eBay

Full review
"Mom.... I want a Treeko and a Sceptile and a Raichu and a Grovyle, to go with the Pikachu that I've already got. I need more then one so I can make them battle !"

That's nice, but where on earth am I going to find Pokemon stuff ?!?!? I mean, ya... Pokemon use to be popular, and there is still some stuff around, but Pokemon stuffed animals ?!? There was no way in H.E.Double Toothpicks that I'd be able to fill this birthday request... or was there?!?!?

Ebay to the Rescue ! Sure enough, I found Treeko, Sceptile, and Raichu NWT !! (For the Ebay illiterate... NWT = New With Tag). Ok... no Grovyle.... but three out of four ain't bad! And our son was extremely happy when he opened that box !! Not to mention Pikachu's excitement, jumping up and down for joy that he now had some friends to battle with !! (Ok, so Pikachu had a little assistance from our son in the jumping up and down department... but trust me he did jump up and down !!)

So.... This being probably the one millionth review on Ebay (there goes my profit share), I'm fairly certain that everyone out there is at least aware of what Ebay is. (and if you’re not... Well, it's an On-Line Auction site... now go back into your cave and resume hibernation!) If you've seen the TV commercials, they are absolutely right... you can find just about anything on Ebay.

So, how does it work?

First, you must "join" Ebay, and get a member name. Very simple, indeed. It's free to join, and there are no fees for making purchases (I mean, aside from paying the person you buy something from for the item and shipping & handling). Ebay itself does not charge the Buyer any fees. Seller's get charged fees when the list an item (but I'll get more in-depth with this later in this review...)

To join Ebay, you will need to supply them with your name, home address, email address and a credit card and/or checking account number. "OK, Wait!!", you're saying, " What if I only want to use Ebay to buy stuff ? Why do I need to give them my credit card and checking account number, if they're not going to charge me any fees???"

I know that sounds "hinky", and I pondered it at first too, but really... there's a very valid reason. Ebay uses this information to verify that you are exactly who you say you are. They check with the banks to make sure that the name and address information you supplied to them matches up with what the banks have, therefore, establishing that you’re a "real" person, and not some fictitious creation made up by a scam artist. This protects everyone involved in any sales transactions (the Buyer knows that they're buying from a real person, and the Seller knows that a real person is bidding on their item).

After you join Ebay, I strongly suggest that you join PayPal, too (an overwhelming majority of Sellers prefer PayPal). You will find a link to PayPal under your "My Account" information. The procedure for registering with PayPal is very similar to Ebay's (name, address, email, credit card and checking account). Again, they won't charge you any fees for use as a Buyer. This allows you to have PayPal withdraw the purchase price from your credit card or checking account. That way, you don't have to give the Ebay Seller your credit info, all they know is that the money came from PayPal. This is great because it protects your credit information ! (So "Joe Ebayer" can't run off to the Bahamas with your credit card and have himself a free vacation !)

Ok.... You've joined Ebay & PayPal !! Whoooooo hoooooo !!! Now let's go buy something !

"But, how do I do that?"

Good question! Well, what do you want to buy?.............. Huh?.... What?!?!? ... NO ! You can't buy THAT on Ebay ! I said "just about" anything !! Get your mind out of the gutter !! Think of something else....

.. What did you say? A Pet Rock? Ummm... ok, it's your money! (boy, from one extreme to another, gheesh!)

Alright, now there's two ways to find what you're looking for. First of all, Ebay has many categories that items are listed under, like home appliances, clothing and accessories, sporting goods, gifts & collectables, etc. You can go into a category, and it's sub-categories to find the type of item you need. OR, if your not quite sure what category your item would be listed under (as in this case), you can type "keywords" into Ebay's search engine. Let's try that..... Pet Rock .

Wow... would you look at that.

46 ITEMS FOUND (You really can find just about anything on Ebay.)

Let's see what we've got here. Alright, some of these are "Memorial stones/rocks" for a beloved deceased pet, that's not what you're looking for.

Oh, look at this one. "Vintage Pet Rock, from 1975". It's a complete set with pet carrier and everything. Oh, but wait... it's already up to $73.06, and it has 10 bids on it. Huh???? A little to rich for your taste? Ok, let's see what else they have.

What about this one: "12 Chinese Zodiac Pet Rocks", and this one has a "Buy It Now" on it, for $12.99.

... oh, I'm sorry, I didn't tell you about "Buy It Now". Well, what this is, is an option to purchase something right away, without having to wait until the auction end date. Instead of placing a bid, you just click "Buy It Now" and complete your transaction. No? You don't like the looks of these ones and don't want to spend $12.99 for them. Alright, so we move on...

Hey... Look at this one: "Pet Rocks in Need of a Home, HOUSEBROKEN !" The starting bid is only $5.99, with only $3.50 for shipping and handling. Click on it, see what it says: "Comes with his own box, has a leash & collar for walking, has a ball & stick for playing, and comes with his own doggy bones."

That's exactly what you're looking for !! Let's place a bid !

Click "bid". Now it's going to ask you to enter your "Maximum" bid. This amount is how much you're willing to pay for it. It won't charge you that right off the bat.. don't panic. You will be "registered" at the minimum bid, or (if someone else has already bid on it) at just slightly higher then the last bidder. Ebay remembers your maximum bid, then when someone else comes along and places a bid, it will top theirs with yours, over and over, until others stop bidding, or they out-bid you.

