Smart shoppingHow to buy and sell safelyin the world’s biggestonline marketplace

In the knowAN INSIDER’S GUIDE TO eBay

Monday 16 April 2007

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It all started with a broken laser point-er. Pierre Omidyar, an American com-puter programmer, came up with theidea of an auction website as a way ofbuying and selling goods. He was in-

trigued by the idea that auctions could beused to find “fair market value” and thatprices would be set by the buyers and sell-ers, without the interference of price fix-ing, cartels or vested interests.

Over the 1995 Labor Day weekend (a USholiday), he created a simple internet pro-gram called AuctionWeb that allowed peo-ple to buy and sell things via an auction.One of AuctionWeb’s first transactionsseemed bizarre: a broken laser pointer.

Omidyar emailed the winning bidder,who turned out to be (of all things) some-one who wanted to have a go at repairingthe laser pointer. From this, Omidyarlearned that for every seller there’s usual-ly a buyer, no matter what the product is.

Omidyar hosted AuctionWeb on thesame server as the website of his consult-ing firm, Echo Bay. He tried to get the do-main name echobay.com but someone beathim to it, so he called the site ebay.com.The name stuck and eBay is now the world’sbiggest online marketplace.

One key innovation that has helped thesite develop and grow is the feedback sys-tem, which allows users to rate each other.By reading about other people’s experi-ences, you’re able to judge whether a per-son is trustworthy. Omidyar believed that“people are basically good” and that therewould be much more praise than criticism.He was right. About one million feedbackratings are left every day and feedback re-mains at the core of the eBay trading ex-perience, helping people recognise andthank each other for honest transactions.

The company has grown and its customerbase has expanded. It has also added new

services that address new markets, such asbusiness sales and eBay Motors. In addi-tion, it’s expanded internationally – eBay.co.ukopened in 1999 – and has acquired otherbusinesses over the years. These includePayPal, which enables people to pay for goodsby email, UK-based classifieds site Gumtree,and Skype, an internet phone company.

Unlike most e-commerce websites, eBaydoesn’t make money by selling goods itself.Instead, it operates a marketplace for peo-ple and businesses to sell to one another.It primarily makes money from the feespaid by sellers for listing their goods andfrom a percentage of the final sale price.

Its combination of scale and open ac-cess has led commentators to dub eBay(in a book of the same name) the “perfectstore”. With 222 million registered users,it’s a huge global marketplace and one inwhich a budding Omidyar can competeon a level playing field with a multinational.

HISTORY OF EBAYCONTENTS

eBay is one of Britain’s favourite websites, but how did it all begin?

The history ofeBay in a nutshell

Some newspapers bring youthe week in numbers, here webring you eBay in numbers. Be prepared to be amazed

3 4 5

Produced by Independent Solutions, The Independent, Independent House, 191 Marsh Wall, London E14 9RS. Editor: Matthew Stibbe Sub-editor: Julia Gray Head of design: François Morrow Art director: Dominic Allen Project manager: Cathie Greasley Illustrator: Nick Higgins

The history of eBay in a nutshellLike most success stories, the world’s biggest online mar-ketplace grew from humble beginnings. Plus, eBay facts

Buying on eBay made simpleA step-by-step guide to how to buy something on eBay.Plus, how to protect your account information

Scams to watch out forDon’t become a victim of fraudsters, learn about theirscams. Plus, where to get help and tips for novice buyers

6 7 8That’s business senseWe talk to some of the different businesses, big and small,that make up the eBay community

Selling on eBay made simpleHow to start selling items on eBay. Plus, tips on keepingyour PayPal account information secure

Let eBay help build up your businessSelling goods on eBay can be a serious money-spinnerfor businesses, with very few overheads. Plus, top tips

9 10 11Putting safety firstGarreth Griffith, head of Trust & Safety at eBay.co.uk,explains what the site is doing to protect its users

Drive away a bargain todayIf you fancy a new car or want to get rid of your old one,check out eBayMotors.co.uk. Plus, when things go wrong

Diary of an eBay noviceSusan Bracken, an actor and producer, used eBay for thevery first time to source props and costumes for her play

The most expensive thing sold on eBay was aGulfstream jet for $4.9million. A more down-to-earth investment was adecommissioned nuclearbunker, which sold for£14,000. But for some-thing truly bizarre, howabout a mammoth’s skeleton for £61,000?

