eBay Business All-in-One For Dummies E-Book

Marsha Collier

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Wissenschaft und neue Technologien
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2013

Seitenzahl: 1018

Beschreibung

Everything you need to know to start and run a successfuleBay business eBay now has 100 million active users and just keeps growing.And they have turned to For Dummies books and bestsellingeBay author Marsha Collier to help guide them through buying andselling on eBay for over a decade. This nine-books-in-one guide hasnow been updated to cover all the newest eBay seller tools, newtechniques to drive sales, new ways to enhance an eBay businessusing social media, and more. Marsha Collier covers the basics,essential tools, professional selling tips, where to findmerchandise, how to showcase and promote your stuff, storage andshipping, advice for Power Sellers, and legal/office issues. * A complete update of the bestselling eBay business guide * Covers getting the necessary eBay selling tools, how to doproduct research and set up payment systems, and tips on settingprices, creating good listings, and organizing sales * Helps you find things to sell at prices that will make aprofit, create listings that get attention, take great merchandisephotos, and promote your items on social media sites * Offers advice on providing customer service, safely storing andshipping your merchandise, and handling necessary bookkeeping andtax chores * Includes how to analyze data and establish the needed resourcesto become a Power Seller eBay Business All-in-One For Dummies, 3rd Edition is thesoup-to-nuts guide for running a successful eBay business.

Leseprobe

eBay® Business All-in-One For Dummies®, 3rd Edition

Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.111 River StreetHoboken, NJ 07030-5774 www.wiley.com

Copyright © 2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2013937654

ISBN 978-1-118-40166-8 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-118-40169-9 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-40167-5 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-40168-2 (ebk)

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

eBay Business All-in-One For Dummies®, 3rd Edition

Table of Contents

Visit www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/ebaybusinessaio to view this book's cheat sheet.

Introduction

About This Book

Foolish Assumptions

Icons Used in This Book

Beyond the Book

Where to Go from Here

Book I: eBay Basics

Book I: Chapter 1: Hooking Up with Online Technology

Starting with the Right Computer

The absolute necessities

Buying a used computer

Buying a refurbished computer

Upgrading your system with the help of eBay

Connecting to eBay without a Computer

Libraries: from Dewey Decimal to eBay

Commercial cyber-outlets and cafés

Hooking up from work

Choosing an ISP

Accessing E-Mail

Browsing for a Browser

Perusing the menus

Dabbling with the toolbar

Expert keyboard shortcuts

Book I: Chapter 2: Navigating through eBay

Homing In on the Home Page

Home-page links, the next generation

Bottoming out

Navigating eBay the Easy Way

Links to main areas

Links to register, sign in, or shop

Getting around on a catalog page

Maneuvering the Categories

Exploring Home Page Search Options

Book I: Chapter 3: Signing Up and Getting Started

Registering on eBay

Filling in required information

Do you solemnly swear?

It must be true if you have it in writing

Your license to deal (almost)

Picking a Pickproof Password

Selecting Your User ID

Signing In to Deal

eBay’s Trust & Safety Is Watching

Staying Notified about the Rules

Abuses You Might Report to Trust & Safety

Selling abuses

Bidding abuses

Feedback abuses

Identity abuses

Operational abuses

Miscellaneous abuses

Reporting Abuses

eBay’s response may vary

Speeding up a response (or not)

Don’t Get Caught in a Trading Violation

Book I: Chapter 4: Knowing eBay Sales

Checking Out the Listing Page

Examining listing info

Moving on to the tabs

Getting even more info (if you want to)

