New to eBay?
by Maeve
eBay Staff Member

Generally, the posts used in the monthly Access column share the expertise of long-term members. I thought it would be an interesting change of pace to hear from our newest members. So this month, we asked members who post on the New to eBay discussion board to tell us what tips they've received and to explain how that advice helped them use eBay more effectively.

Kudos to all of the dedicated members who spend time answering questions from the new folks on all of our boards. As you can see, you are making a difference.

"People who helped me in earlier threads know I've been unemployed for more than a year and in a last bid of desperation turned to opening a selling business. While I'm scared to death about it and don't know if it will do well, one thing that has been really great has been the help of veteran eBay members.

Anytime I put a posting up on the New to eBay Board, I had tons of people offering all kinds of great advice and suggestions on how to improve my eBay listings. But more than that, was the folks who just came by to wish me well. When your bills are piling up and you're losing sleep every night, just the simplest kind word, you know, it helps so much!" ritualhunter

"Which was the best piece of advice? That's a tough one! There are so many it's hard to choose. As a new seller the advice was invaluable. "Take off the caps lock" was probably the simplest to accomplish. From that to the technical info on posting pictures and everything in between, the board regulars have been of a tremendous help. I don't post a lot but I lurk almost daily. It is amazing to me that there are so many who are willing to help. To all of them I have one word: THANKS!" nevadawildspirit

One recent bit of advice comes to mind. Around Christmas an NTE buyer asked if I would end an auction early so she might have it in time to put under the tree for her daughter. I didn't feel right about doing it, but also didn't want a new buyer to be offended and wanted her to have a good experience on eBay, so she'd be around for a long time.

I posted asking for help as to how to respond. Old Hippie said to tell her: "I never end auctions early since it wouldn't be fair to my other bidders." I emailed her back AND offered to upgrade her shipping to Priority free of charge if she won. She did win, I did upgrade shipping free and got an awesome feedback from an excited new buyer. " urpersonalshopper

"That's an easy one! The most important thing a new seller needs to know is not to start off an eBay career with high-priced items. A newbie needs to have a somewhat strong feedback rating before attempting to sell the more expensive items. A buyer wants some sort of confidence in the person they are trusting. I learned it the hard way but if I had come here BEFORE posting my auction, I would have saved myself from starting out with a loss. Newbies should remember baby steps first (low-end merchandise); Leaps and bounds will follow!" qspostingid

"The one thing I think was really scary to me was how could I be sure my identity, site, etc. are safe. This had me frozen in time, literally. This morning I visited this board, which I have done often trying to learn as much as possible before diving in. I think the post that has helped me overcome my fear is: Accounttheft .takeovers...hijacking.. *IMPORTANT INFO* posted by abuttonlady. I immediately took her advice. The entire post on account theft, etc. was excellent & I appreciate this more than you can ever know. Thank you!" greendesigner123

"There have been so many I can't think of them all. What comes to mind right now is: don't put lots of fancy backgrounds and HTML in your auction. Be honest, be patient, keep good contact, be polite, do a ME page, crop your pics, price to try and get feedback, use a white background , try to state a shipping price, research what is selling, how many, what it is selling for, check spelling, , take good pics, describe as if there is no pic. Well for now off the top of my head, that is it." sixpence-6