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51 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Adequate technical manual lacking in auction survival tips., June 24, 2002
While the Kovels might be the best-informed experts on the antique trade in the business, they don't really want to share their secrets with you. _Kovels' Bid, Buy, and Sell Online_ is at its best when the Kovels give it to the reader "straight", but when it comes to dealing with situations and problems unique to the online-auction world, they hedge their bets. _Bid, Buy_ does succeed in familiarizing with the online auction process its target audience, those who wish to enter the world of online auctions but are intimidated or just plain unfamiliar with the computer skills and auction know-how needed to get around the bidding and selling processes. Its practical advice on what types of items not to sell and why (high-end gemstones, for example, are a magnet for both dishonest sellers AND buyers who swap paste copies for the real jewels once the items arrive and then demand fraud conpensation from the escrow company or auction service) can save a newcomer a lot of grief. The technical information is also very good - easy-to-understand explanations of common HTML terms and walkthroughs for basic HTML processes are provided, as are helpful tips on how to write clear, attractive auction descriptions and concise, attention-getting titles. Also included in the back is a nice glossary of auction terms. Unfortunately, being quite a well-established, well-heeled corporate entity themselves, the Kovels are a bit too closely associated with the systems they purportedly teach the reader how to work, and there thus is the definite sense that they are looking out for eBay's interests over the consumer's. As an eBay seller for going on three years, I was especially disappointed in the lack of information for a new seller; in particular, there is scant info on what to do in the inevitable (and, when first encountered, panic-inducing) situation of a deadbeat bidder refusing to pay - the book's suggested plan of action, to just flat-out plead with the bidder for over a month and to not press the matter unless the buyer's behavior constitutes a prosecutable offense - is impractical and does not take into account (indeed, never mentions) that there is a time limit (usually 30-45 days) on filing for the refund of one's Final Value Fee. (While no uniform method for dealing with deadbeats exists, the one most popular in my auction circles is to allow two weeks for payment to arrive, contact the buyer again via e-mail if nothing comes, and if no reply to _that_ message arrives in your Inbox after a couple days, leave negative feedback, follow the steps detailed in the auction site's Non-Paying Bidder policy to recoup some of your selling fees, and offer the item to the auction's second-highest bidder or relist.) The book also fails to instruct the reader on vital subjects such as what kind of payments to accept and in what circumstances, the in and outs (and pros and cons) of online payment systems like PayPal and Yahoo PayDirect, and (since a great number of eBay sellers are private ctizens, not experienced shop owners) how to pack both effectively and economically. Furthermore, no "inside" knowledge or strategies, such as checking closed auctions for similar items to discover the "going price" for yours or taking advantage of the free packing boxes provided at the post office for Priority Mail items, are offered - and one is entitled to expect at least a _little_ inside info from the antique world's ultimate insiders. The lack of information leaves a new seller stranded. (_Bid, Buy, and Sell Online_ is not exactly fair to buyers, either; a payment which arrives less than a week after the auction's close is deemed "late" - an assertion with which anyone who has ever wrestled with the USPS will take issue - and, most incredulously, the book instructs the buyer that a few flaws are to be expected in online-auction merchandise and to chalk up any minor condition problems unreported in the item's description to "miscommunication" and the cost of doing business - a flat-out inexcusable attempt to "cover" for a selling practice that, offline or online, is just plain dishonest and unacceptable.) To add to the problems, much of the book's information is dispensed in buyer's and seller's "diaries", which are penned in an overly-chatty style and which agonize over a plethora of trivial (and mostly groundless) anxieties, making both auction processes seem unnecessarily complex and daunting. (The irritating "hand-written" font used throughout the sections, which is hard to read and even harder to scan for reference, does not help matters.) Also, the book does not warn against three common trip-ups raised in the examples given - a) setting too low a starting bid, b) underestimating shipping costs and ending up with a nasty, profit-eating surprise at the post office (or, for that matter, overestimating shipping and driving prospective bidders away by what would be perceived as padded charges), and c) hastily selling off a personal possession you later discover you'd really rather have kept yourself. There's also a fairly useless real-life vignettes & "amazing facts" section tacked on at the end, the space expended on which could have better spent on the aforementioned omitted practical information. In short, you could do worse than _Bid, Buy, and Sell Online_, but if you pick it up, be sure to supplement it - join a mailing list (Yahoo Groups, say, is a good place to search) dedicated to the specific area you're thinking of exploring and ask right out for auction advice.
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