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Getting Registered on eBay

In order to buy or sell on eBay, you must first register. Registering for eBay is easy, and it's free. Just visit the eBay registration page and fill in the blanks. Be sure to register with an email address that you check often, as eBay will send alerts and winner notifications to that address. If your email address ever changes, remember to log in to eBay to update it there. eBay may suspend a registration that doesn't use a valid email address.

After filling in the main registration page, you'll be asked to choose a User ID and password. Your User ID will serve as your nick name on eBay and is the name that will show on a listing when you are the high bidder. (So choose something you like! )

Your eBay registration will be complete once you submit this information and receive a confirmation email. The confirmation email will probably ask you to take some action to confirm that the email address is actually yours, so remember to follow the instructions carefully.

Protecting Your eBay Account

Now that you're registered, it's important to understand that you will receive false and fraudulent (or "spoof") emails from time to time that claim to be from eBay, but really are not. These are sent by folks trying to determine your password so they can use your account for fraudulent purposes.

Remember never to enter your password into a form in any email purporting to be from eBay, and do not type in your password on any page linked from an email. As a rule, when you receive a suspicious email like this, forward it to "spoof@ebay.com" for eBay's review. eBay will reply to confirm whether the email is legitimate or a spoof. If it's a spoof, just delete it.

Using eBay

eBay is easy to use. You may search or browse for items, and when you see something you'd like to bid on, click on the "Place Bid" button. If you bid over the minimum bid amount, the system will submit "proxy" bids for you until the auction ends and you win, or until another bidder bids above your maximum bid amount. This means that you may enter a bid for the maximum you are willing to pay for item, but you won't have to pay that maximum amount unless someone else bids up close to that amount but doesn't exceed it.

Click here for a stepped-out example of bidding on eBay. [offsite link]

Some items are available for immediate purchase. These are called "Buy it Now" listings. You can find these in eBay Stores or listed with other regular auction listings. There is no bidding for these items; the price stated in the listing is the buy price. Buy it Now listings allow you to purchase an item quickly and know exactly how much you'll pay, plus shipping and handling.

Making your Bidding Experience More Pleasant

Before bidding on any item, read through the entire listing to make sure you have all important information about the terms of sale. This includes payment methods accepted by the seller, measurements of the item listed (pictures alone can be misleading as to size), the materials the item is made of, and whether the item is new or pre-owned. Also take a look at the seller's Feedback (click on the number next to their user ID) to find out whether other buyer's transactions with them have been positive. Be sure to contact the buyer with any question you have before bidding. (Click on their user ID, then on the button that says "Contact Member" to send them a note.)

Paying for your Wins

You won your first auction! Congratulations! Now it's time to pay up. Since you already read the entire listing before bidding, you are aware of the payment methods accepted by your seller. These may include money order or check by mail, credit card by phone or a secure online form (the seller will need to contact you with a link), or PayPal. PayPal has become increasingly popular in recent years, and especially popular on eBay after it was purchased by them. Because PayPal is now part of eBay, it is especially easy to make a PayPal payment for your eBay auction.

First, sign up with PayPal so that your name, address, and payment information are securely stored there. You will also choose a user name and password for logging into the PayPal site to check your account or initiate a payment. With PayPal, you may pay for an auction using a credit card or a transfer directly from your checking or savings account. (If you also sell items on eBay and accept PayPal payments, you can optionally allow money from sales to accrue in your PayPal account, and then use that money to pay for other auctions directly.)

As with eBay, be wary of any emails you receive from now on that claim to be from PayPal and ask you to click on a link or fill in a form. Be sure to forward those to "spoof@paypal.com" to have them reviewed before taking them seriously.

With PayPal, you also have the option of purchasing additional "Buyer Protection" for a small fee with your purchase. This can protect you for up to $500 of coverage in case something goes very wrong with your purchase.

Getting More Information on the eBay Site

For more detailed information about the eBay experience, visit these help pages on eBay (these open a new window, so you may want to set this page to your favorites first so you can come back):

Learning Center: New to eBay [offsite link]

Learning Center: How to Buy [offsite link]

eBay University [offsite link]

Buyer Protection Program [offsite link]

Help Index [offsite link]

Ready to shop for fashion jewelry on eBay? Click here for Buying Fashion Jewelry on eBay - Part I.

The links in this article labeled [offsite link] are to websites not associated with BellaOnline.com. BellaOnline.com is not responsible for the material found there.