Introduction 1
About This Book 3
Foolish Assumptions 3
Icons Used in This Book 4
Beyond the Book 5
Where to Go from Here 5
Part 1: Getting a Feel for eBay 7
Chapter 1: Why Being on eBay is Fun on So Many Levels 9
What is eBay, and How Does It Work? 10
All About Auctions 12
eBay auctions 13
Reserve-price auctions 13
Restricted-access adult auctions 13
Private (shhh-it’s-a-secret) listings 14
“Buy It Now” on eBay 15
eBay Stores 16
Buy It Now and fixed-price sales 16
Want to Make Some Cash? 16
Get a Deal and Get It Fast! 17
Research for Fun and Profit 17
eBay’s Role in the Action 18
Features and Fun Stuff 19
Extra Apps You’re Gonna Want 19
Chapter 2: Let’s Do It! Signing Up on eBay 21
Registering on eBay 21
Registering is Free 22
Filling in required information 24
Do you solemnly swear to? 27
It must be true if you have it in writing 28
Uh-oh, you made a mistake? 29
A Quick Word about Passwords 30
A Not-So-Quick Word about Choosing a User ID 30
Your License to Deal (Almost) 32
Chapter 3: Finding Your Way Around eBay 33
What is the Home Page? 34
Sign In, Please 35
Follow the Links 36
Exploring Your Home Page Search Options 39
Seeking items through the search box 40
Going where the Advanced Search box takes you 41
Home Links, the Next Generation 43
Maneuvering through Categories 44
Bottoming Out 46
Chapter 4: Ground Central, Your Private, My eBay 49
Getting to Your My eBay Pages 50
Keeping Track of Your Personal eBay Business 52
Checking your account information 53
Choosing your communication preferences 53
Your Feedback link 55
Account links 55
Understanding Your Seller Dashboard 56
Using the Resolution Center 57
Organizing Saved Sellers/Searches 58
Searches you follow 59
Sellers you follow 60
Keeping your follows on the “down low” 60
Sleuthing with your Watching list 61
Following the Action on Your Buying 62
Seeing the items you’re buying 62
Keeping track of your purchased items 62
Surveying Your Sales on Your My eBay Selling Overview 62
Your Selling page 63
Your Sold page 63
Keeping Track of Your Transactions 65
Getting and Giving Feedback 66
How to get positive feedback 68
How to get negative feedback 68
The Feedback page 69
Reading your feedback 70
You have the last word — responding to feedback 71
Leaving feedback with finesse 71
Part 2: Buying Like an Expert 77
Chapter 5: Deal or No Deal? Buying Hacks and Searching Tips 79
Online Tips for Vintage Enthusiasts 80
The experts speak out 80
Following an expert on the hunt 82
Grading vintage items 83
Finding More Research Information 85
Searching sites online 85
Finding other sources of information 87
Looking to Find an Item? Start Your eBay Search 88
Using the Advanced Search page 89
Finding Sold Items 92
An international search 94
Finding a specific seller 95
Finding items by keywords for multiple sellers 97
Shortcuts for a quick eBay search 97
Chapter 6: Get a Deal: The Art of Shopping eBay 99
The Item Listing Page 100
Beating the Devil in the Details 107
Read the item description carefully 107
Get the scoop on the seller 108
Factoring In the Extras 110
Payment methods 110
Using an escrow service 111
Shipping costs 112
Placing Your Bid on an Auction 113
Bidding to the Max: Automatic Bidding 114
Specialized Categories 117
The Agony (?) of Buyer’s Remorse 117
Retracting your bid 118
Avoiding deadbeat (unpaid item) status 120
Chapter 7: Winning eBay Shopping Strategies 123
Make an Offer! 124
Find Out an Item’s Bidding History 125
Get to Know the Other Bidders 127
Strategies to Help You Outsmart the Competition 128
Time is Money: Auction Strategy by the Clock 130
Using a laid-back strategy 131
