Getting that Wii/PS3 through eBay

Monday 22 Jan 2007

So you really want a Wii or a PS3 but just can’t find them anywhere? Here’s a step by step guide to buying it through eBay.

Firstly, I would just like to remind you that people that are selling unopened Wiis and PS3s on eBay are in it for the money. Don’t expect to get either one of these for anything less than what you would pay for it in the stores. Remember these are unopened consoles and in the case of the Wii extremely difficult to find in stores. eBay has become a haven for these scalpers (the term given to a person that buys something new and sells it without using it for a higher price – exploiting the lack of availability) who seem to sometimes have stock of up to ten of the units, and they are selling them at almost double the price which they have paid for them in store.

Step 1: Setup

There are three things you are going to need to be eligible to start bidding through eBay. Firstly, you need a valid e-mail address. If you don’t have one you can log onto a free e-mail hosting site such as gmail or hotmail. Your e-mail account will become available immediately.

Secondly, you need to log onto eBay and create an account for yourself. This is fairly simple and safe to do. You can be in any country in the world and buy from an eBay seller anywhere in the world through this one account, as all the eBay country sites (US, UK etc…) are now linked. The eBay account becomes available immediately.

Thirdly, you need to set up a PayPal account. PayPal is the easiest and safest way to transfer funds to the seller. They work as the middle man so as not to disclose any of your credit card information to the seller. Using PayPal will also allow you to purchase your successfully won item with your credit card (all the major credit cards are supported).

Step 2: Finding your Wii/PS3

This is the most important step. You need to make sure you find the best item to bid on and know what you are bidding for.

Doing a simple search on eBay for Wii or PS3 is not the easiest way to go about finding your console. If you try it you’ll soon see why, the list will be flooded with Wii cables and silicon remote covers and e-mail addresses but you are not looking for these, you simply want a console. There are a lot of things that can distract you on eBay but try and keep focused on the Wii or PS3 that you have come here to find.

You’ll need to do an advanced search, so click on the link that is just next to the search box. It will take you to a screen that is overflowing with text fields and drop down menus. Don’t get intimidated by them as they are all there to help you. No one said this was going to be a walk in the park.

Enter Wii Console or PS3 Console as the main search keyword. The other important thing to do, especially if you are bidding from a country outside of the US, is to select available to and select your country from the drop down menu - not all sellers are prepared to ship the consoles outside of certain areas. You can go through the rest of the list and see if there are any other parameters you want to set for your search, but those two are the most important. I like to put the minimum price up to about $100 because it will filter out all the riff raff posts like guides on how to get a PS3 and yourname@wii.com email addresses.

HANDY TIP: Most posts for Wiis will say the console will come with 5 games. What this means is that the console comes with Wii Sports which has 5 mini games included on the disc. It is nothing extra to what you would usually get when buying the console from the store so be careful of that.

To combat fraudulent sales of PS3s and Wiis, eBay has released an official statement to all sellers and buyers that goes something like this. Any post for the sale of a Wii or PS3 MUST include a photograph including the following: The boxed console; the receipt from the store; and the sellers username written on a piece of paper. Make sure that the items which you are looking at bidding on have this! Try to stay away from posts that use the generic pack shot on the white background that anyone can take off the net. Real photographs with the username and sale receipt are what we’re after. The sales receipt assures you that the seller is actually in possession of the console and it’s not a ‘pay me now and when I get one I’ll send it to you’ sale. To be extra safe you can contact the seller and ask them a couple of questions regarding the item. The only problem with this is that it takes time to wait for a response and time is of the utmost importance when bidding on eBay.




HANDY TIP: Look at the seller’s history and the ratings that they have been given by other buyers that have done transactions with them before. This will help you to make up your mind about whether or not you want to transact with this seller.

Step 3: Placing your Bid

People may have different opinions about this part, but this is what I found works best. Decide how much you are willing to spend on getting the console (remember to factor in the shipping costs if you live far away). Now whatever that price is bid that amount. For arguments sake let’s say that you are willing to pay $400 for a Wii and the current bid on the item you want is sitting at $120, make your bid of $400. eBay automatically adjusts your bid (up to your limit) to beat any other bidders that place bids lower than $400. After placing your bid you might see that the current bid price has risen to $205 and that you are the current highest bidder. This is because the previous bidder had a limit of $200, your bid was automatically raised to beat his but by the lowest margin possible. Another instance might have been that after your bid you receive a message saying that you have been out bid and the current bid now sits at $405, this means that the other bidder has placed a bid higher that $400. The amounts that are bid are always kept secret, only the current bid price is made publicly available, even the seller does not know what your bidding limit is.

Step 4: Winning the Auction

It is mindful to watch out for snipers. Snipers are people on high-speed internet connections that will, in the last few seconds of the auction, try and outbid you. You should really only be worried about being outbid if the current bid price is close to your bid limit, as the snipers will only bid about $20 - $40 above what the current bid price is. Also do not be tempted to raise your bid limit unless you really want it, but remember the bid limit is the maximum price you said you were willing to pay for the console. Sniping usually occurs on Wii and PS3 auctions so before you breathe a sigh of relief when there is still a minute to go, wait. Like I said, expect the price to jump a couple of tens before it finally closes.

Step 5: You’ve Won…Now What?

You will receive an automatically generated e-mail from eBay once you have won the auction. All you need to do now is click on the pay now button, which will take you straight through to PayPal where you will confirm the delivery address and payment details. Before doing this step it’s best to contact the seller…just to confirm that they are a ‘real’ person with a legitimate item. All you need to do is click on the respond button on the e-mail you have just received from eBay and write a short note to the seller, something along the lines of “I’m glad I have won this bid. When would you be able to get to the post office to ship the item?” This will invoke a response which is exactly what you want at this stage before you transfer the cash.

Step 6: Good Intentions

After all is said and done, you’ve paid your money and you’ve received the item, you are asked to leave comments for the seller (and they will do the same for you as a buyer). This gives credit to one another where credit is due for a good transaction, or in the case where something went wrong a chance to warn other buyers.

If anything did go drastically wrong with the transaction I advise you to contact eBay and they will quickly sort out the problem. They have been doing this for a long time and know how to do it properly, so let them sort out the debate. Also if the item did not arrive or there was something wrong, eBay provides an insurance of up to $200.

I hope this guide can help you find what you are looking for as it did for me, and if you have any more questions please feel free to drop us a line through the contact us section.