Useful Information for Ebay Users

Ebay is the largest and most exciting auction service on the internet. With more than 3 million auctions running, and many millions of users, if you want it you probably can find it there. If you want to sell it, you surely can find buyers. Warning: It can quickly become addicting!

Below you will find official links from Ebay, links that are not part of Ebay, but offer help to Ebay users, and general informational links that will assist you both on and off of Ebay.

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Ebay E-mail Addresses:

Just Click on the address to send E-mail.

For General Support & Technical Questions	support@ebay.com
For Account and Billing Information	billing@ebay.com
Misuse by a user or violating Ebay Rules	safeharbor@ebay.com
Something that needs Immediate Attention?	timesensitive@ebay.com
Suggest a New Category	brian@ebay.com
Comprehensive list of Ebay e-mail addresses	eBay Addy-Busters!

Useful Links on Ebay:

See Tables below for General, Sellers, and Buyers.

General:

To Get Help from Experienced Users	User to User Q & A Board
Ebay Announcements Important to Users	Announcements Board
Ebay Site Map: The Roadmap to the Ebay Site	Site Map
Ebay Help Overview (Index of help topics)	Ebay Help Overview
Safeharbor: Misuse of Ebay by a User	Safeharbor
What you agree to when you use Ebay	User Agreement
Create a My Ebay Page (Allows you to track your auctions)	My Ebay
Create Ebay About Me Page (Tell a little about yourself)	About Me
Changing your userid	Change User ID
Changing your Password	Change Password
Changing E-mail address	Change E-mail Address
Changing Registration Info (Address, phone number, etc.)	Changing your registration information
To get information on a user, including Contact Information	User Information
To Register to use the Ebay service	Register!
Information on Ebay as a Company	Investor Relations
Explanation of different auction types	Auction Types
Explanation of Dutch Auctions	Dutch Auctions
Explanation of the Feedback System. How you rate on Ebay	Feedback Forum
Billpoint Credit Card Service for Users (test at present)	Billpoint
Insurance Ebay Provides for Transactions	Insurance
I-Escrow Services for secure Transactions	I-escrow
Dispute Resolution when transactions go wrong. (Over $100)	Dispute Resolution Overview
Official Ebay Time Clock	Ebay Time
Where Is An item? (Gives category position, gallery, etc)	Where Is An Item?

Links for Sellers:

Sell your Item	Sell Your Item
Revise your item up for auction (Can't have bids)	Revise Item
Add to the Items Description	Add to the Items Description
Canceling Bids Placed in Your Auction	Canceling Bids
Ending Auction Early (Must do step above first if has bids)	Ending Auction Early
Mr. Lister (ebay's bulk listing tool, loads multiple auctions)	Mr. Lister
What can you sell, and how?	Listing Policies
Things you can't sell: Prohibited or Infringing Items	Prohibited, Questionable & Infringing Items
Seller's Tips	Seller's tips
Category Overview: List of all Categories on Ebay.	Category Overview with category numbers
Check your Account Status	Account Status
Ebay Non-Paying Bidder Policy	Non-Paying Bidder Policy
Non Paying Bidder Alert (starts the process for credit)	Non Paying Bidder Alert Form
Final Value Fee Credit Request (second step, 10 days after)	Final Value Fee Credit Request Form
Ebay Images Tutorial	Ebay Images Tutorial
Common HTML Tags for Ebay Use	Common HTML Tags
Ebay Images/HTML Board: Help with Images & HTML	Ebay Images/HTML Board
Listing and Final Value Fees for Ebay	Fees
Place or Update your Credit Card for your Ebay Account	Credit Card
Someone copying your photos or auction text?	Copyrights, Trademarks & Your Listing

Links for Bidders:

Search For Items to Bid On	Find Items
Retracting your bid (to be used only for legitimate reasons)	Retract Bids
How bid Increments are computed	Bid Increments
Tips for Bidders	Bidder's Tips
Explanation of Different Auction Types (Reserve, Dutch, etc.)	Auction Types
Explanation of Proxy Bidding. Ebay bids for you to your max	Proxy Bidding

Ebay Boards:

These are chat and help boards on Ebay that can help you with many subjects. From identifying items, getting help with buying or selling, or just a place to chat or talk on many various subjects.

