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A Step-to Step Guide to Buying and Selling on eBay • Welcome to eBay, the world’s largest department store. Shopping in this day and age has never been easier, and you don’t even have to leave your home. • eBay was founded 11 years ago and now has more than a 100 million users worldwide, making it the most popular shopping destination on the Web. Whether you’re a small business or enterprising individual, eBay can turn your past purchases into cash without working 9 to 5. Whether you plan to sell last year’s must-have Chanel pumps or purchase Roman Intaglios from the turn of the Century, the odds are eBay is the place! • On a daily basis, millions of items are traded on eBay in every possible category, from cars and collectibles, to tea sets and televisions to golf clubs and gardening tools. Most people have heard of eBay, but how many have actually engaged the website. Why sell on eBay, and for heaven’s sake, how? • If you’ve been “bitten” by the eBay bug, chances are you’ve ransacked every room in your house and even held back estate sale items to market online. And what about your twice worn Oscar de la Renta and Carolina Herrera evening gowns? They go for big bucks online. • Like most things in life, there are rules to follow for e-auctions. For maximum shopping enjoyment, follow these step-by-step instructions: How to Buy on eBay 1. Go to the eBay website @ www.ebay.com. The top left tool bar will have the commands to get you started. 2. Click on Register to enter your personal information such as name and address. You will then be asked to create an eBay Identification (this is generally your email address) and Password. 3. Now Sign In using your new eBay Identification and Password. From this point on, you will only need these two pieces of information to buy or sell. Make sure to keep a copy of your passwords in a safe place for future log-ins. 4. To buy, either click on the word Buy or type in the item you’re interested in under the Search bar on the left side of the page. For example, if you wish to make a purchase of a vintage comic book, scroll under Categories (listed from Antiques to Everything Else) until you see what you’re looking for. Comic Books, for instance, are listed under Collectables. If you don’t see your particular item, simply type the word Comic Book in the Search Bar and the item(s) will be displayed. To be even more ‘item’ specific, type in “Comic Book Spiderman” and your search will be dramatically narrowed. 5. If you’d like to ask the seller a question about their item prior to placing a bid, click on the member profile which will be listed in the top right corner that says Meet the Seller. Here you can ask a question or read the Seller’s Feedback Score. For each transaction made on eBay, both buyer and seller are allowed to rate each other by leaving feedback, such as was the item as promised and shipped on time. Each feedback score consists of a rating (positive, negative or neutral) and a short comment. The higher the positive feedback score, the better. Anything 99.0% and above is excellent and means the eBay customer you’re doing business with is reputable. It’s also a good idea to only buy items that offer a 100% money back guarantee. Otherwise, who knows what you are getting? 6. Once you’ve identified the item you’d like to purchase, double click on it and the next page you will see says Place a Bid. The Starting Bid will be listed so your bid must be above this number. If your bid is too low, you will not be able to proceed. eBay will let you know the next minimum bid. For example, if a Comic Book is $5.00 and there are no other bids, a bid of $5.01 is acceptable. Why pay more if you don't have to? If, however, you’ve been watching an item that has multiple bids, you may wish to wait to bid towards the close of the auction to ensure your bid is successful. Also, some sellers offer something called Buy it Now. This means you may buy an item outright without going through the auction process. It will be a set price. If you click But it Now, the item is yours. 7. Once you’ve placed a bid, click Continue. eBay will then Confirm Your Bid. Remember that when you hit this button, you are obligated to buy if you are the highest bidder. You will then receive an email that you are the high bidder, or if your bid is too low and you need to bid higher if you so choose. Then comes a page that says You are the Current High Bidder with your bid amount. 8. Congratulations, the item is yours. Please pay now! eBay will send you an email within seconds after the auction has ended with this exact header. The email will contain detailed information about the Seller, item name and confirmation number, date and time of the sale, price of the item and payment instructions. There will be a button on this page that says Pay Now. 9.How do I pay for my items? Other than Visa, Master Card, Discovery or an old fashioned Money Order, PayPal is eBay's preferred method of payment. It’s a system that allows anyone with an email address to securely send and receive online payments using a credit card or bank account. eBay members can use PayPal to quickly and easily pay for items. 