Sams Teach Yourself eBay in 10 Minutes

Michael Miller has written more than 100 nonfiction books over the past two decades, with more than one million copies sold worldwide. He has written several best-selling books about eBay and online selling, including Absolute Beginner’s Guide to eBay, Easy eBay, Making a Living from Your eBay Business, Tricks of the eBay Masters, Tricks of the eBay Business Masters, eBay Auction Templates Starter Kit, Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Starting an eBay Business, and Selling Online 2.0: Migrating from eBay to Amazon, craigslist, and Your Own E-Commerce Website. He also wrote Sams Teach Yourself YouTube in 10 Minutes, Sams Teach Yourself TweetDeck in 10 Minutes, Sams Teach Yourself Wikipedia in 10 Minutes, and Sams Teach Yourself Google Analytics in 10 Minutes, as well as Que’s Absolute Beginners’ Guide to Computer Basics. In addition, he created the Starting a Successful eBay Business LiveLessons DVD.   Mr. Miller has established a reputation for practical advice, technical accuracy, and an unerring empathy for the needs of his readers. For more information about Mr. Miller and his writing, visit his website at www.molehillgroup.com or email him at tyebay@molehillgroup.com. You can follow him on Twitter as @molehillgroup.

Introduction

Chapter 1 Getting to Know the eBay Marketplace

What eBay Is—and What It Isn’t ..............................................3

How Big Is eBay? ....................................................................4

Who Sells on eBay? ................................................................4

Different Ways to Buy and Sell on eBay ....................................5

What’s What (and What’s Where) on eBay..................................6

Summary ................................................................................9

Chapter 2 How Online Auctions Work

Understanding Online Auctions ..............................................11

Online Auctions, Step by Step ................................................12

Different Types of Auctions ....................................................13

The Costs of Using eBay ........................................................14

Summary ..............................................................................19

Chapter 3 Creating Your Own eBay Identity

Signing Up for eBay................................................................21

Personalizing Your My World Page ..........................................24

Summary ..............................................................................28

Chapter 4 Managing Your eBay Activity with My eBay

Understanding My eBay..........................................................29

Viewing the Summary Page ....................................................30

Viewing the Watch List Page ..................................................32

Viewing the Bids/Offers Page ................................................33

Viewing the Messages Page ..................................................35

Viewing the All Lists Page ......................................................36

Viewing the Won/Purchased Page ..........................................36

Viewing the Selling Page ........................................................37

Viewing the Saved Searches Page ..........................................39

Customizing My eBay ............................................................39

Summary ..............................................................................40

Chapter 5 Browsing and Searching for Merchandise

Browsing or Searching—Which One Is for You?........................41

Browsing: The Easy (?) Way to Find Things ..............................42

Searching: The Powerful Way to Find Things ............................45

Want It Now? Then Ask for It! ................................................51

Summary ..............................................................................52

Chapter 6 Researching eBay Sales

Why Research Is Important ....................................................53

Find Out What It’s Worth ........................................................53

Search eBay’s Completed Auctions ........................................54

Search Terapeak’s Marketplace Research Database ................56

Take eBay’s Pulse ..................................................................58

Discover the Most Popular Searches ......................................59

Use Third-Party Research Tools ..............................................59

Summary ..............................................................................60

Chapter 7 Bidding in Online Auctions

Understanding the Bidding Process ........................................61

How to Read an Item Listing ..................................................65

Before You Bid ......................................................................68

Placing a Bid ........................................................................69

Bidding in a Reserve Price Auction..........................................70

What to Do After You’ve Bid....................................................71

You Won! Now What? ............................................................73

Summary ..............................................................................74

Chapter 8 Sniping to Win

What Sniping Is—and How It Works ........................................75

Successful Sniping, Step-by-Step ............................................77

Using Automated Sniping Tools ..............................................78

Summary ..............................................................................80

Chapter 9 Buying Fixed-Price Items

Using the Buy It Now Option ..................................................81

Shopping the Fixed-Price Listings ............................................83

Do Your Shopping at eBay Stores............................................84

Just Like Amazon: Half.com....................................................86

Summary ..............................................................................88

