BAM eBay Blog

Posts for eBay buyers about buying on eBay

Buy It Now eBay Bargains

Most BIN items are not bargains

In many cases, using the Buy It Now feature won't get you a bargain. Sure, you'll get the item you want quickly, but it may be overpriced or worse, under-priced with a huge shipping and handling total tacked on. Of course, when using BIN, there won't be any bidding wars, you won't have to worry about using sniping software, and you'll know exactly what you'll be paying for the item up front.

However, there are bargains to be had with Buy It Now purchases, if you can get in on them before someone else. Sometimes people are looking for some fast money, so they'll use the BIN feature for a quick sale. Sometimes a person may just want to get rid of an item quickly, so they'll put it on a BIN auction. And sometimes a seller would rather liquidate their item because listing something with a Buy It Now price is far easier than listing it as an auction. In all of these cases, the item listed might have a BIN price that is considerably less expensive than the going rate.

Finding great deals with Buy It Now

The trick to finding these auctions is by looking in the "Categories" section at the immediate left of the screen. The next section will be labeled "Format", and here is a little box that you will check-off that says "Buy It Now". Once checked off, only the BIN sales will pop up for the item you are searching for.

From there, look around until you see something you like. Or, keep looking day after day, or even hour after hour if it is something really popular, until the item you want pops up at a price you want to pay. Sometimes you'll get lucky and it will show up on the first search. Most often, however, you'll need to remain diligent and do several searches before what you want comes up at a price you want to pay.

The key in all of this is to remain diligent. If you do not remain diligent, you are going to lose. However, remaining diligent in your BIN searches is going to mean spending a lot of time sitting in front of the computer and then refreshing the page time after time after time. Now, if you have nothing else better to do, if you are a computer junkie and you have no other life except for eBay, then this will be easy. But for the rest of us, with spouses, kids, recreation and jobs, social functions and family, being this kind of diligent is virtually impossible.

Find and win best BIN deals

To get the best BIN deals on eBay and still have a life, there is only one real solution available. Get the BAM or Buyer Auction Manager software. The software searches eBay for you, alerts you to the newly listed BIN item that you want searched, and you'll get the best deals ever.

This is a no hassle easy to use software that you subscribe to. You just set up to search for the items you are looking for, hit the "Win It Now" search button, and it will show you all of the newly listed BIN items. You see them, you find the deals, and you WIN IT NOW! That's all there is to it.

The software is actually a full service program that comes with an ending time search and a sniping tool too, but we will get into more of that at a later date. The bottom line here is that you cannot go wrong with the BAM eBay software program. It is simple to set up, easy to use and you are going to be getting killer bargains as soon as you use it.

Of course, never stop checking out regular auctions, because on eBay, you just never know what you might find. But if you search in the Buy It Now category, many times that's where the best bargains are to be found. And for the best bargains when it comes to eBay buying, the BAM software is the way to go! Like I have been saying all along, for the best advice and the best way to buy on eBay, BAM and the Buyer Auction Manager software has got your back! You can count on it!

Go eBay and Go Local

Local pick-up deals

In most cases, people are happy to box up and ship the item you won. Usually that's no problem, but for bigger ticket items, many people list them for local pick-up. And when listed like that, you can get some fabulous deals with low winning bids.

The reason is that, in most cases, only a few people within driving distance will bid on an item that advertises local pick-up only. That makes sense because no matter how beautiful or gorgeous or even though an item that is listed at a low price, people are not going to want to drive more than a hundred miles or so, and you can't hardly blame them. However, that cuts down on the available people that will place a bid, and the less people that bid, the greater the potential that leaves for an absolute steal.

Drive and save

But distance works in both ways. If you are willing to drive that extra few miles or so, you can save a bundle on both the final bid price and the cost of shipping. Granted, this won't work out very well if you are using a gas guzzling truck or a large passenger car. But if you can get your winning purchase into your back seat, and if you get some decent miles per gallon with your vehicle, you could easily get a great bargain as well as save on the cost of shipping.

To search for items local to you, choose "More refinements" in the left navigation on eBay search page, "Item Location" tab, check Within certain distance from your zip code and press Go:

Double up and save even more

Of course if you can double up on a trip, that's even better. Take a ride out to Grandmas or take in the State Fair, and while you're at it, take a little detour and pick up the item that you've won. This way you can do two things at once, save money in the process, and make Grandma happy!

So go local when you go eBay, because sometimes the best deals are right in your own neck of the woods. And remember, BAM's got your back, no matter what you bid on and win at eBay!

1 Year Anniversary Contest Winners Announced

Buyer Auction Manager 1 year anniversary facebook contest ended yesterday night. While thinking of something to do for this first anniversary I decided that since the software is for eBay buyers, it would make sense to give away some eBay gift cards. I purchased 4 custom made $25 eBay Gift Cards and today, I got to pick 4 winners.

There were 54 people who entered the contest and there were 3 people who got bonus entries for referring friends. Here is the overview from the appliation that I used to run this contest:

 

Without further ado, here are the winners as they were chosen. The first winner is Terry Mckay:

 

Second winner is Thomas Almasi:

 

Third winner is Sara Alexander:

 

And the fourth winner is Maxwell Skipper:

 

Congratulation to all the winners! You'll be hearing from me shortly. Thank you to everybody who participated. Keep reading the blog for eBay related articles as well as other contests and promotions.

