Chapter 1: Getting to Know eBay--for Seniors 3 What Is eBay, Exactly? 3How Seniors Use eBay 7Signing Up, Signing In, and Signing Out 8Create a New eBay Account 8Sign Into Your eBay Account 9Sign Out of eBay 10Navigating the eBay Site 11Use the eBay Toolbar 11Use eBay''s Home Page 12 Chapter 2: Shopping Safely on eBay 15 Understanding the Risks of Shopping on eBay 15Minimizing Your Risk with eBay''s Feedback System 16Understanding Feedback 16Viewing Feedback and Comments 18Paying Safely by Credit Card--and PayPal 20Protecting Yourself After the Sale with eBay''s Money Back Guarantee 21Filing a Claim 22Reporting Inappropriate Behavior 23Report Another User 24Tips for Protecting Yourself on eBay 25 Chapter 3: Browsing and Searching for Bargains 29 Browsing eBay''s Product Categories 29Browse the Product Categories 30Shop at a Product Hub 33Shop for Deals 34Searching for Specific Items 34Use eBay''s Basic Search 35Use eBay''s Advanced Search 36Follow a Search 40Viewing Product Listings 41Read a Listing Page 41 Chapter 4: Buying Fixed-Price Items 47 Fixed-Price or Auction: What''s the Best Way to Buy? 47Before You Buy 49Look for Key Information 49Purchasing a Fixed-Price Item 51Calculate the Final Price 51Buy a Single Item 53Use the eBay Shopping Cart for Multiple Items 55Paying for Your Purchase 57Shopping at eBay Stores 59Find an eBay Store 59Search for an Item in eBay Stores 60Browse and Buy in an eBay Store 60After the Sale 61Leave Feedback 62 Chapter 5: Buying Items on Auction 65 How Online Auctions Work 65Understanding the Bidding Process 66Determining How Much to Bid 69Bidding in an Online Auction 70Place a Bid 70After You''ve Bid 72Respond to a Higher Bid 73Retract a Bad Bid 74Winning an eBay Auction 75Pay for a Winning Bid 75Wait for the Item to Arrive 77Leave Feedback 79Bidding in a Reserve Price Auction 80Purchasing an Auction Item with the Buy It Now Option 81Use the Buy It Now Option 82Bid a Lower Price Instead 82Sniping to Win 83What Sniping Is--And How It Works 83Place a Last-Second Snipe 84Explore Automated Sniping Services 85Ten Tips for Winning More eBay Auctions 86#1: Don''t Bid Too Early 86#2: Look for Off-Peak Auctions 87#3: Bid in the Off Season 87#4: Search for Last-Minute Bargains 87#5: Don''t Bid Too Low 88#6: Don''t Bid Too High 88#7: Bid in Odd Numbers 88#8: Don''t Get Caught Up in a Bidding Frenzy 89#9: There''s More Where That Came From 89#10: Remember the Shipping and Handling Fees 89 Chapter 6: Understanding eBay''s Selling Fees 93 What Fees Do Buyers Pay? 93What Fees Do Sellers Pay? 94Basic Fees 94Optional Fees 96Use eBay''s Fee Calculator 98PayPal Fees 100Paying Your Fees 100 Chapter 7: Preparing Items for Sale 103 Finding Items to Sell 103Around the House 103Friends and Family 104Garage Sales and Yard Sales 104Flea Markets 104Live Auctions 105Vintage and Used Retailers 105Thrift Stores 105Discount and Dollar Stores 105Closeout Sales 105Going Out of Business Sales 105What You Can''t Sell on eBay 106Preparing Items for Sale 108Picking the Right Category 110Understand eBay''s Product Categories 110Choosing a Category 111Taking Product Photos 112Tips for Taking Great Product Photos 112Use eBay''s Stock Photos 118Edit Your Photos 119Writing an Effective Title 120Include Key Information 121Make Your Title Stand Out 121Writing an Effective Description 122Take All the Space You Need 122First Things First 123The Bare Necessities 123Describe It--Accurately 124Stress Benefits, Not Features 124Break It Up 124Don''t Forget the Fine Print 125Include Alternative Wording 125Making the Grade 126Making a Mint 126Getting Graded 127Other Ways to Describe Your Item 128 Chapter 8: Downsizing via eBay 133 Different Ways to Downsize 133Determining What to Sell 134Determining How to Sell 136Individual Items or Multiple-Item Lots? 136Auction or Fixed Price? 