With over £40b worth of transactions completed worldwide on Ebay in 2005 alone, it’s clear that there is money to be made and bargains to be found.

In the same year, Ebay.co.uk passed the 10 million user mark. But the sheer volume of goods and traders using the service make it increasingly difficult to bring buyers and sellers together.It doesn’t have to be that way.

There are means that can help sellers make their items stand out from the crowd and assist buyers to locate their quarry.

The following article will present a guide for private buyers and sellers that will go beyond the basic steps of getting started and help you to make the most of your entrepreneurial spirit.

Much of what we will discuss is common sense and down to having a shrewd eye, but we’ll also talk about new tools, provided by both Ebay and third-party developers, that can smooth the path to a good deal.

The information will be presented in two parts; first for sellers and then some expert tips on buying, but we recommend you read the article in full, as a knowledge of how transactions are structured from both points of view can be useful.

As with all successful ventures, criminals have been quick to catch on to the opportunities presented, so safety and security will also be covered, along with a summary of your rights and responsibilities under consumer protection law.

Setting up shop
Although often called an auction house, Ebay is in fact a trading platform. That means the company takes no responsibility for transactions carried out using its technology.

You may feel this is not entirely fair, but it’s what you agree to when registering with the site, as indicated by acceptance of Ebay’s terms and conditions.

The agreement states that Ebay will not accept liability for financial losses incurred through fraudulent transactions, although some protection is offered if you sell through Ebay’s own payment management service, Paypal.

To begin selling you will need to register for a seller’s account. Sellers are required to register a debit or credit card in order to pay the fees required to list items on the site.

Registration is free and you will be asked to provide a postal address and telephone number. Here you’ll also find the option to create a business account and it’s worth considering the difference straight away.

There are two types of seller on Ebay: private and commercial. The key difference is that commercial sellers are bound by the Sale of Goods Act in full while private sellers are obliged only to ensure that the goods they sell are accurately described in listings.

The item must also be permitted according to Ebay’s terms; some items are prohibited outright such as fireworks, while others, including weapons, are considered questionable.

Items that could affect someone else’s copyright, meanwhile, are listed as Potentially Infringing. If in doubt about an item, you can check before listing it.

Differentiating between the two types of seller has been a cause of dispute when buyers feel disappointed by a purchase and try to get redress. In general, anyone who regularly sells more than one copy of an item or whose volume of transactions is consistently high, is considered commercial.

Ebay’s own definition suggests you are commercial if buying or making items with the intent to sell them for a profit on the site. There are tax implications for people in this position, and business sellers can provide Ebay with their VAT registration number and receive net invoices for their Ebay fees.

The tax authorities are starting to view the enormous amount of money changing hands through Ebay with envious eyes, so if you are intending to supplement your income rather than sell the occasional unwanted item, take some advice from an accountant or the Inland Revenue first and download Ebay’s guide to businesses attached to this feature.

Your good name
Whether selling for fun or for more serious profit, you need a good trading name. Choosing the right name is important, because it is the first piece of information listed in the ‘Meet the seller’ panel that appears whenever a potential buyer clicks on one of your items.

A comical or saucy nickname might seem funny to you, but may set an inappropriate tone for buyers. You may wish to choose a word or phrase that tells buyers something about your areas of interest and therefore items you might be trading in or something that tells people where you are in the UK.

If you chose a username before reading this that now seems inappropriate, it is possible to change it. Ebay provides a guide, but the ID can be changed only once in a 30-day period and we advise you think very carefully about your trading name and choose one that will stick.

Once the ID has been changed, an icon will appear next to the new name, in new and existing transactions, to alert other users.

The feedback attached to the old ID will remain and if any seller asks (as we would advise them to) why the ID was changed before making a bid, just tell them the truth.

Your good name also means your reputation. If you’re a relative newcomer we advise trying a few test runs. Buy or sell a few low-priced items before moving on to a more valuable sale.

This will give you some hands-on experience of a transaction and start to build a picture of you as an Ebay user. If you plan to trade on a regular basis, set up an ‘About me’ page.

Ebay is a faceless market so completing this section gives you a chance to tell prospective buyers more about yourself and the items you tend to sell. This is especially handy for those who are dealing in collectables.