eBay

Saving Backup Paperwork for Your eBay Business

Taxes are inevitable. Uncle Sam expects you to keep your eBay records in order, and a wise businessperson always keeps backup records.

Business records are still mostly paper, and until such time as the [more…]

PayPal Buyer Protection Covers eBay Auctions

When an eBay buyer pays with PayPal, he or she is covered with its fraud protection program. Tangible items sold on eBay that can be shipped (and are paid through PayPal) are covered to [more…]

Eyeing eBay Bidder-Management Tools

Most eBay users don't know the extent of eBay's seller-specific services. And sometimes sellers are so involved with their auctions that they don't take the time to find out about new helper tools. Here [more…]

Correcting Your Current eBay Auctions

Don't worry if you make a mistake filling out the Sell Your Item page but don't notice it until after the auction is up and running. Pencils have erasers, and eBay allows revisions. You can make changes [more…]

Tracking Down eBay Auction Troublemakers

Although eBay encourages the community to police the site, it also does its own investigations. Buyers beware: Violations are very easy to fall into, especially if you're new to online auction action. [more…]

Personal Checks for eBay Purchases

Personal checks are the easiest way for eBay auction buyers to make payments. They can just dash off a check, put it in the mail, and bam, you're paid. But it's not always as easy for the seller. You have [more…]

Keep Track of Transactions on My eBay Page

The first tool eBay gives you is your My eBay page. Every time you sign on to the site, this page will pop up on your screen with a cheery, "My eBay — Hello, [more…]

How to Use eBay to Shop for Digital Cameras and Equipment

eBay is a great place to locate digital camera equipment at a price you’re willing to pay. You can find older digital cameras and lenses, as well as difficult-to-find accessories on eBay. To use eBay successfully [more…]

Give Your eBay Customers Descriptive Details

New eBay sellers sometimes include too little information in their item descriptions, leaving potential buyers wondering . . . and perhaps, walking away from a purchase. In addition to every significant [more…]

Shopping eBay the Machiavellian Way

When you've shopped eBay for a while, you will know the user IDs of many of the people you bid against in auctions. Don't be surprised that other people in the eBay universe have the same quirky interests [more…]

Keep eBay Contact Info Current

eBay members have user IDs rather than expose their e-mail addresses for all to see. However, you must supply eBay with your contact information. When you register with eBay, its software immediately checks [more…]

Using an Escrow Service on eBay

Escrow is a service that allows an eBay buyer and seller to protect a transaction by placing the money in the hands of a neutral third party until a specified set of conditions are met. Sellers note in [more…]

Checking Out the eBay Listing Page

All item pages on eBay — whether auctions, fixed-price items, or Buy It Now items — look about the same. If you were viewing this auction page on the screen, you could scroll down and see a complete description [more…]

eBay's TRUSTe Privacy Policy

eBay had a privacy policy for all its users before privacy policies were even in vogue. Now eBay maintains the safety standards set forth by the pioneer in online safeguarding: TRUSTe. [more…]

Fashioning an FAQ for Your eBay Auctions

Customers always have questions. It's the nature of things. Whenever you get involved with a transaction where you're parting someone from their money and giving something in return, the party giving up [more…]

Picking Readable Type for Your eBay Listing

You can choose from two categories of typefaces to use for the text in your eBay listing description: those with serifs and those without. Typefaces without serif are called [more…]

Reporting a Problem eBay Listing

eBay can't possibly monitor millions of items for sale on a daily basis, picking out the problem children from all the auction listings. eBay relies on eBay members to let it know when a shady listing [more…]

Multiple-Purchase Benefits for eBayers

If selling one item is a good thing, selling more than one to the same customer in your eBay auction is even better. Here are some advantages for you when an eBay auction customer makes multiple purchases [more…]

Providing More Info to eBay -- Your Option

When you're a full-fledged, officially registered member of the eBay community, you may see an eBay pop-up window, giving you the option to provide more information about yourself. These optional questions [more…]

Auction Adhesive: Beeswax versus Museum Putty

Basic Tips for eBay Sellers

Sellers, get wise to ways to handle your eBay business. Here are some basic guidelines to live by. [more…]

Beware of Unsolicited Offers from eBayers

Your bids at eBay are public record, and anyone can tell what you are bidding on (unless it is a private auction). Sometimes sellers scour the auctions and contact bidders to sell them a similar — or exactly [more…]

Bidding to Win at Dutch Auctions

In a Multiple Item (Dutch) auction, bidders can bid on one or more of the items up for sale -- and at the end of the auction, all winners win their items for the lowest successful bid price. [more…]

Calculating Shipping for a Non-eBay Item

If you want to sell a non-eBay item and accept PayPal as the form of payment, you can estimate and apply shipping costs to the invoice or money request you send to the buyer. [more…]

Consider Your Camcorder for Auction Shots

The majority of eBay sellers use a digital camera or a scanner to dress up their auctions with images, but some just use what they already own -- their handy-dandy camcorders! [more…]