Taming eBay by Henry Chan - HTML preview

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Getting Started on eBay...................................................................6 The eBay Item Listing Rules...........................................................7 The eBay Shipping Center...............................................................9 The eBay Trading Assistants Program ........................................9 Using the eBay Security and Resolution Center....................10 Increase Your eBay Profits Without Relying on eBay!..........11 Shipping eBay Items to Customers............................................12 You Can Sell Anything on eBay - Or Can You?......................12 eBay and Customer Service..........................................................14 eBay and Drop shipping - Getting the Product to Your Customer.............................................................................................15 eBay Business Solutions ...............................................................16 eBay Courses - Are They Worth It? ............................................17 eBay Data and Research - How Important Is It? ...................18 eBay Gift Certificates - The Gift Solution Suitable for Everyone..............................................................................................19 eBay Scams - Steps to Take if You Have Been Defrauded..20 eBay Success - How to Price Your Items..................................21 eBay Success - How to Price Your Items..................................23 eBay University - What Is It All About? ....................................24 Hot Selling Items for eBay Auctions...........................................25 Hot Selling Items for eBay Auctions...........................................27 How to Avoid eBay Scams and Fraud........................................28 How to Avoid Failure on Your eBay Auctions .........................30 How to Avoid Losing to eBay Snipers ........................................32 How to Sell Expensive Items on eBay........................................33 How to Use eBay Escrow Services..............................................35 How to Use the Promotional Tools on eBay.............................36 Resources............................................................................................37

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This report has been written to provide information about eBay®. It is sold with the understanding that the author and publisher are not engaged in rendering eBay® services. If eBay® expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. Every effort has been made to make this report as complete and accurate as possible. However, there may be mistakes in typography or content. Also, this report contains information on eBay® only up to the publishing date. Therefore, this report should be used as a guide – not as the ultimate source of enter your report's area of expertise (legal, medical, etc.) information. The publisher doesn’t endorse the embedded links, but does receive compensation should you purchase. The links are current at the time of publication, but may change or disappear in the future.

The purpose of this report is to educate. The author and publisher does not warrant that the information contained in this report is fully complete and shall not be responsible for any errors or omissions. The author and publisher shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by this report. eBay® is a registered trademark of Ebay.

Getting Started on eBay

 

You've probably heard about how much money can be made on eBay. With

dreams of quick riches and easy money, you are probably ready to jump in with both feet - right now! The best thing you can do if you are serious about making money with eBay, however, is to slow down. In fact, just stop for a minute. Don't rush straight in. Take your time, and do it right.
eBay has over 100 million members. Think about that number for just a minute or two. When you get your eBay business set up, that is how big your customer base will be - instantly. 100 million people - 100 million people who are just waiting for you to get set up and running so that they can throw money at you! Well, not quite. It is true that there are over 100 million members, but at this point, they don't know that you exist. In fact, no matter how well you do on eBay, most of them will never know that you exist. 100 million is a very large number.
The most successful eBay sellers started out as buyers - and you should too. This will give you a sense of how everything works. It will also show you how things are from the buyer's side of the fence. Let's call this period of time 'consumer research.' You are literally studying how eBay works, from a customer's point of view. You may not realize this, but this eBay buyer experience will actually make you a much better seller - right from the very start. Really pay attention to the customer service you receive from the buyer. Think about how you want to be treated as a buyer, and take notes. Take your time during this process. Interact with the sellers. Get involved in hot auctions to see what they are like. In your spare time, start making notes about the hot items that you see. These notes will come in handy later eBay works just like any other business. You have to determine what people want to buy before you can hope to be successful. There are very specific items that sell really well on eBay - you just have to figure out what those items are. There are many resources for finding out this information. Start with the lessons that eBay offers to their sellers. Strongly consider attending the eBay University as well. This is the next step in the process. After you have had the eBay buyer experience, it is time to learn how to be an eBay seller.
Read all of the information eBay provides for you at the site. The information is free and you will learn a great deal from it. Take full advantage of this - before you start setting up your first auction or your eBay store! By reading through all of the resources, you will avoid making numerous mistakes that so many before you have made. This is another step towards building a successful eBay business. Once you've made it through the learning process, you should know

