One of the most important things to remember when using eBay is that you create a screen name for yourself, also known as your sign in name.  That screen name is there so you do not have to provide other users on eBay with your real name.  Unless you make a purchase online, then you would need to provide the eBay seller with your real name and address, but that is the only time you should share that information.  Never give an eBay seller information about yourself, unless you are purchasing an item from them off of eBay, and even then only provide the information absolutely necessary.

Connected with giving out personal information about yourself, you also don’t want to give out any personal financial information.  eBay has a secure checkout program, that allows you to make arrangements for payment on your own.  The most secure way to complete your purchases online is by using PayPal.  By using PayPal, the eBay sellers doesn’t actually get your credit card information, the funds are all transferred electronically.  The ability to make payments with PayPal, means that you have no reason to give an eBay seller your credit/debit card information or your bank account information, even when purchasing an item from them.

When looking to purchase an item on eBay, you tend to place the most focus on the price of the item, if it is a Buy It Now item or the current highest bid, if it is a traditional auction listing.  While the price is important, you also need to pay attention to the total cost of shipping.  It is not uncommon for sellers on eBay to sell items at a low price, but charge a higher rate for the shipping.  You should also be cautious of a seller that doesn’t provide shipping information upfront.  This is often a front for a scam, where after winning the item you are not only responsible for the cost of the product, but extremely high shipping costs as well.

To help you in prevention from doing business with a shady eBay seller, one who may be looking to take your money, you will want to check the feedback of eBay sellers that you are considering doing business with.  While it is not uncommon for sellers to have a few negative feedback ratings, you will want to use caution when dealing with new eBay sellers that have even one or two negative ratings.  Essentially, when you are shopping on eBay you should always use your best judgment.  If you think something is suspicious, there is a good chance that it is.  Prevent yourself from being scammed or losing money, make sure you use your head, as you will usually know when there is a sign of trouble ahead.

Last, it is important to bring up phishing scams.  These types of scams take place off of eBay, but can be related, in a way, to eBay.  There are several scammers out there, who create fake eBay emails, as well as fake eBay sign in screens.  These emails will prompt you to sign into your eBay account.  Once you do, the scammer will have access to your eBay account, along with some of your personal information.  Be aware of these scams, and don’t fall victim to them.  All eBay messages should also appear in your eBay account, which can be accessed once you log in directly from the eBay.com website.  If you feel that you are a victim of a scam email, forward it directly to spam@ebay.com.  The same would apply for Paypal email.  Send the email directly to spam@paypal.com.

eBay is a wonderful place to buy and sell items on the Internet.  You shouldn’t let the possibility of getting scammed prevent you from shopping online.  As long as you keep the advice from above in mind, you should be able to do your online shopping with eBay, without having any issues.

Here are the steps to get started:

• Go to eBay Group Gifts (Beta) and decide on a recipient and choose the occasion for the gift – or you can connect with Facebook and select a recipient from your friends list.
• Find the ideal Fixed Price item – select an item already on one of your eBay lists or you can browse, search, and get customized suggestions using the information garnered from your recipient’s Facebook profile.
• Decide how much you are going to contribute and then share your PayPal email address so friends or family know where to send their contributions.
• Write a personallized message for the recipient – this will be included in a group e-card that anyone who contributes can add a message to.
• Spread the word via Facebook, Twitter, email, and/or a shareable url.

Try it out today and let others know your thoughts and reactions.  To share your suggestions/comments on the new eBay feature, just click the “Feedback” link on the left side of any page in the eBay Group Gift flow.

I know..I know…don’t rush it, right? 2010 will be here before you know it. Do you have a solid set of goals ready to accomplish for the new year?

Whether you’re just starting out on eBay or you’ve been in business for a while, every year you’ll want to sit down and evaluate your plan for the new year. This will make it easier to stay on path so you don’t feel like you’re spinning your wheels every time you sit at your desk.

One of the perks we have as stay at home moms is that we are never finished being busy with our business. Always changing and improving to grow your business is a constant motion. So, when there is something that diverts us from being focused on business – we always know in the back of our minds that we can work on it a little bit at a time. Businesses don’t become successful over night!

