Customer Reviews

Build an eBay Business QuickSteps

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Even the Crayola-bright illustrations aren't enough to redeem this book. In fact, the Crayola colors used should have been a clue to me that what's inside is far from geared towards getting "your eBay business started right away..."

In this 2009 Second Edition, one would hope for current information. Not so. As an example, this book touts Registered eBay Drop Off Locations (REDOL). While it's true, there are some REDOLS left, most fell by the wayside by 2007. The overhead of a REDOL is simply too expensive to have been a viable option.

The greatest problem with this manual is it's lack of meaningful, meaty help. Simply, the manual points you in the general direction of websites. And, unfortunately, several of the links touted are broken.

I'd hoped for more. Instead, I purchased a manual that's directed towards an individual who reads at an elementary school level. I purchased a manual with no solid "how to."

I give this manual 1 star. The manual is a nice size.

I decided to call my review in a BIG word, because there are hundreds of BIG words in this book. None of them necessary. I have been on ebay since the beginning and I couldn't follow this book.

Buy Marsha Collior's books, each one was well worth the price.

This is the latest in the successful QuickSteps series from McGraw Hill. The authors strive to show how eBay can be very easy to sell items on. And certainly the emphasis is on selling, not buying. When you hear of people having a livelihood on eBay, invariably it centres around selling.

The book is lavishly illustrated, with heavily annotated screenshots from eBay's pages, to show you the key steps in selling. The first few times can indeed be awkward. Many complications, like do you already have a PayPal account, to accept payments in? Strictly, you don't need this. But many buyers like to pay this way, and having it can enhance your sales.

The book also shows how good pictures of your items can boost the number of bids and the eventual winning price. Again, none of this is difficult, if you know what to do, and methodically go through it, step by step.

Although the book contained several pearls of wisdom invaluable to the eBay seller, the format completely detracted from the content. The authors' intention of providing screen captures and step by step instructions to assist in illustrating the "how to's" they were teaching were completely lost on me. I attempted to read the text content page by page, but was constantly interrupted by multi colored "Tips" and "How To's" as well as the screen shots. Overall it was incredibly distracting and difficult to read. (Despite the fact that there was much helpful information to be gleaned from the book.) Takes way to much time to gather the important facts from a book of this format.