Bidding on Auctions

Automatic bidding

Private auctions

Buying an Item Outright

Buy It Now

Fixed-price sales

Add to cart

Shopping eBay Stores

Strolling through an eBay Store

Supercategories and Specialties

Real estate

Cruising eBay Motors

Supercategories

Book I: Chapter 5: Checking Out the Seller and Leaving Feedback

Understanding and Giving Feedback

The types of feedback

The magic feedback number

Giving Detailed Star Ratings Properly

Becoming a Star

Leaving Feedback with Finesse

Safety tips for giving feedback

The ways to leave feedback

You Have the Last Word — Responding to Feedback

Checking Out a Seller’s Reputation

Examining the Member Profile

Reading feedback reviews

Comparing Items Before Buying

Getting Protection on eBay

eBay Motors Vehicle Purchase Protection

PayPal purchase protection

Verified Rights Owner program

Book I: Chapter 6: Bidding to Win

Understanding the Bidding Action

Placing your auction bid

Bidding to the max with automatic (proxy) bidding

The Secret’s in the Timing

Using the lounging-around strategy

Using the beat-the-clock strategy

In the last few minutes

Shopping the Machiavellian Way

My Favorite Bidding Strategies

Hunting for errors

Researching your item

Quick Bidding Tips

Succeeding by Sniping

Sniping techniques for the beginner

Auto-sniping your auctions

Retracting Your Bid in an Emergency

Book I: Chapter 7: Completing the Transaction

Monitoring the Auction Action

Checking Out

Using Your Credit Card Safely

Knowing your credit card company’s policy

Adding a layer of protection with an online checkout service

Paying with PayPal

Registering at PayPal

Giving PayPal credit card or checking account information

Getting PayPal-verified

Ways to pay through PayPal

Sending Payment Promptly and Securely

Contacting the Seller

Leaving Responsible Feedback

Late Delivery

Missing or damaged shipment

Item doesn’t meet your expectations

Choosing your words carefully

Book I: Chapter 8: Participating in the Community

Your Home on eBay: About Me

Planning and Building an About Me Page

Gathering your thoughts

Setting up the page

Reaching the World through Your Profile Page

Playing Nice with Other eBay Members

News and chat, this and that

Hear ye, hear ye! eBay’s announcements

Help! I need somebody

eBay news and information boards

User-to-user (general) discussion boards

Checking Out Other Boards

Café society

Giving board

Sharing Knowledge in Category-Specific Boards

Joining eBay Groups

Book II: Essential Tools

Book II: Chapter 1: Researching on eBay

Looking for Items with eBay’s Search Engine

Going where the Search button takes you

Performing a basic search in Advanced

Refining even the most basic search

Searching for Items by Seller

Searching for Items by Bidder

Working with Search Results

Matching categories

Refining a search with other options

Finding eBay Members

Understanding eBay’s Category Hierarchy

How the structure works

Drilling down to your item

Book II: Chapter 2: Researching Collectible Prices

Pricing New Products for eBay via Mobile

Finding Pricing Trends on eBay

Following Collectible-Buying Guidelines

Quizzing the seller

Useful publications

Online Sources of Information

Other websites

Online search engines

Authentication services

Book II: Chapter 3: Five-Star Customer Service via Eloquent Communications

Communicating in Writing Takes a Little Effort

Anticipating Initial Buyer Inquiries

Communicating through eBay Messages

Responding to an eBay message

Making your response friendly, helpful, and productive

Personalizing Your Buyer’s Communication

Customizing an automatic message

The order confirmation e-mail

Updating shipping information

Book II: Chapter 4: Letting PayPal Help You Manage the Money

Understanding How PayPal Works

Payment methods supported by PayPal

Sending money

Sorting Out PayPal’s Different Accounts

PayPal Personal account

Business and Premier accounts

PayPal’s Protection Plans

PayPal purchase protection

PayPal seller protection

Downloading Your Transaction History from PayPal

Preparing to download your PayPal data

Downloading and customizing your reports

Saving and Editing Your Reports

Book II: Chapter 5: Using eBay’s Management Tools

Signing In to Get Going

Taking Charge on Your My eBay Page

