eBay Hacks: 100 Industrial-Strength Tips and Tools

Author: David A. Karp
List Price: $24.95
Our Price: Click to see the latest and low price
ISBN: 0596005644
Publisher: O'Reilly & Associates (25 August, 2003)
Sales Rank: 9,354
Average Customer Rating: 4.29 out of 5

Customer Reviews

Rating: 5 out of 5
Why this book is good
A book, like a computer program, does somthing that make s it worth the cost. Everything in this book, like everything done by software, are things that you could do without it... If you had an endless amount of time. This book will save you time, and time is the most precious of all comodities.

The information contained in this book will save you time and is faiirly robust though it does not cover everything.

One area that is extremely important that is just grazed over is avoiding disreputable bidders. A novice seller might think that it's good to get all bidders but the reality is that there are many bidders that will just make your life worse. Deadbeat bidders , stalkers, check bouncers etc.

The best way to avoid these types are by what essentially amounts to a credit check on your bidders. The easiest way I have found to accomplish this is by just doing a scan on them at DeadbeatBuster.Com

It is a real time database of problem bidders on all internet auction sites and can be accessed by going to http://www.firewallx.com or by simply typing DeadbeatBuster.Com into your browsers address bar.

You will instantly find out if one of your bidders has a history of not paying or other such information before your auction ends so that you can cancel their bid and sell it to the buyer with the good record.

Rating: 5 out of 5
Indispensable if you buy or sell on eBay
O'Reilly's "hacks" series continues to impress. I've been buying and selling on eBay for nearly two years now, and have already learned a lot. In the few days it took me to read this book I learned as much again and more. Although split into 100 separate "hacks", this book is surprisingly enjoyable to read from cover to cover, and gives a real sense that the author knows what he is writing about.

The book is 1/3 buying advice and 2/3 selling advice. It's way more than just a user manual. As well as eBay itself, it covers a selection of third party tools and web sites which can help you get the best from your eBay transactions. Learning from the sections on "dealing with disappointment" and "keeping out deadbeats", could mean you can avoid those problems yourself. The tips on how and when to use the eBay "feedback" system are golden. There's even some detailed advice (with perl code) about how to use the "eBay API" from your own software.

If you buy or sell more than one or two things on things on eBay in the next year you really should get this book. It will easily pay for itself in saved time, shipping costs, and stress; it will help you win the items you really want, and it can probably get you better prices too. Go out and buy it.

Rating: 3 out of 5
Should have been three books.
I have been selling for 5 years and have 6000+ rating with 100% positive. If I had read this book first, I would have been scared away, thinking eBay was too complicated. I leave feedback as soon as the person pays...they have fulfilled their requirement. Pictures must be clear and fill the entire field. Scanning small items works well for the beginner without a digital. EBay Hacks gives much time to the details of picture taking with film. If a person has a film camera, they know how to use it. And I can not imagine someone using my photo in their sales and if they did, I doubt that I would know. Mr. Karp says they use his and he has had to deal with these people. I use Multi Block Storage for my canned messages. Free for a month to try it out and then $10.00 one time payment. This is the only money I have spent on frills. Did the cut and paste recommended by eBay Hacks for several years and it works fine but Multi Block is better. But NEVER put a negative in your canned messages as eBay Hacks recommends. He recommended giving it lots of space so you don't copy and paste it by mistake. Negative should be written fresh each time and from the facts of that sale. It should be so rare that you do not need a short cut to save time. People should start slowly to see if eBay is for them. Some people just don't have the temperament for listing, waiting for payment, packing, mailing and living with the clutter of packaging materials and items to list. Mr. Karp had a lot of information for the beginner that would help avoid costly mistakes...like putting in a counter that can slow the loading of the page and avoiding noises and wall paper. But I think the book should have had a beginners section with the balance of the book written for after sellers got their eBay feet wet.

Similar Products

Sell it on eBay: TechTV's Guide to Creating Successful eBay Auctions
Starting an eBay Business for Dummies
How to Sell Anything on eBay . . . and Make a Fortune!


Book Index