How to Bid for Items on eBay

eBay is a great place to find amazing deals on just about anything. It can be confusing for a new user to navigate around eBay. I'll tell you how to bid on an item.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• eBay Account
• PayPal Account

1. Make sure you have an eBay and PayPal account. eBay is what you use to bid, and PayPal is how most sellers prefer you pay for your item. PayPal is great because it is secure and protects the buyer and the seller. These accounts take minutes to set up.

2. Log into eBay. It's easier if you do this before you start searching. You'll be logged into eBay until you close the browser.

3. 
   Item Link

   Search for the item of your choice. Be specific with keywords if you know what you want. For my example I've used 16" circular knitting needles. After you find an item you would like to bid on click on that link.

4. 
   Placing a Bid

   Enter a maximum bid. This is the absolute most you want to pay for the item. eBay will only bid enough for you to win the bid, and only go up to your maximum if you are outbid. For example, I am choosing to bid $3.50 on this item. If you look another person has bid on this item and the minimum bid is $.99. My first bid will be $1. If another person chooses to bid, they will have to bid more than $1. If they bid more than $3.50 they will win the item.

5. 
   Review and Confirm

   Are you sure you want to bid? Now you can review and confirm your bid. Change your mind? You won't be charged as long as you don't hit the confirm bid button. If you hit the button then congratulations, you've bid on an item! You can now go to the my eBay tab and check on your bids.

Tips & Warnings

• Like an item, but don't want to bid right away? Click the "Watch This Item in My eBay" link. You can save the item's location.
• Make sure you look at shipping information and method of payment in the review and confirm screen.

[jaredsgirl]

on 1/22/2009 Great advice. Thanks! 5*