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Table of Contents Introduction..................................................................1 About the Book.................................................................................................1 What You’re Not to Read.................................................................................1 Foolish Assumptions .......................................................................................2 How This Book Is Organized...........................................................................2 Book I: eBay Basics ................................................................................2 Book II: Essential Tools..........................................................................2 Book III: Selling Like a Pro .....................................................................3 Book IV: Sourcing Merchandise............................................................3 Book V: Presenting Your Items ............................................................3 Book VI: Promoting Your Goods ...........................................................3 Book VII: Storing and Shipping .............................................................3 Book VIII: Power Selling .........................................................................3 Book IX: Office and Legal.......................................................................4 Icons Used in This Book..................................................................................4 Where to Go from Here....................................................................................4

Part I: eBay Basics .......................................................5 Chapter 1: Hooking Up with Online Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Starting with the Right Computer ..................................................................7 The absolute necessities .......................................................................7 Buying a used computer........................................................................8 Buying a refurbished computer............................................................9 Upgrading your system with the help of eBay ...................................9 Connecting to eBay without a Computer....................................................10 Libraries: From Dewey Decimal to eBay............................................10 Commercial cyber-outlets ...................................................................11 Hooking up from work .........................................................................11 Choosing an ISP ..............................................................................................11 Accessing E-Mail.............................................................................................13 Browsing for a Browser .................................................................................14 Perusing the menus..............................................................................16 Dabbling with the toolbar ...................................................................16 Expert keyboard shortcuts .................................................................18

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Chapter 2: Navigating through eBay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 Homing In on the Home Page .......................................................................19 Home page links, the next generation ...............................................20 Bottoming out .......................................................................................23 Navigating eBay the Easy Way......................................................................24 Maneuvering the Categories.........................................................................28 Exploring Home Page Search Options.........................................................30

Chapter 3: Signing Up and Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31 Registering on eBay .......................................................................................31 Filling in required information............................................................33 Do you solemnly swear?......................................................................36 It must be true if you have it in writing .............................................37 Your license to deal (almost)..............................................................38 Picking a Pickproof Password ......................................................................39 Selecting Your User ID ...................................................................................40 Signing In to Deal............................................................................................41 Verifying Your ID.............................................................................................42 eBay Is Watching Over You ...........................................................................43 Abuses you should report to Trust and Safety.................................44 Reporting abuses..................................................................................47 Don’t get caught in a trading violation ..............................................50

Chapter 4: Understanding eBay Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53 Checking Out the Listing Page......................................................................53 Bidding on Auctions ......................................................................................59 Automatic bidding................................................................................59 Private auctions....................................................................................62 Multiple-item auctions .........................................................................62 Buying an Item Outright ................................................................................62 Buy It Now .............................................................................................63 Fixed-price sales ...................................................................................63 Shopping eBay stores ..........................................................................63 Supercategories and Specialties ..................................................................66 Real estate .............................................................................................67 Cruising eBay Motors ..........................................................................67 Supercategories ....................................................................................70

Chapter 5: Checking Things Out Before Buying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75 Understanding and Giving Feedback...........................................................75 The magic feedback number...............................................................76 Becoming a star ....................................................................................77 Leaving feedback with finesse ............................................................78 You have the last word — responding to feedback .........................82 Scrutinizing a Seller’s Reputation ................................................................83 Conducting a “light” seller examination............................................84 Making a full-scale seller investigation..............................................85

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Comparing Items Before Buying...................................................................90 Getting Protection on eBay...........................................................................92 eBay fraud protection ..........................................................................92 eBay Motors limited warranty ............................................................93 eBay Motors vehicle purchase protection ........................................94 PayPal buyer protection......................................................................94 BuySAFE bond.......................................................................................95 SquareTrade buyer protection ...........................................................95 Verified Rights Owner program ..........................................................96

