Ditch your bulky walkman and upgrade to a lightweight and stylish MP3 player on eBay Australia!
| Getting Started |
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Different types of MP3 players (hard drive-based, flash-based, and MP3/CD) work best for different types of people. Before you buy, use this guide to figure out how you plan to use your player most.
| Give Me Music All Day Long |
| Stay entertained at the office, during your commute, or at home with a hard-drive MP3 player. These players offer huge amounts of storage compared to flash-based players, making them the perfect choice for anyone who wants to listen to a large selection of music over a long period of time. Unfortunately, hard drives have movable parts that can be damaged by high-impact movement, making hard drive-based MP3 players less suitable for people who want to listen to music while exercising.
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| I Want to Run With It |
| Invigorating music livens up any workout. Skip the movable parts, which can be damaged with a lot of movement, and look at flash-based players. Many include a radio tuner and voice recorder and some even support Secure Digital cards, CompactFlash, SmartMedia cards, or MultiMediaCards, relatively inexpensive memory cards also used by digital cameras and some PDAs. If you already use a memory card for other devices, buy a player that supports the same type of memory card, and use your storage media with all your devices.
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| I Just Want Something Flexible & Inexpensive |
| All of us want to save a little money. Although hard-drive based players often give you a better value per megabyte, flash-based players (see shopping recommendations above) and MP3/CD players usually cost less overall. If you like to burn CDs, seriously consider MP3/CD players. They play back audio CDs as well as MP3s burned to CD and look like traditional portable CD players. Some even include an FM radio tuner so you can listen to your favourite local stations.
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| Determine How Much Storage You Need |
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eBay Australia sellers list an MP3 player's storage capacity by megabyte (MB) or gigabyte (GB). One megabyte (1MB) equals about one minute of CD-quality MP3 music.
Hard Drive Players
Office-dwellers will want enough storage to stay entertained throughout the day. A hard drive-based player with 4GB of storage holds about 1,000 songs, a player with 20GB of storage holds about 5,000 songs, and a player with a 60GB hard drive can hold a whopping 15,000 songs. Keep in mind that you can use your MP3 player as a portable hard drive, storing data files on the space you don't use for music. Digital photo enthusiasts should consider a 30GB or 60GB iPod photo which has a colour screen that can display your JPEG, BMP, GIF, TIFF or PNG images individually or as a slideshow.
Flash-based Players
If you plan on using your player for an hour at the gym every day, you don't need a ton of storage space. 64MB will let you store about one hour of MP3 music, which comes out to about 32 songs. If you want to mix things up with more song options, invest in more storage. Remember, some flash-based players support memory cards. A 512MB card can keep you groovin' for up to eight hours, or you could keep several smaller cards handy with different music on each one.
| All About iPods |
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 eBay Australia has a great selection of Apple iPods, one of the most popular MP3 players on the market. You'll see everything from first-generation players to the latest fourth-generation iPods and new iPod photo. When you read an iPod item description on eBay Australia, find out which accessories a seller includes. To get started, you'll need a dock, headphones (sometimes called earbud headphones), and a FireWire cable or USB 2.0 cable.
- iPod Shuffle: Apple's first flash-based player comes in 512MB and 1GB sizes. It's about the size of a pack of gum and doesn't have a screen, playing back songs on random (shuffle) or in the order they were put on the player. It connects directly to your computer via USB and does not use a dock with cables. Since it doesn't have movable parts, it makes a great player for people who love to exercise.
- iPod Mini: With smaller measurements than the standard iPod, the iPod Mini offers 4GB or 6GB of storage and a colourful case available in pink, green, blue, and silver. You can also find slightly older 4GB gold models on the market.
- iPod: Apple's fourth-generation (4G) 20GB iPod features the same type of click wheel used in the iPod Mini and offers battery life up to 12 hours. You can also find slightly older 40GB versions on the market.
- iPod U2 Special Edition: U2 Special Edition includes all the features of the 20GB 4G iPod. The sleek black case includes a red click wheel and autographs from members of U2 (yes, the band) on the back.
- iPod photo: Carry your photos along with your music. iPod photo features a 30GB or 60GB hard drive and colour screen to view JPEG, BMP, GIF, TIFF and PNG images. You can also find slightly older 40GB models on the market.
Buying a Retired iPod
First, second, and third-generation iPods cost less than their 4G counterpart, but you need to consider a few things when buying one.
- Windows compatibility: First and second-generation (1G and 2G, respectively) players usually require additional third-party software to work with Windows. Third-generation (3G) players come with a Windows installation utility.
- Battery life: iPods use rechargeable lithium-ion batteries , which you can recharge between 300 and 450 times. After that, the battery dies completely. Replacement batteries are available from Apple resellers. If you're concerned, verify with the seller that the battery still works or was recently replaced.