More than 1,500 charitieshave registered to sell oneBay. Individual sellers can also donate between10 and 100 per cent oftheir final sale price totheir favourite cause.

eBay has 222 million regis-tered users. If it were acountry, it would have theworld’s fifth largest popu-lation, just ahead of Brazil.

15 million

222 million

3.5 million

$4.9m

1,500

eBayMotors.co.uk is theUK’s busiest car show-room, with 3.5 millionunique visitors eachmonth. At any given time,it lists more than 40,000cars. More than a million cars have beensold on the site since itwas launched in 2001.

7 secondsIn the UK, eBay sells a carevery two minutes, a CDevery seven seconds, alaptop every two min-utes, a piece of women’sclothing every five sec-onds, two toys a minuteand one piece of golfequipment a minute.

eBay’s global gross mer-chandise volume – thetotal value of all the suc-cessfully closed sales –was more than $52 billionin 2006. Thirteen of itscategories, includingmotors and consumerelectronics, are worthmore than $1 billion a year.

eBay.co.uk has more than15 million customers andmore than 10 million indi-vidual listings, making itthe UK’s number one e-commerce site. Brits spendmore on eBay purchasesthan they do on going tothe movies. It accounts for10 per cent of all the timepeople in the UK spend onthe internet. About half ofall internet users visit thesite at least once a month.

68,000More than 68,000 peo-ple in the UK use eBay as their primary or sec-ondary source of income.

$52bn

EBAYTASTIC

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NICK HIGGINS

Items bought using these systems are not el-igible for the eBay buyer protection scheme.

FOREIGN CHEQUESBe wary of accepting foreign-currency cheques.They can take weeks or months to clear, evenif they’re genuine (many aren’t). Be especiallywary of anyone offering to send you an over-payment by cheque and asking you to use in-stant money transfer to wire back the excess.

PHISHINGCriminals would love to get hold of your creditcard details, bank account information or eBayusername and password. They use spoof emails,which look like real messages from eBay or Pay-

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Criminals would loveto get hold of yourcredit card details

Scams to watch out for

Buying on eBay made simpleIf you want to start shopping on eBay but aren’t sure where to begin, this four-step guide covers the essentials

REGISTERIt’s free and it’ll let you start buying and selling on eBay.co.uk. Whenyou register, you’ll need a valid email address. Tip: Choose a password,and eBay will grade your choice on how secure it is.

SEARCHYou can search, or browse by category. Tip: If you search, you can thenfilter by category. Once you’ve found an item, check out the current bid.Tip: Read the description carefully and ask questions before you bid.

PAYOnce you’ve bought an item, you need to pay for it promptly. Tip: Pay-Pal is a way to pay safely because it offers buyer protection for pur-chases up to £500. Sign up for PayPal when you sign up for eBay soyou’re ready to pay (quickly and securely) when you win an auction.

10 “START BUYING” TIPS

Dan Wilson, eBay author and expert

BUYING TUTORIAL FOUR SCAMS TO AVOID

WHERE TO GET HELP

The last thing you want is for your eBay experience to be marred by fraudsters and crooks, so familiarise yourself with these easy-to-spot con tricks

There are lots of ways to find out moreabout eBay and get help if you need it.Start with eBay’s own tutorials onpages.ebay.co.uk/help/ebayexplained.There are step-by-step guides to regis-tering, buying and selling, as well astours of different eBay features.

You could also read a book, such asMake Money on eBay UK by Dan Wilsonor eBay.co.uk for Dummies by JaneHoskyn and Marsha Collier, to set youoff on the right path.

If you’re stuck and need help during a transaction, you have two options:eBay’s own Help system and CustomerSupport. Just click on Help (on the menuat the top of the screen) and you’ll findanswers to frequently asked questions,as well as a comprehensive database ofadvice and information.

For security problems, there’s eBay’sSafety Centre (accessible via theebay.co.uk home page), which has eBay-specific advice, and Get Safe Online(www.getsafeonline.org), which has in-formation on general internet security.

