| Introduction | xiii |
| Part I | An Introduction to eBay for Buyers and Sellers | 1 |
| Chapter 1 | Getting Started | 3 |
| Life before eBay | 3 |
| eBay Today | 6 |
| Live versus eBay | 7 |
| Registering with eBay | 8 |
| Setting Up a PayPal Account | 12 |
| Adding a Credit or Debit Card to Your PayPal Account | 19 |
| Associating a Bank Account with Your PayPal Account | 20 |
| Transferring Funds to Your PayPal Account | 21 |
| Chapter 2 | Research: Don't Buy or Sell Without It | 27 |
| What Exactly Is an Antique? | 27 |
| How Does an Antique Differ from a Collectible? | 30 |
| Making Informed Buying Decisions | 31 |
| Don't Miss the Mark (Other Important Research Tips) | 32 |
| Detecting Reproductions | 35 |
| Condition Issues | 38 |
| Developing an Eye for Quality | 39 |
| Online Resources for Researching Antiques | 40 |
| Part II | Buying Antiques and Collectibles on eBay | 45 |
| Chapter 3 | Finding Antiques and Collectibles on eBay | 47 |
| Browsing eBay by Category | 47 |
| Bookmarking Categories on eBay | 48 |
| Running a Category Search | 51 |
| Browsing the New Today and Ending First Listings | 51 |
| Making the Most of eBay's Search Features | 52 |
| eBay's Search Feature | 54 |
| eBay's Additional Search Options | 55 |
| Assessing eBay's Search Options | 58 |
| Searching by Seller, Searching by Bidder | 61 |
| Saving a Search | 64 |
| Chapter 4 | Buyer Be Aware: What to Know Before You Bid | 65 |
| Do Your Research before You Bid | 65 |
| Assessing a Listing | 66 |
| Deciphering Listing Descriptions | 66 |
| Freeze Frame: Assessing Photos | 71 |
| Questions, Questions, and Yet More Questions | 74 |
| Conducting Completed Listings Searches: Is It Really a Bargain on eBay? | 75 |
| Assessing the Seller | 79 |
| Using Feedback to Gauge a Seller's Integrity | 80 |
| Viewing the Seller's ID History | 83 |
| Chapter 5 | Bidding Strategies | 89 |
| Using the Watch List | 89 |
| Placing the Traditional Proxy Bid | 90 |
| Reserve-Price Auctions | 93 |
| Dutch Auctions | 94 |
| To Snipe or Not to Snipe | 95 |
| Manual Sniping at No Cost | 97 |
| Using a Sniping Service | 98 |
| Retracting a Bid | 101 |
| Shopping with Buy It Now | 102 |
| Enjoying eBay Live Auctions | 104 |
| Tracking Your Auctions with the My eBay Page | 106 |
| Chapter 6 | I Won an Auction! Now What? | 109 |
| Stepping through the Buy | 109 |
| Buyer/Seller Communication | 110 |
| Payment Details | 112 |
| Clicking the Pay Now Button | 112 |
| After the Merchandise Arrives | 117 |
| Filing a Claim with the USPS | 117 |
| Addressing Condition Issues | 118 |
| Leaving Feedback | 118 |
| Managing Your Buys | 124 |
| Managing Your eBay and PayPal Accounts | 125 |
| Chapter 7 | Working Through the Bad Buy | 127 |
| What If Your Package Never Arrives? | 127 |
| Your Merchandise Arrived, But It's Not Up to Snuff: Stepping through Dispute Resolution | 130 |
| Step 1 | Review the Item Description | 131 |
| Step 2 | E-mail the Seller | 131 |
| Step 3 | Phone the Seller | 133 |
| Step 4 | File a Suspicious Activity Report | 135 |
| Step 5 | Use Square Trade to Mediate the Dispute | 137 |
| Step 6 | Contact Your Payment Provider | 139 |
| Step 7 | Petition eBay's Standard Protection Program | 145 |
| Step 8 | Issue Negative or Neutral Feedback | 149 |
| When the Mistake Is Yours | 150 |
| Part III | Selling Antiques and Collectibles on eBay | 153 |
| Chapter 8 | Setting Up Shop on eBay: Getting Started Selling | 155 |
| The Hunt Is On: Finding Items for Resale | 156 |
| Research Redux | 162 |
| Determining Market Value | 162 |
| Making a Glutted Market Work for You | 164 |
| Tapping into Trends | 167 |
| Setting Up Your Seller's Account | 171 |
| Setting Up an About Me Page | 174 |
| Selling Tips and Tools from eBay | 180 |
| Exploring Seller Central | 181 |
| Finding Answers with the Seller Guide | 184 |
| Managing Your eBay and PayPal Accounts | 187 |
| Chapter 9 | Titles, Descriptions, Photos, and More | 189 |
| Constructing Listing Titles: The Importance of Keywords | 190 |
| Listing Title Pitfalls | 193 |
| Adding a Subtitle | 195 |
| What Bidders Really Look for in Item Descriptions | 196 |
| The Importance of Accurately Grading Condition | 201 |
| Photos: A Valuable Part of Your Item Listing | 204 |
| Chapter 10 | Setting Your Starting Price, Understanding eBay's Fees, and Creating a Basic Listing | 209 |
| Setting Your Starting Price | 209 |
| Selling at a Fixed Price with Buy It Now | 211 |
| Setting a Reserve Price | 212 |
| Fees, Fees, and More Fees | 214 |
| Listing Your Item on eBay | 218 |
| Revising Your Item Listing | 233 |
| Ending a Listing Early | 241 |
| Relisting an Item | 244 |
| Listing-Management Tools | 246 |
| Chapter 11 | Managing and Completing the Sale | 251 |
| Answering Bidders' Questions | 251 |
| Communicating with the High Bidder after the Auction Ends: Using eBay's Checkout System | 253 |
| Shipping Tips to Ensure a Smooth Transaction | 255 |
| Special Packing Considerations for Antiques and Collectibles | 256 |
| Dealing with Non-Paying Bidders | 259 |
| Sending Payment Reminders and Filing Non-Paying Bidder Alerts | 261 |
| Requesting a Final Value Fee Credit | 265 |
| The Importance of Feedback | 266 |
| Remedies for Negative Feedback | 268 |
| Fraud Information Important to Sellers | 270 |
| Chapter 12 | Standing Out in a Competitive Market: Building a Good Reputation | 273 |
| Promoting Your Listings | 274 |
| Promoting Your Items on eBay | 274 |
| Promoting Your Business on Other Venues | 278 |
| Building a Customer Mailing List | 279 |
| Chatting It Up with Other Collectors | 282 |
| Part IV | Appendix | 285 |
| Appendix A | More Helpful Resources | 287 |
| Exploring eBay's Help Resources | 287 |
| eBay Live Chat | 288 |
| Other Online Resources | 288 |
| Collecting Supplies | 288 |
| Jewelry Supplies | 289 |
| Identifying Materials | 289 |
| Shipping Materials | 289 |
| Magnifiers | 290 |
| Black Lights | 290 |
| Booksellers | 290 |
| Magazines and Newsletters | 291 |
| Other Helpful Web Sites | 292 |
| Index | 293 |