Starting an eBay Business for Dummies
Author: Marsha Collier
List Price: $24.99
Our Price: Click to see the latest and low price
ISBN: 0764515470
Publisher: For Dummies (15 December, 2001)
Sales Rank: 313
Average Customer Rating: 4.32 out of 5
Customer Reviews
Rating: 3 out of 5
In the immortal words of Dave Thomas -- Where's the Beef?!
Trying to be positive, the best thing about this book is the exposure to some useful areas of concern and companies that I didn't know existed to serve eBay sellers (such as auction management sites and software, as well as the names of several payment service vendors). That, and the occasional nugget of useful information.
When I bought this book, I thought that Marsha Collier was going to reveal some powerful secrets behind eBay business success. Instead what I found was a high level overview of the various aspects of starting a business and of the eBay site. Even though she states upfront that the book is for people who already are familiar with eBay, at least 50% of the book details eBay services and options -- nothing that you can't easily discover from eBay online help for free. Why didn't she just recommend her other book, "eBay for Dummies" for that stuff! Also, several of the "Tips" that she gave online were pretty much common sense. Coming from a marketing background, I had hoped that she would apply some serious marketing strategies to selling online and share useful marketing statistics. I guess that was asking too much from a book geared for "dummies." Even worse, I felt that Marsha was often trying to sell her secrets and promote her own website rather than really help readers. An example is the "Ebay Sellers Lighting Kit" which Marsha will be happy to sell you (don't waste your money -- build it yourself)! This reader definitely got tired of the self-promotion and commercial feel of the book.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Great book - Missed one critical tool.
As someone who recently became a millionaire by buying and selling on ebay using my own system, I can tell you this book is great. It gives a complete overview of starting an eBay business and uses an easy to follow style. They do miss one critical tool though that makes all the difference, that tool is www.powersnipe.com. eBay auctions are often lost in the last few seconds of the auction because the majority of people wait until the last seconds to place their bids. This tool bids for you at the last second and ensures you win, a big time saver and the biggest key to success. So buy this book and check out this tool for a complete picture.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Man with a Mannequin
This book is well written. I found it to be concise, divided into areas in an easy to follow manner.
Each chapter stands on its own which makes it easy to read in my favorite style... (All over the place).
She even covers the small details such as proper online picture resolution, including the best camera to buy.
I started with an idea "I want to sell ladies clothing online"
I changed from "A Man with an Idea" to "A Man with a Mannequin" in 3 just days. Thanks Marcia Similar Products
The Official eBay Bible
How to Sell Anything on eBay . . . and Make a Fortune!
Ebay Business the Smart Way: Maximize Your Profits on the Web's #1 Auction Site
Book Index