The eBay Book: Essential tips for buying and selling on eBay.co.uk (Paperback)

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Product Description
eBay is a phenomenon! - 50 million users worldwide, and growing rapidly in the UK. This is the first UK book on eBay. It is a guide to eBay.co.uk, not to the American site. The author is an experienced UK trader who knows the pitfalls and tricks for profitable buying and selling. The book provides everything that tens of thousands of new eBayers need to get started. From the INTRODUCTION: "1995 was the year that I, like many people, discovered the internet. A friend and I discussed ways to make money out of it. We agreed that online auctions were a really promising area. We even spent some time discussing how you might go about setting them up. It all got a bit complicated and I had books to write, so we never followed through. Pierre Omidyar had the idea and did something about it. eBay, the business he set up in his living room in September 1995, has, at the time of writing, nearly 50 million registered users. You can buy anything from cars to concert tickets, collectable dolls to computers. I started using eBay for a melancholy reason. In 1999, a friend died suddenly. Don's widow asked me to sell his record collection for her. It included a large number of rarities. I quickly found out what these might be worth, but knew I'd never get anything like their true value from a dealer. So I went to eBay. I'd checked out eBay over the previous few months, but had been too timid to buy or sell anything. Now, however, I had a real reason to begin. To test the water, I auctioned a CD from my own collection: a rare boxed single that the Record Collector price guide said was worth GBP40. I gave it a high starting price of GBP20, the lowest price I would accept. Aweek later, it sold for GBP30. I posted it to France, throwing in free insurance, just in case anything went wrong. Two days later I received my first feedback: 'Very pleasant seller, beautiful item and carefully packed AA++'. More than half of Don's records sold, bringing in prices not too far off the guide price. I found I had a new hobby, using my unmetered internet connection to endlessly browse eBay when I should have been working on my latest novel. I quickly got a green star alongside my eBay ID. This showed I had more than ten positive feedback comments and no negatives. I sold occasionally, often accepting cash dollars to fund my purchases from the US (this was in the days before Paypal, a money transfer system that's discussed at length in this book). In the last three years I've become a frequent eBay user, buying and selling books, DVDs and comics as well as music items. Last year I got my blue star for 50 plus positive feedback. I've only attended one auction in my life, but I've followed thousands of virtual ones. I've been ripped off, made mistakes and learnt what kinds of auctions to avoid. I still have a 100% feedback record, the strongest test of an eBayer (as serious hobbyists call themselves). I still get a thrill those times at the end of an auction when last minute bidders are suddenly outbid and try to get one more bid in before the curtain falls.'. The book you're reading arose out of a holiday conversation with one of the publishers, an old friend who is a financial whiz but knew very little about eBay. The idea of this book is to give readers the basics of buying and selling on eBay with plenty of tips, practical information and case histories. Equally importantly, it will tell you what to avoid and how to check out suspected cheats - both sellers and buyers, for the internet has given new life to many of the oldest frauds in the book. This book will also give you the basics of how to run an eBay business, because once you start selling stuff on the net, you're in business, even if it's only in a very small way. Who knows, you might find dealing on eBay much more profitable than you expect. Or you could find it's a great way to track down rare items you didn't know anybody else was interested in. Soon you may find yourself selling spare stuff from the attic to grateful collectors who trust the way you've graded them because they've read your feedback. The possibilities are endless. You read a lot of negative stuff about trading on the net, but I have to say that the vast majority of eBayers I've 'met' have been great to deal with. I aim to give you the confidence to become one of those eBayers, whatever it is you choose to buy or sell." 'I've only attended one auction in my life, but I've followed thousands of virtual ones.' 'Once you start selling, you're in business, even if only in a very small way.' 'I knew I'd never get their true value from a dealer. So I went to eBay."

From the Inside Flap
Beckham's BMW, Pope Benedict XVI's Volkswagen Golf, Robbie Williams' popcorn maker, Johnny Depp's gold teeth, Jeremy Vine's tie - if you've got something to sell, there's only one place to do it - eBay!

Celebrity memorabilia is only a small part of the eBay story. The 10 million people in the UK who regularly use the site buy and sell a huge variety of goods. They do it for fun, for the challenge and for the profit. Some do so well that it becomes their main source of income!

This book is an 'eBayer's manual'. Focusing specifically on eBay's UK site, it explains the 'tricks of the trade', the short cuts, safety tips, and how to get the end result you want.

