How Does eBay Work + Tips for Finding the Best Deals!

How does eBay work? I explain it how to use eBay plus share my tips for finding the best deals!

I consider myself a black belt shopper and while finding the best deals at many online stores involves simply waiting for a sale, on eBay there are lots of little tricks for snagging things at a great price. All of these tricks are super simple, you just have to know what to do. Today I’m sharing them with you so get ready to find out how to score some killer steals and deals! (post includes affiliate links – full disclosure statement available {here})

But first…

eBay 101: How It Works

eBay is a worldwide online marketplace that allows users to both buy and sell items. While you can definitely find used items on eBay, most of their listings are for brand new items. Years ago eBay operated in an auction style where the item went to the highest bidder after a certain period of time. While there are still plenty of auction listings, most listings have a “Buy It Now” button you can use to buy the item immediately at the listed price. Some also have a “Make Offer” button where you can offer less than the listing price and see if the seller accepts it. The Seller creates the listing including setting the terms for whether or not it’s an auction listing, giving options for shipping, and setting the return policy.

Anyone can search eBay – you don’t need to log in or create an account. However, if you wish to buy or sell on the platform, you’ll need to register and receive a user name. You have the opportunity to review the person you buy or sell from and they have the opportunity to review you too. Next to everyone’s user name, there is a number that tells you how many times they’ve bought or sold on the platform and also a rating of the percent positive feedback. When you’re buying on eBay, checking out the seller’s rating is an important step in having confidence in your transaction. However, eBay does have a money back guarantee that you’ll get the item you ordered or they’ll give you your money back.

Now that your question about how does eBay work has been answered, here’s how to save big:

1. Shop Refurbished

I typically shy away from buying refurbished items that are sold by a reseller but eBay has some amazing deals on refurbished items sold directly from the manufacturer AND they typically come with warranties. Some of my favorites are found in their Dyson Outlet {here} where you can get refurbished Dyson products including cordless vacuums for up to 50% off! I bought one a few years back at a HUGE discount from the original price. When it arrived it looked like new, worked perfectly, and had a full six month warranty. It’s seriously one of my favorite purchases EVER.

The Dyson vacuums convert into powerful handheld vacs that literally pull in dirt, dust bunnies, and debris from several inches away and are great for getting into all the nooks and crannies of your home:

See my full post on Shark vs. Dyson cordless vacuums to decide if a Dyson or Shark is best for you!

I’ve also bought several small kitchen appliances as certified refurbished products from the manufacturer including {this pasta maker} that I love!

Other popular brands offering refurbished products range from fashion names like Dior, Gucci, and Hermes to Addidas footwear, tech products including Apple, Google, & Samsung, and a tons more. You can see all of the brands that have eBay shops {here}.

2. Set Up Alerts

If you’re looking for something specific that you can’t currently find on eBay, instead of having to constantly keep checking back, it’s super easy to set up an alert so that you get an email from eBay when something matching your search is listed. To do this, simply type what you’re looking for into eBay’s search bar. Click the heart to the left of “Save this search” (it will prompt you to log in or set up an account if you haven’t already) and you’re set!

3. Shop Local For Expensive-to-Ship Items

When you search for items in eBay, you can set a search radius under “Item Location” to search within a set number of miles from your zip code. This is perfect for when you’re shopping for large furniture pieces or electronics that could be fairly pricey to ship because you may find options that you can pick up locally and save a ton.

4. When You’re OK With It, Buy Used!

Let’s talk used versus new on eBay. Over 80% of what’s sold on eBay is new which is great because I prefer to buy new for certain things (pillow covers, linens, etc.), but there are some things I’m totally ok with buying used. For example, I bought some doggies steps for our aging dog used on eBay. When you buy used you can save a ton of money and often sell the item you bought on eBay for about the same price as you bought it when you’re done with it if it’s in the same condition.

5. Shop Daily Deals

If you love a good bargain (um… who doesn’t?!) check out eBay’s daily deals page {here}. You can either browse through all categories of featured deals or just the Home & Garden deals {here} to find the home goodies that we both love (and that ship for free)!

6. Score Vintage Finds at Great Prices!

If you love going to flea markets and finding unique vintage pieces, you can do an online version of flea market shopping by shopping eBay! Not only is there a wide selection, but you can often get prices comparable to flea market pricing because there’s competition between sellers selling similar items which keeps prices low. Want to see one of my favorite vintage finds?

Finding this little brass swan planter seriously made me obscenely happy! I had seen a very similar one on Farmgirl Flowers’ Instagram account from a wedding they were part of and it was right up my brass-animal-loving-alley so I had to have it! I didn’t know if I’d be able to find anything very similar but this guy was almost an exact match. I love having small, unique planters like this because when larger flower arrangements turn half dead, I pluck out the survivors and put them in something small to keep them going:

If you were to take a count around my house I’m pretty sure I have 10+ brass animals which is maybe kinda weird (?!) but for some reason I just can’t resist them! You can find all sorts of them on eBay {here}.

So those are my tried and true tips – any other eBay shoppers out there who have other tips to share? Enjoy your weekend everyone!

XO,