THE INSTRUCTIONS BELOW FOLLOW EACH STEP IN THE ORDER THEY OCCUR ON EBAY

1. Go to http://www.ebay.com (link will open in a new window or tab)
2. If you already have an eBay account (as a buyer or a seller), log in. If not, start an account now.
3. Click on the"Sell" button in the top right button bar on the eBay home page and choose "Sell an Item ."

START SELLING

1. Type in a very brief description of your item. This will help eBay find other similar items and may allow you to use pre-filled in descriptions and pictures to make posting your item extra easy!
2. IMPORTANT: Before you click the blue "Start Selling" button to continue, you must choose the "Customize Your Listing with multiple selling formats, designs, and more" option. If you choose "Keep it Simple " you will not be able set up your auction to donate your proceeds to us.

SELECT A CATEGORY

1. You can choose 1 or 2 categories that your item will be listed under. (Choosing more than 1 category will cost twice as much in fees, but these fees will be donated back to tpt if you choose to donate 100% of your proceeds to tpt!) Click here to learn more about eBay fee donation policies and eBay fees (link will open in a new window or tab)

**If, at any time during this process you need to be away from your computer, you may click "Save and Complete Later" so that you don't lose what you've already done.

HELP BUYERS FIND YOUR ITEM

1. If the brief description you entered matched items that are in the eBay database, you will see items you can choose from to "pre fill" your form if you are selling that same item! (This makes the rest of your posting a breeze!)
2. If eBay did not find product matches or if you'd like to change the title that eBay filled in for you, you may be prompted to fill in a UPC code. Fill it in if you have it. If the UPC is found, eBay will import a description and maybe even a stock photo of your item.
3. If eBay did not find your product OR if you would prefer to enter your own description, this is where you will fill in the Title and Description of your item. Start by typing in the title of what you are selling.
• Remember: this title is what will be searched when people are searching eBay for your item. Name the item wisely and pay extra attention to correct spelling..
4. Add a "Subtitle" if you wish (this costs 50 cents extra but can help draw attention to your item. This fee will not be refunded by eBay.)
5. Fill in any extra fields that appear for the category you've chosen. (if you don't know some of these things, that's okay, you can leave them blank.)

BRING YOUR ITEM TO LIFE WITH PICTURES

1. If eBay didn't find a product match with a picture, or you'd like to upload your own photo, click the "browse" button and select the photo you'd like to use. There are several ways to acquire pictures:
   • Search for other auctions that have sold the same item and copy that image to your computer's hard drive (as long as the image does not contain a copyright), then upload it to eBay using the "browse" button.
   • Find the manufacturer's web site to see if they have a photo of the item and download the photo to your hard drive (as long as the images does not contain a copyright) Then upload that photo to eBay with the "browse" button.
   • You may take a digital photo of your item or scan a photo of your item. Make sure the photo's format is ".jpg" or ".gif" and then upload the photo with the "browse" button.
2. Choose whether or not you'd like a "Gallery Picture" - this adds a picture that will appear in the listings and will help your ad stand out from other listings. We recommend paying the extra 50 cents to have your picture appear in the list. Often there are "specials" and gallery pictures are offered for free.

DESCRIBE THE ITEM YOU'RE SELLING

1. If eBay did not find a product match, or if you'd like to enter your own description,  type in the description. (We recommend looking at the manufacturer's web site for a description.)
   •  Don't forget to use the "spell check" option when you're done!
   •  If you know how to use HTML you may use the HTML tab to spice up your listing, but your ad will look just fine if you use "standard" and take advantage of some of the text formatting functions available in the toolbar.
   •  You can click "preview" to see exactly how our description will look. You can close the "preview" window and make any changes you'd like and then look at the preview again to make sure you like your changes.
2. You can choose "Listing Designer" if you'd like a pre-defined graphic theme added to your listing.
3. Choose the type of "Counter" you'd like. If you want the number of visitors to appear on the page for the public to see, choose a style. If you'd like to keep that number private so only you can see it, choose "Hidden".

