In this eBay special, we'll guide you through the process of setting up an eBay user account and help you get to grips with the processes involved in buying and selling items at online auction. We'll also set out your rights as a buyer and your obligations as a vendor as well as providing tips on dispute resolution so you can trade on the site with confidence.
Getting started
Before you can sell or buy items on eBay you need to set up your own eBay username and password. Once this is done, it's worth taking some time to explore the website and get a general feel for how it works and what it offers.
If you are hunting for a specific product, use the Search tool to see if it is available. The Search tool sits just underneath the 'Welcome to eBay' heading on the homepage.
Once you've found an item you want to buy, actually placing a bid is pretty straightforward. Just click on the 'Place bid' button and you'll be asked to log in with the username and password you obtained during registration. You'll then have to confirm the maximum amount you want to bid.
It's absolutely vital that you are sure that you want an item before you place a bid on it as by doing so you are entering into a legally binding contract. We'll go into this in more detail later in this feature, but you may also want to refer to eBay's buyer's guide, which can be found here. You will also find answers to virtually everything you need to know, from using the feedback facility to familiarising yourself with eBay etiquette.
Selling items
For sellers, getting off the starting blocks is a little more complex. Clicking on the Sell button in the toolbar at the top of the eBay homepage launches an online wizard that will guide you through the process of setting yourself up as a vendor. Once again, it's advisable to do a spot of research before you dive in as eBay has rules that every vendor must abide by. Carefully read through eBay's guidelines for sellers before doing anything.
Some people think you can buy and sell anything on eBay but there are exceptions. Banned items include those that are illegal to sell in the UK and items that eBay itself has decided should not be sold through its website. Common sense dictates what some of these items are, such as firearms or drugs.
Infringements
There is another category of items that may pose problems, which eBay refers to as 'Questionable and Potentially Infringing'. Questionable items include food, as the sale of foodstuff is, for obvious reasons, governed by a raft of legislation. That doesn't mean you can't sell speciality food and drink items, but you need to brush up on the rules at the Food Standards Agency. You can find a full list of items that may not be sold here.
Potentially infringing items are those that might break a copyright agreement, so software that offers the ability to circumvent copyright protection, such as that used on commercial DVDs, is not permitted. You'll find a list of guidelines on copyright abuse here.
If you spot an item you don't think should be on sale, you can sound the alarm at the site's Community Watch section.
The value of learning by doing applies as much to using eBay as to anything else. But if you're totally new to online auctions and want to take advantage of the wisdom of established users, check out eBay's user discussion forums, which are full of useful tips and tricks. You can reach the forums from the eBay homepage by clicking on the Community link in the top toolbar and then on Community Help Boards in the Talk section.
Your rights and obligations
The business of buying and selling on eBay can feel a bit like buying and selling goods at a car boot sale. Often you'll be dealing with other individuals rather than businesses and this can be disconcerting, particularly when it comes to your rights as a consumer and your obligations as a vendor.
While much of the legislation in place to protect consumers buying goods in the offline world still applies online, the issues particular to online auctions can muddy the waters.
The most important distinction to make is that between a private seller and a trader. Private sellers are the web equivalent of the car boot seller: an individual who has decided to see if an unwanted item or collection of items might be of interest to somebody else. This applies to the majority of sellers on eBay.
A trader, however, is an individual or company that sells goods professionally. It's this second definition that leads to many misunderstandings on eBay. The fact is that many businesses now see eBay as the perfect arena for plying their wares, and they are right.
Confusion arises when private sellers realise the full potential of eBay and begin to treat it as a cottage industry, obtaining items in numbers with the sole intention of selling them on. It means that people can effectively start their own small business without the overheads involved in running a shop.
It can, however, lead to problems if these sellers remain unaware of the fact that they have become businesses and are subject to the same laws as any retailer. This misunderstanding can give rise to disagreements if the buyer receives goods and decides that they are not up to scratch. The Sale of Goods Act states that goods must be 'fit for purpose' and 'as described', but private sellers are subject only to the second part of this phrase.
Regulations
Suffice to say that if you end up with a movie on VHS rather than the DVD outlined in the description, you could simply return the video tape and insist on a full refund under the Distance Selling Regulations, providing you sent the item back within seven days.
The Sale of Goods Act would also apply, enabling you to insist on a repair within the first six months after purchase. It's a good idea to contact the seller first, as mistakes in packing can happen. Going in with all guns blazing isn't going to help resolve the dispute.
