eBay Tips & Tricks

Tips About Selling
• Listings that offer PayPal are 6% more likely to sell and experience a 5% average increase in final price.* That's because buyers prefer to purchase items that offer PayPal. Don't miss an easy opportunity to make more money. Offer your buyers PayPal, the fast, easy and secure way to receive payments on eBay.

• Use Gallery to attract buyers and increase your final price by an average of 11%. Gallery adds a thumbnail photo right next to your listing so that buyers can see a picture of the item you are selling.

• You can improve the visual appeal and effectiveness of your listing by adding attractive themes and layouts. You can do this by using the Listing Designer feature-without having to know HTML.

• Use eBay's Express Selling Zone for detailed book, movies, music, and video game listings with just a few clicks.

• Use the eBay Shipping Calculator to let last-minute holiday buyers figure out their shipping costs so they can pay you right away.

• Selling success often translates into being at the right place, at the right time, with the right product. Check back often to stay on top of the latest promotions and hot items on eBay.

• Use eBay Merchandising Calendar to get advance notice of upcoming seasonal promotions and learn about which items will be spotlighted on the eBay home page.

• Very Hot…Super Hot! Discover which categories and products are on fire—where bid to item ratios are high and demand is outpacing supply!

• Track trends, hot picks, and other cool stuff, including: top searches, most watched items, and little known eBay facts.

• The Holidays are right around the corner! To help you prepare, we have created a detailed list of products predicted to be in high demand and short supply this holiday season.

• Access to up to 90 days of historical information on completed items as well as active listings data, including average start prices, average sold prices, top keyword searches, and more!

• Check out the eBay Store Option. If you have many new items to sell such as from multiple wholesale lots, this is a cheaper option than using auctions.

• Not only products can be sold on eBay. If you have services that you provide, these also sell well on eBay.

• You can start an Internet business potentially worth $100,000.00... $500,000.00... $1 Million (or more!) per year...

• WITHOUT a web site,

• WITHOUT a ton of start-up capital,

• WITHOUT being a computer techie, and

• WITHOUT a ton of business experience!

Tips About Buying

• If any seller ever approaches you, for instance after you have lost a bid on an auction, and offers to make a deal with you away from eBay, immediately stop communications with them. If you take a chance on a 'better deal' or anything that is not listed on eBay, then you are not protected by the eBay rules and regulations.

You will have no recourse if you are ripped off. An acceptable scenario would be that the seller offers items under the eBay 'view other items for sale by this seller.

No exceptions
• PayPal is the fast, easy and safe way to pay on eBay. Here's how PayPal helps protect you and your purchases:

• Shop without sharing your financial information. PayPal enables you to pay without the seller ever seeing your bank account or credit card numbers.

• PayPal’s antifraud technology is a leader in the industry. They use state-of-the-art technology to prevent fraud, and their expert staff monitors transactions 24/7, enabling you to pay safely.

• PayPal protects buyers 100% against unauthorized payments from their accounts. Plus, your purchases are protected up to $1,000 on covered eBay items with PayPal Buyer Protection. Look for the "Free PayPal Buyer Protection" message in the seller’s listings to see if an item is covered.

eBay Buyer Protection

eBay pledges to work with eBay Community members to help ensure a safe trading environment. Most issues can usually be resolved through communicating directly with the other eBay members involved in the transaction. eBay recommends the following steps:

• Check the item listing - Review the seller's terms of sale (if available), item description, and shipping and payment terms. Have you allowed enough time for the seller to receive and confirm payment? Have you read the seller's shipping terms?

First 10 days after the listing ends.
• Email the seller - If you are still concerned, email the seller with your questions. If you don't have the seller's email address, you can request it from eBay or use the "Ask seller a question" link on the item listing page.

• Check your email spam filters for messages from the seller -It's possible that the seller is trying to email you but your spam filters are blocking the messages.

• Check your own contact information - It's possible that the seller is trying to email you but your contact information is incorrect. Go to "My Account" in My eBay and click on "Personal Information."

Make sure your email address is correct.
• Call your seller - Request the seller's contact information and give him or her a phone call. Many issues are just simple misunderstandings that can be resolved with a single phone call.

Anytime after completing the first four steps
• Go to PayPal - If you paid with PayPal, please visit the PayPal Resolution Center to file a complaint. Your item may have enhanced protection through PayPal Buyer Protection.

First 45 days after the listing ends.
• Use eBay's 'Item Not Received or Significantly Not as Described' process - eBay's 'Item Not Received or Significantly Not as Described' process is designed to make communication between buyers and sellers easier.

10 to 60 days after the listing ends.
• Contact your credit card company - Credit card companies typically provide some level of identity and purchase protection whether you paid with your credit card through PayPal or directly to the seller. Contact credit card company to learn more.

First 45 days after the listing ends
• File a protection claim - Once you have completed the Item Not Received or Significantly Not as Described process, you may be eligible to file a claim under eBay's Standard Purchase Protection Program. Note: You must file a claim with your credit card company prior to filing a claim with eBay (if applicable).

Buy or Sell Safely

Spoof Protection
Stay safe online by protecting yourself from spoof (fake) emails and Web sites.
Spoof emails and Web sites can be a major problems for unsuspecting Internet users. Claiming to be sent by a well-known company, spoof email directs users to Web sites asking for personal information such as a credit card number, Social Security number, or account password.

Because it's so difficult to tell when an email or Web site is a spoof, eBay recommends that you:

• Download and use eBay Toolbar with Account Guard, a feature that indicates whether you are on the real eBay or PayPal Web sites, or are on a potential spoof site.

• Learn about spoof protection by taking eBay's spoof tutorial. Basically,

• NEVER click a link in an email supposedly from eBay – it may redirect to another site that just looks like eBay and when you put in your password, record it, and later use it for fraudulent purposes.

• eBay would always address you by name and not 'eBay user' or anything generic.

• Forward any suspect email to spoof@ebay.com or spoof@paypal.com

• If you are curious and want to be sure eBay did not send you an email, go to the site, but only by typing in the address in your browser.

• Never enter sensitive personal information (such as your password or credit card, bank account, and Social Security numbers) in an email.