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

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

by Marsha Collier
Publisher: For Dummies
Release Date: August 2013
ISBN: 9781118401668
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Book Description

Everything you need to know to start and run a successful eBay business

eBay now has 100 million active users and just keeps growing. And they have turned to For Dummies books and bestselling eBay author Marsha Collier to help guide them through buying and selling on eBay for over a decade. This nine-books-in-one guide has now been updated to cover all the newest eBay seller tools, new techniques to drive sales, new ways to enhance an eBay business using social media, and more. Marsha Collier covers the basics, essential tools, professional selling tips, where to find merchandise, how to showcase and promote your stuff, storage and shipping, 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 do product research and set up payment systems, and tips on setting prices, creating good listings, and organizing sales

  • Helps you find things to sell at prices that will make a profit, create listings that get attention, take great merchandise photos, and promote your items on social media sites

  • Offers advice on providing customer service, safely storing and shipping your merchandise, and handling necessary bookkeeping and tax chores

  • Includes how to analyze data and establish the needed resources to become a Power Seller

eBay Business All-in-One For Dummies, 3rd Edition is the soup-to-nuts guide for running a successful eBay business.

Table of Contents

  1. Cover Page
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Contents at a Glance
  5. Contents
  6. Introduction
    1. About This Book
    2. Foolish Assumptions
    3. Icons Used in This Book
    4. Beyond the Book
    5. Where to Go from Here
  7. Book I: eBay Basics
    1. Contents at a Glance
    2. Chapter 1: Hooking Up with Online Technology
      1. Starting with the Right Computer
      2. Connecting to eBay without a Computer
      3. Choosing an ISP
      4. Accessing E-Mail
      5. Browsing for a Browser
    3. Chapter 2: Navigating through eBay
      1. Homing In on the Home Page
      2. Navigating eBay the Easy Way
      3. Maneuvering the Categories
      4. Exploring Home Page Search Options
    4. Chapter 3: Signing Up and Getting Started
      1. Registering on eBay
      2. Picking a Pickproof Password
      3. Selecting Your User ID
      4. Signing In to Deal
      5. eBay's Trust & Safety Is Watching
      6. Staying Notified about the Rules
      7. Abuses You Might Report to Trust & Safety
      8. Reporting Abuses
      9. Don't Get Caught in a Trading Violation
    5. Chapter 4: Knowing eBay Sales
      1. Checking Out the Listing Page
      2. Bidding on Auctions
      3. Buying an Item Outright
      4. Supercategories and Specialties
    6. Chapter 5: Checking Out the Seller and Leaving Feedback
      1. Understanding and Giving Feedback
      2. Giving Detailed Star Ratings Properly
      3. Becoming a Star
      4. Leaving Feedback with Finesse
      5. You Have the Last Word — Responding to Feedback
      6. Checking out a Seller's Reputation
      7. Comparing Items Before Buying
      8. Getting Protection on eBay
    7. Chapter 6: Bidding to Win
      1. Understanding the Bidding Action
      2. The Secret's in the Timing
      3. Shopping the Machiavellian Way
      4. My Favorite Bidding Strategies
      5. Quick Bidding Tips
      6. Succeeding by Sniping
      7. Retracting Your Bid in an Emergency
    8. Chapter 7: Completing the Transaction
      1. Monitoring the Auction Action
      2. Checking Out
      3. Using Your Credit Card Safely
      4. Paying with PayPal
      5. Sending Payment Promptly and Securely
      6. Contacting the Seller
      7. Leaving Responsible Feedback
    9. Chapter 8: Participating in the Community
      1. Your Home on eBay: About Me
      2. Planning and Building an About Me Page
      3. Reaching the World through Your Profile Page
      4. Playing Nice with Other eBay Members
      5. Checking Out Other Boards
      6. Sharing Knowledge in Category-Specific Boards
      7. Joining eBay Groups
  8. Book II: Essential Tools
    1. Contents at a Glance
    2. Chapter 1: Researching on eBay
      1. Looking for Items with eBay's Search Engine
      2. Searching for Items by Seller
      3. Searching for Items by Bidder
      4. Working with Search Results
      5. Finding eBay Members
      6. Understanding eBay's Category Hierarchy
    3. Chapter 2: Researching Collectible Prices
      1. Pricing New Products for eBay via Mobile
