eBay Business All–in–One For Dummies, 4th Edition

Marsha Collier is a recognized expert on ecommerce, online customer service, social selling, social media marketing, and eBay. Over one million copies of her various eBay titles have sold since her first, eBay For Dummies, hit store shelves in 1999.

Introduction 1

About This Book 1

Foolish Assumptions 2

Icons Used in This Book 3

Beyond the Book 3

Where to Go from Here 4

Book 1: eBay Basics 5

Chapter 1: Connecting with Up-to-Date Technology 7

Starting with the Right Device 7

Connecting to eBay without a Computer or While at Home 11

Choosing an ISP 12

Browsing for a Browser 13

Chapter 2: Navigating through eBay 17

Homing In on the Home Page 17

Navigating eBay the Easy Way 21

Maneuvering the Categories 25

Exploring Home Page Search Options 26

Chapter 3: Signing Up and Getting Started 27

Registering on eBay 28

Picking a Pickproof Password 33

Selecting Your User ID 34

Signing In to Deal 35

eBay’s Trust & Safety Is Watching 36

Staying Notified about the Rules 37

Abuses You Might Report 37

Don’t Get Caught in a Trading Violation 40

Chapter 4: Understanding eBay Transactions 43

Checking Out the Listing Page 43

Bidding on Auctions 49

Buying an Item Outright 53

Supercategories and Specialties 56

Chapter 5: Checking Out a Seller and Leaving Feedback 63

Understanding and Giving Feedback 63

Giving Detailed Seller Ratings Properly 66

Becoming a Star 68

Leaving Feedback with Finesse 69

Ways to Leave Feedback 72

You Have the Last Word — Replying to Feedback 73

Checking Out a Seller’s Reputation 75

Reading Feedback Reviews 76

Getting Protection on eBay 78

Chapter 6: Bidding to Win 81

Understanding the Bidding Action 82

The Secret’s in the Timing 86

My Favorite Bidding Strategies 89

Quick Bidding Tips 91

Succeeding by Sniping 92

Retracting Your Bid in an Emergency 97

Chapter 7: Completing the Transaction 99

Monitoring the Auction Action 99

Checking Out 101

Using Your Credit Card Safely 102

Paying with PayPal 104

Sending Payment Promptly and Securely 108

Contacting the Seller 109

Leaving Responsible Feedback 110

Chapter 8: Participating in the Community 115

Your Social Profile on eBay 116

Reaching the World through Your Profile Page 117

Playing Nice with Other eBay Members 120

Going Deeper into the Community 123

Book 2: Essential Tools 125

Chapter 1: Researching on eBay 127

Looking for Items with eBay’s Search 127

Searching for Items by Seller 136

Refining a Search with Other Options 137

Finding eBay Members 138

Understanding eBay’s Category Hierarchy 138

Chapter 2: Researching Collectible Prices 141

Pricing New Products for eBay via Mobile 142

Finding Pricing Trends on eBay 144

Following Collectible-Buying Guidelines 148

Online Sources of Information 152

Chapter 3: Five-Star Customer Service via Personalized Communications 157

Communicating Takes a Little Effort 158

Anticipating Initial Buyer Inquiries 158

Communicating through eBay Messages 161

Personalizing Your Buyer’s Communication 163

Chapter 4: Letting PayPal Help You Manage the Money 165

Understanding How PayPal Works 166

Sorting Out PayPal’s Different Accounts 168

PayPal’s Protection Plans 169

Downloading Your Transaction History from PayPal 172

Chapter 5: Using eBay’s Management Tools 175

Signing In to Get Going 175

Taking Charge on Your My eBay Hub 177

Looking at the My eBay Summary Page 180

Tracking Your Buying Activity on My eBay 181

Organizing My eBay Lists, Searches, and Purchases 183

My eBay: Account Tab 188

Book 3: Selling Like a Pro 193

Chapter 1: Be Sure Your Listings Make Cents 195

Keeping an Eye on Where the Pennies Go 195

eBay’s Optional Listing Features 199

Adding the Final Value Fees 203

Know Your Options in Auctions 204

PayPal Gets Its Cut 206

Setting Sensible Shipping Costs 207

Chapter 2: Understanding the Finer Points of Selling 211

Auction Selling Strategies 212

Figuring out What Day to End an Auction 216

Knowing What Time to Start Your Auction 218

Selling Items through Fixed-Price Sales 220

Making Money in Other eBay Zones 220

Selling by the Rules 224

Knowing eBay’s Listing Policies 230

Chapter 3: Listing Items for Sale 235

Getting Ready to List Your Item 235

Deciding on a Sales Format 237

Getting Your Sales Specifics in Order 237

Selecting a Category: The How and Why 239

Creating the Perfect Item Title 242

Creating Your Item Description 246

Listing Multiples of an Item for Sale with Variations 248

Setting Bids, Prices, and Reserves 249

Timing Your Auction: Is It Everything? 252

I Want to Be Alone: The Private Auction 252

Adding Visuals to Highlight Your Item 252

Listing the Payment Methods You’ll Accept 253

Where You Are and Where You’ll Ship To 254

Checking Your Work and Starting the Sale 259

Making Midcourse Corrections 260

Chapter 4: Running Your Business on eBay 263

Managing Your My eBay: All Selling Area 264

Organizing with My eBay: Active Selling 266

Using the Tools on the My eBay: Sold Page 268

Connecting with Your Customers and Checking the Money 270

Stimulating Sales from the My eBay: Unsold Page 272

Relisting Items without Extra Work 273

eBay Bidding Management Tools 274

Book 4: Sourcing Merchandise 279

Chapter 1: Understanding eRetail Marketing 281

Marketing to Your Customers 282