Chapter 6: Bidding to Win . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97 Understanding the Bidding Action ..............................................................98 Placing your bid....................................................................................98 Bidding to the max with automatic (proxy) bidding .....................100 The Secret’s in the Timing ..........................................................................101 Using the lounging-around strategy.................................................103 Using the beat-the-clock strategy.....................................................104 In the last few minutes.......................................................................104 Shopping the Machiavellian Way ...............................................................105 My favorite bidding strategies..........................................................107 Quick bidding tips ..............................................................................110 Bidder’s research software ...............................................................111 Succeeding by Sniping.................................................................................112 Sniping techniques for the beginner................................................112 Auto-sniping your auctions...............................................................115 Retracting Your Bid in an Emergency........................................................116

Chapter 7: Completing the Transaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .119 Checking Out ................................................................................................120 Using Your Credit Card Safely.....................................................................121 Knowing your credit card company’s policy ..................................122 Adding a layer of protection with an online checkout service ....123 Paying with PayPal.......................................................................................124 Registering at PayPal .........................................................................124 Giving PayPal credit card or checking account information ........124 Getting PayPal-verified ......................................................................126 Ways to pay through PayPal .............................................................126 Using PayPal’s eBay Payment Tool ..................................................127 Making a PayPal payment .................................................................128 Sending a Money Order ...............................................................................129 Writing a Check ............................................................................................130 Paying through CheckFree ..........................................................................131 Sending Payment Promptly and Securely .................................................131 Contacting the Seller ...................................................................................132 Leaving Responsible Feedback ..................................................................134 Missing or damaged shipment..........................................................134 Item doesn’t meet your expectations ..............................................134 Choosing your words carefully.........................................................135

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Chapter 8: Participating in the Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .137 Your Home on eBay: About Me ..................................................................137 Gathering your thoughts ...................................................................140 Setting up the page.............................................................................141 Playing Nice with Other eBay Members....................................................146 News and chat, this and that ............................................................146 Hear ye, Hear ye! eBay’s announcement boards ............................147 Help! I need somebody ......................................................................149 Community chat rooms .....................................................................150 User-to-user discussion boards........................................................151 Other chat rooms (message boards) ...............................................151 Sharing knowledge in category-specific chat boards ....................155 Joining eBay Groups ....................................................................................155

Part II: Essential Tools ...............................................157 Chapter 1: Researching on eBay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .159 Working eBay’s Search Engine....................................................................159 Going where the Search button takes you ......................................159 Performing a basic search.................................................................162 Refining even the most basic search ...............................................164 Searching for items by seller ............................................................167 Searching for items by bidder ..........................................................168 Searching stores .................................................................................169 Working with Search Results ......................................................................170 More on eBay ......................................................................................171 Matching categories...........................................................................171 Search options ....................................................................................172 Finding eBay Members ................................................................................173 Understanding eBay’s Category Hierarchy...............................................174 How the structure works...................................................................174 Drilling down to your item ................................................................175

Chapter 2: Researching on the Web . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .177 Researching Collectible Auctions ..............................................................177 Quizzing the seller..............................................................................180 Useful publications ............................................................................181 Online Sources of Information....................................................................183 Web sites .............................................................................................184 Online search engines........................................................................184 Online appraisals................................................................................185 Authentication services.....................................................................186

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Chapter 3: Efficient Communications for Better Sales . . . . . . . . . . . .189 Communicating with Your Customers.......................................................189 Initial inquiry through eBay’s e-mail service ..................................190 The winner’s notification letter ........................................................193 Let’s keep e-mailing............................................................................194 The payment reminder ......................................................................196 The payment received and shipping notice ...................................196 The “Your item is on the way” e-mail...............................................197 Communicating with the Seller ..................................................................198

Chapter 4: Simplifying Payment with PayPal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .201 Understanding How PayPal Works ............................................................202 Sending money through PayPal........................................................202 Figuring out payment types ..............................................................203 PayPal’s Protection Plans............................................................................204 PayPal buyer protection....................................................................204 PayPal seller protection ....................................................................206 Sorting Out PayPal’s Accounts ...................................................................207 PayPal personal account ...................................................................208 Business and premier accounts .......................................................208 Downloading Your Payment History from PayPal ...................................209 Customizing and downloading your reports ..................................210 Saving and editing your reports .......................................................213

