Book Description
Here’s your chance to capitalize on the Internet economy by clearing out your basement or cashing in on your hobby. Teaches you the ins and outs of marketing online, improving graphics and text, and protecting yourself from fraud. Use chat rooms and Web pages to spread the word about your auctions. Use online payment services and build a dependable reputation. Author Greg Holden shows you step-by-step how to mine eBay’s 50 million registered users for profit—and possibly even a new career.


About the Author
Greg Holden (Chicago, IL) is the founder and owner of his own small business, Stylus Media, which specializes in creating Web pages for other small businesses. He has written extensively on eBay and online auctions as well as e-commerce, especially from the perspective of new business owners or entrepreneurs. Holden is the author of 16 books including Starting an Online Business for Dummies (over 100,000 copies sold), FrontPage Plain & Simple (27,000 copies sold), and Small Business Internet for Dummies.

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
eBay makes it ridiculously easy to go into business for yourself. But that doesn￯﾿ﾽt mean you￯﾿ﾽre going to make a profit. There are endless pitfalls along the way. If you want to sidestep them -- and learn what really works -- read How to Do Everything with Your eBay Business.

When you￯﾿ﾽre ￯﾿ﾽdealing with the public,￯﾿ﾽ some problems are inevitable, but you can minimize them by being a really professional seller. That means writing and designing eBay auction pages that attract customers and radiate competence, and creating reasonable and clear ￯﾿ﾽstore policies￯﾿ﾽ that radically reduce the risks of misunderstanding. Greg Holden is especially strong on these topics.

You￯﾿ﾽll learn how to choose forms of payment, what to expect from third-party dispute resolution services, how to reject bids from high-risk customers, and more. You￯﾿ﾽll especially appreciate Holden's full chapter on packing and shipping. You might think you know how to pack things securely, but many auctioneers learn the hard way, through breakage. Take Holden￯﾿ﾽs advice, and you won￯﾿ﾽt be one of them.

Finding merchandise can be a major challenge. Holden￯﾿ﾽs got plenty of ideas -- especially for those who sell collectibles. (He￯﾿ﾽs not above suggesting that you cruise ahead of the garbage trucks on trash day in the ￯﾿ﾽbetter￯﾿ﾽ neighborhoods. Hey, it works.) You￯﾿ﾽll learn how to sell cars through eBay Motors and even sell freelance services through eBay Professional Services.

Finally, Holden offers practical advice on meeting those accounting, tax, and legal obligations with less pain, so you won￯﾿ﾽt get blindsided -- by the IRS, or anyone else. Bill Camarda

Bill Camarda is a consultant, writer, and web/multimedia content developer. His 15 books include Special Edition Using Word 2000 and Upgrading & Fixing Networks for Dummies, Second Edition.

FROM THE PUBLISHER