DO NOT...
1. Get Involved In Bidding Wars.
This is one of the biggest beginner mistakes one can make on ebay. Continually bidding on the same item over and over in a frenzy to stay a penny ahead of your competition of bidders. Though real live auctions work like this ebay doesn't, or at least shouldn't. Those who win auctions and at good prices are those who time their first or second bids close to the close of the auction. Once you get a little more ebay savvy you may also want to look into using auction sniper tools which are an automated way for you to place a bid a penny above your competitor tenths of a second before an auction ends leaving other bidders no time to come over the top of you.
2. Forget To Factor In Shipping & Handling
Have you ever ordered something off an infomercial that was a product at the low cost of only $19.95 however once you check out your total somehow has climbed to over $30 due to that dreaded shipping and handling charge?
Don't forget to check shipping and handling charges on ebay. In the past many ebayers tried to bundle part of the item cost into shipping for example selling a stereo for $10 but charging an additional $50 in shipping and handling. Sellers did this because ebay charged what's called a final value fee on the item price and not shipping so ebayers could circumvent ebay fees by bundling part of the item cost in shipping.
Ebay has since begun charging final value fees on the total of product and shipping so this practice has largely stopped but still be sure to check out shipping and handling prices.
Don't be too critical of buyers who charge shipping fees over what you think an item would cost. Sellers are getting hit with up to 13% fees on the shipping and handling they charge so if they $20 for shipping a heavier item they are losing an additional $2.60 in fees. Sellers also need to pay for packaging such as boxes, envelopes, mailing tape, bubble wrap as well as packaging supplies. Sellers also need to factor in the time it takes them to package items and drive them to the post office as well as gas and vehicle charges involved in that. Don't think because postage is only $5 that the seller only incures $5 in fees.
3. Forget To Carefully Read Auction Details
Always read the fine print. One story comes to mind of a guy selling photos of an iphone. Many buyers didn't read the fine print that they were buying a photo of an iphone and not an actual iphone. Buyers just saw a picture of an iphone at a crazy low price and started bidding it up. This guy wound up selling photos of iphones for several hundred dollars.
Though the example above is an extreme example sometimes buyers may say things like item pictures may be different from item you receive or sometimes people sell items that are damaged for repair or for parts and without reading the actual item description you may miss this.
Most ebayers are honest people who offer good deals but there will always be predators out there
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