You also need to look at the cost of shipping. On eBay, shipping an item is the responsibility of the seller, but it is the buyer who pays for it. Check the shipping fees before you place a bid because they will increase your overall cost. But remember too that shipping is a fact of life. You have probably paid for shipping and handling on every item you have ever purchased. The difference is that on eBay you know exactly what it costs.

PROXY BIDDING

Let's say you are going to bid. The $5 opening bid is a no brainer – you know the reel is worth $200 – so you bid $5. One of two things will happen. You may get a notice on your screen that you are the current high bidder. Or, you may be notified that you were instantly outbid by another eBay shopper. How can that be?

Enter proxy bidding.

Most people can't sit at their computer all day long monitoring auctions. Instead, eBay allows you to bid your maximum right up front in the form of a proxy bid. Here's how it works. Let's say you are willing to pay $80 for the reel and you do so with a proxy bid. If you are the successful high bidder at $5, a $5 bid will be placed on that item in your name. The remaining $75 – think of it as a bank roll – will be used by eBay to automatically bid higher on that item if needed. The seller does not know what your maximum amount is and neither do competing bidders. Only you and eBay know. If the auction ends and you are the winner at $5, nobody knows $75 was left on the table.

eBayHere is what a bid looks like. You put in your maximum amount and eBay does the work.If, on the other hand, another buyer takes liking to the reel and bids $8, your proxy bid will automatically re-bid for you using the increment associated with your auction, which in this case is $1. It will keep doing so until you reach your maximum offering price. This is a great feature when you are out of town, don't want to stay up late or if you are on the boat and up to your elbows in bottom paint. It also keeps you from getting carried away and bidding on pure emotion.

EBay can mean long days of waiting, but this can be a good thing for a buyer and a seller both. The long auction time allows sellers enough time for their items to gain attention. For buyers, the long format allows you to scoot down to the boat to measure, make sure an item will fit, check the pricing on the item and do your homework. Meanwhile, if you are lucky, another paycheck has dropped into your pocket.

"BUY IT NOW"

There is another way to buy, commonly known as the "buy it now" auction. This is exactly what it sounds like. Sellers have the option to list their items for a set price in addition to the auction, which gives buyers the option to grab the item and close the auction instantly. Sometimes, these prices are inflated. But they can sometimes be real bargains. Many a great deal can be had using "buy it now" auctions, because sellers are sometimes unaware of the real value of the item or just want quick cash. The catch is that these are first come, first served situation. I bought a great set of Bennett trim taps on a "buy it now" at 6:30 a.m. EST on a Saturday morning, before the majority of the country even got out of bed. I have also lost some real deals when I hesitated, thought twice, logged back in and the item was gone.eBayThis sailboat, a Contessa 26, is listed as a "Buy it Now" item. For $5,500, in can be yours – with no bidding involved.

Some of my best deals were obtained late at night, when an auction ends during a football game or on a holiday. Remember that timing on auctions is precise. For example, say the Penn reel was listed by a night owl on the west coast, a gift two years ago from his brother-in-law that he never used. He places a starting bid of $5.00 on the item, selects a seven-day auction, and hits the ENTER key at 11:15 p.m. PST. That auction will end 7 days from then, right to the second.