Great, you've made your bid. This auction goes for 6 days. So, now we wait until the auction ends. In the mean time, you may want to go back and check on this item, to see if anyone else has bid on it. ALSO, if you get out-bid, Ebay will send you an email telling you that someone has out-bid you, and you can go back and increase your maximum bid, if you really want the item.

.................................................... (6 days later) Oh boy... look at that. Ebay sent you an email saying that you won the auction on the Pet Rock. YIPPY. Now we pay for it.

There are several ways of paying, depending on what payment method the Seller accepts. Some will let you mail them a check or money order, but most accept PayPal. Since you already set up your PayPal account 6 days ago, you should be all set to use it. Just click "Pay Now" and follow the directions for paying with PayPal. This is "dummy proof".

There,.... Done. The Seller should be shipping you your new Pet Rock soon !!


What's that?...... You had so much fun doing that, that you've now decided that you want to sell something on Ebay? Well, all-righty then !! Let's get started. What do you want to sell?

.... Your Bottle Cap Collection…… Okaaayyyy.... Oh, I see, you need to make room for your Pet Rock before he gets here. Ummm... makes sense (I guess).

Well, let's do some research first, and see if anyone else is selling Bottle Caps. Type Bottle Caps into the search engine.

MAN..... would you look at that! "3406 ITEMS FOUND" Looks like you have some pretty tough competition ! Well.. the prices seem to range from .99 cents, all the way up to $199.98. And there's actually a "bottle cap" section for you to list in. Fancy that (who would have guessed !!).

Well, let's do this. Click on the link to the "bottle cap" section. Now click "sell in this category" (or, you could have just clicked "sell" at the top of the screen, and selected a category from the drop-down menu... but since we were already in the right category, this is easier.

Ok, start with the title. You need a great title to draw peoples attention....

..... HUH?, ok... umm, that's original. Go ahead and type it.

Did you take a picture of your collection? Oh, you did, good. Click to "upload" the picture to Ebay. The first picture you upload will be free, posted within the contents of your description page).

Do you want other people to see the picture in the listing with everyone else’s? (Ebay will charge you .35 cents for this feature). Yes, ok, click "add gallery photo".

Good... now fill in all the other information: description (be as detailed as possible), condition (new/used), minimum bid price, how many days you want your listing to show, shipping and handling cost, and where you're willing to ship to (USA only, or Canada, or World Wide).

Careful when choosing your asking minimum bid price. Don't make it too high, people will just pass right over your listing if they think you're asking to much (remember that first Pet Rock that was $73.06... you didn't even give it a second look !!).

Great. Now click to move on to the next page, to complete your listing. Here you will see a preview of your listing and your description. You'll see the fees that Ebay will charge you for posting (... for example .20 cents for a listing fee, .35 cents for the gallery fee, etc. - plus 6% of your final selling price.)

Looks good? Great, click and you're done. Congratulations, you've posted your first item for sale !! You chose to have your listing up for 5 days, so be sure to keep checking it. Oh, you don't know how, don't worry.... I'll explain.

Go into "My Account". Now, scroll down. This will show you everything you've purchased recently, what you're bidding on (if anything) and the items you have posted for sale. See.... there it is. Beside it, you can see how many people are "watching" your item, and if there are any bids on it.

......... (2 days later) Let's check on your Bottle Cap Collection. Go into your account. Oh, look, you have a message. Potential buyers can send you messages asking questions about your item. What does it say?.... “Hi there. I have a question about these caps. Did you actually drink the beverages that these caps were on? ". (Oh boy !!). Go ahead and click "respond now" and answer his question.

....... (2 more days pass). Cool... look you have a bid on your bottle caps. Awesome. Let's see what happens by tomorrow.

....... (Next day). The auction has ended. There were a total of 3 bidders, and you made $5.00 more then your starting price. (Can you imagine?!?!?) And, it appears that your Buyer has already paid you using PayPal. Perfect. You can actually print your shipping label using PayPal, too. It's easy. (You can use the link in your Ebay account, or you can log directly into PayPal. I usually do it in PayPal.)

Go into your PayPal Account and find the item. There it is. You'll see that PayPal charged you a fee for using them as a Seller (.30 cents plus 3% for each transaction) ya... I know... everyone wants your money… But, think of the safety and service that PayPal is offering you. For starters, you wouldn't be able to take credit card payments without it. Secondly, they offer you protection from people who might be trying to purchase something fraudulently !!

So, where was I... oh ya... Click "print shipping label". Make sure that the ship to address matches what Ebay has, choose your shipping method (it's all USPS, but you can pick parcel post, 1st class, etc), type in the package weight, click "pay now" (the money will be taken directly out of the money that the Buyer paid you - with NO fee to do so), and then click "print label"...... That's it. Now just tape the label to the package, and you can bring it to the post office later today !! You're done.

Fine Job !! You'll make a great Ebayer yet ! You sold this, just imagine what else you have lying around the house that you can sell !!

Oh.... look. The mailman is at your door, and he has a package. It's your new Pet Rock. You might want to go get it. I bet it's pretty thirsty after it's long trip !

Good luck with your Ebaying, and with your new little friend !!

Pros: Where else can you get a lipstick, a transmission, a pool table, & cloth diapers all on one site (and often from the same seller) !!

Cons: Kind of like "gambling". You can't be totally sure of what you're going to get until you get it.

Summery: You really can get “Just about“ anything on Ebay.

* NOTE.... For those of you who may be wondering... Yes, the Ebay Search Results above are for real. I really did perform those searches (on 2/28/07 @ 1:45pm EST), and got those results. It's amazing what people sell on Ebay !!