Don’t forget the valuable help and ad-

vice you can get from other eBayers.Getting assistance from people who areexperienced traders is one of the bene-fits eBay offers. You can get answersquickly from other buyers and sellersusing the Answer Centre, or you canjoin in longer discussions on the Com-munity Discussion Boards.

You can even join a group of peoplewith similar interests to yours. If you’rean avid stamp collector or a retro videogames enthusiast, you’ll find a groupof like-minded eBayers to share tipswith. You can access all these forumsvia hub.ebay.co.uk/community.

There are lots of waysto find out moreabout eBay and gethelp if you need it

There are more than 10 million itemslisted on eBay.co.uk at any one time.The vast majority sell without anyproblems but, very occasionally,criminals try to rip off honest cus-

tomers. Just like the real world, there are a fewrotten apples in the virtual barrel. Fortunately,their most common tricks are easy to spot.

INSTANT MONEY TRANSFERSNever use services such as Western Union orMoneyGram International to pay for your eBaypurchases. They are great for transferringmoney to someone you know and trust butnot to an anonymous seller who, most likely,will take your cash and never ship the goods.

Pal, to trick you into going to a fake website andentering this kind of information. They also usefake “second-chance offers”. Emails sent fromeBay will always appear in My Messages, socheck this folder if you’re not sure. eBay willnever ask you to type your username and pass-word into an email: only do this on eBay.co.uk.

GREY MARKET TRANSACTIONSBuyers and sellers sometimes get emails invit-ing them to finish the auction early and closethe deal privately. Because most bids come to-wards the end of an auction, sellers are likely toget a lower price if they do this. It’s also againstthe rules. More importantly, buyers and sellerscan’t use eBay feedback or buyer protection.

PROTECT YOUR ACCOUNT

Not giving away personal information in emails. Crookswill try to trick you into sending them your details.

Using a secure password that mixes numbers, lower-case letters and capitals. This stops hackers usingpassword-cracking software to break into youraccount. Change your password regularly and don’tuse the same password for everything.

Using a modern Web browser, such as InternetExplorer 7 or Firefox 2. You should also downloadeBay’s Toolbar with Account Guard. They’re all freeand let you know when you’re on a fraudulent website.

Protecting your computer against viruses and spy-ware, which can steal your password and send it tocriminals. Get Safe Online has more information onthis: go to www.getsafeonline.org.

Monitoring your account and preferences regularly tomake sure there are no unauthorised changes or activity. If there are, you can use the Report a Problembutton in the Safety Centre to inform eBay staff.

Your username and password arethe keys to your eBay experience, so take care of them by:

PLACE A BIDDecide on the most you’re prepared to pay (allowing for P&P) and place abid, then let eBay do the rest. eBay will bid only the amount needed for youto stay the highest bidder, without going over your limit. Tip: Look at theseller’s history and opt for ones with at least 98 per cent positive feedback.

1. Start off smallBuy something small and inexpensive froma UK seller to learn the ropes.

2. Learn about feedbackFeedback is the beating heart of eBay. Findout what it's all about.

3. Find a friendly sellerFor your first purchases, plump for sellerswith superb feedback who can help you.

4. Read the descriptionEnsure you know what you're buying: exam-ine the photos and description carefully.

5. Trust your instinctsIf there's anything you don't like about a particular listing, don't bid.

6. Ensure you can payPaying quickly is essential, so make sureyou're registered with PayPal.

7. Don’t forget postageBuyers usually pay for postage, on top of thefinal bid price, so factor this in when bidding.

8. If you don’t win, BINIf you keep losing auctions, don't forget thatyou can buy many items at a fixed price,without bidding, using “buy it now”.

9. Leave feedbackLeaving positive feedback for your sellershows that you’re a happy customer. It also increases your chances of getting positive feedback in return and so buildingup your eBay reputation.

10. Do it all again!Once you've got your first purchase underyour belt, do it again! Soon you’ll be hooked.

Dan WilsonAuthor of Make Money on eBay UK

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As well as individual sellers, eBay thrives on businesses big and small – here are just a few of them

eBay BUSINESSES

Trading assistants understand the importanceof answering questionsfrom potential buyers

That’s business sense

THINK LATERALLYZutti is typical of another typeof eBay business – the clicks-and-mortar company. TheOldham retailer has twoclothes shops but gets 25 percent of its income from eBaysales. Company director Zack

Hughes says that the big at-traction of an eBay store is“practically zero overheads”.