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The eBay Item Listing Rules
Because eBay is such a

huge marketplace, with members from all walks of life, in almost every single country around the world, it is no wonder that there are many scammers
lurking about. In order to

better protect the buyers, eBay has specific rules concerning the items that can be auctioned off on the site. These rules must be followed, or the person posting the item for auction can be banned from the site. Even though there are numerous categories, items that are put up for auction really only fall into one of four categories at eBay: Prohibited, Questionable, Potentially Infringing, and Approved. Approved is the simplest category to define and understand. An approved item is any item that does not fall into one of the other three categories. That is fairly simple, right? After the 'approved' category, however, it starts to get a little harder to understand - with the exception of prohibited

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items. A prohibited item may not be auctioned on eBay for any reason, under any
circumstances. Prohibited items include alcohol, drugs, animals, tobacco, human remains or body parts of any type, lottery tickets, and governmental property. There is quite a bit more on the list, and that list can be viewed at the eBay website.
Questionable items are those that are not prohibited, but are not necessarily infringing. Adult material falls under the

'questionable' category. Tickets of any type may also be questionable. Law enforcement related equipment, as well as guns, knives, and other weapons are questionable items. Artifacts, food items, batteries, all hazardous chemicals and materials are also on the list of questionable items. You can auction questionable items at eBay, as long as those items meet certain conditions. Potentially Infringing items are those that violate copyrights, trademarks, and other legal rights. These items are almost always some type of media, such as software, DVDs, and CDs, but the list contains other items as well, such as counterfeit items and illegal recordings. You can find out more about 'potentially infringing' items at the eBay website as well. If you are unsure as to which category your item falls into, you should contact eBay with this question before setting up the auction. As a buyer, you should carefully consider the consequences of purchasing items that fall under one of the three categories above. In some cases, it may be very illegal to have some of those items in your possession - no matter how they were obtained. Before making such a purchase, or bidding on such an item, you should find out more details about the item in question, and then get some legal advice.

The eBay Shipping Center

 

eBay wants to help sellers with every aspect of their eBay business. The eBay

shipping center was created to help ensure that you get your items to your customers in a timely manner, in the most efficient and economical way possible. The eBay shipping center will help you print shipping labels, help you figure shipping costs, and even help you with International shipping. Shipping information for all of the major shipping companies, including the USPS can be found through the shipping center. You can even purchase insurance for packages that will be shipped by the USPS directly through the shipping center. One of the greatest features of the eBay Shipping Center is the ability to order free co-branded shipping boxes for USPS shipments. These boxes are delivered to you, at no cost! This will cut a great deal of your shipping expenses because you won't have to purchase your own boxes! There is also a great video that will teach you how to save time and money on your shipping, and whether you are a buyer or a seller, you can easily track your packages through the eBay shipping center as well.

The eBay Trading Assistants Program

 

If you excel at eBay auctions, you might want to consider an additional source

of revenue as well. The eBay Trading Assistant Program will allow you to sell items for other eBay members on consignment. Being successful at your own auctions is the key to becoming a successful trading assistant for other people. Often, newcomers simply don't know how to make their items sell. Many people who are auctioning off a one time big ticket item, such as cars or real estate, will often employ the services of an eBay Trading Assistant. Items such as these can add up to very big commissions for serious trading assistants! Usually, trading assistants are responsible for every aspect of the auction, including shipping the product to the customer and collecting payment. For high ticket items, the person who hires Trading Assistants get access to trading assistant marketing materials which are quite helpful. In order to become an approved trading assistant, you must have sold at least ten items in the last ninety days, have a feedback score of at least 100 with 97% positive feedback or higher, and your eBay account must be in good standing.

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Using the eBay Security and Resolution Center Whether you are an eBay

buyer or a seller, problems may arise at some point. That is why the eBay
Security and Resolution Center was created. Even if you have never had a
problem on eBay, and you don't expect to, a visit to this

eBay resource can be very enlightening, and it may even help you to protect yourself in all of your online activities.
If you do not receive an item that you bought from eBay, this is where it is reported. The same is true if you sold and shipped an item and did not receive payment for it. But there are many other ways to use the security center as well. You can learn how to protect yourself from identity theft, how to protect your eBay account and the eBay guidelines that are designed to make everyone's buying and selling experience safe and enjoyable. If you are an eBay seller, you will learn how to become a trusted seller, which will ultimately bring you more profits. There is something for everyone at the eBay Security and Resolution Center - even if you have never had a security problem at eBay.

