EBay for Dummies (45 page)

The calculator automatically appears on the item page so that prospective buyers can type in their zip code and immediately know how much shipping will be to their location. Check out Chapter 12 for more information on shipping options.

eBay Options: Getting Eyes on Your Item

Although eBay’s display options aren’t quite as effective as a three-story neon sign in Times Square, they do bring greater attention to your auction. Here are your options:

Bold:
The eBay fee is $2.00 ($4.00 for a 30-day listing). Bold type does catch your attention but don’t bother using it on items that’ll bring in less than $25.00. Do use it if you’re in hot competition with similar items and you want yours to stand out.

Highlight:
The eBay fee is $5.00 ($10.00 for a 30-day listing). Yellow highlighter is what I use to point out the high points in books I read. (You’re using one now, aren’t you?) The eBay highlight feature is lilac, but it can really make your item shine. Check out the category in which you choose to list before selecting this feature. Some categories are overwhelmed with sellers using the highlight option, and the pages look completely shaded in lilac. In these categories,
not
using highlight (and using perhaps a bold title instead) makes your auction stand out more.

Home Page Featured:
The eBay fee is $59.95 ($179.95 for a 30-day listing). As with expensive real estate, you pay a premium for location, location, location. The $59.95 gives you the highest level of visibility on eBay, and it occasionally appears smack dab in the middle of the eBay home page (although there’s no guarantee that it will). Figure 10-8 shows the featured listings on eBay’s home page.

Buyers do browse the Featured Items to see what’s there, just as you might head directly to the New Releases section of your video store. But, because the vast majority of items found on eBay are under $25.00, the average seller doesn’t use the Featured Items option.

Featured Plus!
The eBay fee is from $9.95 to $19.95 based on your starting price. You want top billing? You can buy it here. This option puts you on the first page of your item category and search results pages. This is a good option for moving special merchandise. Often, bidders just scan the top items; if you want to be seen, you gotta be there. Ask yourself this: Is it worth $20.00 to have more people see my item? If yes, go for it. Figure 10-9 shows how items are listed in the Featured Plus! listings.

You need a feedback rating of at least 10 to make it to the Featured Items and Featured Plus! listings.

Checking Your Work and Starting the Auction

After you’ve filled in all the blanks on the Sell an Item form, you come to the Preview Your Listing page. Scroll down the page and confirm that all the information appears as you intended. If you think you’re ready to join the world of e-commerce, follow these steps:

1. Under the heading titled How Your Listing Will Appear in Search Results, click the Preview Your Listing link.

A pop-up page opens showing you exactly how your listing will appear on eBay (see Figure 10-10). This is the place where you can catch mistakes before your item is listed. The bottom of the sell page shows you a condensed version of all your information and tallies how much eBay is charging you in fees and options to run this listing.

You also may find the preview page helpful as a last-minute chance to get your bearings. You can go back to any of the areas that need correcting by clicking the Edit Listings links on the Preview Your Listing page. Make category changes or any other changes and additions, and then head for the Verification page again.

2. Check for mistakes.

Nit-pick for common, careless errors; you won’t be sorry. I’ve seen eBay members make goofs such as the wrong category listing, spelling and grammatical errors, and missing information about shipping, handling, insurance, and payment methods.

3. When you’re sure everything’s accurate and you’re happy with your item listing, click the Submit button.

A Confirmation page pops up. At that precise moment, your listing begins, even though it may be a few hours before it appears in eBay’s search and listings updates. If you want to see your listing right away and check for bids, your Confirmation page provides a link for that purpose. Click the link, and you’re there. You can also keep track of your auctions by using the My eBay page. (To find out how, see Chapter 4.)

All item pages come with this friendly warning:
Seller assumes all responsibility for listing this item. You should contact the seller to resolve any questions before bidding.
Some eBay veterans just gloss over this warning after they’ve been wheeling and dealing for a while, but it’s an important rule to remember. See Chapter 9 for details on the rules sellers must follow and Chapter 12 for tips on your role in closing the deal and receiving good feedback.

For the first 24 hours after your sale is underway, eBay stamps the Item page with a funky sunrise icon next to the listing. This is just a little reminder for buyers to come take a look at the latest items up for sale.

Midcourse Corrections: Fixing Current Listings

Don’t worry if you make a mistake filling out the Sell an Item page but don’t notice it until after the auction is up and running. Pencils have erasers, and eBay allows revisions. You can make changes at two stages of the game: before the first bid is placed and after the bidding war is underway. The following sections explain what you can and can’t correct — and when you have to accept the little imperfections of your Item page.

Making changes before bidding begins

Here’s what you can change about your listing before bids have been placed (and when it does not end within 12 hours):

The title or description of your auction

The item category

The item’s starting price

The item’s Buy It Now price

The reserve price (you can add, change, or remove it)

The duration of your listing

The URL of the picture you’re including with your auction

A private listing designation (you can add or remove it)

Accepted payment methods, checkout information, item location, and shipping terms

When you revise a listing, eBay puts a little notation on your auction page that reads:
Description(revised)
. (Think of it as automatic common courtesy.)

To revise a fixed-price listing or any auction before bids have been received, follow these steps:

1. Go to your My eBay page and find the item you want to revise. Click the Revise link from the drop-down menu on the right side of the item.

If the item hasn’t received any bids, a message appears on your screen to indicate that you may update the item.

2. You arrive at the Revise Item page, which looks like the Sell an Item form.

3. Make changes to the item information and then click the Save and Continue button at the bottom of the page when you’re finished.

A summary of your newly revised auction page appears on your screen.

4. If you’re happy with your revisions, click Save Changes.

You’re taken to your newly revised item page, where you see a disclaimer from eBay that says you’ve revised the listing before the first bid. If you instead want to make further revisions, click the Back button of your browser and redo the Edit Your Listing page.

Making changes after bidding begins

If your listing is up and running and already receiving bids, you can still make some slight modifications to it. Newly added information is clearly separated from the original text and pictures. In addition, eBay puts a time stamp on the additional info in case questions from early bidders crop up later.