Your bid is a contract - Place a bid only if you're serious about buying the item. If you are the winning bidder, you will enter into a legally binding contract to purchase the item.

Do not bid on the first item you see. Hunt around, do a little research. Chances are someone else might have it listed for less or with a lower BIN (Buy It Now). Know how much you are willing to pay, stick to it, and think whether you are getting value for your money. If you DO bid on the first item you see, keep in mind that retracting a bid because you found it cheaper elsewhere is against eBay's rules.

Do not trust the picture, many sellers "recycle pictures. The picture might only be there to provided an "example" of what you are bidding on. Or it might be somebody else's picture which the Seller has copied. Read the description carefully, if the seller "sells" you something other than what was described in the description then they are in the wrong, but if you just assume that you are getting what's in the picture then that's your mistake . Make sure it does not say, "design may vary." Check for size, color and condition. Look to see if the description says the item will be "pre-sales" which means the seller does not have the merchandise in stock but has 30 days in which to ship to you. Look for descriptions of flaws, imperfections and/or damage.

Find out how much the seller charges for shipping and if the item will be shipped immediately. If the postage is not there
then use "Question for Seller" to ask the Seller, do not assume it will be shipped the most cost effective way. If you get no reply then find another auction. Read the terms. Do not assume you can combine shipping or dictate your own shipping preferences. I purchased an item for $10 and was charged $20 for shipping (ouch). Many sellers make more off the "shipping" and "handling" charges then the actual product sold. Find out which forms of payment are accepted and that you qualify for them. Many sellers do not take checks from buyers with a low feedback rating. Some sellers will not take bids from someone with no feedback or minus rating. Some sellers will not ship Internationally. Get answers to these questions Before Bidding.

Check the seller's feedback. Do not buy expensive items from sellers with excessive negatives or who have no feedback. Check the feedback for an overall pattern. Do many of the complaints say the same thing? For instance, if a seller has a lot of complaints about the quality of his packaging, you might want to purchase insurance. Remember, a lot of sellers get retaliation feedback from deadbeats, so be sure to keep that in mind and look for patterns.

Don't bid 5 day's before the auction is going to close. Watch it, the longer you hold off bidding the lower the bid price will be. Bid as late as you can as close to the end of auction and put in your maximum bid. If you cannot be there at the end, consider using a Sniping tool its legal and remember the highest bid does win.

Contact the seller as soon as possible, within three days but as near to the End of Auction time as possible giving them your name and address and preferred payment method. Use the Bid Number and Description as the email Subject Title, this will help to separate individual Bids. Most sellers will contact you, but if they don't and do not respond to your email, send an email to them through eBay's "Ask Seller A Question" feature. DO NOT SEND OFF PAYMENT until the Seller has established contact with you. You are not in control of the Auction, the seller is. If you are unsure of the exact amount due, ask the seller. Once they have your shipping address they can give you a final total.

Read the seller's confirmation email and understand it. Even experienced buyers are guilty of not doing this one. Do not assume that every confirmation email is alike as each Seller has a different approach to Selling, read it. Sellers usually include information that is necessary for you to complete the transaction. A lot of times they also ask for some information from you. Don't just send your payment with PayPal and ignore the confirmation email.

Buy insurance. Too many buyers spend $160 on an item, but won't cough up the extra $3 to insure it. Believe me, you will kick yourself if something happens. If you're not sure if you want insurance, ask yourself this question. "Will I be upset if this item arrives damaged or doesn't get here at all?" If your answer is yes, BUY insurance. If the seller does not offer it, ask for it.

Be patient. The mail system has slowed down in many areas since the terrible events of 9/11. If you are sending payment overseas it may take longer than you expect to clear customs. If you are paying by check, keep in mind that it will take longer for your check to be deposited before the standard ten day clearance wait can begin. Also, remember that mail is not delivered on holiday's or weekends. If you are sending payment via the mail and you are eager to get your item, it might be worth using the express mail option.

If you want to know the status of your order ask politely. Sending treating emails doesn't do you any good. Many people do not work on weekends, so there's a good chance that your mail will not be read until Monday if it was sent Friday. Do not threaten your seller with negative feedback for slow responses. Waiting a few days for a response is not uncommon. Remember, negative feedback will be returned by a more highly experienced rated Seller who probably has more standing in the eBay Community.

If there is a problem, stay calm and friendly. Most sellers are not brick and mortar stores, but individual people working from home. They have not been trained to deal with angry customers and will likely become angry themselves and unwilling to work with you. Again, do not threaten negative feedback if things are not worked out to your satisfaction. No one likes to be threatened. Give your seller a chance to make you happy.

Leave appropriate feedback. Do not blame the seller for something that was outside of his/her control. Avoid misleading feedback. Positive feedback that states something took a long time to get to you (when the postmark clearly proves the item was shipped immediately) is misleading, and therefore not really a positive. It's not the seller's fault it took a long time to get to you.

Do not use feedback to warn customers about mistakes that were your fault. For instance, do not leave a neutral telling people to get insurance even on low cost or supposedly unbreakable items. Yes, people should buy insurance, but if they don't, that's not the seller's fault and his feedback should not reflect your personal regrets at your own short sightedness.

Never harass a seller for feedback. The feedback system is voluntary. No one "owes" you feedback. Many sellers do not leave feedback until the transaction is complete. This means you must contact the seller to let them know you got the merchandise and are happy with it. It's always best to email the Seller that you have received the item thanking them for the Sale and mention that you are leaving them Positive Feedback. This way they get a double reminder to post your feedback i.e. your email and your feedback. Also, many power sellers are busy and leave feedback in batches. So wait a week or 2 before getting concerned.

Do not be afraid of retaliation feedback. Good eBayers investigate feedback when they want to buy something. They know when someone has left you a negative out of revenge and they will not hold it against you. Feedback is the primary means of protecting buyers from fraudulent (or just bad) sellers. If you withhold negative feedback out of fear, you've allowed that seller to get away with it, not just to you, but to the next guy that wasn't warned off by your feedback.

If you have a question about the item, the seller, feedback, shipping, terms or anything else, ask BEFORE you bid.

Finally, keep ALL emails appertaining to the Bid until you have received the item AND you get Feedback from your Seller or in the case of dispute, until it is resolved. This is the only evidence of your transaction with this Seller so keep all data safe until you are happy that the sale is fully completed to your satisfaction.