Absolute Beginners Guide to eBay (4th Edition)

eBay started out as a pure online auction site; every transaction was conducted via the online auction format. While a majority of eBay's sales still come from online auctions, a growing percentage of transactions come from fixed-price sales, made from the eBay site itself or from the associated eBay Stores and Half.com websites. There's something for everyoneif you like the bidding game, the online auction format is for you; if you want your merchandise immediately, without the risk of losing an auction, then the various fixed-price formats may be to your liking. Here's a quick overview of the different ways to buy and sell on eBay:

• Online auctions, where the seller establishes a starting price and interested buyers bid higher and higher until the end of the auction, when the highest bidder wins.

• Buy It Now, which supplements the normal auction process; when a seller establishes a Buy It Now price (in addition to the normal auction starting price), a buyer can end the auction early by paying the fixed price.

• Fixed price listings, which enable sellers to offer items for sale to the first buyer willing to pay the fixed asking price.

• Want It Now, where buyers create a "wish list" of items they're interested in, and interested sellers contact them to arrange a transaction.

• eBay Stores, where sellers can offer a comprehensive inventory of fixed-price items for sale on an everyday basis.

• Half.com, which is a separate fixed-price marketplace for individuals and retailers selling books, CDs, DVDs, and video games.

If you're an interested buyer, you can place bids or make purchases on any of these marketplaces. If you have items to sell, you can choose whichever marketplace and format you think will provide the best results. Payment from buyer to seller is facilitated by eBay's PayPal service, which enables any individual seller to accept credit card payments from buyers. It's all quite versatile, quite slick, and quite easy to dofor both buyers and sellers. Anybody can do it!