Many people are confused over how exactly Ebay operates. Perhaps because of Amazon’s almost instant popularity and Ebay’s ecommerce interace, people think there is an Ebay wharehouse somewhere that receives purchase invoices and sends it to a shipping department..wrong.

Ebay is a buyers’ market much like an auction (in most cases it is an auction) where buyers and sellers congregate and determine a fair price. The market is competitive and buyers can bid on a very low priced auction and watch the price go up as more and more buyers bid on the auction. The other option for a seller is to list a product with a “buy it now” sticker price. ÂÂ

The following five tips are for getting started with Ebay and being familar with it.

 1. You don’t have to be a registered user of Ebay to search,cross examine, and generally browse. In order to sell, buy, or bid on a product though you must sign up with a valid credit card.

2. There are several learning tutorials (audio and video) available on the internet to learn how Ebay works. One example is at http://pages.ebay.com/education/index.html

3. Similar to Google, Ebay is an atomic bomb of information and listings. At any one time, there are well over 25 million products and services up for auction on Ebay. When you search on Ebay using its’ basic search function only the keywords you type in to search will return only those auctions with those keywords in the title of the listing. For example, if you type in a very general keyword such as “movie” , Ebay will return hundreds of thousands of results. Narrow your search by typing in exactly what you want. If you type in “X Men Movie” you will get a much more narrow result (several hundred only) and be on your way to happy bidding.

4. Make use of Ebay’s feedback system when you become a registered seller or buyer. Ebay helps make itself a safe place to buy and sell by making use of this. In addition, when you are bidding on a listing be sure to check the “% rating” of the seller. Do not rely on only the percentage of positive feedback though. A seller might have 100% positive feedback but has sold only one item on Ebay. A low priced product might just be a penetration pricing scheme of the seller to get you to bid on the auction and then never deliver the goods after you pay for them. So check the seller’s feedback and when you win an item, be sure to leave appropriate feedback to help share your experience with the Ebay population.

5. If you are internet savvy, I suggest signing up for a Pay Pal account which allows you to pay through a credit card or check bank account. The majority of sellers on Ebay prefer this method of payment and often require it for their listing. Pay Pal is also much more secure than any other method of payment and will settle disputes your might have with a seller or buyer if you feel taken advantage of. You can get started by going to http://www.PayPal.com/