eBay Users: What You Need to Know About Phishing Scams

Are you an eBay user?  Whether you use eBay to do your online shopping or if you use eBay to generate extra income for yourself, as an eBay seller, there is something that you need to be aware of. As an eBay user, whether you are a seller or a buyer, you need to be on the lookout for phishing scams.  Phishing scams are rapidly increasing in popularity and many are using eBay as a front.  To protect your identity, as well as you finances, you need to be on the lookout for them.

If you are relatively new to eBay or online shopping in general, you may not know exactly what phishing scams are.  Do you?  If not, you should know that phishing scams are actually complex online scams.  A shady individual or a scammer makes a fake website that is similar to eBay or at least a fake eBay sign in page.  You are then sent an email that appears as if it was from eBay.  The only thing is that it wasn’t.  The goal of a phishing scam is to get you to visit the fake page and enter in your eBay sign in information, including your eBay screen name and your eBay password.  Once a scammer has your information, they get access to you personal information stored on eBay, as well as free use of your eBay account.

One of the reasons why phishing scams are so easy to fall victim to is because they give you the impression that is something is wrong with you eBay account or that you did something wrong yourself.  For instance, many phishing scams contain a message asking why you didn’t pay for an item that you ordered or outline the fact that your eBay account has been suspended.  The goal is to get you so worried that you will automatically click on the link to get the problem solved; however, as previously mentioned, the link takes you to a site that looks just like eBay, but it isn’t.  There is where the trouble comes in.

If you get an eBay phishing scam email, you will want to do a little bit of detective work, before actually clicking on the link. In fact, you shouldn't even click on the link.  The first thing that you will want to do is look at your name, as most eBay phishing emails start with “Dear eBay Member,” or something along those lines.  Real eBay messages will refer to you by your eBay screen name or even your real name.  You can also roll your mouse over the link provided to you and see where it will actually take you.  In most cases, you will find that you are being directed to another site, not eBay.com.  All eBay messages should appear in your “My eBay,” message box.  To see if eBay really sent you an email, you can log into your eBay account, from a brand new window that you open up, and check your messages, if you even have any at all.

If you do receive an eBay phishing scam email, you are advised to contact eBay or examine eBay’s help center. There you will find instructions on how to report the email or send a copy of it to eBay. Although your first thought may be to delete the eBay phishing scam email, you will actually want to follow eBay’s reporting instructions.  You may know that you are being scammed, but other may not.  Reporting an eBay phishing scam to eBay allows them to take care of the problem; thus likely reducing the number of eBay users who fall victim to similar scams.

Now that you know exactly what eBay phishing scams are, you are urged to be on the lookout for them.  Keeping an open eye is your best line of defensive against eBay phishing scams or any phishing scams for that matter.

eBay Success - How to Price Your Items

Many new sellers don’t realize how important pricing is when it comes to eBay auctions. Many don’t even realize that ‘pricing’ needs to be done. eBay is an auction site after all! But eBay auctions are not quite the same as the auctions you attend in the offline world. In fact, quite a bit of work goes into determining and setting prices.

 Essentially, there are only three prices that can be set for an eBay auction: the ‘buy it now’ price, the reserve price, and the starting bid price. Of these three, the starting bid price is the only one that is required for an eBay auction. The reserve price and the ‘buy it now’ price are optional. The starting bid price is fairly simple – never set it higher than $50 or so – no matter what your item is really worth.

This low opening price will get bidders to your auction. Setting low starting bid prices creates the need for a reserve price. A reserve price is the absolute lowest price that you want to get for your item. You may sell the item below the reserve price, but you will not be required to. In other words, if you set your reserve price at $100, and your highest bid is only $50, you do not have to sell the item to the highest bidder. You can close the auction without any negative feedback or repercussions. Set your reserve price at the absolute lowest price you are willing to sell your item for. Keep what the item is worth, as well as what it cost you in mind. The ‘buy it now’ option will allow you to set a price, and buyers can buy the item immediately, without bidding, for that set price. This option can be used for any type of item, and it should be set to match your reserve, give or take a few dollars. This option is great if you have multiple identical items to sell. Shipping has a price, and potential buyers take this into consideration when they are looking at an auction. If you can see your way clear to offer free shipping, you will find that people are placing more bids. Make sure that your potential buyers realize that you are offering free shipping! Before setting any prices, you need to determine what the item is really worth. The value of the item in different markets might be quite high. However, you are selling on eBay, and it is a different world altogether! Find out the price that similar items sold for on eBay before setting any prices. If it is a collectable, or a high ticket item, have the item evaluated to ensure that you aren't going to lose money!

eBay Sellers: Why You Should Have an “About Me,” Page

Are you an eBay seller?  If you are looking for ways to make money from home, there is a good chance that you may be. When it comes to working from home or making money from home, one of the first places that people turn to is eBay.  The only problem is that to make money on eBay, you must be a successful seller.  There are a number of steps that you can take to become a successful eBay seller.  One of those steps involves creating an “About Me,” page.  

