Yes, everyone told me babies are expensive, and no, I didn't believe them until I saw my savings dwindling away. I made the decision to work from home so I wouldn't incur daycare expenses (I'm an eBay seller, author and freelance writer), but that limited the amount of work I could actually do. It was time to get realistic about my baby spending.

Here are some tips to maximize the money you do have, and how to increase that amount without taking too much time away from your new baby. This article deals with buying on eBay, and Part 2 focuses on selling.

Smart Buying on eBay

1) Make that 3am feed work for you. Many auctions end during the middle of the night. This is perfect for your new night owl status because you can snipe some great bargains while everyone else is sleeping.

2) Watch out for shipping costs. Low price items often have higher shipping costs, particularly baby clothing. Check a seller's other items to see if there is anything else you need that they are selling, and if they will combine shipping. Make sure you know how much the item costs locally so you can compare prices including shipping.

3) Know what you are looking for. Impulse buying, whether in a store or on eBay, is a big baby expense, and not usually part of your budget. So, make a list of what you need and what you would expect to pay for it locally before you start searching. Don't buy something else from a seller simply because you can combine shipping.

4) Buy Coupons. Yes, I know this sounds strange, but buying coupons is a great way to save money. Formula checks are great because you can use them for more than one item per transaction. So you can get exactly what brand and type of formula you want, from the cheapest local place without paying shipping costs. Diaper coupons, bottle coupons and store coupons are also available. Just check the expiration dates before you bid.

5) Search plurals. eBay's search engine acknowledges plurals for some items but not for others. Use the function to bring up items you would otherwise miss. For example, if you're looking for a Carter's item, you could search Carter, Carter's and Carters individually, or you could just search Carter and it will bring up results with all three options. This is also important when you are looking for coupons. The search engine considers coupon and coupons to be the same keyword, but it does not merge the results for check and checks. Using these variations and searching misspellings will help you find some real bargains.

6) Buy light weight items. You may find that perfect Jumperoo, but the size and weight makes the shipping cost outrageous. If you are going to buy large or heavy items, make sure you know the local retail cost so you are not paying more for a used item on eBay (after you include shipping) than you would for a new item locally. You can also search by location to find items close to you that may accept pick up rather than delivery.

Large items like Exersaucers and Jumperoos are often for sale on Craigslist.com for about the same price (or less) than on eBay. Plus it's local so you don't pay anything for shipping (except the price of gas to go pick it up).

7) Buy off-season clothes. By about four months, you know how your baby is growing and can estimate what size they will be at different times of the year. So, in Spring buy Winter clothes, in Fall buy Summer clothes, etc. If your baby does grow too quickly for them, you can resell the items right as the new season starts and probably make more than you paid for them off-season. Most baby clothes don't go out of style, so fashion isn't really an issue here.

Read part two of "eBay Survival Advice for Parents of Newborns":
http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abu/y207/m07/abu0195/s04