Q: Why should I shop on eBay? Isn't it just full of used junk?

eBay is the world's largest online marketplace. Yes, you can find used junk, but you can also find collectibles, hard to locate items and even brand new items, often at significant discounts from retail.

Q: I found an item at a great price, but I don't know the shipping costs. Should I bid?

Never bid on an item until you know the true cost, including shipping. Many unscrupulous sellers will list items at very low prices and then charge very high shipping costs which are not disclosed until after you win. It is a practice that is not allowed under eBay rules, but still happens regularly. Use the 'Ask seller a question' option on the listing to find our exactly what shipping costs will be. If the seller does not disclose shipping costs upon request, look elsewhere, it's probably a scam.

Q: I found an item at a great price, but it's listed out of the country. Should I bid?

Be careful whenever you bid on an item that is located in another country. First of all, you need to know if the seller is willing to ship to another country and what the costs are. If the price seems too good to be true, it probably is and the fact that the item is not within the country makes this much more likely. If you do decide to bid, make sure you have had an email exchange with the seller using the 'Ask seller a question' link on the listing page. Ask the seller for specifics about the item. If the seller is vague, or if they try to sell you the item off-eBay, it's probably a scam.

Q: I found an item at a great price, but the seller wants me to complete the sale off-eBay. Should I bid?

If a seller asks you to complete a sale off-eBay, it is almost always a scam. There is no legitimate reason for a seller to ask you to do so. Likewise, if a seller suddenly changes the terms after an auction ends be wary, especially if they suggest using an escrow service you've never heard of or if they have unusual payment method requests.

Q: It seems like there are a lot of ways to get ripped off on eBay. Is eBay safe?

It's true that there are a number of ways to get ripped off using eBay, but it doesn't happen very often. Of course if it happens to you, one time is often enough to keep you from coming back. Here are some helpful tips for avoiding eBay scams:

1. Look for items that accept PayPal. It's harder to pull off scams using PayPal, but not impossible.
2. Avoid bidding on items that are located out of the country; at least until you have more experience.
3. Ask questions about the item before bidding. Does the seller respond promptly? Can they answer specific questions about the item such as its history or any blemishes or defects? If not, the listing may be a scam.
4. Always know the shipping costs to your location before placing a bid. Shipping costs are often inflated. If the seller fails to state shipping costs in the listing, contact them.
5. If the price of the item is much lower than all other similar listings, it may be a scam. Be on the lookout for listings that contain phrases like "information on how to buy..." or "this is not...". Alternatively, you can use a smart search engine like gumshoo.com to filter out scam auctions like these automatically .
6. Check feedback. Feedback that is less than 100% doesn't mean you have a bad seller, but if a seller's feedback is less than 100% look for patterns. A recent string of negatives may indicate an account takeover. Also check to see if the negatives have a common theme such as the seller changing terms or never shipping an item.
7. Use commom sense. As always, if it seems to good to be true, it probably is.

Q: Is it still possible to find great deals on eBay?

Absolutely! Finding a good deal on eBay is often a factor of how 'saturated' the market for that item is. In other words, if everyone and their mother is looking for an Apple iPod, you are probably not going to find a great deal. In fact, iPods are so popular that even used ones sell for very near full retail price. You'll probably find that many items you're searching for seem to be in this category, but you can still find the occasional deal. One great way to find deals on eBay is to search for misspelled auction titles. For example, searching for 'Aple iPod' might return some results that many other people are not finding because Apple has been misspelled. Of course, coming up with all of the possible misspellings of an item you are looking for is tedious. That's where a smart search engine like gumshoo.com comes in. gumshoo.com automatically looks for common misspellings of all of your search terms. You just type in Apple iPod and it finds Aple iPod, Apple iPos, Aplle iPod, etc.