That doesn’t mean theyabandon customer service,though. Hughes has made theireBay shop easier to use and be-lieves it’s important to over com-

municate with customers aboutthe status of their orders: “Weget a lot of repeat customers”.

The company sells main-stream brands: each season’sstock gets a clear run in theirretail stores, but any stock thatdoesn’t sell goes straight onto

eBay. Here, they can sell itemsclose to their cost price, thoughonly certain, leftover items areavailable. They’re not tryingto turn a profit but rather cuta loss on end-of-line items. It’sa good deal for customers anda good deal for Zutti.

GIVE UP THE DAY JOBChris Smith and Neil Hawkins both managed large high streetstores until they chucked in their high-flying careers and be-came full-time eBayers. One day, two years ago, they wentout with £30 in their pockets to see if they could turn a profiton eBay. They bought some shavers and made a £100 profitthat same evening. Since then, their company, Wirax, has com-pleted more than 3,500 sales. They now have their own ware-house and are looking to hire someone to help with the work-load. In fact, Smith and Hawkins are just two of the 68,000people who make a living on eBay in the UK.

The secret of their success? Good customer service. Frus-trated with big-company attitudes to their customers, theyvowed to do “whatever it took to satisfy the customer”. Thepeople who buy from them agree. They haven’t had a singlenegative feedback rating because they’re prepared to go thatextra mile. In one case, a courier damaged a mirror in transit,so they drove 120 miles from their warehouse in Wolverhamptonto the customer’s home in Liverpool to deliver a replacement.

As with comedy, profits on eBay depend on timing. Wiraxbuys discounted air-conditioning units in November and sellsthem in the summer for a profit. Smith ensures that auctions endon a Sunday night because, he says, people would rather watcheBay than Heartbeat. “eBay’s great but it’s not easy,” he explains.“It’s not a nine-to-five job because the questions come in 24/7.”

STRESS-FREE SELLINGTrading assistants help peo-ple sell their goods on eBay –for a price. They charge com-mission and a transaction fee,over and above eBay’s fees,but they take away all thework. Some specialise in spe-cific areas, others are moregeneral. Some pick things upfrom your home or office, oth-ers operate drop-off depots.In short, they give the seller astress-free sale.

Trading assistants have tomeet certain standards to belisted on eBay’s database, in-cluding good feedback ratings.As experienced eBayers, theyunderstand the importance ofgood communication, sothere’s usually someone to answer phone calls and emailsfrom potential buyers.

Whatever you have to sell oneBay, whether it’s a used car oryou’re clearing out your home,a trading assistant may be thesmart way to do it. To find outmore, visit pages.ebay.co.uk/tradingassistants/hire-trading-assistant.html.

eBay entrepreneurs Chris Smith and Neil Hawkins

Selling on eBay made simpleSELLING TUTORIAL

If you’re a first-time seller, follow this step-by-step guide to listing items on eBayand then read our top tips for keeping your PayPal account information secure

PAYPAL SAFETY TIPS

RESEARCHSee what similar items have gone for by browsing completed listingson eBay. Tip: Check the category and description of items like yours.

LIST YOUR ITEMPick the right category, give lots of details and use good photos. Tip: Putyourself in a buyer’s shoes. What do they want to know about your item?

CHOOSE THE RIGHT FORMATTips: Most bids happen in the last few hours of an auction, so chooseyour times and dates carefully. Setting a reserve price confuses manybuyers. A low starting price creates more interest in your item.

PAYMENTBuyers want a safe and easy way to pay, and prefer sellers who acceptPayPal. PayPal also means you’re paid faster and there’s less risk ofbouncing cheques. Tip: Be clear about your payment terms.

POSTAGE AND PACKAGINGBuyers want to know all their costs upfront, so ensure you’ve got theP&P right. Tip: Say in your listing if you don’t want to ship abroad.

SET BUYER REQUIREMENTSYou can stop certain people bidding on your items using Buyer Re-quirements. Tip: This can reduce the chance of a sale going wrong.

