Research prices, verify that it isn't already posted - but don't make it such a huge job that you decide it's easier just to buy it yourself and forget it! Yeah, if you goof up you'll be told (probably in no uncertain terms) but if you research for hours and dither over possibly being raked over the coals, somebody else will post it somewhere (here or elsewhere) and the opportunity to either post it first or buy it will be lost.

I have to disagree about eBay reflecting an "inflated" price. The trick with eBay is to buy things that are not "commodity-like." What do I mean? Well, consider an iPod. Ipods are sold for (roughly) the same price everywhere because there is little profit margin on them, and it is difficult to get them at an extreme discount because they are in such demand. Same with the Nintendo Wii, or any other item that is HOT, whether it is an mp3 player, a game console, or a handbag.

eBay is always the best place to get a deal if you are looking for something that is NOT IN DEMAND. I buy most of my clothes on eBay because I get them anywhere from 60% - 90% off of retail. If it's something you want, but not many other people want, there will be little or no competition, which means you will get the item for less. I have purchased some of the top brands such as Kenneth Cole, Ralph Lauren and Guess products consistently.

A good example is a pair of shoes. Many people buy last season's shoes (the ones that are usually on clearance at dept. stores) and sell them on eBay. Go to a department store, try on some shoes until you find what you like. Keep an eye on eBay over the next few months, and chances are they will show up, brand new, and probably 50% less (maybe more) than what you would have paid for them. Sure they are probably on clearance at the dept. store, but who has time driving to multiple locations to find your size?

Anyway, you get the point... Just my $.02.

Whenever I buy anything on the net, before buying, I google "name of site" + coupons.
50% of the times I can find some coupon or other to get a discount.

Great deals are not always about the money.(persay) A great deal can also be about superior performance at a great price. (Reference my following post about a Husky 200 lumens flashlight that is selling at a (normal) price of about $26 after tax, but out performs some lights costing hundreds.)

http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/hot-deals/876143?highlight_key=y&keyword1=husky

I have a printable coupon, how do i post it in fatwallet.

I would say that in addition to this generally good advice (above) you should sit down and decide what it is exactly you want/need before online deal-hunting. Often, finding a good deal can overpower your ability to decide if you need a product or not. Just because you find a nice shirt on Overstock.com for 80% off does not mean you need a new shirt. I have personally spent a lot of unnecessary time deal-hunting for the sake of deal-hunting and realize only later that if I'm not ever wearing that shirt than any price I paid for it was too much.

I found Google Reader to be very effective in weeding through the deal sites. most deal hunting site are having RSS feeds which can be subscribed in Google Reader ( including but not limited to FW and CL). Take a your time to configure your reader, now you can utilize your search skils to search among all the deal sites from a single point.

I like the feature of defining filters and wait a few days until the best deals shows up. You can share your subscriptions and filters with your friends as well ( who might be looking for a similar deal)

gohdes said:glenatuf said:darkfyre said:i'd say that eBay tends to be lower than average street pricing - as it should be, as there is more uncertainty in the transaction..

I disagree, in my experience eBay is full of chumps who are willing to pay more that what I consider the going rate. This is the main reason I almost never buy anything off eBay. This is also what makes it a good place to sell. It's, IMO, a large collection of unsophisticated buyers.

Just search e bay for Wal Mart gift card, and you'll see people buying a $100 gift card for $103 or something like that! Duh! They get caught up in the bidding war process and forget their purpose. I have also seen a $20 gift card go for $19.98. Was that two cents really worth all that time and potential fraud? I think not. I have also seen things for less than I can buy at my local B&M store however, also. So, it's definitely a mixed bag.i know this post has long since past, but all the same -

i think that some people may have credits that they can use for eBay that they cannot use at WalMart (to use the above example) and so wish to use this medium to convert it. plus these days you get eBay bucks.

so just because it doesn't make sense on the surface doesn't mean it doesn't make sense to the person doing it in the end. altho that is still a possibility.