subject: A Basic Guide to EBay Online Auctions [print this page] During the last several years a whole host of online shopping websites have arisen and their popularity continues to grow. In recent years, many of these new portals have begun to posit themselves as serious competitors to the grandfather of online auctions sites, EBay. Many of them have learned from the experiences of both sellers and shoppers and have tried to create a unique experience.Nevertheless, EBay is still a wonderful web site with an incredible range of products, no matter if you are buying, selling, or simply browsing. This auction site allows one almost any from around the world to sell everything from junk from their basements to priceless antiques, from toy cars to sports cars, and from homemade crafts to beautiful works of art.The bidding model that EBay embraces can be a little intimidating for a first time user, but here is a handy hint to help you win your first item at auction.Set your price right away. The beauty and simplicity of any EBay auction is that the system does the bidding for you. Many people in an attempt to save money will put in a lower bid than they are actually prepared to pay, and end up losing the auction due to time constraints in bidding. But this is not necessary.When you enter your opening bid, you should enter the highest amount you are willing to pay. The system will automatically adjust your bid, and place it at the lowest amount possible that is still within the confines of your offer.For example, if you are bidding on an item and the current highest bid is $10, and you are willing to spend up to $100 to get it, put in a bid of $100. The system will make the lowest bid possible, of $11, in your name. If someone else bids $12, it will rebid for you for $13, and so on, unless someone else bids $101.At that point, of course, you are free to go back and bid more, if you should so choose. But the other reason to bid as high as you're willing to go with the first bid you enter is the time constraints.If you only bid $50 for that item, and someone else swoops in with a $60 bid with five seconds to go in the auction, you will not have time to register a new bid, and you will lose the item. Bid your maximum amount the first time, and you won't never have to worry.