Nine out of 10 eBay listings let buyers pay with Pay-Pal (a subsidiary of eBay). PayPal offers protectionfor buyers and sellers and ensures that sellers getpaid quickly. “It’s the smart way to pay online,” saysGeoff Iddison, chief executive officer of PayPal UK.However, buyers and sellers should use their com-mon sense, too, and follow these tips:

1. Check your accountAlways log in and verify a payment before posting items.

2. Ignore spoof emailsWatch out for non-specific greetings, such as “Dear PayPaluser”, odd-looking addresses, misspellings and bad grammar.

3. Beware a false sense of urgencyFraudsters will say such things as “Your account is about to beterminated” or “An unauthorised transaction has taken place”.They’re trying to trick you into reacting without thinking.

4. Don’t click on links in emailsIt’s better to type PayPal’s address into the browser yourself.When in doubt, open a new browser window so you’re sureyou’re entering your PayPal password on the real PayPal site.

5. Bin emails that look like websitesPayPal will never ask you for personal information in an email.

6. Beware deceptive website addressesOnly enter your PayPal password on PayPal pages. Thesebegin with https://www.paypal.com/. If you see an @ signin the middle of a URL, there's a good chance that this is aspoof address. Legitimate companies use a domain namesuch as https://www.company.com.

7. Upgrade to a safe browserMicrosoft’s Internet Explorer 7, for example, includes severaltools to protect you against phishing and identity theft.

8. Avoid email attachmentsPayPal will never email you an attachment or a softwareupdate to install on your computer. If you get one of these andyou have doubts about it, forward it to spoof@paypal.com.

A selection of the surplusgoods Zutti sells on eBay

LEAVE FEEDBACK Once a sale has been completed, make sure you leave feedback for your buyer and encourage them to do the same for you. Tip: Lots of positive feedback may mean that you can charge higher prices for your items and that you’ll attract more customers in future.

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Putting safety first

eBay.co.uk’s head of Trust & Safety, Garreth Griffith

We talk to Garreth Griffith, head of Trust & Safety at eBay.co.uk

INSIDE TRUST & SAFETY

bad experience on eBay can befrustrating and sometimes cost-ly. Inside eBay, the 2,000-strongworldwide Trust & Safety teamworks around the clock to stop

fraudsters making people’s lives a misery. “We’ve always worked hard on this,”

says Garreth Griffith, head of Trust & Safe-ty at eBay.co.uk, “though we accept that,in the past, we haven’t been very forth-coming about what we’ve been workingon.” The company is working harder thanever to combat criminals and is now beingmore open about how it’s doing this.

At eBay.co.uk, there’s a team dedicatedto preventing phishing, the scam in whichcriminals trick website users into disclosingtheir passwords in fake emails or websites.

“If you receive a suspicious email pur-porting to be from us, then send it tospoof@ebay.co.uk and we’ll quickly con-firm whether it’s genuine or not,” says Grif-fith. “We take immediate action againstspoofs. In the rare cases in which a cus-tomer’s account is taken over, it is usuallyeBay that informs them first.”

eBay typically shuts down 80 per cent offake sites within 24 hours. And they discov-er more than 90 per cent of hijacked useraccounts before they’re used fraudulently,leading to more than 185 arrests last year.

In a similar vein, eBay is cracking downon sellers who don’t live up to the standardsexpected by its community of users. There’sa difference between a sloppy seller – some-one, say, who forgets to post something be-cause they’re busy – and a crook. Seriousoffenders will be kicked out: more than 1,200users were suspended last month alone.

“So much trust and safety on the site de-pends on the eBay community,” explainsGriffith. Every day, members help eachother overcome difficulties. The famousfeedback system is key and changes to itmean that buyers and sellers are now moreinformed than ever before. Buyers can ratesellers on how communicative they were,whether the items were described accu-rately, whether the shipping price was fairand how quickly the goods were shipped.

The new system gives a lot more detailand should encourage the right kind of be-haviour from sellers, day in, day out. To sup-port this, the site has introduced a facility atthe bottom of each listing that enables peo-ple to report items that breach eBay policy.

Says Griffith: “We don’t operate with-in conventional boundaries; we can’t if wewant to tackle a global challenge.” He re-veals how his team has been involved inclosing down fake eBay websites hostedin remote parts of Eastern Europe, how

the company is working with internet ser-vice providers to stop spoof emails reach-ing users in the first place (by digitally sign-ing all its emails) and, on a more basic level,how eBay will intervene when users choosea weak password, something that couldlead to them being a victim of fraud (seeDiary of an eBay novice on page 11).