Looking at the My eBay Summary Page

Tracking Your Buying Activity on My eBay

Bids/Offers

Didn’t win

eBay Bucks

Organizing My eBay Lists, Searches, and Purchases

Lists: Watch list

Saved Searches link

Saved Sellers link

Purchase History link

My eBay: Account Tab

Personal Information link

Site Preferences link

Seller Dashboard

Feedback link

Subscriptions link

Ramping Up with Selling Manager

First glimpse of Selling Manager

Scheduled link

Active link

Sold in Selling Manager

Archived link

Book III: Selling Like a Pro

Book III: Chapter 1: Be Sure Your Listings Make Cents

Keeping an Eye on Where the Pennies Go

Insertion (listing) fees

Reserve-price auction fees

eBay’s Optional Listing Features

Subtitle

Listing Designer

Boldface

View counter

Buy It Now

Adding the Final Value Fees

Know Your Options in Auctions

Traditional auctions

Best Offer

Restricted access auctions

Private listings

PayPal Gets Its Cut

Setting Sensible Shipping Costs

Book III: Chapter 2: Understanding the Finer Points of Selling

Auction Selling Strategies

Starting the auction bidding

Auction length

Figuring out What Day to End an Auction

Knowing What Time to Start Your Auction

Selling Items through Fixed Price Sales

Making Money in Other eBay Zones

eBay’s half-brother: Half.com

Automotive? Go eBay Motors

Real estate: Not always an auction

Selling by the Rules

Is what you want to sell legal?

Prohibited and restricted items

Questionable items

Potentially infringing items

Knowing eBay’s Listing Policies

Duplicate listings

State it up front: Drop-shipping and product-sourcing listings

Ix-nay on the bonuses, giveaways, raffles, or prizes

Search and browse manipulation by keyword spamming

Limited linking from your listings

Book III: Chapter 3: Listing Items for Sale

Getting Ready to List Your Item

Deciding on a Sales Format

Getting Your Sales Specifics in Order

Selecting a Category: The How and Why

Creating the Perfect Item Title

Look for a phrase that pays

Getting eyes on your listing with eBay Labs

eBay acronyms and initialisms at a glance

Don’t let your title ruin your listing

Giving the title punch with a subtitle

Creating Your Item Description

Composing the description

Jazzing it up with HTML

Listing Multiples of an Item for Sale with Variations

Setting Bids, Prices, and Reserves

Setting a minimum bid — how low can you go?

Going with a Buy It Now price

Using your secret safety net — reserve price

Timing Your Auction: Is It Everything?

I Want to Be Alone: The Private Auction

Adding Visuals to Highlight Your Item

A picture is worth a thousand words

Listing Designer

Listing the Payment Methods You’ll Accept

Where You Are and Where You’ll Ship To

eBay has some rules about shipping

Setting shipping and handling terms

Using eBay’s shipping calculator

Checking Your Work and Starting the Sale

Making Midcourse Auction Corrections

Making changes before bidding begins

Making changes in the last 12 hours

Book III: Chapter 4: Listing via eBay’s Turbo Lister

Features and Minimum Requirements

Downloading and Starting Turbo Lister

Preparing an eBay Listing

Designing Your Listing

Filling In Item Specifics

Organizing Your Listings

Uploading Listings to eBay

Book III: Chapter 5: Running Your Business on My eBay

Managing Your All Selling Area

Organizing with My eBay: Active Selling

The general layout

Customizing your display

Filtering your view

Taking action when necessary

Using the Tools on the My eBay: Sold Page

Connecting with your Customers and Checking the Money

Notifying winners

Sending invoices

Tracking payments in My eBay: Sold

Stimulating Sales from the My eBay: Unsold Page

Relisting Items without Extra Work

Relisting after a sale

If at first you don’t succeed

Okay, time to relist (or Sell Similar)

eBay Bidding Management Tools

Canceling bids

Setting eBay buyer requirements

Ending your listing early

Book IV: Sourcing Merchandise

Book IV: Chapter 1: Understanding Online Retailing

Taking Aim with a Six-Month Merchandise Plan

Pulling Together Your Inventory Data

Using the Formulas That Calculate Your Data

Marketing to Your Customers

Knowing the Current Market

Catching Trends in the Media

In the news

On television

Catch up with youth culture . . .

