EBay PowerUser's Bible Book

	Acknowledgments	v
	Introduction	xxi
	Who Should Read This Book	xxi
	How This Book Is Organized	xxi
	How to Approach This Book	xxiii
	Conventions Used In This Book	xxiii
	Feedback, Please!	xxiv
Part I	The eBay Story and How It Can Help You	1
Chapter 1	eBay's Business Model	3
	Pierre's Vision	3
	From AuctionWeb to eBay	4
	Inside eBay	6
	Getting Advice from Other eBay Users	7
	Adding eBay to Your Web Site	17
	eBay Partnerships	19
	Summary	20
Chapter 2	Highs and Lows in eBay History	21
	Growth and Expansion	21
	A Worldwide Phenomenon	22
	Contraband and Other No-Nos	25
	Blackouts and Other Speed Bumps	29
	Inspiring and Success Stories	29
	eBay's Charitable Activities	31
	Summary	32
Part II	Getting Started: The eBay Basics	33
Chapter 3	Registering and Assembling the Tools You Need	35
	Becoming a Registered User	35
	Assembling Your Bidders' Toolbox	43
	Summary	49
Chapter 4	Exploring eBay: Beyond the Site Map	51
	Navigating eBay	51
	Searching eBay	57
	Summary	68
Chapter 5	Understanding eBay Auction Types	71
	Anatomy of an eBay Auction	71
	Common Auction Formats	77
	Other eBay Sales Formats	79
	Business Service Auctions	85
	Summary	86
Chapter 6	Personalizing Your eBay Experience	87
	Using Your My eBay Page	87
	Creating an About Me Page	96
	Summary	100
Chapter 7	Joining the eBay Community	103
	Where Do You Go to Meet People?	103
	Using eBay Groups	115
	Community News and Events	121
	Summary	122
Part III	Buying Practically Anything You Want on eBay	125
Chapter 8	Researching Before You Bid: Comparison Shopping	127
	Making Sure You Know What You're Buying	127
	Looking through Auction Archives	132
	Comparing Prices with Retail Shopping Sites	134
	Checking Shipping Charges	136
	Authenticating Before You Buy	137
	Using Bid Research Software	138
	Summary	139
Chapter 9	Locating and Buying Just about Anything	141
	Locating eBay Members	141
	Locating Specific Items	144
	Tracking eBay's Most Popular Searches	153
	Buying at Fixed Price	154
	Locating Some Surprising eBay Products	156
	Summary	160
Chapter 10	Bidding Strategies	161
	Placing Bids: The Basics	161
	Bidding to Win: Different Approaches	167
	Using Buy It Now	173
	Bidding Problems	174
	Summary	180
Chapter 11	Bidding on High-Ticket Items	181
	eBay Motors	181
	Real Estate Sales	187
	Searching Live Auctions	193
	Searching for High-Priced Items	198
	Googling eBay	201
	Summary	203
Chapter 12	Tracking Auctions Anytime, Anywhere	205
	eBay Toolbar	205
	The Links Bar	211
	Wireless eBay	213
	Using Auction Tracking Software	216
	Specialty Sites That Do the Tracking for You	218
	Summary	218
Part IV	Selling on eBay	221
Chapter 13	Choosing the Right Things to Sell	223
	Learning by Buying	223
	Selling What You Know and Love	224
	Where to Buy Merchandise You Can Auction	225
	What Do Buyers Want? Do Your Research	230
	Summary	233
Chapter 14	Assembling Your Tools and Opening a Seller's Account	235
	Hardware and Software for Sellers	235
	Opening an Account	247
	Summary	253
Chapter 15	Creating Sales Listings That Sell	255
	What Makes a Good Description?	255
	Using eBay's Sell Your Item Form	263
	Formatting Auction Listings	286
	Summary	289
Chapter 16	Managing Your Current eBay Sales	291
	Before the Sale	291
	During the Sale	295
	After the Sale	301
	Opening an eBay Store	306
	Summary	315
Chapter 17	Making the Feedback System Work for You	317
	Feedback Basics	317
	Adjusting Feedback	329
	Summary	333
Chapter 18	Capturing Digital Images That Attract Bids	335
