Tips for eBay Beginners on Browsing by Category

If you're new to eBay, navigating the auction website may feel overwhelming. With so many items for sale, it can be hard to know how to find the objects that interest you if you don't know your way around. With the tips that follow, learn to browse the site in a way that allows you to get what you need without wasting a lot of time on the stuff you have no interest in buying.

How eBay Veterans Browse

What better way for eBay newcomers to get the hang of the site than by simply following the lead of eBay veterans. Just as in Rome, you do what the Romans do; on eBay, you do what the pros do. So, how do old timers on the site quickly get what they need?

Most veteran users find items to purchase on the auction site by searching eBay listings for keywords or item names. If you're looking for a certain pair of gym shoes, for example, you would type in, say, Adidas and then the style of the shoe that you want, say, Adidas Campus. But using keywords or searching the listings isn't the only way veteran users find what they need on the site.

eBay's Category System

eBay is also home to an extensive category system into which sale items are organized. To browse through lists of items for sale on eBay by category, repeat the following steps.

First, click on the Buy link seen near the bottom of the eBay front page or nearly any other page on the eBay website. Then, you'll see a page listing eBay's major item categories in boldface text. Beneath each of these categories, you can find its most popular item subcategories. Click on a major category (boldface) to view a new page showing more specific categories or sub-groupings within that category.

If you're interested in the category of Clothing, Shoes & Accessories, for instance, you'll see the subcategories of women's clothing, men's clothing, shoes, jewelry, watches and more. Once you see the minor category (regular text) that you want to browse, click on it to view all of the items listed for sale there. So if you chose the subcategory of shoes, you could then click on the minor category of collectible sneakers if you think that's where you'll find the pair of old school Adidas. 

Wrapping Up

Though browsing eBay can be slower than simply searching by keyword, you'll find that browsing by category is often more rewarding, especially if you enjoy window shopping in real life. But if window shopping isn't your idea of a good time, if, in fact, you mainly shop online because your time is precious, and you don't have much to spare browsing on eBay, use the search option. 

If you think navigating the site is too confusing, you can also search for what you want by typing it into Google and clicking the "shopping" category there. It will appear above the search bar. If eBay has the item in stock, it will appear in the list of Google shopping results, and a simple click will take you to the item.