eBay Courses ??? Are They Worth It?

There are numerous eBay courses that are available
on the Internet today. These books and courses are
designed to help you become more successful on
eBay. Unfortunately, not all of these courses are
worth the money that you will pay for them. Some of
them are full of what used to be good information ???
when it was relevant ??? and others are simply junk
information, written by someone trying to make a
quick buck.

Before you purchase any eBay course, find out when
the course was written. If it was written in 2004, for
instance, you don???t want it. Even though that hasn???t
been very long ago, eBay changes so fast that much
of the information will not be relevant. However, if the
original issue of the course was written several years
ago, but the course is updated each year, this will
probably be a good course for you.

Again, use care when purchasing eBay courses.
They can be quite helpful and enlightening, but only
if the information in them is still good. Talk to other
eBay sellers ??? preferably successful ones ??? to find
out what courses are recommended.

eBay Data and Research ??? How Important Is It?

eBay is a business anyway you look at it. Sure, it is
a great deal of fun for both the buyers and sellers,
but when you look at it from another view point, you
will see that it is a business from the seller???s point
of view, the buyer???s point of view, and eBay???s point
of view. 40 million dollars a day travels through eBay.
Selling items on eBay successfully is an art, and
eBay offers many different forms of Data and
Research to ensure that you are selling the right
items, to the right people, in the right way.

Some of the data and research is not free, but much
of it is. The available resources include hot items by
category, eBay Pulse, merchandising calendar,
sales reports, marketplace research, buyer
behavioral report, and the eBay solutions directory.
These tools are quite easy to use, and the
information that can be gleaned from them is
extremely valuable.

The Data and Research tools are all accessible
through your seller???s account, by clicking on the
???Advance Selling??? link. Learn to use those tools, and
get your piece of that $40 million eBay revenue each
day.

eBay Gift Certificates ??? The Gift Solution Suitable for

Everyone

We all know one. There is at least one in every
family, and one in every circle of friends. There is
even one in every office! There is always that one
person that you know who is absolutely impossible
to buy a gift for! These people either have everything,
or want nothing. They don???t drop hints at all, and
when asked, they simply say that they don???t know,
they don???t care, or they don???t want anything.

Well, now you can buy a gift for that person. The
solution lies in an eBay gift certificate! This will allow
your loved one to essentially buy anything that they
want, in a very exciting way. eBay gift certificates
can easily be purchased through paypal, in varying
amounts.

There are things that you should point out to the gift
recipient, however. For instance, eBay gift
certificates do expire. eBay gift certificates will not
be accepted for all auctions either ??? they can only
be redeemed for those auctions that accept Paypal
as a form of payment. Other than that, your loved
one should not have any problems redeeming their
eBay gift certificate!

eBay Scams ??? Steps to Take if You Have Been

Defrauded

eBay is a relatively safe marketplace. Unfortunately,
like most online marketplaces, it is vulnerable to
scams. eBay tries to keep instances of scams
occurring, but with more than 100 million members,
and approximately $40 million moving through the
site on a daily basis, this can be a little difficult.
Sometimes, scams occur.

If you have been scammed, there are certain steps
you need to follow to report the incident, and to try
to come to a resolution. If you paid for the item
through Paypal, the first step is to login to your
Paypal account and open up a dispute for the
payment. If you did not pay through Paypal, contact
your credit card company. In most cases, if you have
used one of these two cases, you will recover your
money.

The next step is to use eBay???s dispute process to
report the seller. This is specifically for items that
were not received, or items that were significantly
different than what was described in the auction.
eBay also has a purchase protection program to
further protect buyers. If a settlement cannot be
reached with the buyer, the next step is to make
an eBay buyer purchase protection claim.

eBay Sellers: How Photo Sharing Sites Can Save You Money

Are you an eBay seller? If you are, you likely already know the importance of having pictures in your eBay listings. There are a many eBay buyers who will not buy an item on eBay if they haven???t seen a picture. In fact, many eBay buyers like to see more than one picture. The only problem with this is that posting a number of pictures on eBay can get expensive, especially overtime. However, there is a way that you can give your potential customers what they want, more pictures, without having to go broke while doing so.

If you are looking for a way to have multiple pictures appear in your eBay auction listings, but you are urged to examine websites that are known as photo sharing sites, if you haven???t already done so. Photo sharing websites are sites that allow you to post digital photographs online and sometimes even videos. There are a large number of internet users who use photo sharing sites to upload and share pictures with friends and family members over the internet, but many internet users are also starting to use photo sharing websites to help combat their eBay seller fees, particularly the fees associated with having multiple pictures in an eBay auction.

If you are interested in giving photo sharing websites a try, to help you save money when selling on eBay, you will need to find a photo sharing website to use. To find a number of photo sharing websites, you may want to perform a standard internet search. Your standard internet search results will likely include PhotoBucket, which is a free, well-known photo sharing website. Of course, you can use just about any photo sharing website you want, but you are advised to look into PhotoBucket, as it is free and easy to use.

Speaking of using PhotoBucket and many other online photo sharing websites, you will need to create an account. You should be required to fill out a small form, which may request a little bit of information about yourself, like your full name or your email address. You will also need to create login information for yourself, including a screen name and a safe password. Once you have that finished, you should be able to use the photo sharing website in question, whether it be PhotoBucket or not, to help you start saving money.

When using a photo sharing site, you will see that different sites have different instructions that need to be followed, but the first step will be taking pictures of your eBay items. Then you will need to upload them to your computer and then follow the photo sharing website???s instructions on how to upload your photos to their site. In most cases, this is a relatively simple process, which tends to involve selecting a few pictures from your computer???s hard drive and then hitting an upload button.

Once your pictures have been uploaded, you should see thumbnails or smaller versions of them. With PhotoBucket there are little boxes underneath each thumbnail that can be used to select the picture or pictures of you choice. You will want to select all of the pictures that you want listed in a particular eBay listing. Then, you should be able to find a link that allows you to generate an HTML code. This will lead you to another page with a lot of information on it, particularly HTML links. Many photo sharing websites outright tell you which HTML code links you should use for eBay. Copy the code and paste it in the description of your eBay auction listings and you are good to go; your pictures should appear.

Using a photo sharing site is optional, but it is definitely something to look into. As an eBay seller, you want to profit as much as you can and this also involves eliminating unnecessary expenses.

eBay Sellers: How to Deal with Difficult Customers

If you are an eBay seller, you will have to do business with eBay buyers. As traditional retailers do, you may also have a problem with some customers. While the majority of eBay buyers are more than pleasant to deal with, there are some who can ???ruffle your feathers.??? While your first thought may be to give a difficult eBay buyer a piece of your mind, you may want to refrain from doing so, especially if you rely on eBay to generate income for yourself and your family.

When it comes to dealing with difficult eBay buyers, one problem that commonly arises is with your current auction listings. It is not uncommon to get an eBay message from a buyer requesting that you lower your price on one of your listed items. In fact, it is not uncommon for an eBay buyer to mention that other eBay sellers have the same items listed for less. If and when this ever happens to you, you will want to keep your cool. You should simply state that you are unable to lower your asking price. Kindly suggest to the eBay buyer in question that if they are looking for more affordable prices, they should consider doing business with an eBay seller who offers more affordable merchandise. The decision as to whether or not you want to lower your eBay prices is yours to make, but you should never feel pressured into doing so.

