Ebay and The Spelling Bee

(Originally posted on my old blog "Work Around Your Wallet" on 2/3/07)


A majority of us frugal folks already flock to Ebay to try and find a deal on things we like, collect, and need. We type in whatever it is we're looking for in the search bar and view the results with anticipation. What we don't know is that there may be some auctions selling our wanted product that did not come up in our search results. Why you ask? The answer is misspellings! For example, a seller may spell Channel instead of Chanel. Or Playtsation instead of Playstation. Sometimes the word is misspelled because the seller thinks they are spelling it correctly. Other times it is just getting in a hurry and hitting the wrong key.

This website, http://www.auctionlotwatch.co.uk/auctionspeller.html, offers a search for misspelled auctions. Simply type in the correct spelling of the item you are looking for and it will produce results of misspelled auctions pertaining to that word. If you want to search with two words, choose 'advanced search'. Finding auctions that are misspelled means less competition for you and therefore, possibly a lower price.