Absolute beginner's guide to launching an eBay business

✍ Scribed by Miller, Michael

• Publisher: Que
• Year: 2003;2004
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 358
• Series: Absolute Beginner's Guide
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

A real-world business book for the explosion of eBay entrepreneurs!Absolute Beginner's Guide to Launching an eBay Businessguides you step-by-step through the process of setting up an eBay business, and offers real-world advice on how to run that business on a day-to-day basis and maximize financial success. This book covers determining what kind of business to run, writing an action-oriented business plan, establishing an effective accounting system, setting up a home office, obtaining starting inventory, arranging initial funding, establishing an eBay presence, and arranging for automated post-auction management.

✦ Table of Contents

Cover......Page 1
Table of Contents......Page 6
Introduction......Page 20
I: Learning the Ropes......Page 24
1 Reviewing eBay Basics......Page 26
How an eBay Auction Works......Page 27
Other Types of Auctions......Page 30
Navigating the eBay Site......Page 32
How People Make Money on eBay......Page 34
2 Using eBay’s Advanced Features......Page 36
The Ins and Outs of User Feedback......Page 37
Using My eBay to Track Your eBay Activity......Page 40
Showing Off Your Business with About Me......Page 41
II: Setting Up an eBay Business......Page 46
3 Step One: Create a Business Plan......Page 48
Thinking It Through—Before You Start......Page 49
Why You Need a Business Plan......Page 52
How to Create a Business Plan......Page 53
The Components of a Winning Business Plan......Page 54
Writing the Plan......Page 58
4 Step Two: Evaluate Your Funding Needs......Page 60
How Much Money Do You Need—and Why?......Page 61
Where to Find Funding......Page 67
Which Is the Right Option for You?......Page 70
5 Step Three: Deal with Business and Legal Issues......Page 72
Choosing a Type of Business......Page 73
Filing and Registering......Page 75
Dealing with Taxes......Page 76
Setting Up Your Bank Accounts......Page 78
Obtaining Insurance......Page 79
Hiring Professional Help......Page 80
6 Step Four: Set Up a Record-keeping System......Page 82
Components of a Bare-Bones Record-keeping System......Page 83
Setting Up an Accounting System......Page 87
7 Step Five: Set Up Your Back Office......Page 96
Setting Up Your Home Office......Page 97
Setting Up Your Packing Center......Page 105
Managing Your Physical Inventory......Page 108
8 Step Six: Find and Manage Your Inventory......Page 110
Where to Find Merchandise to Resell......Page 111
Managing Your Inventory Levels......Page 120
9 Step Seven: Research Other eBay Auctions—and Set a Pricing Strategy......Page 124
How to Research Other eBay Auctions......Page 125
Working with Grading, Authentication, and Appraisal......Page 132
Setting a Pricing Strategy......Page 134
Using Buy It Now......Page 136
10 Step Eight: Establish Your eBay Presence......Page 138
Creating an eBay Seller’s Account......Page 139
Arranging to Pay Your Fees......Page 140
Building Your Reputation—with Positive Feedback......Page 141
III: Managing Your Day-to-Day Business......Page 144
11 Creating Item Listings......Page 146
Before You List......Page 147
Understanding eBay’s Fees......Page 148
Creating a Basic Auction Listing......Page 149
Listing in Bulk......Page 155
12 Managing Your Auctions......Page 168
Managing Your Auctions Manually......Page 169
Using Auction Management Tools......Page 174
13 Managing Customer Payments......Page 178
Evaluating Different Payment Options......Page 179
Accepting Credit Card Payments......Page 184
14 Managing Packing and Shipping......Page 190
Choosing a Shipping Method......Page 191
Calculating Shipping and Handling Fees......Page 195
Packing Your Items......Page 198
Streamlining the Packing and Shipping Process......Page 206
Shipping Larger Items......Page 208
Shipping Internationally......Page 209
15 Dealing with Customers......Page 212
Managing End-of-Auction Correspondence......Page 213
Mining Your Customer Lists......Page 218
Handling Buyer Complaints......Page 220
16 Dealing with Problems......Page 224
Contacting eBay for Help......Page 225
Checking Up on Questionable Bidders......Page 226
Dealing with Deadbeat Bidders......Page 227
Coping with Complaints About You......Page 230
Your Best Resource—Other eBay Sellers......Page 231
IV: Moving from Seller to PowerSeller......Page 234
17 Becoming an eBay PowerSeller......Page 236
Do You Qualify?......Page 237
PowerSeller Benefits......Page 238
How to Become a PowerSeller......Page 240
Ten Tips for Achieving PowerSeller Status......Page 241
18 Making Your Auctions More Effective......Page 244
Determining the Best Days and Times to List......Page 245
Picking the Right Category......Page 247
Choosing Listing Enhancements......Page 248
Writing a Powerful Item Listing......Page 251
Creating Better-Looking Item Listings......Page 256
Using HTML in Your Listings......Page 260
19 Working with Photographs......Page 266
Taking Effective Photos......Page 267
Editing Your Photos—Digitally......Page 275
Adding Photos to Your Item Listings......Page 279
20 Using Professional Auction Tools......Page 284
Should You Be Using Auction Tools?......Page 285
Evaluating Third-Party Auction Services......Page 286
Another Option: Software Tools......Page 299
21 Opening an eBay Store......Page 302
What Is an eBay Store?......Page 303
Benefits of Opening Your Own eBay Store......Page 304
The Costs of Running an eBay Store......Page 305
How to Set Up an eBay Store......Page 306
Listing Merchandise for Sale......Page 308
Cross-Selling Merchandise......Page 309
22 Setting Up Your Own Web Site for Online Sales......Page 310
Utilizing a Prepackaged Storefront......Page 311
Building Your Own Site from Scratch......Page 315
Promoting Your Site......Page 320
23 Integrating eBay Auctions into an Existing Business......Page 324
Creating a Dual-Channel Sales Strategy......Page 325
How Other Merchants Are Using eBay to Increase Their Sales......Page 326
Cross-Promoting Both Channels......Page 328
24 Promoting Your eBay Auctions......Page 330
Cross-Promoting All Your Auctions......Page 331
Linking from Other Sites to Your eBay Auctions......Page 332
Advertising Your Auctions......Page 334
A......Page 336
B......Page 338
C......Page 339
D......Page 341
E......Page 342
F......Page 343
G-H......Page 344
L......Page 345
M......Page 346
O......Page 347
P......Page 348
Q-R......Page 350
S......Page 351
T......Page 353
U......Page 354
W-X-Y-Z......Page 355

✦ Subjects

Business