Another situation that commonly arises on eBay, concerning difficult eBay buyers, is the payment process. There are many eBay buyers who make the mistake of assuming that all eBay sellers accept the same methods of payments, but not all do. One of the most common methods of payment accepted is PayPal. If you currently do not have a PayPal account, you may want to look into doing so. Regardless of what methods of payments you do accept, you are urged to outline them in your auction listings. Yes, eBay has a section for that, but, unfortunately, not all sellers make their way down to that section. Should you have a buyer that wants to make alternative arrangements, you need to use your best judgment. If you cannot reach an agreement, eBay should be notified.

One of the other common problems that arise on eBay, with difficult eBay buyers, is those who refuse to pay. With eBay, if you bid on an auction and win it, you are responsible for making payment; however, that doesn???t mean that everyone does. When trying to request payment from a non-paying eBay buyer, you will want to stay professional when doing so. By simply sending a few reminder notices you should still be able to keep your positive image. If you haven???t heard anything from your non-paying eBay buyer, you may want to contact eBay after about a week. eBay has a process that allows you to get your fees back, as well as a process that will gives non-paying eBay buyers a negative feedback rating.

It is also not uncommon for an eBay buyer to be unhappy with the item that they purchased and received from you. If this happens, you need to also use your best judgment. To prevent a problem from occurring, you will want to make sure that you provide a detailed description of whatever you are selling, as well as numerous pictures. It is also advised that you outline a return policy, whether or not you actually have one. Should you have intentionally or unintentionally mislead an eBay buyer, you should make the situation right; however, stand your ground if you are being scammed or ???taken for a ride.???

The above mentioned situations are just a few of the many that you may come across as an eBay seller. No matter what situation arises, you are advised to use your best judgment and also keep your cool. In the end, you will be glad that you did.

eBay Sellers: How to Market Your Auctions

Are you an eBay seller? If you are, your goal is likely to make as much money as you can by selling products that you no longer need or want on eBay. Unfortunately, there are now thousands, if not millions, of individuals who are interested in doing the same thing. For you, this often means a steady increase in competition. However, even with competition, you should still be able to make a profit when using eBay, but you may need a little bit of help. That help could from marketing.

When many of us think of internet marketing, we often automatically think of online retail stores or online websites. Although you are not running your own online retail store, you are trying to make a profit online; therefore, you are, in a way, like a retailer. Just having your for sale items listed on eBay is enough to get your eBay items exposure, but you may want to think about taking it a step farther. There are a number of different ways that you can go about marketing your for sale eBay items, without having to spend a dime.

Perhaps, one of the best ways to go about marketing your eBay items is by joining the eBay community, otherwise known as the online message boards. When you talk with other eBay community members your screen name used is also your eBay name. In the eBay community forum, every time that you start a new message or respond to an existing one your name is left, with a link to your main eBay webpage. That is the age that outlines all of the items that you currently have available for sale. Many eBay community members click other member???s pages just out of curiosity, but it not uncommon for someone to find something that catches their eye. Simply starting a few conversations with other eBay community members, even just occasionally, may help to up your eBay exposure.

Another relatively easy way that you can market your eBay auction listings to the general public is by posting on a number of message boards, besides eBay. There are a number of message boards that allow internet users, just like you, to post information on items that they have available for sale, both on and off of eBay. Providing a link, as well as short description of some of the items that you are looking to sell is a great way to increase your eBay exposure and up your chances of making a sale. When taking this internet marketing approach, it is important that you only advertise your eBay listings in areas designated for doing so. Spamming is not permitted on many online message boards and it may actually get you a bad reputation.

Speaking of using online message boards, there are a number of online message boards or forums that allow members to have signatures. Signatures are where many people leave their name or a favorite quote of theirs, but some message boards allow members to use it as space to promote their products or businesses. Before posting a link to your eBay auctions, you are advised to examine the online message board???s policy concerning signature advertising. Should it be allowed, you are advised to take advantage of this free internet marketing. You will want to post a link to your eBay sales page, but be sure to mention that eBay is where all clickers will be going.

Another easy that you can promote your eBay items, particularly if you have multiple items for sale, is by putting a ???please checkout my other eBay auctions,??? message at the end of each of your eBay listings. As with all of the other above mentioned internet marketing tactics, this is easy and free to do.

eBay Sellers: How You Can Use Completed Searches to Your Advantage

Are you an eBay seller? If so, are you successful at what you do? Perhaps, the better question to ask yourself is if you are making a profit selling on eBay? If you aren???t, there are a number of steps that you can take to increase your chances of making a sale.

When it comes to improving your chances of making a sale on eBay, your first impulse may to be change the way that your eBay items are listed for sale. For instance, it is often suggested that you upload detailed pictures of your items, provide detailed descriptions and such. While you will want to try doing so, you will also want to focus on the items that you are trying to sell. Your problem, with making a profit on eBay, might be the items that you have listed. If you have a poor quality item, you may not be able to sell it, but you would still be responsible for paying your eBay fees. In this case, you will not only be unable to make a profit, but you may also end up losing money.

When it comes to knowing which items you can profit from selling on eBay, there are many sellers who think that it is impossible to do. While it may seem impossible, it isn???t. Before actually trying to list a particular item for sale online, like an old music CD, you can check to see if that item has been sold on eBay before. If that particular item was sold before, you can also figure out exactly how much money it sold for! This will give you a good idea as to whether or not it would be worth it for you to spend the time creating your auction listings and paying eBay???s fees. Although the decision as to whether or not you still want to post your item for sale is yours to make, it may give you inside information; inside information that you will want to take into consideration when making your decision.

To perform a search of completed auctions, you will want to perform an advanced search. The link to the advanced search form can be found by eBay???s traditional search box. The only thing that you will to do differently is check the box labeled ???Completed Listings Only.??? Your results will include auctions that meet your searching criteria, but that have already been completed. If an item sold, its price will be outlined in green print. If an item did not sell, the asking price will be outlined, but in red print. As previously stated, performing an eBay completed search gives you the ability to tell whether or not you have a good seller on your hands.

In fact, you can not only use a completed listing search to determine if an item you already have is worth money, but you can also use this eBay tool to help you make money. If you are like many eBay sellers, there is a good chance that you are always on the lookout for great deals, bargains, or antiques. Familiarizing yourself with popular eBay items, ones that can be considered ???hot sellers,??? is a great way to make yourself a profit on eBay. Should you have the ability to do so, you may want to have a partner at home looking up eBay completed listings, while you are out shopping for items to sell at yard sales, flea markets, or thrift stores.

Performing an eBay completed listing search will only take a few minutes of your time. Despite only taking a few minutes of your time, eBay completed searches can help you make money as an eBay seller, not lose it.

eBay Sellers: Should You Open an eBay Store?

Are you an eBay seller? If you are, there is a good chance that you have heard of an eBay store before. In fact, you may even have your own eBay store. eBay stores are increasing in popularity. For that reason, if you currently don???t have an eBay store, you may be wondering whether or not you should open one. To determine whether or not you should open an eBay store, you may want to examine the advantages and disadvantages of having one.

