eBay Hacks, 2/e

Description:

Whatever you call it--an online auction house, the world's largest flea market, or a vast social experiment--no metaphor completely describes the huge trading community that is eBay. Underneath it all, eBay is also a computer program and a complex socio-economic system, requiring experience, finesse, and the right tools to master.

eBay Hacks, 2nd Edition has been completely revised and updated to make use of an array of new tools and features, as well as to reflect the changes in the eBay API, eBay's policies, and general practices of its increasingly sophisticated users. In all, the new edition of eBay Hacks sports 30 brand-new hacks plus dozens of hacks that have been expanded, deepened, or otherwise completely rewritten.

eBay Hacks shows you how to become a more efficient buyer and seller with clever tricks and shortcuts that will surprise even the most experienced eBayers. The book's wide range of topics covers all aspects of using eBay, such as advanced searching techniques, sniping tools, selling strategies, photography tips, and even research techniques for PowerSellers. But eBay Hacks doesn't just cover the basics; you'll learn how to write scripts to automate tedious tasks, take better photos, and tap into the eBay API to develop your own custom tools. Unlike no other book, eBay Hacks, 2nd Edition also provides insight into the social aspects of the eBay community, with diplomatic tools to help to get what you want with the least hassle and risk of negative feedback.

This bestseller supplies you with the tools you need to master eBay, whether as a buyer or seller, casual surfer or serious collector, novice or seasoned expert. With this guide, you will become a savvy power user who trades smarter and safer, makes more money, enjoys successes, and has fun doing it.

 

 

Table of Contents:

Credits  

Preface  

Chapter 1. Diplomacy and Feedback 

      1. Appraise an eBayer's Reputation  

      2. Use Prefabricated Feedback  

      3. Avoid Negative Feedback  

      4. Receive Feedback Notifications  

      5. Reply and Follow Up to Feedback  

      6. Withhold Feedback  

      7. Remove Unwanted Feedback  

      8. Improve Your Trustworthiness Quickly  

      9. What to Do When Your Email Doesn't Get Through  

Chapter 2. Searching 

      10. Focus Your Searches with eBay's Advanced Search Syntax  

      11. Control Fuzzy Searches  

      12. Jump In and Out of Categories While Searching  

      13. Tweak Search URLs  

      14. Find Similar Items  

      15. Search for Selected Text  

      16. Open Search Results in a New Window  

      17. Decipher Title Acronyms  

      18. Search by Seller  

      19. Search Internationally  

      20. Save Your Searches  

      21. Create a Search Robot  

      22. Find Items by Shadowing  

      23. Keep Tabs on eBay with the eBay Toolbar  

      24. Post a Want Ad  

Chapter 3. Bidding 

      25. Sniff Out Dishonest Sellers  

      26. Snipe It Manually  

      27. Snipe It Automatically  

      28. Snipe It Conditionally  

      29. Keep Track of Auctions Outside of eBay  

      30. Take Advantage of Bid Increments  

      31. Manipulate Buy It Now Auctions  

      32. Retract Your Bid Without Retracting Your Bid  

      33. Send Payment Quickly and Safely  

      34. Pay PayPal's Seller Fees  

      35. Use PayPal Without Depleting Your PayPal Balance  

      36. Access eBay from a Cell Phone or PDA  

      37. Smooth Out International Transactions  

      38. Save Money on Shipping  

      39. Estimate Transit Times  

      40. Deal with Disappointment: Getting Refunds  

      41. File a Dispute  

Chapter 4. Selling 

      42. What's It Worth?  

      43. Create a Listing  

      44. To Bundle or Not to Bundle  

      45. Reserve Judgment  

      46. The Strategy of Listing Upgrades  

      47. Use Keywords Effectively  

      48. Schedule Your Listing for Optimal Exposure  

      49. Track Your Exposure  

      50. Master Expectation Management  

      51. Sell a Broken VCR on eBay  

      52. Format the Description with HTML  

      53. Prepare Your Listings with a Web Page Editor  

      54. Clarify Your Payment and Shipping Terms  

      55. Customize Auction Page Backgrounds  

      56. Frame Your Listings  

      57. Override eBay's Fonts and Styles  

      58. Use Media in Your Listings  

      59. Put a Shipping Cost Calculator in Your Listing  

      60. Advertise Your Other Listings in Your Description  

      61. Allow Visitors to Search Through Your Listings  

      62. Put a Floating Contact Link in Your Listings  

      63. Make Good Use of the About Me Page  

      64. Customize the Checkout Process  

      65. Make Changes to Running Auctions  

      66. Let's Make a Deal  

      67. Diplomacy 101: Answer Dumb Questions  

      68. Keep Out Deadbeat Bidders  

      69. Avoid Buyer Scams  

Chapter 5. Working with Photos 

      70. Keep Your Item from Looking Pathetic  

      71. Master Close-up Photography  

      72. Construct an Auction Photo Studio  

      73. Get Photos into Your Computer  

      74. Doctor Your Photos  

      75. Protect Your Copyright  

      76. Host Your Own Photos  

      77. Make Clickable Thumbnails  

      78. Customize Pop-up Image Windows  

      79. Construct an Interactive Photo Album  

      80. Show a 360-Degree View of Your Item  

      81. Create a Photo Collage  

      82. Create a Good Gallery Photo  

Chapter 6. Completing Transactions 

      83. Keep Track of Items You've Sold  

      84. Send Payment Instructions  

      85. Protect Yourself While Accepting Payments  

      86. Ship Cheaply Without Waiting in Line  

      87. Sell and Ship Internationally  

      88. Damage Control Before and After You Ship  

      89. Deal with Stragglers, Deadbeats, and Returns  

      90. Issue a Refund  

Chapter 7. Running a Business on eBay 
introduction
PowerSellers and the Role of Numbers on eBay   321

      91. Open an eBay Store  

      92. Find a Market  

      93. Streamline Listings with Turbo Lister  

      94. Boost Sales with Rebates, Incentives, and Discounts  

      95. Streamline Payment Instructions  

      96. Use an Off-eBay Checkout System  

      97. Obtain Sales Records  

      98. Make Money by Linking to eBay  

      99. Advertise Your eBay Listings  

      100. Accept PayPal Payments from Your Own Site  

      101. Process PayPal Payments Automatically  

Chapter 8. The eBay API 
introduction
How the eBay API Works   366
Getting Started   367
Using the Scripts in This Chapter   368

      102. Climb Out of the Sandbox  

      103. Authenticate Users  

      104. Search eBay Listings  

      105. Create a Split-Pane Search Tool  

      106. Receive Search Results via RSS  

      107. Create Custom-Formatted eBay Search Results with the REST API  

      108. Search with PHP 5 and a Web Services Interface to the XML API  

      109. Retrieve Details About a Listing  

      110. Automatically Keep Track of Auctions You've Won  

      111. Track Items in Your Watching List  

      112. Automatically Keep Track of Items You've Sold  

      113. Submit an Auction Listing  

      114. List Your Entire Inventory on eBay  

      115. Automate Auction Revisions  

      116. Spellcheck All Your Listings  

      117. Automatically Relist Unsuccessful Listings  

      118. Send Automatic Emails to High Bidders  

      119. Leave Feedback with the API  

      120. Negative Feedback Bidder Alert  

      121. Negative Feedback Notification  

      122. Automatic Reciprocal Feedback  

      123. Make a Feedback Search Tool  

      124. Queue API Calls  

      125. Cache Listing Data to Improve API Efficiency  

Index