eBay FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions about eBay.

This FAQ about eBay was compiled and written by William B. Shaw toppsoft@yahoo.com with numerous contributions by others.

1.0 Introduction (alt.marketing.online.ebay): This article attempts to address the most commonly asked questions ...

1.3 Guidelines for posting questions: Posting questions is a pretty simple process but you might very well ...

1.3.5 Where can I advertise my auctions? (alt.marketing.online.ebay): If you are bound and determined to advertise your auctions on Usenet, ...

1.4 Is alt.marketing.online.ebay newsgroup moderated?: No. As far as I know, there are no kill-filters in place for this newsgroup....

2.1 Common eBay Acronyms: As with all auction titles and listings, don't always take these acronyms ...

2.1.99 eBay: Links to category/item-specific terms, definitions and acronyms: Until I have some good links, here are some product acronyms I received ...

2.2 Is eBay down?: Probably (VBG)! EBay seems to suffer more downtime than many other ...

2.3 How do I contact eBay?: It depends on the problem. As of the date of this FAQ, you can send email ...

2.4 How can I get an unjust negative feedback removed? (eBay): The short answer - you can't. There appears to be only three ways to get ...

2.5 Are there any alternatives to eBay?: There are plenty of other auction sites on the Internet, but eBay is ...

2.6 How long do auction listings stay on eBay?: They are available on eBay's site for a minimum of 90 days. This is the ...

2.7 If I change my eBay handle, will I lose my feedback?: No. Your feedback stays with you as long as you use the same eBay account,...

3.0 eBay Seller questions: Often times, selling on eBay is quite similar to aiming at a moving ...

3.1 eBay Listing: Deciding what to list, how to list it, and when to do so are so dependent ...

3.1.1 What items should I sell on eBay that can make me a lot of money?: If you figure it out, please let me know. ;-) Take stock of the ...

3.1.2 What items aren't allowed on eBay?: We try to keep up with the constant policy updates regarding allowable ...

3.1.3 What should be in my eBay auction listing?: At a minimum, you should list a clear and concise description, a ...

3.1.4 What shouldn't be in my eBay auction listing?: Background music, large or dark backgrounds, animated images, and ...

3.1.5 eBay Auction Pictures: It is said a picture is worth a thousand words. Items with clear ...

3.1.5.1 How do I put more than one picture in my eBay auction listing?: You can do this two different ways. If you don't want to spend any ...

3.1.5.2 Why are my eBay listing pictures broken?: If the links you provided to your pictures don't match the actual URL of ...

3.1.5.3 Where can I get free picture hosting? (eBay): There are a number of sites that provide free web and picture hosting. ...

3.1.5.4 Someone is using my pictures. What can I do? (eBay): If they are linking to a picture in your webspace, you can always ...

3.1.6 Can I use my About Me page for my eBay auction terms?: Many sellers do, but this practice is actually prohibited by eBay. ...

3.1.7 Should I use reserves in my eBay auctions?: Reserves perform two important roles on eBay. First, they protect the ...

3.1.8 When is the best time to start/end an eBay auction?: Again, it depends on what you sell. Ebay seems busiest on Sunday nights, ...

3.1.9 Are those eBay extra-charge options worthwhile?: The answer to this question greatly depends on the type of items you ...

3.2 Getting Paid on eBay: You'd be amazed at how fussy some sellers are about what forms of ...

3.2.1 What payment services should I accept on eBay?: The more payment services you accept, the less likely someone will pass ...

3.2.2 What is PayPal?: PayPal is the most popular payment service accepted by sellers on eBay, ...

3.2.3 What is eBay Payments (formerly known as BillPoint)?: EBay Payments is the official payment service of eBay backed by Wells ...

3.2.4 What is BidPay?: BidPay is a bit unique in that payments arrive in the form of Western ...

3.2.5 Can I charge a fee if someone pays me with one of these services? (eBay): No. Not only is it against eBay's terms of service on the U.S. site, ...

3.2.6 What if my eBay bidder doesn't respond?: Have you given them at least 3 working days to reply? If so, try ...

3.2.7 What if my bidder responds and refuses to pay? (eBay): Go directly to the NPB form after the 7 days have past. Remember, you ...

3.2.8 How long do I have to wait to relist my item? (eBay): Technically, you can relist the item if you haven't heard from the buyer ...

3.3 Shipping (eBay)

3.3.1 How much should I charge for shipping?: If you want to see a spirited flame war, ask this question on a.m.o.e. ...

3.3.2 Can I use Priority Mail boxes for other types of mail? (eBay): The USPS provides certain Express Mail, Priority Mail, Global ...

3.3.3 Should I ship to International bidders? (eBay): Another hotly debated topic. The tough part about international shipping ...