Before examining the advantages and disadvantages of having an eBay store, you may be wondering exactly what one is. In a way, having your own eBay store can be compared to having your own retail store. By paying a small monthly fee, you are able to create your own customized ???storefront.??? This storefront is what customers will see when they visit your eBay store. For instance, you can make your own logo, create your own eBay store, and do much more. As previously mentioned, you must pay a small monthly fee to have an eBay store; however, you must also pay traditional final value and insertion fees. Despite having to pay traditional eBay fees, they are much lower than normal, if you have an eBay store.

Perhaps, a decrease in eBay fees is one of the biggest benefits to opening up your own eBay store. If you only sell a few items a month on eBay, it might not necessarily be worth it for you to open up an eBay store, but if you are a medium or high volume seller, you could save a considerable amount of money by opening up your own eBay store. It is also important to mention easy of use. Creating your own eBay storefront page is easy to do, as well as creating your own eBay listing. Despite being listed in your eBay store, you create all of your eBay listings the same way as you did before, with eBay???s step-by-step guide.

Although there are a number of advantages to having an eBay store, there are also a number of disadvantages or downsides to doing so as well. One of those downsides is marketing. Unlike many traditional auction listings and ???Buy It Now,??? listings, which show up in eBay searches, items inside eBay stores do not. Essentially, this means that it is your responsibility to get traffic to your eBay store. Without traffic, your eBay store items will not be able to sell. While there are easy ways to get traffic to your eBay store, like using traditional auction style listings, which will appear in eBay searches, and then place a link to your eBay store, and such, it can be time consuming to do. How you will make money is definitely something to consider before opening up an eBay store.

As you can see, there are a number of advantages and disadvantages to opening up an eBay store. The decision as to whether or not you want to open up an eBay store is yours to make, but you are advised to at least look into to doing so. Thoroughly researching and examining eBay stores is a great way to learn more about them, as well as gain insight into whether or not you can profit from having one. While having an eBay store isn???t for everyone, there are a number of eBay sellers who have noticed an increase in profit since opening their own eBay stores.

eBay Sellers: The Importance of Communication

Are you an eBay seller? If you just recently became an eBay seller, you may still be learning the ins and outs of eBay, particularly how to make a profit. While there are an unlimited number of tips that could help increase your chances of making a profit on eBay, like detailed product descriptions and such, there is one way that is relatively simple; having an open line of communication with all of your eBay buyers. Although you may not necessarily think about it at the time, communication goes a long way when it comes to online business transactions, particularly on eBay.

When it comes to keeping an open line of communication with your customers or potential customers, there are three main situations that you should take advantage of. First, if you are selling a popular item, you may have a number of bids or even a number of questions. If your product description wasn???t very detailed, it shouldn???t come as a surprise to you to have messages from other eBay members seeking more information. While some of these questions may be good, valid ones, others may seem a little bit out in left field. In fact, some eBay member questions may leave you wondering if they even looked at your auction listing. Still, it is advised that you answer all user questions in a polite and timely matter. Doing so will increase the chances of your item or items being sold.

Once an eBay buyer has agreed to buy an item from you, whether it be through a traditional auction listing or a ???Buy It Now,??? sale, you will want to send your customer an invoice, showing the total amount of money that they owe you. After you have received payment, there is a good chance that you will box up the items sold and head to the post office. A great way to make a good impression is to send your customers an update email; an email that can let them know that their items were just shipped. Many eBay buyers like this because it gives them an estimated arrival time frame. Should you have purchased a package tracking number, you will want supply your customers with that information.

It is also advised that you follow through, within a few days or a week, to see if your customers received their items. You may also want to send a personal note asking them how they liked the items and such. One thing that you definitely want to include in a follow-up message is a thank you note. You will want to thank each of your eBay customers for doing business with you. You should also state that you hope to do business with them again. In today???s society, many consumers are not thanked for their business anymore, although many wish that they still were. Sending a thank you follow-up note will only take a few minutes of your time, but it is something that your customers will likely remember for sometime to come.

As it was stated above, having an open line of communication may increase your eBay profits. Why you may ask? Well, you need to think of it from a consumer standpoint. If you could shop at two different retail stores, which both had the same products available for the same prices, which store would you choose? If you are like most consumers, you would respond with the store with the best customer service. eBay is no different. With competition increasing each day, you need to be able to set yourself apart from other eBay sellers. The best way to do this is to go the extra mile for your customers.

Keeping an open line of communication before, during, and after each sale will help give you a good, positive reputation among many eBay buyers. It will also likely result in return customers; customers who can help to increase your eBay profits.

eBay Sellers: The Importance of Paying Your eBay Fees on Time

Are you an eBay seller? If you are, have you been selling on eBay for long? If you haven???t been, you may still be trying to figure out the ins and outs of eBay. If that is the case, you may be looking for a little bit of assistance or advice. One of the important things to remember, when selling on eBay, is the importance of paying your eBay fees on time.

When it comes to paying your eBay fees on time, there are a large number of sellers who wonder exactly why it is so important. While this may not seem like something that you would ask yourself, it is actually asked quite often. Yes, eBay, like many other businesses, gives you a grace period, which is a few extra days to make your payment; you don???t want to go past that period. If so, there will be consequences. As an eBay seller, those consequences may be costly to you.

One of the most common consequences of not paying your eBay fees on time involves having your eBay seller account suspended. For you, this means that you will not be able to sell anymore items on eBay, at least until you pay your fees. Depending on the situation at hand, if you have any auctions running at the current time, those auctions may be canceled, possibly incurring additional fees for you. That is why it is extremely important that you pay your eBay fees on time.

Another reason why you should pay your eBay fees on time is because it is easy to do. When paying your eBay fees, all you really need to do is log into your account, go to the link labeled ???eBay fees,??? and follow the instructions from there. When it comes time to pay your eBay fees, eBay should send you an invoice, but you don???t have to wait until you receive that invoice. If you want to make sure that you stay on top of paying your fees, to prevent your seller account from being suspended, you may want to think about occasionally paying your fees, whenever you have the money to do so.

eBay can also offer you assistance, when it comes to paying your eBay fees. When you first setup your eBay account, you have the option of having your fees deducted right from your credit card, which you may have used to help setup your free eBay account. If you used a credit card to help setup your account, but you don???t want to have your fees deducted from your card, you can also make alternative arrangements. Those arrangements may include having your fees deducted from something else, like another credit card or your checking account. Or, you could stick paying your fees on your own, whenever they are due.

As you can see from above, there are a number of different ways that you can go about paying your eBay seller fees. If you are an active eBay seller or one who relies on eBay for income, you will want to definitely make sure that you pay your fees on time. Since you have a number of different ways to go about doing so, there isn???t any reason why you can???t pay your eBay fees and in a somewhat timely matter.

eBay Sellers: Tips to Help Your eBay Items Sell

Are you an eBay seller? If you have been looking for a relatively easy way to make money, there is a good chance that you are. Different individuals use eBay, but many use eBay to make a little bit of extra money or even to financially support themselves and their families. If you are an eBay seller, how is everything currently going? Are you making as much money as you had hoped to? If not, you will want to continue reading on; as some tips are outlined below on how you can help to make sure that your eBay items sell.

