September 2011

When Gerry Walker inherited a mountain of collectibles from her mother and aunt, she started selling them on eBay as a way to dig through them. Now this selling helps 772geraldine pay the bills and enjoy life to its fullest.

Gerry Walker (user ID: 772geraldine) has always enjoyed selling. Over the years, she's sold everything from custom-made party trays to real estate in the real world. Still, she is amazed at how much she's enjoying selling on eBay from her Blairsville, GA home. "The biggest surprise is that it's so much fun!" she says. The extra cash also helps cover small household expenses. "I make enough on eBay to pay the little bills: my dog's haircuts, the TV, the phone. It's a nice way to make some money." Read more.

Halloween is almost here! Costumes and décor are in high demand. Also selling are fall clothes and gear. Early birds will soon be buying up holiday decorations and holiday gift items, too. Check your house for these seasonal sellers:

• Halloween decorations and Halloween costumes for kids, adults, and pets
• School clothes: jeans, hoodies, caps, sneakers, and backpacks – especially Under Armour and NorthFace
• T-shirts for him and her
• Shoes – brands including Vans, Puma, Jimmy Choo, Michael Kors, and Coach
• Christmas decorations and other holiday décor
• Vintage Smurfs
• All-things Star Wars^®
• Hot holiday sellers this year include: Syma S107 R/C Helicopter, Apple iPad2, and KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer

To really please your Halloween buyers, allow enough time for your items to arrive with regular shipping. Add an expedited shipping method as Oct. 31 draws near.

eBay Radio for tips and answers
Listen to eBay Radio for up-to-the-minute selling tips or call in with questions for on-the-spot answers from host and eBay expert, Jim "Griff" Griffiths. Tune in Tuesdays from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. PST and Thursdays from 3 p.m. - 5 p.m. PST, and learn the ins and outs of selling on eBay. Busy then? You can listen to the archives any time. Mark your calendars now.

Get ready to sell at lightspeed

Star Wars^® enthusiasts and new fans alike will be drawn to eBay as we celebrate the Blu-ray^™ release of Star Wars The Complete Saga with a photo contest, a charity auction, behind-the-scenes videos, and even a Daily Trivia Challenge. So get out your Star Wars stuff and list today. Buyers will be searching for Star Wars collectibles, action figures, costumes, ships, shirts, LEGO sets, posters and more. A LEGO Star Wars Trade Federation set recently sold for $243.51 and a Vintage Star Wars Imperial Shuttle Tydirium sold for $149.95. May the selling force be with you.

How to price tech and more
To sell an item, you need to price it right. There are a few easy things you can do to figure out the best price for your item. One is to do a quick search in What's it worth? on eBay. Or search for an item similar to yours, and see how other sellers price it. Another great way is to look at sold prices of items like yours. Do this by searching for items like yours then clicking on Completed Listings on the left side of the search results, then look for the prices in green.

Learn even more tips on selling tech items in the new Technology and Electronics Selling Guide. Try listing a tech item today!

Now's a great time to try listing in tech! Technology and electronics are always hot sellers on eBay, and some of the easiest to list–especially with eBay's new Technology and Electronics Selling Guide. Learn which products are in the most demand and how much money you could make on stuff you were going to throw out anyway. You'll find everything you need to know about what's selling, when, and how to sell more of it yourself. Here are some tips:

Always use the "catalog" to list your item. Start typing your item UPC code or ISBN number. If there's an item that's exactly the same as yours, choose it. Use the supplied picture and have the description filled in for you. See how in the guide.

Try "free shipping" to improve your popularity with buyers. Read more shipping tips inside.

Holidays are a peak season for technology and electronics, even if it isn't the latest and greatest. Look in your office drawers and garage today for tech items you could sell for cash.

Packaging your items carefully is a crucial part of the selling process. A damaged product is an unhappy experience for buyer and seller alike. Follow these simple steps so your item arrives safely:

• Be sure to get a sturdy box (free if you ship with an expedited service like USPS Priority or Federal Express) that allows 1-2 inches of clearance all the way around your item.
• Fill the space around the item with packing material like bubble wrap or peanuts and be generous with it so nothing shifts when you shake the box.
• Wrap single items in bubble wrap
• Double-box for delicate or fragile items and surround the inner box with packing material like peanuts or paper (small box "floats" inside larger box).
• Weigh packed box and jot down the weight and dimensions.

When you package your items well, you not only look like a pro, but your items arrive safely and don't get damaged in transit.

Now you have 80 characters in your title to describe your item in more detail and grab your buyer's attention. Include words buyers are likely to search on. For example, if you're listing an iPhone with a case, try "3GS iPhone 4 hard blue case." For a woman's dress, try "DKNY red stretch dress NWT" or other important specifics. Avoid using words like LOOK or WOW, or exclamation points and other punctuation that don't help you in search results.

To get ideas for common search words, type your item into the main search box and notice other search terms in blue just below the box, labeled "Related Searches:". Next, scroll down on the left side, in the "Show only" area and check the box for Completed Listings. Look at the titles of items that successfully sold.

Grab more buyers with great titles today!

eBay's partnered with some savvy eBay sellers who are blogging about the tips and tricks they've learned along the way. They share practical tips to help you sell successfully on eBay and get cash for your stuff:

• Turn clutter into cash—what treasures are hiding in your home? Plus, see what Inside Edition's Deborah Norville is listing.
• Who needs extra money? MEEEE! Selling is easy—let eBay do the work for you
• 5 Clothing Piece Dare—can you find 5 items in each wardrobe to sell on eBay? This blogger thinks you can.

The new eBay Parent Panel of bloggers is creating a community where aspiring sellers can get insights on listing, spot selling trends, and learn how to make cash on eBay by being more resourceful when organizing their closets and homes.

"Make it Pink" with eBay this October in support of Breast Cancer Awareness. When you shop on eBay, look for items that support nonprofits such as Bright Pink, Susan G. Komen, Avon Foundation for Women, and American Cancer Society. When you check out, you can make a donation. When you list an item, choose a nonprofit to donate to.

Have your own story to share? Visit us on Facebook and connect with breast cancer patients, survivors, supporters, and caregivers by telling of your own journey. For every story shared, eBay will donate money to "Make it Pink" nonprofits and your story is your entry into a weekly drawing for a $1000 eBay gift certificate.

An exciting new way to buy and sell event tickets is here! Buyers now see all tickets for an event on one convenient page (including a selection of tickets listed on StubHub) and have handy access to a venue seat map. You can also specify more key details about your tickets and the event itself. Have an event you can't make or want to buy tickets to a show? Check out eBay's new ticket hub today.

Answer: To send an email with a photo attached to another user's Messages inbox, follow these steps:

1. Go to the email inbox where you receive copies of Messages emails—the one associated with your eBay account.
2. Find the email where the buyer's requested more pictures. You must do this from your personal email program—not your Messages inbox on the eBay site—it's not possible to do this inside Messages.
3. Reply to the email and attach the photo. The buyer's reply-to email address will be a "members.ebay.com" address.
4. The email will be sent to the buyer's Messages inbox, but your buyer won't be able to open the attachments there. They'll need to save the picture(s) to their hard drive to open them.

NOTE: You may only send photos in .jpg, .gif, .bmp, .png file formats with a total message size less than 2MB.