How To Shop on Ebay

[gordons4]

Help. I need to understand from you experts just how it is you're able to find dresses on ebay. When I do a search on "evening dresses," over 22,000 results come up. :eek: Do I have to go through page by page until I find something my size, or am I totally missing the boat here? :confused:

 

Thanks for your help.

 

Sheri

[PeterPan]

Yep, you're missing the boat ;) . Try searching on dresses in your size.

[gordons4]

PeterPan,

 

I have to give myself a "well, duh." :rolleyes: That cut it down to just over 1,000--which is much more manageable. Thank you for the help--I really feel silly. :o

 

Sheri

[ShedQueen77]

No need to feel silly! We were all eBay newbies once! LOL

 

You can also eliminate by color, length, etc... Check the left hand side of the screen after you search "evening dress".

[CowPrincess]

You can also add to your search (in the boxes that appear on the left-hand side of your screen that shows your search results):

 

- located in North America only (which gets rid of a BUNCH of China-based sellers) (you will get SICK of reading those ads)

- your particular price range

- color

- sleeve style if you are determined to go with a particular sleeve style (halter, spaghetti, long-sleeved, sleeveless -- you can pick one ONLY per search, not 2 or 3)

[Kan't Wait]

One thing I do as well as narrowing down items to color size etc... I check the option- sort by and pick ending soonest. That way if you see something ending shortly you won't miss out.

[cruisegal101]

And if you want to look for only new clothes, put nwt or nwot in the search--new with tags or new without tags. For shoes, it is nib, new in box.

[simplelife]

Begin your search by selecting the "Clothing, Shoes, and Accessories category", and then select (under "Women's Clothing") "Dresses". When "Dresses" opens, use the categories on the left to narrow down by style, size, etc). When you select one attribute, it will give you the option of choosing others (for example, under size I might select 12, and then I can add 10 and 14 as well.) As another poster suggested, you can narrow by geographical area and many other choices. You don't have to type anything in the search box at the top unless you want to narrow the search even further (for example, type in a specific brans name or feature (such as "lace" or "velvet") and you will get ONLy the items that have that feature. If you do type anthing here, I suggest checking "Search in titles and descriptions") - Otherwise you will just get whats's in titles and some of the details are not in the title.

 

This is a much easier process that it sounds - the site is very user-friendly Once you do it a couple of times, it is very easy. i've been e-baying for several years now and have found many bargains and had fun doing it.:)

[gordons4]

Thanks for all the replies--I knew I'd find the experts here. :D

 

Now I'm off to try all your ideas, and see what I find. :)

 

Sheri

[SantaAna,CA]

Also, just a tip: some items say, size 8, size 10, etc. Unless the seller gives you exact measurements, ask for them. I have bought size 10 dresses that I couldn't even get a leg into. You need to know exactly what measurements are, and you'll have a better chance of getting a gown you can actuallly fit into.

 

By the way, all those gowns that I got that are the wrong size? I either resold them on ebay, or they adorn my pretty (size 4) mannequin, on display in my living room; some of them were just too lovely to sell, even though I can't get into them!

 

Jane :p

[Senoj84]

I type in size type and color that I want like: Women's black cocktail dress 14. That narrows it down well.

[sunshinestyles]

I'm an ebay powerseller and frequent shopper for cruise dresses. Lots of times I'll see a dress I like on clearance at the mall, but not in my size, so I'll go looking for it on ebay.

 

I get the best results by searching by a brand I know fits me well- like 'Jones New York Dress 12'. Then I click 'save this search' and set it to send me updates when new items are listed. Then I get the emails about new items and can buy them before someone else does!

[tvaud]

Here is another tip on getting a bargain on ebay....don't get into a bidding war with another bidder. Some bidders like to always have the top bid and will outbid anyone who places a bid over theirs. The best thing to do is save the auction and bid on it at the end. You have a better chance of not letting the price get out of hand that way.:)

[sheema]

tvaud is right. I have shaken my head at some of the prices people have ended up paying for items. In many cases more than they would have paid in a brick and mortar store in their neighborhood. Best strategy is to determine the HIGHEST price you want to pay for the item, bid on it and let it go if someone outbids you. Otherwise you may end up bidding more than the item is worth just to "win".