Selling Items on eBay - Setting Up eBay and PayPal Accounts

Now we come to the fun part of selling or buying on eBay. First you must "set up your account."

To set up an account, go to www.ebay.com and click on "Register." You will see that you need to be at least 18 years old to creat an account. The reason for the age limit is because you are entering into an actual contract with eBay and you need to be 18 to do that. Then you need to create a user name or ID, which can be whatever you want. Next make up your password, and be certain that it is a strong password. Strong passwords usually contain a combination of letters, numbers and symbols. Be sure to write down your ID and password so you can remember what it is when you want to log back in to your eBay account. Once you have filled out the appropriate information and submitted it, you will receive an email from eBay with a link containing instructions that explain the next step to confirm your registration as an individual buyer/seller. To protect yourself, reading the "terms and conditions" is always a good idea even though they are not always the easiest thing to understand. Once you have set up your account, you can start buying or selling on eBay.

It is not mandatory to have a PayPal account to sell and buy on eBay, but it definitely is an advantage--even though there is a fee if you sell something and the buyer pays through PayPal. If you buy an item on eBay and pay through PayPal, there is no fee to you, the buyer. Several advantages of having a PayPal account when you sell items and the buyer pays through PayPal is that the payment is instant and you have no concerns about returned checks or fraudulent payments. Other online retailers also let you use PayPal to pay them for purchases and you can send money to family members, to the bank, or others, if you want to.

To set up a PayPal account is basically like any other account on the internet. Once again you need to create a username and password. There is no charge to set up this account. After you create your username and password and submit them, you will receive an email from PayPal containing a link to verify your email address. Once you click on that link, and verify your email, your PayPal account is confirmed. Then you can link a credit card or bank account to your PayPal account. If you want to link your bank account, you enter your bank information and then PayPal will send two small deposits to your account. Each deposit will be less than $1.00. The reason for this is to make sure that you are you and not some scammer. Once you receive those deposits in your bank account, you need to log back into your PayPal account and enter the amount of those deposits where requested. Then your bank account will be confirmed and your PayPal account is verified. When I first did this, I was quite anxious about giving my bank information. But I have had a verified PayPal account for over ten years with no problems. If I purchased something on eBay and there are not enough funds in my PayPal account, PayPal sends a request for the additional funds from my bank. I have used this feature several times with no problems whatsoever.

Now that you have set up your eBay and PayPal accounts, the next step is "deciding what to sell or buy on eBay." Watch for my next Hub for that.

©joaniebaby - 3-3-12