01_153482 ffirs.qxp 10/19/07 8:44 PM Page ii 01_153482 ffirs.qxp 10/19/07 8:44 PM Page i eBay® For Canadians FOR DUMmIES ‰ 01_153482 ffirs.qxp 10/19/07 8:44 PM Page ii 01_153482 ffirs.qxp 10/19/07 8:44 PM Page iii eBay® For Canadians FOR DUMmIES ‰ by Marsha Collier and Bill Summers 01_153482 ffirs.qxp 10/19/07 8:44 PM Page iv eBay®For Canadians For Dummies® Published by John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd. 6045 Freemont Boulevard Mississauga, ON L5R 4J3 www.wiley.ca Copyright © 2008 by John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this book, including interior design, cover design, and icons, may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means (electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher. Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Data Collier, Marsha EBay for Canadians for dummies / Marsha Collier, Bill Summers. Includes index. ISBN 978-0-470-15348-2 1. eBay (Firm) 2. Internet auctions. I. Summers, Bill (Bill P.) II. Title HF5478.C638 2007 381'.177 C2007-905872-8 Printed in Canada 1 2 3 4 5 TRI 11 10 09 08 07 Distributed in Canada by John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd. For general information on John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd., including all books published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., please call our warehouse, Tel 1-800-567-4797. For reseller information, including dis- counts and premium sales, please call our sales department, Tel 416-646-7992. For press review copies, author interviews, or other publicity information, please contact our marketing department, Tel 416-646-4584, Fax 416-236-4448. For authorization to photocopy items for corporate, personal, or educational use, please contact in writ- ing The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright). For an Access Copyright license, visit www.accesscopyright.caor call toll-free, 1-800-893-5777. 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NO WARRANTY MAY BE CRE- ATED OR EXTENDED BY ANY PROMOTIONAL STATEMENTS FOR THIS WORK. NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR THE AUTHOR SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES ARISING HEREFROM. Trademarks:Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the Rest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc., in the United States, Canada and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the prop- erty of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor men- tioned in this book. 01_153482 ffirs.qxp 10/19/07 8:44 PM Page v About the Authors Marsha Collier spends a good deal of time on eBay. She loves buying and selling (she’s a PowerSeller with her own eBay store) as well as meeting eBay users from around the world. As columnist, author of three best-selling books on eBay, and guest lecturer at eBay University, she shares her knowledge of eBay with millions of online sellers. Thousands of eBay fans also read her monthly newsletter, Cool eBay Tools,to keep up with the changes on the site. Currently, she has 15 books in print on her favorite subject — eBay. Out of college, Marsha worked in Fashion Advertising for the Miami Herald and then as Special Projects Manager for the Los Angeles Daily News.In 1984, she founded a home-based advertising and marketing business. Her success- ful business, the Collier Company, Inc., was featured by Entrepreneurmagazine in 1985 (today she’s Entrepreneur.com’s eBay columnist). Marsha’s company later received the Small Business of the Year award from her California State Assemblyman and the Northridge Chamber of Commerce. Most of all, Marsha loves a great deal — that’s what drew her to eBay in 1996, and that’s partially what keeps her busy on the site now. She buys everything from replacement toothbrush heads to parts for pool equipment to designer dresses. Marsha knows how to workand profit from eBay, and in this book, she shares that knowledge with you. Bill Summershas been wrapped up in all things eBay for more than seven years on a full-time basis. He currently maintains several eBay IDs, holds PowerSeller status, and is recognized as Canada’s leading Education Specialist trained by eBay. He ardently shares his knowledge of eBay and his passion for smart buying and selling on the site through private training and in his classes held at community centres and community colleges. In his more than 25 years of diverse experience in the sanitation supplies industry, Bill was exposed to all aspects of business buying and selling opera- tions. Over those years he also developed and ran many corporate