Before going swimming, sometimes you walk to the edge of the pool and just stick one toe in to test the waters before you take the plunge, right? Maybe you go to the shallow end, step in and wade toward the deep end just to be sure you know where the drop-off is, dont you? You dont want any nasty little surprises or risk drowning. Thats a very good idea. A little caution is a good thing when it comes to swimming pools and other unfamiliar situations like buying and selling on ebay.



You may have been looking for a way to make a little extra income or even looking for an opportunity to start your own online business. Whatever your goal, buying and selling on ebay may be the answer you are looking for. To get started buying and selling on ebay, you dont have to jump feet first into the deep end of the pool. You can stick one toe in or wade slowly toward the deep end from the shallowest part of the ebay pool.

To test the ebay waters:

1.Go to the ebay website and just look around. Poke around in the corners. See what kinds of items are being bought and sold.

2.Get an ebay buyers account. Go through the whole procedure so that you will understand what your (eventual) customers will be doing or have already done.

3.Bid on an item that is being auctioned so that you well understand the auction procedure and know exactly what transpires when a customer wins a bid, as well as, what happens when a customer loses a bid.

4.Get a sellers account.

5.Dig something out of your attic and list it for sale on ebay.

6.Ship the item to the winning bidder.

Once you have successfully sold one item on ebay, you will know how to swim in the ebay pool.

Something New from eBay:

Ebay got it so right the first time that over the years there have been very few additions to or changes made in the original. That says a lot about the planning that went into the site in the beginning. When eBay bought Paypal in 2002 it was a big step and one of the very few changes that have ever been made. It was an excellent business decision that has proven to be very beneficial to buyers and sellers on eBay not to mention the bottom line of the corporation itself.

Then in January of 2006 eBay made another change. This one has proven to be beneficial to buyers and sellers that make use of the eBay website as well. This big change is called the eBay Express. eBay Express puts emphasis on new merchandise and creates a little distance between eBay and online flea markets. However, the site does say that there is new, used and refurbished items that are for sale.

All of the items that are listed under eBay Express will have fixed prices. The auction has been an eBay standard from its inception but eBay Express does not have an auction alternative selection. There is a shopping cart available so that customers can make multiple purchases from the same seller. This has been a feature that has been lacking.

The requirements for sellers to use the eBay Express option are fairly stringent. It isnt open to just anybody. A seller is required to have a feedback score of at least 98% and it must be public rather than private feedback. Additionally there is a requirement that a seller must have a Paypal Premier or Business account that is set to ship to unconfirmed addresses. Sellers are also required to state shipping costs.