Chapter 5: Using eBay’s Management Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .215 Signing In to Get Going ................................................................................215 Taking Advantage of My eBay.....................................................................216 My eBay: Summary Page .............................................................................219 My eBay: All Buying Page ............................................................................220 Watching link.......................................................................................221 Bidding link .........................................................................................222 Won link ...............................................................................................223 Didn’t win link .....................................................................................225 My eBay: All Favorites Page........................................................................225 Searches link .......................................................................................225 Sellers link ...........................................................................................227 Categories link ....................................................................................227 My eBay: My Account Page.........................................................................229 Personal information link ..................................................................229 Manage subscriptions link ................................................................230 eBay preferences link.........................................................................230 Feedback link ......................................................................................231

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Ramping Up with Selling Manager .............................................................232 First glimpse of Selling Manager.......................................................232 Scheduled listings link .......................................................................234 Active listings link ..............................................................................234 Sold listings link..................................................................................234 Sold listings past due link..................................................................235 Archived listings link .........................................................................235 Seller tools...........................................................................................236 Cross-promotions ...............................................................................236

Part III: Selling Like a Pro .........................................237 Chapter 1: Be Sure Your Listings Make Cents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .239 Keeping an Eye on Where the Pennies Go ................................................239 Insertion (listing) fees........................................................................240 Reserve price auctions ......................................................................241 eBay’s Optional Listing Features................................................................244 Home-page featured auctions ...........................................................246 Featured Plus ......................................................................................247 Subtitle.................................................................................................247 Highlight ..............................................................................................248 Border ..................................................................................................249 Listing Designer ..................................................................................249 Boldface ...............................................................................................250 View counter .......................................................................................250 Gallery photo ......................................................................................250 Buy It Now ...........................................................................................252 eBay Picture Services ........................................................................253 Adding the Final Value Fees ........................................................................254 Selling Variations in Auctions .....................................................................255 Traditional auctions...........................................................................256 Multiple-item (Dutch) auctions ........................................................256 Restricted access auctions ...............................................................257 Private auctions..................................................................................258 PayPal Gets Its Cut .......................................................................................259 Totaling Fees with FeeFinder ......................................................................260 Setting Sensible Shipping Costs .................................................................262

Chapter 2: Understanding the Finer Points of Selling . . . . . . . . . . . . .265 Strategies for Running Your Sales ..............................................................265 Selling strategies.................................................................................265 Knowing what day to end an auction ..............................................269 Knowing what time to start your auction .......................................271

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Making Money in Other eBay Zones ..........................................................273 eBay’s half brother: Half.com............................................................273 Automotive? Go eBay Motors ...........................................................276 Live auctions.......................................................................................278 Real estate: Not quite an auction .....................................................278 Selling by the Rules......................................................................................280 Is what you want to sell legal? ..........................................................280 Prohibited items .................................................................................281 Questionable items ............................................................................283 Potentially infringing items ...............................................................284 Listing violations ................................................................................284 Linking from your auctions ...............................................................289

Chapter 3: Listing Your Items for Sale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .291 Getting Ready to List Your Item .................................................................291 Filling in Required Blanks............................................................................296 Selecting a category ...........................................................................297 Listing your items in two categories................................................300 Creating the perfect item title...........................................................301 Writing your description ...................................................................305 Listing the number of items for sale ................................................309 Setting a minimum bid — how low can you go?.............................309 Buy It Now ...........................................................................................310 Setting your auction time ..................................................................310 Your secret safety net — reserve price ...........................................312 I want to be alone: The private auction...........................................313 Put me in the gallery ..........................................................................314 Filling out the item location ..............................................................314 A picture is worth a thousand words ..............................................314 Listing Designer ..................................................................................314 Listing the payment methods you’ll accept....................................315 Setting shipping terms.......................................................................316 Checking Your Work and Starting the Auction.........................................321 Making Midcourse Corrections ..................................................................322 Making changes before bidding begins ...........................................322 Making changes after bidding begins ..............................................323

Chapter 4: Using eBay’s Turbo Lister . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .325 Features and Minimum Requirements ......................................................325 Downloading and Starting Turbo Lister....................................................327 Preparing an eBay Listing ...........................................................................328 Designing your listing ........................................................................331 Getting down to specifics..................................................................333 Organizing your listings.....................................................................334 Uploading items to eBay....................................................................335