      2. Finding Pricing Trends on eBay
      3. Following Collectible-Buying Guidelines
      4. Online Sources of Information
    4. Chapter 3: Five-Star Customer Service via Eloquent Communications
      1. Communicating in Writing Takes a Little Effort
      2. Anticipating Initial Buyer Inquiries
      3. Communicating through eBay Messages
      4. Personalizing Your Buyer's Communication
    5. Chapter 4: Letting PayPal Help You Manage the Money
      1. Understanding How PayPal Works
      2. Sorting Out PayPal's Different Accounts
      3. PayPal's Protection Plans
      4. Downloading Your Transaction History from PayPal
      5. Saving and Editing Your Reports
    6. Chapter 5: Using eBay's Management Tools
      1. Signing In to Get Going
      2. Taking Charge on Your My eBay Page
      3. Looking at the My eBay Summary Page
      4. Tracking Your Buying Activity on My eBay
      5. Organizing My eBay Lists, Searches, and Purchases
      6. My eBay: Account Tab
      7. Ramping Up with Selling Manager
  9. Book III: Selling Like a Pro
    1. Contents at a Glance
    2. Chapter 1: Be Sure Your Listings Make Cents
      1. Keeping an Eye on Where the Pennies Go
      2. eBay's Optional Listing Features
      3. Adding the Final Value Fees
      4. Know Your Options in Auctions
      5. PayPal Gets Its Cut
      6. Setting Sensible Shipping Costs
    3. Chapter 2: Understanding the Finer Points of Selling
      1. Auction Selling Strategies
      2. Figuring out What Day to End an Auction
      3. Knowing What Time to Start Your Auction
      4. Selling Items through Fixed Price Sales
      5. Making Money in Other eBay Zones
      6. Selling by the Rules
      7. Knowing eBay's Listing Policies
    4. Chapter 3: Listing Items for Sale
      1. Getting Ready to List Your Item
      2. Deciding on a Sales Format
      3. Getting Your Sales Specifics in Order
      4. Selecting a Category: The How and Why
      5. Creating the Perfect Item Title
      6. Creating Your Item Description
      7. Listing Multiples of an Item for Sale with Variations
      8. Setting Bids, Prices, and Reserves
      9. Timing Your Auction: Is It Everything?
      10. I Want to Be Alone: The Private Auction
      11. Adding Visuals to Highlight Your Item
      12. Listing the Payment Methods You'll Accept
      13. Where You Are and Where You'll Ship To
      14. Checking Your Work and Starting the Sale
      15. Making Midcourse Auction Corrections
    5. Chapter 4: Listing via eBay's Turbo Lister
      1. Features and Minimum Requirements
      2. Downloading and Starting Turbo Lister
      3. Preparing an eBay Listing
      4. Designing Your Listing
      5. Filling In Item Specifics
      6. Organizing Your Listings
      7. Uploading Listings to eBay
    6. Chapter 5: Running Your Business on My eBay
      1. Managing Your All Selling Area
      2. Organizing with My eBay: Active Selling
      3. Using the Tools on the My eBay: Sold Page
      4. Connecting with your Customers and Checking the Money
      5. Stimulating Sales from the My eBay: Unsold Page
      6. Relisting Items without Extra Work
      7. eBay Bidding Management Tools
  10. Book IV: Sourcing Merchandise
    1. Contents at a Glance
    2. Chapter 1: Understanding Online Retailing
      1. Taking Aim with a Six-Month Merchandise Plan
      2. Pulling Together Your Inventory Data
      3. Using the Formulas That Calculate Your Data
      4. Marketing to Your Customers
      5. Knowing the Current Market
      6. Catching Trends in the Media
      7. Finding eBay's Soon-to-Be-Hot Sellers
      8. Checking Out the Buzz Online
    3. Chapter 2: Sourcing Merchandise Like the Pros
      1. Tips for the Modest Investor
      2. Buying for Retail: The Basic Course
      3. Buying Wholesale
      4. Buying Online for Resale
    4. Chapter 3: Selling Other People's Stuff Online
      1. Getting Organized to Sell for Others
      2. Competing with the Drop Off Stores
      3. Becoming Listed in the eBay Trading Assistant Directory
      4. Promoting Your Business
      5. Handling Your Business Professionally
    5. Chapter 4: Sourcing Liquidation and Drop-Shipping
      1. Know the Lingo of Merchandisers
      2. Salvage: Liquidation Items, Unclaimed Freight, and Returns
      3. Staying Safe When Buying Online
      4. Dealing with Drop-Shippers
  11. Book V: Presenting Your Items
    1. Contents at a Glance
    2. Chapter 1: Your eBay Photo Studio
      1. Setting Up Your Studio
      2. Your #1 Tool: A Digital Camera
      3. Scanning Your Wares
      4. Other Studio Equipment
    3. Chapter 2: Mastering eBay Photography
      1. Photo Guidelines
      2. Photographing the Tuff Stuff: Coins and Jewelry
