Welcome to eBay! You may not be new anywhere else but here, everyone calls you a "newbie". Now that's not a bad thing, and soon, you'll be OLD, (lol=laughing out loud) too.

 I am an eBay buying and selling enthusiast and I would like to share some tips with you BEFORE you jump into BUYING, SELLING, BLOGGING, WRITING GUIDES,  and CHATTING in FORUMS and in Groups... (see COMMUNITY for many of these activities)

I hope this will help you navigate through our WONDERFUL world wide community! Remember, these are tips, suggestions, and my opinions. Please do furthur research to gather more information.

•  Buying~~  You will browse and find wonderful items to buy on eBay. BEFORE you commit to buy any item, be sure you read the listing very carefully. If you are unhappy with the postal charges, insurance offering, or any aspect of the auction either WRITE TO THE SELLER and ASK a question and wait for the answer OR pass on that purchase. Once you commit the item is YOURS and you shouldn't complain about ADVERTISED prices, etc, after you commit. ~~~~~~~COMMUNICATE with the seller. Select "PayNow" so you can let the seller know HOW you plan to pay. If you don't communicate the fact that you are paying by money order or check and your payment doesn't arrive within 7 days, your seller may take action against you. A little communication with the seller, by way of the tools available to your in "My eBay" is always appreciated.~~~~I'M NOT YELLING, I'M JUST BEING EMPHATIC! BUT IF I CONTINUE TO TYPE IN ALL CAPS, IT IS ANNOYING AND RUDE so don't (smiles to you). Often, newbies forget that their cap lock is on and write an entire thread in a group in caps or write an email in caps. Please consider that nuance is difficult. We can't see your smile or hear you laugh, so something that might be EMPHATIC with a kind voice seems OBNOXIOUS with a loud nasty sound.
• FEEDBACK is a vital indicator to the eBay community concerning BUYERs' AND SELLERs' REPUTATIONS. Prior to buying, read the seller's feedback. Other buyers will praise the seller OR NOT. This information may help you decide if you want to buy from the seller. Read the feedback the seller left for others! That, too, is an important indicator of the type of individual with whom you will deal. When you do leave feedback, please be kind and courteous. NEVER get into name calling even if your trading partner does! ~~~Also, think carefully before you leave feedback.There are few reasons to give a neutral or a negative. Be certain that you don't act on EMOTION if you aren't happy. The seller's contract with you is based on everything written in the auction listing. If a seller wrote that your item will be shipped within 7 days, don't be angry when your item doesn't ARRIVE within 7 days. If the seller lists shipping and handling for $2.50 and the item arrives with .90 postage, well, you knew in advance what s/he charged so this is not a reason to be angry and write neutral or negative feedback. REMEMBER, what goes around comes around and you may be a seller tomorrow! You will find that if you begin selling and your feedback is low, you may have fewer customers while you are building your reputation. Getting to "50" all positive feedback is VITAL to the newbie.
• SELLING Please do your homework. Read eBay sellers' rules. Look at auctions and BIN (buy it now) listings which sell similar items. How do experienced sellers handle their auctions? Where should you be listing? What are your marketing opportunities on eBay? Should I offer PayPal or not? Personally, my answer to ANYONE who wishes to become a seller is YES, offer PayPal. It makes buyers feel more secure.
• MARKETING your wares on eBay ~~~there are many creative ways of marketing your wares, yourself, you BRAND on eBay. One great opportunity is by joining eBay Groups. There are groups for anything and everything. I belong to many artists' groups; I lead "!eME~~~IS~~~eBay in MAINE is HERE" which is one of the largest groups in New England, and I lead "$$$VIM Vitality, Imagination, and Marketing" for arts. As a member of these groups, I am able to POST MY AUCTIONS and advertise them to the membership. I have had many sales through my groups. Some sellers join groups in order to enjoy the marketing benefit.  Groups also offer a social atmosphere. I'll discuss a little group etiquette, below. Marketing also takes place by partnering with CROSS PROMOTION PARTNERS. These are sellers who you feel have similar products or ethics and you want to be associated with them. In cross promoting your goods with others', your auctions will show up in their postings when someone looks or bids on their products...and visa versa. You may invite specific cross promotion partners or allow eBay to use the default. If you use default, you have no control over what your buyers see, nor the reputation of the seller you are, in essense, promoting. ~~~Be certain you cross promote your own goods. If you are selling many items, let's say 50 or more, selecting which items should show in a particular auction is a positive way of driving additional traffic to your sales. Blogs help sellers to market their wares as does writing a review, particularly if it's something you sell, AND writing guides.
• GROUP AND FORUM ETIQUETTE. It's fun and financially profitable, at times, to join groups and to post in forums. Just a few tips...lurk for a while so you get an understanding of the group or forum CULTURE. Know who the players are. In a group, look to the navigation bar at the left under MEMBERS and see who leads and who moderates the group. Read the group CHARTER and group rules. Don't jump in and do whatever you please~get the lay of the land. Moderators are there to keep the group a safe, fun, and interesting place to be. They may remove your post if you break a group rule, an ebay rule (go to eBay groups information!) or are rude to another member. All members of the group are their own agents and some may say whatever is on their mind. If you are deeply offended, contact the moderators, don't TAKE ON this member in the thread. Remember, reputation on eBay is important and you don't want someone who is a buyer or seller to see you as TROUBLE. TREAD LIGHTLY IN THE PUBLIC FORUMS. For the most part, forum participants are just enjoying the friendships...sharing vital information...and maybe asking for a helping hand. Occassionally, something very negative can happen. When it does, think twice before getting involved. You can't take anything back and you might get hurt. Sometimes emotions take over and folks get hot under the collar. Think first and ask, "is it worth my reputation and my bloodpressure to argue this point".
• BLOGGING ON EBAY is whatever you make of it. You can talk about anything you wish. You can target your conversations to what you sell or it can be more personal. Read the blogs; search topics you enjoy; and remember, it's all yours and it's PUBLIC.

A few words of caution~~

When you receive email from eBay and PayPal, don't follow the links within the email. ALWAYS go to the site via the URL.

When you write to a trading partner through the eBay messaging system, think twice before you allow them to view your e-mail.

Don't write your personal schedule of work, play, etc in GROUPS. Don't publish your email in groups...phishing is a problem and opportunistic theives may find it.

No group CAN require you to submit your snail mail address (addy) and /r telephone number and /r email number.

Be careful about group projects that require you to mail an item which will be sold for charity. Sometimes these group projects are well meaning but SOME ARE NOT. eBay's Mission Fish project allows you to buy and sell for a confirmed list of non-profit organizations.

Please read Bay's rules on SHILL BIDDING. It's trickier than you might think. Your friends, relatives, neighbors, and business partners, etc, MAY NOT BID on your auctions.

Be very careful about second chance offers. Go into the site, do not follow links from any emails you receive.

DO NOT PAY anyone who requests WESTERN UNION. Report that seller. eBay does have a warning concerning purchasing items using sources other than those accepted by eBay.

I know there are many negatives posted here, but in the end, and in my mind, it's all about keeping eBay safe for sales, purchases, and a wonderful community feeling. YOU CAN DO IT, just be informed.

I hope this has helped you. Please let me know, below.

Adrienne aka galleryvim  owner of the eBay Store Gallery Vim Art and Emporium