Fraud is a problem worldwide andeBay’s challenges appear no greater thanany other global internet business’s. “Whilstit is encouraging to see how much betterwe are getting at spotting suspicious ac-tivity on the site and how quickly we arethen able to stop it, we know that, for someusers, we need to do more and we need todo it quicker,” admits Griffith.

Understandably, some users blame eBaywhen something goes wrong. Griffithstraightens in his chair when askedwhether, as it’s grown, eBay has changedfor the better or worse. He replies: “eBayhas evolved and come of age and, with this,comes the responsibility to ensure the siteis always safe for our millions of users.”

He continues: “With millions of listingson the site, there’s no denying that it’s anongoing challenge, although our successas a company is a reflection of the fact thatthe vast majority of our transactions hap-pen safely and successfully.”

RUNNING A BUSINESS ON eBay

If you’ve got more than a few things to sell, whynot use eBay to make some serious money?

For many people, eBay is morethan a way to clear their attic orbuy a new car, it’s their shop frontand livelihood. When eBay.co.ukopened in 1999, most of the busi-

nesses on it were run by individuals.There are still tens of thousands of theseentrepreneurs on eBay, who are enjoy-ing the benefits of running a businesswith low start-up costs.

In recent years, new types of eBay busi-nesses have emerged. Some companiesfind eBay a smart way to sell excess in-ventory and end-of-line stock. Other com-panies use eBay to gauge the buzz arounda new product. T-Mobile, for example, re-cently trialled some of its new mobiles oneBay before they reached the shops.

Many businesses have surplus stock,and eBay can reach a worldwide marketof more than 200 million people. It can alsoextend smaller companies’ geographicalreach and let them trade 24/7. Adding aneBay store to an existing retail one pro-vides extra revenue at little extra cost.

Another new type of eBay business istrading assistants. These guys pick up liq-uidated stock, government surplus andprivate goods and sell them on eBay in re-turn for a cut of the sale price. They han-dle the listing, customer queries, picking,packing and posting for the seller. Theyare interesting businesses in their ownright and provide a route to market forpeople who wouldn’t otherwise considerselling on eBay, a route that’s hassle-free.

TOP 10 TIPS FOR EBAY BUSINESSES

1. Research, research, researchUnderstand the market for your products.What sells? When? For how much? Whatdo your competitors do?

2. It’s a business, stupidNew eBay businesses still need to thinkabout practicalities. Remember such things

as funding, business plans, marketing, PR,book-keeping and legal requirements. HMRevenue & Customs is not an optional club.

3. Be flexiblePeople look on eBay for value for money, soyou need to be realistic about your prices.Experiment with pricing strategies, auction vs fixed price, reserves (best to avoid theseas they confuse buyers) and auction length.

4. The customer is king/queenYour feedback rating is everything. A soletrader can out compete a multinational oncustomer service on eBay. Over communi-cate and go that extra mile to solve problems.

5. Know your responsibilitiesBusinesses on eBay need to have clear poli-cies about things like returns. You also needto understand eBay’s listing rules, and regula-tions such as the Distance Selling Directive.

6. Keep upeBay is always changing and so is the mar-ket – the more expert and up-to-date you

are, the better you will do. If you’re aPower Seller, you get an eBay accountmanager who can help keep you abreastof the latest developments on the site.

7. Photos and descriptions matterTaking photos with a high-quality cameraand proper lighting, and posting lots ofgood pictures can have a direct effect onthe sale price. So can well-written head-lines and descriptions. Think like a buyer – what do they need to know?

8. Use the right softwareSpecial software, such as Selling ManagerPro and Turbo Lister, make stock manage-ment, listings and communication easier.

9. Buy rightYou make your profit when you buy, notwhen you sell. Don’t overpay for your stock.

10. Have funRunning a business on eBay can be hardwork. Take it seriously, but remember toenjoy it, too, especially when the bids roll in.

eBay is alwayschanging and so isthe market – themore expert you are,the better you will do

Let eBayhelp buildup yourbusiness

A

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Buying or selling a car on eBay may seem a bit daunting, but it’s a simple and straightforward way to move yourself up a gear

BUYING AND SELLING CARS EBAY BEGINNER’S DIARYWHEN THINGS GO WRONG

Drive away abargain today

ore than one million cars havebeen sold on eBayMotors.co.uk in the last six years andit’s now the most visited au-tomotive website in the UK.

