Summary Tuh
That concludes our look at eBay, the Internet's largest online auction site. eBay has a lot of secrets; knowing them can give you a real competitive edge over other buyers and sellers. Use this power wisely.
And when you're bidding on an eBay auction, remember one last bonus secret. Don't spend more than you really want to pay, or more than what an item is worth. It's easy—way too easy—to get caught up in an eBay bidding frenzy and end up paying a lot more than you should. Go into every auction knowing what the item is worth to you and set that amount as you maximum bid. Don't bid over that amount, no matter what. If the bidding goes higher, just bow out gracefully; bidding to win at any cost will end up costing you a lot!
Amazon.com ^bm Secrets yrnj
Secrets in This Chapter
#418: When You Shop at Amazon, You're Not Always Buying from Amazon . . 322
#419: Pick Up a Bargain on Used Merchandise 324
#420: Shop for Closeouts at Amazon's Outlet Store 324
#421: Buy a Product with a Single Click 324
#422: You Don't Have to Pay by Credit Card 325
#423: Pick Up Your Order in Person 325
#424: Send a Gift—and Have It Wrapped in Advance 326
#425: Don't Know What to Buy Someone? Use Amazon's Gift Wizard 327
#426: Check on Your Amazon Orders 327
#427: Combine Your Orders for Free Shipping—
or Separate Them for Faster Delivery 328
#428: Shop at Amazon from Your Cell Phone 329
#429: Fine-Tune Your Product Searches from the Advanced Search Page 329
#430: Turbocharge Your Book Searches with Power Search Operators 330
#431: Sort Your Search Results 331
#432: Jump Directly To Any Product Listing 331
#433: If You Can't Find What You Want, Try a Foreign Amazon Site 332
#434: Find Out What Other Users Think—and Write
Your Own Reviews, Also 333
#435: Fine-Tune the Products That Amazon Recommends to You 333
#436: Recommend Items to Other Users 335
#437: Create Your Own Favorites Lists and Guides 335
#438: Create an Online Wish List or Gift Registry 336
#439: Create a Personal About You Page 336
#440: Fine-Tune the Alerts That Amazon E-Mails to You 337
#441: Listen to Music Online 337
#442: Read Books Online 338
#443: Find Out About the Latest Products First
#444: Shop tor New and Used Cars
#445: Discover Amazon's Best-Selling Items
#446: Link to Amazon from Your Own Web Site—and Earn Commissions
#447: Sell Your Own Stuff on Amazon
#448: Chat with Other Amazon Users
#449: Let Amazon Remind You of Important Occasions
#450: Use Amazon to Find Movie Showtimes
#451: Use Amazon to Browse Menus from Local Restaurants
#452: Discover Other Online Shopping Sites
343 343
In the ever-growing world of online shopping, there are a lot of big e-tailing sites, but there's only one true giant: Amazon.com. Amazon offers millions of items for sale in most major product categories; in 2002 the company sold almost $4 billion worth of merchandise.
Amazon got its start selling books. In fact, in its early days the site billed itself as the "World's Largest Bookstore." That was a bit disingenuous, as Amazon didn't (and doesn't) physically stock all the books listed on its site. And can a company that doesn't have a bricks-and-mortar presence accurately call itself a bookstore? Whatever the case, Amazon quickly became (along with Barnes & Noble and Borders) one of the top three booksellers in the United States and most definitely the largest Internet-based bookseller.
If all you know Amazon for is books, you're in for a real treat. That's because today Amazon is more than a bookstore. (Their new slogan is "Earth's Biggest Selection.") The site offers merchandise in dozens of different stores and aims to be your one-stop-shop for all your online purchases. That it can be—plus you can use the site for all manner of non-shopping activities, as you'll learn in this chapter.
If you've ever shopped at Amazon before, the site remembers you—and creates your own personal start page, like the one in Figure 17-1. This page features products that Amazon thinks you'll be interested in, based on your past purchases. (Secret #435 reveals how you can influence these recommendations.)
Along the top of every Amazon page is the navigational bar, a series of tabs that takes you directly to key sections of the site. Above the navigational bar are links to important account functions, including your shopping cart and wish list.
Was this article helpful?
