Bidder Beware, Use Caution when bidding!

There are bargains to be had at shopgoodwill.com, but the more informed you are as a buyer the better, prices can go extravagantly high on popular items, for the life of me I can't figure out WHY people keep bidding on an item well before the auction closing date (the strategic bidder waits until the last day to make his move, that is the way to get the item for a good price!) Shipping is very expensive, and works as a reserve on the item, IMO, always look at the shipping fee before bidding, and figure that cost into your bid limit.

I've gotten some great bargains on the site, and a few duds, I have gotten much, much more cautious in my buying habits. Ask questions well in advance of the auction end, it can take days for a reply.

I don't buy into the shilling theory, I was able to purchase a relisted item for a much lower price than it had ended at the first time around, I just think that some people bid things up on a lark, you don't need a credit card to register at shopgoodwill.com, and some people take advantage of that weakness.

I've had one return, and it went smoothly with the money back in my account within a week. I will say that I was forced to pay for another item that had a serious flaw that was only mentioned VERY briefly in the description, and not at all in the title--the plea to allow me to withdraw that bid fell on deaf ears, a very costly mistake.

Just remember that the people listing the auctions are not worried about their reputations unlike ebay, so it is no skin off their nose if they misrepresent something, or charge too much for shipping and handling--you need to be cautious, also thousands of people use the site, so losing your business is not important to them!