CHOOSE HOW YOU'D LIKE TO SELL YOUR ITEM

1. ***IMPORTANT: you must click the " Add or remove options " link on this header in order to to specify that you'd like your proceeds to a non-profit organization. Using this option will also allow you to specify a start date and time for your auction.
   • In the "Add or Remove Options" screen, Click on " Give a percentage of the final sale price to a non-profit organization "
     • You will be prompted to accept the terms and conditions of the eBay Giving Works program.
     •  
     You will also be prompted to choose whether not to share your contact information with us. Please note that if you do not share your contact information with us, our ability to express our thanks to you will be hindered.
   • Also in the "Add or Remove Options" screen, click on "Schedule your listing to start at a specific date and time " - this will allow you to schedule your auction to start at a specific date and time. We recommend that you schedule your auction to be active some time between November 15 and November 30, 2007 because we will b actively promoting our auction event on air at that time. (You can post your auctions before or after those dates if you wish, you just won't get the extra benefit of on-air television exposure.)
2. Set your starting price. We recommend you start the bidding at the very minimum you're willing to accept for the item.
3. IMPORTANT: Now you should see the "Donate a percentage of sale" option with a blue and gold ribbon next to it.
   • Find "Twin Cities Public Television" on the list, and then choose the percent of your donation that will benefit Twin Cities Public Television.
     • If you choose 100% eBay will also donate your eBay insertion fees to Twin Cities Public Television
     • If you choose less than 100% your eBay insertion fees are not donated to Twin Citeis Public Television, but you are able to keep a portion of your proceeds while still benefiting TPT!
     • Whatever percentage you choose, the amount that is donated to us is 100% tax deductible.
   • You will forward your final donation to us through eBay giving works. They will send you an email. If you have not transferred your donation by the second Monday after your auction ends, Mission Fish (eBay's partner in non-profit auctions), will automatically transfer the agreed to amount from the payment method you've chosen to pay your eBay fees.
4. We recommend you start your auction during the busy internet time of 5 PM to 10 PM, or during the morning or mid-day on Saturdays or Sundays. This way your auction will end when there are a maximum number of people online. This can help maximize the final sale price of your item.

DECIDE HOW YOU'D LIKE TO BE PAID

1. Choose the payment method you'll accept from your customers.. You can accept checks and money order, but this slows down the process and may even drive away some bidders. We recommend using PayPal. It's safe, reliable, secure and easy--and it's what people are used to when they're shopping on eBay. If you don't already have a PayPal account, you can sign up for an account now. Your item will appeal to more bidders if you use PayPal.

GIVE BUYERS SHIPPING DETAILS

1. Choose your shipping costs. If you need help figuring out the costs, use the shipping cost calculator by clicking "Research Rates." This is a very handy tool!
   • FYI: Shipping internationally, even to Canada, can be very tricky if you are a beginner at shipping. For beginners we recommend offering domestic shipping only.
   • You may keep the dollar amount you specified for Shipping and Handling to cover your own costs. However, tpt may reject your listing if your shipping and handling cost seems blatently out of proportion.

OTHER THINGS BUYERS LIKE TO KNOW

1. Specify if you will accept returns or exchanges. Be sure to specify clearly in your description if the buyer will be responsible for shipping on returns.
2. Add any other instructions you'd like the buyer to know.
   •  As a safeguard, this is a good place to specify a time window that your winning biddter must pay by before loosing their bid and the item is re-listed. We use a standard of 5 days (paying by credit card or PayPal.
3. If you accept checks or money orders you should allow more time for payments to arrive in the mail also and make it clear that the funds need to clear your bank before you ship. As a precaution, do not send items until you know that a check or money order is legitimate and has cleared.

Click the "Save and Continue" button....

MAKE YOUR LISTING STAND OUT
Use the options on this page at your discretion. Many of these options may cost extra money because they are not "basic" insertion fees.

1. Preview your ad now, and make any changes.
2. Click the "save as template" if you plan to sell any similar items now or in the future. It makes your next listing much easier!
3. Click "List Your Item" if everything looks okay!

WHILE YOUR LISTING IS ACTIVE :
•  You can update your listing after your auction has become active - but you cannot change the pricing.
•  You can make revisions to the text on your listing after your item has been activated, but before there are any bids. There will be a notice added to your listing stating that there were revisions made.
•  If you make revisions before your auction is posted to the public (if you choose a delayed start time), any revision you make will be posted without the public knowing you made revisions.
•  If need you make revisions after a bid has been placed on your item, you will only be able to add information in a new paragraph and will be unable to edit the existing description.
•  Be sure to watch your email for questions from potential buyers so you can answer them in a timely fashion. If an answer to one of the inquiries may be helpful to other bidders, be sure to choose to copy the answer to your auction.

AFTER THE AUCTION ENDS:
•  After your high bidder pays, be sure that the auction has been marked as "paid" in your eBay account.
•  Now that your items are marked as paid on eBay, you transfer your agreed donation to tpt by logging on to your Mission Fish account and clicking "make a donation". It may take a day or two for your Mission Fish account to "register" the auction as paid. You cannot make the transfer until the payment has registered at Misison Fish.
•  To insure that you get "positive feedback" from your buyers, be sure to ship your items to the buyer within a few days of receiving the payment from the buyer. (Positive feedback is the cornerstone of success on eBay.)
•  Mission Fish will send you a receipt for your taxes!
•  Please keep in mind that tpt does not receive your name and address information from eBay or Mission Fish unless you have specified you wish to share that information. If you woul like a more personal recognition for your donation, please email us your name and contact information so we can properly give you thanks.

Some Other Things you should know:

We, at tpt, reserve the right to reject any listings which are blatantly in conflict with our mission or items that have been listed with shipping costs that are blatantly out of proportion with what they should be. TO SEE ALL CURRENT, ACTIVE TPT AUCTIONS ON EBAY Click here to see all active tpt auctions (link opens in a new window or tab)

HAPPY SELLING - and THANK YOU for supporting tpt! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .