How eBay works
Watchlists, saved searches, Best Offer, bid retraction. What each feature does, where it runs out, and what eBay never put on the screen.
9 posts- OCT 9
Is it still worth buying from eBay UK if you live in the US?
US buyers pay import fees on every eBay UK order. The duty-free allowance is suspended, and refusing the parcel over fees voids eBay's Money Back Guarantee.
7 min read · How eBay works, Buyer protection, Reselling
- OCT 9
Why free eBay alert tools stop taking new sign-ups
Item Alert closed registration after eBay declined to raise its API limit. Why fast alert tools hit that ceiling, and what an hourly check trades away.
7 min read · Alerts, Tools, How eBay works
- JUL 6
Can you take back an eBay bid? Only for two reasons.
eBay lets you take a bid back for two reasons, inside one hour, and only if the listing ends within 12 hours. On Trading Cards you can't retract at all.
10 min read · Auctions, How eBay works, Buyer protection
- JUN 26
eBay auction vs Buy It Now: what changes at the first bid
Buy It Now usually disappears when somebody bids, but on a reserve listing it survives until the reserve is met. If it's gone, bid up to what you'd have paid.
8 min read · Auctions, How eBay works
- JUN 10
eBay stopped documenting its search operators. Here's what still works.
eBay documented three search operators until 2018 and documents none today. Buyers disagree on whether they still work, so here's how to test any of them.
9 min read · How eBay works, Deal hunting, Tools, Alerts
- JUN 5
What an eBay watcher count tells you, and what it doesn't
eBay shows a public watcher count on many listings, signed in or not. What a high count tells you depends on whether it's an auction or a fixed price listing.
8 min read · How eBay works, Price research, Alerts
- JUN 4
How eBay Best Offer works, and when to make a lowball offer
A seller gets 24 hours to answer an eBay Best Offer, and a counteroffer lasts 96 hours. What to offer, and why you can't see the accept and decline limits.
10 min read · How eBay works, Deal hunting, Auctions
- JUN 2
eBay says your watchlist holds 1,000. Another eBay page says 300.
eBay's watchlist page says 1,000 items. Another eBay help page says 300. Listings a seller ends and doesn't relist drop off your list after 60 days.
7 min read · How eBay works, Alerts
- MAY 25
Why eBay saved search alerts stop, and what actually fixes it
eBay's saved search help page gives you one switch per search, an envelope icon, and no schedule. Usually, one of four things is what stops the emails.
7 min read · How eBay works, Alerts