eBay: Do's and Don'ts for Beginning eBayers, 2009 6 of 8

http://netforbeginners.about.com/od/ebay101/ss/ebay_dos_donts_6.htm

eBay Don't #2: Don't Engage in Bidding Wars.

(continued from previous page)

Bidding wars won't work for you, unless you are the seller. Often, the seller sets the starting price extremely low to entice as many buyers as possible. The buyers start bidding high and often, which starts the “bidding war”, a frenzy of over-excited buyers.

This behavior is common amongst eBay newbies who are yet to learn when to keep bidding, and when to let it go. Quite often, seconds before the auction closes, a patient veteran buyer will outbid the novices by mere pennies.

If you are bidding on a rare, hard to find article, it’s understandable you might be willing to bid high. Sometimes, it’s the only way you can win it. Other times, with a little patience and research, you could find another auction for a similar item, at considerably lower price. The feeling of victory is much stronger if you win the auction without breaking the bank.

So the tough lesson here is to show restraint and patience... and to learn how to bid in the last minutes of the auction.

eBay: Do's and Don'ts for Beginning eBayers, 2009 5 of 8

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eBay Don't #1: Don't Bid Without First Reading the Ad Carefully.

(continued from previous page)

Once in a while, we all come across something we just can’t pass up. Perhaps you just found that awesome mp3 player you’ve always wanted. The bid is only a dollar, and there is only one mp3 player available. What do you do?

The reflex reaction would be to bid immediately. Wrong! Correct action is to carefully read the listing, including all information on shipping and handling costs, method of payment, etc.

Some sellers deliberately list an expensive, sought-after item for cheap to catch the novice buyer off guard. Grossly overpriced shipping and handling charge is where they get you, if you’re not careful! This underhanded trick operates just within the boundaries of eBay policy... and this trick punishes the lazy user who forgets to read the full ad.

eBay: Do's and Don'ts for Beginning eBayers, 2009 4 of 8

http://netforbeginners.about.com/od/ebay101/ss/ebay_dos_donts_4.htm

eBay Do #4: Tell the World When You Are Happy.

(continued from previous page)

The power of Feedback is enormous – it can make or break a seller, or a buyer. It is the single, most comprehensive, word of mouth “performance review” of every eBay member. If you feel your transaction went smoothly, be sure to say it with Feedback. Remember, eBay Feedback is forever!

It takes time and hard work to earn, and keep, a perfect Feedback. If you are not so happy with how things went, contact the seller first. Most sellers do care a whole lot about making sure their buyers are satisfied, and will do their best to rectify the problem.

eBay: Do's and Don'ts for Beginning eBayers, 2009 3 of 8

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eBay Do #3: Be Courteous and Polite at All Times.

(continued from previous page)

Have you been outbid by the same buyer 5 times in a row? Still waiting for the seller to reply to a question you sent 3 days ago? It happens. It can be irritating. It’s enough to make some people start sending angry messages, or post nasty comments on the eBay Forum. Don’t let this happen to you.

Remember, a little patience does go a long way. Maybe the seller’s email did not work. Re-send the question. As for the buyer who keeps winning “your” auctions, examine the bids. Are you always losing by a tiny amount just seconds before the auction end? Sounds like a “sniping” software in action. Yes, it’s completely legal, and it can be very effective. Give it a try, or set a higher maximum bid.

eBay: Do's and Don'ts for Beginning eBayers, 2009 2 of 8

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eBay Do #2: Play by the Rules and Obey the Law.

(continued from previous page)

It is to your advantage to know which items are prohibited, questionable, infringing or potentially illegal. Whether you are buying or selling, you need to familiarize yourself with a number of regulations concerning the nature of the item up for bid. The item you could be bidding on might be perfectly legal in seller’s country but prohibited in yours.

Examples: crossbows, DHEA supplements, swords, animal products.

Other times, the item is legal to own anywhere but there might be some restrictions in ways of sending it across the border.

Examples: perfumes in pressurized containers, cigarette lighters.

Once in a while, you might come across an auction of an item prohibited by eBay authorities. Whether or not such item is legal, is irrelevant. The article should not be listed on eBay at all.

Examples: glow sticks, fireworks, human body parts.

For a comprehensive list of what can, or cannot, be listed on eBay click the eBay “Help” link and enter “prohibited items” in the search box.

To avoid having confiscation of the goods by customs, find out beforehand if they can be shipped without breaking the law. Remember, if the item is confiscated, you are not entitled to a refund.

eBay: Do's and Don'ts for Beginning eBayers, 2009 1 of 8

http://netforbeginners.about.com/od/ebay101/ss/ebay_dos_donts.htm

posted 2009 august

eBay Do #1: Ask Questions.

