Ebay Virgin at my age.

[#1]

[quote=artmo]Generally items of £18 or less do not get charged.  Higher prices could attract a charge
Even then you have to be careful. because you get charged import duty on what the item is deemed to be worth - NOT by the price you paid for it.
So you can get stung for additional excise charges on something that you thought was a bargain when you won the bidding at well below the going rate.
I agree with artmo about contacting the seller first, it is a good idea to ask a simple question (even if you don't care what the answer is) - such as "does the item come complete with an instruction handbook ?"
If the seller does not reply, then be much more cautious about bidding. 
It is also worth reading between the lines of what has been stated in the auction listing, as you are buying based on what has been said, and it is sometimes the case that the seller has carefully NOT mentioned something (like "good working order"), so you don't have much comeback - as the seller will say the faulty or incomplete item they sent you is as they described it - which of course it is !.  So again, send the seller questions about, "is it complete", "does it work", "is it in good enough condition that the item could be given as a gift",  and if you don't get a straight answer then don't bid.

[#2]

Quote from: artificer

beware bidding frenzy.

As someone has said earlier (paraphrased), "there'll be another along soon".
I've almost given up bidding and tend to select only Buy-it-now, usually from a commercial seller.
(Except obviously for the occasional weird-and-wonderful item that is only ever sold privately.)
I also select only UK items unless the saving is significant by buying abroad and I can afford for the transaction to go wrong.

[#3]

When searching eBay you will be surprised at how frequently sellers misspell their item's description or model number.
If when you search, you include all the plausible ways a name can be incorrectly spelled, then you have a MUCH higher chance of winning that misquoted item, as most people will only find items spelt the way they searched for.
To list alternative spellings or choose between a collection of words, you use brackets to group the options.
So for example if you wanted an "occasional table"
your search might be - "(occasional, ocasional, occasionel) (table, tables, tabel, tabels)"
Sometimes searching for something using the key words you think of, may not give the results you want.
It is worth widening the search and then using the minus sign to eliminate words that you don't want included
So for example -
"hessian (pants, underwear) -used -stained -pink"

[#4]

Quote from: purleigh

So for example - "hessian (pants, underwear) -used -stained -pink"

That's disgusting, I think I'm going to throw up!

[#5]

Wow after reading all that I feel like I have been ebaying all my life  Much appreciated everyone involved. I already have done the set the maximum in my head bit like some people have mentioned.
There isn't much from private sellers I am after, but my theory is just bid what its worth to me and leave it at that. Tried adding my bank details to my paypal account but it says they can't because there already attached to another account. That will just be when I was going to have a dabble about 5 years ago and never got round to it, now I can't even remember the login details and the email address. I have contacted Paypal about it but I think I'll go with the topping up with a credit card rather than my bank details.
What generally happens with a successful bid, at what point does money change hands then?

[#6]

After you've made a successful bid you'll be asked to pay for the goods.  Once you click to pay you will go automatically to your Paypal account and confirm the payment.  Money is then taken from your account at this time.  Once you've done a few transactions it will be second nature to you.

[#7]

[quote=AverageWhiteBloke]What generally happens with a successful bid, at what point does money change hands then?
You will get an email saying that you have won, and that email will have a link to "Pay Now".
That will take you to an eBay page, where you check the details, confirm what delivery option you want (if any given), then select pay by PayPal.
Now press whatever the "Pay Now" button says.
That will open a PayPal login page.
You enter your PayPal username and password.
You are then presented with the payment details, where you can choose your payment method (bank, credit card, etc).
You press "Confirm Payment", the money gets transferred.
A "thanks for your payment" screen appears.
and that's all there is to it !.

[#8]

So the seller sends out the goods when they get the money, or do they get the money when I receive the goods?

[#9]

I'm not a seller on ebay but as I understand it the goods are dispatched once Paypal confirms they have taken your money.  Many sellers have words to the effect that goods will be sent once payment is confirmed.

[#10]

Some great ebay advice has been given, I would add,
When looking to buy an item, do a search and save it in 'My Ebay'. You will get an email each day with new items in the search. I always do this and watch for a few days to learn what the pricing and postage costs are before I start to bid.
Use Paypal for your purchases which allows you to use the protection that it offers if there is a dispute.
I made the mistake of paying cash on collection once, had a dispute and lost out.

[#11]

Ahh right it all seems a bit clearer, my bids going well 2 days left and no other bid unless someone jumps in at the last minute which is probably how things work to be fair. The item I went for was higher than other sellers but was still in sealed bag brand new which is worth a couple of quid more to me hopefully other people will go for the cheaper ones that are used first.
I notice that in my linux  there's a little app there called ebay assassin which monitors the price and sets your highest which will auto put a last minute bid in if you can't get near a pc in time. That could prove to be a little gem  
Ebay themselves have a similar thing not sure if they charge for the service but it means doing it a 3rd party way is not illegal or immoral.
Maybe I'll get to pop my cherry soon 

[#12]

Yes, the ebay maximum bid works well if you can't be around to bid yourself.  Each time you are outbid you will automatically be put back in the race until your maximum bid is reached.
Don't be fooled by the fact that you are the only bid to date.  Many bidders will simply watch the item and may not become active until the last few minutes.  Many times my first bid has been in the last few seconds on the auction and it's surprising how often you win the item.

[#13]

Quote from: artmo

Customs and Excise are aware of the dodge mentioned by David W so beware.  Generally items of £18 or less do not get charged.  Higher prices could attract a charge.

Indeed, reading back I could have been clearer.  Importing goods from outside the EU could lead to the postman opening them and hitting you with duty (import duty?) which the postman will collect.  My Aunt sent a cheap calendar or something from the US and put "value $25" on it so the postman charged us £5 to deliver it.  That's why I said it was an issue, but taxation from abroad should be accounted for too.

[#14]

Does the postman still collect the duty?  I thought all imports now went into a C&E warehouse, in Coventry I thought, where they are examined and they then write asking for money if required.  Anybody know if this is right?

[#15]

The last time I got stung for import VAT was two years ago when I bought a car radio/CD/DVD from an eBay seller in Hong Kong.
The parcel arrived in about three or four days using DHL via Heathrow airport - I was VERY impressed !
Unpacked it and it had the usual minimal eBay paperwork.
I was extremely pleased with the bargain I had won, and fitted it immediately into the car - and have enjoyed it ever since.
Then about two months later I got the "IMPORT VAT / DUTY INVOICE" from DHL Express,
stating "REIMBURSEMENT OF CUSTOMS CHARGES" demanding immediate payment of VAT.
It also said -
  "This is an invoice for the Duty & VAT we were required to pay Customs on your behalf to enable clearance of delivery of your goods.
  Import taxes are the responsibility of the receiver, unless the agreed delivery terms on the Air Waybill state otherwise".
This form had the payment slip attached which required sending with a cheque to DHL International in Middlesex.
So I originally paid about £20 for the radio INCLUDING the cost of shipping.
Customs valued the item as being worth £81 for VAT purposes.
Then I paid the extra £15 for VAT.
However I still got a real bargain, as I paid a total of about £35 for a car media system that would cost at least £150 in this country.