By Jen P Carter
Have you got plenty of time, but a definite shortage of ready cash? Did you know that by shopping on eBay and a little of your time, you can find yourself genuine fashion knockdowns and designer bargains?
A lot of people using eBay rush to put dozens of items on, often skimping on the details in the listing and putting poor quality or no photos with their listing.
Often this can mean a bargain for some eager shopper like yourself.
For example, a pair of Terra Plana boots were recently listed with one simple word "shoes", only in the detailed listing was the brand even mentioned. These designer boots were worth over £120-150 on the website, but were bought for just over £4, plus postage and packing.
So, how can you scoop yourself a shopping bargain?
When searching for any item on eBay, always click on the button below the search bar which says "include Title and description". This simple move will increase the number of listings available to you , but you'll still need to trawl through each listing to see whether it's of interest to you.
For example, a Marc Jacobs handbag may be listed as "green handbag", but by clicking the "include Title and description" box, would come up in the search results as long as the words Marc Jacobs were mentioned somewhere in the item description.
Another tip is to search for misspelt items, in the above example, you might want to try searching for Mark Jacobs, or other variations of misspelling the name.
Equally, you may wish to navigate right through to the appropriate section. For example, shoulder bags, Brand - Marc Jacobs, might yield some misspelt or badly described items.
If you're looking for a particular label, such as Vera Wang, Diane von Furstenburg, then searching for these names can yield some real bargains, especially if you're an unusual size. Most designer dresses have barely been worn - so you'll be receiving a genuine designer item, but a massively reduced price. At the time of writing a Vera Wang cream dress (size 6) was selling on Buy It Now for just £35, a fraction of it's original price.
Buying on eBay is also a great way to find cheap pairs of jeans, dresses, tops and skirts - for everyday or special occasions. If you know that a certain store makes clothing that fits you well, for example, Top Shop jeans - you can probably pick up a barely worn pair for under £10, delivered to your door.
Of course, the other positive side of eBay shopping is that you don't even have to leave your home - you can do all this shopping from the comfort of your own home.
But beware, shopping for bargains can be addictive, so know when it's time to put the credit card away and stop shopping.