Announcements Board	Stamps	Diecast
Ebay Q & A Board	Dolls	Music
The Ebay Cafe	Advertising Collectibles	Books
The Ebay Wanted Board	Antiques	Movies
The Ebay Support Q & A Board	Beanie Babies®	Furby
Discuss Ebay's Newest Features	Glass	Canada Board
The Ebay AOL Cafe	Photo Equipment	United Kingdom Board
Live Support for New Users	Emergency Contact	Ebay L.A. Cafe
Toys	The New Board	Japan Board
Jewelry, Gemstones	Holiday	Barbie® Bulletin Board
Pottery Porcelain	International Trading	Australia Board
Computers	Images/HTML	Shop Talk
Trading Cards	Sports	Science Fiction
Coins	Car Chat

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Non-Ebay Links:

These sites are generally not a part of Ebay, but provide helpful information pertaining to Ebay or useful to Ebay users

General Links:

Both Buyers and Sellers

Nehi's Mystery Mail (payment without name, address, etc.)	Mystery Mail
Happy99.exe e-mail virus/worm fix	Happy99 worm fix!
PrettyPark.exe e-mail virus/worm Information	Prettypark.exe info
WhoWhere (Locate an e-mail address, phone, address)	WhoWhere
Bigfoot (peoplesearch and more, addresses, e-mail, etc.)	Bigfoot
Online Auction Users Association (Group for auction users)	OAUA
Online Traders Web Alliance (Group for auction users)	OTWA
AuctionWatch: Discussions, Boards, Tools, Hosting & More	AuctionWatch
U.S. Patent Dating chart. (Design Patents also.)	Patent Chart
English Registry Marks (Dating Charts)	English Registry Marks
BidPay (Send money order using Credit Card)	Bidpay
PayPal (Send money to anyone with an E-mail address)	PayPal

International Trading:

International Traders Board FAQ (ebay users on Int. Board)	International Trading FAQ and Links
Have an international bidder/seller? Need language help?	Babel Fish: Alta Vista Translations
International Codes for E-mail and the Web	International Codes
International Currency Exchange (Calculator and tables)	http://www.x-rates.com/
Dave's Information on Trading With Canadians	Canadians
International Postal Rate Calculator (USPS)	International Rate Calculator
Helping Foreign Buyers Send Payment	Tessa's Foreign Payment Help
Kenzy's International Shipping Guide	Kenzy's International Shipping Guide

Seller's Links:

Some Helpful tips if you have buyers who won't pay	Tessa's Non-Paying Bidders
Item damaged or lost in shipping? What to do.	Tessa's Lost or Damaged
411 For Ebay Users (Tutorials and Links)	411 for Ebay
Zelda's HTML Help & HTML Practice Board	Zelda's
Step by step Tutorial for AOL Users to add Images	http://www.twaze.com/aolpix/
United States Postal Service: Rate calculators and more.	USPS Web Site
United Parcel Service (UPS)	UPS Web Site

Bidder's Links:

Some Helpful tips if you have been Ripped Off on Ebay	Tessa's Tips If you've been ripped off!
AuctionRover. Multiple Auction Site Searches	AuctionRover

Books On Selling on the Internet, and Internet Auctions:

Ebay for Dummies® (IDG Books)	Ebay for Dummies
Internet Auctions for Dummies® (IDG Gooks)	Internet Auctions for Dummies
The Official Ebay Guide	The Official Ebay Guide
Collector's Guide to Buying, Trading, Selling on the Internet	Collector's Guide
Selling Books on the Internet Tessa Hebert (Includes Ebay)	Selling Books on the Internet

Image Hosts:

Places on the net to store pictures for Ebay, some free, some you have to pay for. While free sites may work fine, some of the pay sites may offer better reliability or additional services.

andale.com (free, other auction tools as well)(formerly honesty.com)	http://www.andale.com/
Auction Patrol	http://www.auctionpatrol.com/FREEHOST/
AuctionWatch	http://www.auctionwatch.com/
Pics-Plus Image Hosting (Auction Editing Software included)	http://www.pics-plus.com/
MyItem.com	http://www.myitem.com/
Picture@ (Free trial for 10 days)	http://www.pictureat.com/
UK image host	http://www.auctionpix.co.uk/
Free Image Hosting Reviews	http://www.ftpplanet.com

FTP Programs:

To put images on the internet, you may need an FTP (File transfer protocol) program to actually list the items on the internet. Below are some programs that are fairly easy to use. Most are shareware, if you try them ,and like them, a nominal fee will need to be paid to the program author.

WS_FTP (This is the program I use)	http://www.ipswitch.com/
Cute FTP	http://www.globalscape.com/
Coffeecup FTP (Free)	http://www.coffeecup.com/

Auction Counters:

To install free counters on your auctions, so that you know how many folks view your auctions:

honesty.com auction counters	http://www.honesty.com/
Ruby Lane counters	http://count.rubylane.com/
Auctioncounters.com	http://www.auctioncounters.com/
Beseen	http://beseen.com/hitcounter/index.html
bay-town	http://www.bay-town.com/free/

Auction Management Software& Services:

Makes managing or listing your auctions much easier for sellers.

