Buying Essays

This is a tricky procedure and you should remember at all times that what you are involved in is a business transaction. In other words, you want something -- in this case an essay -- and you'll be exchanging hard cash to get it! Let's face it, you wouldn't expect to get your computer fixed for free, you'd expect to pay for the essay writer's time and effort; the same is true of buying an essay.

So how would I go about buying essays?

Again, you're a consumer, so you should shop around. Search the Internet and compare quality and prices. Remember, the most expensive isn't always the best, nor the cheapest the worst. Use your skills of assessment and make a judgement based on what you need related to what's on offer.

The usual method is to complete an easy-to-use online form - like the one below!

If you are buying a custom essay, one written just for you, you'll also need to provide the details of what you want and when you want it; you pay for this before it's written but after a writer is found. If you're just buying an online essay then you will complete the details of which essay you have selected and usually pay for it there and then.

Anything I should watch out for when buying essays?

Yes, definitely. As with most businesses, the key word is profit but whilst some sites offer good value for money and provide a quality service based on repeat buying due to customer satisfaction, others just want to take your money and offer as little as possible in return.

Sounds like a potential minefield - any tips on buying essays?

Well, your own judgement is the best guide and you can't beat personal recommendation; if you have been recommended to use a particular company by a friend or colleague, do so: if they were satisfied, the chances are you will be too. That's why the better companies strive to keep the customer satisfied so they come back for more and pass on the word.

Nevertheless, if you're contemplating buying an essay for the first time, there are some things to look out for.

Here are a few tips on buying an essay:

Assess the Site's own copy (i.e. the content of the website). You can usually tell fairly quickly if the Site is genuine because the copy will be well written. Foreign sites are often filled with glaring errors in spelling, grammar and punctuation. Avoid these at all costs, no matter how cheap the work sounds. After all, if they can't write good English for their own site how are they going to supply you with a well-written essay?

. Check out the standard of writers for the Site. Custom essays are written just for you by experts (make sure they are) but online essays could be written by anyone and are no use to you at all. A good place to find out whom the Site uses is on the recruitment page, if they have one.

. Beware of sites that offer no regional area code for their contact number. These sites will usually be based in some far-off location and may disappear as fast quickly as you found them, taking your cash with them.

. Think carefully about exactly what you want. There's a big difference between buying a ready made essay, which anyone can buy, and buying a custom essay which is created exactly to your instructions and will not be available to anyone else. It's the difference between couture clothing and off the peg, really.

. Find out what quality and plagiarism guarantees you have when buying a company's essays. If the company website doesn't mention these, or seems unreliable, look elsewhere.

Buying essays is increasingly a method of finding out how the essay you have been given should be written but it should not be used instead of your own work, just as `a model for it.