EBay for Dummies (9 page)

If you’re a bargain hunter by habit, you may find some pretty weird stuff while browsing the categories and subcategories of items on eBay — some of it super-cheap and some of it (maybe) just cheap. (There’s even a Weird Stuff category — no kidding!) Remember that (as with any marketplace) you’re responsible for finding out as much as possible about an item before you buy and definitely before you bid. So, if you’re the type who sometimes can’t resist a good deal, ask yourself what you plan to
do
with the pile of garbage you can get for 15 cents — and ask yourself
now,
before it arrives on your doorstep. Chapters 6 and 7 offer more information on savvy bidding.

Going Global

Listed below the Categories list are links to eBay’s international auction sites. You may enter eBay Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Italy, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, Poland, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and (whew) Vietnam. Click one of these links and you jet off (virtually) to eBay sites in these countries. The international sites are in the countries’ native languages. It might be a good place to practice your third-year French — or maybe not! Remember that after you leave eBay USA, you’re subject to the contractual and privacy laws of the country you’re visiting.

Using the Seller’s Items Links

Here on eBay, money talks pretty loudly. In the center of the home page, you see a list of the auctions eBay is featuring at the moment. eBay usually posts six featured items at any given time and rotates items throughout the day so that as many sellers as possible get a shot at being in the spotlight. When you click the featured listings link, you’re instantly beamed to eBay’s Home Page Featured Items section.

You can find everything from Las Vegas vacations to Model-T Fords to diet products in the Home Page Featured Items. Home Page Featured Items are not for mere mortals with small wallets. They’ve been lifted to the exalted
featured
status because sellers shelled out lots of money to get them noticed. All you need to get your auction featured is $39.95 ($79.95 for Multiple Item listings), plus a second or two to click Home Page Featured Item on the Sell Your Item form. (See Chapter 10 if you have an item that all eyes must see.)

Note that bidding on these items works the same way as bidding on regular items.

The Home Page Featured Items page contains many expensive items. Sellers who put up high-priced items have been around the block a few times and make it clear that they will verify each bid on the item. That means if you place a bid on one of Jay Leno’s autographed Harley-Davidsons (auctioned in 2005 to benefit tsunami relief and Hurricane Katrina relief), be prepared to get a phone call from the seller. The seller may ask you to prove that you can actually
pay
for the motorcycle. Nothing personal; it’s strictly business.

Charities

Click the Giving Works (or Charity) link on the home page to see eBay charity auctions. Winning bids contribute to programs that help charities. Charity auctions are a great way for memorabilia collectors to find one-of-a-kind (and authentic) items. (Chapter 18 tells you more about what charity items you can bid on — and the good you can do with your checkbook.)

Promotion du Jour

The eBay community is constantly changing. To help you get into the swing of things right away, eBay provides a special box with links that take you right to the current word on the latest eBay special events.

Even if the main promotion box doesn’t appeal to you, usually you can find some interesting links dotted around the home page without a headline. You can find links to eBay’s special promotions for the day (or is it the hour? — it can change every 15 minutes)

You
can
get there from here — lots of places, in fact:

A rotating list of special-interest links changes at least once a day. (Half the fun is getting a closer look at pages you haven’t seen.)

Special money-saving offers from third-party vendors can be a boon if you’re on the lookout for a bargain.

Bottoming Out

At the very bottom of the home page is an unassuming group of links that provide more ways to get to some seriously handy pages. I’ve listed some important ones in this section:

Feedback Forum:
This link takes you to one of the most important spots on eBay. The Feedback Forum is where you can find out whether you’ve forgotten to place feedback on a transaction. You can also place feedback and respond to feedback left for you — all in one friendly location.

Downloads:
Here’s a place where you can download some of eBay’s handy software. It’s a link to eBay-supplied selling-assistance software. (See Chapter 20 for more on these programs.)

Gift Certificates & Gift Cards:
Send someone an eBay gift certificate for any special occasion. You can print it yourself, or eBay will send it to any e-mail address you provide. The gift certificate is good for any item on the site for the value you specify, and you can pay for it immediately with PayPal. If the person you give the gift certificate to bids higher than the value of the gift certificate, he or she can make up the difference using another payment option.

Jobs:
Click here if you want to work
for
eBay instead of
through
eBay.

Affiliates:
If you have your own Web site and want to make a few bucks, click this link. If you sign up for the program and put a link to eBay on your Web page, eBay pays you money for any new user who signs up directly from your Web site (plus other bonuses).

Developers:
So are you a geek too? If you are, you can enter eBay’s Developer program and get access to the eBay API for fun and profit.