Facts:

- 10 million people are registered with eBay.co.uk
- There are more than 3 million items for sale on the site at any one time
- The most expensive itm sold so far is a Gulfstream jet for £2.8 million
- 39% of active UK internet users visited eBay in March 2005 --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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First Sentence
1995 was the year that I, like many people, discovered the internet. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover

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12 Reviews 5 star:  (8) 4 star:  (2) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:  (2)           Average Customer Review 4.2 out of 5 stars (12 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   34 of 34 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars The best book on using eBay, 28 Jun 2004 By  Keith Jones (UK) - See all my reviews This is by far the best book on eBay I've come across. I've been using eBay for some time and thought I knew everything, but this book is a mine of useful tips. The "Frauds, scams, deadbest bidders and vigilantes" chapter is especially good. The book is not at all dry or academic. The author obviously has been using eBay for years and is not afraid to explain all the mistakes he's made in the past. Every mistake he made is examined in the book with an analysis of what he did wrong. I liked this approach, as it brought the whole thing alive. I am recommending this book to all my friends. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   52 of 53 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars A well-written and entertaining user's manual for UK eBayers, 1 Jul 2004 By  Andrew Ross (Exeter) - See all my reviews I bought this book because among all the eBay titles it's the only one which is written by a UK author and which uses home-grown case studies. He covers the basics of eBay exceptionally well, with plenty of real-life examples, and personally I found it a lot easier learning the tricks of the trade from a book than randomly jumping around eBay's help pages. In terms of who the book is aimed at - I'd say it is useful either for beginners, or for those who so far have only used eBay occasionally as a hobby and who want to take it to the next level. What you realise, as you work through Belban's examples, is that there is more to successful buying and selling than just biddng and listing. If you understand better how eBay works, you will get more out of it, and that's what this book has done for me. All in all, I was very satisfied that I'd got useful information and advice at a bargain price. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   21 of 21 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars The most informative book I have seen in a long time, 18 Mar 2005 By A Customer As an eBay seller I bought this book (from eBay, sorry Amazon!) for a silver surfer relative who wanted to understand how to use eBay. As a seller I have managed pretty well so far but I have to say I haven't been able to put the book down - and this is coming from some-one who doesn't normally read! The book is written in a clear, concise and logical way and I have already found out things I never knew. Yes, as another reviewer pointed out, a lot of the information can be found on the eBay help pages but why trawl around for ages to find the answer to a question that can be found in this book almost instantly. I was extremely impressed at how up-to-date the information is, in particular that relating to PayPal surcharging which a great deal of sellers either don't, or choose not to, know! Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this) Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review › See all 12 customer reviews...		Most Recent Customer Reviews 5.0 out of 5 stars If you use eBay..Read this book For anyone interested in using eBay...this book guides the beginner through all aspects of using this popular site. Read more Published on 14 Jul 2006 by E. Bradwell 4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Read. This book will aid you from start to finish setting up, buying and selling on ebay. However, if you are already a member and are getting through the process alright, you should... Read more Published on 9 Mar 2005 by M. Hoy 5.0 out of 5 stars Very helpful introduction to eBay Very helpful introduction to getting the most out of eBay, particularly from a UK viewpoint (tax implications etc). Read more Published on 19 Jan 2005 5.0 out of 5 stars New to eBay? You need this book I am new to eBay and found David Belbin's book to be outstanding. What more do you need than information which is comprehensive, concise, accurate and up to date? Read more Published on 2 Sep 2004 1.0 out of 5 stars Hugely disappointing David Belbin sets out how to explain Ebay. Great concept but very badly executed. Belbin is not a good writer and tells people that there is only one way to buy and sell on Ebay,... Read more Published on 15 Aug 2004 4.0 out of 5 stars Good explanation of online auctions eBay seems pretty easy to use when you first look at it, and I had sold a few items before buying this book. Read more Published on 30 Jul 2004 by Helen Eccles 5.0 out of 5 stars Great book - well worth getting. The is a really good guide to the UK version of Ebay. Lots of useful tips. Well worth getting. Published on 22 Jul 2004 by Dave Smith 1.0 out of 5 stars Utterly pointless mish mash Most everything in here can be found easily (and for free) on the EBay UK help boards provided FOR FREE by the users and on various sites link to contributors to the help boards... Read more Published on 18 Jul 2004 by Elab49 5.0 out of 5 stars At last one for the UK I have noticed that there are lots of books about eBay floating around, but they are all american. At last some one has had the sense to do a UK based book. Read more Published on 3 Jul 2004 Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews › See all 12 customer reviews...

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