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EBay: Tips for buying a great bargain

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-- by Malcolm

"Some times it's our best bet, but best be careful."

I don't think I have ever searched for something on eBay and never found it. You can find just about anything there, and you can certainly find paintball equipment. Sometimes you can get a really good deal on eBay and a lot of the time you can find great stuff that just isn't available in Newfoundland. I bought my CO2 remote line, a marker, long bob barrel, M16 stock, and a JT mask from eBay, and haven't been disappointed yet with the products or the end prices. For example, I bought a remote line for my maker that only cost $30 NEW! The only other I had seen locally was a similar one at Frontline paintball that cost $60! eBay can be a great source for deals, but there are some things that you need to keep in mind when buying from eBay.

1. Set a maximun bid for yourself

It is important when buying to have a amount that you are satisfied to pay, will not bid over. Don't bid for the sake of winning the auction. Sounds foolish, doesn't, it? But it's far too easy to get caught up in the bidding. When you add $2 here to stay on top and then add $4 later to stay on top, and so on. soon you may be over your original spending limit. At that point you aren't getting the same bargain that you found in the first place.

2. Check the sellers 'Selling' feedback.

Never forget to look at the persons feed back. Do they have positive *selling* feedback? Any negative feed back will show you what kind of person you are dealing with, and whether on not you will want to bid on the item. Maybe the person only has buying feedback. In this case you should be weary, as this person has never sold anything before. Has there been any bickering about money in the feedback, or complaints about an item not as described?

Email them to make sure you understand *everything* the item, how you can pay for it, and how it will be shipped. You can always ask for more higher resolution pictures, so you can get a better look at the item. Sometimes the picture displayed is very small, but if they really interested in selling the item, they will email you better pictures.

Personally when it comes to this shipping, I want everything shipped to me by mail. No UPS, no Day&Ross, nothing other then mail. I found the couriers in St.John's to have very poor service, especially if you work during the day. If you miss them, too bad, they make very little or no effort to contact you. The regular post mail will come to your door once, and if they don't get you at home they will leave a note, and call you several times if needed. I have been very disappointed by other delivery companies.

3. How much for shipping?

Look at how much they want for shipping the item. Confirm that they will ship to Canada and/or Newfoundland? I ask that question every time! Some people, for some reason, will not ship outside the US. If you find an item you want, and they say they only ship within the US, it doen's hurt to ask. Sometimes they will decide to ship it, just with an extra amount on shipping.

4. US or Canadian Dollars?

What is the currency? Is the auction in USD or CND? It looks better for the seller to have it in USD cause the price looks smaller. Don't be fooled! Always keep in mind the Canadian to US currency difference.

5. Hidden Fees?

Read through the description very carefully and make sure there are no extra costs. Some time sellers like to hide extra costs in the description, keeping the bidding prices low. Sneaky.

6. Bidding tips:

(These are my own tips on bidding: Your mileage may vary)
Don't sign to watch an item; wait until the last hour! Most people will bid on the item when the time gets low. If you bid on the item earlier, when there are several days left, someone might out bid you. All you have done is raise the price! Wait until late in the auction when most people have made their bids, and then make yours.

 

If you want more information Ebay ahs a buyers guide for paintball players. Here is the link at: http://pages.ebay.com/buy/guides/paintball-buying-guide/

 

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