Auction Wisconsin.com | Beginners Auction Guide

The Real Deal
To make sure you don't get burned, be knowledgeable about items on which you are bidding. Online auction sites best serve users who are looking for deals or collectibles in a category of their interest or expertise. If you are a tech head, think twice about buying your mother an antique vase, or do some outside research before bidding. A great information resource is the Internet. It's an excellent source of verification--and it's right at your fingertips.

As discussed before, steer clear of auctions that don't include photos when they are obviously needed to authenticate an item. Also, auction listings riddled with spelling and punctuation errors are a red flag--the seller might be younger than he or she says. Sales with more bells and whistles (e.g., music, blinking text) and marketing speak ("Don't pass this one up!") than factual information, such as an item's manufacturer, condition, color, or date, are often not what they seem. If you feel a seller is legitimate but lazy, email him or her a few polite yet specific questions to verify the item. If the seller can't be bothered or answer sufficiently using real grading terminology, move on.

Who's on the Other End?
If the item looks real and is in your price range, the next step is to find out who you are dealing with. The quickest way to size up sellers is to look at the feedback left by other users. A link to a seller's feedback file is always positioned next to his or her name in an auction's information box. Don't just note the negatives or positives given; read the actual feedback postings. This way you can determine if any negative feedback was justified. If there are only a few negs, this feedback could have been retaliatory. It's often easy to spot if someone is being threatening or unprofessional. Always check the feedback profile of the person who left the neg; it could hold the "rest of the story."

What about highly rated sellers who engage in feedback padding? Don't assume a seller is using people to pad their feedback just because all their positives are coming from the same group of users. They might just have an honest relationship with this set of people. As you buy and sell more, you too will do business with many of the same people interested in the same merchandise. On the flip side, realize that feedback padding is an issue. If you notice a seller listing in totally disparate categories and the same user continually bidding up his or her auction, this could be a case of bid rigging. Just the same, do not accuse or report a user as a shill to the site's fraud service unless you are participating in the same auction.

It's also wise to take a critical look at a seller's sales policy to see if it is vague or threatening. If sellers do not list exact fees for shipping, handling, and mail insurance, there is a chance they hope to take advantage of you. Also, see if their policy is flexible and customer friendly. Some sellers pay for shipping and don't require handling. They also keep the value of the item in mind when determining shipping fees. Some even offer refunds and guarantees. Finally, email questions to sellers to gauge their response and professionalism. If you have time, you might ask another user who gave a seller particularly good feedback why the transaction was especially rewarding.

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