One of the reasons for the popularity and success of eBay is the fact that it is very simple to both buy and sell items through the online auction site. It has been estimated that this year 30 million sales worth $20 billion will be made so it is obvious that most people have few problems with the process. However, there is little doubt that some purchasers are paying more for items than they need to. I have identified five tips to help you ensure that even if all your purchases are not bargains they at least represent value for money.

1. Do your Research.

How many of you’re eBay purchases are planned and how many are impulse buys? If you intend to buy a costly item such as a digital camera, DVD recorder or other medium priced item it pays to carry out some research. Decide exactly which model or models you want. If you can visit local shops that sell the items you are interested in. Find out what features the models you are interested in offer and mostly importantly find the best prices available. You can then go onto the Internet and search the non-auction sites to find the best prices available for the product. Having done this you are now ready to start browsing eBay.

2. Do not rush in.

The majority of bids are made in the last few hours of an auction so there is little to gain by putting in a bid early. In fact by putting in a bid at an early stage you can inadvertently draw other peoples attention to the auction. The more bids an auction attracts the higher the final bid price will be. Click on the “Watch this Auction” but do not actually put in a bid until thee last few hours.

3. Set yourself a top price.

If you have done your research correctly you will know exactly the value of the item you are bidding on. Make up your mind what you top bid is going to be and stick to it. Sometimes when you find yourself bidding against someone else there is a tendency to try to win the auction at almost any cost. Whatever you do don’t fall into this trap once the bidding reaches your preset limit walk away.

4. Make sure you know everything.

When you make a bid on eBay you are relying on a great extent to the description and photograph that the seller has supplied. Many times though due to inexperience or just plain laziness the seller does not include all the information that you need. In this case do not be afraid to use the “Ask the Seller a Question “” feature to send an e-mail with any further questions you may have Quite often a listing with a poor description will not fetch as good a price as one with a more detailed one. This can sometimes give you the opportunity to snap up a bargain providing that you can get the information you need before you place your bid. While we are on this subject I am surprised at the number of people who place a bid without first checking on what the shipping or postage charges are. You should always be sure you know exactly what the total cost of the item would be if your bid is successful.

5. Avoid the rush hour.

Research shows that Sunday afternoon and early evening are the time that is the busiest on eBay. The quietest appear to be early on Monday and Tuesday mornings. It follows that with less people viewing you could expect the final sales price to be lower. I have picked up some bargains by getting up early on a Monday or Tuesday morning and using the “going, going gone” feature to find auctions due to finish within the hour.It can be a case that the early bird really does catch the worm.