bout eBay eBay (http://www.ebay.com/) is the world’s largest online trading community. Founded in September 1995, eBay is a powerful marketplace for the sale of goods and services by individuals and small businesses. eBay helps people trade practically anything you can imagine. eBay was founded with the belief that each of their customers, whether a buyer or a seller, deserves to be treated with respect.
The eBay community includes over 18 million registered users and is the most popular shopping site on the Internet when measured by total user minutes, according to the Media Metrix September 2000 web report. eBay is not just a place for collectibles, beanies and Pez dispensers; on any given day, there are millions of items listed on eBay across thousands of categories. People come to eBay to buy and sell everything from the unique to the practical, such as automobiles, jewelry, musical instruments, photographic equipment, computers, furniture and sporting goods.
eBay is more than a marketplace, it is also a destination on the Internet where you can get to know other individuals who are not only interested in making transactions, but also enjoy spending time online with like-minded bargain hunters. eBay’s café and chat rooms are a few of the additional benefits of joining the eBay community.
Why eBay?
(On eBay) millions of people buy from and sell to each other without the expense of a middleman.Most people can’t resist a bargain. Imagine someone visiting all the garage sales across the country and sorting and organizing the items for sale in a way that would make it easy for you to find exactly what you wanted, at the right price. eBay provides a marketplace online where millions of people buy from and sell to each other without the expense of a middleman.
Selling: Here’s a scenario to illustrate how eBay might be of value to you: Your children are grown and you’re living in a house too large for your needs. You are thinking about moving but know that you would first have to sell a good portion of your accumulated possessions. An estate sale will bring strangers walking through your home and will oblige you to change your schedule to be present during the sale. Estate-sales companies can be costly, and their purchase prices typically low. Newspaper ads may not reach the right people. eBay provides a way to sell things quickly, at good prices, anonymously.
You might consider making a trial run on eBay by listing one or two items at a “reserve price” to test the response (a “reserve” is the lowest dollar amount the seller agrees in advance to accept for the item). If you receive an acceptable offer, you can request that a check be sent to you immediately and, when it clears, mail the item to the buyer.
Buying: Joe Walton, Former Director of SeniorNet Learning Centers, has considerable experience making purchases on eBay. “Most recently, I have used eBay to purchase all of Colin Dexter’s Inspector Morse mysteries. I wanted to collect the hardcover editions of these books. All but the most recent are out of print and hard to find. The cost for these out of print editions is high, usually several times their original retail price. Over a period of a few months I was able to purchase all of the mysteries, a few first editions and one signed copy among them —and at very reasonable prices.
“Sadly, I have now read them all save one. There will be no more as Inspector Morse dies in the most recent book. I’m going to save reading this last one for a special occasion.”
eBay is unique in its service of bringing together buyers and sellers across vast geographic areas. Even rare items such as the early Morse mysteries can be found regularly on their site.
eBay is safe
eBay has taken careful steps to ensure that transactions on their site are secure. Here are some of the ways they look out for the interests of their members, buyers and sellers alike:
The Feedback Forum is a place where users leave comments about each other’s buying and selling experiences at eBay. If you’re a bidder, you can check your seller’s Feedback Profile before you place a bid to learn about the seller’s reputation with previous buyers. If you’re a seller, you can do the same with your bidders.
The Fraud Protection Program: If you paid for an item and never received it (or if the item is less than what was described), eBay will reimburse buyers up to $200, less a $25 deductible.
SafeHarbor is eBay’s comprehensive safety resource. It doesn’t happen often, but, when there is misuse on eBay, Safe Harbor tries to resolve issues in areas such as fraud, trading offenses and illegally listed items.
eBay’s partner, Tradenable, provides additional security whether you’re a buyer or seller in transactions involving expensive items. I-Escrow will hold your payment and send it to the seller only after you’ve inspected your merchandise and given your approval. As a seller, you have the same opportunity to inspect and approve a returned item before the buyer gets refunded.
Square Trade is eBay’s dispute resolution service and works with buyers and sellers to help resolve quickly and fairly disputes that may arise.
Buy and Sell
How to registerIf you haven’t done so already, take a few moments to visit http://www.ebay.com/ online and register.
For a brief tutorial on how eBay works, click "Help" button at the top of eBay’s home page.
Below is the top section of the eBay home page.
To register, follow these seven steps:
1) While you are connected to the Internet, type http://www.ebay.com/ in the Address box on your browser.eBay’s home page opens.
2) Click "Register Now" in the "Welcome New Users" box at the top of the pageThe first registration window opens.
3) Enter your name and address information.
4) Fill out your desired Username, Password, Secret Sugestion (this is what eBay will use to identify you should you lose your password and need it emailed to you), email address, name, address (city, state, zip) and phone number. Click "Continue".In the next window, you will have the option of editing your information; if it is satisfactory click Continue.
5) Read the Terms and Conditions carefully, as you would any contract. You must click to check both boxes if you wish to join eBay and then click Continue.eBay will automatically send an email to verify your address.
6) When you receive this email, click on the specified link (or type the address on your browser) to complete the registration process.The User ID & Password window opens.
7) Type your user ID and password in the appropriate boxes. Click See Tips on the right of the User ID box if you need some pointers. Click Continue and you will receive the following message:“Congratulations You are registered!”Your registration is confirmed and is effective immediately.You can start bidding or selling right away.
How to Buy on eBay
Sunday, January 28, 2007
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