Welcome to eBay For Dummies, 6th Edition! Thanks for opening up this book. This is the newly updated version of the original best-selling eBay how-to guide, first published in 1999. Heed my words and you may soon be joining the millions of people interested in learning the no-nonsense facts about eBay from an active user. I'm a longtime eBay shopper and PowerSeller. My original career was in retail marketing and for over 10 years I've been making money on the site. (I even put my daughter through college on my profits!) I work from home and apply my background successfully to all facets of the site.
I can't begin to tell you how excited I am that my enthusiasm and excitement for shopping and selling on eBay has spread to so many corners of the world. eBay users (like you and I) total close to 200 million — that's quite a community. It's a community of buyers who don't feel the need to scour the streets for items to buy and of sellers who forage wholesale items to sell online and make a few dollars (or a full-time living). This makes eBay the new international marketplace, and the best part is that eBay is available to anyone who wants to take the time to figure out how it works.
My books are written sequentially, and this is the one to start with if you're a beginner. eBay For Dummies will give you the solid foundation you need to go on to my other, more advanced books on eBay selling.
eBay is a constantly evolving Web site. It isn't too hard to master, but just as with any tool, when you know the ins and outs, you're ahead of the game. You can get the deals when you shop, and you can make the most money when you sell. You've come to the right place to find out all about eBay. This book is designed to help you understand the basics about buying and selling on eBay, the most successful person-to-person trading community. Without the basics, you can't be successful in any endeavor. You get all the tools you need to get moving on eBay, whether you're new to the Internet or a Webaholic. You see how to turn your everyday household clutter into cold, hard cash — and how to look for items that you can sell on eBay. If you're an online shopper (or you'd like to be), I show you how to figure out how much you should spend, how to make smart bids, and how to win the auctions. How much money you earn (or spend) depends entirely on how often and how smartly you conduct your eBay transactions. You decide how often you want to run auctions and place bids; I'm here to help with the smart part by sharing tips I've learned over my past ten years on eBay.
A Web site as complex as eBay has many nooks and crannies that may confuse users. Think of this book as a detailed road map that can help you navigate eBay, getting just as much or as little as you want from it. Unlike an actual road map, however, you won't get frustrated folding it back to its original shape. Just close the book and come back anytime you need a question answered.
After you figure out the nuts and bolts of eBay, you can start buying and selling stuff. I have a ton of terrific buying and selling strategies that help you get the most out of your auctions. With this book and a little elbow grease, you can join the ranks of the millions of people who use their home computers to make friends, find great deals, have a lot of fun, and make a profit. When you've got the hang of eBay and feel that it's time to graduate from this book, look for my Starting an eBay Business For Dummies, 3rd Edition (Wiley) — it'll take you to the next plateau.
Remember those open-book tests that teachers sprang on you in high school? Well, sometimes you may feel like eBay pop-quizzes you while you're online. Think of eBay For Dummies, 6th Edition, as your open-book-test cheat sheet with all the answers. You don't have to memorize anything; just keep this book handy to help you get over the confusing parts of eBay. Over the years, some of the top sellers and buyers on the eBay site have visited with me when I'm at a book signing or teaching at eBay University just to show me their dog-eared, highlighted, marred copy of an earlier edition of eBay For Dummies that got them started. This book will do the same for you.
With all that in mind, I've divided this book into pertinent sections to help you find your answers fast. I'll show you how to
Get online and register on eBay.
Navigate eBay to do just about anything you can think of — search for items for sale, set up auctions, monitor your transactions, and join the community circuit.
Bid on and win eBay auctions.
Choose an item to sell, pick the right time for your listing, market it so that a bunch of bidders see it, and make a nice profit.
Communicate well and close deals without problems, whether you're a buyer or a seller.
Handle problems with finesse, should they crop up.
Become a part of a unique community of people who like to collect, buy, and sell items of just about every type!
Note
Do not adjust your eyes. To protect the privacy of eBay users, screen images (commonly called screen shots) in this book blur user IDs to protect the innocent (or not so ...).
You may have picked up this book because you heard that people are making huge money selling on eBay and you want to find out what's going on. Or you heard about the bargains and wacky stuff you can find in the world's largest shopping emporium. If either of these assumptions is true, this is the right book for you.
Here are some other foolish assumptions I've made about you:
You have, or would like to have, access to a computer, a modem, and the Internet so that you can do business on eBay.
You have an interest in collecting stuff, selling stuff, or buying stuff, and you want to find out more about doing that stuff online.
You want tips and strategies that can save you money when you bid or buy and make you money when you sell. (You too? I can relate. We already have a lot in common.)
You're concerned about maintaining your privacy and staying away from people who try to ruin everyone's good time with negligent (and sometimes illegal) activity.
This book has five parts. The chapters stand on their own, which means that you can read Chapter 5 after you read Chapter 10 or skip Chapter 3 altogether. It's all up to you. I do think that you should at least dip into Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 to get an overview on what eBay is all about and find out how to become a registered user.
