Ever shopped at an online auction site? If not, you don’t know what you’re missing.

Are you a bargain hunter? Are you always looking for that great deal?

Imagine being able to buy a car dirt cheap or furnish your house for pennies on the dollar. Imagine finding excellent deals on almost anything, including furniture, used autos, ponies and horses, stables, toys, clothing, houses and properties, and much more.

Or maybe you’re into recreational vehicles, like RVs and boats. You can even get a yacht at an amazing discount… if you know where to shop.

And that’s the key… knowing where to shop safely. There are frauds and scams all over the internet and online auction site complaints are one of the most common received by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

Consumers complain of goods not delivered as advertised at the online auction site, the product delivered is of lesser value than they thought they were purchasing, and perhaps worse of all, the seller fails to disclose all the relevant information about the product or the terms of sale.

What can you do to protect yourself? First off, ask questions.

• Find out who the actual seller is and check their background. You can do this through feedback ratings available on some online auction sites. Get physical addresses and phone numbers as well as email addresses. This will help ensure you’re not dealing with a fly-by-night scammer.
• Make sure you understand the relative value of the product you’re bidding on, as well as the terms of sale including return policies and shipping arrangements such as who pays for shipping on returns.
• Do your own preliminary research on the products you're interested in. For example, check the Blue Book for the going rate for cars and other vehicles.
• Never go beyond the top price you’re willing to pay. Determine your price before going to the online auction site and placing a bid.
• Check the payment options and choose the credit card which will give you added protection. If the goods aren’t delivered or are not as you expected, you can work with your credit card company to settle your disputes with the seller.
• Email the seller any questions you have about the product and the policy before you bid.
• Don’t forget to check any warranties available for the product.

If it’s been around for awhile, chances are it’s trustworthy, otherwise it wouldn’t still be in business. It will also give you the name and contact of the actual site owner.

Another way to protect yourself is to use an alert system provided on some browsers. Internet Explorer 7 includes such a feature. If a site is a known phishing or scam site, the address bar in your browser will show orange to alert you.

You also want to check the rules of that particular online auction site. Don't assume that the rules used by one Internet auction site apply to all of them.

Look around the online auction site for any tutorials that can help make your experience easy and enjoyable. Take time to go through the tutorials to avoid any disappointment and frustration trying to figure things out on your own.

Finally, see if there are any special protections in place such as insurance and guarantees that will cover you should the item not arrive as you expect.