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'-. dfi .' ‘w ,. A Jun-ZUV‘HHL (i)~ . . - ' 3+2 . I : ;: VIve la web revolution - ebay.com IS the _ II ' ' g ' ;_- internet auction site shopping addicts s, ' have been praying for. i J Words: Kirsty Knaggs —- N n the spirit ol‘ the nevv year. I‘ve resolved to give up a risky. H ‘ expensive and highly addictive habit. .\‘o. I haven‘t stopped
smoking — I‘m going cold turkey from ebay. I vvas introduced to the vvorldvvide online auction site several months ago and since then. I‘ve been driven to the brink ol‘ .- linancial ruin. At lirst it was just the occasional purchase. things that couldn‘t be bought anyvvhere else. But then the problem escalated. I became addicted to the thrill ol‘ the auction: I didn‘t really care what l was bidding on — ljust vvanted to win.
As with all dangerous habits. getting into ebay is all too easy. All you have do is register yourself on the site. provide a levy personal details. think ot‘ a user II). and you‘re good to go. I recently initiated a friend ol‘ mine to the joys ol‘ the onlinc auction and. Luddite that he is. it still took him only a l‘evv . minutes to get the hang ol‘ it.
The range of items for sale I became is astonishing. (ienuine Roman artel‘acts. computer . + ) games. records and (‘l)s. l‘ood. '1". W. .7. mg... tovs. collectibles ot‘ all h ' I descriptions. books. jewellery. 5-: _h,_,._._l_.,3!,3g._ 11.11.11mgnngm...“ cars . . . the list is endless. Last I n y
c-o UK jggimisuwmisumimimmmfii‘. month. a small. run-dovvn care What I w...u...t...wm.m. I tovvn in California was was
snapped up for SI.78m. and _
one of liminem‘s l‘ormer 0n - I IUSt
homes generated a top bid of wanted to SZOm when it was auctioned a
,;,-.,.......,.._., on the site. These outlandish w'n
Wit-Mm ligures shovv ust how easy it
mtfimm Spottight's 0n... ~ ti . ‘ ‘1. '. is to get carried avvay vvith
l‘i‘t‘uvsthu “ «A . ‘ . . 353.23%: fis ! u bidding. You lorget that. once the excitement ol the auction is
igtii‘g‘ym‘um ' over. the serious business ol‘ paying vvhat you ovve is to come. Speciality sues ~,"f,§‘"'f“,{.‘ff‘., I Di‘q‘i‘s‘s..§ The problem is vvith spotting something at the beginning ol‘ Q the auction. .rhllclltilist‘dll itiir betyvecn three and ten day and wmwu-n ’ ‘ ~ neatly alvvays begin vy itli a very lovv piice. l:.\[)L‘IlCllLCtl ebay -eis cimistm .52.". vvait until the last liall‘ hour to bid. but l was a novice — I didn‘t xiii" ., v ' ~ understand. I would put a bid in straight avvay and for a levy days. I would be the highest bidder. \vhicli lulls you into a l‘alse sense 3‘3"” www“wriifi:fl ‘ ‘ ol‘ security —‘ you come to believe that the item is already yours. so on the last day ol‘ the auction. when people start bidding
T09 10 Searches - _ against you. you tend to go vvay over the price you were willing ' to pay. It‘s not easy to vvatch someone else vvalk avvay with the
Time to shift those thing you want without a light.
unwanted Christmas There is the chance for you to recoup your losses. hovvcver. l presents - but you recently made a prolit ol‘ £57 on a tised paperback book. which 5'10”? bid With 03mm" vvas bought from a charity shop several years ago for 25p. Novv sgnzgrhmzn;::r::|¥ out ol‘ print and unavailable anyvvliere. 1 put it on ebay. and vvithin a matter ol hours. a girl lrom :\ll.\'ll'ttlltl had placed a high bid ol‘ £50 on it. I also managed to resell a levy ol‘ my more
dubious ebay purchases for more than I originally paid for them.
It you fancy becoming an online trader. novv is the ideal time to do it. All those unvvanted (‘liristmas gil‘ts could make you a tidy prolit. ll‘ you want to buy rather than sell. just be carcl‘ul not to fall into the bidding trap. Decide hovv much you‘re willing to Straight pay for an item and do not go over that price. no matter how
& Shine .. s, _ convinced you are you‘ll \vin. '.lust one more pound . . .‘ was my ‘ retrain. but there‘s alvvays someone else willing to go one pound more than you. Let them.
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