eBay Holiday Shopping Tips 6-10
- Comparison shop. Don't simply assume that a given item will be cheaper on eBay. Of course, often it will be, but during the holiday season there will be no shortage of sales and advertisements in your local area for many of the same products that can be found on eBay. If you can save money by buying locally, it may just be worth the effort to do so during a busy and unpredictable season like the holidays.
- Don't wait too long to buy. At the same time that you're comparison shopping, do also keep in mind that many of the most interesting and gift-worthy items on eBay are one-of-a-kind or are at least comparatively uncommon, and that demand for such gift-worthy items is likely to be higher during the holiday season. If you're counting on buying a particular item as a gift, don't wait until someone else buys it first if you can “Buy It Now,” and don't wait until the last moment to place your bid, since it's all too common for interested buyers to forget to bid until it's too late and the auction is over.
- Keep your eye on your account balance. One of the most tricky things about being an involved eBay shopper is the degree to which eBay makes it easy to buy and pay, then buy and pay, then buy and pay again in rapid succession. Keep your eye on your holiday budget, especially if you are buying by credit card and will have to pay for your purchases in months to come, and especially also if you tend to lose yourself in “auction mentality” and perhaps bid more than an item is worth in a determined effort to win at all costs.
- Pay with a credit card if possible. Because during the holidays both you and sellers are more likely to be too swamped to engage in careful and concise transaction-related negotiation, try to pay with a credit card whenever you can so that if anything goes wrong either before or after the holiday season is over, you have recourse if the transaction or item in question goes bad. All of the major credit networks will refund your purchase price for you if an item that you bought is either not as described or is defective and a seller is unable or unwilling to rectify the situation. Many credit cards also offer points, extended warranties, and other benefits that make gift buying through them more attractive than gift buying via cash transfers or checks of one kind or another.
- Be an extra-careful eBay shopper. Because buyers tend to be in a greater hurry, on more thinly spread budgets, and buying a larger number of items on eBay in general during the holiday shopping season, the holidays also tend to be the time when buyers are easy targets for online fraud. To avoid having a really poor eBay buying experience, be sure to check any seller's feedback profile twice as carefully as you normally would, and be sure, too, to keep an eye out even more vigilantly than you usually do for warning signs that should lead you to avoid a particular seller or auction.
Above all, of course, you should remember to enjoy yourself as you shop eBay for the holidays. After all, the holidays are the one time of year when you can really shop guilt-free almost to your heart's content, and the holidays are likewise a time to really relax and have fun. It's the spirit of the season.
Happy eBaying!
