EBay for Dummies Read Online Free Page A
Author: Marsha Collier
Tags: General, Computers, Internet, Business & Economics, Electronic Commerce, E-Commerce, Internet auctions, Auctions - Computer network resources, EBay (Firm)
adult nature, eBay has an Adults Only category, which has restricted access. Although you can peruse the other eBay categories without having to submit credit card information, you must have a credit card number on file on eBay to view and bid on items in this category. Restricted-access auctions are run like the typical timed auctions. To bid on adult items, you first need to agree to a terms of use page after entering your user ID and password. This page pops up automatically when you attempt to access this category.
If you aren’t interested in seeing or bidding on items of an adult nature, or if you’re worried that your children may be able to gain access to graphic adult material, eBay has solved that problem by excluding adult-content items from easily accessible areas such as the Featured Items page. And children under the age of 18 aren’t allowed to register on eBay and should be under an adult’s supervision if they do wander onto the site.
Charity auctions: All for a good cause
A charity auction is a high-profile fund-raising auction run by eBay Giving Works where the proceeds go to a selected charity. Most people don’t wake up in the morning wanting to own the shoes that Ron Howard wore when he put his footprints in cement at Mann’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood, but one-of-a-kind items like that often are auctioned off in charity auctions. (In fact, someone did want those shoes badly enough to buy them for a lot of money on eBay.) Charity auctions became popular after the NBC Today Show sold an autographed jacket on eBay for over $11,000 with the proceeds going to Toys for Tots. Charity auctions are run like most other auctions on eBay, but because they’re immensely popular, bidding can be fierce, and the dollar amounts can go sky high. Many famous celebrities use eBay to help out their favorite charities. Billionaire Warren Buffet auctions a private lunch each year to support one of his favorite charities — in 2008 lunch for 8 with Warren went for over $2,110,100. I suggest that you visit these auctions and bid whenever you can. Charity auctions are a win-win situation for everyone. You can read more about celebrity auctions in Chapter 18.
Private (shhh-it’s-a-secret) listings
Some sellers choose to hold private listings because they know that some buyers may be embarrassed to be seen bidding on a box of racy neckties in front of the rest of the eBay community. Others may go the private route because they are selling big-ticket items and don’t want to disclose their bidder’s financial status.
Private auctions are run like the typical timed auctions except that each bidder’s identity is kept secret. At the end of the auction, eBay provides contact info to the seller and to the high bidder, and that’s it.
You can send e-mail questions to the seller in a private auction, but you can’t check out your competition because the item page will never show the high bidder’s user ID.
Buying It Now on eBay
You don’t have to participate in an auction on eBay to buy something. If you want to make a purchase — if it’s something you must have — you can usually find the item and buy it immediately. Of course, using Buy It Now ( BIN in eBay speak) doesn’t come with the thrill of an auction, but purchasing an item at a fraction of the retail price without leaving your chair or waiting for an auction to end has its own warm and fuzzy kind of excitement. If you seek this kind of instant gratification on eBay, visit eBay Stores. Or you can isolate these items by clicking the Buy It Now tab when browsing categories or performing searches.
eBay Stores
Visiting eBay Stores is as easy as clicking the eBay Stores link from the home page. Thousands of eBay sellers have set up stores with merchandise meant for you to Buy It Now.eBay Stores are classified just like eBay, and you can buy anything from socks to jewelry to appliances.
Sellers who open an eBay Store have to meet a certain level of
If you aren’t interested in seeing or bidding on items of an adult nature, or if you’re worried that your children may be able to gain access to graphic adult material, eBay has solved that problem by excluding adult-content items from easily accessible areas such as the Featured Items page. And children under the age of 18 aren’t allowed to register on eBay and should be under an adult’s supervision if they do wander onto the site.
Charity auctions: All for a good cause
A charity auction is a high-profile fund-raising auction run by eBay Giving Works where the proceeds go to a selected charity. Most people don’t wake up in the morning wanting to own the shoes that Ron Howard wore when he put his footprints in cement at Mann’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood, but one-of-a-kind items like that often are auctioned off in charity auctions. (In fact, someone did want those shoes badly enough to buy them for a lot of money on eBay.) Charity auctions became popular after the NBC Today Show sold an autographed jacket on eBay for over $11,000 with the proceeds going to Toys for Tots. Charity auctions are run like most other auctions on eBay, but because they’re immensely popular, bidding can be fierce, and the dollar amounts can go sky high. Many famous celebrities use eBay to help out their favorite charities. Billionaire Warren Buffet auctions a private lunch each year to support one of his favorite charities — in 2008 lunch for 8 with Warren went for over $2,110,100. I suggest that you visit these auctions and bid whenever you can. Charity auctions are a win-win situation for everyone. You can read more about celebrity auctions in Chapter 18.
Private (shhh-it’s-a-secret) listings
Some sellers choose to hold private listings because they know that some buyers may be embarrassed to be seen bidding on a box of racy neckties in front of the rest of the eBay community. Others may go the private route because they are selling big-ticket items and don’t want to disclose their bidder’s financial status.
Private auctions are run like the typical timed auctions except that each bidder’s identity is kept secret. At the end of the auction, eBay provides contact info to the seller and to the high bidder, and that’s it.
You can send e-mail questions to the seller in a private auction, but you can’t check out your competition because the item page will never show the high bidder’s user ID.
Buying It Now on eBay
You don’t have to participate in an auction on eBay to buy something. If you want to make a purchase — if it’s something you must have — you can usually find the item and buy it immediately. Of course, using Buy It Now ( BIN in eBay speak) doesn’t come with the thrill of an auction, but purchasing an item at a fraction of the retail price without leaving your chair or waiting for an auction to end has its own warm and fuzzy kind of excitement. If you seek this kind of instant gratification on eBay, visit eBay Stores. Or you can isolate these items by clicking the Buy It Now tab when browsing categories or performing searches.
eBay Stores
Visiting eBay Stores is as easy as clicking the eBay Stores link from the home page. Thousands of eBay sellers have set up stores with merchandise meant for you to Buy It Now.eBay Stores are classified just like eBay, and you can buy anything from socks to jewelry to appliances.
Sellers who open an eBay Store have to meet a certain level of
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