How to Find Deals on EBay

Most people that shop at eBay are either looking for a hard to find item they can not find any place else, or are looking for great deals. On more popular items, finding a great deal often means finding an auction that is being overlooked by other shoppers--called a sleeper. There are several things that you can do to help you find the hidden sleepers on eBay.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Search the entire eBay site when looking for an item. One of the most common mistakes made by eBay sellers that cause their auction to be overlooked is placing their item in the wrong category. An item placed in the wrong eBay category often sells for much less then the same item placed in the correct category. By searching the entire auction site, you can find those items that are misplaced.
2. Think of as many misspellings that you can for the item you are looking for and search for each of the misspellings. If an item is spelled incorrectly in the title, people have a hard time finding it. This often leads to sleepers that can be great deals on eBay.
3. Look for items that are ending at a bad time of day. Another reason that an item will not go as high on eBay as it could is because the seller has the item ending at a time of day when the majority of people are not around. Auctions ending in the evening tend to get a lot of last minute bidding. An auction that ends in the middle of the night or in the middle of the work day typically does not get as much attention at the end and is a good way for you to locate a sleeper and get a great deal.
4. Bid as close to the end of the auction as you can. It is best to bid within one minute of auction close. This way you are not leaving time for other bidders to return to the auction and bid against you. Enter the maximum amount that you are willing to pay for the item and eBay will bid on your behalf the minimum amount needed to win the bid.

Tips & Warnings

• Misspelled words are often common misspellings for a word but they can also be typing errors. When searching for misspellings, look at your keyboard to see what letters are closest to the correct letters and try various combinations.