The eBay Shop:
This link enables you to browse and buy eBay merchandise from the eBay company store.

eBay Mobile:
They’re really pushing using a cell phone for eBay. Trust me. A computer works a lot better.

About eBay:
Click this link to find out about eBay the company and to get its press releases, company overview, and stock information. You can also find out about eBay community activities and charities — and even apply for a job at eBay.

Announcements:
Visit the General Announcements Board when you want to know about any late-breaking news.

Learning Center:
Click here to see eBay’s featured educational tools.

Security Center:
This link takes you to a page where concerns about fraud and safety are addressed. It’s such an important eBay tool that I dedicate an entire chapter to this program. Before buying or selling, it’s a good idea to check out Chapter 16.

Resolution Center:
When you have an issue with another person on the site, click here to get some action.

Policies:
This is a good place to visit to brush up on the site’s policies and guidelines.

Government Relations:
Here’s where your eBay membership can make a real difference. Join eBay’s Main Street Member Program and become involved with important legislation that may affect your online future. If you sign up, you will receive important updates.

Site Map
. Another way to reach eBay’s very handy road map of links.

On other eBay pages, the bottom navigation bar looks a little different. It often includes even more links so you can cruise the site quickly without necessarily having to use the top navigation bar.

Chapter 4

My Very Own, Private eBay

In This Chapter

Making the My eBay page a space to call your own

Keeping tabs on all you’re buying and selling

Organizing your data

Rolling with your feedback

I know eBay is a sensitive, touchie-feelie kind of company because it gives all users plenty of personal space. Long preceding Facebook.com, eBay’s My eBay page is your private space for all your activities on eBay — sort of a “This is your eBay life.” I think it’s the greatest organizational tool around, and I want to talk to somebody about getting one for organizing my life outside eBay.

In this chapter, you find out how you can use the My eBay page to keep tabs on what you’re buying and selling, find out how much money you’ve spent, and add categories to your personalized list so that you can get to any favorite eBay place with just a click of your mouse. You gain knowledge of the ins and outs of feedback — what it is, why it can give you that warm, fuzzy feeling, and how to manage it so all that cyber-positive reinforcement doesn’t go to your head.

I do want to preface this chapter by warning you that the My eBay page has become the hub for the zillions of features that eBay offers. As a beginner on the site, you’ll be doing yourself a favor if you stick to the basics of the buying, selling, feedback, and account settings. eBay’s offerings are fun, but they do a heck of a job confusing you when you’re just starting out. Ease into the extras slowly.

Getting to Your My eBay Page

Using your My eBay page makes keeping track of your eBay life a whole lot easier. And getting there is easy enough. After you enter eBay, sign in through the Sign In link (described in Chapter 3). After you sign in to eBay, you can access your My eBay page by clicking the My eBay link in the navigation bar (see Figure 4-1) at the top of almost every eBay page.

If you’ve forgotten your eBay user ID or password, click the Forgot Your User ID or Forgot Your Password link. For your user ID, you can then type your e-mail address, and eBay will send you an e-mail with your user ID. Your user ID appears in any search results, posts, or pages. For the password, you have to answer your secret question (the one you filled in when you registered). If you don’t remember that, eBay will send you a password-reset e-mail if you input your correct contact information with telephone number.

After you click the My eBay link, you arrive at your My eBay Summary page. As you can see by my absolutely busy Summary page in Figure 4-2, you can access just about anything you need right here. You find some handy reminders on the center of this page. Useful buying and selling reminders also show up here, although when you’re involved in a large number of eBay transactions, they may seem like the whining of a nagging spouse. Bottom line? These reminders help keep your business under control.

The My eBay drop-down menu in the navigation bar takes you to the main areas of My eBay. Also, look at the left side of the main My eBay page in Figure 4-2. Under the Summary heading are many handy links that take you to different areas of your eBay business. Table 4-1 gives you the scoop on the major links on the page.

At the bottom of left side section, under the Shortcuts heading, are important links to activities and information.

Don’t confuse the My eBay page with the About Me page. The About Me page is a personal Web page that you can create to let the world know about you and your eBay dealings. (You don’t have to have an About Me page if you don’t want to — but they are free for the taking and are fun to share.) I tell you how to get your own About Me page in Chapter 14.

Keeping Track of Your Personal Business

Your My eBay page has three tabs: Activity, Messages, and Account. They’re on the top side of the page below the My eBay heading. If you mouse over the Account tab, you see a drop-down menu like the one in Figure 4-3. Clicking Account brings you to a summary page that has snippets of each topic in the My Account section. It’s really better to click the individual menu options so that you can go directly to the place you want to explore.