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Chapter 5: Managing Your Sales on My eBay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .337 Managing Your All Selling Area...................................................................337 My eBay: Items I’m Selling page .......................................................338 My eBay: Items I’ve Sold page...........................................................340 My eBay: Unsold Items page .............................................................343 Notifying Winners and Sending Invoices...................................................343 Notifying winners ...............................................................................343 Thanking them kindly ........................................................................345 Thanks for the money! .......................................................................345 Tracking Payments in All Selling ................................................................346 Relisting Items without Extra Work ...........................................................347 Relisting after a win............................................................................348 If at first you don’t succeed ..............................................................348 Okay, time to relist (or Sell Similar) .................................................349 eBay Bidder-Management Tools ................................................................350 Canceling bids.....................................................................................350 Ending your listing early ...................................................................351 Blocking buyers ..................................................................................353 Preapproving bidders ........................................................................353

Chapter 6: Using PayPal to Organize Your Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .355 PayPal Particulars ........................................................................................355 Registering with PayPal...............................................................................358 The Auction and Merchant Tools...............................................................361 Payment Tracking Information...................................................................362 Payment notification through e-mail ...............................................362 Post-Sale Manager ..............................................................................362 The Outlook Payment Request Wizard .....................................................366

Chapter 7: Checking Out Payment Alternatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .371 The Simple Money Order ............................................................................371 7-Eleven (and other convenience stores) .......................................372 United States Postal Service .............................................................372 BidPay ..................................................................................................373 Pay Me When You Get This.........................................................................374 The Check Is in the Mail ..............................................................................374 Paper checks.......................................................................................375 eChecks and instant transfers ..........................................................376 Hold This for Me...........................................................................................376 I Take Plastic .................................................................................................378 Credit card payment services...........................................................379 Your very own merchant account....................................................380 Costco member’s credit card processing........................................382 The VeriSign Payflow link service ....................................................383

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Part IV: Sourcing Merchandise ...................................385 Chapter 1: Understanding Online Retailing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .387 The Six-Month Marketing Plan ...................................................................387 Getting the data ..................................................................................388 Formulas that calculate your data ...................................................389 Marketing to Your Customers.....................................................................390 Knowing the Current Market ......................................................................391 Catching Trends in the Media ....................................................................392 In newspapers.....................................................................................393 On television .......................................................................................393 Catch up with youth culture . . . .......................................................393 Check out magazines .........................................................................393 Finding eBay’s Soon-to-Be-Hot Sellers .......................................................394 Hot on the home page........................................................................394 eBay’s monthly hot sellers ................................................................395 Checking Out the Buzz on Yahoo! ..............................................................395

Chapter 2: Buying Merchandise Like the Pros . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .397 Buying for Retail 101....................................................................................397 The hunt for e-Bay inventory............................................................398 Resale items on eBay .........................................................................401 Tips for the modest investor ............................................................403 Buying Wholesale.........................................................................................404 Setting up to buy ................................................................................404 Finding merchandise locally .............................................................405 Newspaper auction listings...............................................................405 Regional merchandise marts ............................................................405 Wholesale trade shows......................................................................408 Buying Online for Resale .............................................................................410 B2B wholesale clearinghouses .........................................................411 Buying directly from wholesalers ....................................................412

Chapter 3: Selling Other People’s Stuff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .415 Getting Organized to Sell for Others..........................................................415 Compete with the Trading Posts................................................................416 Becoming an eBay Trading Assistant ........................................................417 Promoting Your Business............................................................................421 Adding the Trading Assistant logo to your listings .......................421 Posting flyers ......................................................................................422 Handling Your Business Professionally.....................................................423

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Chapter 4: Liquidation and Drop-Shipping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .427 Know the Lingo of Merchandisers .............................................................427 Salvage: Liquidation Items, Unclaimed Freight, and Returns.................430 Staying Safe When Buying Online ..............................................................433 Dealing with Drop-Shippers ........................................................................434 Finding a good drop-shipper.............................................................436 Coping with the inevitable out-of-stock...........................................436

