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FAQ
1. Question: What makes
this site so special, why shouldn't I go straight to the source by
searching on eBay myself?
Answer: I'm glad you asked. one good reason
to let us help you is that we are very familiar with the facilities
there. In order to provide quick and accurate results, we purchased
a custom "engine" to drive searches from this site. This
tool is called an "applications programming interface" or
API, which accurately and quickly interfaces with eBay to pull back
currently running auctions in the category you requested.
If you were to attempt searching through
eBay directly, we know from experience that it would take longer.
For example, you would have to key in your search string. That's not
a problem, but we know from experience, it is only human nature that
many searches are formated or spelled incorrectly, and would yield
misleading or often incorrect results. Using our interface prevents
that from happening in many situations, and will bring you the most
accurate results possible in the shortest amount of time.
Additionally, we have constructed a listing
of the most common searches in this niche, many of which you might
not have thought about, adding to the power at your fingertips, and
yielding better results. To start those other searches, the side bar
on every page of this site contains the list of common searches. Our
visitors also find that clicking is much faster than typing and then
clicking.
Lastly, the API that we utilize in some
situations is able to filter out items that would not be of
interest. For example, if you were doing a query for a "green
widget", the native eBay search would return things like green
widget repair manual, green widget belt buckles, etc., and bury what
you're looking for with dozens of pages. Our API will generally not
return as many extra items.
Since accurate results are of primary
importance when attempting to make a major purchase like this, we
feel that our API was money well spent, and hope you also agree.
That being said, if you ever need to do a customized search that
isn't listed on this site, you can simply navigate to the eBay site
from the bottom of the auction table, that says "View All Items
On eBay" and go from there.
2. Question: What if I'm
not currently registered with eBay? Can I still use this site?
Answer: Of course. Many of our visitors are
not currently registered with eBay, and use our site and the eBay
listings provided, purely for research in order to come to buying
decisions, sometimes even making the eventual purchase locally
offline. In that case, you don't need to register with eBay but
you're welcome to use this site as a research tool.
On the other hand, if you see something you
would like to purchase, you do need to be registered with eBay
before you place your bid. Doing so is an easy, quick, and free
process. Just click on the "register" button on the top of
the page you're on at the eBay site. It will lead you through the
process.
3. Question: Is there a
charge to use your site? Is there a charge to use the eBay site?
Answer: No, there is no charge in either
case. The only charges eBay assesses is to the sellers of the
merchandise, and use of this site is always free.
4. Question: Are you
associated with the sellers of the items that are shown? In other
words, are you giving preferred placement to some sellers, in which
case I would be missing out on the best deals?
Answer: We are not associated or affiliated
with any of the sellers. Even if there were a small chance that some
day we would be listing an item ourselves that matches your query,
the API that we use would not distinguish our auctions from those of
the other 25 million or so eBay sellers, so no preferred placement
would be given.
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