Introduction 1 About This Book 1 Foolish Assumptions 2 Icons Used in This Book 3 Beyond the Book 3 Where to Go from Here 4 Book 1: eBay Basics 5 Chapter 1: Connecting with Up-to-Date Technology 7 Starting with the Right Device 7 Connecting to eBay without a Computer or While at Home 11 Choosing an ISP 12 Browsing for a Browser 13 Chapter 2: Navigating through eBay 17 Homing In on the Home Page 17 Navigating eBay the Easy Way 21 Maneuvering the Categories 25 Exploring Home Page Search Options 26 Chapter 3: Signing Up and Getting Started 27 Registering on eBay 28 Picking a Pickproof Password 33 Selecting Your User ID 34 Signing In to Deal 35 eBay''s Trust & Safety Is Watching 36 Staying Notified about the Rules 37 Abuses You Might Report 37 Don''t Get Caught in a Trading Violation 40 Chapter 4: Understanding eBay Transactions 43 Checking Out the Listing Page 43 Bidding on Auctions 49 Buying an Item Outright 53 Supercategories and Specialties 56 Chapter 5: Checking Out a Seller and Leaving Feedback 63 Understanding and Giving Feedback 63 Giving Detailed Seller Ratings Properly 66 Becoming a Star 68 Leaving Feedback with Finesse 69 Ways to Leave Feedback 72 You Have the Last Word -- Replying to Feedback 73 Checking Out a Seller''s Reputation 75 Reading Feedback Reviews 76 Getting Protection on eBay 78 Chapter 6: Bidding to Win 81 Understanding the Bidding Action 82 The Secret''s in the Timing 86 My Favorite Bidding Strategies 89 Quick Bidding Tips 91 Succeeding by Sniping 92 Retracting Your Bid in an Emergency 97 Chapter 7: Completing the Transaction 99 Monitoring the Auction Action 99 Checking Out 101 Using Your Credit Card Safely 102 Paying with PayPal 104 Sending Payment Promptly and Securely 108 Contacting the Seller 109 Leaving Responsible Feedback 110 Chapter 8: Participating in the Community 115 Your Social Profile on eBay 116 Reaching the World through Your Profile Page 117 Playing Nice with Other eBay Members 120 Going Deeper into the Community 123 Book 2: Essential Tools 125 Chapter 1: Researching on eBay 127 Looking for Items with eBay''s Search 127 Searching for Items by Seller 136 Refining a Search with Other Options 137 Finding eBay Members 138 Understanding eBay''s Category Hierarchy 138 Chapter 2: Researching Collectible Prices 141 Pricing New Products for eBay via Mobile 142 Finding Pricing Trends on eBay 144 Following Collectible-Buying Guidelines 148 Online Sources of Information 152 Chapter 3: Five-Star Customer Service via Personalized Communications 157 Communicating Takes a Little Effort 158 Anticipating Initial Buyer Inquiries 158 Communicating through eBay Messages 161 Personalizing Your Buyer''s Communication 163 Chapter 4: Letting PayPal Help You Manage the Money 165 Understanding How PayPal Works 166 Sorting Out PayPal''s Different Accounts 168 PayPal''s Protection Plans 169 Downloading Your Transaction History from PayPal 172 Chapter 5: Using eBay''s Management Tools 175 Signing In to Get Going 175 Taking Charge on Your My eBay Hub 177 Looking at the My eBay Summary Page 180 Tracking Your Buying Activity on My eBay 181 Organizing My eBay Lists, Searches, and Purchases 183 My eBay: Account Tab 188 Book 3: Selling Like a Pro 193 Chapter 1: Be Sure Your Listings Make Cents 195 Keeping an Eye on Where the Pennies Go 195 eBay''s Optional Listing Features 199 Adding the Final Value Fees 203 Know Your Options in Auctions 204 PayPal Gets Its Cut 206 Setting Sensible Shipping Costs 207 Chapter 2: Understanding the Finer Points of Selling 211 Auction Selling Strategies 212 Figuring out What Day to End an Auction 216 Knowing What Time to Start Your Auction 218 Selling Items through Fixed-Price Sales 220 Making Money in Other eBay Zones 220 Selling by the Rules 224 Knowing eBay''s Listing Policies 230 Chapter 3: Listing Items for Sale 235 Getting Ready to List Your Item 235 Deciding on a Sales Format 237 Getting Your Sales Specifics in Order 237 Selecting a Category: The How and Why 239 Creating the Perfect Item Title 242 Creating Your Item Description 246 Listing Multiples of an Item for Sale with Variations 248 Setting Bids, Prices, and Reserves 249 Timing Your Auction: Is It Everything? 