Don't Be Scammed On E Bay ^@-@ ^

1) Don’t be scammed on eBay.

Everything on E-bay seemed perfect: nice shopping portal, almost complete buyer's list, and a convenient place to do shopping online. In fact, it's too good to be true.

If this is the case, then it's time for the buyer's warning signal to go red alert because if things on E-bay seemed to good to be true, it probably is and may not even be worth the buyer's time and money.

There are lots of frauds and scams’ going on in the Internet today and E-bay is not excused. So, it's important for buyers to detect early signs of fraudulent activities before it gets them. Here's how to do it:

1. Buyers should look for the seller's feedback section. If a seller has many feedbacks and many recent comments are negative, chances are transaction with this seller will turn out a hoax, even if the seller has provided positive replies.

2. Online shoppers should be aware of emails contending it's from E-bay and certifying some seller as a good one. It's already anomalous in the first place because E-bay does not send emails. Plus, E-bay would definitely not certify a seller even if he or she has a remarkable selling history. NEVER LOGIN TO YOUR EBAY ACCOUNT FROM A LINK IN AN EMAIL. EVEN IF IT LOOKS GENUINE.

3. Buyer should be aware of sellers that insist on wire transfers like Western Union as mode of payment. In fact, E-bay does not recommend their buyers to use wire transfer services. If the seller insists on it, then, no doubt it's a scam.

4. Buyer should also be aware of "too-good-to-be-true" prices. Chances are items that are priced way below their real prices are signs of imminent fraudulent activities.

5. Online shoppers should take note of phishing emails. These are emails that require subscribers to fill out forms provided in the email with warning statements saying the subscriber's account will be closed if the person concerned will not provide the required pertinent information. Once given, anomalous activities are on their way like identity theft. NEVER LOGIN TO YOUR EBAY ACCOUNT FROM A LINK IN AN EMAIL. EVEN IF IT LOOKS GENUINE.

6. Buyers should also be aware of sellers that let them pay the bid amount to wire transfers directly from the buyer's checking account. Worst, the seller contends that the given bank account is Escrow's.

7. Online shoppers should be weary of institutions claiming they are escrow but ask payments be made to a person instead of a corporation. This is a clear case of scam.

So, to shun away from probable scam attacks, it's a must for every E-bay buyer to keep these tips in mind. It's better to be safe than dumb.
My advice is to always use PayPal for payments and never click on links found in emails. Stick to these 2 simple rules and you should be fine.

2 ) How to Avoid Failure In Ebay Auctions :

Many first time sellers have one thing in common –
they fail. Many of them fail time and time again,
never understanding what is going wrong. They do
hours of research looking for the perfect item to sell,
get the auction set up, and wait for the bidding to
begin. Hours go by and no bids are placed. Days go
by, and there are still no bids – or there are very low
bids. Finally the auction ends, and it turns out to be
a total failure. Considering the huge number of sellers
who run eBay auctions, there are specific things you
must do, and specific things you must not do if you
are to be successful.

There are many reasons why auctions fail. The most
common reason is that the item is not in high
demand. This problem can be avoided by doing the
necessary research to determine which items sell
well, and which items should be avoided. This
research takes a great deal of time – but in the end,
you will find that it is time well spent.

Another reason for eBay failure is pricing. No matter
what your reserve price is, your opening bid price
should never be more than £50 or so. This is how you
will attract potential bidders to your auction. If you
set that opening bid too high, most people won’t
even click the link to read the description for your
item. Another pricing problem is lack of research.
Before you set your reserve price, you must
determine what the item is really worth, and the price
similar items have sold for in past eBay auctions.

Poorly written descriptions are another cause of
failed auctions. Poor grammar and misspelled words
drive people away. Failing to post a picture of the
item will also keep people from visiting your auction
page. Make sure that your description is well written.
This is essentially your ‘sales copy.’

Shipping prices scare people away from auctions if
they are too high. Find the lowest shipping prices
that you can find, and consider paying for the
shipping yourself if it won’t cut into your profits too
much. Do not charge handling fees.

Offer great ‘customer service’ for all of your auctions,
and ask your buyers to give you feedback. If the
items that you sell are everything that you said they
would be, and you offer great customer service, you
can expect wonderful feedback – and this
feedback will help a great deal in your future auctions.