01_789127 ffirs.qxp 3/27/06 5:59 PM Page i eBay® Listings That Sell FOR DUMmIES‰ 01_789127 ffirs.qxp 3/27/06 5:59 PM Page ii 01_789127 ffirs.qxp 3/27/06 5:59 PM Page iii eBay ® Listings That Sell FOR DUMmIES‰ by Marsha Collier and Patti Louise Ruby 01_789127 ffirs.qxp 3/27/06 5:59 PM Page iv eBay® Listings That Sell For Dummies® Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc. 111 River Street Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774 www.wiley.com Copyright © 2006 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permit- ted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Legal Department, Wiley Publishing, Inc., 10475 Crosspoint Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46256, (317) 572-3447, fax (317) 572-4355, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions. Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the Rest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com, and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. eBay is a registered trade- mark of eBay, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: THE PUBLISHER AND THE AUTHOR MAKE NO REP- RESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CON- TENTS OF THIS WORK AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. NO WARRANTY MAY BE CRE- ATED OR EXTENDED BY SALES OR PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS. THE ADVICE AND STRATEGIES CON- TAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR EVERY SITUATION. THIS WORK IS SOLD WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THE PUBLISHER IS NOT ENGAGED IN RENDERING LEGAL, ACCOUNTING, OR OTHER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES. IF PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE IS REQUIRED, THE SERVICES OF A COMPETENT PROFESSIONAL PERSON SHOULD BE SOUGHT. NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR THE AUTHOR SHALL BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES ARISING HEREFROM. THE FACT THAT AN ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE IS REFERRED TO IN THIS WORK AS A CITATION AND/OR A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF FUR- THER INFORMATION DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE AUTHOR OR THE PUBLISHER ENDORSES THE INFOR- MATION THE ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE MAY PROVIDE OR RECOMMENDATIONS IT MAY MAKE. FURTHER, READERS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT INTERNET WEBSITES LISTED IN THIS WORK MAY HAVE CHANGED OR DISAPPEARED BETWEEN WHEN THIS WORK WAS WRITTEN AND WHEN IT IS READ. For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 800-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002. For technical support, please visit www.wiley.com/techsupport. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. Library of Congress Control Number: 2005939204 ISBN-13: 978-0-471-78912-3 ISBN-10: 0-471-78912-7 Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 1B/RT/QU/QW/IN 01_789127 ffirs.qxp 3/27/06 5:59 PM Page i eBay® Listings That Sell FOR DUMmIES‰ 01_789127 ffirs.qxp 3/27/06 5:59 PM Page v About the Authors Marsha Collier spends most of her time on things related to eBay. She’s a charter member eBay PowerSeller, as well as one of the original instructors for eBay University. As a columnist, an author of four best-selling books on eBay, a television and radio expert, and a lecturer, she shares her knowledge of eBay with millions of online shoppers. Thousands of eBay fans also visit her Web site, www.coolebaytools.com, to get Marsha’s latest insights on e-commerce. Out of college, Marsha worked in fashion advertising for the Miami Herald and then as special-projects manager for the Los Angeles Daily News. She also founded a home-based advertising and marketing business. Her successful business, the Collier Company, Inc., was featured by Entrepreneur magazine in 1986, and in 1990, Marsha’s company received the Small Business of the Year award from her California State Assemblyman and the Northridge Chamber of Commerce. Bargains drew Marsha to eBay in 1996, but profitable sales keep her busy on the site now. Marsha applies her business acumen and photography skills to her eBay business — and in this book, she shares her knowledge about what makes good, profit-promoting listings on eBay. Patti “Louise” Ruby, an Indianapolis native, was born to work on a computer. In junior high, she took a class in the programming language Fortran. She excelled and enjoyed the class: The die was cast. Patti went through several jobs as a programmer and then became a consultant. In the late ’90s, Patti was part-owner of an antique mall, and coincidentally found a Web site called AuctionWeb (the original eBay). She was fascinated by the concept, and began selling on the site. She also became an integral part of the chat rooms, which initially served as loose customer support where users helped other users. Patti’s ease with computers helped many a new user feel comfortable on the boards — and with using the AuctionWeb system. In February 1997, Patti was hired as AuctionWeb’s second Customer Support Representative. In this position, she became the main interface between the engineering staff and the user community, where she communicated mem- bers’ “bug” reports and suggestions for site enhancements. When AuctionWeb became the new eBay site in the fall of 1997, she headed up a “live” question- and-answer board that was set up to help members make the transition between platforms. 01_789127 ffirs.qxp 3/27/06 5:59 PM Page vi In 1999, eBay started a traveling show called eBay University (where Patti first met Marsha), and she has been a lead instructor since its inception. Patti “retired” from eBay in February 2002, after five challenging, exciting years. Being a part of the early eBay years gave her the opportunity to watch the company grow from a small neighborhood market to the worldwide marketplace it is today. She has continued to buy and sell on eBay. She laughs, “. .once you’ve discovered eBay, there is no escape!” 01_789127 ffirs.qxp 3/27/06 5:59 PM Page vii Dedication Marsha and Patti dedicate this book to the thousands of members of the eBay community who strive for better listings and higher revenues. We know just how difficult the striving can be and want to help in every way we can. We hope to meet as many of you as possible at eBay University classes and eBay Live. We take our lead from the legions of sellers who continue to inspire us to do what we can to carry them through the fun, challenging, and profitable jour- ney we call eBay. Authors’ Acknowledgments Without the amazing talents of Leah Cameron and Barry Childs-Helton, this book would not be one iota as good as it is (and it really is darn good). They are one top-drawer editorial team, and only by working with them can you possibly know how very talented (and patient) they are. We’d also like to thank our tech editor, Cindy Lichfield, for going over the book — and check- ing it twice! Steven Hayes, thank you. You’re always thinking and working a new angle. Its part of what makes working with you fun. Andy Cummings, it’s wonderful that someone as high up on the corporate food chain as you really cares about the writers. You’re a rarity in the pub- lishing field. Patti would like to thank Marsha for sharing this book with her. Patti says, “I always admired Marsha for what she was able to accomplish; now I know firsthand what a tremendous job it is she does! I’d also like to acknowledge my family, who has continued to display their unfailing belief in me, and David, as always, most of all.” 01_789127 ffirs.qxp 3/27/06 5:59 PM Page viii Publisher’s Acknowledgments We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our online registration form located at www.dummies.com/register/. Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following: Acquisitions, Editorial, and Composition Services Media Development Project Coordinator: Erin Smith Editors: Leah Cameron, Barry Childs-Helton Layout and Graphics: Andrea Dahl, Acquisitions Editor: Steven Hayes Stephanie D. Jumper, Barbara Moore, Technical Editor: Cindy Lichfield Lynsey Osborn, Jill Proll, Heather Ryan Media Development Manager: Laura VanWinkle Proofreaders: Jessica Kramer, Techbooks Editorial Assistant: Amanda Foxworth Indexer: Techbooks Cartoons: Rich Tennant (www.the5thwave.com) Publishing and Editorial for Technology Dummies Richard Swadley, Vice President and Executive Group Publisher Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher Mary Bednarek, Executive Acquisitions Director Mary C. Corder, Editorial Director Publishing for Consumer Dummies Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher Joyce Pepple, Acquisitions Director Composition Services Gerry Fahey, Vice President of Production