Mr. Lister (Ebay's bulk listing, composing tool)	http://pages.ebay.com/services/buyandsell/mr.html
Auction Assistant, Auction Assistant Pro, Auction Ticker	http://www.blackthornesw.com/
Auction Poster98	http://www.auctionposter.com/
eAssist	http://www.ricksplanet.com/efeature.html
Pre Lister3 (Auction software for Macintosh users)	http://www.blackmagik.com/gavelware.html
AuctionDesk	http://www.auctiondesk.net/index.shtml
Pics-Plus (Auction editor, image upload, and hosting)	http://www.pics-plus.com/
AdGen (Auction Ad template, does the html for you-Free)	Adgen
Auction Patrol Tool Suite (Ad generator, and more)	Auction Patrol Tools, Sonny
AuctionPro2000 (Ad Generator. Free)	Auctionpro2000
Auction Wizard (Ad Creator, auction management)	Auction Wizard
Easy Auction (Auction Management including reporting)	Easy Auction
The eBay Assistant (Auction management software)	The eBay Assistant
ManageAuctions.com (web based auction management)	ManageAuctions.com
VirtualAuctionAdPro (Ad Creator and auction management)	Virtual Auction Ad Pro
AuctionSidekick	AuctionSidekick

Bidder's Auction Software:

Will help you keep track of your bidding, and some even bids for you

Cricket Jr. (bidding Software)	Cricket Jr.
Honesty Multi-Bid (bid tracking software, auto bidding)	Honesty Multi Bid
Auction Browser (web browser with built-in auction tools )	Auction Browser
Auction Ticker (Keeps track of auctions for seller or bidder)	Auction Ticker

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Still having problems?

Visit the User to User Question & Answer board on Ebay. Nice, friendly, and very knowledgeable users available there at all hours to help. The folks there are volunteers, and do this for fun, and out of the spirit of community that has kept Ebay the #1 auction service. There is a very wide range of experience with shipping, HTML, selling, buying and identification of items. Few other places you can go and get such comprehensive advice. To visit, click on the link below:

Ebay User to User Q & A Board

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That's it - your eBay success awaits you. Good luck and we hope you benefit nicely.

Tips-n-Tricks!

As mentioned before, there are over 2,900 categories to list your items in. So, after choosing a product you've purchased or created in your workshop or crafts room, spend some time searching the categories you see the most activity in and have the best possibilities to have a successful auction in.

Certain auction items are geared to the housewife, others to the work force and many times, like a high ticket item, may require the decision of more than one person to make a bid.

TIP -If your market is for the housewife, start your auctions in the morning. What time in the morning? Since eBay is located in the Pacific Time Zone and you reside in the Eastern Time Zone you will want to start your auction early in the morning. To hit the Pacific Time Zone at 10 A.M., start your auction at 7 A.M .in the Eastern Time Zone. This will reach the other time zones at 8 A.M. and 9 AM. Keep in mind, all auctions end at the same time they start.

TIP - Use the evening hours to list items for the working families and the major ticket items for those folks who need to make a joint purchase decision of the larger amounts.

This is all subjective and if you have done your homework you should have the times charted for that category for the highest traffic times the bidders are active. Advantage: seller.

TIP - Which days are the best? The best I can say about my auction success in the categories I use is that I have narrowed it down to Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings for when I want my auctions to start and end.

So, if I list on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday evenings, then I will run a seven day auction. If I want to list on a Sunday evening, I will list the item for a 3 day auction to end on Wednesday evening. Again, chart the categories and you will soon see a pattern develop that works the best for you.

Before you know it, you will be on your way to becoming a marketing pro in the Auction Houses.

TIP - The best months are January to the middle of June, then from the middle of September to the middle of December. The in-between months are the traditional vacation months. Don't get me wrong, it just slows down in that time frame. I also find the week after Christmas to be a very good exposure period with all the new computers being hooked up on Christmas day. Everyone wants to rush out and see what all the excitement is about on eBay.

TIP - Use the reserve price to set the minimum amount that you will take for your item if you are starting with a minimum bid far lower than what you will accept if your item sales. So, set the starting bid at or near the amount you want. Ex.: if you want $50 dollars for your item and start the bid for a penny and it only gets one bid for that penny, you are committed to sale that item to the bidder. If you start making excuses like the dog ate it and refuse to let the item go at that bid, you could lose your eBay privileges.

As you research the auction items you will see where sellers will start a bid at one Penny just to get you to look at the item and then you will see the (reserve not yet met). Well, that person may have set a $1,500.00 reserve and the bidders will start getting impatient when they are bidding on what they feel is reasonable for that item and just quit and go look for another like item to bid on.

eBay recommends you keep the starting bid around 25% to 70% of the reserve price you have set. I tend to agree with them.

