EBay for Dummies (3 page)

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.

What Now?

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. . . .)

Feedback, Please

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.

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.

Part I

Getting a Feel for eBay

In this part . . .

New technology can be intimidating for anyone. You’ve wanted to visit eBay, maybe make a few dollars selling or getting in on some of the great bargains, but to some, eBay feels kind of big and scary. What you need is someone to point out the most useful tools you need to get around, help you find out how eBay works, and start showing you how to do your own transactions. That’s what I do in Part I.

In this part, you find out how to become a registered user, maneuver the eBay home page, and customize your very own private My eBay page. You can also find out about the all-important feedback profile that follows every eBay user around like a shadow.

Chapter 1

Why You’re Going to Love Your Time on eBay

In This Chapter

Finding out about eBay

Getting the scoop on types of auctions

Figuring out fixed-price sales

Selling stuff

Researching items

Knowing eBay is watching over you

Using features and fun stuff

Getting the scoop on digital cameras and scanners

eBay has emerged as
the
marketplace of the twenty-first century. Way back in 2003,
Wired
magazine predicted that eBay’s promise is that “retailing will become the national pastime.” The founders had a pretty great idea back in 1995 (read about some eBay history in the “eBay’s humble beginnings” sidebar later in this chapter), and the world has taken to shopping and selling online. eBay is a safe and fun place to shop for everything from collectibles to brand-new clothing, all from the comfort of your home.

eBay is now also a marketplace for new merchandise. It’s no longer just the destination for collectibles and old china patterns. These days you can purchase new and useful items, such as alarm systems, fancy electronic toothbrushes, lightbulbs, clothing, cars, homes — just about anything you can think of.

Take a look around your house. Nice Manolos. Spiffy microwave. Great-looking clock. Not to mention all the other cool stuff you own. All these great fashions, household appliances, and collectibles are fabulous to own, but when was the last time your clock turned a profit? When you connect to eBay, your PC or Mac can magically turn into a money machine. Just visit eBay and marvel at all the items that are just a few mouse clicks away from being bought and sold.

In this chapter, I tell you what eBay is and how it works. eBay is the perfect alternative to spending hours wandering through boutiques, antiques shops, or outlet malls looking for the perfect doohickey. It can also be your personal shopper for gifts and day-to-day items. (For more information on how to match the perfect eBay gift with one of your friends, check out my book,
Santa Shops on eBay
, also published by Wiley.)

Not only can you buy and sell stuff in the privacy of your home, but you can also meet people who share your interests. Those who use the eBay site are a friendly bunch, and soon you’ll be buying, selling, swapping stories, and trading advice with the best of them.

To get to eBay, you need to access the Internet. To access the Internet, you need a PC or a Mac with an Internet connection. (Inexpensive laptops are available for as little as $299.) If you’re not ready to take the high-tech plunge, this book shows you how to start operating on eBay (and earning money) without owning a single cyber thing.

What Is eBay, and How Does It Work?

The Internet is spawning all kinds of businesses (known as
e-commerce
to Wall Street types), and eBay is the superstar. The reason is simple: It’s the place where buyers and sellers can meet, do business, share stories and tips, and have fun. It’s like one giant online potluck party — but instead of bringing a dish, you sell it!

eBay
doesn’t
sell a thing. Instead, the site does what all good hosts do: It creates a comfy environment that brings together people with common interests. You can think of eBay as the person who set you up on your last blind date — except the results are often a lot better. Your matchmaking friend doesn’t perform a marriage ceremony but does get you in the same room with your potential soul mate. eBay puts buyers and sellers in a virtual store and lets them conduct their business safely within the rules that eBay has established.

All you need to do to join eBay is fill out a few forms online and click. Congratulations — you’re a member with no big fees or secret handshakes. After you register, you can buy and sell anything that falls within the eBay rules and regulations. (Chapter 2 eases you through the registration process.)

