How to buy and get eBay items delivered safely – eBay shopping guide

eBay is an absolute must for sellers and those looking for a potential bargain. Although it seems like it has been around forever, there many who still don’t know how to go about buying an item and equally how to then have that item delivered once bought. To get started, if you haven’t already, you need to create your eBay profile by clicking register on the eBay’s homepage and following the simple on-screen instructions. By following the steps in this guide you will become a veritable eBay pro, able to buy any item regardless of size and location and have it delivered to your doorstep with minimal fuss.

Finding

Find the item you want by typing its name into the search box at the top of an eBay page. The more specific you make your search query the more select the results will be. This will save you hours of trawling through the results of a generic search term instead leaving you with the most appropriate items.

Deciding

Before committing your money to a purchase it is important to be sure that you have the perfect choice for you. Compare the item to similar items on eBay – if the item is in less than mint condition, are you paying less money for example? If there is a photo, you should consider whether it looks genuine. If it looks like a stock photo, simply ask the seller. Equally, if you have any doubts you should also message the seller, either through the listing page or by direct messaging. Both of which are recorded by eBay and can be used if anything goes wrong at a later date.

It is absolutely essential to view the sellers profile before buying something from them. How long has the seller been on eBay? How long have been selling on eBay? What have they sent in the past? And most importantly, what is their feedback score? Once you feel comfortable with the seller you can now bid on or buy the item they’re selling. If you do not want to commit to buying an item but are still interested in it, you can “watch” it by clicking “add to watch list” and viewing through your My eBay page.

Bidding and buying

To bid on an item all you need to do is go to the item’s listing page and enter your competitive bid amount. At this point it is important to take note of the time left on the auction as well as the item number. If you want to forgo the auction process entirely you can look for buy it now items and paying immediately.

Paying

When you have won your item, you are now eligible to pay the seller’s fees. This can be done through cheque, credit card or Papal. The most common and safe way to pay is through Papal and if your seller has PayPal Buyer Protection (denoted by a PayPal shield) you will be automatically insured for up to £500 if something goes wrong. Be sure to pay as promptly as possible so as not to leave the seller in the dark over the payment for his item.

Shiply & eBay

Whilst the delivery of most items will already be established by the seller, over 930,000 items on eBay will be assigned with “Local Pick-up Only” at any one time. This is usually due to their oversized nature and therefore the eBay seller’s unwillingness to arrange a courier. This often deters most bidders who do not live locally who think they can. By using Shiply you can match up with thousands of eBay couriers who are already making similar trips.

How It Works

You can quickly and easily import those items you are watching/bidding on into Shiply ready to start receiving bids from eBay couriers. Simply enter the eBay auction ID number and your eBay username – Shiply does the rest by importing pictures, descriptions and pickup address details – so you don’t have to!

When transport providers search for deliveries to bid on within Shiply, an auction hammer next to a listing notifies them that the item is from eBay. The orange hammer denotes an item that is yet to be won and a green hammer denotes an eBay item that has already been won.

If you have won the item on eBay it is important you notify the seller of the arrangement and have their consent. Throughout the listing process on Shiply you should keep the seller on eBay notified at all times to confirm what dates and arrangements are suitable. Once you have accepted bid on Shiply, pass on your chosen transport provider’s details so all three parties can contact one another when necessary.

It is strongly advised that you wait until the end of the eBay auction before accepting a bid on Shiply as you do not want to end up paying for an eBay delivery service and no item to deliver!