When it comes to buying items on eBay, there are many eBay buyers who are the lookout for eBay scams. Before purchasing an item, one of the first things that an eBay buyer does is check the feedback of the seller. Doing business with a highly rated and recommended eBay seller reduces or completely eliminates the chances of getting scammed on eBay. Feedback helps to give you a good reputation, but there is something else that can help you get a good reputation too, an ???About Me,??? page. This is a page where you are able to introduce yourself and give a little bit of background information about yourself or your eBay business. ???About Me,??? pages are optional, but there are a number of benefits to having one.

Once an eBay buyer has learned that a seller who has an item that they want for sale is a reputable one, they will then continue to examine the product being sold. This is where your biggest chance of making a sale comes in. First, you will want to make sure that your products are being sold at a fair price. Keep in mind, when making your auction listings that you want to make a profit, but you don???t want to scare off any potential buyers with high prices. Just making sure that your prices are reasonable is enough to increase your chances of making a sale.

Secondly, you will want to make sure that you accurately describe all of your items that are being sold. For instance, if you are selling a lot or a group of children???s toys, you may want to take the time to list the names of each toy being sold. Outline the condition that each toy is in as well. If you are selling toys that require batteries, you may want to state whether or not the batteries are included. Providing a detailed, accurate description of all of your items will definitely increase the chances of them selling.

In addition to a detailed description, it is also important that you have pictures of your items. eBay allows you to post one free picture, but more can be posted for additional fees. Don???t let these additional fees deter you from posting additional pictures, as they are likely to increase the chances of making a sale. In fact, you may want to look into free photo sharing websites, such as PhotoBucket, as they allow you to post additional eBay pictures for free. When taking pictures of your eBay items, you will want to make sure that you take a number of close-up pictures. Also, make sure that the pictures are easy to see and that the lighting is good. Having poor pictures or no pictures at all is one of the many reasons why many eBay items go unsold.

The methods of payment that you accept may also have an important impact on how well your eBay items sell. One of the most common forms of payments used, to pay for eBay purchases, is PayPal. The reason why PayPal is so popular is because it enables shoppers to buy items from you, without having to disclose their account numbers. If you aren???t already accepting PayPal, you will want to look into doing so. Although most eBay buyers use PayPal, you will also want to remember that not everyone does. For that reason, you may also want to accept other methods of payment, including money orders or personal checks. The only thing with personal checks is that you may want to wait until the check clears before shipping the buyer their merchandise, especially with large purchases.

By implementing the above mentioned eBay seller tips, you may start seeing an increase in your eBay sales, even right away. In all honesty, you need to think of it from a seller perspective. Look at your auction listings; would you buy what you were selling?

eBay Sellers: Why You Should Accept PayPal

Are you looking to become an eBay seller? If you are interested in making money online, possibly even enough to support yourself, you just may be. Over the past few years, eBay has revealed itself as an online market place where just about anyone, including you, can make money.

Although it is relatively easy to make money on eBay, as an eBay seller, there are a number of important factors that come into play. For instance, you will want to have good, quality items to sell, detailed descriptions of those items, as well as easy to see pictures. Perhaps, those are some of the most important components of becoming a successful eBay seller, but there is something else that can be just as important, your accepted methods of payment. For the best chance of success on eBay, you will want to accept a wide range of payments, including personal checks, money orders, and PayPal.

Speaking of PayPal, PayPal is one of the most common methods of payment accepted on eBay. Despite being one of the most preferred ways to shop on eBay, there are still a number of sellers who don???t accept PayPal as a form of payment. If you have yet to setup your eBay seller account, you will also want to take the time to set up a PayPal account. Of course, you can still make money on eBay without accepting PayPal as a method of payment, but your chances for success are higher when you do. That is why it is extremely important that you at least look into getting a PayPal account.

When it comes to getting a PayPal account, you will find that you can have a personal account or a business account. If you want to make the most out of PayPal and eBay, you will want to get a business account, as it enables to you accept credits cards as a method of payment. The only difference between a business PayPal account and a personal PayPal account is the fees. The fees that you are charged will vary, but you will be charged a small fee each time someone, namely an eBay buyer, sends you a payment.

Although the PayPal fees may be a turnoff for you, you should let them be. By accepting PayPal, you are more likely to have more sales, as well as higher priced product sales, as more eBay buyers rely on PayPal to shop online. This will essentially make the fees seem minimal, as they easily pay for themselves overtime and you are still able to make a profit. In fact, your PayPal fees, from a business standpoint, can even be tax deductible.

One of the many reasons why eBay buyers like to use PayPal is because it gives them a sense of security. When using PayPal to buy items on eBay, buyers do not have to actually provide you with their bank account information or their credit or debit card numbers. This information is automatically stored in PayPal???s secure system. eBay buyers simply have to follow the instructions on the invoice that you send them, enter in their PayPal sign in information, click a few confirmation buttons and they are good to go; no important information has to exchange hands.

If you aren???t already accepting PayPal, you will want to think about the many benefits to doing so, some of which were outlined above. For more information on PayPal, you are urged to visit PayPal???s online website, which can be found at PayPal.com.

eBay Sellers: Why You Should Have an ???About Me,??? Page

Are you an eBay seller? If you are looking for ways to make money from home, there is a good chance that you may be. When it comes to working from home or making money from home, one of the first places that people turn to is eBay. The only problem is that to make money on eBay, you must be a successful seller. There are a number of steps that you can take to become a successful eBay seller. One of those steps involves creating an ???About Me,??? page.

If you are relatively new to selling on eBay, you may not know what an ???About Me,??? page is. An ???About Me,??? page is a webpage that allows you to write anything that you want about you, the items that you sell, or type of services that you offer. Due to the possibility of being scammed on eBay, a large number of eBay buyers want to do business with someone that they feel they can trust. One of the best, yet easiest ways, to go about creating trust is by creating an ???About Me,??? page. Although it may seem simple to you, it actually means a lot in the eyes of many eBay buyers. And, to be a successful eBay seller, public perception is everything.

As it was previously stated, if you are interested in creating an ???About Me,??? page, there is a section where you can write whatever you want to write. If you want to be a successful eBay seller, you will want to give information that you feel could be useful to you. For instance, if you are selling on eBay because you are a stay at home mom or dad, you may want to write that, but in a professional matter. Explaining your purpose for being an eBay seller is a great way to get an eBay buyer to see you as a person, just like themselves.

If you consider yourself to be a fulltime eBay seller or if you specialize in a certain type of product, like kids clothing, you may want to mention that in your personalized ???About Me,??? section. In addition to the samples outlined above, you will also want to add in anything else that you may find useful or something that you think will grab the attention or trust of potential buyers. When making your own personalized ???About Me,??? page section, it is important that you use your best judgment. Look at it from the perspective of an eBay buyer; what would you like to see on your own page?

In addition to your own personalized section, there are some sections that eBay automatically includes on a seller???s ???About Me,??? page. One of those items is a summary of current items available for sale. For instance, if you have a number of auctions currently going, those auctions will be summarized on your ???About Me,??? page, for everyone to see. All visitors are provided with a link to the auction listing, the current highest bidding price, as well as a short description of what is currently available for sale. In a way, having an ???About Me,??? page may also increase your chances of getting a sale, since a visitor to your page may see something that catches their eye.

eBay ???About Me,??? pages also commonly include information on feedback. If you are an established eBay seller, particularly one that has a good feedback rating, this may work out to your advantage, as visitor will be able to see that you are reputable eBay seller. If you have a number of feedback ratings, only a certain number, most commonly the recent ones, will be shown. This includes positive, negative, and neutral feedback ratings from your past eBay transactions.