Check out other media

Join social networks

Finding eBay’s Soon-to-Be-Hot Sellers

Hot on the home page

Marketplace Research by Terapeak

Checking Out the Buzz Online

Book IV: Chapter 2: Sourcing Merchandise Like the Pros

Tips for the Modest Investor

Buying for Retail: The Basic Course

Joining the hunt for e-Bay inventory

Looking for resale items on eBay

Buying Wholesale

Setting up to buy

Finding merchandise locally

Regional merchandise marts

Wholesale trade shows

Buying Online for Resale

Craigslist

B2B wholesale clearinghouses

Buying directly from online wholesalers

Book IV: Chapter 3: Selling Other People’s Stuff Online

Getting Organized to Sell for Others

Competing with the Drop Off Stores

Becoming Listed in the eBay Trading Assistant Directory

Promoting Your Business

Adding the Trading Assistant logo to your listings

Posting flyers

Handling Your Business Professionally

Book IV: Chapter 4: Sourcing Liquidation and Drop-Shipping

Know the Lingo of Merchandisers

Salvage: Liquidation Items, Unclaimed Freight, and Returns

Staying Safe When Buying Online

Dealing with Drop-Shippers

Finding a good drop-shipper

Coping with the inevitable out-of-stock

Book V: Presenting Your Items

Book V: Chapter 1: Your eBay Photo Studio

Setting Up Your Studio

Your #1 Tool: A Digital Camera

Scanning Your Wares

Other Studio Equipment

Tripod

Power supplies

Lighting

Photo cube

Photo background and stage

Cloud Dome

Props

Book V: Chapter 2: Mastering eBay Photography

Photo Guidelines

Photographing the Tuff Stuff: Coins and Jewelry

Shooting with the Cloud Dome

Tips for taking Cloud Dome pictures

Prepping and Photographing Clothing

Cleaning and pressing essentials

Assembling your fashion photo studio

eBay Gallery of Horrors

Mistake #1

Mistake #2

Mistake #3

Mistake #4

Mistake #5

Book V: Chapter 3: Designing Your Website, Listings, and Blogs with HTML

Before You Format: Writing Descriptions that Sell

HTML the Easy eBay Way

Getting Friendly with HTML

What HTML can do

How HTML works

Add Pictures to Your Description

Using HTML Table Codes to Make Templates

Creating Your Own HTML Designs and Templates

Downloading SeaMonkey

Adding text and graphics

Adding HTML formatting

Getting a Quick, Basic Template

Book V: Chapter 4: Getting Your Photos Ready for eBay

Size Matters

Adding the Artist’s Touch

Image-Editing Software

Using Microsoft’s simple photo editor

Perfecting your picture online in LunaPic

Quick touchup and FTP in Fast Photos

Book V: Chapter 5: Getting Your Photos on eBay and the Web

Finding a Home for Your Pictures

Using eBay’s Picture Hosting

Uploading your picture to eBay

Understanding the costs

Using Your Free Web Space

Book VI: Extending Your Reach

Book VI: Chapter 1: Developing Your Web Presence

Knowing Why Web Presence Is Important

Free Web Space — a Good Place to Start

Paying for Your Web Space

Naming Your Baby

Registering Your Domain Name

Book VI: Chapter 2: Marketing Tools for Your Web Presence and Social Media

Advertising with Google AdWords

Getting Your Site Visible on a Search Engine

Catch attention on Google

Get listed on Bing and Yahoo!

