on the shelves of your store. Mosho tells of an Ocean Grove store

owner who specializes in scented candles. By listing the candles on

eBay he turned a small neighborhood business into an international

operation.

Anyone thinking of starting a retail business could buy in bulk from

a distributor, and rather than renting a store, could sell on eBay.

As it has grown, the big online auction house has demanded a bigger

commission, but it also offers big-volume sellers a number of perks,

including participation in a health insurance plan. In Mosho’s

opinion,

opening shop in cyberspace offers considerable advantages over going

out and renting a storefront.

If the objective is a little spending money rather than a livelihood,

potential eBay sellers need look no farther than their attics,

basements,

and neighborhood garage sales. No item should be overlooked.

"People

ask me why anyone would buy a computer monitor on eBay, when shipping

will cost about $30, and when they could buy one on sale for $100

at CompUSA," says Mosho. The answer, he says, is that many people

in this country live an hour or more from a store of any size. Other

people, he adds, have cars too small to hold a large monitor or have

physical limitations that make it difficult to wrestle a large item

in and out of a car.

anything online or offering anything for sale. Mosho speaks of an

eBay seller who offered a Japanese bone sword for $1,000. He shot

off an E-mail to the seller telling him that his price was way out

of line, probably by a factor of four or more. That sword never sold.

There are any number of books on prices of collectibles, and forays

to antiques stores and flea markets offer clues. But one of the best

— and easiest — ways of determining an object’s value is to

look up prices recently paid in eBay auctions. To do so, just type

in the name of an object. By way of illustration, Mosho suggests

trying

out "Kodak Pony," a camera. A page appears that lists all

of the Kodak Ponys currently for sale.

"Look to the left of the page," Mosho directs. "Click

on `completed sales.’" Doing so brings up a list of the prices

for which all Kodak Pony cameras recently sold on the site, along

with the number of people who placed a bid on each. The same list

exists for every sub-set of the tens of thousand of items sold on

the site. It does not supply all the information needed to price an

object, because, among other things, it makes no mention of condition,

but it does offer a useful ballpark range.

to illustrate eBay listings with photos, but Mosho stresses how

important

it is to do so. "People want to see what they’re buying,"

he says. Just seeing the object, however, is not enough. Providing

crystal clear images, possibly from several angles, not only improves

the chance that an item will fetch a good price, but also can be

invaluable

in avoiding misunderstandings.

In the case of a collectible, for example, it is important to provide

close-ups of any flaws, so that they buyer knows exactly what he is

getting, and will be far less apt to complain that the cracks in the

plate or the nicks in the scythe go way beyond the "minor

wear"

mentioned in the listing. The same is true for large, expensive items

such as cars or boats.

Invest in a digital camera for ease in uploading photos, and choose

one with at least two megapixels and an optical — not a digital

— lens. A camera meeting these specifications produces an easily

uploadable image with enough clarity to give buyers a good look at

the object on which they are bidding.

table,"

says Mosho, "but I bought a piece of white silk, so it doesn’t

look like my kitchen table." A neutral background makes the object

stand out, and makes you look like a professional.

background, suggests that a listing not run more than one page. Write

a clear, simple description of the object, include all information

on any defects, add a photo or two, and that’s it. He has seen

listings

that go on for half a dozen pages or more, and says the voluminous

information generally detracts from the appeal of the listing.

and third blenders you received as wedding gifts — just want them

out of the house — then sell them to the highest bidder, period.

But if you want to get at least $100 for the vintage camera you

purchased

for $70 with resale in mind, put in a $100 reserve. Your bidders will

not see this price, but the object will not be sold until at least

that amount has been offered.

time it takes him to post an item on eBay, Mosho says it takes him

10 to 15 minutes to shoot the photos, another 15 to 20 minutes to

select the best photos and to upload them, and about 15 to 20 minutes

to write the listing copy. That’s close to an hour, and he has not

answered a single E-mail. Add the time necessary to pack up the item

after it is sold, to drive to the post office, and to wait in line,

and the time commitment is not insignificant. Factor it in to the

price at which each item is offered.

listing giving the seller’s E-mail information and inviting potential

bidders to ask questions. Answer any and all questions promptly.

"I

check my E-mail three times a day," says Mosho.

an auction to close is on a Sunday at 6 p.m or 7 p.m. "That’s

when everybody’s home," says Mosho. Keep in mind, he says, that

your customers are all over the country, and even those on the East

Coast like to sleep in a bit on the weekends, so plan to have your

auction close not earlier than late-morning Pacific time.

now owned by eBay, PayPal charges a purchase to the credit card a

buyer registers. The service takes a few percentage points of the

sale price, reducing the seller’s profit, but Mosho says the fee is

money well spent. "You want anything that makes it easier for

people to buy," he says, "just like in a store." Sellers

can stipulate the forms of payment they accept. When he started

selling

on eBay, Mosho took only cash or money orders, but soon signed on

to PayPal.

stipulated

that under no circumstances would he ship it. The buyer had to pick

it up. "That took away 90 percent of my market," he

acknowledges.

But he did not want the work, responsibility, or uncertainly

associated

with packing up and shipping a large, heavy object. It turned out

that he drew a respectable number of local bidders willing to pick

the scooter up, and he is happy with the price he received.

For smaller items, Mosho charges buyers only what it actually costs

him for shipping. Other vendors, he notes, make money on shipping,

charging a flat fee of $5, when postage and packaging might come only

to $1 or so. He does not like this practice, but says it is not

illegal

or unethical.

he wants about 60 seconds before an auction closes. The idea is to

slide in at the last moment so that no one else has time to top your

offer. "Some people bid in the last 10 seconds," he says.

It is tricky to cut it so close, but some savvy buyers do pull it

off. "They’re called snipers," says Mosho.

importance

of a flawless reputation again and again. eBay buyers leave feedback

on the people from whom they buy, and sellers often scrutinize these

comments. Fail to ship an item in a timely manner or sell something

that is not in the condition promised, and there is a good chance

that no one else will buy from you.

list, sell, and buy on eBay. The site walks users through the

procedure,

and those looking for advanced tips can find them aplenty in books

such as Starting an eBay Business for Dummies, The Official eBay

Bible,

Strike it Rich on eBay, The Perfect Store: Inside eBay, and Cliff

Notes: Buying and Selling on eBay. Amazon.com lists 38 eBay titles,

and a number of the books are available at bookstores.

While there is plenty of help in setting up shop on eBay, Mosho finds

that the company itself provides extremely poor customer service.

Before leaving for a trip last month, he ran into trouble while

attempting

to post a photo on one of his listings. He says he spent more than

an hour attempting to get a live eBay human on the phone before giving

up. "There’s just no way to contact them," he says.