Use eBay to Decorate on a Dime

Did you catch the "Do Anything Cheaper" story in your July issue of Glamour? If not, flip back to it -- it's a must-read. In it, we promised to help you decorate your crib on the cheap, so I chatted up Shawn Henderson, eBay's design director (and an all-around super-nice guy), to get the inside scoop.Here are his strategies for saving -- and getting the sweetest finds.
By Kim Fusaro
Know exactly what you want. Do not -- I repeat -- do not do a one-word search on eBay unless you want arthritis in your clicking finger. Here's why: I typed "sofa" into the search bar and got 12,041 results. No one I know has the time (or mental capacity) to click through 61 pages of sofas. Instead, when you're ready to redecorate, pick up a design mag, and read the captions closely. When you see something you like, note the color, material and style. I searched for "brown leather Chesterfield sofa" and got a much more manageable 12 results.If you find design magazines intimidating, flip through the catalogs (or click through the Web sites) of your favorite stores. I found this cute little two-seater on the Ikea [http://www.ikea.com/] site for $499. I typed its name ("Klippan") into eBay, where a used one is selling for $100 -- sadly, unless you live within an hour or two of Camarillo, California (which I don't), this probably isn't a good buy. (The sofa's pickup only.)Which brings me to my next tip: Keep an eye on shipping charges and whether items are listed as "Pickup Only." Cuz it would suck to have the winning bid on something you had to fly to Utah to for. An easy way to avoid location heartbreak -- especially when shopping for oversize goods, like furniture -- is to narrow your search from the start. Type your Zip code into the "Distance" thingy under "Refine Search" (see below), and you can focus on goods that are close by.Something else to know before you start shopping: How big your space is. Sometimes you can't get a feel for how big (or small) something actually is based on the pictures alone. So measure how much room you have and make sure whatever you're checking out will fit before you bid.You also need to know how much you want to spend beforehand. It's easy to get wrapped up in the excitement of a last-minute auction and start adding a few (or a few hundred) extra dollars onto your initial bid. (Trust me. I've been sucked into that frenzy.)Speaking of bidding, Shawn recommends signing in (or registering, for first-timers) the second you go to eBay's home page. If you jump in and search and later want to bid on an auction that closes in minutes (or less!) you'll lose valuable seconds on the sign in page.Once you've found what you're looking for, check out the stats on the person selling it. It's best to buy from a seller whose feedback score is around 98 to 100 percent. Read feedback from other buyers to see how the smoothly the seller's recent transactions have gone. If you'd like more info (including pictures or measurements), the seller should get back to you quickly with adequate answers.