| Understanding Listing Details (cont'd) | |
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You can buy just about anything from anyone on eBay—that's why it's such a great shopping venue for smart, independent shoppers. Unfortunately, for the beginner some aspects of the eBay shopping experience can be a bit bewildering, or even a difficult to understand. eBay's auction listings can sometimes present such problems, and it's often only once you've found something you'd like to buy that the real work begins.
eBay's auction listings contain a wealth of information. Descriptions and photos of the item(s) for sale are par for the course, but so are a number of other details that should help to inform your decision about whether and how to buy. These details include the current bid and listing details that appear at the top of every eBay auction listing. An understanding of these is central to success as a savvy eBay shopper.
Anatomy of an Auction Listing Summary (Items N-Q)
Above you see a typical auction listing summary—something you'll see at the top of each and every auction listing on the eBay website. This summary acts as your on-ramp to purchasing the item in question, since many (if not most) of the things you'll need to know (and click on) in order to buy the item in question can be found here. Not every component appears on every auction listing; this summary happens to show most of the things you're likely to encounter as you browse through eBay listings.
Here is a breakdown of components N-Q above—and what they mean—organized by letter. Refer to the illustration as you read through the information below.
- Item N (High bidder)—This is the current high bidder on the auction (i.e. the person who is currently "winning" the item). If the auction reaches its close and no more bids are made, this eBay member will win the auction and the item in question. Also shown is the high bidder's feedback score. Note that eBay abbreviates the high bidder's member ID for privacy reasons, replacing everything but the first and last letter with asterisks (***).
- Item O (Watch This Item)—If you have already joined eBay, click this button to add this auction listing to the list of auctions you've bookmarked in My eBay, for convenience purposes (i.e. so you don't have to search for it again and can easily see current high bid information).
- Item P (Alerts links)—If you'd like to get alert information from eBay via SMS or IM, click on one or the other link shown here. This will cause eBay to send you notifications about the item in question, including notices that you've been outbid by another eBay member or that the auction is about to end.
- Item Q (Email to a friend)—If you'd like to share this auction listing with someone else you know, you can click on this link to send a link to a friend by email. eBay will ask you for their email address before sending the link.
There you have it—the anatomy of the listing summary that appears at the top of every eBay auction listing. If you're still new to eBay or unfamiliar with these items, besure to review them a few times and get a good grasp of what they mean before you bid, since each of these items gives important information about and access to the eBay auction in question.
Continue on to Page 1 (Items A-E), Page 2 (Items F-I), Page 3 (Items J-M), or Page 4 (Items N-Q)
