Shopping on eBay is nothing new to most people. You bid, you win, you buy, and then in a few days the product arrives on your door cheaper than buying it locally. With such convenience at a reduced cost its easy to see why so many people are shopping online. However, what if you could leverage all the benefits of shopping online and then save even more money than you already do.

If you engage in the following tactics you will save money on eBay. The first one is defensive bidding and it is counter intuitive to what you normally try to do. The next tip is something you may not try in a real world store, but it certainly works well online. The last tip suggests using the power of the Internet to help negotiate a better price. Hopefully, with these tips you can save a little money online.

The strategy for bidding on eBay I use the most is called Defensive Bidding. This strategy is very counter-intuitive because you're trying to drive the price up so high that it is no longer appealing for others to take action. The hope is that by making others avoid taking action you get a cheaper price.

The requirement for this to work well is that a person must have alternatives. If you and 100 other people are bidding on 1 or 2 rare pre-WWII German coins you aren't going to have much luck. If you are bidding on an item and there are alternatives be it exact (same make and model) or comparable(same product category) then you will have better luck. The point of all this is to drive out potential watchers and bidders to prevent them from getting emotionally attached to the auction and prevent them watching the auction so they don't notice it go for a below average amount.

The first step is to find an item that already has a bidder or two. These two bidders probably bid a little on the low side so you want to drive the bid up to within 60-75% of what you'd really pay. I'll use a $100 dollar item for an example. At this point you want several days left and hopefully the item is sitting at $60 to $75. Now that you have the item at this price it is important not to get too attached emotionally and let it go if it goes over $100. The average for this product is probably in the $115 to $130 range, but since you are trying to save a little you shouldn't be willing to go over $100.

The reason why this method is so effective, even though counter intuitive is because it relies on bidder psychology. The basic premise is that people are only willing to engage in the bidding process if they think they can get a good deal and can win the bidding. By artificially raising the bidding above what a bidder would expect for the amount of time left in the auction few people will be willing to bid on something that is not considered a good deal or something they can win. This prevents people from bidding or watching an auction that they will then become emotionally attached to.

The other benefit is that this clears the search threshold. For example, someone looking for a good deal on the particular item you've bid up might search for items $50 or less to get a feel for potential purchases. If you have artificially driven the price up then the item you are looking to purchase won't fall into the searches of bargain shoppers.

The most important thing to remember with this strategy is to just let it go if it goes higher than you're willing to pay. You aren't locked in and you can always try it again and again. I used this strategy on a bait and tackle store that was going out of business and selling their stuff on eBay. I bid ~$100 between two lots. One lot alone was worth several hundred and my bid stood for 2 days until the close of the auction in which I won both lots.

If you treat eBay like a store you walk into and buy what you need prepackaged then you're missing out on a great way to save money online and part of the fun. Most eBay stores are small enough that they will whip up a package deal if you're making a large enough purchase.

Often time, they are offering close to what you want but perhaps you don't want all red widgets or they come with additional accessories that you know you are paying for but already have or don't need. You should feel free to make up a list of exactly what you want and see how accommodating they can be. This is one of the best strategies when they have multiple items that they are selling in baulk and you want different colors, designs, or patterns.

This also works well when they have built a package deal, but it's not exactly how you want it. Another approach is to offer to buy X amount if they throw in free shipping. I've found that with this strategy you should not try to go too low or they will see you as inconsiderate and trying to take advantage of them, instead offer them a little less than reasonable and they often will bite.

When shopping online you aren't limited to a particular geographic area like you are shopping in the real world where prices may vary between competitors and you have no way of knowing. Take advantage of the power of google and search out similar items from similar competitors. One of the best ways to do this is to look for smaller stores that are trying to compete against each other online. This approach allows for a bit of price matching. Often times I'll request price matching, a package deal, and free shipping all included. I'll make a request such as: "I"d like one of item A and two of item B, but I don't need any of the accessories included with either. Could you please throw Item C instead and have it shipped for $X. I see YOUR COMPETITOR has these items as well, but I've good luck with you in the past and wanted to give you a shot at my business" and allow them to give me a yes or no. If they give me a no, I just might still order with them, but it never hurts to ask.