Help a new EBay buyer please

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

I just within the last month went on Ebay. Oh, my God, what a mistake!! Now I am helplessly hooked, although I only look at categories of intense interest and am trying to control myself.

Here is my question - I went on the Ebay UK site and found lots of stuff I would purchase. I signed in and it took my US ID and password. I have a paypal account.

Can I just bid like I always do? I notice some of the sellers will only ship within the UK and other say worldwide, so I am trying to pay attention to that.

Is there a calculator that will help me convert pounds into dollars? If I bid in pounds, will my Paypal account just do the transaction in pounds automatically? Are there other things I should look out for?

[Vinca]

1. Lots of times the UK listings appear in the US search feature.

I don't know if it's just sellers willing to sell in the US or if they actually list it on ebay's US site. In any case, you can bid on the UK site and if you're confused about the cost of anything, email the seller. If you need to use a currency converter, here's my favorite one: http://www.xe.com/ucc/ I've purchased jewelry from sellers in the UK (I'm a fan of Scottish Miracle jewelry) and been very satisfied.

[Whoa_Nelly]

2. Some tips

If the UK seller states they will only ship within the UK, you can always use the Ask the seller a question option found under the seller's name and feedback number, and ask if they would be willing to ship to the US, and if so, what would the charges be.

If you use PayPal to pay for UK purchases, or purchases from any other country other than the US, PayPal will do the conversion for you.

If you personally want/need to know the amount, especially before making a bid to buy, you can use one of many online currency converters/calculators such as this one:
http://www.x-rates.com/calculator.html

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

3. Thanks very much. Both of your responses were helpful. nt.

[brer cat]

4. Are you familiar with US customs rules and regulations?

If not, be sure to visit

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/import/infrequent_importer_info/internet_purchases.xml

Buying internationally is not necessarily as easy as it sounds.

Good luck!