If you are relatively new to selling on eBay, you may not know what an “About Me,” page is. An “About Me,” page is a webpage that allows you to write anything that you want about you, the items that you sell, or type of services that you offer.  Due to the possibility of being scammed on eBay, a large number of eBay buyers want to do business with someone that they feel they can trust.  One of the best, yet easiest ways, to go about creating trust is by creating an “About Me,” page.  Although it may seem simple to you, it actually means a lot in the eyes of many eBay buyers.  And, to be a successful eBay seller, public perception is everything.

As it was previously stated, if you are interested in creating an “About Me,” page, there is a section where you can write whatever you want to write.  If you want to be a successful eBay seller, you will want to give information that you feel could be useful to you.  For instance, if you are selling on eBay because you are a stay at home mom or dad, you may want to write that, but in a professional matter.  Explaining your purpose for being an eBay seller is a great way to get an eBay buyer to see you as a person, just like themselves.

If you consider yourself to be a fulltime eBay seller or if you specialize in a certain type of product, like kids clothing, you may want to mention that in your personalized “About Me,” section.  In addition to the samples outlined above, you will also want to add in anything else that you may find useful or something that you think will grab the attention or trust of potential buyers.  When making your own personalized “About Me,” page section, it is important that you use your best judgment.  Look at it from the perspective of an eBay buyer; what would you like to see on your own page?

In addition to your own personalized section, there are some sections that eBay automatically includes on a seller’s “About Me,” page.  One of those items is a summary of current items available for sale. For instance, if you have a number of auctions currently going, those auctions will be summarized on your “About Me,” page, for everyone to see.  All visitors are provided with a link to the auction listing, the current highest bidding price, as well as a short description of what is currently available for sale. In a way, having an “About Me,” page may also increase your chances of getting a sale, since a visitor to your page may see something that catches their eye.

eBay “About Me,” pages also commonly include information on feedback.  If you are an established eBay seller, particularly one that has a good feedback rating, this may work out to your advantage, as visitor will be able to see that you are reputable eBay seller.  If you have a number of feedback ratings, only a certain number, most commonly the recent ones, will be shown. This includes positive, negative, and neutral feedback ratings from your past eBay transactions.

Having an “About Me,” eBay page is completely optional, but, as outlined above, there are a number of benefits to having one.  With an eBay “About Me,” page only taking a few minutes to make, you are advised to at least give it a try. After all, you may be surprised with the results.

eBay Sellers: Why You Should Accept PayPal

Are you looking to become an eBay seller?  If you are interested in making money online, possibly even enough to support yourself, you just may be.  Over the past few years, eBay has revealed itself as an online market place where just about anyone, including you, can make money.

Although it is relatively easy to make money on eBay, as an eBay seller, there are a number of important factors that come into play.  For instance, you will want to have good, quality items to sell, detailed descriptions of those items, as well as easy to see pictures.  Perhaps, those are some of the most important components of becoming a successful eBay seller, but there is something else that can be just as important, your accepted methods of payment.  For the best chance of success on eBay, you will want to accept a wide range of payments, including personal checks, money orders, and PayPal.

Speaking of PayPal, PayPal is one of the most common methods of payment accepted on eBay.  Despite being one of the most preferred ways to shop on eBay, there are still a number of sellers who don’t accept PayPal as a form of payment.  If you have yet to setup your eBay seller account, you will also want to take the time to set up a PayPal account.  Of course, you can still make money on eBay without accepting PayPal as a method of payment, but your chances for success are higher when you do.  That is why it is extremely important that you at least look into getting a PayPal account.

When it comes to getting a PayPal account, you will find that you can have a personal account or a business account.  If you want to make the most out of PayPal and eBay, you will want to get a business account, as it enables to you accept credits cards as a method of payment.  The only difference between a business PayPal account and a personal PayPal account is the fees.  The fees that you are charged will vary, but you will be charged a small fee each time someone, namely an eBay buyer, sends you a payment.

