by sir_snipes_alot

Congratulations! If you are visiting this page there is a good chance you have just won an auction.

A successful conclusion to any eBay auction does not however end with your end of auction (EOA) notice from eBay. There are several things that you can do at the end of auction to ensure a successful conclusion to your transaction. I suggest following these steps after you receive your EOA notice from eBay.

Create a folder in your e-mail program if you have not already done so from my suggestions in my Post Bidding Tips Page. Create a new folder as a sub folder in the inbox of your e-mail program - give it a name that will easily identify the transaction. I use 'won - #1234567891.

Place all your post auction communications into this folder every time you receive one. If you followed my suggestions in my Post Bidding Tips page - this folder will already contain your bid confirmation e-mail from eBay. Move your eBay EOA notice to this folder - this is a key bit of auction information that you should save - so that you can refer back to it easily.

Review the Auction Terms of Service. Before contacting your seller - read through the auction item listing one more time carefully. Make note of the seller's terms of service which should include: payment methods accepted, shipping costs, payment time deadline, applicable sales tax, and any other items the seller has considered important.

Contact your Seller. eBay recommends that following the end of an auction that both buyer and seller contact each other within (3) business days.

E-mail your seller and politely notify the seller that eBay has notified you that you were the winning bidder on the auction item. I recommend 'cutting and pasting' the key identifying data from the EOA eBay notice into your e-mail - many sellers have multiple auctions closing and will find this information very helpful. Inform the seller of your chosen method of payment, and when you will be transmitting it, give them an estimate of when they should expect it. Next you should include your full shipping information - include your name, street address, City, State, Zip code, and country. Close your e-mail with a thanks in advance type of statement, and let the seller know you are looking forward to a timely conclusion to the transaction. Make sure you move a copy of your communication into your item's mail folder (in case you need to reference it at a future date).

Wait for a response from your seller. This may be the most difficult part if you are anxious about the transaction. Remember that sellers have 3 business days to establish contact - Saturdays, Sundays, and Holidays do not count as business days. Many of the large sellers on eBay are commercial type operations and will not be working on these days. Some sellers may be away on the weekend or holidays, and not be available to respond to your contact.

Once your seller has contacted you, and acknowledged you as the winner of the auction, and clarified any final questions move on and:

Transmit payment - to your seller. Make sure you use whatever mode you had agreed to and try and keep to the timeframe you had informed the seller about. I always send a note to the seller once I have sent the payment on it's way. If I use an online payment service such as PayPal, or Billpoint - I wait for the confirmation message, and refer to it when I notify the seller that payment has been made. (Remember to save the online payment notification into the auction item folder in your e-mail program.)

Inspect your auction item when it arrives. Now is the time to determine if it is what you expected, and is in the condition it was advertised.

Notify the seller you have received the auction item. If it is received in the condition that you expected let them know that you are pleased with it. If your item is not as you expected - let the seller know your concerns.

Leave feedback for the seller. Leaving feedback regarding an auction transaction is optional for both buyer and seller - but, it is an option that you should consider carefully. Leaving feedback on any transaction will help future buyers considering this sellers auction items. If you are please with the seller - help them out by leaving feedback for them that reflects your pleasure.

Consider your feedback comments very carefully - they should be polite, and accurate. Avoid using all capitalized alpha characters - this is considered shouting. Remember that once you have placed the feedback it can not be changed or removed.