Wheaton Public Library - Buying and Selling on eBay
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Buying and Selling on eBay
Getting Started
1. Create an eBay account
a. Go to www.ebay.com and click Register.
b. To create a personal account, fill in your information and click Create account. (If you wish to
create a business account instead, click Create a business account at the top of the screen.)
i. Password must be at least 6 characters including at least 1 letter and at least one number
or symbol.
c. Your account is now active!
d. Keep the auto-generated username or click on the Change Username link in your welcome email
to pick your own.
2. Create a PayPal account
a. Go to www.paypal.com and click Sign Up in the top right corner.
b. Select Personal or Business and click Next.
c. Fill out your personal information and click Next.
d. Follow the prompts to add a payment method.
Searching and Bidding
• Find items using the search box at the top of the screen.
• On the results screen, choose modifiers along the left side of the screen to narrow down your search.
• 3 different purchasing options, not all available on every listing:
o Auction – Enter your bid, click Place Bid, and wait for end of auction.
▪ If you win, you will get an email with payment instructions.
o Buy It Now – Click Buy It Now to buy at seller’s asking price.
▪ You will be prompted to enter payment information immediately.
o Make Offer – Click Make Offer and enter your offer.
▪ Seller can accept, decline or counter. If your offer is accepted you will get an email with
payment instructions.
• For Auction listings, eBay uses an automatic bidding system.
o Enter the maximum amount that you are willing to pay.
▪ If the amount you entered is higher than the maximum entered by the current highest
bidder, you will become the new highest bidder.
• eBay will automatically bid up the auction on your behalf until the current bid is one
increment above the other person’s maximum bid, but no higher.
▪ If the amount you entered is lower than the maximum entered by the current highest
bidder, eBay will automatically bid up on that person’s behalf until they outbid you by one
increment, but no higher. That person will remain the high bidder.
o You may end up paying less than your bid if you win. When you win an auction you will always pay
a small amount more than the next highest bid, even if your bid was much larger.
o Because the maximum amount entered by the current highest bidder is a secret, there is no way to
know the amount you would have to enter to outbid them.
o Many bidders wait until the last few seconds to bid, so if you want to win an item, you may want to
put it on your watch list and be ready to put in a higher bid as the auction is ending if necessary.
o eBay bids are contractual obligations and in most cases are not retractable. If you win an item you
are expected to buy it.
Wheaton Public Library - Buying and Selling on eBay
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Item Listings
My eBay
Click to view seller’s feedback
Pricing information
Shipping information
Time left to purchase or bid
View activity, messages, and account information
View your bids, purchase history,
and watch lists
Wheaton Public Library - Buying and Selling on eBay
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Creating a Listing
1. Click Sell at the top right corner of the screen.
2. Enter keywords or UPC/ISBN number and search.
3. Look at the automatically suggested category—keep it or change to a different one.
4. Click Sell One Like This if you find an identical item, or click Create A New Listing.
5. Choose condition (New, Used, etc.)
6. Create a title, making sure to include all relevant keywords.
7. Fill out Details section if applicable (click on Change to see additional fields you can add.)
8. Upload photos. Be sure to take pictures from every angle, including clear photos of any defects.
9. eBay automatically generates a simple description but you should add additional information. To avoid
complaints, be as detailed as possible and mention any defects or unusual features.
10. Pricing: Keep recommended pricing or click Change to adjust it.
o Use toggle buttons to choose Auction, Buy It Now, or both. Then, set a price.
o Click on More Options to enable options like Easy Pricing, Allow Offers, Schedule Listing Start Time,
Auction Reserve Price, or Auction Duration.
11. Shipping:
o Enter the weight and dimensions of the package.
o Select your preferred shipping service by clicking Change Shipping Service, then choose between:
▪ You Pay (buyer gets free shipping): The range gives you possible costs. Actual cost will
depend on buyer’s location.
▪ Buyer Pays – Calculated Shipping: Buyer will pay a shipping cost based on their location.
▪ Buyer Pays – Flat Shipping: you select a fixed amount to charge for shipping.
o Add a second shipping service, international shipping, or local pickup if desired.