3.4 After the Auction (eBay): Service after the auction is twice as important as the service you ...

3.4.1 When should I leave feedback? (eBay): Incendiary topic #1!! Opinions vary greatly. Many sellers don't consider ...

3.5 eBay Selling tools: If you intend to sell in any volume on eBay, a number of selling tools ...

3.6 How do I become a PowerSeller on eBay?: Powersellers get that way by selling a minimum of $2000 per month ...

3.7 I'm new to eBay and want to sell. How can I convince others of my honesty?: Start small, selling relatively inexpensive items, that can be ...

4.0 eBay Buyer issues: EBay's full buyer's guide can be found ...

4.1 Bidding (eBay): Bidding strategy is one of the least understood areas of eBay. Terms ...

4.1.1 How much should I bid? (eBay): Bid the maximum amount you are willing to pay for an item less the ...

4.1.2 I bid $20 and my bid only shows as $1.00. Why? (eBay): You have just been introduced to the proxy bidding system. When you ...

4.1.3 I just lost an auction by $1.00. How did this happen? (eBay): Remember that eBay only bids the amount necessary to win the auction. ...

4.1.4 I lost an auction in the last minute. How can I keep that from happening again? (eBay): Bid your max. The only real protection from last-minute bidders is to ...

4.1.5 What is proxy bidding? How does it work? (eBay): Essentially, when you bid, you aren't telling eBay how much of a bid ...

4.1.6 What are the bid increments eBay uses to increase bids? (eBay): When eBay bids up to your maximum amount on your behalf, the bidding ...

4.2 After the auction (eBay): Post-auction activities are probably the most important part of the auction....

4.2.1 How long should I wait for a seller to reply to my emails? (eBay): You shouldn't need to wait more than three business days to ...

4.2.2 What should I do if my emails to the seller bounce? (eBay): When the email bounces, it might indicate a bad email address or ...

4.3 Paying for your winnings (eBay): Pay promptly. If for any reason, you are going to have trouble paying,...

4.3.1 The seller doesn't accept [payment type]. What do I do? (eBay): If they state in their auction listing that they do accept that form ...

4.4 After you've paid (eBay): Most sellers are quite prompt about shipping your merchandise once they'...

4.4.1 How long should I wait to receive my merchandise? (eBay): Even if a seller ships your order on the day they receive the payment, ...

4.4.2 When should I leave feedback? (eBay): Incendiary topic #1!! Opinions greatly vary for sellers, but buyer's ...

4.4.3 I've been ripped off. What do I do now? (eBay): Your options depend greatly on a number of factors such as how you paid, ...

5.0 How to get kicked off of eBay: Unless you aren't paying your bill, eBay generally enforces their rules ...

5.1 Shill bidding (eBay): Sellers who bid on their own auctions or have a closely related party bid ...

5.2 Bid shielding (eBay): Bid shielding is done by a buyer to keep the price high until the end of ...

5.3 Don't pay for your winnings (eBay): Three strikes and you're out! If three separate sellers go through ...

5.4 Engage in keyword spamming (eBay): By adding keywords into your auction title or description that are ...

5.5 Don't pay your eBay fees: Need we say more? You'll get an email if your payment doesn't post and ...

5.6 Link to your web site from your auction listing (eBay): This rule only seems to apply if you aren't a power seller. The ...

5.7 Listing auctions with copyright violations (eBay): With eBay's VeRO program, your auctions can be unilaterally cancelled ...

5.8 Have a bad email address (eBay): If eBay receives a complaint that your email address is no longer valid,...

5.9 Registering with invalid contact information (eBay): If eBay receives a complaint that any of your contact information is wrong,...

5.10 Auction Interference (eBay): Auction Interference can take many forms. The essential elements ...

6.1 Sniping (Things that won't get you kicked off of eBay): Sniping is the act of placing a bid with in the last few minutes, ...

6.1.1 Why people snipe (Things that won't get you kicked off of eBay): Other than the joy of sniping, bidders generally snipe for three ...

6.1.2 Why some people hate snipers (Things that won't get you kicked off of eBay): It's extremely frustrating to see yourself as the highest bidder for ...

6.1.3 How to protect yourself against snipers (Things that won't get you kicked off of eBay): Although no one can guarantee that someone else isn't willing to pay ...

6.2 Bid retractions (Things that won't get you kicked off of eBay): There are very few legitimate reasons for retracting a bid on eBay. ...

6.3 Posting negative feedback (Things that won't get you kicked off of eBay): EBay's feedback system is only effective if all members leave ...

7.0 EBay Stores: Many of the questions about eBay stores are answered in the main faq and ...

8.0 Credits and Thank You's! (alt.marketing.online.ebay): I would like to extend my sincerest thanks and gratitude to the ...

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