10. If you use PayPal, you must first go to PayPal @ www.paypal.com and set up a separate account. PayPal gives a choice of accounts such as personal or business. Much like eBay, you will need to complete a form with your personal information and then log-in with your PayPal email and password to their secure site. If you choose not to use paypal, then you simply choose one of the credit cards offered and enter in your card number. 11. Once you’ve registered all bank account information, your items can be paid with a few clicks on eBay. First, eBay will send you a page to Review Your Purchase. If you pay with PayPal, they will send you a page to Complete Your Payment. It’s wise to print a copy of the receipt until your item has arrived or if you need to get in touch with the Seller. It’s that simple! Selling on eBay Selling is a bit trickier as you have to type a written description of what you’d like to sell, and that could take some time. The more detailed you are, the better chance you have of setting your item apart from others and therefore selling at a higher price. Selling your item requires five easy steps: Choose a Category; Title and Description; Details and Pictures; Payment and Shipping details for the Buyer and Review all information before you Submit your listing for auction. Let’s begin: 1. Go to the eBay website @ www.ebay.com and click on Sell. 2. Click Sell Your Item. 3. Enter your eBay Identification and Password to sign in. 4. Click Sell Item at Online Auction and hit Continue. Part 1: Choosing a Category • What type of item are you selling? Browse the Categories section and click on one that fits. For example, if you’re selling a Versace Evening Gown, click on Clothing. It will then prompt you to a sub-category. Click on Women’s Clothing. Continue selecting until you see Dresses, then click Continue. Part 2: Title and Description • First list your Item Title such as “Versace Lace Evening Gown Magenta Size 6.” Then go to Item Description to add the specifics such as sleeveless, floor length, brand new with tags, etc. This can be up to 55 characters so choose wisely, but use all for maximum buyer exposure. Omit punctuation marks as they take up too much space. Be clear and descriptive in the wording of what you plan to sell. Use keywords and list the basics such as color, size, type and always include brand names which are a big selling point. The goal is to create interest in your item. Part 3: Details and Pictures • You’re almost there. Enter your Starting Price. It should be low to encourage bidding activity. There is a button called Buy It Now. If you add this option to your listing, buyers can buy your item at the set price and your auction will close immediately. You will also need to decide on the length of your auction, anywhere from 1 to 10 days. 7 is the most popular auction length but 10 days is a good choice for higher priced items as it gives buyers time to find you! eBay charges an additional 40 cents for a 10 day auction. • Your photo file must either be gif or jpg format. There will be a Browse button to allow you to upload up to 12 photos. eBay pays for the first one and everyone thereafter is 15 cents. How do I attach photos to my eBay item? It’s easier than you might think. First, you must own a digital camera (or use your neighbors and have them forward the pictures to you online). Keep a file that says eBay Photos on your computer. From here, it’s no different than attaching a Word Document to an email. Instead of clicking a paperclip symbol, eBay will ask for photos under Browse. Click on Browse which will lead to your personal documents. Go to eBay Photos (or the name of your file) and attach the photo or photos you’d like to use. More are recommended to properly market your item. Part 4: Payment and Shipping Details • PayPal, as stated earlier, is the easiest and most secure way to accept payments. Plus, it’s safe and easy for buyer’s to pay you, and for you to get paid! But you will have a choice of payments from which to choose. Provide clear payment and shipping information such as shipping costs and don’t forget international shipping which will be ample. This way when the buyer clicks on Pay Now, the price will be inclusive and there will be minimal emails exchanged. Part 5: Review and Submit • Carefully review your listing before you submit to auction. Each of the four sections mentioned above may be edited at this time so don’t panic. • Click Submit Listing • eBay will send you a page that says your Listing is confirmed. To Watch this Item, click on the tab and it will send you an update when there is activity. When you are in “selling mode,” it’s also a good idea to check your listing(s) under My eBay on a daily basis. Buyers may submit questions about your item that only you can answer. Secret Tips • Esnipe (www.esnipe.com) competes with eBay. It places a bid for you just 8 seconds before an auction is about to end. If you want to bid and win online but will not be at your computer to monitor the progress, esnipe is the answer. If you have access to your computer during the close of an auction, they also have a terrific notification system when you are outbid to give you a chance to re-bid. This site does charge a small fee but its automation is convenient and effective. • Keep Buyer and Seller Accounts Separate. If someone gives you a bad rating as a buyer and you go to sell, your online eBay reputation will be ruined. Having separate accounts keeps things clean and easy to keep track of your small business.
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Lisa M. Grotts |