Civil law gives those buying from private traders the tools to pursue disputes in the small claims court if no resolution is reached. As always, it's important to weigh up the potential gains against the time, money and effort that is required to get a judgment and there's no guarantee you will win.
Bear in mind that if you buy from a vendor based outside the UK, you won't be covered by UK law and if disputes arise it may be more difficult to resolve them.
So how do you know whether the user you are dealing with is a private seller or a trader? There are three key signs. Traders will often be listed as Power Sellers, with a logo displayed next to their username. Another defining characteristic is a seller who offers multiple copies of the same item. Finally, traders often decide not to auction goods to the highest bidder but simply to offer them at a fixed price. These items will have the 'Buy It Now' logo displayed next to the price.
Shop floor
The role that eBay itself plays in transactions is often misunderstood. EBay is a trading arena, rather than a party involved in the transaction. This means it carries no responsibility for ensuring that buyer and seller abide by their responsibilities, so the onus is on eBay's users to complete transactions.
The company sets guidelines on how business should be conducted, although nothing in any of these terms and conditions supersedes civil law. Visit eBay's rules and policies homepage here for more information.
By buying or selling on eBay you are entering into a contract with another eBay user, rather than with the site itself. Contracts contain all the information relevant to a transaction, so if you haven't specified an element such as who pays for postage, then you leave the door open to conflict.
This is also the point at which you agree to pay the listing fee. You must now offer the item to the highest bidder when the auction period ends, or when someone offers the fixed fee you have specified using the Buy It Now feature.
The only exceptions are where the buyer refuses to adhere to the payment or delivery method specified in the auction, or where the seller cannot authenticate the buyer's identity.
Buyers are committed to the transaction when they enter a bid but there are some specific circumstances under which buyers can retract a bid. Breaking a contract can have several consequences, the most serious of which is legal action.
Resolving disputes
If you are involved in some kind of dispute, your first course of action should always be to try emailing the other users involved directly via eBay. If you don't get the result you think you are entitled to, the next step is to report the matter to eBay's dispute resolution team.
The company cannot force users to complete transactions but it's in eBay's interest to keep its users happy. It retains the services of professional mediation company called Square Trade, which gives both parties a secure and neutral online venue to discuss the dispute.
In protracted disputes, you can request a professional mediator but this involves a fee of $20 (about £12). The mediator will attempt to find a compromise but cannot enforce any judgements. This approach also helps users remove from their profile any feedback that they believe to be unfair.
Safe and sound
Where there's brass there's usually muck and criminals have targeted eBay because of its popularity. We mentioned common sense earlier, so don't deal with anyone who tries to get you to trade outside the eBay site.
Don't respond to emails, supposedly from eBay, asking to reveal or 'confirm' your eBay password, and never pay for items with cheques, cash or by money transfer services such as Western Union. If you do, don't be surprised if you end up out of pocket.
Before you start trading on eBay, visit and read the articles in the Safety Centre, paying special attention to the section on account theft.
If you have been burned, it's a matter for criminal law but it's best to exercise caution so that you don't find yourself in a sticky situation in the first place. Remember that the vast majority of eBay transactions are safe, so just ensure you follow the guidelines set out in the Safety Centre.
Keep an eye on it
Once you've found an item for sale on eBay that you want to keep tabs on, it can be a pain searching for it every time you go back to the site to check on the status of the auction. To make things easier, use the Watch This Item option displayed in the top right-hand corner of the screen when you click through for more information on a product you have found.
If you are signed in to eBay, clicking on this link will automatically add the item to the Items I'm Watching list in your My eBay account page.
You can access your My eBay page at any time by clicking on the My eBay button in the main toolbar that runs across the top of any page on the eBay site. In addition to your watched items list, you can bookmark eBay pages here, keep track of account information such as feedback left about you by other users and change account settings such as the first page displayed each time you sign in.
Double checking
Although you enter into a contract to buy an item when you place a bid, there are occasions when you will not be forced to honour your bid. If you have accidentally typed the wrong figure your bid will become void, so a bid of £950 that was supposed to be only £9.50 won't land you with a hefty bill.
You'll need to file a bid retraction in this situation, though, and eBay only recognises bid retractions made within a certain time frame so check your bid before and after you've made it. If, for example, the auction is in its final 12 hours, you have only one hour to correct your bid by filling out a Bid Retraction.
Records of retractions will be displayed on your user profile, so making a habit of carelessly typing bids will reflect on your eBay score and could prejudice other users against you.
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