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Increase Your eBay Profits Without Relying on eBay! While it is possible to earn a

full time living on eBay, it is a mistake to depend solely on eBay for your income. You could be using your eBay auctions to generate a huge amount of business for other products and services! Many people, however, fail to fully

utilize eBay's resources to this end. eBay has over 100 million members, and they gained those members by continually running major marketing campaigns. Essentially, they do your marketing for you. But you have to help yourself as well. The key is to drive people to your auction page, which in turn can be used to drive traffic to your website. You can sell many different items on your website, including items that are up for auction at eBay! This is a fabulous way to earn income that does not rely on eBay auctions. You can easily accept website payments with a Paypal account, so there is no need for an expensive merchant account! You are not allowed to include the website address of an outside website on your auctions - you are, however, perfectly welcome to place a link to your website on your eBay 'About Me' page. Invite your bidders and potential bidders to view your about me page, and watch the website traffic roll in!

Shipping eBay Items to Customers

 

If you stock the products that you sell on eBay, as opposed to drop shipping,

you probably spend a great deal of time and money shipping items to your customers. If you are a big success on eBay, this could quickly become a problem. Organize your shipping practices before they get out of control! Keep stamps, packing materials, and boxes on hand. You can have these items delivered to you, which will save you a lot of time. Use large padded envelopes instead of boxes whenever possible. These envelopes are easier to handle, and usually cheaper to purchase. Furthermore, they often weigh just a little less than cardboard boxes do, which will save a bit of money on the postage. Purchase stamps and packing materials online. Not only will you save time, you will save money as well. If you ship a lot of packages, purchasing your own set of postage scales will increase your efficiency - the expense will more than pay for itself. Other items you should invest in include a rubber stamp, label printing software, a good printer, and labels. Either use a stamp for the return label, or keep a large stock of pre-printed return labels. All you need is a plan and a little bit of organization to successfully ship your eBay items.

You Can Sell Anything on eBay - Or Can You?

 

Over 100 million people are members of eBay. Through eBay, you can buy

items in almost any category that you can imagine - at great prices. You can also sell almost anything you can imagine on eBay - people often sell items that have absolutely no real value for very high prices. There are limits, however, to what can be bought and sold. eBay does not allow certain items to be auctioned through their website. Services are one type of 'item' that cannot be auctioned - simply because it is not an item. Some seller's blatantly ignore this however. The sell of other items is illegal, even if it isn't being sold through eBay. eBay restricts the sale of any type of item that is considered 'illegal for sale' in any other selling format. Illegal items such as satellite descramblers are forbidden as well. Anything that is copyrighted - such as copies of DVDs, CDs, or software - may not be sold through eBay auctions. You can, however, sell a DVD, CD, or any software that you bought legitimately...as long as you are not just selling a copy that you made of these types of items. eBay does not allow the sale of 'replicas.' A replica is a knockoff version of designer items, such as purses, dresses, shoes, or sunglasses that look identical to those that have

designer labels.

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Items that are regulated by the state or federal
government are forbidden on eBay. These items include alcoholic beverages,
weapons and firearms, all tobacco products, and both prescription and illegal
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may sell that item if the package has never been opened, and if you state the contents of the package are not meant for consumption. There are other conditions that must be met as well when selling these types of collectables. Any type or breed of animal or reptile may not be sold through an eBay auction. This includes animals that were once living, and are now stuffed and mounted. This rule may also apply to items that are taken from endangered species, such as Ivory. When it comes to these types of items, when in doubt, don't. Tickets may be sold, but it is illegal to sell tickets for a higher price than you originally paid for them. This is called ticket scalping, and it is illegal. Lottery tickets are also banned from eBay auctions, as well as raffle tickets. Again, if you are not sure if your item is eligible for an eBay auction, either don't put it up for auction, or contact eBay to get an answer one way or the other. Don't risk breaking the law!