The eBay home page, shown in Figure 1-1, is your first step to finding all the cool stuff you can see and do on eBay. You can conduct searches, find out what’s happening, and get an instant link to the My eBay page, which helps you keep track of every item you have up for sale or have a bid on. You can read more about the eBay home page in Chapter 3 and find out more about My eBay in Chapter 4.

Yikes! What happened? The eBay home page on your computer looks nothing like the one in Figure 1-1? Don’t rub your eyes — even squinting hard won’t help; eBay has a different version of the home page for those who have never registered on eBay. Even if
you
have never registered, someone else who uses the computer may already have. Know that whatever version of the eBay home page you view, it has the same basic elements.

All about Auctions

The value of an item is determined by how much someone is willing to spend to buy it. That’s what makes auctions exciting. eBay offers several kinds of auctions, but for the most part, they all work the same way. An
auction
is a unique sales event where the exact value of the item for sale is not known. As a result, an element of surprise is involved — not only for the bidder (who may end up with a great deal) but also for the seller (who may end up making a killing). Here’s how an auction works from a seller’s perspective and a bidder’s perspective:

Seller:
A seller pays a fee, fills out an electronic form, and sets up the auction, listing a
minimum bid
he or she is willing to accept for the item. Think of an auctioneer at Sotheby’s saying, “The bidding for this diamond necklace begins at $5,000.” You might
want
to bid $4,000, but the bid won’t be accepted. Sellers can also set a
reserve price
— sort of a financial safety net that protects them from losing money on the deal. I explain how this stuff works later in this section.

Bidder:
Bidders in auctions duke it out over a period of time (the minimum is one day, but most auctions last a week or even longer) until one comes out victorious. Usually, the highest bidder wins. The tricky thing about participating in an auction (and the most exciting aspect) is that no one knows the final price an item goes for until the last second of the auction.

eBay auctions

Unlike “traditional” live auctions that end with the familiar phrase “Going once, going twice, sold!” eBay auctions are controlled by the clock. The seller pays a fee and lists the item on the site for a predetermined period of time; the highest bidder when the clock runs out takes home the prize.

Reserve-price auctions

Unlike a minimum bid, which is required in any eBay auction, a
reserve price
protects sellers from having to sell an item for less than the minimum amount they want for it. You may be surprised to see a 1968 Jaguar XKE sports car up for auction on eBay with a minimum bid of only a dollar. It’s a fair bet that the seller has put a reserve price on this car to protect himself from losing money. The reserve price allows sellers to set lower minimum bids, and lower minimum bids attract bidders. Unfortunately, if a seller makes the reserve price too high and it isn’t met by the end of the auction, no one wins.

eBay charges a fee for sellers to run these auctions. Nobody knows (except the seller and the eBay computer system) what the reserve price is until the auction is over (assuming that the reserve price is met and that someone wins the auction), but you can tell from the auction page whether you’re dealing with a reserve-price auction. Reserve-price auctions are in the listings alongside the other items, so you have to click to find out whether it has a reserve. If bids have been made on an item, a message also appears on the page telling you if the reserve price hasn’t been met. You can find out more about bidding on reserve-price auctions in Chapter 6 and setting up a reserve-price auction in Chapter 9.

Restricted-access auctions

If you’re over 18 years of age and interested in bidding on items of an adult nature, eBay has an Adults Only category, which has restricted access. Although you can peruse the other eBay categories without having to submit credit card information, you must have a credit card number on file on eBay to view and bid on items in this category. Restricted-access auctions are run like the typical timed auctions. To bid on adult items, you first need to agree to a terms of use page after entering your user ID and password. This page pops up automatically when you attempt to access this category.

If you aren’t interested in seeing or bidding on items of an adult nature, or if you’re worried that your children may be able to gain access to graphic adult material, eBay has solved that problem by excluding adult-content items from easily accessible areas such as the Featured Items page. And children under the age of 18 aren’t allowed to register on eBay and should be under an adult’s supervision if they do wander onto the site.