LAUG 2.0

Dave Greenbaum opened our November meeting with introductions around the room. In keeping with this month’s theme,the meeting participants were asked to relate their experiences with eBay.

The next order of business was Apple product news. Once again, a large portion of the apple product line has gone through some changes since our last meeting. New iMacs were introduced.The new models are thinner in size and the Apple iSight camera now comes built in to the unit. Two new applications were added exclusively to the new Macs; Photo Booth and Front Row. Photo Booth is a fun application that lets you take photos with the new built-in camera as you would in a traditional, drug store photo booth.

Front Row is Apple’s foray into the “ten foot interface” market. The program allows the user to use the iMac from across the room using the new integrated remote control and large-scale icons. The four main parts on the interface are Music, Photos, Video and DVD. Apples intention is that you would use your iMac as an media hub connected to your entertainment system. Apple’s iTunes music store now offers individual episodes of popular television series such as Lost and Desperate Housewives as well as music videos for $1.99 a pop. These videos can be transferred to your new video iPod. The new iPod has a larger screen than the previous Photo iPod and , physically thinner. The new iPod can be purchased in black or white colored cases and include and cable that allows you to connect it to a traditional television so you can view your videos and photos on a large screen. New PowerBooks were released in the previous month. The new laptops feature higher resolution screens, longer battery life and reduced pricing. All PowerBooks now ship with standard SuperDrives. The Power Macintosh line was updated with the introduction of a G5 “Quad”. This is a double dual-core machine stuffs four 2.5GHz processors in a single Mac. Dual-layer DVD burning capability and PCIX bus architecture was also added to the new machines. A new photo workflow application called Aperture is now available for high-end Macs. This program allows photographers to manipulate uncompressed “raw” images. An incremental update to OSX was put out. The current version is 10.4.3.

The evening’s main topic was eBay. Dave started the discussion by talking about how one must register with eBay before buying or selling. A credit card is needed for verification purposes however sellers are only charged for their activities. Dave examined a couple of the common myths about buying on eBay. A buyer is never, 100% committed to a purchase after they’ve won an auction. If you make a mistake, you do have the right to cancel and/or retract your bid. Scott demonstrated the bidding process by placing a bid on a media card for his digital camera.One of the main skills is being able to search for the item you want from a seller you can trust. The value of feedback ratings was discussed. Be sure to consult the Help section of eBay for information on the definition of common terms. Another issue is shipping costs. Many sellers add large shipping charges to small items to make extra money. Sellers are charged for a percentage of the sales price but not for shipping costs. One cannot talk about eBay without including a discussion of Paypal. One of the objections are that Paypal charges a percentage for the transaction. Paypal does allow for refunds for non delivery of items. Other things to look out for include “Shill Bidding” which is when a seller will bid on their own auction in an attempt to drive up the high bid. Ebay does have rules against this practice.

Another thing to consider is “proxy bidding” vs. “sniping.” Proxy bidding is when you bid the full amount you want to pay from the start. Sniping is when bidding takes place in the final moments in order to attempt to win the auction against others who are also bidding in the same auction. Scott demonstrated auctionsniper.com, a web-based service that helps you to place a bid at the last moment.

Several tips and tricks for eBay sellers were offered by Dave and Scott. Again, issues of packing and shipping need to be considered when posting an auction. Be familiar with the item and type of item you are selling. A good practice is to research how an item you would like to sell is listed (category,terms,conditions,etc…) by others selling the same thing and how well it sold.

Photos make a big difference in the success of an auction. It is advised that you take your own picture to show the actual item you are selling. Pictures should show the features and package contents of an item. A photo can either be uploaded directly to the eBay site or posted on your own Web account. Other selling strategies include choosing a starting bid, duration, and auction closing time. Ebay bills your credit card or PayPal account when an auction is posted. Auction listings can be revised before any bids are placed and can be added to after a bid has been placed. Then Alan Cowles was the winner of this month’s door prize book about eBay.