If you haven't tried Buyer Auction Manager yet, give it a try. It will save you time, money and make your eBay buying experience more enjoyable.

Robert

Forget Your Cell Phone For Video, Win A Camcorder Off Of eBay

Cell phones are great but take lousy video

Almost everyone has a cell phone, and many newer models have the capability to take video. Granted, using a cell phone like this is incredibly convenient, no doubt. However, if you like the fuzzy picture quality, pixelation, lousy low light capabilities, questionable sound quality and a video that looks like it was taken with a potato, than a cell phone video camera is perfect for you!

Camcorders are cheap now days

New camcorders have drastically fallen in price for a couple of reasons. The technology is getting less expensive to manufacture, and cell phones are being equipped with video cameras. Some top of the line camcorders are selling new for less than the price of a 4G cell phone. With that in mind, imagine what camcorders are going for on eBay!

Buy used and save

Used camcorders with HD quality picture, low light characteristics, stabilization, that print to flash media can be won for pennies on the dollar. These are high quality units from brand name makers that you'll win for far less than the newest feature packed cell phone. Camcorders have gotten so common that if you miss a low bid on the first one, chances are you get the second one, possibly for even less!

Now, these are not the bulky camcorders that you need two hands to hold. These are state of the art Hi-Def units that are sometimes no bigger than a modern key pad cell phone. They can be slipped in a shirt pocket, strapped to a hat, aimed with one hand and in all instances, will give crisp, clear and outstanding video. Many are even equipped with stereo microphones for quality audio. They all take flash media that inserts into a receptacle, and many come with built-in memory so you can shoot video right out of the box. This is truly one of the most outstanding deals on eBay right now.

Just remember, when bidding and winning a camcorder, make sure the shipping price is calculated in, and also check the feedback to see if there are any issues with the seller not packaging correctly.

Conclusion

So, if you are looking for high quality video and think that your cell phone can deliver, forget it! Your Smartphone isn't quite that smart. Win a camcorder off of eBay, get HD picture quality, smile at how little your final bid price was, and remember that when it comes to finding deals on eBay, BAM's got your back!

Are You Taking Advantage Of eBay Bucks Rewards?

What are eBay Bucks

eBay bucks is a program created by eBay to try to attract more buyers by offering percentage of the purchase back to the buyer. If you choose to sign up for eBay bucks, you will get 2% back on qualifying purchases. There are some days when eBay offers higher percentage. I have seen 5% on one day but those are not common. This rewards program is currently open to US and Canadian residents who are 18 years or older.

Program Restrictions and Limitations

The program has some restrictions. Those include:

  • You have to pay with PayPal using eBay checkout system
  • Purchases you made before signing up for eBay bucks do not qualify
  • Your bids need to be placed on eBay US or eBay Canada global sites

 

There are some categories that do not qualify for eBay rewards:

  • All eBay Motors categories
  • Classified Ads
  • Real Estate
  • Gift Cards
  • Coins & Paper Money - my favorite category :(
  • Business & Industrial

 

See "eBay Bucks Rewards Program Terms & Conditions" for full details, restrictions and limitations.

There are also limits on how much you can earn. Maximum amount you can earn for a single purchase is $100. You can earn maximum of $500 for calendar quarter.

How to sign up for eBay bucks

You're not automatically enrolled in this reward program. To earn eBay bucks, you have to manually sign up. Any purchases you make before you sign up, will not be eligible (I learned this one the hard way). Sign up for eBay bucks.

Accessing your eBay bucks

To see details about your bucks, including your total, which transaction earned you how much rewards and countdown to when you'll be able to start spending your eBay bucks, you go to My eBay and click on eBay Bucks:

 

Redeeming eBay bucks

You start earning eBay bucks at the beginning of a quarter and earn them for three months. Within 15 days after the end of a quarter, eBay will issue you eBay Bucks Certificate. From that day, you have 30 days to use your certificate. If you do not use your eBay bucks within 30 days, you will lose them.

When you get your certificate, it's easy to redeem your rewards. After you purchase something (auction or buy it now) and when you start PayPal checkout, it should automatically use the certificate as default payment method. If you don't have enough to cover your purchase, you'll be able to choose another payment method to cover the reminder. If you have more in eBay bucks than the purchase amount, your entire purchase will be paid for with rewards. You don't have to use your eBay bucks on one purchase. If you have some bucks left over after your purchase, you'll be able to use the reminder for another item.

Conclusion

If you purchase a lot on eBay, you might want to consider signing up for eBay bucks rewards program to get 2% back on qualifying purchases. Those rewards can add up quickly and It's always nice when you get your certificate at the beginning of the quarter and you don't have to pay out of pocket!

If you still have questions, check out this Video Tutorial created by eBay that introduces eBay Bucks.

If you buy a lot on eBay, I invite you to try Buyer Auction Manager - eBay Software for Buyers. It's free for the first 30 days.

Robert