Finding Buyers with Want It Now

Another way to bypass the auction process is to go directly to buyers who want to buy what you have for sale. You can do this with eBay's Want It Now feature, where buyers create "wish lists" of specific items. You search the Want It Now listings, and when you find a match, you offer the item for sale to the interested buyer. (eBay still takes their normal cut, of course.)

Start by clicking the Want It Now link on eBay's home page. When the Want It Now page appears, as shown in Figure 16.5, you can browse through the listings by category, or use the Sellers search box to search for specific items that might be listed in the database. Click a particular listing for more detail from the interested buyer, like that shown in Figure 16.6.

Figure 16.5. Looking for prospective buyers with Want It Now.

Figure 16.6. A hopeful buyer's Want It Now ad.

To respond to a request, click the Respond button to display the Respond page, shown in Figure 16.7. If you already have an item listed, enter the item number and click the Respond to Post button. If you haven't yet listed the item, click the Sell Your Item button, create an item listing, and then return to the Respond to a Post with a Listing page to enter the listing's item number.

Figure 16.7. Responding to a Want It Now request.

The interested buyer is now emailed a message containing a link to your item listing. To place a bid on your item, all the recipient has to do is click a button.

The Absolute Minimum

Here are the key points to remember from this chapter:

• You can add a fixed-price option to any auction listing by entering a Buy It Now price.

• Instead of running a traditional auction, you can create a fixed-price listing to sell your item at a specified fixed price, using the Buy It Now feature.

• Opening an eBay Store is a good way to sell quantities of fixed-price items through the eBay system.

• Half.com is an eBay site that lets anyone sell books, CDs, DVDs, and the like at fixed prices.

• You can use eBay's Want It Now feature to search for buyers who've expressed an interest in specific items.