eBay Hacks, 2nd Edition

Estimate Transit Times

Use the courier’s web site to calculate how long you’ll have to wait for your package to arrive.

It’s probably fair to say that impatience is a quality most eBayers have in common; sellers want their money right after their auctions end, and buyers want their stuff soon thereafter.

Before you bid on an item, it may be helpful to know when you’ll have the package in hand. Fortunately, you have access to the tools you need to determine the transit time for almost any item on eBay.

First, you need to know the location of the item, which, in most cases, is the same as the location of the seller. If the seller has followed the rules when creating the listing, the Item Location is displayed near the top of the listing page, shown in Figure 3-11. Most of the time, this includes a city and state or province, as well as the country in which the seller is based.

Figure 3-11. You’ll need to know where in the world your item is located before you can estimate how long it will take to be shipped to you

But many sellers abuse this feature by writing things like “Bid Now!” or “Honest eBay Seller” in the space. This means you might have to look elsewhere to determine where the item is actually located. Possibilities include:

Payment instructions.

Some sellers include a mailing address in the “Seller’s payment instructions” box at the bottom of the listing page. If you see only a phone ...