Casting for Customers in Social Media

Building a Community on Twitter

When promoting on Twitter

Choosing who to follow

Making Friends and Fans on Facebook

Facebook business page benefits

Engaging and building your audience

Book VI: Chapter 3: Tapping PayPal Resources to Expand Sales

Enabling PayPal Payments on Your Website

Incorporating the Payment Buttons

Repeating the PayPal button process

Going Mobile with PayPal Here™

Book VII: Storing and Shipping

Book VII: Chapter 1: Organizing Your Merchandise and Shipping Area

The Warehouse: Organizing Your Space

Shelving your profits

Box ’em or bag ’em?

Keeping Track of What You Have

The Shipping Department: Packin’ It Up

Pre-packaging clean up

Packing materials

Shipping in mailing envelopes

Boxing your items

Buying Postage Online

Endicia

eBay and PayPal shipping services

Stamps.com

Book VII: Chapter 2: Shipping without Going Postal

Shipping: The Heart of Your Business

Shopping for a Shipping Carrier

Meeting your front line

Location, location, location

Comparing prices

You, Too, Can Use FedEx

FedEx Ground and Home Delivery

Signing up with FedEx

FedEx online

Shipping with USPS

Convenient and fast

Understanding the costs

Getting on the UPS Bandwagon

Comparing costs

Variable UPS rates

Shipping Items through PayPal

PayPal shipping with the USPS

PayPal shipping with UPS

Book VII: Chapter 3: Insuring Your Item’s Delivery

Insurance Options

Self-insuring your items

Insuring through the major carriers

Getting private, discounted shipping insurance

Avoiding Mistyped Addresses

Making a Claim When Shipping Goes Bad

Filing a claim with the post office

Filing a claim with UPS

Filing a claim with FedEx

Book VIII: Power Selling on eBay

Book VIII: Chapter 1: Going Pro with eBay’s Selling Manager

Getting Selling Manager

Selling Manager Features

At a Glance

Seller Dashboard Summary box

Listing Activity

Sold

Seller tools links

Manage My Store

Getting More from Selling Manager

Handling transaction activities

Tracking payments and shipping

Relisting and Selling Similar Items

Accessing Selling Manager Reports

Book VIII: Chapter 2: Managing Sales with eBay Apps and Third-Party Tools

Finding Function-Specific Apps

Choosing Your Management Tools

Looking for Essential Features

Exploring Advanced Features

Finding More to Automate

Setting up a link to your eBay listings

Automating end-of-auction e-mail

Keeping inventory

Composing HTML for listings

One-click relisting or selling similar

Scheduling listings for bulk upload

Checking out

Printing shipping labels

Generating customized reports

Submitting feedback

Opting for Third-Party Management

Vendio

Meridian

Auction Wizard 2000

Book VIII: Chapter 3: Attaining PowerSeller and Top Rated Seller Status

Becoming an eBay Elite Seller

Joining PowerSeller ranks

Becoming a Top Rated Seller

Getting highlighted on eBay: Top Rated Plus

The Benefits of Membership

PowerSeller perks

Top Rated Seller benefits

Top Rated Seller Plus benefits

Book VIII: Chapter 4: Deciding When You Need an eBay Store

Locating Your Special Place Online

Checking Out Online Stores Galore

Deciding to Open an eBay Store

Choosing Between Store Types

Knowing the Fee Structure

Selecting Your eBay Store Name

Setting Up Shop

Subscribing to eBay Stores

Making the required decisions

Designing an eBay Store logo

Running Your Store

Store design

Marketing tools

Item promotions

Making a sale

Book IX: Office and Legal

Book IX: Chapter 1: Getting Legal with the State and the Feds

Giving Your Business an Official Name

Taking Care of Regulatory Details

Business license or city tax certificate

State sales tax number

Don’t withhold the withholding forms

Selecting a Business Format

Sole proprietorship

Partnership

LLC (limited liability company)

Corporation

Book IX: Chapter 2: The Joys of Taxes and Business Reporting

Dealing with a Professional

Keeping the Books: Basics to Get You Started

Tracking everything in and out

Accounting for everything — twice

Separating business and personal records

Records Uncle Sam May Want to See

Supporting information

How long should you keep your records?

