You can browse eBay all you want without registering, but before you transact any sort of business at eBay, you must register.
I recommend registering while you’re reading this book. The moment you’re armed with all this information, you’ll be ready to go shopping and you won’t want to miss even one bargain!
You can browse eBay without a User ID, but you can’t place a single bid without being a registered member of the eBay community.
Here’s what you need to do:
1. Get yourself to the eBay
home page at www.ebay.com.
You see an area that says Welcome New Users. Within that area is a hyperlink box that beckons to you: Register Now.
2. Ready? Go ahead, click that box!
After you click the Register Now hyperlink box, you’ll come to the first of the registration pages, as shown in Figure 1-3. Notice two things when you get to this page:
• At the top of the page, eBay tells you that by registering here you are also registering at Half.com
(very convenient — for more about Half.com, flip to Chapter 17).
• At the bottom of your browser window in the status bar on either the left- or right-side lower-right corner is a small padlock icon or a solid key icon that didn’t appear before.
The padlock icon means that eBay has moved you to a secure place on its site where no one else can see or receive your personal information. Your information is treated with the highest security, and you can fill out these forms with the utmost level of confidence.
3. Type your name, address, and telephone number.
Press the Tab key (or using the mouse to relocate your cursor) to move between text entry boxes.
This information is important if eBay ever needs to get in touch with you. Also, if you’re involved in a transaction with another eBay member and he or she needs to get in touch with you, the other member can request your phone number as well as your city and state.
Don’t fool around, like I did with my address. eBay’s computers match zip codes and area codes and will catch errors!
4. Further down the page, you need to enter your e-mail address.
In fact, you have to type your e-mail address in two separate boxes so that eBay can be sure that you didn’t mistype the address. It’s critical to your registration. eBay will send you an e-mail with information you need to complete the process when you finish this page.
Using Yahoo! or Hotmail?
Grab your credit card
Sellers must register at eBay with a credit or debit card to pay for their eBay fees;
buyers do not. That is, unless they choose to use a free, Web-based e-mail account
like those offered by Yahoo! or Hotmail. Most free e-mail services do not verify their
users, so for the protection of all eBay users, eBay requires people with a free, Webbased
e-mail account to register a credit card for identification purposes. Your credit
card will not be charged.
It is safe to use your personal e-mail address for eBay registration. You will not be put on any e-mail lists.
5. Enter your desired User ID.
Don’t strain your brain too much right now over your choice of User ID. If your chosen ID is taken, eBay has a cute little tool to help you select one. All you have to do is enter the information asked for and click the Suggest Some User IDs button. If you find yourself unhappy with your initial choice, you can change it again next month. In fact, you can change
your User ID once every 30 days if you like.
When you change your User ID at eBay, an icon of a very suspicious looking pair of sunglasses appears next to your User ID. These shades stay with you for 30 days. There’s nothing intrinsically wrong with the shades; however, double-check when you see a seller with a pair of these shades next to his or her name because the seller may have just changed his or her User ID to distract from a bad reputation. The good news is that users who change their IDs can’t hide their reputations completely. You can find out the dirt on any eBay user by reading his or her feedback profile.
The best passwords for eBay (or any Web site, for that matter) consist of over six characters and are a combination of letters and numbers. Never use your User ID as a password, your name, your pet’s name, your address, or anything that may be easily known by others. C’mon, get a little cagey, you can do it. Get creative here.
7. Select a secret question.
The secret question is used to help you remember your password, should you forget it. There are six choices. I suggest that you select a question other than “What is your mother’s maiden name?” because this question is often used by banks and financial institutions for identification purposes. Guard your mother’s maiden name and don’t give it out to anyone blithely.
8. Supply your birth date.
The people at eBay want this information for two reasons:
• They want to be sure that you are of legal age to do business
at eBay.
• They want to send you e-mail wishing you a happy
birthday!
9. When you have completely filled out the entire form,click the Continue button.
On the page that appears, you’re asked to agree to eBay’s User Agreement. Boil this agreement down to its basics, and the agreement says that you will play by the rules, that you know that every bid you place is a legally binding bid to buy, and so on. I recommend you take a look at the rules. If you don’t agree with them, you can’t join the community. The rules are for
everyone’s protection.
You are also presented with the eBay Privacy Policy, which is one of the most comprehensive privacy policies I’ve ever seen on the Internet. eBay’s commitment to protecting your privacy is another part of eBay’s successful formula to keep its users happy and secure.
10. Click to add a check mark in the box to assure you are over 18, and then click to add a check mark in the box
that says that you know that you can choose to opt out of mailings from eBay.
11. After checking the two boxes, click the button that says I
Agree To These Terms. After completing the registration, you can go to your My
eBay page and change your notification preferences.
You’re also notified that an e-mail message has been sent to
the address you supplied during your registration.
12. Open your e-mail program (if it isn’t already open),
and receive your e-mail. When you open the message from eBay, the e-mail looks strikingly similar to the e-mail message shown.
13. Follow the instructions on the e-mail.
Click the button that says Complete eBay Registration. If the link doesn’t work, go to http://pages.eBay.com/ register and enter the confirmation code that appears in
your e-mail. In the very unlikely event that this e-mail does not reach you, go to http://pages.eBay.com/services/ registration/reqtemppass.html and enter your e-mail
address.
14. Click the Submit button.
You will receive another e-mail with a special one-time confirmation password.
After you reconnect with eBay through the Complete Registration button or by typing this URL into your Web browser, and you have submitted your registration code, a page that says Congratulations, you are registered appears. Welcome to the world’s largest community of savvy shoppers! Now the fun begins.
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