Making Money on eBay

Regular camera and scanner
Take a picture with a regular camera and then use a scanner to convert your picture into an electronic image. Or, forgo the camera and use only a scanner if the items are small and lie flat, like stamps or jewelry. Scanners directly transfer pictures to your computer.
Note: If you don't have a scanner, high street copy centers can do the scanning for you.

Film-to-Digital-Image Service
Digital Image Services such as Kodak PhotoNet deliver digital pictures for Web use from a standard roll of film, along with your regular prints.

Video camera and VCR tape
You can transfer pictures from your video camera or VCR tapes using a video capture device and software.

Step 2: Create a great looking photo

Here are some tips for taking photos that will make your item look its best and buyers confidence!

Good: Shows nice detail.	Bad: It's crowded, backlit, confusing!

Use proper lighting.
Many people find natural, outdoor lighting best. Indoors or out, light your item thoroughly.

Consider a backdrop.
If appropriate, consider using a plain, colored fabric backdrop to make your item stand out.
Don't use pure white, as it tends to create too much contrast in your photo. If you don't use a backdrop, be sure to move other things out of the way so your item will really stand out.

Get close up!
Buyers want to see detail, so really make your item take up the whole frame. Consider taking a close-up of a section of the item in addition to the entire object in order to give buyers a better idea of the item's actual condition.

Edit Your Photo
Once your photo is on your computer hard drive, you can often improve it with photo editing software, which may have come with your digital camera or scanner. You can also download basic editing software from sites like Tucows and Shareware.com.

Editing Photo Tips:

Remove unnecessary background.
Balance the contrast and brightness.
Save your edited picture as a JPEG (.jpg) file (file types other than JPEG and GIF should not be used).

Here's how (in most programs):
Choose Save As from the File menu.
Name your file.
Select JPEG (.jpg) or GIF (.gif) from the Save as Type drop-down list.

Planning on hosting your own picture?
File size should be under 50 KB (kilobytes) for quick page downloads.

Step 3: Copy your photo to the Web

There are two ways to get your picture onto the Web so you can include it in your eBay listing:

Use eBay Picture Services.
When you use eBay Picture Services, eBay keeps and displays your pictures for the length of your listing. You'll also be offered enhanced options just for eBay Picture Services users, such as a picture slideshow and Supersized pictures. Storing one picture with no enhancements is free with eBay Picture Services. Additional pictures and features have associated fees.

Host your picture elsewhere.
Perhaps your Internet Service Provider (ISP) gives you some space on the Web where you can store your pictures. Or maybe you'd like to try out picture-hosting services like Pongo, Twaze, or PixHost. The Sell Your Item form has a field where you can enter the Web address (URL) of a picture stored on the Web. That picture will be displayed in your listing. To display more than one externally hosted picture on eBay, you'll have to use HTML in your listing.

Your URL should look like this:
http://www.yourhost.com/nameofphoto.jpg

or it may look like this
http://www.yourhost.com/yourfolder/nameofphoto.jpg

File transfer software, such as WS_FTP for PCs (includes eBay user reference guide) or Fetch Softworks for Macs will assist in uploading your picture file to your ISP or hosting service.

Add pictures on the Sell Your Item Form
Note: In the section of the Sell Your Item Form labeled Add Pictures, you are given a choice between eBay Picture Services and Web Hosting

For photo Web Hosting
Click on the Web Hosting link to enter the Web address of your hosted picture. This Web address (or URL) will look something like this: http://www.host.com/yourfolder/photo.jpg.
You can test the address by typing it into a separate window of your browser. If your picture appears, it works! If not, double-check the address.

If you're using Web Hosting, you're done with this tutorial. Good luck selling your Ebay item!

For eBay Picture Services
eBay Picture Services is easy to use. It's a bit different depending on your browser and computer platform. You just follow the onscreen instructions.

Click on the Basic eBay Picture Services link in the right column of the Sell Your ItemForm.

That's it! Have lots of fun & good luck!