Getting the Most from Your Reports

Understanding the balance sheet

Tracking your accounts payable

Knowing your sales-tax liability

Analyzing your profit and loss statement

Keeping Your Records and Data Safe

Backing Up Your Data

Saving Your Backup Paperwork

Book IX: Chapter 3: Taking Care of Your Finances

What? Double-Entry Accounting?

Starting Out Right with Outright

QuickBooks: Professional Bookkeeping

QuickBooks Pro

QuickBooks EasyStep Interview

Setting Up a Chart of Accounts

Having QuickBooks Report on Your eBay Business

Posting Sales from PayPal My Way

Posting sales to match deposits

Customizing the sales data

Book IX: Chapter 4: Keeping You and Your Business Secure Online

Staying Away from Spam

Keeping your e-mail address quiet

Recognizing Spam

Finding spam before it finds you

Checking out nefarious e-mail

Fighting Back!

Keeping Your Password (and Accounts) Secure

Reporting hijacked accounts

Choosing a good secret question

Avoiding easily hacked passwords

Book IX: Chapter 5: Networking Your Office

The What and Why of Networks

Variations of a Home Network

Extending wireless with powerline

Hooking up with wireless

Internet Security and Your Home Network

About the Author

Cheat Sheet

Introduction

It seems that I’m always writing about eBay and how to do business online. That’s because the Internet changes from year to year (as does the e-commerce market), and I am obsessive about keeping my advice for small businesses updated.

My books about eBay don’t just give you the information you can find in help pages; they give you the ins and outs of selling and connecting online, based on my daily experience and research. I also stay on top of the current trends in online and social marketing, test them out, and pass the results back to you. This book gives you more information than even many longtime sellers know.

I am lucky enough to have been selling on eBay since 1996, a charter member of the PowerSeller program and now a Top Rated Plus Seller. Running a business online has given me the opportunity to spend more time with my loved ones and have better control of my life. I can make my own schedule and enjoy what I’m doing because my business is making a profit. Owning a small business can be empowering.

But those of us who run a small business always seem to be doing something. Buying, selling, and communicating — even when going on a vacation, our businesses keep humming. There’s no 9-to-5 schedule, no regular weekends or holidays. Our stores on eBay are always open for business — making sales and making us money.

Alas, all that success and freedom takes some work. That’s why you have this book.

About This Book

This book will give you the basics, the hows and whys of setting up a home-based business on eBay and on your own website. I’ve authored several best-selling books about running a business on eBay. This book gives you the information you need to get started in one nifty (albeit heavy) volume. You can get the info found in several books about eBay all in one place. Here are some good-to-know features of this All-in-One:

There’s no need to read straight through all the chapters and minibooks in order. Use the Table of Contents to find information you want to learn. When you have a question, use the Index to find your answer, as you might do with a Google search.

Within this book, you may note that some printed web addresses break across two lines of text. If you’re reading this book in print and want to visit one of these web pages, simply type in the web address exactly as it’s noted in the text, pretending as though the line break doesn’t exist. If you’re reading this as an e-book, you’ve got it easy — just click the web address to be taken directly to the web page.

When instructions in the book tell you exactly what to type on your keyboard, you’ll see those letters, numbers, and symbols in boldface type. Of course, if the instruction itself is boldface, you’ll see what to type in non-bold type.

I occasionally give you key combinations to use as keyboard shortcuts. For example, when you see something like Ctrl+S, that means to hold down the Ctrl key and press S.

Foolish Assumptions

While writing this book, I’ve made a few assumptions about you. Because you bought this book, naturally I assume you’re an intelligent person with refined tastes. Kidding aside, that may well be true — but the main assumption I’ve really made about you is that you want to find out more about eBay and selling online.

