Finding Buyers with Want It Now

Another way to bypass the auction process is to go directly to buyers who want to buy what you have for sale. You can do this with eBay’s new Want It Now feature, where buyers create “wish lists” of specific items. You search the Want It Now listings, and when you find a match, you offer the item for sale to the interested buyer. (eBay still takes their normal cut, of course.)

Start by clicking the Want It Now link on eBay’s home page. When the Want It Now page appears, you can browse through the listings by category, or use the Sellers search box to search for specific items that might be listed in the database. Click a particular listing for more detail from the interested buyer.

To respond to a request, click the Respond button to display the Respond to a Post with a Listing page. If you already have an item listed, enter the item number and click the Respond to a Post button. If you haven’t yet listed the item, click the Sell Your Item button, create an item listing, and then return to the Respond to a Post with a Listing page to enter the listing’s item number.

The interested buyer is now emailed a message containing a link to your item listing. To place a bid on your item, all the recipient has to do is click a button.