eBay has really evolved over the years and has quickly become my favourite place to shop online. It should no longer be considered a place for second hand junk or bidding wars, it’s now a place of true commerce with options to “buy it now” or to even haggle with a seller by “making an offer”.

Instead perhaps consider eBay as a gigantic 24hour outlet mall that’s filled with stores like Schuh, that are just desperate to get rid of last season’s Converse. It’s also populated with independent retailers, that can’t afford the online high street rents but compete with the larger stores like Amazon by offering you brilliant price reductions on new products. Then there are the niche stores/individuals that sell really rare or unique items like the HP battery I got for my 5 year old laptop (€36.99 with free P&P from Hong Kong) or my new Vans with the black soles and purple/black checkered pattern (€45 including P&P from Germany, the same price as the high street but very rare so totally worth it).

However, shopping online isn’t easy. It can be time consuming and frustrating. There are just too many choices, and far too many links to click to get to what you’re really looking for. There are just too many variables involved. So I thought I’d write up a few suggestions on how, as an Irish consumer, you can really utilise eBay.

How To Get The Best Out Of

The first step toward getting the best out of eBay is to know what you’re searching for. eBay is not for browsing, there are too many of the same item and you’ll give yourself a headache clicking through page after page of products.  Unless of course you’re just after a last minute bargain, which is purely opportunistic. I recently picked up a Wii Nunchuck Controller for 1c from China (€3.99 P&P but still a bargain). Often when I’m not too sure what I’m looking for I’ll use Amazon to browse instead, as the experience is better with regards to navigation and being able to see similar items is nifty too, but I’ll always price check against eBay if I find something I like. However, even if you just know that you’re looking for Wii accessories or a pair of shoes, that’s a good start.

The second step is to make sure you’re searching the entire European Union by clicking on the option in the left hand sidebar. This broadens your search to include all European countries and also removes non-European countries. This is good, because otherwise you’ll have to pay customs duty on anything over €22 (including the cost of the P&P) to ship  to Ireland from outside of the EU. Forget those international sellers, unless you’re willing to factor in the 21% Vat that will be added later (21% of the total cost, so again that includes the P&P) and the €6 post office handling fee into the overall price of the item. In the past I would have had no problem buying products from outside of the EU and then just requested for the seller to “mark the item as a gift” to dodge the customs duty, but from my experience that rarely works anymore.

The third step is to vary your search terms. Even if you know the *exact* name (or colour and size, etc.) of what you’re trying to track down, it might not be listed that way on eBay. Don’t forget that all eBay listings are written by different individuals and unlike places like Amazon there are no strict rules governing how to describe an item. Imagine you’re searching for a pair of shoes, in some instances the size of the shoe may not be apparent from the one line of text describing the item, but will be mentioned in the full description of the item once you’ve clicked on its page. In some instances the seller may not have even put their item in the right category or have even spelt the name of the item incorrectly. Though this can sometimes make tracking down a rare item difficult, it can work in your benefit too. By varying your search terms you might find a bargain that has gone unnoticed, has had no bids or had no page views. I recently “made an offer”, a haggle, on an item with only 20 page views and got a 25% further discount because the buyer could see only 19 other people had even looked at the item.

The forth step is to make sure you use European sizes. If you’re only searching the UK & Ireland it’s fine to think in size 5 shoes, but in Europe that’s a size 38. Check a European size guide to help with your search for the right size (obviously this only applies to buying clothes, shoes etc).

The most important thing about any online shopping is of course safety. The best advice I can give is to always use Paypal, not only does it stop your credit card information being shared with a seller on eBay but PayPal buyer protection and their buyer complaint policy protect you if something goes wrong. Also, you should always make sure that before clicking on the “buy it now” or “place a bid” buttons that you have checked the feedback on the person/company you are purchasing from. Though eBay makes it pretty easy these days to really quickly see who is a legitimate and experienced seller, with their stars and power sellers icons, so familiarise yourself with these.

For me, finding a bargain on eBay is really rewarding but it also offers up far more options to me as a consumer. Yes I’ve had to get refunds or replacements, just like in real life, but I can’t say that I’ve ever had a bad experience on eBay, despite having purchased countless goods there over the last 5 years. Though I have come across some truly bizarre items, such as sex aids listed as adult Halloween costumes.

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever seen on eBay? What tips would you add to this guide?