Teach Me How to Use Ebay!

As well, there are other online auctions out there. Www.propertyroom.com is a good auction. A lot of the items are released from the evidence vault of police stations. They don't sell used clothing, nor items that are contaminated. No pay pal needed. And yes, you can pick up an item for $1 + shipping & handling.

Definitely set up a Paypal account.

Look for sellers that have good ratings. Read their reviews.

I have sold and purchased on Ebay and have had great experiences doing both. The seller does not approve the bids. When they set up the item to sell they set up the perimeters of what they are willing to deal with. For example, they may decide to start the bidding at .99 cents. If they do that, they are willing to take a risk to sell their item for that amount. Obviously, some people, start their asking prices much higher.

It is possible for you to get a real good deal. If no one else bid for that bag then the bag would be yours for $2. Don't forget to look and add in the price of the shipping. I always look for free shipping. Just yesterday, I went to Michaels and saw a Cricut Cartridge on sale for 44.00 down from 89.00. I then went to Ebay and found the same title of cartridge brand new and decided to see if I could buy it for 20.00. I lost three auctions because people bid higher then me. But the fourth auction, I was successful. The cartridge is being sent to me for $20.00. Incredible savings.

I have found most sellers to be honest. They have to be if they want repeat business. Every transactions is rated by you and them. It is a check and balance system.

Good luck and happy bidding. Know the going price of the items and what you are willing to pay for them. Don't go above your ouch price and be willing to lose an auction. Most of the time a similiar if not the same item pops up again.

Paypal for sure. Before you bid make sure you read the whole auction very carefully. Some sellers only accept paypal as a form of payment. It takes awhile to get paypal going so set up asap. Get on paypals site and follow the directions, they will then put 2 small deposits in your banking account and when those show up you verify the deposits with paypal.
I have NEVER had a problem with ebay at all. Also don't forget craigslist. You can find good stuff on there as well.

I agree that getting a paypal account is important when using ebay. I had a problem with an online seller once (never received my item) and went through the resolution center at Paypal and they refunded all of my money when they found the seller at fault. I didn't even have to wait for the seller to refund my money, Paypal paid me then went after the seller and revoked her selling privileges. So, protections are in place that you would not have just using your bank account. My paypal account is linked to my checking account, so the money comes from the same place, but the added security is great.
When buying from ebay (like the other poster said) make sure you check out the sellers history and that they have an excellent rating. I usually don't bid, I look for things that are Buy Now items.

Paypal is a must to avoid the scammers. Paypal will back up your purchases and refund your money if the seller never sends the item. Also, most scammers won't use Paypal - they'll want cash, checks, etc.

Look at the reviews and feedback. I almost bid on an item once, but a review said the person just bought the items from Walmart.com and had it shipped to the buyer. (The item was half the price and so the seller was making a nice profit off just ordering stuff for other people off Walmart! Ha!) If I hadn't read the reviews, I would've fallen for the same scam. Always look for sellers that have at least 4 or 5 positive ratings as a seller (not just as a buyer).

It's easy - you can do it!

Take the ebay tutorials on their website. They are only a few minutes long and help you become a better buyer and seller. I would start by buying a few items to get comfortable with what you are doing. You can find tons of things for your child at great prices.
If you have a friend who buys and sells they can give you hands on tips and training too.

I have sold many things on Ebay...and bought many things as well. I personally believe Ebay is much safer than Craigslist. Much safer, by far! First of all, yes, you need a Paypal account. It's free to sign up. Sign up for Ebay, creating a member "name" for yourself. Once you have signed up, start browsing. Once you find something you like, take a look at the seller's info. You find a short version of this information on the top right corner of the auction page. You will see a number, sometimes a large number (like in the thousands) and sometimes a smaller number and even some colored stars. Don't let a small number scare you or give you total confidence when you see a large number. LOOK at the percentage of positive feedback. The percentage of positive feedback is important. Obviously the higher the number, the better the person you are dealing with. You can also take a peek at the seller's feedback to give you and idea of the kind of seller they are (do they have positive feedback for fast shipping or not...you can read what people have said about that particular seller).

Next, take a look at the description they have. Is it clear? IF not, contact them with any additional questions you may have. LOOK closely at their return policy, if they have one at all. Many sellers start their auction with an opening bid. This is a starting bid. Let's say your diaper bag has a starting bid of $2 like you stated. What is the MAXIMUM you are willing to pay? Let's say you are willing to pay no more than $15.00 for this diaper bag. So, you place your bid for $2 but with a MAX of $15. IT does not mean it will sell for $15. This is where the bidding wars begin. The "starting" bid will continue to increase in small increments. So, if you bid on it for $2.00 but place a max bid of $15.00, say I come along and bid on it for the next increment but I place a max bid for $20.00, now I've got a better chance to win...because my max bid just outbid you. Always start with the starting bid (when there are other bids, it will tell you the next increment to bid) but you always have the option to place a max bid OR a higher bid than the next increment stated. Placing a max bid allows you the freedom of not having to continuously watch your item. As the other bids roll in, as long as their bids are still lower than yours, your max bid gives you a little more room to win the item if you really want it bad enough. The seller doesn't approve of the bids. This is all Ebay...it's what makes it fair. Yes, it's absolutely possible to get the diaper bag for $3 as long as you were the only bid. Some sellers also offer a "Buy it Now" option. This option is very nice, indeed because it enables you to bypass the bidding process but you can also expect to pay a higher amount. But, if this is something you really want and don't want to lose it, then choose the "Buy it now" option. Always take a peek at the shipping charge too! Some seller's place their starting bids very low but place a higher shipping charge. It is legal to do this as they include a shipping fee into that shipping charge. Whenever I have sold on Ebay, I generally include a small shipping fee (it's always a minimal amount for me) but I've seen sellers charge outrageous shipping fees. Use your judgment and decide what is fair. Ebay is fun and safe. Yes, there can be scammers on Ebay. Deceptive people can be found anywhere but Ebay and Paypal are very good at helping you should some problem arise. Once you get your item, and you are happy, don't forget to leave feedback for the seller. Likewise, the seller usually gives you feedback as well so this will help YOU in your buying and possible selling ventures.

yes you want a paypal account. This insures that you don't get scammed and also has proof that you made the payment where they can claim they lost a money order and is a real pain to prove they cashed it. Paypal all the way whether you are buying or selling.

Basically you put in your highest bid, whatever you think the product is worth, that way when other people bid on it, you are still highest bidder until they outbid you but if no one else bids on the product then you get it for the lowest bid or starting bid even though you put a higher bid on it. I prefer buying the buy it now especially on things I know will get outbid if you start the bid process. When you click on buy it now you get it for the buy it now price and it is yours.

Ebay is a great place to find good deals, just make sure you do your homework with shopping because sometimes you can get things in the store cheaper on clearance. I usually have an idea what a product cost and make sure you have shipping figured into that total price. Sometimes the shipping charges are too high so shop around. Even on ebay sometimes you find the same product cheaper from someone else selling it, or find other sellers that have that product with free shipping but maybe a higher start price but would be cheaper because it has no shipping cost.

Watch your bids about the time they are over so you will know when you have been outbid and can add more to your bid. Keep refreshing the page until the auction is over. You will be amazed how many people put items on watch me and outbid you at the last second.

as for the diaper bag, bid 3.00 on it and see what happens. If you get outbid then add more to it but don't go above what you feel it is worth including the shipping charges.

It is really simple once you figure it all out.

If you enter your highest bid that you are willing to go, it will keep upping the person's bid till it get's to your highest bid. That is probably why you keep getting outbid, because you are bidding against their highest bid.