IDIOTS GUIDE TO ONLINE TRADING

I need to sell a motorcycle, and I want to use the web. So far, so good. But online selling, especially auction selling, is a minefield of compliex computer-ese and jargon and every time I venture into the quagmire, I’m to my eyebrows in acronyms in 5 seconds flat. So, in the interests of keeping things simple, I have compiled the following translation of the instructions:

Weird terms:
FVF - Final Value Fee
TOS - Terms of Service
Then there are the obvious generics for selling items online:

 - Contact details!! I know it’s obvious, but you need to be careful. I’ve submitted an ad and forgotten to put my details in the body text, with the result that on that website, they weren’t included in the ad. Somewhat pointless.

 - Photos (copy and paste free thumbnails via an online album service if you can find a free one. This gets around any picture fees)

 - Specific and detailed and honest description (especially for vehicles),

 - There are tricks for cutting down the fees, too. Every site you can list on has a way of charging you for the privilege – even the free ones. Usually, the charge is for a priority – top of screen – listing. They’re often not worth it. For instance – CAPS are free where bold is chargeable. On eBay, picking the right starting price instead of a reserve can help as they charge an extra fee for a reserve price, so it can often be cheaper to use a starting price instead. And gallery listing is recommended as a cheap “priority” option.

 - Timing is everything, as always – you need to think about when your likely buyers are likely to be browsing the web, and (for big ticket items like my bike) when they’ll next get paid. And you also need to think about when the forum you’re selling on is likley to have gremlins, high traffic or maintenance – because that’s the most likely time for your ad to get lost in some virtual black hole (but your fee will still be processed).

 - And talking of fees – it’s worth reading all the T&C small print for any site or method of payment you use, because they will hit you for yet more fees (caveat emptor has become caveat auctor, to a large extent).

 - Delivery methods are another potentially horrible cost, so use sites like www.parcel2go.com, but for my purposes, it’s irrelevant, because it will be collection only – and you pay me before you get the keys. After all, if you don’t I will simply report the bike stolen…