Firefox the third-party browser from Mozilla, has grown in popularity over the years. One of its many attractive attributes is that it can make you a more successful eBay bidder or seller. With Firefox eBay Edition (actually an add-on to the main product), youll reduce the odds of losing the bid on coveted items while youre at another site. After installation, which is fast, Firefox adds an eBay button to its interface. That button is the entry to better bidding. Opening the button’s menu (click the Down arrow next to it) lets you log on to eBay via the Connect Companion (a must to get started). This will automatically link Firefox with your eBay account.

Clicking the button opens the eBay Companion, a sidebar in Firefox that offers an eBay search dialog box and a pane where you can directly monitor items you are bidding on, watching, or selling. Return to the eBay button menu and you can head straight to the eBay home, buy, sell, My eBay, and community Web pages. The Firefox eBay Edition also incorporates a security shield to ensure any “eBay” site to which you navigate is authentic and not a phishing site. The companion works beautifully, updating new items you watch, bid on, or place for sale within seconds. Mouse over a listing and a variety of information will pop up. For your protection, Firefox will not log you back in to eBay if you sign out manually and will require you to log back in when you restart the program. After you log in, hit the refresh button at the bottom of the eBay Companion and your monitored items will pop back.