First Post: Buying on EBAY!

If you know me at all you know I have a little bit of an ebay addiction. I buy almost everything off of ebay. As a result, I have had MANY successes and many not so great experiences. I have found that when you have expensive taste, as I do, you absolutely have to bargain shop in order to get the best deals! Here are my ebay tips that I think every fab shopper should know

cCy and Pearls Top 5 tips for Ebay:

1.) Okay DUH, this is an absolute no brainer BUT remember to check the ratings of the seller!! There have been many times that I got SO excited about the deal that I bid before I even checked the seller's history. I think the best idea is to dig into their 12 month history for all negative feedback and read the reason they received the big fat red minus sign. Even if they have 99.9% positive feedback and have one legitimate complaint, it may be best NOT to buy from that seller. This happened to me when I purchased a gorgeous Sherri Hill pageant dress. I noticed the seller had WONDERFUL feedback so proceeded to buy the product from the seller, even though their feedback was NOT perfect. I ended up with a completely destroyed, over- altered, bottom to a $2400 gown!!! I ended up having to spend $500+ to refurbish it! This could have been prevented if I read the criticism from previous buyers. Also, look and see how the seller responds to negative feedback. If a seller has 87% positive feedback (not good at all in ebay world) then you REALLY want the item then read the feedback because they have the option to respond to all feedback. If it was a misunderstanding and they only have 13 feedback reports then it may be SAFE to buy from them :)

2.) DO NOT BE AFRAID TO CONTACT THE SELLER. I repeat, DO NOT BE AFRAID TO CONTACT THE SELLER Once upon a time I bid on a large 'Le Pilage Longchamp bag only to realize it was a FAKE *gasp* from China! I contacted the seller and was upfront about my mistake and he happily removed my bid! Remember, the sellers want POSITIVE feedback so they are not going to sell you a product if you are unhappy with it, even if it is YOUR mistake. Also, being able to contact the seller is great because you can ask them ANY questions you may have to make sure you get what you pay for!

3.) This one is quite simple: Know the price of your product in store. I remember when I was bidding on Jack Rogers Navajos and there were SO MANY people who wanted to sell their USED shoes at the price of a NEW IN STORE shoe!! I did my research was able to find my beautiful NEW Jack Roger Palm Beach Navajos in "Bone" for less than $70 WITH SHIPPING!!

4.) KNOW the tricks of the trade. I was at my hair dressers last summer explaining my Ebay addiction to the lovely Cara, my hairdresser of a million years (okay not really a million years but a really long time) and found out that there are sites out there where you can "Snipe" a bid. What this means is that you can set websites to bid for you at/ up to the last second of the auction with your maximum bid. It does NOT, by any means, guarantee the item but it is about the closest guarantee you are going to get to "Snipe" that item. Many of these websites do require money BUT they do offer free trials

5.) If you buy something that does not fit you SELL IT. It is quite simple. If it is a hot item (Lilly Pulitzer, Sherri Hill Pageant, Jack Roger, Longchamp, Kate Spade, etc.) it WILL sell and if you are lucky, You MAY even get back more than you even paid ;)

I hope you enjoyed my tips! What are your ebay tips?

Happy Shopping!

Chrissy Yimei Ching