Using the beat-the-clock strategy 132
Chapter 8: Winner! Winner! Chicken Dinner? 137
eBay Calling: You’re a Winner 137
Getting Your Paperwork Together 138
Getting in Contact 140
Sending the Payment Promptly and Securely 140
Checking Out 143
Communicating with the Seller 144
Keeping in Touch: Dealing with an AWOL Seller 145
You Get the Item . . . Uh-Oh, What’s This? 146
Don’t Forget to Leave Feedback 147
Properly Giving the Detailed Seller Ratings (DSRs) 148
Part 3: Making Money the eBay Way 151
Chapter 9: Selling Online for Fun and Profit 153
Why Should You Sell Stuff on eBay? 154
Finding Stuff to Sell 156
Know When to Sell 157
Know Thy Stuff 159
Getting the goods on your goods 159
Spy versus spy: Comparison selling 160
Know What You Can (And Can’t) Sell 162
Prohibited items 163
Infringing items 166
Restricted items: Know the laws 168
Forbidden tactics 168
Reporting a Problem Listing 169
Intellectual Property Violations 170
eBay Fees? What eBay Fees? Oops 171
Final value fees 173
Managed Payments and PayPal fees 173
Keep calculating your profits 174
Uncle Sam Wants You — to Pay Your Taxes 175
Two wild rumors about federal taxes 176
State sales tax 177
State income taxes 178
Chapter 10: Time to Sell: Making Irresistible Listings 179
Getting Ready to List Your Item 180
Examining the Create Listing Page 181
Filling In the Required Blanks 185
Selecting a category 185
Creating the perfect item title 187
Adding item specifics 190
Writing your description 191
Listing the number of items for sale 193
Setting a starting price — how low can you go? 194
Buy It Now for auctions 195
Setting your auction time 195
Your secret safety net — reserve price 196
I want to be alone: The private listing 197
Filling out the item location 198
Setting shipping terms 199
Checking Your Work and Starting the Listing 200
Midcourse Corrections: Fixing Current Listings 201
Making changes before bidding begins 201
Making changes after bidding begins 202
Chapter 11: Find Merchandise to Sell and the eBay Store Decision 203
Knowing the Market 204
Do You Have Talent, Provide a Service? 206
Catching Trends in the Media 207
Trending on the web 207
What’s on television 208
Catch up with youth culture . . . 208
Check out pop-culture websites 209
Follow the trends on social media 209
The Hunt for eBay Inventory 210
The goods are out there 210
Salvage: Liquidation Items, Unclaimed Freight, and Returns 214
Items by the pallet 215
Job lots 217
Drop-shipping to your customers 218
Tips for the modest investor 218
Making the eBay Store Decision 219
Selling from Your Own Virtual Storefront 220
Paying the landlord 220
Opening your eBay Store 222
Chapter 12: Take the Pain out of Closing the Deal and Shipping 225
Bookkeeping and Staying Organized 226
Talking to Buyers: The ABCs of Good Communication 228
Thank you — mean it 229
Keep communication open 230
Shipping without Going Postal 231
Shopping for a shipper 232
Getting the right (packing) stuff 242
Buying and Printing Postage Online 248
Preparing postage with Endicia 249
Shipping with Stamps.com 251
Ahoy matey! Print labels free from Pirate Ship 251
Shipping directly from eBay 252
Chapter 13: Saving and Troubleshooting Sales 253
Dealing with a Buyer Who Doesn’t Respond 254
Requesting immediate payment 254
Setting buyer requirements 254
Going into nudge mode 255
Do a little sleuthing 256
Blocking a customer 257
Other Possible Problems 257
Buyer backout? Try Second Chance Offer 257
The item you send is busted — and so are you 261
You have regrets — seller’s remorse 262
Going Badly? Cut Your Losses 262
Making changes or canceling bids 263
Editing your Fixed Price listing 264
