Something For Everyone . . .

Is your PC (or Mac) misbehaving?  Want your cellphone to do something cool?  Need the manual for your printer (or almost anything else)?  Trouble changing the spark plugs on a ’96 Subaru?

There are lots more resources shown further below, but your first step is usually to just Google it (canon pixma mp500 printer manual, for example).  If you want pictures, use images.google.com; for maps, use maps.google.com; and for local businesses, local.google.com. Shop for prices at Froogle.com, and get up-to-the-minute or old searchable news at news.google.com.

Many overlook this obvious solution. If you need information of any kind, type your problem into Google.com. Professional PC support staff rely on Google when they have a thorny issue they can’t resolve. You can track down the answer to almost any question as long as someone has had the problem (and solution) and posted it on the Internet.

Google only shows you 10 results, then makes you click and wait for the next page to load. To get more results per page, set Google to show you 100 results per page (Advanced Search is next to the Search box). Also, if you know the answer is within a specific site (e.g., Microsoft.com), you can usually get much better results from Google than from a site’s own search engine by using Google’s Advanced Search to restrict results to only those found at a specific site, like Microsoft.com, or About.com, or all of the .edu education sites, or .gov government sites, etc.  Advanced Search give you powerful tools to improve and refine your search.

Some sites want a payment or subscription to give you answers.  I’ve always been able to find what I needed without doing that.

If you don’t get good results, change your Search terms. You can use “quote marks around a term” to search for that exact phrase;  you’ll eliminate web pages that have the right words, but not in the right order.  Punctuation might be ignored.

(The sites below have a Search Box that works the same way as Google.)

If you want to learn about a specific topic, try Wikipedia.org.  What is life like in Singapore?  I want a layman’s description of a quark.  Who discovered pi?  Wikipedia is created and edited by everyday folks just like you (who purport to know about their topic) and can be corrected by anyone, too.  Then re-corrected, and updated, and so on.  Read the rules and create an account before you start adding your knowledge.

Want to know how the sun works? How a Stirling engine works? How radioactivity works? How anything else works? Try HowStuffWorks.com.

Learn how you can make interesting things you can’t buy (anywhere) by browsing Instructables.com.

People write descriptive articles to show off their knowledge at eZineArticles.com (it’s not a magazine, it’s an electronic magazine, or eZine).

Need a step-by-step description of how to do something, with audio and video? Try YouTube.com, one of the most popular sites in the world.

Still can’t find a good answer? Maybe you’re working on a math homework problem, or advice on something very specific or unusual.  Go to Yahoo.com, point to “View Yahoo! Sites” and click “Answers” to post your question (you’ll need to create a Yahoo! ID and read some rules).  Everyday people will provide answers, often within minutes.  It’s up to you to pick the best response.

If you want general advice on a topic, try About.com and eHow.com.

Get used books, movies, video games and music at Half.com. There are over 110 million used books, rare editions, signed books, etc. at AbeBooks.com. They consolidate thousands of bookstores all over the world into one website.

Want to buy something? Amazon.com is probably the safest merchant on the Internet.  eBay.com can offer real bargains and hard-to-find items.  Here are the rules for those sites:

Amazon sells items they stock, but also allows other vendors to piggyback on their system, so some items are sold/shipped from other vendors. If you buy $25 or more from Amazon stock, they often give you free shipping. But if an item comes from another vendor, Amazon can’t include free shipping. Also, the same item can vary widely in price, depending on the vendor, so Amazon may have multiple pages selling the same item at different prices. Check around a bit by searching for the actual name of the item to see all the offerings.  You can also find reviews from actual customers near the bottom of an item’s web page, so check identical items for more reviews.

Amazon is also a good place to find a real bargain on a cellphone (with or without a service contract) under “Today’s Deals” in the Electronics/Cellphone section.

eBay sellers must disclose accurate, important details about an item (new, used, scratched, bulk packaging, etc.) or risk being banned from selling. Don’t forget to check any listing that doesn’t have the small photo on the index page, since many people skip those auctions, and you might find an overlooked bargain. Be sure and READ THE ENTIRE AUCTION before you bid.  Your bid is a contract to complete the purchase.  Make certain you agree with the payment and shipping options, packaging, condition, etc.