Knowing the Current Market 283

Catching Trends in the Media 285

Finding eBay’s Soon-to-Be-Hot Sellers 286

Taking Aim with a Six-Month Merchandise Plan 287

Pulling Together Your Inventory Data 288

Using Formulas to Calculate Business Data 289

Chapter 2: Sourcing Merchandise Like a Pro 291

Tips for the Modest Investor 292

Buying for Retail: The Basic Course 293

Buying Wholesale 302

Buying Online for Resale 307

Chapter 3: Profiting by Selling for Others Online 311

Getting Organized to Sell for Others 311

Competing with the Drop-Off Stores 312

Understanding the "eBay Valet" Program 313

Promoting Your Consignment Business 315

Handling Your Business Professionally 315

Chapter 4: Sourcing, Liquidation, and Drop-Shipping 319

Know the Lingo of Merchandisers 320

Salvage: Liquidation Items, Unclaimed Freight, and Returns 323

Staying Safe When Buying Online 326

Dealing with Drop-Shippers 327

Book 5: Presenting Your Items 331

Chapter 1: Your eBay Photo Studio 333

Setting Up Your Studio 334

Your #1 Tool: A Digital Camera 336

Scanning Your Wares 339

Other Studio Equipment 340

Chapter 2: Mastering eBay Photography 347

Photo Guidelines 347

Photographing the Tough Stuff: Coins and Jewelry 349

Prepping and Photographing Clothing 353

eBay Gallery of Horrors 357

Chapter 3: Writing Listings that Sell, and Using HTML 361

Writing Descriptions that Sell 362

HTML the Easy eBay Way 363

Getting Friendly with HTML 365

Add Pictures to Your Description 370

Add Videos to Illustrate Your Item 371

Using HTML Table Codes to Make Templates 371

Creating Your Own HTML Designs and Templates 373

Getting a Quick, Basic Template 378

Chapter 4: Getting the Most from Your Photos 381

Size Matters 381

Adding the Artist’s Touch 383

Image-Editing Software 384

Finding a Home for Your Pictures 386

Using eBay’s Picture Hosting 387

Uploading your picture to eBay 388

Using Your Free Web Space 390

Book 6: Extending Your Reach 393

Chapter 1: Developing Your Own Web Presence 395

Know Why Your Web Presence Is Important 396

Free Web Space — A Good Place to Start 397

Paying for Your Web Space 398

Naming Your Baby 401

Registering Your Domain Name 403

Chapter 2: Marketing Tools for Your Web Presence and Social Media 405

Advertising with Google AdWords 406

Getting Your Site Visible on a Search Engine 408

Casting for Customers in Social Media 411

Building a Community on Twitter 412

Making Friends and Fans on Facebook 414

Chapter 3: Tapping PayPal to Expand Sales 417

Enabling PayPal Payments on Your Website 417

Incorporating the Payment Buttons 418

Repeating the PayPal Button Process 422

Going Mobile with PayPal Here 423

Book 7: Storing and Shipping 425

Chapter 1: Organizing Your Product and Shipping Area 427

The Warehouse: Organizing Your Space 428

Keeping Track of What You Have 430

The Shipping Department: Packin’ It Up 432

Buying Postage Online 441

Chapter 2: Shipping without Going Postal 449

Shipping: The Heart of Your Business 449

Shopping for a Shipping Carrier 452

Shipping with USPS 457

You, Too, Can Use FedEx 460

Getting on the UPS Bandwagon 465

Shipping Items through PayPal or eBay 467

Chapter 3: Insuring That Your Package Arrives 469

Insurance Options 470

Making a Claim When Shipping Goes Bad 475

Book 8: Power Selling on eBay 481

Chapter 1: Going Pro with Seller Hub 483

Getting Seller Hub 483

Seller Hub Features 484

Getting More from Seller Hub 488

Relisting and Selling Similar Items 490

Accessing Seller Hub Reports 490

Chapter 2: Managing Sales with eBay Apps and Third-Party Tools 495

Finding Function-Specific Apps 496

Choosing Your Management Tools 497

Looking for Essential Features 498

Exploring Advanced Features 498

Finding More to Automate 499

Opting for Third-Party Management 503

Chapter 3: Attaining PowerSeller and Top Rated Seller Status 507

Becoming an eBay Elite Seller 509

The Benefits of Membership 512

Chapter 4: Deciding When You Need an eBay Store 515

Locating Your Special Place Online 516

Checking Out Online Stores Galore 516

Choosing Between Store Types 518

Knowing the Fee Structure 519

Selecting Your eBay Store Name 520

Setting Up Shop 521

Running Your Store 524

Book 9: Office and Legal 527

Chapter 1: Getting Legal with the State and the Feds 529

Giving Your Business an Official Name 529

Taking Care of Regulatory Details 531

Chapter 2: The Necessity of Taxes and Value of Business Reports 545

Dealing with a Professional 546

Keeping the Books: Basics to Get You Started 547

Records Uncle Sam May Want to See 549

Getting the Most from Your Reports 553

Keeping Your Records and Data Safe 557

Backing Up Your Data 558

Saving Your Backup Paperwork 558

Chapter 3: Taking Care of Your Finances 561

What? Double-Entry Accounting? 562

QuickBooks: Professional Bookkeeping 563

Setting Up a Chart of Accounts 567

Having QuickBooks Report on Your eBay Business 572

Posting Sales from PayPal My Way 573

Chapter 4: Keeping You and Your Business Secure Online 577

Staying Away from Spam 577

Recognizing Scams and Phishing 579

Fighting Back! 582

Keeping Your Password (and Accounts) Secure 583

Chapter 5: Networking Your Home or Office 589

The What and Why of Networks 590

Variations of a Home Network 590

Internet Security and Your Home Network 597

Index 599