Although the PayPal fees may be a turnoff for you, you should let them be.  By accepting PayPal, you are more likely to have more sales, as well as higher priced product sales, as more eBay buyers rely on PayPal to shop online.  This will essentially make the fees seem minimal, as they easily pay for themselves overtime and you are still able to make a profit.  In fact, your PayPal fees, from a business standpoint, can even be tax deductible.

One of the many reasons why eBay buyers like to use PayPal is because it gives them a sense of security.  When using PayPal to buy items on eBay, buyers do not have to actually provide you with their bank account information or their credit or debit card numbers. This information is automatically stored in PayPal’s secure system.  eBay buyers simply have to follow the instructions on the invoice that you send them, enter in their PayPal sign in information, click a few confirmation buttons and they are good to go; no important information has to exchange hands.

If you aren’t already accepting PayPal, you will want to think about the many benefits to doing so, some of which were outlined above.  For more information on PayPal, you are urged to visit PayPal’s online website, which can be found at PayPal.com.

eBay Sellers: Tips to Help Your eBay Items Sell

 

Are you an eBay seller? If you have been looking for a relatively easy way to make money, there is a good chance that you are.  Different individuals use eBay, but many use eBay to make a little bit of extra money or even to financially support themselves and their families.  If you are an eBay seller, how is everything currently going?  Are you making as much money as you had hoped to?  If not, you will want to continue reading on; as some tips are outlined below on how you can help to make sure that your eBay items sell.

When it comes to buying items on eBay, there are many eBay buyers who are the lookout for eBay scams.  Before purchasing an item, one of the first things that an eBay buyer does is check the feedback of the seller.  Doing business with a highly rated and recommended eBay seller reduces or completely eliminates the chances of getting scammed on eBay.  Feedback helps to give you a good reputation, but there is something else that can help you get a good reputation too, an “About Me,” page.  This is a page where you are able to introduce yourself and give a little bit of background information about yourself or your eBay business.  “About Me,” pages are optional, but there are a number of benefits to having one.

Once an eBay buyer has learned that a seller who has an item that they want for sale is a reputable one, they will then continue to examine the product being sold.  This is where your biggest chance of making a sale comes in.  First, you will want to make sure that your products are being sold at a fair price.  Keep in mind, when making your auction listings that you want to make a profit, but you don’t want to scare off any potential buyers with high prices.  Just making sure that your prices are reasonable is enough to increase your chances of making a sale.

Secondly, you will want to make sure that you accurately describe all of your items that are being sold.  For instance, if you are selling a lot or a group of children’s toys, you may want to take the time to list the names of each toy being sold.  Outline the condition that each toy is in as well.  If you are selling toys that require batteries, you may want to state whether or not the batteries are included.  Providing a detailed, accurate description of all of your items will definitely increase the chances of them selling.

In addition to a detailed description, it is also important that you have pictures of your items.  eBay allows you to post one free picture, but more can be posted for additional fees.  Don’t let these additional fees deter you from posting additional pictures, as they are likely to increase the chances of making a sale. In fact, you may want to look into free photo sharing websites, such as PhotoBucket, as they allow you to post additional eBay pictures for free.  When taking pictures of your eBay items, you will want to make sure that you take a number of close-up pictures.  Also, make sure that the pictures are easy to see and that the lighting is good.  Having poor pictures or no pictures at all is one of the many reasons why many eBay items go unsold.

The methods of payment that you accept may also have an important impact on how well your eBay items sell.  One of the most common forms of payments used, to pay for eBay purchases, is PayPal.  The reason why PayPal is so popular is because it enables shoppers to buy items from you, without having to disclose their account numbers.  If you aren’t already accepting PayPal, you will want to look into doing so.  Although most eBay buyers use PayPal, you will also want to remember that not everyone does. For that reason, you may also want to accept other methods of payment, including money orders or personal checks.  The only thing with personal checks is that you may want to wait until the check clears before shipping the buyer their merchandise, especially with large purchases.

By implementing the above mentioned eBay seller tips, you may start seeing an increase in your eBay sales, even right away.  In all honesty, you need to think of it from a seller perspective.  Look at your auction listings; would you buy what you were selling?

eBay Sellers: The Importance of Paying Your eBay Fees on Time

Are you an eBay seller?  If you are, have you been selling on eBay for long? If you haven’t been, you may still be trying to figure out the ins and outs of eBay.  If that is the case, you may be looking for a little bit of assistance or advice. One of the important things to remember, when selling on eBay, is the importance of paying your eBay fees on time.