Having an ???About Me,??? eBay page is completely optional, but, as outlined above, there are a number of benefits to having one. With an eBay ???About Me,??? page only taking a few minutes to make, you are advised to at least give it a try. After all, you may be surprised with the results.

Real eBay Success - How to Price Your Items

Many new sellers don???t realize how important pricing
is when it comes to eBay auctions. Many don???t even
realize that ???pricing??? needs to be done. eBay is an
auction site after all! But eBay auctions are not quite
the same as the auctions you attend in the offline
world. In fact, quite a bit of work goes into
determining and setting prices.

Essentially, there are only three prices that can be
set for an eBay auction: the ???buy it now??? price, the
reserve price, and the starting bid price. Of these
three, the starting bid price is the only one that is
required for an eBay auction. The reserve price and
the ???buy it now??? price are optional. The starting bid
price is fairly simple ??? never set it higher than $50 or
so ??? no matter what your item is really worth. This
low opening price will get bidders to your auction.

Setting low starting bid prices creates the need for a
reserve price. A reserve price is the absolute lowest
price that you want to get for your item. You may sell
the item below the reserve price, but you will not be
required to. In other words, if you set your reserve
price at $100, and your highest bid is only $50, you
do not have to sell the item to the highest bidder.
You can close the auction without any negative
feedback or repercussions. Set your reserve price
at the absolute lowest price you are willing to sell
your item for. Keep what the item is worth, as well
as what it cost you in mind.

The ???buy it now??? option will allow you to set a price,
and buyers can buy the item immediately, without
bidding, for that set price. This option can be used
for any type of item, and it should be set to match
your reserve, give or take a few dollars. This option
is great if you have multiple identical items to sell.

Shipping has a price, and potential buyers take this
into consideration when they are looking at an
auction. If you can see your way clear to offer free
shipping, you will find that people are placing more
bids. Make sure that your potential buyers realize
that you are offering free shipping!

Before setting any prices, you need to determine
what the item is really worth. The value of the item in
different markets might be quite high. However, you
are selling on eBay, and it is a different world
altogether! Find out the price that similar items sold
for on eBay before setting any prices. If it is a
collectable, or a high ticket item, have the item
evaluated to ensure that you aren???t going to lose
money!

eBay University ??? What Is It All About?

eBay University is the learning program that eBay
established to help people become successful eBay
merchants. For convenience, eBay classes are held
in many locations throughout the United States, and
classes may also be completed from home, using
your computer.

You should note that all of the information you will
learn through eBay University can be found on the
website ??? for free. However, understanding that free
information isn???t always easy. eBay University will
teach you how to open a seller???s account, how to
conduct research and create listings, how to improve
listings for greater success, how to integrate Paypal
with eBay, how to monitor your auctions, and how to
complete transactions.

Once you???ve finished the Selling Basics course, you
are ready for the ???Beyond the Basics??? course. This
advanced course will teach you how to start and
grow an eBay business, how to choose and create
listing formats that sell, how to use all of the eBay
resources, how to market your business, how to
pack and ship your items, and much more. Both
courses are reasonably priced, and well worth the
short amount of time that it takes to complete
each course.

eBay Users: The Importance of Knowing and Following All eBay Rules

Are you an eBay member? If so, do you consider yourself to be a relatively new eBay member? If you have just recently started buying or selling on eBay within the past few months you may be. As time passes, you will likely become more aware of how eBay works. For instance, if you are an eBay seller, you may find new ways to improve your eBay listings or if you are an eBay buyer, you may find new ways to get great deals. One thing that you will likely do, overtime, is learn more about eBay???s rules.

As you likely already know, eBay is considered one of the world???s most popular online marketplaces. eBay gives internet users, like you, the option to buy and sell online. While giving all internet users the ability to buy and sell is nice, it can make for some problems, particularly concerning security or inappropriate content. That is why eBay, like all other online marketplaces, has developed a set of rules or guidelines that you must follow, whether you are an eBay buyer or an eBay seller. You should not only familiarize yourself with those rules, if you haven???t already done so, but you also need to follow them.

If you are an eBay seller, one of the most important eBay rules that you need to abide by is prohibited items. Although just about anything can be sold on eBay, there are a few restrictions. For instance, alcohol, drugs, pornography, and stolen merchandise are just a few of the many items that all eBay sellers, including you, are prohibited from selling. Another eBay rule that you must follow, as an eBay seller, is to pay all of your eBay fees on time. eBay has a set pay schedule, which you will be notified of in advance. To be able to keep on making a profit selling merchandise on eBay, you will want to make sure that you pay your eBay fees on time.

If you are an eBay buyer, instead of an eBay seller, you will also have to know and abide by all eBay rules. One of those rules is bidding only on items that you intend to buy. If you place a bid on an eBay auction or if you agree to buy an item listed in a ???Buy It Now,??? listing format, you must do so. That rule is stated in eBay???s guidelines. If you do not feel that you can pay for the items that you bid on or agreed to pay for, it is best if you stay away from eBay for the time being. Another eBay rule that you must follow is being honest with your purchases. If you don???t receive an eBay purchase, it is fine to report that, but give it a few extra days for your item to arrive. Although eBay scams are often associated with sellers, many buyers are beginning to stir up trouble. This involves reporting that they had not received an item, when they actually did; thus resulting in a refund, as well as the purchased item.

In most cases, you will find that it is relatively easy to get caught breaking eBay???s rules. That is why it is advised that you not only know all of eBay???s rules, but that you also abide by them. Should you not, you may end up suffering the consequences. One of those consequences involves having your eBay account temporarily suspended or even permanently suspended. In rare, but serious cases, the authorities may be contacted or legal action may be taken against you. In all honesty, the action taken depends on the parties involved.
Despite the varied consequences for breaking eBay???s rules, it is extremely important that you take the time to examine all of eBay, including the sites rules, restrictions, and guidelines, before you get yourself into trouble that is difficult to get out of. For more information on eBay???s rules, visit their help center, speak to an experienced eBay user, or try and contact eBay???s customer service department.

eBay Users: All You Need to Know About Phishing Scams

Are you an eBay user? Whether you use eBay to do your online shopping or if you use eBay to generate extra income for yourself, as an eBay seller, there is something that you need to be aware of. As an eBay user, whether you are a seller or a buyer, you need to be on the lookout for phishing scams. Phishing scams are rapidly increasing in popularity and many are using eBay as a front. To protect your identity, as well as you finances, you need to be on the lookout for them.

If you are relatively new to eBay or online shopping in general, you may not know exactly what phishing scams are. Do you? If not, you should know that phishing scams are actually complex online scams. A shady individual or a scammer makes a fake website that is similar to eBay or at least a fake eBay sign in page. You are then sent an email that appears as if it was from eBay. The only thing is that it wasn???t. The goal of a phishing scam is to get you to visit the fake page and enter in your eBay sign in information, including your eBay screen name and your eBay password. Once a scammer has your information, they get access to you personal information stored on eBay, as well as free use of your eBay account.

