Need some new stuff for school this year? The average spent on back-to-school shopping was $563 in 2007. So, why not save money buying and selling online with eBay? From pens and Abercrombie jeans to iPods and textbooks, you can first sell what you no longer need and then find new gear at the online auction giant.

You can start an eBay account if you are 18 and have a valid email address (though sometimes you might need a credit or debit card). If you're under 18, consider getting your toes wet by helping a friend, neighbor or parent who has experience with eBay. If that doesn't pan out, there are other alternatives for buying and selling online such as craigslist.org, Facebook Marketplace, MySpace or your local newspaper classifieds to let people know you've got stuff to sell.

You can sell just about anything on eBay, such as clothes, cars, houses, electronics, and grandma's jewelry. In fact, you could probably empty your bedroom if you really wanted to, but some things sell better than others. Here's just a sample of eBay sales stats:

• a DVD or video sells every 2 seconds
• an article of clothing or clothing accessory sells every second
• a video game or console sells every 4 seconds
• a CD or record sells every 3 seconds
• a toy sells every second
• a book sells every 2 seconds

• Describe your item honestly. Listing its condition accurately encourages trust with your potential buyers. If it's not perfect, say so!
• When setting the starting bid price, experts suggest starting most items at 99 cents to attract prospective buyers. To ensure that you don't sell an item for less than you want to, you can set a reserve price (a hidden minimum sale price). Or you can use the "Buy It Now" option and set a price for the item. There are additional fees, and you have to have a feedback rating of 10 or more to use this option.
• Determine how you want to be paid and how much shipping will cost using eBay's tool that estimates shipping costs for you.

Resist the urge to bid on something you've always wanted, like one of those slap bracelets everyone had in grade school, just because it's only 99 cents. It may be cheap, but don't forget that you'll have to pay for shipping.

Also, eBay isn't completely free of cheaters. Here are a few things you can watch out for:

• Overpricing -- Check out multiple auctions to compare prices before bidding.
• Silent sellers -- You can ask sellers questions by clicking on a link in an auction. No answer on their part should equal no bids on your part.
• Payment scams -- If sellers only want cash or money order, something may be fishy.

• Make your first bid the highest price you're willing to pay for the item and eBay will do the rest for you. The appropriate bid will automatically post, so if you enter $30 and someone else enters $20, your bid will be posted at $20.50. An increment system sets the highest bid based on the current price. If the price is between $1.00 and $4.99, the bid will set 25 cents higher than the previous bid. For items between $5 and $24.99, your bid beats the last price by 50 cents, and so on. This way you don't have to worry about watching the auction and you're not tempted to exceed your budget in a last-minute bidding war.
• Don't bid on two auctions for the same item, because you have to pay for any auction you win.
• Check out the person you're considering buying from. If the seller's feedback rating isn't positive, consider purchasing from another seller.

The second way to nab stuff is with the "Buy It Now" option mentioned earlier. This isn't an option for all items or sellers, and isn't available to buyers after someone makes a bid.

Now that you've had a crash course on eBay, what are you waiting for? Start buying and selling for savings today!
 

Sources: nrf.com; ebay.com; entrepreneur.com