	What's a Digital Image?	335
	What's a Pixel?	336
	What Makes a Good Image?	338
	Creating Good Digital Photos	342
	Scanning Images	347
	Editing Your Images	349
	Choosing an Image Hosting Service	359
	Summary	362
Chapter 19	Accepting Online Payments	365
	Payment Methods	365
	Specifying Payment and Shipping Details	373
	Credit Card Payments	378
	Currency Conversion	383
	Summary	384
Chapter 20	Packing and Shipping Like a Pro	387
	Observing Best Shipping Practices	387
	Picking Your Shipper	400
	Shipping Overseas	406
	Summary	409
Chapter 21	Legal, Tax, and Accounting Needs	411
	Should You Incorporate?	411
	Accounting 101 for eBay Sellers	414
	Accounting for Business Deductions	419
	Streamline Your Accounting	420
	Summary	426
Part V	How eBay Can Help You Run a Business	429
Chapter 22	Turning Your Hobby into an eBay Business	431
	Choose the Right eBay Business Model	431
	Come Up with a Schedule	440
	Automating Business Processes	446
	Finding Help and Making Space	450
	Building a Good Reputation	451
	Summary	454
Chapter 23	Strategic Purchasing to Build Your Inventory	455
	What You Can Find	457
	Reverse Auctions: Looking for Suppliers	463
	Wholesale Lots	465
	Shipping with the Freight Resource Center	467
	Summary	469
Chapter 24	Tools for Managing Multiple Sales	471
	Using eBay's Management Software	471
	Trying Third-Party Auction Management Services and Software	479
	Using CARad to List Multiple Vehicle Sales	483
	Summary	483
Chapter 25	Formatting Auction Listings	485
	Why Format Auction Listings?	485
	Understanding HTML	486
	Adding Images to the eBay Gallery	494
	Choosing a Web Page Editor	497
	Summary	501
Chapter 26	Creating a Business Web Site to Boost eBay Sales	503
	Picking a Domain Name	503
	Finding a Host for Your Web Site	504
	Promoting Your Web Site	507
	Include the Must-Haves	508
	Linking eBay to Your Web Site	515
	Linking to eBay Sales with Newsgroups	519
	Summary	520
Chapter 27	Finding or Providing Professional Help	521
	Navigating eBay's Help Options	521
	Spam, Hijacking, and Other Privacy Breaches	530
	Providing Help	535
	Summary	536
Chapter 28	Developing eBay Business Applications	537
	Why Become a Developer?	537
	Understanding the eBay API	544
	The eBay SDK for Windows	551
	Automate eBay Operations	552
	Keeping Track of Changes	556
	Summary	558
Part VI	Troubleshooting	559
Chapter 29	Problems with Questionable Listings	561
	If You're a Buyer or Bidder	561
	If You're a Seller	565
	What to Do If You Suspect Improper Bidding	567
	eBay Investigations	570
	If You Are Being Harassed	571
	Summary	574
Chapter 30	Problems with Completed Transactions	575
	Problems with the Seller	575
	Problems with the Buyer	578
	If the Goods Aren't What You Expected	583
	If the Goods Arrive Damaged	584
	If the Goods Are Lost	586
	If the Check Bounces	586
	Resolving Disputes	587
	Summary	590
Chapter 31	Avoiding Licensing, Legal, and Other Trouble	591
	Avoiding Copyright Violations	591
	Paying Your eBay and Other Fees	595
	Paying Your Local Licensing Fees	595
	Adding Digital Watermarks	596
	Protecting Your Trade Name	599
	Maintaining Your Privacy	600
	Maintaining Your Buyers' Privacy	600
	Auction Addiction and Other Financial Woes	603
	Don't Sell Obviously Illegal Items	604
	Summary	604
Part VII	Appendixes	605
Appendix A	eBay Lingo	607
Appendix B	Hardware and Software You Need	611
Appendix C	eBay and Auction-Related Web Sites	617
Appendix D	Basic HTML Markup Terms	625
Appendix E	Digital Photo Hosting Services	631
	Index	635