and indus- trial training programs across Canada. After a prolonged period of traveling up to 35 weeks a year, and with a young family at home, Bill decided to leave the nine-to-five business world in favour of his own home-run business on eBay. Bill is the first to admit that eBay has dramatically changed his life — for the better. eBay has afforded him the opportunity to use his accumulated business savvy in his own small business, and he is the first to admit that selling on eBay allows him the freedom and independence to live life at a much more relaxed pace. Bill and his supportive wife, Susan, have been married for more than 30 years and live with their daughter Johanna in Kitchener, Ontario. 01_153482 ffirs.qxp 10/19/07 8:44 PM Page vi 01_153482 ffirs.qxp 10/19/07 8:44 PM Page vii Dedication Marsha: To all the future eBay buyers and sellers who have purchased this book to get a taste of how much fun online buying and selling can be. I look forward to seeing your auctions and hearing your stories. I also dedicate this book to all the employees at eBay, who work very hard and don’t always get noticed or appreciated by the community. I want to thank all of you for your endeavors; you make eBay a fun and profitable site to visit for millions of people. Keep on doing what you’re doing. Bill: I dedicate this book to all of my eBay students, past and future, who consistently inspire me with their entrepreneurial spirit. Authors’ Acknowledgements Marsha: This book couldn’t have been written without the input from thousands of eBay sellers and buyers whom I’ve spoken to from all over the country. You inspire me to work harder and do my best to help all of you. I’ve made so many friends along my eBay travels. My original coauthor on the first book, Roland Woerner: If it wasn’t for you, this book wouldn’t be here. There’s also my close friend and eBay buddy, Jillian Cline: Thanks for trying out all my wacky eBay ideas; I’m glad they’ve helped both of us! Thanks to the rest of my eBay buddies — who always seem to have a moment when I call. I particularly want to thank my editors at Wiley Publishing, Inc.: my really fun and smart project editor Nicole Haims (who was also project editor for the 1st and 3rd editions of the U.S. edition of this book; my super tech editor Louise (aunt*patti) Ruby (who, by the way, was one of the very first eBay employees); Barry Childs-Helton (the best copy editor ever); Steven Hayes, who is always there for support and ideas; and Andy Cummings, my pub- lisher, who really should be running Wiley by now but, — lucky for me — still takes my calls! Thank you all! Bill: Canadianizing and updating any book about eBay presents a unique chal- lenge. While adapting this book, the Canadian site was undergoing a significant face-lift, making it very difficult to be current on all of the changes. I’d like to express a sincere thank-you to Isabel Tremblay at eBay Canada for her assis- tance in answering specific questions about developments on the Canadian site. I’d also like to express a big thanks to John Snyder and his daughter Lisa Kennedy — two eBay buyers and sellers in Chapter 5 who gave freely of their time and advice so that others may benefit from their experience. Finally, a major thanks also goes out to the team at Wiley: Robert Hickey, who still amazes me with his inordinate amount of patience and the editor for this first Canadian edition of Marsha’s original book, Pamela Vokey, the Project Coordinator, who worked exceedingly hard to keep my mistakes to a minimum, and Laura Miller, for her careful copy edit. 01_153482 ffirs.qxp 10/19/07 8:44 PM Page viii Publisher’s Acknowledgements We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments at [email protected]. Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following: Acquisitions, Editorial, and Composition Services Media Development Project Coordinators:Lynsey Osborn, Editor: Robert Hickey Pamela Vokey Copy Editor: Laura Miller Layout and Graphics:Carl Byers, Reuben W. Davis, Stephanie D. Jumper, Cover Photos: © istockphoto.com/Tyler Olson Barbara Moore Cartoons: Rich Tennant Proofreaders: Laura L. Bowman, Susan Moritz (www.the5thwave.com) Indexer: Belle Wong Wiley Bicentennial Logo:Richard J. Pacifico John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd. Bill Zerter,Chief Operating Officer Robert Harris, General Manager, Professional and Trade Division Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher, Consumer Dummies Joyce Pepple, Acquisitions Director, Consumer Dummies Kristin A. 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