Can someone who uses eBay help me out?

Question

I've never used eBay before. I was looking for vintage postcards/stamps and other collectibles from my town. I found some that I wanted to bid on so I registered and made my bid. What happens if I win? Will I get an email notification telling me who to send the check to? (I don't know how to use paypal and don't really want to) Can someone please give me a brief tutorial on using eBay?
Thanks!

Answer 1

Good for you. You will have so much fun on eBay. Just watch those feedbacks for sellers. They are really telling and will help protect you from bad sellers.



About your transaction. You should get an email from the seller which occurs automatically through eBay. You may get basic 'You've Won' email or if the seller uses the advanced features, you will get a more detailed email. If you don't, be sure to followup with your seller (a day should be plenty of time to wait). If you don't get an email, check the ad, you may not have been the high bidder. Winning bids may have come in 'nano seconds' after your last bid....



If the email doesn't have the address for your payment, you need to email the seller. If they have 1,000's of feedbacks, you may never get a response (they get lots of emails) and you may be forced to use paypal to protect your feedback rating.



The other answers are correct about the seller accepting checks. Sometimes sellers don't accept checks. How they accept payments is listed in the ad. If they do accept checks, you should expect to wait until the check clears your bank before the seller will ship.



I can understand your hesitation about using paypal. But there are advantages to using paypal. Even though there is a small transaction fee to use paypal, it really paid off for me on two occassions they had to go to bat for me to get my money back from a bad seller. Seems to be that in the collectibles area, you might find a lot of 'fakes' so using paypal would be a real bonus.



Ebay has lots of tutorials. You can find the tutorials by going to "Help". Here is a link to the getting started buying on eBay.... http://pages.ebay.com/help/buy/buy_getstarted_ov.html



Remember, eBay will NEVER NEVER NEVER send you an email with questions about your account. Don't respond to those types of emails.



Finally, have fun on eBay. Under the "Buy" button, you will find a small underlined 'Advanced Search' link. Follow that link, enter the search term for the item you are thinking about buying, click the 'Completed Listing Only', and then "Search". You will get a listing of completed sales and you can get an idea of what the item is selling for....



GOOD LUCK and have fun!

Answer 2

If you win, you will get an email telling you that you won, and that it's time to pay. The easiest way to pay is really paypal. All you have to do is register on paypal's site. You link your bank account to it, so the money will go straight from your bank account to the seller. Most sellers prefer this. If you don't want to use paypal, you'll have to see what's ok with the seller. But this is all assuming that you win! Keep checking on your bid. If someone outbids you, you will want to bid more, if you want the items badly enough. Notice when the bidding ends. You'll want to be on ebay, refreshing the page over and over to see the most updated bid. That way you can bid up to the very last second to try and win! Hope this helps.

Answer 3

First make sure you did bid and comfirmed everything. You can check who the bidders are on each sale when you click on the bids. If you win then eBay sends you a winning email. Usually the buyer will send an invoice OR you go back to your auction and follow their instructions on how to pay. Paypal is the most popular way to pay.

Do not send cash to anyone. When bidding check the feedback of the sellers , see how thei record is on their feedback. I have 100 percent so no one has much to worry about dealing with me in the last 9 years. Feedback is important.

Answer 4

Since everyone already answered your main questions, if you want to see if someone has outbid you (since you say your bid is not showing) then you can click on the name of the highest bidder, that will show you the list of previous bidders and bids. You should also check your e-mail since eBay sends invoices for being outbid as well.

Number one rule, always read sellers requirements and ask questions BEFORE bidding, once you bid, you can't be removed, unless you work it out of course, but then you can get a bad reputation from feedback. Another rule, see what payment forms the seller allows, some don't like money orders or checks, some don't like PayPal, and etc. Any other questions about eBay, ask away!



Good Luck!



Oh, BTW, the smartest way to bid is to place your highest amount you want to spend as your bid, (this way when someone goes to outbid you they will bid in incriments, most of the time), if you place a high bid people will keep getting outbid (since yours would be highest)and finally give up on trying to overbid you (unless of course they bid over your highest bid).

Answer 5

You will need to keep watch on the items your bidding on, some people wait till the last few seconds to up their bid in a chance to win. If you win you will be notified by e-mail. Usually you have twenty four hours to notify the seller your intentions on how you plan on paying. Pay Pal is great if you have an account, if not, tell the seller your sending a check and as soon as the check clears, the seller will send you the items you've won. Good luck bidding.

Answer 6

Well you should make sure the person selling the item accepts checks...most sellers only accept paypal. If the seller does accept checks you will get an email saying you won and an invoice from the seller with instructions for payment.

Answer 7

Make definite the product has a protection seal or the field has no longer been tampered with. Ask the vendor first and discover out the go back coverage in case you're no longer convinced. Always ask what the expiration date is as good chiefly whilst shopping cosmetic merchandise. Go with a "vigour vendor" so you recognize they're good recognise and secure. Also, learn their suggestions. Anything poor might be published. It's a danger with eBay it doesn't matter what you purchase. GL!!!

Answer 8

your bid should show up immediately. and yes you will recieve email notification when you win. usually you'll be notified if, at 10 minutes remaining, yours isn't the highest bid. don't be afraid of paypal. it's secure and lots of companies take it besides ebay. i bought my mcaffee security with it and you don't have to enter your cc# if you're a guest on a public computer.

Answer 9

First, did you check with the seller if it was okay to send a check?

Second, you should communicate with them! It's always best to ask your questions ahead of time!

And yes, if you win, they will send you an invoice.



First answerer beat me to it while I was typing, lol.



Your bid should go through immediately. You need to check back with that.