How to Bid on Items on Yahoo Auctions

One of many free services that Yahoo offers is its comprehensive buying and selling tool called Yahoo Auctions. With Yahoo Auctions you can search for items you want to buy, sell items to make a profit or just browse around and window shop. It does not take long to bid on items as long as you have a Yahoo account.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Computer with Internet access
• Yahoo account

Bid on Items With Yahoo Auctions

1. Log in to your account from the Yahoo home page by entering your username and password where it is requested (see Resources below). You may also go directly from the Yahoo Auctions home page (see Resources below).

2. Register with Yahoo Auctions. You will need to do this before you place your first bid even if you already have a Yahoo account. Access the Yahoo Registration page to do so (see Resources below).

3. Read and accept the Yahoo Auctions Additional Terms (see Resources below) and click 'I Agree.' Note that you will need to verify a credit card as part of the registration process if you have not already done so.

4. Choose 'Auctions' from the list of services that pop up when you click on the 'More Yahoo Services' button on the Yahoo home page. This will bring you to the Yahoo Auctions home page if you aren't already there.

5. Find items to bid on by browsing goods by category using the navigation links, or use the search tool to find specific items. To use the search tool, type in the name of an item you want in the Search box and click 'Search.' You may narrow your search by choosing a type of auction from the pull-down menu (e.g., you can search only the automotive auctions if you want.)

6. Click on the text link in an individual item listing to bring up a page with detailed information about the item.

7. Find the 'Place A Bid' box and enter a price in the field provided that is the same as or more than the price currently listed. You can select to bid an exact amount or to bid up to a specified amount. Click in the circle next to 'Bid Up To This Amount On My Behalf' and Yahoo will automatically bid on your behalf when someone outbids you until the maximum amount you have indicated has been reached.

8. Go to Yahoo Auctions Help (see Resources below) and click on the link that says 'How To Bid.' This will bring up a list of links you can use to find additional information on the bidding process, such as how to cancel a bid.

Tips & Warnings

• You can sign up for a Yahoo account for free on the Yahoo home page.
• In order to make the online auctions environment safer for participants, Yahoo asks for personal information (which may include a social security number) to verify the identity of users. Do not give out this information to anyone that might request it via an email, unsolicited phone call or fax, even if that person says he or she works for Yahoo. Scammers sometimes use this tactic to steal personal information from the unwary.