If you have trouble understanding people when they talk about eBay, you’re not alone. Some of the jargon is obscure and you can’t be expected to understand it without some sort of guide. So here’s a small glossary of the most useful eBay terms.
Bid: Telling eBay’s system the maximum price you are prepared to pay for an item.
Dutch: An auction where more than one of an item is available.
Feedback: Positive or negative comments left about other users on eBay.
Mint: In perfect condition.
Non-paying bidder: A bidder who wins an auction but does not then go on to buy the item.
PayPal: An electronic payment method accepted by most sellers.
Rare: Used and abused on eBay, now entirely meaningless.
Reserve: The minimum price the seller will accept for the item.
Shill bid: A fake bid placed by a seller trying to drive up their auction’s price.
Sniping: Bidding at the last second to win the item before anyone else can outbid you.
AUD: Australian Dollar. Currency.
BIN: Buy it Now. A fixed price auction.
BNWT: Brand New With Tags. An item that has never been used and still has its original tags.
BW: Black and White. Used for films, photos etc.
CONUS: Continental United States. Generally used by sellers who don’t want to send things to Alaska or Hawaii.
EUR: Euro. Currency.
FC: First Class. Type of postage.
GBP: Great British Pounds. Currency.
HTF: Hard To Find. Not quite as abused as ‘rare’, but getting there.
NIB: New in Box. Never opened, still in its original box.
NR: No Reserve. An item where the seller has not set a reserve price.
OB: Original Box. An item that has its original box (but might have been opened).
PM: Priority Mail.
PP: Parcel Post.
SH: Shipping and Handling. The fees the buyer will pay you for postage.
USD: United States Dollars. Currency.
VGC: Very Good Condition. Not mint, but close.
You can find even more specific jargon related to selling on eBay. If you have trouble figuring out an eBay term that you come across, type it into a search engine, followed by the word ‘ebay’ and there’s a good chance that someone will have seen fit to explain it.
While it’s good to be able to understand the jargon, avoid using it unless you really need to. For example, if you run out of space in an item’s title. Many people on eBay are not experienced buyers and you could lose a bidder if you don’t communicate clearly.
Next, I’ll show you how to dive in and get started.
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