Chapter 10 Paying for Your Purchase

Calculating the Final Price ......................................................89

Paying for Your Item ..............................................................90

Waiting for Your Doorbell to Ring... ........................................94

Summary ..............................................................................94

Chapter 11 Buying Safely

Bad Things Can Happen... ....................................................95

Protecting Yourself After the Sale............................................96

Tips for Protecting Yourself on eBay ........................................99

Summary ............................................................................100

Chapter 12 How to Make a Million Dollars Selling on eBay

Making Your First Million on eBay..........................................101

Selling on eBay: It’s Hard Work ............................................102

Summary ............................................................................102

Chapter 13 Where to Find Items to Sell

Selling Your Own Personal Items ..........................................103

Finding Other Items to Sell ..................................................103

Expanding Your Sales ..........................................................107

Summary ............................................................................110

Chapter 14 What to Do Before You Sell

Prepping Your Item for Sale ..................................................111

Choosing the Type of Listing ................................................112

Picking the Right Category....................................................115

Setting the Right Price ........................................................116

Summary ............................................................................118

Chapter 15 Selling Items via Online Auction

Creating a Basic Auction Listing............................................119

Creating Customized Item Listings ........................................125

Setting a Higher Minimum with a Reserve Price Auction ........127

Summary ............................................................................128

Chapter 16 Selling Items at a Fixed Price

Setting a Buy It Now Price ....................................................129

Creating a Fixed-Price Listing ................................................131

Summary ............................................................................136

Chapter 17 Creating More Effective Item Listings

Write a Title That SELLS!......................................................137

Write the Right Description ..................................................140

Making the Grade ................................................................142

Summary ............................................................................148

Chapter 18 Using Pictures in Your Listings

Why Pictures Matter ............................................................149

Tips for Taking Great Product Photos ....................................150

Editing the Image File ..........................................................153

Uploading Your Pictures to eBay............................................154

Summary ............................................................................158

Chapter 19 Accepting PayPal Payments

Accepting Credit Cards—and More—with PayPal ....................159

Signing Up for PayPal ..........................................................160

Paying for PayPal..................................................................161

Choosing PayPal in Your New Auction Listing..........................162

Collecting PayPal Payments ..................................................163

Evaluating Other Methods of Payment ..................................164

Summary ............................................................................165

Chapter 20 Managing Your Item Listings

Editing an Item Listing..........................................................167

Canceling a Listing ..............................................................168

Blocking Buyers ..................................................................169

Relisting an Item ................................................................170

Summary ............................................................................171

Chapter 21 Dealing with Non-Paying Buyers

What to Do When a Buyer Doesn’t Pay ..................................173

Contacting an Unresponsive Bidder ......................................174

Filing an Unpaid Item Dispute ..............................................174

Asking eBay to Refund Your Fees ..........................................175

Giving Other Bidders a Second Chance ................................177

Summary ............................................................................178

Chapter 22 Packing and Shipping Your Items

Choosing a Shipping Service ................................................179

How to Pack Your Items—Safely and Securely ......................188

Creating the Shipping Label..................................................193

Summary ............................................................................196

Chapter 23 Using Advanced Selling Tools

Why Use eBay’s Advanced Selling Tools? ..............................197

Using Turbo Lister to Create Auction Listings ........................198

Using Selling Manager to Manage Your Auctions ....................199

Using Blackthorne to Create and Manage Your Auctions ........200

Using Third-Party Selling Tools ..............................................201

Summary ............................................................................202

Chapter 24 Selling Internationally

The Pros and Cons of Selling Internationally ..........................203

Selling Outside the U.S. ......................................................205

Shipping Across Borders—and Oceans..................................206

eBay’s International Marketplaces ........................................208

Summary ............................................................................210

Chapter 25 Using a Trading Assistant to Sell Your Items

Understanding eBay’s Trading Assistant Program....................211

Finding a Trading Assistant ..................................................212

What to Expect from a Consignment Sale..............................214

Summary ............................................................................215

Chapter 26 Dealing with Feedback

Understanding Feedback ......................................................217

Reading Feedback Comments ..............................................218

Leaving Feedback ................................................................220

Summary ............................................................................222

 

 

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