Most (not all) sellers accept PayPal for payment.  PayPal is a terrific way for you to use your credit card or bank account to pay for many things without exposing your account info to the seller.  PayPal moves money from your account to PayPal, and then to the seller, so the seller never sees your information.  If you have a PayPal account, don’t ever even respond to a ‘phishing’ email that starts out, “Deer Crustomer, Yor PrayPal recount iz upended. Clik hear too frix thatt” because it’s not from PayPal, no matter how good the logo looks. (This goes for any email that doesn’t know your name — banks, brokerage houses, credit cards, has bad grammar or spelling, etc.  They’re all fakes.)

If you want to ‘snipe’ an auction with an automatic bid at the last possible moment (to prevent a bidding war or get the best last-minute price on an auction that ends at 3 A.M.) create an account at AuctionStealer.com.  You’ll need to give them your eBay ID and password so they can place your bid for you.

You should never give anyone your PayPal password — it’s akin to your ATM PIN number.  You can give anyone your PayPal ID if they need to send you money.  You’ll need your ID and password to take money out or spend it.

eBay also has many items that can be purchased immediately, marked, “Buy It Now.” One shortcoming of PayPal is moving funds from your bank account to PayPal has a 3-day waiting period (credit card purchases post immediately). So, if you win an auction on Monday, and move the money from your checking account to PayPal on Monday, the money comes out of your checking account on Monday, but PayPal sits on it until Thursday before making it available to you.  There’s no fee of any kind for the person paying; the receiver of funds pays a small fee.  Since eBay sellers know this, they typically give you 3 days to get your funding in order to complete your purchase (credit card transactions occur immediately).

Also, you can send an internal eBay email to the seller at any time to ask questions, describe problems, etc. in ‘My eBay’

Look for a feedback rating and total sales made by this seller in the top right corner of the eBay auction page.  It’s a bad idea to send thousands of dollars to a seller that’s only had 10 transactions selling $10 items.  Seller’s with 99+% Positive Feedback and thousands of sales are businesspeople that have shown they can behave responsibly.  It’s a safe way for millions of people worldwide to shop.  But there’s one more important feature . . .

eBay will tell you how high to bid! (Well, sort of.)

Click on Advanced Search (you’ll need a free eBay ID) and you can choose “completed listings only” to see what others have paid for the same item during the past week to get a good sense of the item’s worth.  For example, new Susan Bristol sweaters sell for $180 in stores, but go for $30 to $40 on eBay.  If the bidding (caused by newbies) gets higher than that, pass and go to the next auction.  Some clothing and other items are used, and can be a real bargain.  NWT means ‘new, with tags,’ NIB means ‘new, in the box’ and NR means ‘no reserve’ (even if the final bid is only $1, they’ll sell it anyway).

eBay is a terrific place for hard-to-find items, or goods that are typically overpriced.  Want a car charger, spare battery, and a case for your cellphone?  The local cellphone store charges $25 to $30 for each item like this, since selling accessories is where they make their profits.  You’ll find a much greater selection on eBay for under $10, for all of them in one package, including shipping.

You can even buy used cars on eBay, sold by a dealer, delivered to your door. A friend of mine bought two Mercedes autos this way from a dealer in Vancouver (who handled all the customs paperwork) and saved $5,000 for each one over identical local models.  Want a classic creampuff with 20,000 miles on it?  Need a car or truck part you just can’t find (or want a bargain price)?  Just go to Motors.eBay.com. Again, ALWAYS READ THE ENTIRE AUCTION and send an internal email to any seller with any questions.

No description of sellers would be complete without CraigsList.org for local items.  There’s no feedback available about the seller, but you can go see the actual item, since everything you’ll see for sale is in your town or area.  If someone far away wants to send you extra money for an item they could easily buy near them, suspect fraud.  A common trick is to send you a much larger check (with some lame reason attached) and have you wire the extra cash back to them.  Their check will bounce, even if your bank cashed it and gave you the money (you’ll be responsible for paying it back).  If you get an offer like this, contact your local police department, especially if you have the actual check in hand.

Charlie Gosh

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Learn a simple trick to take advantage of the next recession . . .  http://www.charliegosh.com/?p=97