Here are some things that may spark an idea to keep you on track for the New Year:

• Introduce a new product line to your eBay store
• Rethink any inventory that has been sitting in your store for more than a year
• Start email marketing
• Build a blog using WordPress
• Offer a coupon to returning customers
• Add a FAQ (Frequently Asked Question) page to your eBay categories
• Improve your search visibility to attract more traffic to your items
• List 10 items a week, every week
• Organize your space to better suite your needs
• Hold seasonal sales through out the year

Hope this helps you build a successful New Year!

I’m not an eBay expert, but I imagine that with the built in audience at eBay, diversifiying is sound advice.

But will this work for a small ecommerce business? Probably not.

Unless you’re a Fortune 500 company, there’s a good chance that you can afford to diversify effectively and compete on quality (as opposed to lowest cost).

My advise to small business owners is to focus in on the one (or two related) things that you’re great at.

If you sell an amazing baby sling, don’t try your hand at cloth diapers and baby clothes as well. Focus your efforts on branding and marketing your sling.

When the economy is better and people are spending more money, then you can look at selling complementary items.

What have you done that has helped your small business in this economy?

One of the most effective steps I took toward polishing my image as an eBay store owner was adding business cards to each and every package I send out to my customers. This killed two birds with one stone, actually:

I needed to give my customers something they could physically hang on to in order to remember me. I also needed a way to easily identify the bonuses that I included in each package. Up until that point, I had been including splashy invoices and just writing “Lagniappe” on the bag holding the bonuses to fill these needs.

The solution was simple, brilliant, and highly effective:

MOO MiniCards!

At the time that I ordered my first set of MOO mini-cards, I wasn’t very design savvy at all, so I kept mine incredibly simple. I chose the MOO Text MiniCards and created a card that simply said “Lagniappe” on the front and included my name, contact information, store name and URL, and eBay ID on the back, as well as a simple “Thanks” graphic, available right in the MOO options.

However, for you more design-savvy folks, MOO allows you to upload your own graphics for use on all of their products. You can match your cards exactly to your store banners, logos, etc. When I order from them this next time, I will most definitely be doing that, and I’m not even that much more design-savvy than I was before.

I also bought some stickers using MOO’s ready-made designs to use to tape the cards onto each bonus bag. (Again, MOO allows you to custom design your stickers if you prefer.) These I coordinated with the color scheme of my store, as well as the tissue paper I use in each shipment for packaging.

Viola! I had a polished way to identify bonuses and also a very hip business card for my customers to keep. All total? I think it cost me 20 minutes and $20.

But you? Aah, it can cost you even less.

With BlogHer and a handful of other blogging conferences coming up this summer, I contacted MOO and asked them if they would help me answer the question of “Where is the best place to get business cards to promote my blog?” and offer a discount for our readers. Their answer was a resounding, “Yes!”

Without further ado, here are your discounts, exclusively from Sparkplugging, Velveteen Mind, and Blog Nosh Magazine:

1) moo48Q

• 15% off entire order for NEW MOO customers
• valid until end of June

2) moo8BE

• 10% off entire order for existing customers
• valid until end of June

Please note that these codes are only good through the end of June. Also, MOO is located in London, so they use the British date stamp for their projected shipping date. If they they tell you your order will ship on 12/6/08, that is actually June 12.

I can’t recommend MOO MiniCards enough. And if you ordered them in the past but were disappointed when you realized that they didn’t fit your regular business card holders, MOO was listening. They now offer MOO MiniCards Holders, so you can carry your cards with you in style.

They have everything you need to be prepared, polished, and ready to promote your eBay store, your eCommerce business, your blog, or your self. They are perfect for crafting and to use as gift tags, too, which is the next use on my list for these.

Enjoy and be sure to send pictures of your MOO cards so we can share some of your designs! Also, I’ll be taking a photo of all of the MOO cards people give me at BlogHer this July, so be sure to track me down and hand me your card so I can show it off and link to you, your blog, and your business!

Now go! Design! Promote! Think big!