have made this mistake. I have had it happen to me too as a seller. The thing you have to understand is that the listing itself can hold a lot of important information such as detailed flaws, extra photos, size, color, if the item works or not & other important facts. You need to read it carefully & more than once. If you still have questions or want to know more contact the seller. Most sellers are more than happy to supply extra photos and answer questions.

2. Not checking the seller's feedback - You are on eBay looking for some DVD's and find a seller that has a lot of movies you are wanting. The seller has a feedback score of 92%. As a newbie to eBay that sounds good to you because in school a 92% would be an A right? So you buy the movies.

Example end result - You get the DVD's in the mail almost 4wks later. The seller ignored your emails. You open the package which is very poorly wrapped and you find DVD's with scratches. They won't even play. You complain to a friend who has been on eBay for years and they ask you about the sellers feedback. If you would have done this before buying you would have seen all the negatives and people who said "Very slow shipping, rude seller. DVD's won't even play! Buyer Beware."

Reading seller's feedback is very important. You can see if the buyers are happy, what they have to say about shipping and most of if they have any negitives.

Another helpful hint is as a new buyer you want feedback. Some sellers do not leave feedback so check the sellers feedback then click "Feedback left for others" if it shows 0 feedback left then you know this seller does not leave feedback so you may not get feedback from them.

I often see new buyers complain about sellers who don't leave feedback. So if it is important to you check your seller's history of leaving feedback when checking their feedback received.

3. Changing their mind after winning an auction - You are bidding on a pair of shoes and eager to win. You put your highest bid at $45. You are winning. While waiting for the auction to end you change your mind. You really don't need the shoes so even if you win you pay.

Example end result - After the auction the seller sends you an invoice which you ignore. You don't want the shoes and don't want to pay. The seller files a dispute with eBay which you ignore too since you don't want the shoes. You now have a strike against you as a non paying bidder. Repeat unpaid items can result in your account being closed.

Once you bid on an item you are agreeing to pay for it. Bidding on auctions and clicking a "Buy it now" is a business agreement. Changing your mind, not having the money to pay or finding a better deal is not a good enough reason not to pay. Do not bid or click buy it now if you are not prepared to buy the item.

4. Buying something that you need very quickly or is very important. Time sensitive items - You buy something for your grandmother's birthday and when you buy it you pay a little extra in shipping to get it sooner.

Example end result - You wait daily for the item you bought but don't have it in time for your grandmother's birthday. You email the seller upset you didn't have a gift to bring to your grandmother's birthday party. Your seller explains that they shipped the item the very day you paid for it. They give you a number to look up on a website and it shows you that it your item is still not even in your state.

When you buy something that you need in a rush or by a certain date you are usually better off buying it at a store. Mail can be undependable especially during the holiday season plus items to get lost in the mail. A seller cannot control the mail. A lot of new buyers want what they bought right away and forgot to remember that mail can be slow. It can take up 2-3wks or longer to get what you buy online. This is to be expected. Keep this in mind when buying online.

5. Leaving negative feedback without contacting the seller - You bought some baby clothes for your daughter & when the clothes arrive you see they are not the right size. You are upset and leave the seller negative feedback to warn others.

Example end result - You get an email from the seller asking why you didn't contact them first. They are upset because you hurt their 100% feedback rating. You tell them clothes are the wrong size and the seller sees a mistake was made. They tell you they will send the correct size and you are more than welcome to keep the clothes for when your baby grows into them. A month or so later you go to bid on some more baby clothes from this seller and see you are blocked. Unknown to you the seller blocked you & can't buy from them anymore because you left them negative feedback before contacting them first.

Feedback is something you save for the end of the transaction. If you get an item you are unhappy with the first thing you should think about is wanting your money back. Not leaving negative feedback. For the case above it would have helped contacting the seller first letting them know they sent you the wrong package. That does happen especially when sellers pack several items at once. If you ever have a problem contact your seller first to fix the problem. Most likely you two can work together to fix the problem. If not you can file a dispute with eBay to get your money back. After the problem is solved you can leave feedback. You have 60 days to leave feedback.

Another thing buyers who leave quick negative feedbacks need to be aware of is that sellers often look at the feedback you have left for others. When you bid on an item the seller will see you have left negative or neutral feedback (which in eBay's eyes is bad as a negative and counts as a negative too) and you will find your bids removed from auctions and blocked from this seller.

eBay is a great place to find items at an amazing price. Plus bidding is a lot of fun. But you have to know how eBay works.

I find the eBay Answer Center plus the forums very helpful. You can learn from other buyers and sellers. I have learned a lot from reading about others mistakes.

I hope you have learned a lot of helpful tips to keep you from making mistakes new buyers make on eBay.