However, selling their car on the site stillscares some people. Their fear is misplaced,according to Jody Ford of eBayMotors.co.uk. The process is no different to sell-ing a camera or dress on eBay, he says, andit can be less hassle than selling throughclassified ads. You may also get a higherprice than you expected.

The site isn’t only for bargain motors –there are currently more than 100 Rolls-Royces and Bentleys listed – and the mostexpensive car ever sold on eBay Motors inEurope was a Ferrari Enzo, which wentfor more than half a million pounds. Hav-ing said that, most of the listings are for“normal” cars, just like you’d see at anysecond-hand car dealership.

To make things easier, when you enteryour car’s registration number into eBayMotors.co.uk, the site automatically fillsin all your car’s details: engine size, colour,model, year and so on. Another benefit ofselling on the site is that the price is fixed

when the sale is made, so you don’t haveto deal with haggling or the dreaded “ornearest offer”. This applies whether youauction the car or sell it at a fixed pricethrough “buy it now”. Ford has the fol-lowing tips for sellers using the site:•You can put a reserve price on to makesure the car doesn’t sell below a mini-mum price, but set it realistically. Con-versely, a starting price of £1 can at-tract attention early on.

•You should research the prices that sim-ilar cars have gone for on eBay Motors,so your expectations are at the right level.

•As with other eBay auctions, the mainaction takes place in the last hour or two,so don’t be despondent if the bidding isslow to begin with. If you can set the auc-tion up so the final bidding frenzy takesplace on a weekend, this will give peoplea chance to do a test drive and then bidwhen they have time on their hands.

•The most important thing is to get thephotographs and description right.Don’t be tempted to gloss over minorscratches and dents. In fact, the moredetailed and specific your description,the more likely buyers are to trust you.

Honest, upfront details will save ques-tions and potential hiccups later.

•It’s the same with the photos. Don’t justput one picture up, put up a dozen. In-clude pictures of spare keys, the logbook,mileometer, V5, MOT and, of course, theexterior and interior. Detail sells.

When it comes to buying, it’s the samestory but from the other side of the table.Look for cars that are described and pho-tographed in detail. Read the listings verycarefully and ask questions if somethingisn’t clear. Don’t bid more than the car isworth to you. And, above all, make sureyou do a test drive before you buy.

As to whether you should trust theseller, Ford explains: “We recommendthat you check out the seller’s feedbackrating and read what previous buyershave said about their reliability, productquality and level of service.

“Much of it is gut instinct and you shouldalways use your common sense. If the deallooks too good to be true, it probably is.

“However, with an average of 3.5 mil-lion visitors a month and tens of thousandsof listings on eBay Motors, there’s alwaysanother car and another buyer out there.”

Whenthings gowrong

f you encounter a prob-lem on eBay, there’s avery good chance you canresolve it. By following theadvice in this guide and

the eBay Safety Centre (www.ebay.co.uk/safetycentre), youshould avoid any problems.However, if something doesgo wrong when you’re buyingor selling on eBay, you’re notalone. Help is at hand.

If your item doesn't arrive,or it's not what you expected ornot as described, your first stepis to contact the seller. Explainyour concern calmly and seewhat they say. Most issues canbe resolved amicably.

When you’re buying, lookfor sellers with a no-quibblereturns policy and ones whooffer refunds. If your itemdoesn’t arrive, remember thatthings sometimes get lost anddelayed in the post.

“It happens much morethan people think,” says DanWilson, author and eBayexpert. “Contact the seller andask them when it was sent.”

As a rule, going in, all gunsblazing, and leaving negativefeedback without trying toresolve the problem is coun-terproductive. However, if youcan’t resolve it with the seller,you can use the eBay disputeresolution process to try and

find you a satisfactory solution. If you paid with PayPal and

the item is significantly not asdescribed and cost less than£500, you can get a refund ifthe item’s covered by PayPal

buyer protection. You can also contact eBay and PayPal customer support for help.Once all these options havebeen exhausted, consider leav-ing negative feedback: it couldbe a warning to other buyers.

