I've had it with eBay. I list things and either get no bids or I find that the bids are from accounts that are bogus or people overseas who have no intention of closing the deal. It's a hassle and I just don't find it worth the trouble. Instead, I'd like to try selling some things on Amazon.com, which seems more legit and less plagued by scams. Can you offer up a basic tutorial on becoming an Amazon merchant and selling goods on Amazon.com?

I've read and enjoyed your articles on adding Twitter / Google search boxes to a website. I am trying to figure out a way to have one search box on my site that displays results (in a multi-column horizontal table) for multiple sources, particularly Twitter / Google / YouTube. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

Just bought a new Apple iPad 2 and want to prep your old iPad 1 for resale? You might be lucky and sell it to a relative (or be really nice and give it to them, for that matter), in which case it isn't a crisis if some of your information remains on the device, but if you're tapping into Craigslist or eBay, you'll want to know exactly how to reformat the iPad back to its out-of-the-box state for the new user.

I'm paranoid about passwords and now that there are more stories of password and account data circulating I want to change everything! But I can't figure out Skype. How do I change my Skype account?

I've been selling off lots of furniture and old books through Craigslist, and encountered something I hadn't experienced in the past: a buyer asking if they could pay with their credit card, rather than with cash. At first I was alarmed, but then I realized that might well just be how they budget their money. So can I accept credit cards? I do have a PayPal account...

Is this a phishing scam? I just got some email that looks suspicious with a link to "paypal-labs.com" Is it a scam or phishing attempt? Why can't they just make it paypal.com?

I'm considering buying a computer on eBay that has a completely empty hard drive. The eBay seller is selling a bunch of these computers and the description says that they are "off-lease." Are off-lease computers okay to buy? Will the computer work if I just install Microsoft Windows on it? How many times am I allowed to install a single copy of Microsoft Windows that I' I own?

A number of my friends and business colleagues use Skype and I'd like to be able to chat with them while traveling, but I don't know their Skype account names. Is there some directory of Skype names and/or some best practices about how to search for someone in the Skype universe?

I have an accessory line that I have started and will also be putting my canvases up for sale. I need to create a way for people to contact me and also make them able to purchase my products off the Internet. People have told me to start a blog, others said a website. I know it costs money to keep a blog and a website, but I am completely clueless. How much should I be paying to have a website and a blog? Which is better for my business?

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?

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?

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 either of those legit? If not, how do the scams work?

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?

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?

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!

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?

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?

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?

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??

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?

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?

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?

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?

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.

I've been poking around on eBay and am astonished at the range of products available. From books that've been out of print for decades to celebrity signatures, and more, it's awesome! But I have heard that a lot of what's for sale on Ebay is a rip-off and that a lot of people get taken. How can I avoid the bad guys?