The complete guide to buying Magic cards on eBay

[Gabethebabe]

I wrote down some rules that might help the potential buyer on eBay. I hope you find it helpful. Feel free to add something that I might have forgotten.

1) Get yourself a (premium) Paypal account.
Paypal is the most widely accepted payment method and it is free for the buyer, so no need not to have an account.

2) Check previously ended items on eBay
If you want to buy something, make sure you know what its marketvalue is. Do a search for the item and use tick the "completed items" tickbox, to see the items that have been sold lately on eBay.

3) Get yourself some sniping software.
Never ever actually make a serious bid on an item, so that everybody sees it and can take shots at it. Bid 30 seconds before the auction finishes. The best way to do this is to use some sniping software. I'm using Auction Sentry and I have paid for it. You will quickly earn this money back.

4) Set your price and be patient.
If you want something quick, you'll pay more. Time is money. Set your price and if the auction goes above this price, do not reconsider. Wait for the next occasion. You'll be surprised as to how end prices for items can differ one day to another. Make sure you're not the one that won that expensive auction.

5) Browse eBay on a frequent basis looking for your item(s)
Sometimes BIN (Buy-It-Now) items appear at surprisingly low price. This may not happen a lot, but if it does, make sure you're the first person that sees it. You can create a search and save it, so that you'll receive an e-mail message when a new item of that description is placed on eBay.

6) Check out the seller.
eBay is filled with sharks and you have to be aware of that. Look at the seller's feedback and not just the number. Look at the actual auctions and check the items that were sold. Some sellers win 1000 feedback by some fake auctions of $0.01. Other eBay members maybe have gathered their votes by buying. Maybe they have never sold anything of the price category they're offering now. Look what they are currently offering for sale. If they have put A LOT of high value items, there is always the chance they're planning a ripping spree. This is difficult to defend against, if you don't check their items for sale.

7) Determine the risk factor you're willing to take.
After doing 6 you have an estimation of the risk factor. Always buying from reputable magic sellers with 5 figures feedback means you are in good hands, but at a price. Taking calculated risks can be profitable. If you buy many items on eBay you SHOULD take risks. The loss you have when you walk into a trap, you have already won before by getting your items cheaper.

8) Buy from non-US sellers
Lotsa US citizens do not like buying from non-US sellers. That affects the item price to your advantage.

9) Buy from sellers that do not ship worldwide
Items that ship worldwide sell higher. Because of the Dollar/Euro ratio, Europeans are strong contenders. So avoid auctions that Europeans can bid on.

10) Buy from sellers that do not accept Paypal
This is contradictory to 1), but since Paypal is so widely used and provides buyer protection, many buyers will ignore sellers that do not accept Paypal. If you're able to pay through the alternative method and can take the additional risk of not being protected, you're well on the way to get your item cheaply.

11) Pay in your own currency
If possible, make Paypal payments using your own currency. In that way you escape the currency conversion fee (2.5% is very normal). If a European buyer buys from a European seller and pays in dollars through Paypal, they're doing something wrong.

12) Be polite when something goes wrong
In case of a problem with the item, always be correct, polite and patient. Somethimes communication stops because of a genuine problem with the seller. Never give the seller a chance to get annoyed with you and have an excuse of ignoring you.

13) File a Paypal claim within 45 days
In case of a problem/non-receipt of an item, make sure you do not let the 45 days limit pass that Paypal allows you to file a complaint. This is a way to get your money back, so be aware. There are some (even high profile) sellers that have a policy to ignore complaints of non-received items. In that case you'll have to fall back on the services that Paypal or your credit card company offer. So make sure you know them.

Good luck buying!