With over 7.5 million users generating $5.6 billion in sales in the second quarter of 2003 alone, eBay has become a fundamental part of contemporary American life.Still, there are many people who, while comfortable with a computer and the Internet, aren't completely sure about how to bid, buy, or sell on eBay. Or, if they are familiar with eBay basics, feel like they are at a disadvantage when pitted against more experienced eBay users. They're not unintelligent, they just don't have the time to learn all the tips and tricks that are second-nature to power eBay users.eBay In a Snap's unique, random-access approach lets the reader zero right in on the thing he or she wants to learn about, and get back to winning a bid or selling a product at the highest price.Written by a well-known expert on Internet shopping, bargain-hunting, and auctions, eBay in a Snap reveals the best tips, tricks, and techniques for everything from enhancing a listing with HTML and multimedia to buying and selling a car on eBay.
Author(s): Preston Gralla
Year: 2004
Language: English
Pages: 360
Contents at a Glance......Page 2
eBay® in a Snap......Page 5
Copyright © 2004 by Sams Publishing......Page 6
About the Author......Page 7
Reader Services......Page 8
PART I Getting Started on eBay......Page 9
What Is eBay?......Page 11
Why Use eBay?......Page 13
How Online Auctions Work......Page 14
A Quick Tour of eBay......Page 16
eBay’s Privacy and Safety Policies......Page 18
eBay Do’s and Don’ts......Page 19
Register for eBay......Page 20
Log In to eBay and Use My eBay......Page 23
CHAPTER 2 Power Browsing and Power Searching......Page 27
1 Browse eBay to Find Items......Page 28
2 About Searching for Auctions......Page 30
3 Use the Simple Search Box and Basic Search Screen......Page 32
4 Sort Your Search......Page 35
5 Perform a Power Search with Advanced Search......Page 37
6 Search for eBay Members......Page 40
7 Store Your Favorite Searches......Page 42
PART II Buying on eBay......Page 45
CHAPTER 3 Bidding and Buying......Page 47
8 About the Auction Page......Page 48
9 Research the Item......Page 50
10 Ask the Seller a Question......Page 52
11 View the Seller’s Other Auctions......Page 53
12 Bid Using Proxy Bidding......Page 56
13 About Dutch Auctions......Page 58
14 About Shipping and Insurance......Page 59
15 About Winning an Auction......Page 60
16 Contact the Seller......Page 62
17 Pay for Your Item......Page 64
18 About Problem Auctions......Page 66
CHAPTER 4 Winning Your Auctions with Power Bidding......Page 69
19 About Strategies for Power Bidding......Page 70
20 Determine the Best Bidding Price......Page 71
21 Learn About the High Bidder......Page 73
22 Track an Item’s Bidding History......Page 76
23 About Secret Bidding Techniques......Page 78
24 About Winning Dutch Auctions......Page 79
25 Win Auctions by Sniping......Page 81
26 Win Auctions with Sniping Software......Page 83
CHAPTER 5 Making Sure That You Don’t Get Burned......Page 87
27 About Protecting Yourself on eBay......Page 88
28 About eBay Feedback......Page 92
29 Check Out a Seller Using the Feedback Summary......Page 93
30 Leave Feedback......Page 96
31 Respond to Feedback......Page 99
32 Find Information About the Seller......Page 101
33 Track Feedback with My eBay......Page 103
34 About eBay Fraud Protections......Page 105
35 Take Action If You Get Burned......Page 106
PART III Selling on eBay......Page 109
CHAPTER 6 Selling Your Items......Page 111
36 About Selling on eBay......Page 112
37 About Finding Items to Sell......Page 114
38 About Banned Items......Page 116
39 Determine Your Selling Price and Estimate Your Selling Fees......Page 118
40 About the eBay Sell Your Item Page......Page 122
41 Start the Sell Form and Choose a Category......Page 123
42 Write the Title and Description......Page 126
43 Format Your Description with eBay’s HTML Editor......Page 130
44 Choose Pricing, Duration, and Location......Page 132
45 About Dutch Auction Formats......Page 137
46 Add Pictures to Your Auction......Page 138
