The Official eBay Bible (Paperback)

~ Jim Griffith (Author) "You are about to enter a wondrous universe called eBay-a place where you can hunt for and buy treasure; sell the contents of your attic;..." (more)
Key Phrases: culling treasure, tin animal money, item description page, Internet Explorer, Picture Services, Turbo Lister (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

An object sells on eBay every 1.7 seconds. Someone buys a digital camera on the site every 90 seconds. And according to the company, more than 70,000 Americans make their living by selling on eBay. The site has revolutionized the way small-business owners run their operations, and in this guide, Griffin, who was the company's first customer service representative and is now "Dean of eBay Education," shows an impressive command of the ins and outs of using eBay, particularly how to set up and run a business selling merchandise there. Griffin, who travels around the country extolling eBay's virtues in lectures and seminars, is a relentless cheerleader, citing loads of examples of eBay success stories. While he doesn't address some obvious questions (e.g., how eBay makes money and what its responsibilities to users are), Griffin dexterously walks readers through the site, with impressive practical know-how about buying and selling everything from cowboy boots to computers. His book is clear, simple and well organized, and while there are many personal observations, they don't obstruct the instructional material. The lion's share of the advice is for sellers, with tips on how to set up an inviting "storefront" on eBay, how to use HTML programming language to enhance it, how to photograph items for sale, how to pack and insure them and how to deal with customers. The depth of Griffith's commonsense knowledge and the clarity of his writing will be worthwhile to anyone with a personal interest in eBay.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

The most comprehensive and most current guide available. -- Cincinnati Enquirer

[The Official eBay Bible is] breezy and fun, packed with practical know-how, personal observations, and a sense of humor. -- Washington Post --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 490 pages
• Publisher: Gotham; 1st edition (June 2, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592400078
• ISBN-13: 978-1592400072
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #750,202 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

99 of 101 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Very basic. Good for beginners., April 1, 2005

By	M. Chabot (USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The book is very basic, along the lines of the Dummies series. There is a screenshot of everything, which makes the book long. If you are just starting out, the book is good because it is comprehensive. However, there is a high percentage of garbage in the book, such as detailed instructions on how to bookmark a page in a Web browser, and a couple chapters on how to write HTML. The book is mainly a how-to book, not a book with many advanced selling and buying tips.

After reading the top eBay books, below are my recommendations:
---Beginner with eBay and computers---
1. The Official eBay Bible

---eBay Seller---
1. Sell it on eBay
2. eBay Hacks

---Full-Time eBay Business (not for the casual seller)---
1. eBay Strategies
2. eBay Business the Smart Way

161 of 168 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Long on Process, Coy on Fees, Formatted for the Nearsighted, November 18, 2003

By	Timothy Ritter (Colorado) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    (VINE VOICE)

I picked up this book to find out Quickly how to sell something on eBay, and what it would cost me. I found out eventually how to sell, but not the cost, and not quickly.

I began by browsing the inspirational stories of people who'd sold all they wanted and more and of people who'd bought an item they'd been searching for for years. Then I went to the beginning to learn about eBay. But the beginning is geared for people who are turning on their computers for the first time: what is email? what is a browser? "Clicking a link will move you forward to that page" etc...

So I skipped to the section on how to sell. Again I found myself swamped with basic info. For example, Griffith devotes several pages to explaining step by step the sort of registration process most people have gone through dozens of times on other sites. Then he goes into digital photography for 36 pages. All useful, no doubt, to someone who has decided to sell. But not to someone who wants some idea of PRICE.

I went to the index to look up "fees". I found three entries, two of which (Final Value Fee and Turbolister) were arcane and of no use to me. The other was "listings". Thinking I'd found what I wanted, I quickly flipped to p.273, where I found, not a schedule of fees nor a percentage of any kind, but rather a tiny reproduction of a web page with tiny numbers representing the fees for a ceramic jug pictured on the previous page.

What is going on here? Is eBay shy about money? Are they ashamed of charging fees and making money? Do they want to imply in their "Official Bible" that their services are free? Did Griffith neglect to put in this information because it was not upbeat enough for his enthusiastic compendium of online auctioneering?

Another annoying feature is the vast amount of white space on each page, with tiny reproductions of web pages marooned in the middle. Is it too much to ask that publishers blow up the web page images so that their text is at least equal in font size to that of the book itself? I've noticed this trend in other computer books. What is this passion for empty white space? If a web page image is so unimportant that it can be shown at one third the size of the regular text, why show it at all?

Griffith goes on to discuss topics such as setting up your own store and dealing with piles of feedback, but this reader had lost heart, and in any case could not find his magnifying glass.

99 of 102 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Don't get unless you are absolutely new to Ebay!, July 11, 2003

By	P. Grant (Kentucky) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book states that there is plenty for the new and seasoned Ebayer, but I could hardly find anything that would help experienced users. There is a large part devoted to using HTML...c'mon now, who would want to type in your own HTML from scratch when there is so many free or cheap editors out there! I thought this book would give some good tips on saving time on producing auctions.

The rest of the book pretty much just steps you through the basics of registering, site tours, and other really basic stuff. There is a lot of opinions and blatant advertising. There is a lot of good "How I got started with Ebay" stories that will show new Ebayers, just how much you can accomplish. I was hping there would be a lot more funny or uplifting stories from long time Ebayers, but apparently only a small group of Ebayers were picked to be in this book.

Uncle Griff....there is definately another book to be made from all the Ebay experiences out there! I know you must have tons more stuff!

Again....there just isn't enough info in this book worth getting, unless you are brand new to Ebay.