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"&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Because eBay is such a large, sprawling website with features for buyers and sellers, individuals and businesses, it can sometimes be difficult to know where to begin.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;If all you want to do is buy something great you&amp;amp;#39;ve seen on eBay, you can follow these steps to make it happen.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;h3&amp;gt;Beginner&amp;amp;#39;s Guide to Buying on eBay&amp;lt;/h3&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;If you haven&amp;amp;#39;t already, &amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.thebalance.com/start-a-home-ebay-business-3993914&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;1&amp;quot;&amp;gt;join eBay now&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;, since you have to be a member in order to buy. Make sure you read the rules carefully about what&amp;amp;#39;s expected. There&amp;amp;#39;s a certain etiquette to doing business on eBay, which relies heavily on feedback between buyers and sellers.\u00A0&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;h3&amp;gt;Getting Started: Be Smart&amp;lt;/h3&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Also be aware that as a newbie to eBay, you&amp;amp;#39;re a little bit of a target for potential scammers or identity thieves. Be suspicious of any emails purporting to be from eBay looking for password information or the like.\u00A0&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;h3&amp;gt;Search and Browse for Items\u200B&amp;lt;/h3&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Once you&amp;amp;#39;ve joined and have a specific type of purchase in mind, either &amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.thebalance.com/how-to-navigate-the-ebay-website-1140192&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;2&amp;quot;&amp;gt;visit eBay&amp;amp;#39;s front page&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; and type a few related keywords into the search box or &amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.thebalance.com/browsing-by-category-1140623&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;3&amp;quot;&amp;gt;browse through the listings by category&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; to shop for the item you have in mind.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Next, find a few of these items in your &amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.thebalance.com/browsing-by-category-1140623&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;4&amp;quot;&amp;gt;search or browse results&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;, and click on the ones you&amp;amp;#39;re interested in to\u00A0&amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.thebalance.com/item-listing-1140230&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;5&amp;quot;&amp;gt;evaluate the data in the listings&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;. After\u00A0you&amp;amp;#39;ve found a likely candidate, double check the &amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.thebalance.com/understanding-ebay-auction-options-1140295&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;6&amp;quot;&amp;gt;price&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;, &amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.thebalance.com/understanding-the-ebay-feedback-system-1140188&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;seller quality&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;, &amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.thebalance.com/understanding-ebay-auction-options-1140295&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;8&amp;quot;&amp;gt;shipping information&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;, &amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.thebalance.com/paypal-working-on-ebay-1140193&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;9&amp;quot;&amp;gt;terms&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;, and most importantly, &amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.thebalance.com/item-listing-1140230&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;10&amp;quot;&amp;gt;description&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; to make sure that the item is the one you want.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;h3&amp;gt;Place Your Bid or Buy It Now&amp;lt;/h3&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;When you&amp;amp;#39;re ready to bid or buy, either place your bid or &amp;amp;#34;Buy It Now.&amp;amp;#34;\u00A0If you bid on an auction rather than purchasing with Buy It Now, watch your bid in &amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.thebalance.com/how-to-use-the-my-ebay-dashboard-page-1140191&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;11&amp;quot;&amp;gt;My eBay&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; to ensure that you win.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;There are ways to help boost your chances of winning, such as so-called auction sniping sites. Once you&amp;amp;#39;re more experienced at eBay, they&amp;amp;#39;re worth checking out if you envision participating in a lot of auctions. If you&amp;amp;#39;re planning to be more of a buyer than a bidder, you may not need sniping sites.\u00A0&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;h3&amp;gt;You&amp;amp;#39;ve Made the Deal. Now What?&amp;lt;/h3&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;After you&amp;amp;#39;ve won an auction you&amp;amp;#39;re bidding on, &amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.thebalance.com/ebay-payment-and-shipping-4073178&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;12&amp;quot;&amp;gt;close the deal&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; by making your payment via &amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.thebalance.com/paypal-working-on-ebay-1140193&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;13&amp;quot;&amp;gt;PayPal&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; or whatever other means you&amp;amp;#39;ve agreed to by bidding on the item.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Be careful with payment options, and beware of conducting any business outside eBay with sellers; some may approach you after an auction or sale via email with &amp;amp;#34;deals.&amp;amp;#34; If you conduct business with a seller outside of eBay, you have none of the purchase protections eBay offers, and it can be much harder to protect against a deal going awry or getting ripped off.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Once you&amp;amp;#39;ve received your item and are satisfied with it, leave &amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.thebalance.com/understanding-the-ebay-feedback-system-1140188&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;14&amp;quot;&amp;gt;feedback&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; giving your opinion of the transaction. This is a key feature of eBay, and can be a good way to determine whether or not you want to do business with someone. If their account is relatively new, or they have a low rating from other buyers, tread carefully with any deals you enter into.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;If necessary, resolve any &amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.thebalance.com/ebay-disputes-and-disagreements-4073436&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;15&amp;quot;&amp;gt;disputes&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; that you have with the seller. Hopefully, of course, this last step is never needed.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<https://www.thebalance.com/how-to-buy-on-ebay-1140200>