eBay: Top 100 Simplified Tips & Tricks » (REV)

Julia Wilkinson is a writer with 15 years experience in online communities and Web content production. She is currently editor of the MyEZsale Ecommerce Guide at www.myezsale.com. She is the author of My Life at AOL, Best Bang for Your Book and several ebooks about the online auction business, including What Sells on eBay for What. She has written for The Washington Post, Virginia, Boardwatch, COMPUTE!, ComputorEdge, and AuctionBytes-Update. In addition to editing MyEZsale Ecommerce Guide, Julia publishes her own monthly newsletter, Yard Salers and eBayers. Julia holds a B.A. from the University of Virginia and lives in Virginia with her husband, children, and their parakeet, Super.

You already know eBay basics. Now you'd like to go beyond with shortcuts, tricks, and tips that let you work smarter and faster. And because you learn more easily when someone shows you how, this is the book for you. Inside, you'll find clear, illustrated instructions for 120 tasks that reveal cool secrets, teach timesaving tricks, and explain great tips guaranteed to make your eBay experience more productive.

1. Smart Searching on eBay.

#1 Expand Your Search Depth.

#2 Perform an Advanced Search.

#3 Find Market Prices for Completed Items.

#4 View What Others Have Bought.

#5 Browse to Supplement Your Searches.

#6 Use Categories to Refine Your Search.

#7 Find Hot Items.

#8 Search While You Sleep.

#9 Find eBay’s Hidden Gems.

#10 Create Photo Albums of Search Results.

#11 Find It Fast with eBay’s Site Map.

2. Smart Shopping on eBay.

#12 Watch an Item You Want to Buy.

#13 Ask a Seller a Question.

#14 Save Time with Feedback Tools.

#15 Use Local Pickup to Save Shipping Fees.

#16 Buy Multiple Items to Save on Shipping.

#17 Find Unique Items in Other Countries.

#18 Receive Buying Alerts with the eBay Toolbar.

#19 Shop for Last-Minute Bargains.

#20 Use Picture Gallery to Quickly Shop.

#21 Factor In Hidden Costs.

3. Improving Your Bidding and Buying Strategies

#22 Use Proxy Bidding to Your Advantage.

#23 Snipe with Last-Second Bidding.

#24 Snipe While You Sleep.

#25 Out-Snipe Snipers with Advanced Techniques.

#26 Make Odd Numbers Work for You.

#27 Check Prices of Common Items.

#28 Get a Low Price with Dutch Auctions.

#29 Buy a Car with eBay Motors.

#30 Find Real Estate Bargains.

#31 Support a Good Cause.

#32 Join the Elite Fray of Live Auction Bidding.

4. Paying for Items Painlessly.

#33 Set Up a PayPal Account.

#34 Add PayPal Funds.

#35 Withdraw Funds from PayPal.

#36 Use Escrow to Buy Your Item.

#37 Troubleshoot After-Sale Problems.

#38 Resolve Payment Disputes with SquareTrade.

#39 UseFeedback to Build Goodwill.

5. Smart Selling on eBay

#40 Avoid Problems with Trademark Protection.

#41 Check that eBay Allows Your Item.

#42 Set an Auction Length.

#43 Determine When to Use Buy It Now.

#44 Create a Fixed-Price Listing.

#45 Sell in Bulk with Dutch Auctions.

#46 Protect Your Item with a Reserve.

#47 Save Money on Listing Fees.

#48 Give Your Listing a Background Color.

#49 Jazz Up Your Listing with Listing Designer Graphics.

#50 Save Time with Pre-Filled Information.

#51 Make a Second-Chance Offer.

6. Maximizing Your Efficiency with Seller Tools.

#52 Use Photoshop Elements to Edit a Picture.

#53 Copyright Your Auction Photographs.

#54 Track Listing Visits with a Free Counter.

#55 Start an Auction with the Scheduler.

#56 Determine the Best Auction Days.

#57 View eBay Seller Tips.

#58 Create Auction Listings with Turbo Lister.

#59 Research Auctions with DeepAnalysis.

7. Boosting Your Sales with Advanced Selling Techniques.

#60 Save Money with Image Hosting.

#61 Add Multiple Images in Slideshow Format.

#62 Use Statistics to Measure Sales.

#63 Get Organized with Selling Manager.

#64 Improve Your Listings with eBay’s Editor.

#65 Market Your Goods with an eBay Store.

#66 Cross-Promote Your eBay Store Items.

#67 Manage Cross-Promoted Items.

8. Maximizing Your Items’ Exposure.

#68 Use eBay Keywords to Attract Traffic.

#69 Emphasize Listings with Your About Me Page.

#70 Give Shoppers a Preview with Gallery.

#71 Place Your Item on eBay’s Home Page.

#72 Use Bold and Highlighting to Emphasize Auctions.

#73 Maximize Visibility with Featured Auctions.

#74 Call Attention to Your Other Auctions.

#75 Showcase Thumbnails of Related Auction Items.

#76 Appeal to Buyers with SquareTrade’s Seal of Approval.

#77 Boost All Auctions with a Strategic Item.

9. Smart Shipping.

#78 Create Good Terms of Sale.

#79 Retrieve Shipping Information.

#80 Place a Shipping Calculator in Your Listing.

#81 Save Time and Money with Flat Rates.

#82 Print Your Own Postage.

#83 Protect Yourself with Delivery Confirmation and Insurance.

#84 Use U-PIC to Insure Packages.

#85 Use eBay to Purchase Packing Supplies.

#86 Order Free Supplies.

#87 Send Large, Valuable, or Fragile Items.

10. Tapping into the eBay Community Gold Mine.

#88 Find a Home in the Discussion Boards.

#89 Browse the Discussion Boards.

#90 Get Answers with Live Chat.

#91 Get Answers with Discussion Boards.

#92 Use eBay University to Take Classes.

#93 Network with eBay Groups.

#94 Find Outside Auction Communities.

#95 Stay Informed with Industry Newsletters.

11. Taking Your eBay Business to the Next Level.

#96 Determine How Bidders Find Your Listing.

#97 Place Audio in Your Auctions.

#98 Analyze Your Competition with Terapeak.

#99 Increase Your Sales with Want It Now.

#100 Optimize Your Listings for Search Engines.

#101 Attract More Buyers with Listings Feeds/RSS.

#102 Create Fast, Fun Auction Templates with ListTrendy.

#103 Monitor Buyer Demand with Andale Research.

#104 Create and Edit in Bulk with Blackthorne.

#105 Manage Pictures and Inventory with Blackthorne.

#106 Find Suppliers with Andale.

#107 Automatically Extend Your Auction.

#108 Leave Feedback Automatically.

#109 Manage Consignments with Marketblast.

12. Getting Better Deals with Advanced Buyer Tools.

#110 Monitor Auctions Continuously from Your Desktop.

#111 Search Both eBay Stores and Auction Listings at Once.

#112 Search Multiple Auction Sites at Once.

#113 Get Exposure and Information with eBay Reviews and Guides.

#114 Compare Prices and Product Ratings with Shopping.com.

#115 Manage Your Payments with PayPal Buyer Credit.

13. Creating an Off-eBay Presence.

#116 Create an Off-eBay Presence with eBay’s ProStores.

#117 Boost Your Off-eBay Sales with Google AdWords.

#118 Expand Your Sales to Half.com.

#119 Create Your Own Store with Vendio.

#120 Create a Customer Mailing List.