When it comes to paying your eBay fees on time, there are a large number of sellers who wonder exactly why it is so important.  While this may not seem like something that you would ask yourself, it is actually asked quite often.  Yes, eBay, like many other businesses, gives you a grace period, which is a few extra days to make your payment; you don’t want to go past that period.  If so, there will be consequences.  As an eBay seller, those consequences may be costly to you.

One of the most common consequences of not paying your eBay fees on time involves having your eBay seller account suspended.  For you, this means that you will not be able to sell anymore items on eBay, at least until you pay your fees.  Depending on the situation at hand, if you have any auctions running at the current time, those auctions may be canceled, possibly incurring additional fees for you.  That is why it is extremely important that you pay your eBay fees on time.

Another reason why you should pay your eBay fees on time is because it is easy to do.  When paying your eBay fees, all you really need to do is log into your account, go to the link labeled “eBay fees,” and follow the instructions from there.  When it comes time to pay your eBay fees, eBay should send you an invoice, but you don’t have to wait until you receive that invoice.  If you want to make sure that you stay on top of paying your fees, to prevent your seller account from being suspended, you may want to think about occasionally paying your fees, whenever you have the money to do so.

eBay can also offer you assistance, when it comes to paying your eBay fees.  When you first setup your eBay account, you have the option of having your fees deducted right from your credit card, which you may have used to help setup your free eBay account.  If you used a credit card to help setup your account, but you don’t want to have your fees deducted from your card, you can also make alternative arrangements.  Those arrangements may include having your fees deducted from something else, like another credit card or your checking account.  Or, you could stick paying your fees on your own, whenever they are due.

As you can see from above, there are a number of different ways that you can go about paying your eBay seller fees.  If you are an active eBay seller or one who relies on eBay for income, you will want to definitely make sure that you pay your fees on time.  Since you have a number of different ways to go about doing so, there isn’t any reason why you can’t pay your eBay fees and in a somewhat timely matter.

eBay Sellers: Should You Open an eBay Store?

Are you an eBay seller?  If you are, there is a good chance that you have heard of an eBay store before.  In fact, you may even have your own eBay store.  eBay stores are increasing in popularity.  For that reason, if you currently don’t have an eBay store, you may be wondering whether or not you should open one.  To determine whether or not you should open an eBay store, you may want to examine the advantages and disadvantages of having one.

Before examining the advantages and disadvantages of having an eBay store, you may be wondering exactly what one is.  In a way, having your own eBay store can be compared to having your own retail store.  By paying a small monthly fee, you are able to create your own customized “storefront.”  This storefront is what customers will see when they visit your eBay store. For instance, you can make your own logo, create your own eBay store, and do much more. As previously mentioned, you must pay a small monthly fee to have an eBay store; however, you must also pay traditional final value and insertion fees.  Despite having to pay traditional eBay fees, they are much lower than normal, if you have an eBay store.

Perhaps, a decrease in eBay fees is one of the biggest benefits to opening up your own eBay store.  If you only sell a few items a month on eBay, it might not necessarily be worth it for you to open up an eBay store, but if you are a medium or high volume seller, you could save a considerable amount of money by opening up your own eBay store.  It is also important to mention easy of use.  Creating your own eBay storefront page is easy to do, as well as creating your own eBay listing. Despite being listed in your eBay store, you create all of your eBay listings the same way as you did before, with eBay’s step-by-step guide.

Although there are a number of advantages to having an eBay store, there are also a number of disadvantages or downsides to doing so as well.  One of those downsides is marketing.  Unlike many traditional auction listings and “Buy It Now,” listings, which show up in eBay searches, items inside eBay stores do not. Essentially, this means that it is your responsibility to get traffic to your eBay store.  Without traffic, your eBay store items will not be able to sell.  While there are easy ways to get traffic to your eBay store, like using traditional auction style listings, which will appear in eBay searches, and then place a link to your eBay store, and such, it can be time consuming to do.  How you will make money is definitely something to consider before opening up an eBay store.

As you can see, there are a number of advantages and disadvantages to opening up an eBay store.  The decision as to whether or not you want to open up an eBay store is yours to make, but you are advised to at least look into to doing so.  Thoroughly researching and examining eBay stores is a great way to learn more about them, as well as gain insight into whether or not you can profit from having one.  While having an eBay store isn’t for everyone, there are a number of eBay sellers who have noticed an increase in profit since opening their own eBay stores.