I used to be into eBay to sell stuff, but now my friends keep telling me that Craigslist is the way to go. Since it lets me side-step the whole shipping issue, and definitely seems to lower the chance that I'll be ripped off if I'm meeting someone locally to do the deal. Do you ever sell stuff on Craigslist, Dave, and if so, can you offer some tips?...

Continue reading about How do I sell something on Craigslist?

I've been trying to figure out whether there's a way that I can automate digging through the "referrals" on my site so I can see what searches people did to end up on one of my Web site pages. I'm running a Linux server and have Apache installed, so I get a huge log file with tons of info. But what I'd love is a simple script that will let me get email once a...

Continue reading about How do I find out what searches people did to end up on my Web site?

Just heard about the slick Skype for iPhone and want to get it and install it. Well, I can get it by downloading it from the App Store, but can you step me through configuring the Skype application so I can start using it ASAP?...

Continue reading about How do I set up Skype on my Apple iPhone?

I was using Skype the other day on my PC and suddenly Windows Security Center popped up a warning message telling me that my computer was infected by a virus and that I needed to install a repair utility of some sort. Huh? What's that all about, Dave?...

Continue reading about What's with the Skype Windows Warning Notice?

I was trying to sell an old laptop on Craigslist and got so confused trying to differentiate between legitimate and scam offers. For example, one guy from France offered to send me a money order and let me cash it before I sent out the computer, and was willing to pay more than I was asking. Another said he was happy to pay via Paypal if I just sent him my Paypal account ID. Were...

Continue reading about How to avoid buyer scams on Craigslist?

I'm a big fan of eBay and am convinced that with some work, attention to detail and a bit of luck, I can create a profitable home business buying and selling on eBay. My question: what are your best tips for getting good deals on eBay?...

Continue reading about How do I get the best deals on eBay auctions?

I lost an auction on eBay, darn it, and a few days later got an email from the seller offering me the chance to buy the item for my highest bid as a "Second Chance Offer". I am very leery of these communications because eBay is cool, but it's also a hotbed for fraud in my experience. How the heck can I figure out if the Second Chance Offer from this eBay seller is legitimate?...

Continue reading about How can I tell if an eBay Second Chance Offer is legit?

I wanted to implement a similar thing to what you show on add a custom eBay search box to your site on my eBay store site, but I'd rather have a neat little box in a position of my choice, instead of using the ugly default eBay side menu. Is there a way to customise the search form so it only searches within my eBay store? Thanks in advance for any help you can offer!...

Continue reading about How do I make a "Search my eBay Store" search box?

I erroneously bid on two eBay auctions for the same item and won both. D'oh! I asked one of the sellers if I could just cancel, and he did so instead, but now I'm wondering if it's legit?...

Continue reading about Can an eBay seller really cancel a transaction?

I've just recently signed up for orkut and am wondering if the "friend requests" from people I have never bumped into before are legit or not. I've sent you the invite: can you tell me how to know whether it's a phishing attempt before I actually click on a link?...

Continue reading about Is this Orkut friend request legit or phishing?

I got a message from Paypal with the subject "Help PayPal to avoid any kind of fraud" but I'm a bit suspicious: is this a legitimate way that Paypal is trying to get my help to avoid online scams, or is it a scam itself?...

Continue reading about Is "Paypal Anti-Fraud Protection" just a scam?

I got an email from eBay saying that there was a dispute over non-payment of an auction I'd won and I know I paid it, so it's very weird. When I clicked on the "dispute" link, though, instead of going to eBay, I got a big screen saying "Reported Web Forgery!" So has someone hacked eBay, or what??...

Continue reading about eBay a Reported Web Forgery! What the heck?

I'm selling a lightly used home theater system on Craigslist and after a week of no activity and no interest I sudden got an email from someone who says they'll pay full price plus a few dollars if I'll accept a money order. Now obviously that's suspicious, but I dunno, maybe it's legit. Should I accept a money order as payment for stuff I am selling on Craigslist?...

Continue reading about Craigslist buyer wants to pay me via money order: scam?

Man, it was one of those crazy moments. I realized a split second after it was too late that I'd just driven over my cellphone. I checked it out and, surprisingly, the phone didn't seem damaged at all, except it just won't turn on. I called AT&T and they told me that it'd cost $99 to replace it and that I couldn't cancel the cellphone number because my contract wasn't up. Augh! What are my...

Continue reading about I washed/sat on/broke my cellphone! How do I repair it?

More than once I've seen people talk about getting into "bidding fever" or "auction fever" regarding eBay and other online auction services and I'm wondering what that's all about?...

Continue reading about What is eBay auction fever?

I've been using eBay for a while, but only recently came across a multiple item auction where the seller had a few dozen of the same item she was selling. I'm baffled about how these work, though. Can you explain how these multiple-item Dutch auctions work on eBay?...

Continue reading about How does a multiple-item Dutch auction work on eBay?

I got an email from an eBay buyer saying that he had a question for me about an auction, but it's not an auction I'm running. Will I get into trouble with eBay if I don't answer the question? I mean, I don't really understand what's going on?...

Continue reading about What does an eBay phishing attack look like?

I've been trying to add some new stamps to my collection by looking on eBay, and while I am amazed at the range and variety of what's available for us philatelists, I'm finding it very tedious to have to be logged in and watching for those last few minutes of the auction to ensure someone else doesn't win at the very last second. Is that just part of buying things on eBay? I also don't...

Continue reading about Is Last Minute Bidding (Sniping) the only Way to Win an eBay Auction?

I want to know if there's some way to automate searching the craigslist site with a shell script or similar so that I can keep an eye on it and know when certain rare auction items show up for sale?...

Continue reading about Can I automate craigslist searches?

I own ledzeppelintickets.com and have 50,000 tickets to the concert that never happened. The story is on the home page. How do I harness the blogsphere to create a buzz for this item that is so targeted to a genre? I know that there must be a way to really jump start my sales with this method. Your resume is impeccable and I trust your input....

Continue reading about How do I sell Led Zeppelin Tickets to their cancelled concert?