One of the reasons why phishing scams are so easy to fall victim to is because they give you the impression that is something is wrong with you eBay account or that you did something wrong yourself. For instance, many phishing scams contain a message asking why you didn???t pay for an item that you ordered or outline the fact that your eBay account has been suspended. The goal is to get you so worried that you will automatically click on the link to get the problem solved; however, as previously mentioned, the link takes you to a site that looks just like eBay, but it isn???t. There is where the trouble comes in.

If you get an eBay phishing scam email, you will want to do a little bit of detective work, before actually clicking on the link. In fact, you shouldn???t even click on the link. The first thing that you will want to do is look at your name, as most eBay phishing emails start with ???Dear eBay Member,??? or something along those lines. Real eBay messages will refer to you by your eBay screen name or even your real name. You can also roll your mouse over the link provided to you and see where it will actually take you. In most cases, you will find that you are being directed to another site, not eBay.com. All eBay messages should appear in your ???My eBay,??? message box. To see if eBay really sent you an email, you can log into your eBay account, from a brand new window that you open up, and check your messages, if you even have any at all.

If you do receive an eBay phishing scam email, you are advised to contact eBay or examine eBay???s help center. There you will find instructions on how to report the email or send a copy of it to eBay. Although your first thought may be to delete the eBay phishing scam email, you will actually want to follow eBay???s reporting instructions. You may know that you are being scammed, but other may not. Reporting an eBay phishing scam to eBay allows them to take care of the problem; thus likely reducing the number of eBay users who fall victim to similar scams.

Now that you know exactly what eBay phishing scams are, you are urged to be on the lookout for them. Keeping an open eye is your best line of defensive against eBay phishing scams or any phishing scams for that matter.

eBay???s Turbo Lister Program: Should You Use It?

Are you an eBay seller? If you are, are you familiar with eBay???s Turbo Lister program? If you are not, you may want to take the time to familiarize yourself with it, as using eBay???s Turbo Lister program can make selling on eBay as easy as can be.

eBay???s Turbo Lister program is a program that is available for download, free of charge on eBay???s website. What is nice about eBay???s Turbo Lister program is that it is easy to install and use. In fact, like eBay???s traditional way of listing items for sale, you are given step-by-step instructions. Even if you have minimal computer knowledge, you should still be able to use eBay???s Turbo Lister program, without any problems.

Now that you know exactly how you can get eBay???s Turbo Lister program, you may be wondering exactly what it is or how it can help you. See, when you download eBay???s Turbo Lister program to your computer, you can access it at anytime, even if you are not connected to the internet. eBay markets its Turbo Lister program to those who are high or medium volume eBay sellers, but it is also great for those who have dialup internet. Listing a large number of eBay auctions can tie up your phone lines, but with eBay???s Turbo Lister program you don???t even have to be online!

The eBay Turbo Lister program sets up all eBay auction listings or ???Buy It Now,??? listings the same way as it is done online, through their website. For instance, when using eBay???s Turbo Lister, you need to assign your item to a category, make a headline for your auction, write a detailed description of the item that you are selling, upload pictures if you have any, mention how your item will be shipped, as well as outline what methods of payment you will accept. As stated above, this process is easy, as everything is explained to you step-by-step. With eBay???s Turbo Listing program, listing on eBay is still as easy as it was before, if not easier with the ability to do so while not connected to the internet.

Speaking of not being connected to the internet, you may be wondering how your eBay items can be listed on eBay???s website if you are not connected to the internet. This is where the internet connection comes in. eBay???s Turbo Lister program enables you develop as many eBay auctions as you want, even thousands of them, without being connected to the internet. When doing so, you have the ability to save your listings for a later date; a time when you can sign online. Once you are connected to the internet, a simple click of the mouse and your eBay listings will automatically be uploaded to the eBay site. In addition to giving you the ability to work offline, you also have the ability to time your auctions, like if you want them to start or end at a certain time.

As mentioned above, if you are interested in downloading eBay???s Turbo Lister program, you can do so through their online website. Since downloading and using eBay???s Turbo Lister program is free, you are urged to at least give it a try. Should you not like the way that the program works, you could always return to listing your eBay items the traditional way, though the eBay website.

Getting Started on eBay

You???ve probably heard about how much money can
be made on eBay. With dreams of quick riches and
easy money, you are probably ready to jump in with
both feet ??? right now! The best thing you can do if
you are serious about making money with eBay,
however, is to slow down. In fact, just stop for a
minute. Don???t rush straight in. Take your time, and
do it right.

eBay has over 100 million members. Think about
that number for just a minute or two. When you get
your eBay business set up, that is how big your
customer base will be ??? instantly. 100 million people
- 100 million people who are just waiting for you to
get set up and running so that they can throw money
at you! Well, not quite. It is true that there are over
100 million members, but at this point, they don???t
know that you exist. In fact, no matter how well you
do on eBay, most of them will never know that you
exist. 100 million is a very large number.

The most successful eBay sellers started out as
buyers ??? and you should too. This will give you a
sense of how everything works. It will also show you
how things are from the buyer???s side of the fence.
Let???s call this period of time ???consumer research.???
You are literally studying how eBay works, from a
customer???s point of view. You may not realize this,
but this eBay buyer experience will
actually make you a much better seller ??? right from
the very start.

Really pay attention to the customer service you
receive from the buyer. Think about how you want to
be treated as a buyer, and take notes. Take your
time during this process. Interact with the sellers.
Get involved in hot auctions to see what they are
like. In your spare time, start making notes about
the hot items that you see. These notes will come
in handy later.

eBay works just like any other business. You have
to determine what people want to buy before you can
hope to be successful. There are very specific items
that sell really well on eBay ??? you just have to figure
out what those items are. There are many
resources for finding out this information. Start with
the lessons that eBay offers to their sellers.
Strongly consider attending the eBay University as
well. This is the next step in the process. After you
have had the eBay buyer experience, it is time to
learn how to be an eBay seller.

Read all of the information eBay provides for you at
the site. The information is free and you will learn a
great deal from it. Take full advantage of this ??? before
you start setting up your first auction or your eBay
store! By reading through all of the resources, you
will avoid making numerous mistakes that so many
before you have made. This is another step towards
building a successful eBay business. Once you???ve
made it through the learning process, you should
know everything you need to know to get started
with a money making eBay business of your very
own.

Hot Selling Items for eBay Auctions

Many people who are trying to start an eBay
business spend a great deal of time trying to figure
out which items sell the best on eBay. Many of these
people have elaborate systems for determining this
information, and many others purchase expensive
courses that teach them how to find this information
as well. None of that is necessary. Everything you
need to know is right in front of you ??? on the eBay
website!

Take a look at any category, and you will see the
word ???hot??? beside some items. These items are not
marked as hot sellers randomly ??? there is a method
to the madness! Items only get marked as hot when
there have been more than thirty bids placed on
the item. All you have to do is wonder around the eBay
website for a while to find an item that will do well.

However, most power sellers will agree that there is
more to figuring out which items sell best than this.
In fact, they claim that it is a science. A great way
to start your search for items that will result in a
successful auction in the future is to do research on
the auctions that were successful in the past. You
can view old listings that have completed at:
http://listings.ebay.com .

