eBay For Dummies (For Dummies (Computers)) [Paperback]

Marsha Collier (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0470045299 | ISBN-13: 978-0470045299 | Publication Date: October 30, 2006 | Edition: 5

Thinking about buying or selling items on eBay? Whether you want to use eBay to make smart bids and win auctions or turn household clutter into cash, eBay for Dummies, Fifth Edition is your passport to the most successful trading community on the planet. Beginning with an overview of what eBay is and how to become a registered user, eBay for Dummies helps you discover how you can:

• Search for items to buy and list items to sell on eBay
• Place a bid—and determine how much you should spend
• Use pictures and basic HTML to make your eBay listings more appealing
• Communicate well and close deals without a problem
• Identify auction terms (reserve price, starting bid, Buy It Now, etc.)
• Organize your transactions and interactions using the My eBay page
• Resolve buying and selling issues with eBay’s Trust & Safety program
• And much more!

Registering at eBay makes you part of a really unique community of people who like to collect, buy, and sell items of just about every kind! So if you’re ready to join the millions of people who use their home computers to make great deals, buy cool stuff, and turn a profit, eBay for Dummies does all the legwork so you can sit back and let the bidding begin!

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Buy low, sell high, and join the eBay community

Economy shopper or entrepreneur — discover the secrets to eBay success!

The bucks start here! Whether you're saving them or earning them, eBay's the place, and Marsha Collier is the person to show you how. Get great safe-shopping secrets, find out how to sell what people are buying, ship stuff the right way, bag auction bargains, deal with problem transactions like a pro, and more.

Discover how to

• Bid to win your first auction
• Unearth unmatched bargains
• Earn positive feedback points
• Turn your junk into cash as an eBay seller
• Enhance listings with photos

About the Author

Marsha Collier spends a good deal of time on eBay. She loves buying and selling (she’s a PowerSeller with her own eBay store) as well as meeting eBay users from around the world. As columnist, author of three best-selling books on eBay, and guest lecturer at eBay University, she shares her knowledge of eBay with millions of online sellers. Thousands of eBay fans also read her monthly newsletter, Cool eBay Tools, to keep up with the changes on the site. eBay For Dummies is published in special versions for the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, and Australia. Currently, she has 15 books in print on her favorite subject — eBay.
Out of college, Marsha worked in Fashion Advertising for the Miami Herald and then as Special Projects Manager for the Los Angeles Daily News. In 1984, she founded a home-based advertising and marketing business. Her successful business, the Collier Company, Inc., was featured by Entrepreneur magazine in 1985 (today she’s Entrepreneur.com’s eBay columnist). Marsha’s company later received the Small Business of the Year award from her California State Assemblyman and the Northridge Chamber of Commerce.
Most of all, Marsha loves a great deal — that’s what drew her to eBay in 1996, and that’s partially what keeps her busy on the site now. She buys everything from replacement toothbrush heads to parts for pool equipment to designer dresses. Marsha knows how to work and profit from eBay, and in this book, she shares that knowledge with you.

Product Details

• Paperback: 386 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; 5 edition (October 30, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470045299
• ISBN-13: 978-0470045299
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #595,505 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Be Sure and Get the Latest Edition, November 21, 2006

By 

John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: eBay For Dummies (For Dummies (Computers)) (Paperback)

There are two real reasons for buying this book.

One is that here is everything you need to know is contained in one, organized book. There is really little that you can learn here that you can't learn on the e-Bay web pages. But there are 386 pages in this book. Looking at that may pages on the web is a real pain, and you will never know if you didn't miss something important.

Two this book has material (especially comments) on subjects that are covered, shall we say, differently on the web pages. Some such subjects: Sniping (entering your bid at the final instant of a bid), searching using mispellings, astronomical shipping costs, and much more.

One problem with books like this one is that the rules on e-Bay change so often and so fast that keeping up with them is a task. This book with ISBN 0470045299 is the Fifth Edition published on October 30, 2006. Be careful if looking and used copies that you aren't getting an earlier, and obsolete edition.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Recommended for technophobes, but most others should try the website first, April 11, 2007

By 

K. W. Schreiter (Conshohocken, PA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: eBay For Dummies (For Dummies (Computers)) (Paperback)

This book effectively explains the basics of buying and selling on eBay. However, much of the information can be readily obtained by spending some time on eBay's well-designed website. Those completely unfamiliar with or intimidated by computers would benefit from this book. Most other users would benefit more from buying/selling a few inexpensive items as practice - much less than the cost of the book and you might get some cool junk out of the deal.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just can't beat the "Dummies" series!, January 25, 2007

By 

H. Danner "Spiritdreamr" (Missouri USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: eBay For Dummies (For Dummies (Computers)) (Paperback)

This book is very informative and super easy to read and understand. I'm a beginner with the whole "selling on Ebay thing" so naturally I have many questions. I feel this book was great about answering questions, making suggestions and even warning you about certain things that might come up in the process of selling as well as buying on Ebay. I highly recommend this book to all newbies like me!