Online Auctions and More Offer Secret Weapon for Holiday Gift Giving

For Immediate Release
Contact: Barbara Ling

Holmdel, NJ - What can you possibly get
for the person who has everything this holiday
season? If you're Barbara Ling, you take advantage
of the secret weapon for gift giving - eBay and
other online auctions, and proceed to knock their
socks off.

"The ideal gift should really appeal to the person's
heart," the veteran auction trainer said. "Pricing
doesn't matter - it's the thought and effort that counts.
Think about what really enthralls your recipients -
are they staunch democrats or republicans? If so,
look on eBay for memorabilia like inauguration menus or
signed copies of Life Magazine's election coverage.
Are they instead devoted ballroom dancers? In that case,
search for a ballroom dancing-themed mousepad or
note paper."

"eBay offers you a chance to uncover something really
personal that makes an impression," Barbara continued.
"I've always made it a point to find out my recipients'
hobbies and pastimes during the summer, and embark on gift
searching online towards the end of the year. That
extra time can greatly help my search."

Barbara offered the following tips for uncovering
the perfect holiday present via online auctions:

1.) Look for something that will be used constantly
like a personalized mousepad, coffee cup, etc. It will stay in
use for a longer time than a generic, thoughtless item.

2.) Often personalized items can be include not only
names, but also hobby pictures - sports, music, reading,
etc. Think how much cookie jar collectibles enthusiasts
would love a mousepad that was enscribed with not only their
names but also pictures of vintage cookie jars as well.

3.) If you're looking for children's toys, use add word
"lot" to your search as in "Strawberry Shortcake lot" or
"Spiderman lot". The word "lot" is used to specify a quantity
of items - you'll find superb bargains this way.

4.) If you're searching for a boxed set of books, include
Amazon.com in your quest - the savings there can be as much as
40%. Be sure to search for the book name and append
the word "box" as in "harry potter box" or
"tamora pierce box".

5.) Many items offered are offered on eBay with a
buy-it-now option, meaning you can make an instant
purchase. This is useful if you want to ensure you
obtain an item right away -
http://www.thinkingaboutauctions.com/auction-buying.html
has more information.

6.) A helpful way to find out what your recipient
would like is to chat about childhood hobbies and
favorite shows. If you find out your friend lived for
the 1970s kids show "The Land of the Lost", you can search for
that title on eBay and uncover several dozen vintage items for
sale.

7.) If your friend is deeply religious, search for
religious memorabilia. Christian bibles, Judaica,
Mormon newspapers and more from the 19th century
are almost always up for auction.

8.) An simple way to discover vintage items from another
century is to use asterisks like 18*. If you were looking
for first editions from the 1800s, the search "18* 1st edition"
minus the quotes will yield a good starting point.

9.) If you want to place a high bid, use an odd amount of
cents such as $10.52 or $21.69 . The majority of people
who bid will bid round amounts…that extra few cents might
mean the difference of winning an auction.

10.) Online auctions such as eBay can include brand new
items as well as collectibles. One way of finding such
auctions would be to include the word "NIB" (new in box)
or "NWT" (new with tags). A complete auction
glossary can be found at
http://www.ThinkingAboutAuctions.com/auction-glossary.html .

A web instructor and designer by trade, Barbara has built a
comprehensive site for newcomers to buying on auctions
at http://www.ThinkingAboutAuctions.com . She walks
the reader through the simple registration process
at http://www.ThinkingAboutAuctions.com/auction-register.html ,
compiled a list of auction fraud resources at
http://www.ThinkingAboutAuctions.com/auction-fraud.html ,
listed over 70 targeted auction forums at
http://www.ThinkingAboutAuctions.com/auction-forums.html
among other things. All of the information offered is free.

"Buying for the holidays can be a very stressful
experience," said Barbara. "It only makes sense to
take advantage of the benefits online auctions and
other services can offer the consumer."