      3. Prepping and Photographing Clothing
      4. eBay Gallery of Horrors
    4. Chapter 3: Designing Your Website, Listings, and Blogs with HTML
      1. Before You Format: Writing Descriptions that Sell
      2. HTML the Easy eBay Way
      3. Getting Friendly with HTML
      4. Add Pictures to Your Description
      5. Using HTML Table Codes to Make Templates
      6. Creating Your Own HTML Designs and Templates
      7. Getting a Quick, Basic Template
    5. Chapter 4: Getting Your Photos Ready for eBay
      1. Size Matters
      2. Adding the Artist's Touch
      3. Image-Editing Software
    6. Chapter 5: Getting Your Photos on eBay and the Web
      1. Finding a Home for Your Pictures
      2. Using eBay's Picture Hosting
      3. Using Your Free Web Space
  12. Book VI: Extending Your Reach
    1. Contents at a Glance
    2. Chapter 1: Developing Your Web Presence
      1. Knowing Why Web Presence Is Important
      2. Free Web Space — a Good Place to Start
      3. Paying for Your Web Space
      4. Naming Your Baby
      5. Registering Your Domain Name
    3. Chapter 2: Marketing Tools for Your Web Presence and Social Media
      1. Advertising with Google AdWords
      2. Getting Your Site Visible on a Search Engine
      3. Building a Community on Twitter
      4. Making Friends and Fans on Facebook
    4. Chapter 3: Tapping PayPal Resources to Expand Sales
      1. Enabling PayPal Payments on Your Website
      2. Incorporating the Payment Buttons
      3. Going Mobile with PayPal Here™
  13. Book VII: Storing and Shipping
    1. Contents at a Glance
    2. Chapter 1: Organizing Your Merchandise and Shipping Area
      1. The Warehouse: Organizing Your Space
      2. Keeping Track of What You Have
      3. The Shipping Department: Packin' It Up
      4. Buying Postage Online
    3. Chapter 2: Shipping without Going Postal
      1. Shipping: The Heart of Your Business
      2. Shopping for a Shipping Carrier
      3. You, Too, Can Use FedEx
      4. Shipping with USPS
      5. Getting on the UPS Bandwagon
      6. Shipping Items through PayPal
    4. Chapter 3: Insuring Your Item's Delivery
      1. Insurance Options
      2. Avoiding Mistyped Addresses
      3. Making a Claim When Shipping Goes Bad
  14. Book VIII: Power Selling on eBay
    1. Contents at a Glance
    2. Chapter 1: Going Pro with eBay's Selling Manager
      1. Getting Selling Manager
      2. Selling Manager Features
      3. Getting More from Selling Manager
      4. Relisting and Selling Similar Items
      5. Accessing Selling Manager Reports
    3. Chapter 2: Managing Sales with eBay Apps and Third-Party Tools
      1. Finding Function-Specific Apps
      2. Choosing Your Management Tools
      3. Looking for Essential Features
      4. Exploring Advanced Features
      5. Finding More to Automate
      6. Opting for Third-Party Management
    4. Chapter 3: Attaining PowerSeller and Top Rated Seller Status
      1. Becoming an eBay Elite Seller
      2. The Benefits of Membership
    5. Chapter 4: Deciding When You Need an eBay Store
      1. Locating Your Special Place Online
      2. Checking Out Online Stores Galore
      3. Deciding to Open an eBay Store
      4. Choosing Between Store Types
      5. Knowing the Fee Structure
      6. Selecting Your eBay Store Name
      7. Setting Up Shop
      8. Running Your Store
  15. Book IX: Office and Legal
    1. Contents at a Glance
    2. Chapter 1: Getting Legal with the State and the Feds
      1. Giving Your Business an Official Name
      2. Taking Care of Regulatory Details
      3. Selecting a Business Format
    3. Chapter 2: The Joys of Taxes and Business Reporting
      1. Dealing with a Professional
      2. Keeping the Books: Basics to Get You Started
      3. Records Uncle Sam May Want to See
      4. Getting the Most from Your Reports
      5. Keeping Your Records and Data Safe
      6. Backing Up Your Data
      7. Saving Your Backup Paperwork
    4. Chapter 3: Taking Care of Your Finances
      1. What? Double-Entry Accounting?
      2. Starting Out Right with Outright
      3. QuickBooks: Professional Bookkeeping
      4. Setting Up a Chart of Accounts
      5. Having QuickBooks Report on Your eBay Business
      6. Posting Sales from PayPal My Way
    5. Chapter 4: Keeping You and Your Business Secure Online
      1. Staying Away from Spam
      2. Recognizing Spam
      3. Fighting Back!
      4. Keeping Your Password (and Accounts) Secure
    6. Chapter 5: Networking Your Office
      1. The What and Why of Networks
      2. Variations of a Home Network
      3. Internet Security and Your Home Network
  16. Index
  17. About the Author
  18. Dedication
  19. Acknowledgments
  20. Publisher's Acknowledgments