A new way to determine what items sell best on
eBay is ???eBay Marketplace Research.??? Marketplace
Research will allow you to view important statistical
information on the buying trends at eBay. This
product contains all of the data one could possibly
ever need to determine how well ??? or how poorly ???
an item will do in an eBay auction. There is a small
fee for using the eBay Marketplace Research tools,
however.

Another tool that will be very useful in your quest for
finding hot selling items for your eBay auctions is the
listing of popular eBay search terms that is found on
the site. This list can be found at:
http://popular.ebay.com/ . This list is divided into
categories, which will make it easier to determine
how popular your potential item may be.

Don???t make the mistake of thinking that an item will
do poorly, or that it will do well without doing your
homework on the item first. Some of the strangest
things sell for the highest prices, while items that
would sell quickly in any other environment just sit
there. Almost any eBay Power Seller will tell you
that the key to a successful auction rests in the
amount of research you put into the items you
hope to sell.

How to Avoid eBay Scams and Fraud

Countless people have been scammed and
defrauded on eBay. eBay is a fun place to bid on
items and to sell items ??? but you must know how to
recognize a scam, and how to avoid them, them or
you quickly join the ranks of those who have lost
their money to eBay scams. Of course, if you are
scammed, there are some actions you can take the
correct the situation ??? but in many cases, the
scammer does indeed get away! The best option is
to avoid being scammed.

You can easily avoid many scams with the payment
method that you use ??? whether you are a buyer or a
seller. eBay owns Paypal, and in most cases,
Paypal is the payment method you should use. First,
as a buyer, if you are scammed or less than
satisfied with the item when it arrives, you can
dispute the charge easily, and demand a refund. The
seller must reply and show proof that the item was
shipped, and that it arrived in the condition that you
expected, or Paypal will return your funds to your
account.

As a seller, you can protect yourself by only
accepting Paypal. This will eliminate the chances of
receiving a bad check or having the buyer dispute a
credit card charge. Instead, they must dispute the
charge through paypal, and you of course will be able
to prove that you shipped the product. You cannot,
however, prove that the product arrived in the
condition that was expected. In this case, you should
demand that the product be returned to you before the
refund is issued.

Another common scam that buyers use is the
bidding scam. This type of scam is run either with
two separate eBay accounts ??? with one person in
control of both of them, or with two friends with
separate eBay accounts. A very small bid is placed
on your item, using one account. This is followed by
a very high bid, from the other eBay account. Right
before the bidding ends, the high bid is cancelled or
withdrawn, leaving the low bid as the winning bid.
This bid can only be avoided by setting a reserve price
??? the lowest bid that can be placed is the same as the
reserve price that you set.

If you are an eBay seller, you can further protect
your auctions by placing a notice on your auctions
page, declaring that you have the right to back out
of the sale if you suspect potential fraud. As both a
buyer and a seller, also beware of spoofed emails.
These emails appear to be from eBay. The email
may claim that you need to verify your information,
and ask you to login to your eBay account, using
the link provided. If you follow that link, the site looks
exactly like eBay, but it is actually a scam to get
your eBay login details, as well as your credit card
details! eBay will never ask you to do this. If you
suspect a spoofed email, report it to eBay
immediately!

Don???t let scammers ruin your eBay fun! Just use
good common sense, and a reasonable amount of
caution, and everything should run smoothly. Report
suspicious activity to eBay, and if a deal doesn???t feel
right, simply back away from it and move on to the
next auction.

How to Avoid Failure on Your eBay Auctions

Many first time sellers have one thing in common ???
they fail. Many of them fail time and time again,
never understanding what is going wrong. They do
hours of research looking for the perfect item to sell,
get the auction set up, and wait for the bidding to
begin. Hours go by and no bids are placed. Days go
by, and there are still no bids ??? or there are very low
bids. Finally the auction ends, and it turns out to be
a total failure. Considering the huge number of sellers
who run eBay auctions, there are specific things you
must do, and specific things you must not do if you
are to be successful.

There are many reasons why auctions fail. The most
common reason is that the item is not in high
demand. This problem can be avoided by doing the
necessary research to determine which items sell
well, and which items should be avoided. This
research takes a great deal of time ??? but in the end,
you will find that it is time well spent.

Another reason for eBay failure is pricing. No matter
what your reserve price is, your opening bid price
should never be more than $50 or so. This is how you
will attract potential bidders to your auction. If you
set that opening bid too high, most people won???t
even click the link to read the description for your
item. Another pricing problem is lack of research.
Before you set your reserve price, you must
determine what the item is really worth, and the price
similar items have sold for in past eBay auctions.

Poorly written descriptions are another cause of
failed auctions. Poor grammar and misspelled words
drive people away. Failing to post a picture of the
item will also keep people from visiting your auction
page. Make sure that your description is well written.
This is essentially your ???sales copy.???

Shipping prices scare people away from auctions if
they are too high. Find the lowest shipping prices
that you can find, and consider paying for the
shipping yourself if it won???t cut into your profits too
much. Do not charge handling fees.

Offer great ???customer service??? for all of your auctions,
and ask your buyers to give you feedback. If the
items that you sell are everything that you said they
would be, and you offer great customer service, you
can expect wonderful feedback ??? and this
feedback will help a great deal in your future auctions.

How to Avoid Losing to eBay Snipers

Sniping occurs when a bid is about to end. Some
yahoo rushes in and bids a little higher than the
highest bid as the clock runs out of time ??? winning
the bid. Sniping is against the rules at eBay, but it
doesn???t slow the snipers down! In most cases, even
if you report it, the sniper will get away with it, and
you will have lost the item that you wanted to win
so badly. Unfortunately, in order to avoid losing the
items you want to snipers at eBay, you have to
take on the sniper mentality. You also need to
snipe in a way that will not violate eBay???s rules.

Snipping can be done in one of two ways. The first
way is the safest, but not necessarily the easiest.
Simply keep up with the item you are bidding on.
Make a note of the date and time that the auction
will end, and make sure that you are in front of your
computer and logged into the auction well before that
specific time. The objective is to either bid higher than
the highest bid during the last few seconds ??? which is
what snipers do - or to simply make sure that you are
not outbid by a sniper.

Remember that sniping is against the rules, so you
should log in about thirty or forty five minutes before
the bidding ends, and get your bid up until it is the
highest bid. At that point, all you need to do is to
keep an eye out to make sure that nobody else
raises the bid. If you???ve been logged in for a while,
this cannot be considered sniping.

Using this method, you must be aware of automatic
bidders. It is very hard to bid against people who use
bidding software. That software has been designed for
the purpose of snipping, and your chances of
outbidding the software manually are very slim ???
which leads us to the second method of snipping
??? Snipping services.

Snipping services are very easy to find online, and
they are relatively inexpensive. You can also
purchase your own snipping software. If you want to
become a sniper, purchasing your own software is
usually the best way to go if you bid on a lot of items.
You just set up the software, tell it which auction to
watch and what the highest price you are willing to
bid is, and let it do the work - just remember that it
is against the rules, and while eBay seldom enforces
this rule, you will be running the risk of getting
banned from eBay.

