Accessing and Using My eBay

You access My eBay from any eBay page by clicking the My eBay link on the Navigation Bar. This opens My eBay in the My Summary view, which (as we'll discuss in a moment) presents a general overview of all your current auction activity. My eBay actually offers several different pages, which you access by clicking the appropriate links contained in the navigation panel along the left side of the page. We'll look at each of these pages individually.

My Summary View

The My Summary view, shown in Figure 5.1, is the default view when you access My eBay. It consists of several distinct sections:

• Buying Reminders, which prompts you about actions you need to take regarding those items you've recently purchased.

• Selling Reminders, which prompts you about actions you need to take regarding those items you've recently sold.

• My Messages, which contains important messages from eBay or from other sellers and buyers.

• Items I'm Watching, which lists those auction items you've placed on your watch list.

• Buying Totals, which summarizes those items you're bidding on and those you've won.

• Items I'm Bidding On, which lists all items you're currently bidding on.

• Item's I've Made Best Offers On, which lists those items you've made a best offer on, for those auctions that utilize this feature.

• Items I've Won, which lists recent auctions in which you were the high bidder.

• Items I Didn't Win, which lists recent auctions in which you were outbid.

• Selling Totals, which summarizes those items you currently have for sale or have recently sold.

• Items I'm Selling, which lists all items you currently have for sale.

• Items I've Sold, which lists all items you've recently sold.

• General eBay Announcements, which includes links to the most recent eBay system news.

Figure 5.1. The My eBay My Summary page.

Tip

One other nice thing about the My Summary view is that you can customize it to display as muchor as littleinformation as you wish. Just click the Customize Summary link near the top of the page to remove sections you don't often use.

I use My Summary as my "home page" for all my eBay activities. It presents a great visual overview of all your important eBay activity, and lets you link directly to individual activities.

All Buying Page

You use the All Buying view, shown in Figure 5.2, to keep track of all items you're either bidding on or watchingor have won or lost. The page contains the following sections:

• Buying Reminders

• Items I'm Watching

• Buying Totals

• Items I'm Bidding On

• Items I've Made Best Offers On

• Items I've Won

• Items I Didn't Win

Figure 5.2. The My eBay All Buying page.

The Items I've Won list is worth an extra glance. Not only does it list those auctions in which you're the winning bidder, but it also includes an Action column that lets you know what you need to do next for each itemleave feedback, view payment status, and so on. Click the link in the Action column to perform that action.

Also interesting is the Items I'm Bidding On list, which presents all your current bidding activityeven those auctions in which you've been outbid. All auctions you're currently winning are in green; all auctions you're currently losing are in red. And, at the bottom of the page, you'll find a set of links to various buying-related services on the eBay site.

All Selling Page

You use the All Selling Page, shown in Figure 5.3, to keep track of all the items you're currently selling or have recently sold. The page contains several lists of use to sellers:

• Selling Reminders

• Scheduled Items

• Selling Totals

• Items I'm Selling

• Items I've Sold

• Unsold Items

Figure 5.3. The My eBay All Selling page.

One of the things I like about the Items I'm Selling section is the column for # of Watchers. This lists how many potential bidders have placed your item on their watch lists; it's a good indication of total demand, and a predictor of last-minute sniping.

Note

If you're using eBay's Selling Manager feature (discussed in Chapter 21, "Managing Your Sales with eBay Selling Manager"), the My eBay All Selling View page is replaced by a Selling Manager view.

Like the Items I've Won list on the All Buying page, the Items I've Sold list is especially useful. The Action column lists the next action you need to take for every one of your closed auctions; click the link to perform the appropriate action.

Also useful is the Items I'm Selling list, which lets you see, in a single glance, the status of everything you're currently selling on eBay. All items that currently have a bid higher than your minimum or reserve price are listed in green; all items that haven't yet reached the minimum bid level are listed in red. And, at the bottom of the page, you'll find a set of links to various selling-related services on the eBay site.

My Messages Page

The My Messages page, shown in Figure 5.4, lists all recent messages and announcements from eBay. Click a message title to read the complete message.

Figure 5.4. The My eBay My Messages page.

Next to each message is an icon that indicates the status of the message. Table 5.1 details each of the status icons.

Table 5.1. Message Status Icons

Icon	Status
	Unread
	Read
	Responded to
	Forwarded
	Flagged

All Favorites Page

The All Favorites page, shown in Figure 5.5, is where you can access your most-used categories, searches, and sellers. There are three lists on this page:

• My Favorite Searches

• My Favorite Sellers

• My Favorite Categories

Figure 5.5. The My eBay All Favorites page.

You can add items to your favorites by clicking the Add links to the right of each listAdd New Search, Add New Seller or Store, and Add New Category. From there, follow the onscreen instructions to add the items you want to appear on the All Favorites page in the future.

My Account Page

The My Account page, shown in Figure 5.6, is where you can manage your eBay seller's account and leave feedback about specific transactions.

Figure 5.6. The My eBay My Account page.

Tip

The My Account page is particularly useful because it contains direct links to some of eBay's normally well-hidden customer service features, including fees and credits, payment terms, and credit card setup. It's easier to click these services here than to hunt them down on eBay's Site Map page.

The My Account Summary list, at the top of the page, displays your last eBay invoice total, any payments and credits made since your last invoice, and any fees accessed since your last invoice. There's also a section that lets you pay your eBay fees via PayPal.