Part V: Presenting Your Items ....................................439 Chapter 1: Your eBay Photo Studio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .441 Setting Up Your Studio ................................................................................442 Your #1 Tool: A Digital Camera...................................................................443 Scanning Your Wares ...................................................................................447 Other Studio Equipment .............................................................................448 Tripod ..................................................................................................448 Power supplies ...................................................................................448 Lighting ................................................................................................449 Photo cube ..........................................................................................450 Photo background and stage ............................................................450 Cloud Dome.........................................................................................452 Props ....................................................................................................452

Chapter 2: Mastering eBay Photography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .455 Photo Guidelines ..........................................................................................455 Photographing the Tuff Stuff: Coins and Jewelry.....................................457 Shooting with the Cloud Dome.........................................................458 Tips for taking Cloud Dome pictures ...............................................460 Prepping and Photographing Clothing......................................................461 Cleaning and pressing essentials .....................................................462 Assembling your fashion photo studio ...........................................465 eBay Gallery of Horrors...............................................................................466 Mistake #1 ...........................................................................................466 Mistake #2 ...........................................................................................467 Mistake #3 ...........................................................................................468 Mistake #4 ...........................................................................................468 Mistake #5 ...........................................................................................468

Chapter 3: Sprucing Up Your Listings with HTML . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .471 Writing Good Descriptions..........................................................................472 HTML the Easy eBay Way............................................................................472 Getting Friendly with HTML........................................................................475 What HTML can do.............................................................................476 How HTML works ...............................................................................476 Using HTML Table Codes to Make Templates ..........................................481

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Creating Your Own HTML Template ..........................................................482 Downloading CuteHTML....................................................................483 Adding text and graphics ..................................................................483 Adding HTML formatting...................................................................485 Getting a Quick, Basic Template ................................................................487

Chapter 4: Getting Your Photos Ready for eBay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .491 Size Matters ..................................................................................................491 Adding the Artist’s Touch ...........................................................................493 Image-Editing Software ................................................................................493 Perfecting your picture in Paint Shop Pro ......................................495 Quick touchup and FTP in Fast Photos ...........................................501

Chapter 5: Getting Your Photos on the Web . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .505 Finding a Home for Your Pictures ..............................................................505 Using eBay’s Picture Services.....................................................................506 Uploading your picture......................................................................507 Understanding the costs ...................................................................509 Using Your Free ISP Space...........................................................................510 Uploading Images to AOL............................................................................513 Using eBay’s Picture Manager ....................................................................515

Part VI: Promoting Your Goods ...................................519 Chapter 1: Marketing Your Listings on eBay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .521 Getting the Clickthroughs ...........................................................................521 Making Your Banner.....................................................................................523 Setting Up a Banner Campaign ...................................................................525 Signing up ............................................................................................525 Playing the links .................................................................................526 Targeting with keywords and key phrases......................................527 Bidding for exposure..........................................................................528 Uploading your banner......................................................................528 Paying for your campaign .................................................................529

Chapter 2: Developing Your Web Site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .531 Free Web Space — a Good Place to Start..................................................532 Paying for Your Web Space .........................................................................534 ReadyHosting......................................................................................537 Interland .............................................................................................537 Microsoft Small Business Center......................................................538 Yahoo! Web site services ...................................................................539 Naming Your Baby........................................................................................539 Registering Your Domain Name..................................................................540

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Chapter 3: Marketing Your Web Site and eBay Store . . . . . . . . . . . . .543 Banner Ad Exchanges ..................................................................................544 Banner design .....................................................................................544 Banner Advertising from Microsoft .................................................545 Affiliate Programs.........................................................................................545 LinkShare ............................................................................................545 eBay’s affiliate program .....................................................................546 Cost-per-Click Advertising with Google ....................................................547 Getting Your URL into a Search Engine .....................................................550 Have Submit It! do the work..............................................................551 Get listed on Yahoo! ..........................................................................551 Catch attention on Google ................................................................552 Using eBay Marketplace ..............................................................................554

