Can someone give me a solid explanation on how eBay works?

[Union]

I'm trying to buy some Supreme clothing but I don't want to get tricked by fakes or not getting my product.
• Do they ship the product to your house and do you have to meet them.
• Do you have to use a paypal or a credit card.
• And what is up with bidding, why can't I just buy the product without having to bid against thousand of other people.

[Guy]

most listings on ebay aren't auctions (http://www.businessweek.com/articles/201...for-that), and those that are often include a buy it now option, where you can buy without bidding. ebay is overly-associated with auctions by those who don't have experience with it.

they do ship to your house, you don't have to meet them. there are listings that give you the option to pick up the item yourself if you're local, but that usually either isn't offered or won't matter since you won't be local.

the vast majority of sales on ebay are going to take place through paypal. a few listings say that they also accept credit cards, and fewer still say that they only take credit cards.

in order to not get a fake product you'll want to see how many negative reviews a seller has, check what country it's from and check whether it has a suspiciously low price, which are all options a few clicks away when you're on ebay.
and in order to have your item arrive for sure, you'll still want to make sure the seller is credible in those ways, but also you'll want to make sure the item has a tracking number, so that when you open a case on ebay it can be proven that the item didn't arrive (the only way to make sure is to contact the seller ahead of time, as in the vast majority of the cases nothing is stated about tracking in the listing). most of the time, though, if a seller has any reviews from customers at all it'll indicate that they have a history of items reaching their destination.

[sunplaza]

If you're really concerned about not buying fakes then don't buy on eBay or any other auction website.

Shop locally at an authorized reseller (check the manufacturer's website to get a list).

Always use a credit card through Paypal. Why? Because if there is an issue and Paypal rules in the seller's favor then you can still call your credit card company and get your money back. But if you use money that is in your Paypal account and Paypal sides with the seller then you are out of luck and lost that money.