Does the terminology on the eBay site leave you wondering what in the world people are talking about? Don’t worry-some of it is downright confusing until someone bothers to explain it to you. Here’s a handy list of some of the most frequently used terms. You don’t have to memorize them, but knowing what they mean will help you to understand things as you go along.
Key Terms
- Bid: The highest price you are willing to pay for an item on eBay.
- Dutch: An auction with more than one item available in it.
- Feedback: The rating, or comments that other users leave in regards to a buyer, or seller after their interaction has been complete. This rating can be positive, or negative.
- Mint: Describes an item that is in absolutely perfect condition.
- Non-paying bidder: A bidder who wins an auction but never follows through with the transaction.
- PayPal: A very popular form of electronic payment that many sellers will accept.
- Rare: Word that has gotten a great deal of play on eBay, to the point where it can
occasionally lose its meaning.
- Reserve: The lowest price at which a seller is willing to sell an item.
- Shill bid: Illusory bid, placed by the seller or someone working in association with the seller, to drive up the price.
- Snail Mail: Humorous term for the traditional postal mail. You know, mail, as opposed to email.
- Sniping: bidding on an item in an auction during the last seconds so that no one else can still avow it and win the auction.
Common Abbreviations
- AUD: Australian Dollar, a form of currency.
- BIN: Buy It Now, used for fixed-price auctions
- BNWT: Brand New With Tags; this most of the time means something is new but it still has its tags on it
- BW: Black and White; this term is mostly done of films or photos
- CONUS: Continental United States, that means Alaska and Hawaii is not included in the shipping
- EUR: Euro, a form of currency
- FC: First Class, a kind of postal service
- GBP: Great British Pounds is the currency.
HTF means Hard to Find, which, of course, is equivalent to “rare,” only slightly less trite. NIB stands for New in Box, so it has never been opened, still in the original package. NR refers to No Reserve, which means an auction term indicating no minimum price for an offer is set by the seller. OB means Original Box, stating that they have it in its original package, but maybe opened.
- PM: Priority Mail. If a seller lists PM as an option to mail something, then it means the postal service would be faster.
- PP: Parcel Post. The standard postal service
- SH: Shipping and Handling. That which the seller charges to the buyer.
- USD: United States Dollars. The currency.
- VGC: Very Good Condition. When something is Near Mint but not quite.
You may also come across more specialized terminology for the items you’re selling that aren’t included within the pages of this book. If you come across one, hop onto the Internet, and search for the term along with the phrase “eBay”. Chances are someone has already defined it.
While knowing the EBayspeak is good, it is usually best to avoid using it in your listings, except in cases where you really have to squeeze every last character into an item’s title. After all, many of the people who use eBay are beginners, and too much jargon will simply confuse them and turn them off.
By now, you should be fairly comfortable how to get around on eBay. In our next email, we’ll show you how to list your first auction and get started.
Read more : Staying Out of Trouble with eBay’s Listing Policies in 2024
