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The eBay Business
Answer Book
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The eBay Business
Answer Book
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THE 350 MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED
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• QUESTIONS ABOUT MAKING BIG
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• MONEY ON eBAY
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Cliff Ennico
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American ManagementAssociation
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New York • Atlanta • Brussels • Chicago • Mexico City • San Francisco
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Shanghai • Tokyo • Toronto • Washington,D.C.
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Special discounts on bulk quantities of AMACOM books are available to corporations,
professional associations, and other organizations. For details, contact Special Sales
Department, AMACOM, a division of American Management Association,
1601Broadway, New York, NY 10019.
Tel.: 212-903-8316. Fax: 212-903-8083.
Website: www. amacombooks.org
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to
the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged
in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional service. If legal advice or other expert
assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ennico, Clifford R.
The eBay business answer book : the 350most frequently asked questions about making big
money on eBay / Cliff Ennico.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-8144-0045-6
ISBN-10: 0-8144-0045-0
1. eBay (Firm) 2. Internet auctions. 3. Internet auctions—Law and legislation—
United States. 4. Electronic commerce. 5. Electronic commerce—Taxation—United
States. I. Title.
HF5478.E5757 2008
658.8'7—dc22 2008007006
© 2008Cliff Ennico.
All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
This publication may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in whole
or in part, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or
otherwise, without the prior written permission of AMACOM, a division of American
Management Association, 1601 Broadway, New York, NY 10019.
Printing number
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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To the hundreds of wonderful eBayers around the world who take
precious time away from their businesses and lives every day,
withoutcompensation or reward,to help outthe confused,the
struggling,and the justplain inexperienced by patiently answering
their questions on eBay’s chatrooms,discussion boards,and online
Answer Center.You are the unsung saints of the eBay community
and are among the mostbeautiful human beings in cyberspace.
Even when you’re wrong . . .⁄.
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. . .
Contents
Introduction 1
1 Do I Really Have a Business Here? 9
2 How Do I StartSelling Professionally on eBay? 17
3 Where Do I Find Stuff to Sell on eBay? 30
4 Is ItOkay to Sell This Stuff on eBay? 51
5 I’m Trying to Sell Something on eBay,butI’m NotSure How to
Describe It 65
6 I’m Listing Stuff on eBay,butI Need to Sell a LotMore to Make
a Living 79
7 My Winning Bidder Is a Jerk.WhatDo I Do Now? 90
8 I’m Having Trouble Packing and Shipping This Stuff 104
9 Will eBay Kick Me Off the Site If I...? 116
10 I Made a Mistake and Need to Cancel This Auction 127
11 I’m Using PayPal (or Wantto),and I Can’tFigure Out... 134
12 When Do I Pay Income Taxes? 147
13 When Do I Charge Sales Taxes? 162
14 WhatCan I Deducton My Tax Return? 172
15 Should I SetUp an eBay Store? 183
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16 How Can I Use My Website and My eBay Store to MarketMy Product? 191
17 How Do I Keep Track of Everything in My Business? 212
18 I JustGota Buyer from Timbuktu.WhatDo I Do Now? 222
19 Can I Work Outof My Home? 234
20 How Do I Deal with Employees/Business Partners/Colleagues? 241
21 I’ve GotThis Other Business... 257
Appendix A Still Don’tHave Your Answer? Business Resources
for eBay Entrepreneurs 265
Appendix B Finding the Answers You Need on the eBay Website:
A Step-by-Step Tutorial 269
Appendix C Ten Things to Do Before Asking a Question on eBay 274
Appendix D The BestNonbusiness Books for eBay Sellers 279
Appendix E Checklist:Some Expenses an eBay Seller (Usually)
Can Deduct 282
Appendix F Checklist:Some Expenses an eBay Seller (Usually)
CannotDeduct 291
Appendix G Demystifying the Business Organization,or How to
Selectthe RightLegal Entity for Your eBay Selling Business 294
Index 304
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. . .
Acknowledgments
Any book is a team effort, and The eBay Business Answer Book would not have
been possible without the support, friendship, inspiration, love, and occasional
“noodging” of these individuals, among others. My many thanks to:
• Janelle Elms, noted eBay author and my “partner in crime” on the eBay
University tour, for being such a great resource on all things eBay
(www.janelleelms.com)
• Catherine Seda, Internet marketing guru extreme (www.catherineseda
.com), for teaching me how to seduce spiders (the online variety...I
think)
• The eBay Certified Education Specialists around the country who
shared with me their answers to the toughest eBay questions, but
particularly my airplane buddy Jack Waddick of Chicago, Illinois
(www.oakviewtraining.com), “ghost leg video queen” Cindy Shebley
of Everett, Washington (www.clovercitysells.com), and my adopted
stepparents Marcia Cooper and Harvey Levine, of Fort Lee, New Jersey
(www.generalenterprises.net)
• Robin Cowie, Chris Malta, and Colette Marshall of Worldwide Brands,
Inc. (www.worldwidebrands.com), and Peter Zapf of Global Sources
(www.globalsources.com), for becoming the virtual coauthors of Chap-
ter 3of this book, on product sourcing (and a special thank-you to Rob for
offering to cast me as an extra in his next killer-aliens-from-outer-space
movie)
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