Rating: 
Summary: Goes where no other eBay book dares
Review: There's a nice range of topics covered in eBay Hacks - from the simplest diplomacy and feedback tips to well thought-out selling strategies and even programming. Each "hack" is marked with a little green thermometer that provides a clue to its complexity (e.g. how advanced it is), so you can quickly tell whether it's going to be something you might already know or something you'll have to study.I've been on eBay for quite some time, so I already know a lot of the tips marked "beginner," but I have found enough stuff in just a short time with the book to make it well worth the price. I've found the analysis of listing options to be insightful and for the most part, spot-on. And there's a chapter on photos that goes far beyond the rudimentary aspects of file formats and hosting; I've already improved my close-up photography with the depth-of-field tricks in Hack #56, and there's a ton of JavaScript to produce some nice slideshows and photo-presentation effects. Buyers are not left out, either - there are three hacks on sniping alone and a nice tip on tripping up buy it now auctions that are set too high. The last part of the book covers the API, eBay's "back-door." About twenty hacks contain straightforward code anybody with a little programming background can use to manage auctions, spell-check listings, and (my favorite) perform searches automatically every hour on the hour. All in all, it's a good, meaty book with a wide range of appeal. Yes, there's some beginner tips, but they're clearly marked so that more advanced ebayers can get right to the good stuff.
Rating:
Summary: Goes where no other eBay book dares
Review: There's a nice range of topics covered in eBay Hacks - from the simplest diplomacy and feedback tips to well thought-out selling strategies and even programming. Each "hack" is marked with a little green thermometer that provides a clue to its complexity (e.g. how advanced it is), so you can quickly tell whether it's going to be something you might already know or something you'll have to study. I've been on eBay for quite some time, so I already know a lot of the tips marked "beginner," but I have found enough stuff in just a short time with the book to make it well worth the price. I've found the analysis of listing options to be insightful and for the most part, spot-on. And there's a chapter on photos that goes far beyond the rudimentary aspects of file formats and hosting; I've already improved my close-up photography with the depth-of-field tricks in Hack #56, and there's a ton of JavaScript to produce some nice slideshows and photo-presentation effects. Buyers are not left out, either - there are three hacks on sniping alone and a nice tip on tripping up buy it now auctions that are set too high. The last part of the book covers the API, eBay's "back-door." About twenty hacks contain straightforward code anybody with a little programming background can use to manage auctions, spell-check listings, and (my favorite) perform searches automatically every hour on the hour. All in all, it's a good, meaty book with a wide range of appeal. Yes, there's some beginner tips, but they're clearly marked so that more advanced ebayers can get right to the good stuff.
Rating: 
Summary: Great guide but needs updating
Review: This book is excellent for both the novice and experienced eBayer alike. Everyone who uses eBay regularly should be able to take something away from this book.
As a previous reviewer has stated, some of the tips are common sense, and come straight off the ebay site. However, its great to have these tips in one place and easily referenced. This can serve as a checklist for your own buying and selling procedures.
The one big negative - no coverage of the latest 'bid sniping software'. This automates your bidding, allows better planning, does not increase the sell value early in the auction and maximizes the chance of winning (by placing a bid in the last seconds of auction). This software isn't highly publicized by ebay.
This is a great book, but look out for newer texts covering the latest auction software.
Rating:
Summary: Not Bad, But Omits Important Tips
Review: Tired of facile books on eBay? (You know, something like 'Moron's Guide to eBay'.) Are you wavering on going to buy or sell on it, never having done so? Or you are already on eBay. But you are wondering if there are ways to get better prices, where 'better' of course depends on whether you are buying or selling. Well, here is an excellent how-to manual that still keeps some objective distance from its subject. That separation lets the author offer some disinterested advice. You can best see this when Karp evaluates the various listing options available to a seller. His suggestions, especially on one option, which he considers a total waste of money, are excellent. There are some omissions that would have made this a stronger book. He offers 100 tips. But... He discusses Phishing. Which has been used against eBay and Paypal users. But, as far as I can tell, he never uses this term. He REALLY should. We can imagine new users hearing about it, wanting to know more and not finding it in this book's index and hence passing on the book. And phishing is actually more dangerous than just one bad auction. Also, he omits three important tips. Firstly, once you have sold to a satisfied buyer, you should add that buyer to an email list. Next time you offer a similar item, very politely email her about it. (Of course, drop her if she opts out.) You can also add unsuccessful bidders in your auctions to this list, though you may have to go thru eBay's mailer to contact them. He mentions keeping a spreadsheet of your auctions, including the email addresses of your buyers. But he doesn't take the next simple step. Secondly, consider first offering future items directly to previous buyers, instead of listing on eBay. If no takers, then put on eBay. This does NOT violate any eBay rules because the buyer and seller now know each other and can talk about nonlisted items. There have been reports in the media about businesses selling on eBay partly to get just such a list of customers. Of course, there is now no eBay protection for buyer or seller. But if you are a business with a website and a good eBay rating, this reassures buyers. And you, as a seller, have a defacto credit check on buyers, by looking at their ratings. Thirdly, what would have been good is a tip on when it is NOT economic to list an item on eBay. Note that I did not say 'sell'. Amongst some power sellers, there has been increasing dissatisfaction. Prices are falling, eBay raises its fees and more auctions end without any bids. If you have an item for which there is little demand, then what is the chance that within 7 or 10 days of an auction, potential buyers will go to eBay and look for it? Remember, eBay always charges a listing fee. Of course, you can lower your price, to spur demand. But that costs you. At some point, things become uneconomic. In fact, if you have specialised books with a limited audience, Amazon is a viable alternative as it levies no listing fee, albeit with a higher commission if the book actually sells. Karp is a very experienced eBay user and a good programmer. But I really do not think the greatest readership for this book is people who want to or are able to program, and they will not be enamoured by the code examples. I suspect he could have expanded greatly on the points I raised, to the benefit of that readership.
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