Patti Louise Ruby & Marsha Collier 
eBay Listings That Sell For Dummies 

No matter what you want to sell on e Bay–auto parts ordesigner apparel…weird, unique wares or priceyantiques–the principles and basic rules for successfullistings are the same. e Bay Listings That Sell For Dummiesfollows the advice it gives you for your ads–it tells youwhat you need to know without bogging you down with lots of fluffand peripheral stuff. From the mechanics to descriptive ad copy tophotography to getting it on e Bay, this guide covers:
* e Bay options that can boost the appeal of your listings, including Buy It Now (BIN), Subtitle, Bold Title, Highlight, Boxborder, Home Page Featured, Featured Plus!, and Gallery Picture (a must)
* Constructing catchy listings with a title that sells andkeywords that pay off
* e Bay Acronyms you’ll need to know
* Tackling and completing e Bay’s Sell Your Item form
* HTML formatting basics plus some free Java Script scripts youcan use to dress up your listing
* Embedding images, creating thumbnails, and adding bells andwhistles (or not)
* Buying a digital camera for taking e Bay photos and equippingyour ‘studio’
* Lighting correctly, and using the Cloud Dome, light cubes, panels, and umbrellas
* Retrieving your images and uploading them to a server (yourfree ISP space, AOL, e Bay, e Bay’s Picture Manager, orothers)
* Editing your photos, including cropping, enhancing, resizing, sharpening, and more
* A checklist of techniques for preparing elegant, fast-loadingimages for your ads
* Sprucing up your e Bay store
* Posting your listing to other sites such as half.com, amazon.com, and overstock.com
* Automating with HTML Generators, including e Bay’s Turbo Lister, or Third-Party HTML generators such as Mpire.com Launcheror the authors’ free tool from www.coolebaytools.com

Written by e Bay pros Marsha Collier, a successful Power Seller, and Patti Louise Ruby, a trainer at e Bay University events and e Bay Live, e Bay Listings That Sell For Dummies is loaded withtricks of the trade. It’s complete with step-by-stepinstructions for many tasks, tables and checklists, lots of screenshots, and examples of good and bad ads. With this friendly guide, your merchandise will quickly be going…going…gone one Bay.

Table of Content

Introduction.

Part I: Getting Chummy with the Basics.

Chapter 1: Attracting Buyers with Your e Bay Listing.

Chapter 2: Getting a Quick Start with the Sell Your Item Page.

Chapter 3: Knowing How HTML Works.

Part II: Lining Your Pockets with HTML.

Chapter 4: HTML Text — Formatting Basics.

Chapter 5: Playing the (Hyper) Links.

Chapter 6: Brewing Java Scripts (Not the Starbucks’Kind).

Chapter 7: Embedding Images for Flash and Effect.

Chapter 8: Plumping Up Your Description.

Chapter 9: Adding Some Bells and Whistles.

Part III: Turning Pictures into Dollars.

Chapter 10: Choosing and Knowing Your Camera.

Chapter 11: Outfitting Your Studio.

Chapter 12: Getting the Right Light (or the Light Right).

Chapter 13: Setting Up Your Pictures.

Chapter 14: Special-Situation Photography.

Chapter 15: Getting the Pictures from Your Camera to e Bay.

Part IV: Advanced Applications for Your Newfound Skills.

Chapter 16: Making Perfect Pictures.

Chapter 17: Dolling Up Your e Bay Store.

Chapter 18: Porting Your Listings to Other Sites.

Chapter 19: Automating with HTML Generators.

Part V: The Part of Tens.

Chapter 20: Debunking the Ten (or so) Online Photography Myths.

Chapter 21: Ten Tips for Your Auction Design.

Appendix: Mechanizing Your Sales with Third-Party Management Tools.

Index.

About the author

Marsha Collier spends most of her time on things related toe Bay. She’s a charter member e Bay Power Seller, as well as oneof the original instructors for e Bay University. As a columnist, anauthor of four best-selling books on e Bay, a television and radioexpert, and a lecturer, she shares her knowledge of e Bay withmillions of online shoppers. Thousands of e Bay fans also visit her Web site, www.coolebaytools.com, to get Marsha’s latestinsights on e-commerce.
Out of college, Marsha worked in fashion advertising for the Miami Herald and then as special-projects manager for the Los Angeles Daily News. She also founded a home-basedadvertising and marketing business. Her successful business, the Collier Company, Inc., was featured by Entrepreneur magazinein 1986, and in 1990, Marsha’s company received the Small Business of the Year award from her California State Assemblymanand the Northridge Chamber of Commerce.
Bargains drew Marsha to e Bay in 1996, but profitable sales keep herbusy on the site now. Marsha applies her business acumen andphotography skills to her e Bay business — and in this book, she shares her knowledge about what makes good, profit-promotinglistings on e Bay.

Patti ‘Louise’ Ruby, an Indianapolis native, was born to work on a computer. In junior high, she took a class inthe programming language Fortran. She excelled and enjoyed theclass: The die was cast. Patti went through several jobs as aprogrammer and then became a consultant. In the late ’90s, Patti was part-owner of an antique mall, and coincidentally found a Web site called Auction Web (the original e Bay). She was fascinatedby the concept, and began selling on the site. She also became anintegral part of the chat rooms, which initially served as loosecustomer support where users helped other users. Patti’s easewith computers helped many a new user feel comfortable on theboards — and with using the Auction Web system.
In February 1997, Patti was hired as Auction Web’s second Customer Support Representative. In this position, she became themain interface between the engineering staff and the usercommunity, where she communicated members’ ‘bug’reports and suggestions for site enhancements. When Auction Webbecame the new e Bay site in the fall of 1997, she headed up a’live’ question-and-answer board that was set up tohelp members make the transition between platforms.