12. Check Listing Preferences at the bottom of the page to change your settings for:
• Handling Time (how long you estimate it will take you to ship the item after receiving payment)
• Item Location
• Accept Returns
13. Click Preview to check for errors, then click List It if everything looks OK.
Selling Fees
Insertion
fee (per
listing)
Final value fee (per item,
charged only if item sells)
PayPal transaction
fee (if PayPal is
used as payment
method)
Managed
Payments
transaction fee
(if enrolled in
Managed
Payments)
Your first 50 listings
per calendar month
Free
10% of total sale price,
including shipping (12% for
books, movies, & music, 3.5%
for guitars, or 0% for
men’s/women’s athletic shoes)
$0.30 per
transaction plus
2.9% of total sale
price, including
shipping
$0.25 per listing
plus 2.7% of total
sale price,
including
shipping
All additional listings
over 50 (per month)
$0.35 (free
for guitars)
Additional fees may apply for upgrades such as auction reserve price, larger photos, and bold text.
Maintaining Auctions
Go to My eBay→Sell→All Selling. Choose Active, Sold, or Unsold to see all your listings. Use the buttons to the right
of each listing to see available actions, such as viewing order details, printing shipping labels, adding tracking
numbers, canceling orders, or contacting buyers.
When you print a USPS, FedEx, or UPS shipping label through eBay you can pay for (discounted) postage at the
same time.
Wheaton Public Library - Buying and Selling on eBay
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Blocking Individual Buyers or Categories of Buyers
Go to My eBay→Account→Site Preferences→ Buyer Requirements. To block individual buyers click on Blocked
List link at the bottom of the screen next to Don’t Allow Blocked Buyers to Contact Me and add usernames to list.
Prohibited and Restricted Items
https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/prohibited-restricted-items/prohibited-restricted-items?id=4207
Terminology
Auction: A type of listing for which the seller sets a starting price and potential buyers place bids. Auctions last for
a pre-set number of days, and whoever is the high bidder when the auction ends will win the item.
Fixed Price: A type of listing for which the seller only sets a fixed “Buy It Now” price instead of allowing users to
place bids.
Buy it Now: (auction-style and fixed price listings) Allows you to purchase an item immediately at a set price. Not
available on all items. If a particular listing has a Buy It Now price but does not allow bidding, this is called a fixed
price listing.
Make Offer: (auction-style and fixed price listings) The Make Offer button allows you to propose to pay a certain
amount for an item. The seller can then choose to accept, decline, or counter your offer. Not available on all
items.
Place Bid: (auction-style listings only) Enter the maximum amount you are willing to pay for an item during an
auction. Your bid must be higher than the current bid listed on the auction page.
Current Bid: (auction-style listings only) The amount that the item would sell for if the auction ended right now. This
is the price listed on the auction page. Because of eBay’s automatic bidding system, it may be much lower than
the maximum bid amount entered by the current highest bidder.
Final Value Fee: The fee that a seller pays to eBay when their item sells. It is a percentage of the sale price.
Insertion Fee: The fee that a seller pays to eBay when they list an item.
PayPal: An online payment service that allows you to safely send and receive payments for online purchases. It is
the most common method of payment used on eBay.
Watch List: A way to keep watch on an auction you are interested in without placing a bid or making an offer.
Add to Cart: (available only for items with a Buy It Now option) If you intend to purchase multiple Buy It Now
items, use the Add To Cart button to place them into your “shopping cart” so that you can pay for all of the items
at once. Useful when a seller offers a discount for purchasing multiple items.
My eBay: The section of your account where you will find your account information as well as a list of items you
are watching or bidding on, purchase history, messages, etc.
Feedback: Reviews that buyers and sellers leave for each other to rate the quality of the transaction.
Feedback Score: The number of positive feedback that a user has received, minus the number of negative
feedback. A user’s feedback score always appears in parentheses to the right of their username. Click on the
feedback score to see more detailed feedback information for that user.
Feedback Percentage: The percentage of a user’s feedback which is positive. It is usually better to look at
feedback percentage than feedback score when trying to choose which seller to buy from.