TIP - If you type this after the title of your auction item, NR or N/R, you will get more bids per visitor. The NR and N/R indicates to the buyer there is no reserve price to be met. This will create bidding frenzies to get started in some instances.

TIP - The hottest bidding times are when a listing is new and the last hour. So don't get discouraged if there is not much bidding activity during the days in between. The bidders are not asleep, they are like you, just monitoring their favorites. I have had items jump by $400.00 in the last 10 minutes of the auction.

The best way to view this activity is to go to the "going, going, gone" in the categories you are most interested in and take note of the price of the last bid. Then visit that page to see what the actual prices of those items went for. This is the area that items have five or less hours to go before the auction closes.

TIP - Try bidding on an item to see and get the feel for it. As soon as you make a qualified bid, eBay will send you an immediate email that your bid was accepted and that you are the high bidder. When you are outbid at a future time, eBay will also send you an email to let you know that you have been outbid by another.

TIP - At the top of each page on the left hand side is a link called my eBay. This is a very important link to an eBay seller. It will give you a full accounting and stats of your eBay account.

Once you have logged in, be sure to bookmark this page for your records. This page will list all your activity, what you are selling, buying, feedback from others, your buyers email address and account balances which will include your listing fees and commissions paid.

TIP- Offer free shipping if the bid reaches a certain amount.

TIP - For credibility offer a money back guarantee.

TIP - Review your listing before it is submitted. Once a bid is made you cannot revise it. Also make sure your starting bid is what you want. If you push that "submit my listing button " you can not change the price. I once placed an item up for auction for $300.00 instead of the $3,000.00 I meant it to be. Thank goodness no one bid on that item! I sweat that one out the entire week. So please, review your listings before pushing that submit button.

You do have the opportunity to revise your listing so long as there haven't been any bids placed except for the price of the offering.

TIP - Always leave a positive feedback for your buyers and ask them to leave positive feedback for you when the transaction is complete. This establishes your credibility as your business grows. This is also the number you see behind the:
Seller (Rating) Their user id (23)

The (23) means they have that many unique transactions but the seller may have a true rating of (48). eBay has a practice of only crediting the seller with unique transactions and will not increment the number for repeat buyers that have left feedback in the past. That is their policy. So you may want to check the feedback of the sellers to see how that works.

TIP - You can re-list auctions that have sold! Go to the URL for the ended auction and click on "re-list". Ebay allows you to re-list the item even though it sold, saving you time and effort so that you don't have to copy and paste the title and item description into the form again. This is particularly useful for High Volume Sellers.

TIP - Use Ebay as a vehicle for advertising your products and websites! You can list your url on your auction page, however, do read the rules. There are rules like you your url on your auction page, however, do read the rules. There are rules like you cannot lead to a page that sells what you are selling at eBay, however you can lead
to other things you are doing.

TIP - Use Ebay's bulk uploading tool if you run more than 10 auctions at a time. With "Mister Lister", you can upload hundreds of auctions at once, saving you much time and effort. Click on the Ebay help files to see how it works and to download the software.

TIP - Dutch Featured Auctions are your key to success! The way to maximize your profits on Ebay is to determine your hottest selling items through market analysis and then list then as Dutch Featured auctions. Using this secret technique, you can make as much as $100,000 per month on Ebay, or more! Note, You cannot set a reserve price on a Dutch Auction. You also need 50 feedback, or a ID verification and at least 60 days as an eBay user.

TIP - Information is your greatest asset. Read up on online marketing and read EVERY Ebay FAQ and help file. Know everything about your venue of sale. Your success on Ebay, or with online marketing in general, is directly proportional to your level of knowledge and experience.

TIP - Don't be afraid to try new things on Ebay! List new products, try out new categories, and use the proven methods of Trial & Error to find out what works and what doesn't. DO NOT fall into a rut and remain content with a solid income of $1000 - $5000 per week. The profit potential on Ebay is tremendous - make it work for you.

TIP - Offer quick shipping! Your customers want their merchandise quickly and efficiently. Charge reasonable shipping rates and send their items priority mail when possible. Make each customer feel that his order is important to you - because IT IS. This will be your key to positive feedback and satisfied customers. Happy buyers come back for seconds.

TIP - Set up an E-Commerce account. You need to be able to take credit cards and online checks to be a successful Ebay seller. Many customers will only pay by credit card and will choose another vendor if you don't offer them that opportunity.

TIP - Don't put a ridiculous shipping price on your merchandise. Many purchasers look to the price of shipping before bidding. Do put a price in for shipping so your bidder can have a guideline. Do check with your Post Office for book rates and other special rates that you can use for packaging.

TIP - Package your merchandise well. Your purchaser will remember what great care you have taken to get them their product safely to them.