2006 October 20

How to Have Fancy Backgrounds in your eBay Ads & Money Orders Only?

October 20th, 2006 |

Author: admin

Dear eBay Queen;

I have been selling items on ebay for about 4 months. I have looked at other people’s listings, and see the fancy backgrounds and borders. How do they do that?

Jon

Dear Jon;

The fancy backgrounds and borders are done with HTML (Hypertext Markup Language). Some people can write their own HTML (not me) in Front Page. If you’re not familiar with Hypertext Markup, I found a pretty neat FREE site that will do some of the fancy work for you. Use this editor to write your eBay ad, then can copy and paste it into your auction ad on the eBay site. http://www.saversites.com/editor/

If you were considering selling full time, I would consider an auction management program or software. There are over 70 to choose from. Each has different features. Find the features that are important to you. Do you want fancy designs and backgrounds? Do you want it to keep track of your inventory? How about upload items to eBay with just a touch of a button? A listing program or software can do this for you and more. This website will give you information about the listing programs that are available. http://www.auctionsoftwarereview.com/

When I started out on eBay 8 years ago, I listed each auction by hand. It took me a long time, and I could not keep track of my inventory. After trying out several listing programs, I have found the one that is right for me. I could only write up 40-50 items a week. Now I can do 100+, all because of the program.

Dear eBay Queen;

I just purchased a laptop computer on eBay and the seller will only accept a money order or cashier’s check for payment. I guess I should have read the fine print before I bid! I emailed as soon as the auction was over asking if he would accept Paypal, if I included enough to cover his fee. No response.

The seller has 100% feedback and has been on eBay for two years, primarily as a buyer. He has sold a few items in the last year, but they’re too old to view. I’m a little nervous about sending a large money order to this seller when they haven’t responded to my email and their auction states they expect payment in 2 days.

How can I best protect my investment if I do send a money order? Any advice? What would you do? Can you tell this is the first expensive purchase I’ve made on eBay?

Patty, Ottawa

Dear Patty;

I have had this happen to me too. The price was right, and I bid before I looked at the terms. There are some people who just sell occasionally, and don’t like the fees Paypal charge, so they don’t accept it. If your faced with a purchase from someone that doesn’t accept personal check or paypal, you can send a money order or a bank check drawn on certified funds.

My choice would be the certified bank check. Money Orders are hard to trace and there is a long process to recover your money if it is lost or stolen. If the certified funds check comes from your bank, you know where to turn if you need help. Send your payment in a priority mail envelope, with a green delivery confirmation on it. That way you’ll know when it arrives and have record you mailed the payment.

What concerns me the most about your transaction is the Seller did not respond to your email and he demands payment in 2 days, via snail mail. I would use the eBay “Contact Information” form to get his phone number. http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQtZvbQQsofindtypeZ9 Call the seller up. Tell him about how you emailed him and did not receive an answer back. This should ease your mind, and you should feel comfortable about sending your payment after speaking to your seller.

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item 330037008735 (enter this number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the home page) Do you love to decorate for Fall? Is Halloween your favorite Holiday? How about 7 Vintage Plaster Halloween Decorations Sold $2424.99 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330037008735

Suzie Eads is a nationally known eBay marketer and eBay trained Education Specialist. She lives in Rantoul. Do you have a question for the eBay Queen? E-mail: questions@asktheebayqueen.com .