Ebay

[BCAC]

I'm a newbie en Ebay.

Does anybody have any tips for me?

When I do searches I end up with hundreds of pages.

Is it better just to look at auctions?

Thanks in advance.

[Jay]

I find it's easier if you look for something specific as the search then becomes more focused.

[BCAC]

Thanks, Jay.

I'll give it a try, but my first paces are not very encouraging.

[Thomas H]

There are alot of companys selling ( Lower then wanted Quality ) Kilts ,Not bad just not as good as a " Tank " Kilt . So when you search E-Bay it could take awhile to pin point what you are looking for.

But there are great deals on there

[Really a McQueen]

When typing your search words, start by making the search very specific, then drop a word or two to see how many more matches you get. For example, start with grey rabbit fur sporran, then rabbit sporran. Also try using mis-spellings, such as sporon or sporeran, etc, as sometimes a seller does not proof read their listing or know the correct spelling of a word.

[biblemonkey]

I have always found it useful to ask folk here what sellers they have used and who is reputable. Gets you alot farther with more confidence if you hae info on previous transactions.

[Thomas H]

Well said and a Great Idea !

[Dale-of-Cedars]

You can combine eBay search terms with brackets and commas, and set terms to be ignored with hyphen/minus signs:

(kilt,kilts) wool -(ties,jacket,hose,skirt,sporran,hat,socks,scarf,ju mper,women,womens,womans,ladies,flashes,tie,boys,a crylic)

Here I am looking for auctions with titles that include the words KILT or KILTS, they have to have WOOL in the title, and I want to ignore auctions that have all those other terms in the title.

Paste that in and see how it works for you. Then edit for desired results. ("Include description" will open another can of worms.)

[OC Richard]

Yes what people have said above!

I search Ebay every day using the search

kilt -child* -girl* -boy* -youth* -wom* -skirt -jupe* -glad* -sexy -ladie* -pvc -schot*

Try copying and pasting that search and you'll see that it elimiates much of the stuff of no interest to me at least, an adult male kiltwearer bidding in the USA.

Some of the above are self-explanatory, while others might seem odd. Each bit has been added from experience, to lessen the clutter of stuff I have no interest in.

-schot* eliminates the German kilts items, -jupe* other European stuff. But as you're in Europe you might want to omit those.

The "sort by best match" is worthless to me; I search by "time ending soonest" so I don't miss things, and also by "highest price first" so that the pricier items like kilt jackets, kilts, and nice sporrans come to my attention as soon as they're listed.

Just two days ago I jumped on a rarely-seen thing, a used kilt jacket in my rather large size, Buy It Now, soon after it was listed. The really good stuff tends to disappear very quickly due to Buy It Now.

One of the difficult things in Ebay kilt-wear buying is avoiding all the stuff made in Pakistan and India. Watch how things are worded very carefully!

You'll see stuff like

"We Know What We Sell! Everything we sell is from Trusted Suppliers!"

or

"Designed in Scotland"

If I don't see the actual words "Made in Scotland" or "Made in the UK" I tend to assume the item is not made there.

It's nice with kilts and kilt jackets when the seller shows a photo of the actual label so that the item's origin can be known. Likewise most Scottish-made sporrans over the last 40 years or so are stamped "Made in Scotland Real Leather" on the back.

Good luck!!

BTW the kilt jackets, sporrans, hose, etc I wear nearly all came from Ebay.

[MacLowlife]

I find it helpful sometimes to go to a category- sporrans or cultural and ethnic clothing. If you search for Sporran, you will find them listed in several places, all of which may yield treasure. Unlike kilt, or Argyll, or doublet, a sporran is likely to be specifically a piece of a kilt outfit, but do remember there are people selling things they do not know the name of. And, of course, the items in plain sight generally get seen, while the items that come from a seller with just one batch of kilt stuff are hidden and most exciting.

When you do find an individual seller with something that appeals to you, be sure to check out the seller's other items.