252 I Want to Be Alone: The Private Auction 252 Adding Visuals to Highlight Your Item 252 Listing the Payment Methods You''ll Accept 253 Where You Are and Where You''ll Ship To 254 Checking Your Work and Starting the Sale 259 Making Midcourse Corrections 260 Chapter 4: Running Your Business on eBay 263 Managing Your My eBay: All Selling Area 264 Organizing with My eBay: Active Selling 266 Using the Tools on the My eBay: Sold Page 268 Connecting with Your Customers and Checking the Money 270 Stimulating Sales from the My eBay: Unsold Page 272 Relisting Items without Extra Work 273 eBay Bidding Management Tools 274 Book 4: Sourcing Merchandise 279 Chapter 1: Understanding eRetail Marketing 281 Marketing to Your Customers 282 Knowing the Current Market 283 Catching Trends in the Media 285 Finding eBay''s Soon-to-Be-Hot Sellers 286 Taking Aim with a Six-Month Merchandise Plan 287 Pulling Together Your Inventory Data 288 Using Formulas to Calculate Business Data 289 Chapter 2: Sourcing Merchandise Like a Pro 291 Tips for the Modest Investor 292 Buying for Retail: The Basic Course 293 Buying Wholesale 302 Buying Online for Resale 307 Chapter 3: Profiting by Selling for Others Online 311 Getting Organized to Sell for Others 311 Competing with the Drop-Off Stores 312 Understanding the "eBay Valet" Program 313 Promoting Your Consignment Business 315 Handling Your Business Professionally 315 Chapter 4: Sourcing, Liquidation, and Drop-Shipping 319 Know the Lingo of Merchandisers 320 Salvage: Liquidation Items, Unclaimed Freight, and Returns 323 Staying Safe When Buying Online 326 Dealing with Drop-Shippers 327 Book 5: Presenting Your Items 331 Chapter 1: Your eBay Photo Studio 333 Setting Up Your Studio 334 Your #1 Tool: A Digital Camera 336 Scanning Your Wares 339 Other Studio Equipment 340 Chapter 2: Mastering eBay Photography 347 Photo Guidelines 347 Photographing the Tough Stuff: Coins and Jewelry 349 Prepping and Photographing Clothing 353 eBay Gallery of Horrors 357 Chapter 3: Writing Listings that Sell, and Using HTML 361 Writing Descriptions that Sell 362 HTML the Easy eBay Way 363 Getting Friendly with HTML 365 Add Pictures to Your Description 370 Add Videos to Illustrate Your Item 371 Using HTML Table Codes to Make Templates 371 Creating Your Own HTML Designs and Templates 373 Getting a Quick, Basic Template 378 Chapter 4: Getting the Most from Your Photos 381 Size Matters 381 Adding the Artist''s Touch 383 Image-Editing Software 384 Finding a Home for Your Pictures 386 Using eBay''s Picture Hosting 387 Uploading your picture to eBay 388 Using Your Free Web Space 390 Book 6: Extending Your Reach 393 Chapter 1: Developing Your Own Web Presence 395 Know Why Your Web Presence Is Important 396 Free Web Space -- A Good Place to Start 397 Paying for Your Web Space 398 Naming Your Baby 401 Registering Your Domain Name 403 Chapter 2: Marketing Tools for Your Web Presence and Social Media 405 Advertising with Google AdWords 406 Getting Your Site Visible on a Search Engine 408 Casting for Customers in Social Media 411 Building a Community on Twitter 412 Making Friends and Fans on Facebook 414 Chapter 3: Tapping PayPal to Expand Sales 417 Enabling PayPal Payments on Your Website 417 Incorporating the Payment Buttons 418 Repeating the PayPal Button Process 422 Going Mobile with PayPal Here 423 Book 7: Storing and Shipping 425 Chapter 1: Organizing Your Product and Shipping Area 427 The Warehouse: Organizing Your Space 428 Keeping Track of What You Have 430 The Shipping Department: Packin'' It Up 432 Buying Postage Online 441 Chapter 2: Shipping without Going Postal 449 Shipping: The Heart of Your Business 449 Shopping for a Shipping Carrier 452 Shipping with USPS 457 You, Too, Can Use FedEx 460 Getting on the UPS Bandwagon 465 Shipping.