Do You Know What eBay Is Talking About?

Is a NARU trying to sell you a MIMB - or has your NRFB actually got WOB? How to bust the eBay jargon.

Have you ever noticed all the abbreviations or acronyms used on eBay? Do you know what they all mean? They crop up in all sorts of places such as sellers descriptions and title bars, and unless you know what they mean you could end up buying a pup, or worse still, being made to look a complete idiot!

Quite often this 'slang' can be very frustrating to decipher, but once you know what it means you think 'Oh yes - of course, it's obvious really!'

Anyway, I thought i'd do a little list of the more common ones for you, to save any possible embarrassment (especially in front of the kids). This list is by no means comprehensive, (there really are a lot more than this) but these are the more common ones used, and will hopefully make your eBay experience a little less frustrating.

ACRONYM   -   MEANING

BIN   =   Buy It Now                                       BMC   =   Book of the Month Club
BNIB  =  Brand New in Box                             COA    =  Certificate of Authenticity
COL  =  Collection                                          DG     =   Depression Glass
DSR  =  Detailed Seller Rating                         EUC  =   Excellent Used Condition
F    =    Fine (usually on coins)                         FB    =    Feedback 
FOB  =  Freight on Board (has shipped)           FVF   =   Final Value Fee
G   =   Good Condition                                    GBP  =  Great Britain Pound
GU  =   Gently Used                                       GWTW  =  Gone with the Wind  
HB  =  Hard Bound Book                                 HIC  =  Hole in Cover
HIL  =  Hole in Label                                       HTF  =  Hard to Find
LTD  =  Limited Edition                                   MIB  =  Mint in Box 
MIBP  =  Mint in Blister Pack                            MIJ  =  Made in Japan
MIMB  =  Mint in Mint Box                                MIMP  =  Mint in Mint Package
MOC  =  Mint on Card                                     MOMC  =  Mint on Mint Card
MONMC  =  Mint on Near Mint Card                 NARU  =  Not a Registered User
NBW  =  Never Been Worn                              NIB  =  New in Box
NIP  =  New in Package                                   NM  =  Near Mint
NOS  =  New Old Stock                                   NP  =  Not Packaged
NPB  =  Non-Paying Bidder                              NR/No Res  =  No Reserve
NRFB  =  Never Removed from Box                  NRFSB  =  Never Removed from Sealed Box
NW  =  Never Worn                                          NWOT  =  Never without Tags
NWT  =  New with Tags                                   OB  =  Original Box
OEM  =  Original Equipment Manufacturer         OF  =  Original Finish
OOAK  =  One of a Kind                                   OOP  =  Out of Print
PB  =  Paperback                                             PC  =  Poor Condition
PM  =  Priority Mail                                           R  =  Reprint
Rev.Ed.  =  Revised Edition                               SH/S&H  =  Shipping and Handling
SHI  =  Shipping, Handling and Insurance             S/O  =  Sold Out
SS  =  Still Sealed or Stainless Steel                  TE  =  Trade Edition
WOB  =  Writing on Back                                   WOC  =  Writing on Cover
WOF  =  Writing on Front                                   WOR  =  Writing on Record
U  =  Used                                                         UPI  =  Unpaid Item
VG  =  Very Good Condition (usually on coins)     VF  =  Very Fine (usually on coins)
VHTF  =  Very Hard to Find                                 XF/EF  =  Extra Fine (usually on coins)

As you can see some are obvious and some not so obvious - and believe me there are plenty more where they came from too!

If you're having a problem with any that aren't listed here, you can find a full list on eBay. Just go to the 'help' pages and type in 'eBay acronyms' and you will go to the complete list.

I hope this has been helpful to you in some way. For other tips and tricks on aspects of eBay please look around my blogs.