Many of Smurfs I own, I have bought on eBay, for a couple of reasons. a. I can usually get them for at least half price. b. It makes it possible to find rare Smurfs that my favorite online retailers don’t offer. I am no expert, but here are the things I try to keep in mind when searching for Smurfs on eBay, and when I don’t pay attention to my own rules, sometimes I am a very unhappy Smurfer : (

1. Know the Smurf’s condition
I want to make sure I am fully aware of the condition of the Smurf before I submit a bid. I bid on nothing less than “Excellent” or “Near-mint” condition Smurfs. I read the seller’s description carefully, but I don’t fully rely on the description alone. The description may say “Excellent condition”, but either the seller doesn’t know what that really means or does know and is purposely trying to deceive potential bidders. I note how descriptive the seller is in their listing. This may or may not be a factor depending on everything else on the checklist. I check the picture of the Smurf (and there always should be one). Is that a paint rub? Or just a camera glare? Is it even a picture of the actual Smurf for auction? If am not sure, or have any questions, I ask the seller. Other things I consider: Is the Smurf dirty? Yellowed? Missing parts?

2. Know the Seller
In my experience, the best sellers are either Smurf collectors themselves or hobby store owners or similar. Bottom line, the more knowledgeable the seller is about what he or she is selling, the more I trust the Seller. Lots of times I see sellers who just “Came across” a LOT of Smurfs and are selling them on eBay. These sellers aren’t as knowledgeable or particularly invested in their Smurf merchandise, which may lead to inaccuracies in their listing, such as the name of the Smurf, its rarity, condition, overpricing, or whether or not he’s got all of his parts. Feedback is very important here too. I always check the seller’s feedback before bidding. If I notice a negative feedback trend, that’s a red flag. I also consider the seller’s selling experience. Is this their first auction listing or one of the first? I do realize that sellers have to start somewhere, but it is still a gamble for me to bid so I consider all factors and decide if its worth it.

3. Know the Smurf
I make sure I know at the very least: The relative value of the Smurf so I don’t overpay. If there are any parts separate from the mold, what are they, and are they present? I try to have an intimate knowledge of the appearance of the Smurf to make sure as much as possible that the Smurf is authentic, or has not been altered, or damaged.

4. Be careful of fakes!
Lots of fakes are being sold on eBay, which is good to be aware of. If you want to know more about fakes, I would recommend reading this article on blueimps.com.

5. Always consider shipping in the final price.
I love getting things at a bargain! But I always measure my eBay bargains with the shipping included. It should take about $2 to ship a normal Smurf within the U.S., but so many people have shipping charges of $4 +. I try to avoid sellers who have high markup on their shipping. I try to buy domestically sold Smurfs on eBay, unless it’s a rare Smurf that I just can’t seem to find state-side. I also try to buy more than one Smurf from the same seller to reduce shipping costs.

6. Consider the Retail vs. eBay price.
Can I get the Smurf of equal or better condition somewhere else at a better price? This is the first thing I consider when browsing Smurfs on eBay so it probably should be at the top of the list but I am not turning back now! If I can get the Smurf “mint”, retail somewhere else for a lower or equal price, then I wont bid. Even if the retail price is slightly more expensive I would probably buy it retail. In my opinion, there is always a little bit of a gamble when you buy from eBay verses a trusted online store. If it is not worth it, then I don’t take that gamble.

7. Use Paypal!
Ok so sometimes I don’t always follow my rules, but I use Paypal whenever available, and generally only bid on Paypal auctions. Paypal has “Buyer Protection” Which basically means, if you don’t get your Smurfs, you can get your money back. So a few months back, I broke rule #2. I bought a huge LOT of Smurfs from a selling newbie. My Smurfs never came to me.. So sad. But I got my money back because I used PayPal. Paypal is my friend!

8. Be a Good eBayer: Part A
Always buy the item won. This is pretty simple, and basic and common sense, but I used to be a bad eBayer some time ago and didn’t pay for a couple of items (not Smurf related of course), so now my positive feedback score is at a crappy 96%! But now I have converted to being a good eBayer I buy everything I win. Duh!

9. Be a Good eBayer: Part B
I always leave feedback…usually. As you can see from my experience feedback is kinda important, so I have developed the habit of leaving feedback whenever I have a positive buying experience. It’s especially important if you might want to sell items on eBay at some point. If you leave positive feedback for the seller and ask that they leave feedback for you in return you can build your eBay feedback score. The problem occurs, when you have a less than positive experience. It gets a little tricky if you need to leave negative feedback for a seller and get whacked with negative feedback in retaliation. In those cases, I usually don’t leave any feedback at all. You sort of have to measure the consequences with this one.

10. My Bidding Rules - (Saved the best for last)
One of the things that makes eBay so profitable as a company is the addictive nature of bidding! If you place a bid and someone outbids you, you should refuse to go down like a punk, and place a higher bid right away! Kidding. I will let you in on my little secret. This is a secret so don’t tell any body. I always wait until the last 20 seconds in an auction to place my initial bid, and I always bid the maximum amount I am willing to pay. When I do that, I usually get my Smurf. I don’t contribute to the driving up of the bid price all week when I know there’s a possibility that it is going to be decided in the last minute anyway. Why make the item more expensive? 20 seconds is just enough time for my Cable modem to speedily guide me through the bidding process and successfully become the highest bidder. Okay, Its kinda an adrenaline rush too

I just shared my award winning “Smurfing on Ebay” strategy…, which probably can be applied, to any type of collector with a few tweaks. I am interested to hear how others go about this process and what works for them so please feel free to comment.