Chapter 4: Using PayPal to Increase Your Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .557 Setting Up Shop at PayPal ...........................................................................557 Joining PayPal shops .........................................................................557 PayPal shopping invitations .............................................................559 Featured Shop consideration............................................................560 Site statistics.......................................................................................561 Cashing In on the PayPal Referral Program..............................................561 Generating Sales Using PayPal ...................................................................562 Making the PayPal payment option available on your site...........563 Creating a button on the PayPal Web site .......................................563 Coding for do-it-yourselfers ..............................................................567 PayPal coding with all the bells and whistles.................................569 Adding a PayPal Buy Now button to your AOL HomeTown page....570

Chapter 5: Getting Advertising Dollars from eBay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .571 Cashing In on the Co-Op Program..............................................................572 How much will eBay pay?..................................................................572 How do you get your money? ...........................................................573 Choosing Where to Run Your Ad................................................................574 Creating Your Ad ..........................................................................................575

Part VII: Storing and Shipping ...................................579 Chapter 1: Organizing Your Merchandise and Shipping Department . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .581 The Warehouse: Organizing Your Space ...................................................581 Shelving your profits..........................................................................581 Box ’em or bag ’em? ...........................................................................582

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Keeping Track of What You Have...............................................................584 The Shipping Department: Packin’ It Up ...................................................585 Pre-packaging clean up ......................................................................585 Packing materials ...............................................................................586 Shipping in mailing envelopes ..........................................................589 Boxing your items ..............................................................................591 Buying Postage Online.................................................................................593 Click-N-Ship from the USPS ...............................................................594 Endicia.com.........................................................................................594 PayPal shipping services...................................................................597 Stamps.com.........................................................................................598

Chapter 2: Shipping without Going Postal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .601 Shipping: The Heart of Your Business .......................................................601 Shopping for a Shipper................................................................................604 Meeting your front line ......................................................................605 Location, location, location ..............................................................605 Comparing prices ...............................................................................606 You, Too, Can Use Federal Express............................................................607 FedEx Ground and Home Delivery ...................................................607 Signing up with FedEx........................................................................609 FedEx online........................................................................................610 Shipping with USPS ......................................................................................612 Convenient and fast ...........................................................................613 Understanding the costs ...................................................................614 Getting on the UPS Bandwagon..................................................................617 Comparing costs.................................................................................617 Variable UPS rates ..............................................................................619 Saving by getting heavier packages picked up...............................619 Shipping Directly from PayPal....................................................................620 PayPal shipping with the USPS .........................................................621 PayPal shipping with UPS..................................................................624

Chapter 3: Insuring Your Item’s Delivery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .627 Insurance Options........................................................................................628 Self-insuring your items.....................................................................629 Insuring through the major carriers ................................................629 Getting private shipping insurance..................................................630 Avoiding Mistyped Addresses ....................................................................633 Making a Claim When Shipping Goes Bad.................................................635 Filing a claim with the post office ....................................................635 Filing a claim with UPS.......................................................................637 Filing a claim with FedEx ...................................................................638

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Part VIII: Power Selling .............................................639 Chapter 1: Upgrading to eBay’s Selling Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .641 Trying Out Selling Manager ........................................................................642 Selling Manager Features ............................................................................643 Scheduled listings ..............................................................................643 Active listings......................................................................................644 Sold listings .........................................................................................644 Sold listings past due .........................................................................644 My eBay Views links...........................................................................645 Seller tools links .................................................................................645 Cross-promotions for store owners .................................................645 Auto-Sending Invoices .................................................................................646 Tracking Payments ......................................................................................648 Relisting.........................................................................................................649 Selling Manager Reports .............................................................................651

Chapter 2: Mechanizing with Third-Party Auction Management Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .657 Choosing Your Auction Management Tools..............................................658 Looking for essential features...........................................................659 Exploring advanced features ............................................................660 Online or Offline Management?..................................................................661 Online auction management sites ....................................................661 Auction management software .........................................................665 Finding More to Automate ..........................................................................667 Setting up an auction photo gallery.................................................668 Sorting auction e-mail ........................................................................669 Automating end-of-auction e-mail ....................................................669 Keeping inventory ..............................................................................670 Generating HTML ...............................................................................670 One-click relisting or selling similar.................................................671 Scheduling listings for bulk upload..................................................672 Hosting photos ...................................................................................672 Checking out .......................................................................................672 Printing shipping labels.....................................................................672 Tracking buyer information ..............................................................673 Generating customized reports........................................................673 Submitting feedback ..........................................................................673

