I mentioned here a few weeks ago that when I was at BlogHer I won a $1,000 shopping spree from Bill Me Later and eBay Fashion.  Crazy, right?  I never win… so this was a heck of a prize to walk away with!  While I could technically use my shopping spree at any merchant that used Bill Me Later, I knew I wanted to do some heavy shopping on eBay.  Why?  Because even with a $1,000 shopping spree I wanted to make sure I was engaging in bargain shopping as much as possible.  Especially because I knew immediately that I planned to take that money and accomplish my goal of owning a pair of Christian Louboutin shoes.

Don’t worry, just because I had $1,000 burning a hole in my pocket and my eye on crazily expensive shoes doesn’t mean that I went completely off the deep end!  I wanted a pair of $600 shoes, but I wanted them at a discount and I was willing to wait and do all of the work necessary to get the outcome I was looking for.  Luckily, my fairy shoemother Elisa stepped in here to help.

Before going on the great shoe quest of ’10 I had never met, spoken, or emailed with Elisa.  She randomly left a comment here at FF at some point in time, which prompted me to check out her blog, Not Your Mama’s eBay.  NYME chronicles Elisa’s attempts to grow her eBay business, and she also provides tips to wannabe eBay sellers.  Once upon a time I fancied myself an eBay seller so I added Elisa to my reader and e-stalked her site looking for tips.  Over time, Elisa’s business model started changing a bit and instead of just selling designer items she found on eBay, she started taking requests and doing some personal shopping.  I don’t know all of her tricks, but she finds fab designer items at low, low prices.

As soon as I found out I had won the shopping spree and confused my boyfriend by telling him about my dreams of over-priced shoes I said, “I’m going to contact Elisa to see if she can help me find the pair I want!”  And that’s what I did.  The same day I found out I had won the shopping spree and before I even knew the details about the shopping spree, I had already sent my email to Elisa asking for her help.

Luckily and thankfully, Elisa was up to my challenge of finding a pair of Christian Louboutin Simple Pumps.  She kept in constant email contact and suggested a couple of other comparable options on the off chance that she couldn’t find what I was looking for.  I was open to other options, though we never took that path.  Within three weeks of contacting Elisa these beauties showed up at my door:

Elisa had found me a pair of pre-owned Christian Louboutin Simple Pumps, the exact shoes I had been dreaming about!  While Simple Pumps usually retail for about $600, I only paid $450, which included Elisa’s finder fee!  Also, you might have noticed that while the shoes were pre-owned, they were definitely not pre-worn.  The “scruff” you see on the red sole above is actually the original sticker that came on the sole.  These babies are brand spakin’ new!

As I told Elisa many times over, my main fear with buying such an expensive item on eBay was opening up the box and finding something fake.  Elisa got these verified for me, so before I ever paid her a dime I knew I was getting the real thing.

eBay is a fantastic shopping resource.  Seriously fantastic.  But there’s always the risk of getting duped when buying from someone unknown on the internet, and that risk is especially scary when you are spending a good chunk of change on an item.

Here are a couple of tips to make sure you have a stress-free buying situation the next time you’re searching for something wonderful on eBay:

1. If something doesn’t seem right, don’t buy the item.  For instance, one tip that Elisa recommended is to always ask for additional pictures, even if you don’t necessarily need them.  This will help verify that the seller has the item you want in hand, and they’re not just using stock images.  If you suspect they’re only using stock images or something just seems off, walk away before you pay and begin your search anew.

2. Along the same lines, don’t be afraid to ask a seller a question or three or five.  If they’re a good seller, they want to make sure you’re comfortable with the item and won’t have a problem answering the question{s}.

3. Read a seller’s feedback.  Most seller’s are very proud of their positive feedback and work hard to keep it going.  I have one rule I always follow – I will not buy from someone if they have less than 50 positive reviews.  {Sorry eBay newbies!}  I have been burned on eBay on more than one occasion, and I learned that lesson the hard way.

4. Again – trust your intuition.  If something seems off, walk away before you spend the money!

5. Never pay via cash or money order.  There are some {minimal} protections you will use by paying through Paypal, so set up an account if you don’t already have one.

6. Look for an eBay pro like Elisa to help you navigate the eBay waters, especially on pricey purchases.

Please share any tips you have for ensuring that you get the items you want from eBay for a good price!