Auction Sites

What types of scams have been reported on Ebay?

We've had numerous responses from readers regarding scams occurring on Ebay, and perhaps other auction sites as well. Here is a summary of the ones we've heard: (most of these don't directly hurt the consumer)
1. An alleged scam is one where users set a exceedingly high reserved price on a item. The reserved price option is intended to protect users from having to sell their item at below a designated price. However, these shady users set a reserved price high enough which guarantees no sane person would ever bid above that price. Then, after the actual bids get high enough, the user directly emails the highest bidder to close the sale. They do this to circumvent paying the 2% fee to Ebay for selling the item. In addition, they often post the starting bid price at 1 cent. This allows them to bypass the regular $2 insertion fee and instead pay only 25 cents for the listing.
2. A more blatant scam to watch out for is one where users sign on with different account names to drive bids up on their own items. They would bid many times at small increments to move their own items into the hot items list. In addition, they might leave positive comments about the item or seller (themselves) to build credibility and increase the bid prices. Some users also use this method to screw over other people selling similar competing products by leaving negative feedback on their listings.

How can I get items at a good deal on Ebay?

While it has become harder to find good deals on auction sites, there are some tricks you can use to increase your chances.
1. Never bid on an auction until a few minutes before the auction closes. Bidding early is not advantageous, as someone else is almost surely going to outbid you - raising the final price. Instead, wait until the auction is just about to close, then place your bid. With the popularity of Ebay and auction sites these days, this is one of the only ways to get a good deal. (remember though that it takes about a minute to enter your bidding information, so do not wait too long!)
2. Sometimes you can also e-mail the seller directly to negotiate a fair offer. While I'm sure Ebay does not condone this type of behavior, sellers are often willing to do this because they won't have to pay the fees on the final bid price. In addition, sellers often do not want to wait till the end of an auction to sell the item. This relieves them of having to wait for the bidding to end.
3. Always use a price search engine (KillerApp or Pricewatch) to find the current market price for the item you are interested in. This way you can be sure you are actually getting a good deal, and are not paying retail price for a potentially used item. Also, by doing your research before buying an item, you can double check to make sure the item is not already obsolete or replaced by a newer model.
4. Lastly, while brand new components will usually end at or above retail prices in bids, older parts can often sell for lower than their market value. If you are looking for an older component, Ebay may well be the best place to buy it.

What can I do to increase my chances of selling my item at a good price on Ebay?

Obviously we do not condone the sketchy methods (scams) listed above. But there are other more legitimate ways to increase your final bidding price on Ebay and other auction sites.
1. Ebay currently keeps track of hot items, items which have had more than 30 bids. Hot items appear bolded on the site and have a special hot logo next to them. The hot items attract more attention, and thus usually drives higher bids. To push items into the hot list, start your bidding price abnormally low. (We're talkin' dirt cheap here guys.) Users then bid on the item in small increments, guaranteeing a high number of bids, thus potentially getting on the hot items list and increasing visibility for the sale.
2. Another thing you should do when listing an item for sale is to give as many details as possible about the item. Leave no questions to the buyer, because if he or she has to contact you with questions, that's less time for him or her to bid up your price. Go to the manufacturer's web site and pull up the specs on your item. Cut and paste some of the more relevant information from their web site, or at the very least link to the information. Using pictures and clean HTML greatly increases your chances of the user bidding on your item.