Chapter 3: Studying Your Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .675 eBay Sales Reports Plus ..............................................................................676 Using Sellathon ViewTracker......................................................................678 Checking out your data .....................................................................680 Getting additional information from your listings .........................682

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Chapter 4: Giving Customers Outside Assurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .685 Benefiting from the SquareTrade Seal .......................................................685 SquareTrade stretches beyond eBay...............................................686 Making SquareTrade work for you ...................................................687 Getting your own seal ........................................................................690 Using mediation and dispute resolution services..........................690 Bonding Your Sales with buySAFE .............................................................691 All about bonding ...............................................................................691 Seller bonding on eBay ......................................................................692 Bonding items .....................................................................................693 What happens when something goes wrong? ................................695

Chapter 5: Becoming a PowerSeller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .697 First Steps to PowerSeller Status ...............................................................698 PowerSeller Tiers .........................................................................................698 PowerSeller Program Benefits ....................................................................699

Chapter 6: Opening Your eBay Store . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .701 Online Stores Galore ....................................................................................702 Deciding to Open a Store ............................................................................703 Choosing between store types .........................................................704 Knowing the fee structure.................................................................706 Your eBay store name ........................................................................708 Setting Up Shop ............................................................................................708 Running Your Store ......................................................................................713 Store design and marketing ..............................................................714 Promotions..........................................................................................717 Making a sale.......................................................................................718

Part IX: Office and Legal ...........................................719 Chapter 1: Getting Legal with the State and the Feds . . . . . . . . . . . . .721 Giving Your Business an Official Name .....................................................721 Taking Care of Regulatory Details..............................................................722 Business license or city tax certificate............................................722 State sales tax number.......................................................................724 Don’t withhold the withholding forms ............................................725 Selecting a Business Format .......................................................................726 Sole proprietorship ............................................................................726 Partnership .........................................................................................727 LLC (Limited Liability Company) .....................................................728 C-corporation......................................................................................729

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Chapter 2: The Joys of Taxes and Business Reporting . . . . . . . . . . . .731 Dealing with a Professional.........................................................................731 Keeping the Books: Basics to Get You Started .........................................733 Records Uncle Sam May Want to See ........................................................734 Supporting information .....................................................................735 How long should you keep your records?.......................................736 Getting the Most from Your Reports .........................................................738 Understanding the balance sheet ....................................................739 Tracking your accounts payable ......................................................739 Knowing your sales tax liability .......................................................740 Analyzing your profit and loss statement .......................................740 Keeping Your Records and Data Safe ........................................................742 Backing up your data .........................................................................743 Saving your backup paperwork........................................................744

Chapter 3: Using Bookkeeping Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .745 QuickBooks: Making Bookkeeping Uncomplicated .................................745 QuickBooks Pro ..................................................................................746 QuickBooks EasyStep Interview.......................................................747 QuickBooks chart of accounts..........................................................750 QuickBooks on the Web.....................................................................755 Using QuickBooks in Your eBay Business.................................................756 Posting sales in QuickBooks the Collier way..................................758 Using eBay’s Accounting Assistant Software..................................760

Chapter 4: Keeping Your Business Secure Online . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .763 Staying Away from Spam .............................................................................763 Keeping your e-mail address quiet...................................................764 Recognizing spam...............................................................................765 Fighting back! ......................................................................................768 Keeping Your Password Secure..................................................................769 Reporting hacked accounts ..............................................................769 Choosing a good secret question .....................................................771

Chapter 5: Networking Your Office . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .777 Variations of a Home Network....................................................................778 Using a powerline network................................................................780 Hooking up with wireless ..................................................................782 Using a home phoneline network.....................................................784 Using a hybrid network .....................................................................786 Internet Security and Your Home Network...............................................787 Firewall software ................................................................................787 Antivirus software ..............................................................................787

Index........................................................................789