47 Choose Auction Extras......Page 141
48 Set Payment and Shipping Options......Page 145
49 Review and Post Your Auction......Page 148
CHAPTER Power Tips for Handling Digital Auction Pictures 7......Page 151
50 About Digital Pictures and eBay......Page 152
51 Set Up and Take a Picture......Page 154
52 Use the Web to Get a Digital Picture......Page 157
53 Edit the Picture......Page 160
54 Make the Picture Web Friendly......Page 164
55 About Posting Pictures with the eBay Picture Service......Page 167
56 About Using External Hosting for Your eBay Auction Pictures......Page 168
CHAPTER 8 Completing the Sale......Page 171
57 Track Your Auction......Page 172
58 Contact the Buyer......Page 174
59 About Accepting Payments......Page 177
60 About Accepting Escrow Service Payments......Page 180
61 About Problem Buyers......Page 182
62 Ship the Goods......Page 184
63 Pay the eBay Fees......Page 189
CHAPTER 9 Advanced Tools for Sellers......Page 193
64 About Advanced Seller’s Tools......Page 194
65 Create Multiple Listings with Turbo Lister......Page 195
66 Manage Multiple Listings with Seller’s Assistant......Page 198
67 Manage Bulk Listings with Selling Manager......Page 202
68 About Writing Effective Ad Copy......Page 205
69 Jazz Up Text and Headlines with HTML......Page 209
70 Colorize and Change Fonts and Add Effects with HTML......Page 215
71 About Including HTML on eBay Auction Pages......Page 218
CHAPTER 10 Starting an eBay Business......Page 221
72 About eBay Stores......Page 222
73 Set Up an eBay Store......Page 224
74 About Listing Items for Sale at Your Store......Page 229
75 Market Your Store......Page 230
76 Make the Sale......Page 233
PART IV Getting the Most Out of eBay......Page 235
CHAPTER 11 Using eBay Power Tools......Page 237
77 About eBay Power Tools......Page 238
78 Manage Your Auctions with Auction Sentry......Page 239
79 Handle Shipping with Shippertools.com......Page 242
80 Calculate eBay Selling Fees with FeeFinder......Page 245
81 Build Better Auctions with the Omni Auction Builder......Page 248
82 Get the Most Out of eBay with the eBay Toolbar......Page 252
CHAPTER 12 Using PayPal for Paying or Receiving Money 12......Page 255
83 About PayPal......Page 256
84 Sign Up for PayPal......Page 257
85 Pay for an Item Using PayPal......Page 260
86 Receive Money for an Item Using PayPal......Page 262
87 Manage Your PayPal Account......Page 265
88 Add Funds to Your PayPal Account......Page 268
89 Send an Invoice with PayPal......Page 270
90 Ship a Package Using PayPal......Page 273
PART V Participating in Special eBay Auctions......Page 277
CHAPTER 13 Buying or Selling a Car or Other Vehicle......Page 279
91 About Buying Cars and Vehicles......Page 280
92 Find a Make and Model......Page 282
93 Read the Auction Page......Page 285
94 Get a Vehicle History and Inspection Report......Page 287
95 About Shipping and Extra Payments......Page 290
96 Bid for a Vehicle......Page 292
97 Pay for Your Vehicle......Page 295
98 About eBay Motors Protections......Page 298
99 About Selling Cars and Vehicles......Page 299
100 Use the “Sell Your Vehicle” Checklist......Page 300
101 List Your Vehicle......Page 302
102 Use the CarAd Listing Tool......Page 306
103 About Accepting Payment for Your Vehicle......Page 311
CHAPTER 14 Buying and Selling Tickets on eBay......Page 313
104 About Buying Tickets......Page 314
105 Search for a Ticket Auction......Page 316
106 Make a Ticket Auction Bid......Page 319
107 Make Sure That You Don’t Get Burned Buying Tickets......Page 322
108 About Selling Tickets......Page 323
109 Create a Ticket Auction......Page 325
110 About Accepting Money and Shipping the Tickets......Page 328
111 Make Sure That You Don’t Get Burned Selling Tickets......Page 329
CHAPTER 15 Bidding on Live Auctions......Page 331
112 About eBay Live Auctions......Page 332
113 Find and Sign Up for a Live Auction......Page 334
114 Check Out the Auction Catalog......Page 336
115 View the Auction......Page 341
116 About Bidding at Live Auctions......Page 343
Index......Page 345
Key Terms......Page 361