- Connections: First and second-generation (1G and 2G) players have a FireWire data port at the top while third-generation (3G) players use a connector dock. Make sure a dock is included with players that have lower storage capacity.
- The wheel: How you select iPod menu options varies from generation to generation. 1G players have a mechanical scroll wheel, 2G players use a touch-sensitive non-moving wheel surrounded by mechanical buttons, and 3G players use touch-sensitive buttons. If you like 3G players, but don't want to accidentally select things off the menu with the touch-sensitive buttons, go with a 4G player.
| iPod Accessories |
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Whether you want to deck out your player with a skin or charge it in the car, you can get everything you need to integrate your iPod into your life on eBay Australia.
On the Go
When you want to take your iPod out into the world, you'll need a protective case or exercise-ready carrying case to protect it. You may also want to personalise it with skins, different headphones, and more.
At Home
Use your iPod as a stereo by integrating it with speakers and a remote control.
In the Car
Take your music collection on the road with a cassette adapter, FM transmitter, car holder, car charger and car kit.
| Get Music for Your MP3 Player Online |
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Downloading music from a reputable online service quickly builds your music collection. Just make sure the player you buy supports the file type (AAC, AIFF, MP3, WMA, RealAudio) used by the music service you use or plan to use. For example, if you want to use iTunes, buy an iPod. If you want to use a service that uses WMA files, buy a brand that supports WMA such as Creative, iRiver, or Rio.
| Service |
File Type |
iPod Compatible |
| iTunes |
AAC |
Yes |
| Napster |
WMA |
No |
| RealPlayer Music Store |
Real AAC |
Yes |
| How to Find MP3 Players on eBay Australia |
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Now that you know what to buy, narrowing down item listings to the MP3 player you want shouldn't take much time. Go to eBay Australia's homepage and click on Electronics, then choose MP3 Players from the Categories listed under Audio - Portable.
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- Categories: If you know what brand you want to buy, select it from the Categories list on the left side of the page. When shopping for an iPod, make the Categories list your best friend. It will help you narrow down your choices by make and storage capacity in a couple seconds.
- Keywords: Let eBay Australia find items for you by entering the keywords you want to find into the search box. For example, if you want a 512MB flash-based player from iRiver, type "iriver 512mb flash" into the search box. If you want a player that's still under warranty, type "warranty" in the search box. Visit eBay Australia's Search Tips page for more advice about searching with keywords.
- Let Sellers Help: A good item listing should include information about how a player connects to your computer (USB or FireWire) and compatibility with Mac and Windows operating systems as well as a player's brand, condition, storage capacity, and supported file formats. Listings should also include a clear picture. If you want to know about information not included in a listing, email the seller your question by clicking "Ask seller a question" under the seller's profile.
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If you can't seem to find exactly what you want on eBay Australia, try shopping at an eBay Store, tell the eBay Australia community what you want by creating a post on Want It Now, or save a search on My eBay and eBay Australia will email you when a match becomes available.
| Buy With Confidence |
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Take a couple of seconds to research your seller so you feel positive and secure about every transaction.
| Know Your Purchase |
- Figure delivery costs into your final price. If you spend a lot of money, make sure the seller will insure the item when it ships.
- Is the item you want still under warranty? If so, what are the terms? If you want more warranty information from a seller, ask by clicking the seller's "Ask seller a question" link under a seller's profile.
Know Your Seller
- What is the seller's Feedback rating? How many transactions have they completed? What percentage of positive responses do they have? Do they have a lot of Feedback for big-ticket items such as TVs? How long have they been selling these big-ticket items?
- What do buyers say in their Feedback? Did the seller receive praise?
- Does the seller have a return policy? Most top eBay Australia sellers operate like retail stores and have return policies. Do they offer a money back guarantee? What are the terms and conditions?
Buyer Protection
- PayPal Buyer Protection: In the unlikely event that something goes wrong, PayPal is there for you. Learn about PayPal Buyer Protection and how your purchases can be covered up to $1,500.
- eBay Australia Security & Resolution Centre: If a problem arises in your transaction, eBay Australia can help you solve it quickly and efficiently. Visit the Security & Resolution Centre to learn more about eBay Australia's resolution tools.
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| Need More Help? |
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Visit our help pages or start a thread on one of our Community Discussion Boards - If you have a quick question that needs answering, try posting it on our community Answer Centre - there's bound to be a seasoned eBay Australia veteran with just the information you're looking for!
Buying Guides are intended merely as a guide or review for members when considering what products or services they may be interested in bidding on or purchasing. eBay does not make, and nothing in these Buying Guides is intended to constitute, any warranties, guarantees, representations or assurances about the accuracy of the information or content contained in these Buying Guides. Furthermore, eBay does not make, and nothing in these Buying Guides is intended to constitute, any warranties, guarantees, representations or assurances about the nature or performance of the products or services appearing in the Buying Guides. eBay is not affiliated with nor does it endorse the use of any particular product or service.
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