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Registration on eBay is absolutely free – it is also free to bid and buy, they make their money on sellers and advertising – and it only takes about five minutes to open an account. There are three requirements for registration.

1. You must be 18 years old.
2. You must provide valid credit card number. There is no cost for browsing on eBay listings, yet to participate in any way requires a number. Buyers pay nothing to the auction sites and the credit card is used for security purposes mainly. Charges are applicable only for sellers.
3. You must have a valid e-mail address.

You’ll select a username and password.

Upon completing the registration process, you will be asked if you want a personal page. Whether you should have one is a matter of personal preference, style, and whether the kinds of auctions you are thinking about will benefit from it. Most people on eBay opt not to have the page, but there is some evidence sellers who do have it, sell more.

On browsing eBay categories, you will see that very few people take advantage of this option. Privacy seems to be a crucial issue to many and this complimentary page is viewed as a contradictory idea. You can use this personal page as an excellent marketing tool as it is for free. EBay urges its trading community to check feedback, to check the reputation of the seller and this is where this page may prove to be an immense help to you. When you auction your products or services, the buyers are most likely to visit your page to see a little more about you. It is a great opportunity to build trust.

The best kind of information reinforces your expertise. Perhaps you sell cars, own a garage and can personally verify the condition of everything you sell. Or you teach classes on pottery and ceramics, which you also auction. Finally, showcase the items you have successfully sold in the past using eBay auctions. It is also a good idea to take feedback from buyers and post their experiences and testimonials upon delivery of merchandise. This is especially useful if you have “newbie” buyers who may not know how, or where, to look for the feedback ratings.

Online payment services started as a “virtual” cash transaction system using “fake” digital money about 15 years ago. This quickly evolved into using real money, which was generally tied to a credit card transaction not very different than what you do for mail order. Stores and catalog retailers generally have “merchant accounts” with credit card processors. The online payment services enable anyone to “take” credit cards, for fees like most small business merchant account rates, around 1 to 4%. Online payment services have gotten more diverse as technology has evolved – you can now link multiple bank accounts as well as multiple credit cards to, for example, a PayPal account. Today, the online payment services function like banks, which some of them also actually are.

When you sell something on eBay, and you receive payment via PayPal, the buyer may have paid by cash or credit card, and the net amount, minus fees, is deposited into your PayPal account. From there you can pay for something yourself directly, withdraw the money on an ATM or credit card, transfer the money into another account, or have a check sent each month.

Most online payment services are very much like PayPal, with a fee structure aimed at the recipient of the money, but there are exceptions. BidPay, which is owned by Western Union, is a form of virtual money order and is also popular on eBay. Unlike PayPal and most other services which charge the receiver of the payment, BidPay, like its parent, charges the sender of the money.

Escrow accounts protect auction participants from potential fraud. The way they work is the same as in, for example, a real estate or legal transaction, which is where most people would have dealt with escrow before. Money held in “escrow” by a third party had been received from the payer but is not released to the payee until something happens, usually, receipt of the goods in promised condition. Upon confirmation of the merchandise receipt the money is credited (forwarded) to the account of the seller. In such transactions the buyer, who benefits more in theory, generally pays the fee.