eBay Business the Smart Way: Maximize Your Profits on the Web's #1 Auction Site [Paperback]

Joseph T. Sinclair (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 30, 2003

eBay is now firmly established as the leading online auction destination, controlling upwards of 90% of an ever-growing market. More and more sellers are formalizing their efforts into part- or full-time business enterprises, and discovering that, while selling on eBay is easy, staying visible and competitive is a challenge. This guide offers a comprehensive strategy and tips for maximizing exposure, minimizing costs and risks, and acquiring and controlling product inventory.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"an easy-to-read, highly informative book that covers eBay from soup to nuts." -- Barbara Weltman's Big Ideas for Small Business newsletter

"the author presents a comprehensive strategy -- plus savvy tips - for selling on eBay as a full-time,money-making enterprise. -- Home Business, Huntington Beach CA

Book Description

"With over 50 million registered users, eBay is a realm of vast opportunity for individual entrepreneurs. In addition to saving you the thousands of dollars you might normally have spent starting a new business—on such things as marketing, advertising, promotions, and commissions or salaries—launching your business on eBay allows you to compete with major-league retailers, wholesalers, and manufacturers, and instantly make your products visible to a universe of potential buyers.

Now in a fully revised second edition, eBay Business the Smart Way tells you everything you need to know to run the low-risk, high-profit eBay business of your dreams. Packed with clear examples, bulleted checklists, and valuable ""insider"" tips, you'll learn how to:

Set your business up legally.

Build brand recognition.

Pick the best business model for your needs, whether it's eBay only, eBay plus your website, or eBay and offline.

Handle volume-selling flawlessly.

Price your products low enough to motivate buyers—but high enough to profit yourself.

Experiment with your ad copy and improve your sales.

Choose the best type of auction for each selling situation.

Improve your photography and image editing.

Earn trust by making the most of your About Me page.

Streamline your fulfillment.

Use software to manage auctions, business processes, and accounting.

Do business internationally.

Learn just enough HTML and web design to make your spot on the Web look phenomenal.

Get a sales tax license.

Qualify for merchant credit card status or other alternatives.

Use eBay to economically equip your home office.

React instantly to new competition.

And much, much more.

In addition, this completely revised edition of eBay Business the Smart Way features new material on growing sales with data feeds to other marketplaces, integrating your offline retail operations with your eBay business, guarding against nonpayment and credit card fraud, and finding inventory to sell. This completely updated volume reflects all the changes on eBay since the last edition, as well as new developments from the 2003 and 2004 eBay Live! conferences.

Designed to save you time, headaches, and hard-won dollars, eBay Business the Smart Way provides the practical, proven strategies you need to lower your overhead and raise your profits. It is the ultimate eBay resource for taking your business to a higher level."

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: AMACOM; 1st edition (June 30, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814472028
• ISBN-13: 978-0814472026
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.1 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,220,660 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not a smart buy for eBay business, March 28, 2004

By 

Charleen Bunjiovianna (Redwood City, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: eBay Business the Smart Way: Maximize Your Profits on the Web's #1 Auction Site (Paperback)

I have been selling fulltime on eBay for the last several years. There is nothing in this book that is not readily available elsewhere. And publishers, listen up: I'm getting a little tired of the text being padded with copious white space to make the tome more weighty.

Some parts of the book are out of date, some parts are just plain wrong. (It is NOT forbidden to sell food on eBay. It is NOT hazardous to buy or sell used clothing on eBay. On the contrary, it is a huge market. The list goes on and on.)

To be fair, trying to explain eBay is like describing a fast-moving sports car. Now you see it, now you don't. But I was not convinced the author was a seasoned eBay seller, merely a seasoned author of "about" books.

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A comprehensive , practical business guide, June 5, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: eBay Business the Smart Way: Maximize Your Profits on the Web's #1 Auction Site (Paperback)

I picked up this book expecting technical discussion about Ebay. I am a novice Ebay user and wanted to get up to speed after having successfully bought some things and gotten familiar with the process, while planning to sell some higher priced items. I found it easy to read with many Ebay-specific facts and tips but was really impressed with the wide-ranging discussion about business, especially the emphasis on customer service and marketing. These are the topics many first-time entrepreneurs find mysterious and large companies have seemingly started to forget, to their disadvantage. Giving good service in this era of voicemail mazes, un-navigable websites and untrained, minimum-wage retail salespeople is a lesson, if learned, Ebay businesses will use to prosper. Sinclair has covered most, if not all of the bases in this business book. Everything is current and up-to-date, from how to get paid to the latest info on taking and using digital photos. I recommend this to anyone in any business.

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Proofreader needed... ..., July 22, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: eBay Business the Smart Way: Maximize Your Profits on the Web's #1 Auction Site (Paperback)

Too many typos mar the information in this book, making me wonder how accurate the information actually IS---and that is if you can find points in the book where the author is willing to take a stand and give his opinion. I'm an experienced eBay seller with over 1500 transactions to date and was expecting some nitty gritty to help me expand and grow my business. Instead I was faced with "try it and see" at every turn....the author seems a bit shy of giving concrete information and instead takes the easy way out. There are far better eBay books on the market...The Dummies series is a great place to start.