Is eBay the best online store ever? If you're looking for different things to wear than what's on the high street, eBay is the place to go. Thanks to eBay I've sold lots clothes & accessories I no longer wear but are still in good condition. I've got good prices for things I've not expected to and not sold things I think are really nice! From a buying point of view, I've managed to buy some great accessories I couldn't afford full price when they were on sale in shops.
As far as buyers are concerned, there are three types:
1) Those who think they can get something for nothing - they only bid on items that start at 99p, or make offers on products for less than half the 'buy it now' price. A message to these people: sellers are trying to make some money on here, you wouldn't go into a shop and offer £20 for a handbag with a £60 price tag now would you!?
2) Those who watch but never buy. I've listed things that lots of people have put on their watch lists, but by the time the item has ended it's not taken any bids.I'd like to know the psychology behind this. I generally only watch items I might bid on, or they are similar to things I want to sell so like to see what price they go for.
3) The snipers. These people tend to be a little more tech savvy and have software that puts a bid in for you at the last millisecond. I know if I really want something I should probably get some of this software, but I never want anything quite enough to do that!
My best recent purchase from eBay has been a pair of Vivienne Westwood shoes I wanted to buy a couple of years ago. I could never afford them at the time and they were never in a sale that I could find. I managed to buy a good as new pair for half the original retail price. I think the seller may have bought them in a sale, but at the end of the day I got some lovely new shoes! Friends of mine with children have obtained some really good bargains on clothes etc for their kids. It's an expensive business, so keeping the costs down is very important. One friend of mine got a pack of 10 new plain baby grows for 99p! You certainly couldn't get that in Mothercare!
I can spend hours just browsing on eBay. If I lived somewhere remote far from any decent shops I think I would buy lots more on eBay. A lot of things I've sold seem to go to smaller towns in the UK. I've recently sent a couple of things to Cumbria, not exactly a remote part of England, but not exactly a high street shopping mecca either! The great thing about the internet is it means that all shops are accessible anywhere, as long as they have a decent website.
eBay really is the online store to end all online stores, with new stock every second of the day!