Sniping is bad if someone does it to you, but if you
use it yourself to win bids, it can be a wonderful thing.
On the other hand, it may not be very ethical.
Outbidding someone is one thing, sniping is
something altogether different!

How to Find Great Deals at eBay

Everyone loves a great deal! Many people spend
quite a bit of time searching for good deals on the
items that they want and need ??? and when they find
those deals, they experience a certain amount of
satisfaction. These people typically haunt garage
sales, stores that are holding sales, wholesale
warehouses, flea markets, and especially online
and offline auctions. With the incredible number of
auctions that are constantly going on at eBay, it
can be difficult to find the items you want, at the
price you want to pay. But it isn???t impossible to find
great deals!

There are steps you can take to ensure that you are
getting a great deal on the items you purchase
through eBay. In fact, these same steps will also
help to protect you against fraud. Participating in
online auctions is a great deal of fun, but you must
use caution as well. This caution entails doing your
research before you place any bids.

Start with the auction in question. Make sure that
you read every word of the description and the
auction details. You can never have too much
information ??? especially if that information is
about an individual that you may be doing business
with. Pay special attention to what the description
and auction details do not say. For instance, is a
guarantee mentioned? Is the item new? Is it
authentic? Is there proof of authenticity? Look for
auctions that provide the right information ??? and
the right amount of information. Avoid those that
do not.

Who will pay the shipping and handling costs? Often,
the buyer pays these costs, and sometimes, the
seller tries to charge more than the actual shipping
and handling costs are. Beware of high shipping
costs, especially for items that will be auctioned
off at a very low price. Also note when the item is
supposed to ship after the bidding has ended.
Depending on what you are trying to purchase the
item for, it may not arrive in time.

Don???t make the mistake of bidding on an item simply
because it is a ???good deal.??? It is only a good deal for
you if the item is something that you really want or
need. Many people simply bid for the sake of
bidding ??? or winning ??? without having any real need
or desire for the item in question. Before bidding on
items that you do want or need, check prices
around the Internet and the prices available from
offline sources as well. Just because it is on eBay
does not guarantee that it is the cheapest price
available!

Finally, learn more about the seller. Can you trust
them? What is their rating? Read their feedback
page! Failure to learn more about the seller can be
costly. Not everyone is as honest as you are ??? and
the seller may be trying to take advantage of people
that simply don???t know enough to find out more
about them. Sometimes scammers make their
auctions sound like really great deals. Beware of
prices that seem extremely low!

How to Get Started on eBay

Are you interested in using eBay to buy the products that you need or even sell items that you no longer want? If you are, you will need to create an eBay account, if you haven???t already done so. Although many automatically assume that getting started with eBay is a complicated task, it doesn???t have to be. All you really need to do is follow a few simple steps and you should be good to go.

The first thing that you will want to do is visit eBay???s website, which is located at eBay.com. Once you are at eBay???s website, you can then click on the link that allows you to register a new account. At that stage, you will be brought to a signup form. That signup form will ask you a series of questions. For instance, you will need to enter in your full name, your address, your telephone number, as well as an e-mail address. You will also be required to come up with an eBay screen name or sign in name, as well as an eBay password, which will be used to access your eBay account. Once you have correctly filled out the form, you will be sent a verification email from eBay.

Once you have received eBay???s verification email and followed all of the instructions, which will help you validate your eBay account, you will be able to start using eBay right away. When you first get started, you may need to sign in to your eBay account. As previously stated, you will need to use your eBay sign in name or screen name and password to do so. For that reason, you may want to write down your sign in information and keep it in a safe place. Once you have signed in to your eBay account, you can then do whatever you want; buy or sell.

If you are interested in using eBay to shop online, to buy, you will want to start searching for items to buy. This can be done a number of different ways. eBay allows you to browse through their large selection of items, by detailed categories. You can also perform a standard eBay search or an advanced one. Searches are more likely to give you accurate, tailored results. When browsing or searching for something in particular, you should be able to see a large number of auction listing all on one page. The information that you will be presented with at this time is the standard, bare minimum. If you would like more information on the item in question, such as how much shipping costs or too see additional pictures, you will want to click on the link to view the detailed sales page. Should you like what you see, follow the instructions to buy and you will have made your first purchase on eBay!

As it was previously stated, if you are interested in selling on eBay, to make a little bit of extra money, you can also do so. The only difference is that you are required to pay small fees to become an eBay seller, unlike eBay buyers who have completely free accounts. The amount of money that you are charged will all depend on your auctions, particularly how much you list each item for, as well as how well each item sells. To get started with selling, you will want to click on the ???sell,??? link at the top of the eBay webpage. What is nice about listing items for sale on eBay it is relatively easy to do. For instance, you need to choose a category for your item, make a headline for your auction listing, write a description of your product, upload pictures of what you are selling, outline shipping costs, as well as accepted forms of payments, but everything is outlined for you, in a step-by-step matter.

Whether you are interested in becoming an eBay buyer or an eBay seller, you can do both, in as little as a few minutes. eBay, as previously mentioned, is considered one the most shopped at online marketplaces. For you, this means that if you are looking to make money on eBay, you should be able to do so and if you are interested in buying on eBay, you should be able to find millions of products to choose from.

How to Sell Expensive Items on eBay

Selling expensive items on eBay is really no different
than selling low cost items. Essentially, no matter
what you are selling, it all comes down to how you
market the item. This doesn???t mean you have to
surf around the Internet placing ads here and there ???
when it comes to eBay auctions, the marketing is
all done at the eBay website. Basically, when you
set up your auction, you are setting up an
automated marketing campaign.

First, you must determine what the value of your
item is, in three different ways. This will help you
determine what your reserve price is. On eBay, the
reserve price is the lowest price that you are willing
to accept for your item. First, have your high priced
item evaluated to determine what the actual market
value is. Next, research similar items from past
auctions at eBay to see what price those items sold
for. Finally, determine what the value of the item is to
you. With this information, you should be able to
determine the lowest amount you are willing to sell
the item for.

Set your reserve price, and then set your opening bid
price lower than $50 ??? no matter how high your
reserve price is. This is a marketing tactic. It will be
hard to attract potential buyers to an auction for an
item selling for hundreds or thousands of dollars ???
but getting them to an auction where the opening
bid is only $50 is quite simple. Remember, you don???t
have to sell the item to anyone who bids less than
your reserve price ??? unless you choose to do so at
the close of the auction. This method of price setting
resembles marketing gimmicks used by offline
businesses that are simply designed to ???get customers
in the door.???

Work hard on the description for your listing. Use
words that really describe your item well. Provide as
many details as possible, including details that prove
the authenticity of collectible items. Include pictures
of the item as well. Do not try to deceive potential
buyers! If the item has marks or scratches, simply
be honest about it, and make sure that the pictures
convey this as well. State how the item will be
packed and shipped. Also let potential buyers know
that shipping insurance must be purchased as well
??? in case the item is damaged once it leaves your
possession.

For higher priced items, most eBay buyers feel more
comfortable using an escrow service. Offer this as
an option in your auction, with the understanding that
the buyer must pay for the service. This protects both
parties from fraud, and it makes many buyers more
open to spending the money to obtain the item.
eBay has partnered with an escrow service that is
commonly used for high ticket items.