If you’re a seller, communi-cation is also crucial to solv-ing problems. For example,you should contact a buyerwho hasn’t paid. In mostcases, says Wilson, the buyerwill simply have forgotten topay and will be grateful forthe reminder. Make it easy forbuyers to pay you and you’llavoid the vast majority ofdelays: PayPal is essential,especially for overseas buy-ers. If your buyer still doesn’tpay up, you can file a com-plaint and claim a refund onyour final value fees.

The best way to solve aproblem is to avoid it alto-gether, so make time to readthe tips in the eBay SafetyCentre. Paying safely is the keyand that means being able toget your money back if youencounter a problem. Using asafe payment method, such asPayPal, means that whateverhappens, your money’s safe.

I

If your item doesn’tarrive, or it’s not whatyou expected or notas described, yourfirst step is to contactthe seller. Explain your concern calmly

When you’re buying,look for sellers with ano-quibble returns policy and ones who offer refunds

Don’t get mad when you’re unhappy with a sale, get help

Diary ofan eBaynovice

M

ADVERTISEMENT PROMOTION ADVERTISEMENT PROMOTION

By Susan Bracken

NICK HIGGINS

I‘m not some dizzywoman but – I have to behonest – I don’t readinstructions. This is whyI’m now the proud owner

of a children’s fancy-dresspolice uniform. How did thishappen? I’m an actor and pro-ducer in C Company (www.ccompany.cc). We’re puttingon a new play, One NightStand, at the Hen & ChickensTheatre in North London inApril. A friend of mine chal-lenged me to find some cos-tumes and props for the playon eBay – in just five days.

I’m a complete eBay novice:I only signed up on the Mondayand my mission was to findwhat I needed and buy it by theFriday. I’ve been rehearsingevery day and dealing with theproduction side of the play inthe evenings, so the thought ofbuying costumes online (andcheaply) was appealing.

First things first, I neededsomething that could pass asa policeman’s uniform. Let me tell you, searching for uniforms on eBay is an eye-opener. Either you get chil-dren’s fancy-dress costumesor, shall we say, bedroom fun.

I finally found somethingthat looked like a policeman’soutfit. This had a “buy it now”button and an auction price. I quickly decided on the auction format and put in a bid. I didn’t realise howquickly things moved on eBay. Minutes later, someone hadswooped in and bought it from

under my nose using “buy itnow”. Now I know what itmeans, I’ll be sure to use thisbutton next time!

Needless to say, I was in ahurry to buy the next uniform I came across. It looked greatin the picture, so I bought it.Oops. I should have read thedescription. It turned out tobe a party outfit for kids. It’snever going to fit Zak Row-lands, the actor who plays thepoliceman. Why didn’t I justread the item description?

Signing up to eBay wasstraightforward until I had tochoose a password. Passwordsecurity is obviously impor-tant to them, because when Iput in the password I use foreverything (I know this isn’tsmart), they said it wasn’tacceptable (they have thisgauge or “password-o-meter”that measures passwordstrength). This was a bitannoying because I had tocome up with another one,but it was refreshing to see acompany forcing me to bemore responsible with myonline security. So now I havetwo passwords and a child’spoliceman’s uniform.

This doesn’t mean Ihaven’t learned anything. It’sbeen an education. For exam-ple, I discovered a lot aboutsearching. I thought that if Imade the searches as narrowas possible, this would get thebest result. However, when Isearched for “policeman’shelmet”, I got precious little.When I went back andsearched for “police”, I foundlots more. And it was easy touse the other menus to refinethe search. The “send it to afriend” feature was brilliant. Iwas able to email things I’dseen to my director and pro-duction designers, whichmeant instant feedback.

I feel like I was in the StoneAge before, but now I knowthat’s eBay’s really cool. I’ve gotmy eye on a real policeman’shelmet and badge. I’m alsolooking at some furniturecubes to dress the set. I needto get some more props, too. Asmart briefcase would be goodfor one of the characters, butI’m going to read the descrip-tions carefully this time. Best of all, it should be sorted out inplenty of time for the show.

I didn’t realise howquickly things movedon eBay. Minutes later, someone hadswooped in andbought it from under my nose