Via laterlife.com Jackie aims to particularly help those new to IT and the web to
build up knowledge and confidence, so no question is too basic. At the same time she will
cover Q&As for the more experienced user.
So if you
would like to ask a question of Jackie, why not email her jackie@laterlife.com
or if you
have discovered something which may be of interest to others in making the most of the
web, then she would love to hear about that too jackie@laterlife.com
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You
can do IT - Edition 28
If you use the Internet to do some
of your shopping, and you like the idea of saving money, perhaps it’s time you
thought about using an on-line auction. This is
where people like you and me sell goods they no longer want, so that it works rather like
an enormous, in-door car boot sale.
 One of the most well-known
sites is www.eBay.co.uk I recently used it to buy an electronic PDA (hand-held
computer) that was out-of-date and therefore couldn’t be bought through the usual
channels. As I saved about £100 and had no
problems, I thought you might like to know what is involved.
When you visit the site, you will
find almost anything you could ever want to buy, with a link to UK-only sellers if you
don’t want the added hassle of purchasing from abroad.
Some of the items for sale include: designer
clothes, antiques, dolls houses, films, pottery, watches, glass, tickets and jewellery.
Here is my
step-by-step guide to buying safely:
Decide on the item you want to buy
and do your research. Look on the Internet or in magazines to find out the
going price for this or similar items, new and second-hand, and decide on the maximum you
will spend, taking into account any wear and tear or lack of accessories.
Use the search box to produce a
list of sellers offering your particular item. Click
on any in the list to read the details. If there aren’t many - it’s probably
best to avoid that seller as you won’t know what is included in the price. (Although you can e-mail the seller with
questions, we found we never got answers in time.)
If
you can only bid, put the maximum you are willing to spend in the
box. The system will enter a low bid just a
few ££s higher than the one already in, and
will keep upping your bid if other people outdo it. The
auction stops for you when your maximum is reached and you are outbid - or no-one else
offers more and you are the winner.
 You will see that each auction has a time limit. The nearer you are to the deadline, the more likely your
bid is to succeed, but there are thousands of people who enjoy bidding at the last minute,
so you are never sure of a purchase until the deadline has passed.
As
it’s the Internet and a number of rogues prey on normal users, don’t spend vast
sums until you are very confident you know what you are doing. If you can afford the risk, you may find that it
is an excellent way to buy good quality, second-hand goods from home.
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