eBay and Customer Service
If you are running an eBay business, you may not realize that the need for great customer service still exists - even for online auctions. When a buyer receives quality customer service from you, they will potentially do one of two things - or both. They will give you great feedback, and they may look for more of your auctions in the future. If you hope to make a living from eBay, you have to stop thinking of it as an 'auction' and start running it like a 'business.' If you owned a brick and mortar business, how would you treat your customer while they were standing at your counter, waiting for you to finish ringing up their

order? You would be helpful and respectful of course! You would do everything that you could to guarantee that customers return to your establishment in the future. You would bend over backwards to make sure that their buying experience with you was both satisfactory and enjoyable. Why would you do any less at the close of one of your eBay auctions? First, act quickly at the close of your auctions. Contact the winner, and congratulate them. Describe the item they have won and how the item will be shipped - even if this information is already part of the description for the auction. Remind them of their winning bid amount, and give them payment options and instructions. Let them know when the item will be shipped.
Close your email by thanking them for participating in your auction. You might even take this opportunity to tell them about other open auctions that you have as well. Think of this contact with the winner as a conversation that you are having with a customer who is standing at your counter in that imaginary brick and mortar store. Once the payment and shipping details have been taken care of, contact your buyer again. Let them know when the item was shipped - the exact date and time - and when it is expected to arrive on their end. During this contact, let them know that if they have any problems or questions, that they should contact you through the eBay site. If they do contact you in the future, make sure that you answer promptly, and that you do all that you can to make them happy with their purchase - even if it means issuing a refund. Yes. You should be open to issuing refunds, depending on what the item is. Furthermore, you should issue refunds promptly. Of course, it is reasonable to expect the buyer to return the item to you, at your expense, before the refund is issued - but once you receive the item, issue the refund promptly. This is just good business!

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eBay and Drop shipping - Getting the Product to Your Customer

If you hope to own an eBay business, and make a full time living at it, you can easily make that dream come true - even if you don't have a product of your own to sell. eBay provides many people who want to quit their corporate nine-to-five jobs with a way to make a good living, without having to put up a lot of start up capital. This is made possible with the help of

drop shippers. Drop shippers send merchandise to the customers of business owners. If you have an eBay business, you are a business owner. This will allow you to offer a wide variety of stock in your eBay store, without having the need to warehouse all of those products! All you have to do is set up your auction, and sell the product. You then pass the customer's information on to the drop shipping company. The drop shipper does the rest, and they will even use your company information, as well as your company logo if you have provided it to them. When the product arrives at your customer's home, they will have no idea that your company didn't send it. The drop shipper will package, label, and ship the products that you sell, allowing you more time to set up even more auctions, for greater profits. You must establish a relationship with several drop shipping companies in order to become successful. In the beginning, most companies will require you to pay for the items that your customers order before they are shipped. You need to fill orders in a timely manner, so you should pay for the items with a credit card for speedy service. Eventually, you will be able to have the drop shipper fill your orders, and then bill you for them later. When you set up your eBay auctions, make sure that your reserve price is set higher than the price that the drop shipper will be charging you for the item. The idea, of course, is to earn a profit! Depending on the item you are selling, a markup of about 10% should be about right, but you should do some research to see if the item is selling for a lower price in another eBay auction, or through other online sources. By starting an eBay business using the drop shipping method, there is essentially no financial risk involved. The product will be sold before you pay the drop shipper for the item. This is one of the few businesses where you can actually turn a profit before you have expenditures!

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eBay Business Solutions

 

If starting an eBay business is

your goal, as opposed to just auctioning a few items off for some extra cash, you need to use the eBay business solutions that are

available to you. Because eBay's success depends on the success of its sellers, they strive to help you at every turn. eBay Business Solutions is the key to starting an eBay business. eBay Stores is one of the better solutions for eBay business owners. An eBay store will allow you to list multiple quantities of the same item, and allow you to keep them listed for longer time periods. eBay Store owners also enjoy lower auction fees, and have access to advanced merchandising tools. Eventually, you should consider upgrading to an eBay Pro Store, which will allow you to customize your storefront with your own brand and web address. There are many other eBay Business Solutions, such as seller tools, the eBay solutions directory, and the merchant solution center, but you should definitely start with your very own eBay store, followed by an eBay Pro Store.

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