eBay For Dummies, (Updated for 2020)

It’s a bargain! The definitive guide to buying and selling success on eBay - fully updated for 2020

Want to know the best way to get rid of some of that clutter laying around the house and make some cash? Or sell that beautiful jewelry you made recently? It might be time to take a quick trip to a market with more than 175 million buyers and start a global bidding war.

eBay remains the easiest way to sell to hungry consumers worldwide and to uncover incredible bargains and unique items for yourself in the process. Marsha Collier, longtime eBay business owner and one of their first elite PowerSellers, shares 20+ years of expertise to fast-track you to becoming a trusted buyer and seller on the site. You’ll find out how to set up your account, market effectively, and master shipping and payment, as well as how to find the best bargains for yourself and close those sweet, sweet deals. 

• Establish your eBay store
• Find techniques to make your listings stand out
• Make money and friends with social media
• Bid or buy outright

Whether you’re a bargain hunter or bargain seller, declutterer or aspiring eBay tycoon, eBay for Dummies has what you need. Put your bid on it right now!

Marsha Collier is the top-selling eBay author and among the world's foremost e-commerce experts and educators. Now a Top Rated Plus Seller, she was among the first eBay PowerSellers. Marsha makes regular appearances on television, radio, and in print to discuss business, e-commerce, and customer service, and blogs at www.coolebaytools.com.

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

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