If you're already conducting transactions on eBay, you certainly can jump ahead to get good tips on advanced strategies to enhance your sales. Don't wait for permission from me — just go for it. I won't argue with you that well-written listings equal higher profits!
Part I: Getting a Feel for eBay
In Part I, I tell you what eBay is and how you use it. I take you through the registration process, help you organize your eBay transactions and interactions using the My eBay page, and get you comfortable navigating the site from the home page.
Part II: Buying Like an Expert
If you're pretty sure you want to start making bids on items, check out Part II, which gives you the lowdown on searching, grading a collectible item's value, researching, bidding, and winning auctions.
That old cliché, "Let the buyer beware," (caveat emptor for the literati in the audience) became a cliché because even today (maybe especially today) it's sound advice. Use my friendly, sugar-free tips to help you decide when to bid and when to take a pass.
Part III: Making Money the eBay Way
Part III gets you up-to-speed on how to sell your items on eBay. Think of it as an eBay course in marketing. Here you find important information on how to conduct your auctions, what to do after you sell an item, how to ship the item, and how to keep track of all the money you make. Even Uncle Sam gets to chime in on his favorite topic: taxes. Know the rules so your friendly local tax office doesn't invite you over for a cup of coffee and a little audit.
I also show you how to gussy up your auctions by adding pictures and how to use basic HTML to add a little extra "sell" like they do in infomercials. You can make your digital images look like high art with my tips, hints, and strategies.
Part IV Even More of eBay's Special Features
Check ouSt Part IV to discover how to handle privacy concerns relating to eBay and how you can resolve buying and selling issues with the help of Trust & Safety, eBay's problem-solving clearinghouse. Also included are ways to have fun with the eBay community and using charity auctions to bid on great items for a good cause.
Part V: The Part of Tens
In keeping with a long For Dummies tradition, Part V is a compendium of short chapters that give you ready references and useful facts. I share more terrific tips for buying and selling items, as well as descriptions of my favorite software programs that can help lighten your auction load.
In addition to all these parts, you also get an appendix. It gives some insider information on how to spot a trend before the rest of the world catches on and how to acquire items cheaply that others may spend a bundle on. After you've read this book and you're ready to go to the next level, take a look at my other book, Starting an eBay Business For Dummies. It takes off where this book ends.
Tip
These are facts that you just have to know! Time is money on eBay. When you see this shortcut or time-saver come your way, read the information and think about all the greenbacks you just saved.
Note
Think of this icon as a sticky note for your brain. If you forget one of the pearls of wisdom revealed to you, you can go back and reread it. If you still can't remember something here, go ahead, dog-ear the page — I won't tell. Even better: Use a yellow highlighter.
Warning
Don't feel my pain. I've done plenty of things wrong on eBay before and really want to save you from my mistakes. I put these warnings out there bright and bold so that you don't have a bad experience. Don't skip these warnings unless you're enthusiastic about masochism.
Note
When you see this icon, you know you're in for the real deal. I created this icon especially for you to give you war stories and success stories from eBay veterans that can help you strategize, make money, and spare you from the perils of a poorly written auction item description. ("Learn from their experiences" is my motto.) You can skip these icons if you want to, but you may get burned if you do.
You'll also see a sidebar now and then. They contain text on a gray background to make them stand out. Sometimes they have an important short fact that I want you to know or contain some useful technical stuff.
Like everything else in the world, eBay changes. Some of the eBay screens in this book may look slightly different than the ones you see on your home computer display. That's just eBay tweaking and improving things on the site. My job is to arm you with everything you need to know to join the eBay community and begin conducting transactions. If you hit rough waters, just look up the problem in the table of contents or index in this book. I either help you solve it or let you know where to go on eBay for some expert advice.
Although eBay makes its complex Web site as easy to navigate as possible, you may still need to refer to this book for help. Don't get frustrated if you have to keep reviewing topics before you feel completely comfortable trading on eBay.
After all, Albert Einstein once said, "Don't commit to memory something you can look up." (Although I forget when he said that....)
Communication makes the world go round, and I'd love to hear from you. Contact me at [email protected]. Please know that I can't answer each and every question you send. There isn't enough time in the day — between writing, teaching, and, oh yes, my personal life! Do know that I will read each e-mail.
Check out my Web site at www.coolebaytools.com. And follow me on Twitter.com for my seller tips and comments; http://twitter.com/marshacollier.
You can also call in and speak to me live on my radio show on 877-474-3302. Every Saturday from noon to 2 p.m. Pacific Time, I co-host the Computer and Technology Show with Marc Cohen. We can even help you with your computer problems. The show is also archived online at www.computerandtechnolgyradio.com and on iTunes.
Tip
eBay is always working to make the site even more new and exciting — that means switching things around to see if you notice. You may click a link on the home page that's there today but replaced with something else tomorrow. When in doubt, use the main navigation bar as your own personal breadcrumb trail.