Ebay Obssession

Ebay... the world's biggest market! I am the kind of person that loves to save money. I love finding things that are worth a lot more than what they're priced for! And Ebay is just the perfect place for me to go shop til I drop. However, it is such a successful way of  shopping for cheap that I am afraid this thing that once started as a hobby has turned into a scary obssession!

I log into my Ebay account everyday, almost more than 30 times a day. It's so easy and fun. I buy everything from high end make up to bathing suits, voice recorders, cameras, jewelry and more! My best purchase was a voice recorder, which I paid $50 for and it retails for over $200! So, I can use those $150 that I've saved to buy more things that I need! And sure, I'm not perfect. Sometimes I splurge and buy things I don't need at all... But that is the beauty of it! I'm not spending a fortune and I'm getting my fix on shopping. No annoying lines to wait for in the mall, no angry store clerks, no traffic, no headaches over finding parking,etc! Yes, I might still go to the mall, especially if I need something fast! But, going to the mall will never be the same for me!

But not all is good with Ebay. Unfortunately, some sellers might be deceiving. One of the most important things to do when shopping on Ebay is:  you have to make sure you check the seller's feedback! It tells you how good of a seller he is! The higher their feedback percentage, the higher the chance that you will be pleased with your overall purchase. Will my goods arrive on time? Will I get what I actually ordered? Does the seller offer returns if my goods arrive damaged? (Although Paypal can help with that too, but that's a whole other blog, hahaha!) All these questions will be avoided if you take the time to screen sellers!

Another thing that I personally don't like is that the bidding process might sometimes be a little too frustrating. Imagine waiting to get the perfect dress or a ring you really liked and at the last minute... Boom! Someone else steals your bid! And you don't win the item. You lost your time.. At least that's what it feels like for me! That's why I always wait til LITERALLY the last minute to bid on something! And even then, someone else is always also watching the auction and ends up raising the price of the good and winning the bid! It is frustrating! It is not that hard of a concept.... wait til the last day to bid so that you don't keep raising the price! People start bidding/fighting for an auction way too early! If you want to skip this pain, just hit the Buy It Now option. But I will warn you! Your savings will probably not be as high as mine! : P

If you really need to buy something that you need to use immediately, Ebay would not be the best place for you. The bidding process usually takes a week and add another week for the shipment to arrive... If you wanted faster shipping, shipping charges for the next day might be too pricey. So the whole point of using Ebay wouldn't make any sense!

So yeah...It usually takes a week for items to arrive. Unless, you are ordering from china! But don't even get me started on that! And by no means do I want to generalize. Not everyone's experiences will be like mine.  Let's just leave it at: I've had my share of bad experiences with Chinese sellers! No offense to China/Chinese, of course. It just so happens that I (me personally) have had... not that many good experiences! I should mention though, that Chinese sellers do offer the lowest prices. However, sometimes what you get is what you pay for, simple concept. Not to mention it takes 3 to 6 weeks for goods to arrive. But that is part of the process. You do have to be patient when buying on Ebay!

But it's safe to say that with Ebay, the saying "you get what you pay for" is not necessarily true all the times. Sometimes you may get something completely awesome/valuable for a ridiculously low price! You just have to know how to find the good sellers and especially know when it's the right time to bid, among other small details...

Well... enough ranting! I do love Ebay. Sure, in the long term perspective, you might be spending more than you thought, but look at all you are saving as well! I think this argument balances itself out in the end! For me, I think that the idea of having goodies in the mail when I get home is far more valuable than all the frustrations I've talked about previously! Think about it, it's like receiving  presents! And with today's economy, it's almost necessary to open an Ebay account! It's actually smarter, in my point of view, to keep more money in your pocket now and focus on managing your outflows/inflows better! Either way, great hobby, huh?!