(August, 2009: special thanks to guest eBay author, Joanna Gil, for this list. This is part of the Become a Power eBayer reference series.)

Never place a bid, or “Buy it now”, without a careful examination of the auction first.

Make sure you know exactly what it is that you’re bidding on at eBay. This may sound like common sense, but it's amazing how many new eBayers lose themselves in the excitement, they forget to pay attention to the details..

Be aware of any conditions the eBay seller might have placed in the ad. These could include: method of payment, shipping and handling cost, amount of time before item will be mailed out, or any extra costs such as taxes or duties, etc. Also, when it comes to an article of clothing, or shoes, make sure to note the size, color, fabric, finishing, any possible flaws, wear and tear, or damage. This is especially important if the item is “used”, “pre-loved”, or “vintage”.

If there is anything you are not quite sure of, get more information from the eBay seller before you bid. You can do it by clicking “Ask seller a question”, either on the right-hand side or near the bottom of the listing.

The vast majority of sellers encourage potential buyers to ask as many questions as necessary to help them make an educated buying decision.

Since you cannot examine the item in person, you have to rely on the information provided by the seller. After all, once you place a winning bid, you are obligated to complete the transaction.

Glossary of Internet Abbreviations: Email and Chat Shorthand!

The strange world of internet shorthand and acronyms.

IMHO In My Humble Opinion

TTYL Talk To You Later

PMSL P*ssing myself laughing (a common UK expression)

RTFM Read The F------ Manual

ROFLMAO Roll On Floor Laughing My A** Off

ITSFWI If The Shoe Fits, Wear It!

BFF Best friends, forever!

WIBAMU Well, I'll be a Monkey's Uncle!

POSSLQ Person of Opposite Sex, Sharing Living Quarters

Yes, Internet users will write email, discussion group, and chat room postings using these abbreviations. It is particularly helpful to people who are not strong typists.

These abbreviations are fun ways to add personal flavor to your email and online discussion postings. What's really amazing is the depth of Internet vocabulary that has been built up over the years. Take a look at this Internet Abbreviations Glossary, and see for yourself...

Part 2A: The Most Common Internet Abbreviations:
Reminder: 90% of the time, these expressions are typed in all lowercase letters. On selective occasions, you are welcome to use them in all capitals to express enthusiasm. Just remember not to type entire sentences in all caps, lest you be considered rude.

BRB – be right back
BIO – going for bio break (washroom break)
AFK – away from keyboard (I am gone for a few minutes)
BTW – by the way
KK – OK (commonly used by online gamers to acknowledge that a message has been received)
TTYL – talk to you later
BFN – bye for now
TTFN – ta-ta for now
BFF – best friends, forever
DH – darling husband
CYA – see ya (or it could also be: cover your a*s)
CUL8R – see you later
IBTL – in before the lock (for when you post a message prior to the administrator locking the heated discussion thread)
IMHO – in my humble opinion
IMNSHO – in my not so humble opinion
FMV – fair market value (for selling items online)
LOL – laughing out loud
MT – mistell (commonly used by online gamers to say that they made a mistake and mistyped their last message)
NWT – new with tags (for selling items online)
NWOT – new without tags (for selling items online)
OOAK – one of a kind (for selling items online)
PMSL - P*ssing myself laughing (a common UK expression)
QFT – quoted for truth (a compliment to another person on the forum)
ROFL – rolling on floor laughing
ROFLMAO – rolling on floor laughing my a*s off
RTM – read the manual
RTFM – read the f***ing manual (to show frustration at someone's ignorance of basic knowledge)
GG – good game
THX - thanks
TX - thanks
TY - thank you
NP - no problem/you're welcome
PLZ - please
W/E - whatever
ASL – age / sex / location?
RL – real life
IRL – in real life


More acronyms follow below, and on the next two pages.


Part 2B: A Longer List of Internet Abbreviations:

.02 My two cents worth.
the speaker chuckles
the speaker is frowning
Grin
the speaker is grinning
the one writing the message is smiling
the one writing the message is smirking
the one writing the message is winking
JK Just Kidding
? I have a question
! I have a comment
A-OLs Administrators On-Line
AAMOF As A Matter Of Fact
AFAIK As Far As I Know
AFK Away From the Keyboard
AISI As I See It
ASAP As Soon As Possible
ASL Age, sex, location
ATSL Along The Same Line
AWHFY Are We Having Fun Yet?
AYOR At Your Own Risk
B4N Bye For Now
BAK Back At Keyboard
BBFN Bye Bye For Now
BBL Be Back Later
BF Boy Friend
BFN Bye For Now
BIF Before I Forget
BION Believe it or not
BOT Back On Topic
BRB Be Right Back
BTAIM Be That As It May
BTHOM Beats The Hell Outta Me
BTOBD Be There Or Be Dead
BTW By The Way
BWL Bursting With Laughter
BYKT But You Knew That
BYOB Bring Your Own Bottle
CMIIW Correct Me If I’m Wrong
CU See You
CU2 See You, Too
CUL See you later
CUL8R See You Later
CWYL Chat With You Later
DIIK Damned If I Know.
DIKU? Do I Know You?
DILLIGAD Do I Look Like I Give A Darnn?.
DIY Do It Yourself
DK Don’t Know
F2F Face To Face
FCFS First Come, First Served
FISH First In, Still Here
FITB Fill In The Blank
FOAD F*** off and die
FOAF Friend Of A Friend
FS For Sale
FTASB Faster Than A Speeding Bullet
F2F Face to Face
FTF Face To Face
FTL Faster Than Light
FUBAR Fouled Up Beyond All Repair
FUBB Fouled Up Beyond Belief.
FUD Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt
FURTB Full Up Ready To Burst
FWIW For What It’s Worth
FYA For Your Amusement
FYI For Your Information
G Grin, or Giggle
G2G Got to Go
GA Go Ahead
GAL Get A Life
GD&R Grinning, Ducking and Running
GF Girl Friend.
GFN Gone For Now.
GIWIST Gee, I Wish I’d Said That
GLGH Good Luck and Good Hunting
GMTA Great Minds Think Alike
GOWI Get On With It
GTG Got To Go
GTSY Great To See You
H&K Hugs and Kisses
HAK Hugs And Kisses
IAC In Any Case
IAE In Any Event
IANAL I Am Not A Lawyer (but) A disclaimer which is usually followed by a legal opinion
IAW In Accordance With
IBTD I Beg To Differ
IC I See
IDK I Don't Know
IIWM If It Were Me
IJWTK I Just Want To Know
IJWTS I Just Want To Say
IKWUM I Know What You Mean
IMA I Might Add
IME In My Experience
IMHO In My Humble Opinion
IMNSHO In My Not So Humble Opinion
IMO In My Opinion
IMPOV In My Point Of View
INPO In No Particular Order
IOW In Other Words
IRL In Real Life
ISS I’m So Sure
ISSYGTI I’m So Sure You Get The Idea!
ISWYM I See What You Mean
ITFA In The Final Analysis
ITSFWI If The Shoe Fits Wear It.
IYSWIM If You See What I Mean
JAM Just A Minute
JAS Just A Second
JFI Just For Information
JIC Just In Case
JMO Just My Opinion
JTLYK Just To Let You Know
k Okay
KISS Keep It Simple, Stupid
KIT Keep In Touch
KMA Kiss My A**
KWIM Know What I Mean?
KYFC Keep Your Fingers Crossed

