The perfect gift...

It's really tough to think of the perfect gift, isn't it? Everyone seems to have everything already; these days if you want it, you go ahead and get it, right? Either that, or money's tight. I seem to operate under both conditions every year, even though I always vow to plan better, save more...

My mom can be the toughest to buy for. Turns out, she has an affection for a particular brand of porcelain dolls (which aren't manufactured anymore). Ebay.com is an ideal place to find odd and discontinued merchandise. I have to admit, I love, love, love eBay. If you can't find it on eBay, you can't find it!

There is a trick to buying on eBay, though, and until you get the hang of it, it can be a daunting task to "win" an auction. Here are a few tips to help you along your way:

1. Regularly do searches, sorting the results by "time, ending soonest." This will provide you with auctions that are ripe for the snipe. Sniping is the term for bidding at the last moment of the auction, thus outbidding the highest bidder before s/he can bid a higher amount. I'll explain sniping more below.
2. Search completed items to get an idea of items' selling prices. This will also give you an idea whether the item for which you are looking is rare or common. It will be easier to resist the temptation to bid too high should a bidding war break out. Or, you'll know to fight like heck to get an item if the listings are few and far between.
3. Buy It Now! If you don't want to wait for an auction to end, don't feel up to a bidding war, or (for some crazy reason) don't like to or don't want to snipe, use the Buy It Now option if the seller offers it.
4. SNIPE! When I first started with eBay (almost 10 years ago, LOL!) I was constantly frustrated by more experienced buyers coming in at the last second and stealing my auction away. I had to learn to snipe fast. The process is simple, but it's not for the faint of heart :). Depending on the speed of your internet connection, you wait until the last few minutes (or seconds) to place your bid. You must balance two things during sniping: your bid amount and the time left in the auction. Start your snipe late enough to keep others who may also be sniping from "picking" at your bid, i.e. determining your max bid by placing higher and higher bids of their own, but early enough to place another bid or two in order to outbid any current high bidders. This takes practice. I nearly always watch any items I really want end, just in case someone tries to snatch them away.
5. Call Me! No, don't call me (I'm probably busy sniping your auction!). Sign up with Unwiredbuyer.com. This site is integrated with your "watched items" on eBay. Log in to Unwired Buyer, and click "Update Auctions" under the Watched Items tab. Then, click Detail under each item. You may choose to have Unwired Buyer call you about an item you're especially wanting. Unwired Buyer will call you three minutes before an auction ends and allow you to bid on the item right from your cell phone! I have bid on items while out of town and away from my computer. I have been awakened in the middle of the night to bid on an item. I love this service! It frees buyers up to enjoy their lives, and win eBay auctions at the same time!!

This season, have some fun buying your holiday gifts! If you aren't shopping at Swanky Suds (although we are a great one-stop shop for all your buying needs!), then give eBay a whirl. Good luck!