I assume also that you

Have a computer and an Internet connection

Are comfortable browsing the Internet

Are familiar with e-mail

Are looking for a way to make some extra money

Have checked out eBay and perhaps bought a few items

You’ve probably also sold a few items and made a couple of dollars. Maybe you think eBay just might be a good place to earn a regular stream of extra income. It also helps if you’ve read my current edition of eBay For Dummies where you get familiar with the basics of eBay.

If you can accept that nothing comes without a bit of effort, you might just be on the track of a new career.

Icons Used in This Book

I’ve written quite a few books in the For Dummies series, and all the books have cute little icons to draw your attention to special comments. Following are the ones I use, along with what they mean.

This icon indicates a story about a real event. The story may come from one of my dealings or from a fellow eBay user. I hope you find the stories interesting and learn from another user’s mistake (or dumb luck).

When you see this icon, it’s a friendly reminder to keep in mind the short fact that follows. No doubt it will come up again, and you’ll be ahead of the game if you remember it.

Here are a few words from me to you, to help you do things the easy way. I’ve made the mistakes, but you don’t have to make them too.

This little bomb of a fact will keep you out of trouble. Often these facts are not generally known. Be sure to read them to avoid common pitfalls.

Also, you will see sidebars (with light gray behind the text), these are important things that I like to emphasize — so don’t forget to read them.

Beyond the Book

Here, in one volume, are nine individual minibooks related to becoming an expert on eBay and online sales. Each book is broken down into individual chapters to give you more in-depth information on the subject at hand.

You will notice title pages at the beginning of each minibook (we call them parts pages) where you see what's included in the associated minibook, and where you can go online to find more information (for example, www.dummies.com/extras/ebaybusinessaio).

And don't forget the book's related Cheat Sheet, which is another source of quick reference information. Find it online at www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/ebaybusinessaio.

Where to Go from Here

It’s time to open the book and dive in. For ongoing eBay-related adventures in cyberspace (the latest frontier), here are some handy destinations:

You can find current editions of my For Dummies books at www.dummies.com.

For updates on the topics I cover in this book, be sure to visit my website, http://www.coolebaytools.com. You'll find articles about things going on at eBay, online business, and social media.

For time-sensitive and possibly silly posts, I have a blog at http://mcollier.blogspot.com.

If you’d like to ask me questions personally, you can find me on the following social media sites:

Twitter: @MarshaCollier

https://twitter.com/MarshaCollier

Facebook: Marsha Collier

https://www.facebook.com/MarshaCollierFanPage

Google+: Marsha Collier Circle me and join me for a hangout?

https://plus.google.com/101540468776840533944

YouTube: DealingDiva (don’t judge — I opened that account a long time ago). I post videos to answer many questions I receive.

http://www.youtube.com/user/dealingdiva

You can contact me directly from the Contact page on my website. I read all e-mails and try to answer as many as I can. But please remember that I’m just me. No giant staff, no big offices. I write books, research new products to help online citizens, consult with eBay sellers just like you, run an eBay business, and try to have a life.

Thank you for buying this book. Please e-mail me and let me know about your eBay successes.

Book I

eBay Basics

Visit http://www.dummies.com/extras/ebaybusinessaio and find an article defining the buying and selling vocabulary used on eBay.

Contents at a Glance

Book I: Chapter 1: Hooking Up with Online Technology

Book I: Chapter 2: Navigating through eBay

Book I: Chapter 3: Signing Up and Getting Started

Book I: Chapter 4: Knowing eBay Sales

Book I: Chapter 5: Checking Out the Seller and Leaving Feedback

Book I: Chapter 6: Bidding to Win

Book I: Chapter 7: Completing the Transaction

Book I: Chapter 8: Participating in the Community

Chapter 1: Hooking Up with Online Technology

In This Chapter

Setting up your hardware

Going online without your own computer