New Ebay seller questions...

[leahannpen]

Hi! I've been reading bunches of threads here and on Ebay to get some good ideas BEFORE I start selling...but I was wondering...

1. I know I saw on some thread, though I haven't been able to find it again, a place to go to make a template page (free?) for selling items...it was a page template, I believe. Is this correct? Is it easy? Is it free? Can I then use it for any like items? Can I set them up now and load pictures and start selling later?

2. How do you download pictures and what is HTML? I have a digital camera (kodak easyshare that i'm still learning to use) and we only have dial-up at home. Will this be a problem for listing things?

3. Do you just use a regular scale to weigh items then use the Ebay shipping options? (I've seen a lot of the little boxes you put your zip into...is this the best way?) Do you ship movies/bookes different that clothes? Are the US post office bag-type shipping packages free?

Thanks!

 

[eeyoresmountainpals]

Hi!

I'm no expert on ebay but I have been selling for about a year and a half and have learned a little about it so maybe I can help a little....

1. I'm not real sure about. (Off to a good start here! ) I started doing my listing the old HTML way because I was comfortable with that and now they've upgraded to where typing it up is almost like using Word Perfect or a similar word program. Once you get in there and try it's really easy.

2. HTML is short for Hypertext Markup Language. In HTML you use codes to instruct the computer how to desplay text, images, etc. It can be complicated and if you're not already familiar with HTML then now is not the time to worry about learning. As far as the camera goes, I've always just taken the pictures with my digital, transferred it to a CD and then loaded it to ebay from there. Until about three months ago we had dial-up and although it is so much slower it does work fine.

3. I started off using my bathroom scale and did fine with that for a while. I did end up investing in a shipping scale that you can get at any office supply store.

And here's some extra tidbits...USPS provides all kinds of boxes and envelopes for priority mail shipping FREE OF CHARGE! Go to the USPS website and you'll see what all is available. They do have two choices when you go to priority mail supplies and that is for personal use and for business use. Choose the option for business use because there are more sizes available through that option. (You don't actually have to be a business.) They also have labels, priority mail stickers and other items, all shipped to your home free of charge. Also, if you sign up to print your labels on-line you can request carrier pick-up and they will pick up any number of packages from your house, again, FREE OF CHARGE. (Can you tell I love this!!!) If you want to ship by FedEx or UPS you can also get an account through them and it makes it much easier!

Sorry this has gotten so long but I hope it has helped. If you'd like to PM me please feel free to. I love ebay and am always willing to help someone that's interested in it! Good luck!

 

[marriedmarylander]

Hi! I've been reading bunches of threads here and on Ebay to get some good ideas BEFORE I start selling...but I was wondering...

1. I know I saw on some thread, though I haven't been able to find it again, a place to go to make a template page (free?) for selling items...it was a page template, I believe. Is this correct? Is it easy? Is it free? Can I then use it for any like items? Can I set them up now and load pictures and start selling later?

2. How do you download pictures and what is HTML? I have a digital camera (kodak easyshare that i'm still learning to use) and we only have dial-up at home. Will this be a problem for listing things?

3. Do you just use a regular scale to weigh items then use the Ebay shipping options? (I've seen a lot of the little boxes you put your zip into...is this the best way?) Do you ship movies/bookes different that clothes? Are the US post office bag-type shipping packages free?

Thanks!

I thought there was some program off ebay's site that helps you. Actually when you go to the selling page on the page where you enter the description you can do things like change the font, add colors, etc.... so you dont have to code in HTML. I'm a coder but I"m lazy and frankly to sell ebay items as long as your description is neat and presentable and people can read it it's fine. If you can't see this editor box in the webpage your browser may not support. I know I use Firefox and I can't see it so I switch to IE.

If you have a digital cam, pics are easy. You use your digital camera and follow the instructions on how to load picture from your camera to the computer. Usually pictures are quite large so you may want to use an editor (usually one comes free with your computer or camera software) that can do basic things like crop and resize your picture. That way you can get it a little bit smaller (not too small) so it won't take as long to upload to ebay.

When you are on ebay's selling page there is a section to add pictures. You just click browse and navigate to the folder wher eyou stored the pictures and select.

 

[strasfamily]

You can download Ebay's Turbo Lister for free. This will allow you to save your ads so you can write them and insert your pictures later. If you use any of their templates, I believe there is a charge for that. When I started selling, I used this template to make my ads look nice, then cut and pasted it into TurboLister:

http://64.226.38.92/CoolEbayTools/create_ad/tims_version.pl

Now I use Spare Dollar. It costs 4.95 per month, but for me it is worth it.