137Determining When to Sell 138Letting Someone Else Sell for You 138Use a Consignment Store 139Use an eBay Valet 140 Chapter 9: Selling Commodity Items at a Fixed Price 143 What Types of Items Should You Sell at a Fixed Price? 144Creating a Fixed-Price Listing 145Create a New Listing 146Create a New Listing--When eBay Knows What You''re Selling 151Managing Your Listings 155Edit a Listing 155End a Listing 157Relist an Item 158Making a Sale--What Happens Next? 159 Chapter 10: Selling One-of-a-Kind Items via Auction 161 What Types of Things Should You List via Online Auction? 161Before You List: Setting the Right Starting Price 162Set It Low Enough to Be Attractive. 162.But Don''t Set It So Low That It''s Not Believable 164Make Sure You Recover Your Costs 164Make Sure You Can Live with a Single Bid 164Creating an Auction Listing 165Create a New Listing 165Create a New Listing--When eBay Knows What You''re Selling 170Adding Fixed-Price Selling to Your Auctions with Buy It Now 174Add Buy It Now to an Auction Listing 175Setting a Higher Minimum with a Reserve Price Auction 176Add a Reserve Price to an Auction Listing 177Managing Your Item Listing 178Edit a Listing 179Cancel an Auction 180Block Unwanted Buyers 181Relist an Unsold Item 182After the Auction--Now What Happens? 183 Chapter 11: Accepting Payments with PayPal 185 Signing Up for a PayPal Account 185Different Types of PayPal Accounts 186Sign Up for PayPal 187Paying for PayPal 189Accepting PayPal Payments in Your eBay Listings 190Collecting PayPal Payments 190Withdraw Your Funds from PayPal 192 Chapter 12: After the Sale--Concluding the Transaction and Leaving Feedback 195 Understanding the Post-Sale Process 196Getting Paid 197Send an Invoice 197Receive Payment 199Packing and Shipping 200Leaving Feedback 200Leave Feedback 200 Chapter 13: Packaging and Shipping the Items You Sell 203 Packing Your Item for Shipment 203Essential Packing Supplies 204Pick the Right Shipping Container 205Where to Find Shipping Boxes 207How to Pack 208Seal the Package 211Labeling Your Package 212Use Prepaid Shipping Labels 212Label It Yourself 216Shipping Your Item 216Compare the Major Shipping Services 217U.S. Postal Service 218FedEx 219UPS 220Pricing Shipping for Your eBay Listings 220Charge a Flat Fee 220Use eBay''s Shipping Calculator 221Charge a Variable Fee 222 Chapter 14: Dealing with Deadbeats and Disputes 225 Handling Buyer Complaints 225Dealing with Nonpaying Buyers 227Follow Through on an Unpaid Item 228Contact an Unresponsive Bidder 228Open a Case in the Resolution Center 229Close Your Case 230Relist Your Item 230 Chapter 15: Managing Your eBay Activity with My eBay 233 Understanding and Navigating My eBay 233Using My eBay 235View a Summary of Your Activities 235View All Your Bids and Offers 237View Items You''re Watching 237View Your Purchase History 238Manage Your Selling (and Post-Selling) Activity 239View Searches You Follow 241Read and Send Messages 241 Chapter 16: Managing Your Personal Presence on eBay 245 Viewing Other Users'' Profile Pages 245View a Profile Page 246Follow Another User 247Personalizing Your Profile Page 248Edit Your Personal Information 248Add a Profile Picture 249Add or Change a Cover Image 250Share Your Profile Page with Others 251Managing Your eBay Account Settings 251Edit Your Account Information 251 Chapter 17: Using eBay on Your Mobile Phone or Tablet 255 Using eBay''s iPhone App 255Navigate the eBay App 256Search for Items to Buy 257Browse eBay''s Product Categories 259Shop via Barcode 261Sell on eBay 262Manage Your eBay Activity 265Using eBay on Other Mobile Devices 267Using eBay''s iPad App 268Using eBay''s Android App 269Using eBay''s Windows Phone App 270Using eBay''s BlackBerry App 271 Index 273.