Ending your listing early 265
Opening an Unpaid Item case 266
Chapter 14: Increase Profits with Photography and Other Strategies 271
Using Images in Your Listings 272
Choosing your camera 273
Choosing a scanner 276
Making Your Picture a Thing of Beauty 277
Get it on camera 277
Yes, I scan 279
Software that adds the artist’s touch 279
Making Your Images Web-Friendly 281
The Image is Perfect — Now What? 282
Getting Pictures from Your Smartphone to eBay 283
Using Your Website to Store Images 287
Using the Photo Uploader 288
Tell Your Story on Your Profile Page 291
Part 4: Even More of eBay’s Special Features 293
Chapter 15: Security: Protect Yourself Online and on eBay 295
What eBay Knows about You 296
What you tell eBay 296
What cookies gather 297
Your eBay sign-in cookie 299
Web beacons 299
What web servers collect 300
What Does eBay Do with Information about Me, Anyway? 304
What Do Other eBay Members Know about Me? 305
Hack-proof Your Account with Two-Factor Authentication 305
Spam — Not Just a Hawaiian Delicacy 307
Sending spam versus eating it 308
Trashing your junk mail 308
Email spoofing 309
I Vant to Be Alone — and Vat You Can Do to Stay That Vay 310
Chapter 16: Rules, Policies, and Etiquette (and How to Get Help) 315
Keeping eBay Safe with eBay Security 316
Buyers Are Safe When Shopping on eBay 317
Abuses You Should Look Out For 318
Selling abuses 318
Bidding abuses 319
Feedback abuses 320
Identity abuses 320
Operational abuses 321
Miscellaneous abuses 321
Reporting Abuses to eBay Security 322
Stuff eBay Won’t Do Anything About 324
Knowing the Deeds That Can Get You Suspended 325
eBay Motors Vehicle Purchase Protection 326
PayPal Purchase Protection 326
Launching a Report or a Return 327
Returning an item for a refund 329
Getting the Real Deal? Authentication and Appraising 330
If It’s Clearly Fraud 333
Chapter 17: Marketing Sales with Social Media and the Community 335
Joining the eBay Community 336
News and chat, this and that 337
Joining in the social media conversation 337
Filling in your eBay profile 338
Hear ye, hear ye! eBay’s Announcements Board 339
Help! I need somebody 339
User-to-user discussion boards 340
Category-specific groups 341
Learning and Selling through Social Media 341
Finding friends and customers on Facebook 342
Connecting with other sellers on Twitter 344
Chapter 18: eBay Bucks Rewards, Charitable Buying and Selling, and Going Mobile 347
Rewards Program for Shoppers: eBay Bucks 347
Selling and Buying: Helping Nonprofits 349
eBay for Charity 349
Creative charity auctions 351
Go Mobile — for Buying and Selling 353
Part 5: The Parts of Tens 357
Chapter 19: Ten (Or So) Golden Rules to Succeed on eBay 359
Buyer: Research Your Treasure Before You Buy 360
Buyer: Check the Seller’s Feedback 360
Buyer: Check the Price Tag and Bid Wisely 361
Buyer: Leave Positive Feedback for a Good Seller 361
Buyer: Protect Your Privacy 362
Seller: Really Know Your Stuff 362
Seller: Polish and Shine 363
Seller: Picture-Perfect Facts 363
Seller: Communication is Key 364
Seller: Be a Buyer’s Dream 364
Seller: Listen to the Music 365
Buyers and Sellers: Keep Current, Keep Cool 365
Chapter 20: Ten (Or So) Services to Make Life Easy 367
Seller Tools and Services 368
inkFrog 368
Sizely 369
Important Tools for Buyers and Sellers 371
Sniping with BidRobot 371
Find out what it’s worth at Worthpoint 373
Buying a warranty through SquareTrade 374
eBay fee calculator: Salecalc 375
Kabbage: Working capital 376
eBay’s Software and Services 377
Selling Manager, Selling Manager Pro, and Seller Hub 377
eBay PowerSellers 378
Top Rated Sellers 379
Index 381