L Laugh
L8R Later
LABATYD or LAB&TYD Life's A B**ch And Then You Die
LJBF Let’s Just Be Friends
LLTA Lots and Lots of Thunderous Applause
LMAO Laughing My A** Off
LMHO Laughing My Head Off
LOL Laughing Out Loud
LSHMBH Laughing So Hard My Belly Hurts.
LTHTT Laughing Too Hard To Type
LTNS Long Time No See
LTNT Long Time, No Type
LTS Laughing to Self
LY Love You
MEGO My Eyes Glaze Over
MLA Multiple Letter Acronym
MOF Matter Of Fact
MOSS Member Of Same Sex
MOTAS Member Of The Appropriate Sex
MOTD Message of the day
MOTOS Member Of The Opposite Sex
MOTSS Member Of The Same Sex
MTFBWY May The Force Be With You
MYOB Mind Your Own Business
NAVY Never Again Voluneer Yourself.
NBD No Big Deal
NFW No Friggin' Way!
NHOH Never Heard Of Him/Her
NOYB None Of Your Business
NP No Problem
NQA No Questions Asked
NTIM Not That It Matters
NTW Not To Worry
NTYMI Now That You Mention It
NWT New With Tags (for selling items online)
NWOT New Without Tags (for selling items online)
OATUS On A Totally Unrelated Subject
OAUS On An Unrelated Subject
OB Obligatory
OBO Or Best Offer
OBTW Oh, By The Way
OIC Oh, I See
OMG Oh My God
ONNA Oh No, Not Again
ONNTA Oh No, Not This Again
OO Over and Out (end of communication)
OOTC Obligatory On-Topic Comment
OTF On the Floor (laughing)
OTFL On the Floor Laughing
OTL Out To Lunch
OTOH On The Other Hand
OTOOH On The Other Other Hand
OTT Over The Top
OTTH On The Third Hand
OTTOMH Off The Top Of My Head
PABG Packing a Big Gun
PCMCIA People Can't Memorize Computer Industry Acronyms
PD Public Domain
PDS Please Don't Shout.
PITA Pain In The A**
PMBI Pardon My Butting In
PMF Pardon My French or Pure Freaking Magic.
PMFBI Pardon Me For Butting In
PMFJI Pardon Me For Jumping In
PMIGBOM Put Mind In Gear, Before Opening Mouth
PMJI Pardon My Jumping In
PMSL P*ssing Myself Laughing (a common UK expression)
PNCAH Please, No Cursing Allowed Here
POSSLQ Person Of Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters
PPL People
PTMM Please Tell Me More
R U THERE? Are you there?
RAEBNC Read And Enjoyed, But No Comment
re Hello again or In Regard To
RHIP Rank Has Its Privileges
RL Real Life
RLCO Real Life Conference
ROFL Rolling On Floor Laughing
ROFLAS Rolling On Floor Laughing And Screaming
ROFLMAO Roll On Floor Laughing My A** Off
ROTF Rolling On The Floor
ROTFL Rolling On The Floor Laughing
ROTFLMAOTID Rolling On The Floor Laughing My A** Off Till I Die
ROTFLOL Rolling On The Floor Laughing Out Loud
ROTFLOLAPMP Rolling On The Floor Laughing Out Loud And Peeing My Pants
ROTFLTIC Rolling On The Floor Laughing Till I Cry
RRQ Return Receipt Request
RSN Real Soon Now
RSVP Respondez S'il Vous Plait - please reply
RTBM Read The Bloody Manual
RTFAQ Read The Frequently Asked Questions
RTFF Read The Freaking FAQ
RTFM Read The F------ Manual
RTM Read The Manual
RTWFQ Read The Whole Friggin' Question
RYFM Read Your Friendly Manual
RYS Read Your Screen
S Smile
SAPFU Surpassing All Previous Foul Ups
SCNR Sorry, Could Not Resist
SEC Wait a second
SFLA Stupid Four Letter Acronym
SICS Sitting In Chair Snickering
SLM See Last Mail
SMOP Small Matter of Programming
SNAFU Situation Normal: All Fouled Up
SO Significant Other
SOL SH** Out Of Luck
SOS Same Old Stuff or Help!
SOW Speaking Of Which
SWIM See What I Mean?
TAFN That’s All For Now
TANJ There Ain’t No Justice
TANSTAAFL There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch
TARFU Things Are Really Fouled Up
TBYB Try Before You Buy
TDM Too Darn Many
TFS Three Finger Salute (Ctl-Alt-Del).
TFTHAOT Thanks For The Help Ahead Of Time
THX Thanks
TIA Thanks In Advance
TIC Tongue In Cheek
TINWIS That Is Not What I Said
TNSTAAFL There's No Such Thing As A Free Lunch
TNTL Trying Not To Laugh
TNX Thanks
TNXE6 Thanks A Million
TOBAL There Oughta Be A Law.
TOBG This Oughta Be Good.
TOY Thinking Of You.
TPTB The Powers That Be
TRDMC Tears Running Down My Cheeks.
TSR Totally Stupid Rules.
TTBOMK To The Best Of My Knowledge

TTFN Ta Ta For Now
TTYL Talk To You Later
TTYT Talk To You Tomorrow.
TYCLO Turn Your CAPS LOCK Off
TYVM Thank You Very Much
UOK Are You OK?
WAEF When All Else Fails
WB Welcome Back
WDYMBT What Do You Mean By That?.
WDYT What Do You Think?
WE Whatever
WIBAMU Well, I'll Be A Monkey's Uncle
WIBNI Wouldn’t It Be Nice If
WMMOWS Wash My Mouth Out With Soap
WNOHGB Where No One Has Gone Before
WOA Work Of Art
WOTAM Waste Of Time And Money
WRT With Regard To, or With Respect To
WT Without Thinking
WTB Want To Buy
WTF What The F***?
WTG Way To Go!
WTGP Want To Go Private?
WTH What the hell?
WTTM Without Thinking Too Much.
WYGISWYPF What You Get Is What You Pay For
XOXOXO Kisses and hugs
YABA Yet Another Bloody Acronym
YAOTM Yet Another Off-Topic Message
YAUN Yet Another Unix Nerd
YGLT You're Gonna Love This
YGTI You Get The Idea?
YGWYPF You Get What You Pay For
YIU Yes, I Understand
YIWGP Yes, I Will Go Private
YKYARW You Know You're A Redneck When
YMMV Your Mileage May Vary (or your experience could be different)