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My main source of buying interesting items is at ebay.com. I have been using EBay to buy stuff for about 2 years now, and have been satisfied with all of my purchases from sellers on the site.

One main thing I shop for often is hairbows for my 2 girls. My mother used to make a lot of bows for them, but since she has passed away, and I just don’t think I have the smarts to make them myself, I turn to EBay to buy bows for my youngsters. I have never tried selling anything on EBay, and frankly, I don’t think I have anything anyone would want, so I just stick to buying things on there.

Now then, how does it work? Well, first you have to create your account, and you can also use Paypal to pay for your items you purchase on EBay, which is what I do, because the seller never sees your credit card number.

Once you get all registered, you’ll see clickable categories to the left:

Antiques
Art
Baby
Books
Business and industrial
Cameras and photos
Cell phones & PDA
Clothing, shoes and accessories
Coins and paper money
Collectibles
Computers & Networking
Consumer Electronics
Crafts
Dolls & Bears
DVDs & Movies
eBay Motors
Entertainment Memorabilia
Gift Certificates
Health & Beauty
Home & Garden
Jewelry & Watches
Music
Musical Instruments
Pottery & Glass
Real Estate
Specialty Services
Sporting Goods
Sports Mem, Cards & Fan Shop
Stamps
Tickets
Toys & Hobbies
Travel
Video Games
Everything Else

Also, there is a great search box available as well, which is what I normally use. When I find an item I like, I can bid on it. Depending on the seller, you can get some nicely priced items, with a decent amount of shipping charges. I tend to shop around quite a bit to find a relatively nice deal on shipping. Which I realize folks are trying to make a bit of profit for themselves, which is fine, but highway robbery is another. Also, another thing I look at when purchasing is seller feedback- which is where other buyers have left comments and ratings for a particular seller. I try to be sure to buy from someone with 100% positive feedback, and I often read through comments as well.

There is also an option of ‘buy it now’ which I really like, because I don’t have to worry with keeping up with auctions, I can just get my stuff and go. If the prices are reasonable, I like to do business that way, but sometimes, you can get it cheaper if you do an auction.

Like I said before, you really need to be sure and shop around as far as prices and shipping charges, because some out there are higher than others- and no way would I pay $5.99 for shipping 1 hairbow to me, so it’s your best bet to do some comparison shopping.

Also, good communication is a must if you shop on Ebay, especially if you are buying personalized items like me, where you can choose your own colors and sizes for hairbows. You can send messages to sellers through Ebay, and you can choose to not have your email address displayed to the seller. Ebay suggests that you do contact this way, rather than on an email to email basis.

As far as protection, eligible transactions will receive coverage up to $200 at no additional cost. However, the majority of transactions may be covered up to $2000. I haven’t had any problems with any sellers not sending something I paid for, but with Ebay, you do run a risk. I have had one incident where it took a really long time for an item to get to me, and I reported it to Ebay, but just when they were getting ready to follow up, the item showed up, thankfully.

But, there are those that are trying to rip off others on Ebay, by sending spoof emails that look like they are from Ebay, but really are a phishing scam. If you do receive a suspicious email, you simply forward it to the real Ebay, but be sure not to click on any links in the suspicious email. I did receive a spoof several months ago, but I knew it was a spoof because I wasn’t even bidding on anything from Ebay at the time, and I didn’t even open it- and then I got an email from Ebay saying they thought I had been sent a spoof email. No harm was done.

So, I can recommend Ebay to you- especially if you need specialty items like hairbows or monogrammed items. The only high ticket items I have ever bought from there were 2 ipods for my husband and myself, and they were new in the cases and I got a bargain for them. You can really catch some good bargains if you look, but you need to be sure to be on your toes when it comes to sellers, check feedback, and beware of spoof emails!