| Join eBay in 10 Easy Steps (cont'd) | |
|
Now that you've created an eBay account, you'll also want to create an account on eBay company PayPal. A PayPal account will make it possible for you to quickly and easily make and receive payments without having to repeatedly enter credit card or banking information, or without having to wait for the sending or receiving of checks or money orders.
Step 6: Sign up for PayPal
On the lower half of the confirmation page welcoming you to eBay, you'll see a secion marked "Sign up for PayPal" (you may have to scroll down in order to see it). Since PayPal is the single most essential tool to have for successful buying and selling on eBay, you should immediately join PayPal as well before doing anything else on the eBay website.
To do this, click the "Sign up for PayPal" button now (circled in red). You'll be taken directly to the PayPal website and presented with a form similar to the one that you just completed for eBay.
Step 7: Complete the PayPal registration form
To complete the PayPal registration form, similar in many ways to the eBay registration form you've just completed, follow these steps:
- Enter your email address in the first box. (Box marked A.) The email address that you provide here will be both your PayPal ID (you'll use it to log into PayPal and to receive payments from PayPal) and the email address on which you'll receive PayPal notifications.
- Enter the password you'd like to use for PayPal into the next two boxes, again taking care that both of the passwords that you enter match. (Boxes marked B.)
- Enter your first and last names where indicated. (Boxes marked C and D.) It is imperative that your names as supplied here be real, since they must match the payment information on your checking and credit card accounts in order for PayPal to conduct transactions for you.
- Select your country of residence from the drop-down list. (Item marked E.)
- Enter your street address, city, state or province, and zip or postal code address in the relevant areas (boxes marked F), taking care once again to ensure that the data you enter here matches the data your bank/account holders have on file for you.
- Enter your complete phone number. (Box marked G.)
- As you did on the eBay registration form, do your best to read the unusual text provided to you near the bottom of the form (item marked H) and enter it into the code box (marked I) to verify to PayPal that you are a human and not an Internet bot/robot.
- Carefully read PayPal's user agreement and privacy policy by clicking on their respective links.
- When you're done with the form, click the "Agree and Sign Up" button (item marked J) to proceed with your PayPal registration.
Step 8: Link a bank account to your PayPal account
Once you've successfully submitted your PayPal registration form, you'll see another welcome page confirming the creation of your account. Once again, however, before you return to eBay to start shopping or selling, you should link one of your bank accounts to your PayPal account to enable you to send and receive payments easily and conveniently.
Click on the "Add Bank Account" link to link a checking or savings account to your PayPal account (link marked A, recommended). Click on the "Add Credit/Debit Card" link to link a credit card account to your PayPal account (link marked B). Linking a checking or savings account will make it possible for you to receive payments via PayPal for any items that you sell on eBay and to have these payments quickly and easily transferred to the bank account in question.
Note: Whichever you choose to add now, you can always add additional checking, savings, or credit card accounts later by visiting PayPal directly at www.paypal.com, logging in, and adding the accounts in question to your profile.
Step 9: Enter account details and confirm
Since a checking or savings account is likely the first type of account you'll want to link to your PayPal account, that's what we'll illustrate here. once you've clicked the "Add Bank Account" link on the PayPal welcome page, you'll see one last form to complete before your eBay/PayPal registration is complete and ready for everyday use. This form simply collects information about your bank account so that it can be linked to your PayPal account. Here's how to complete the form:
- Enter your bank's branch or official name, as it appears on your checks or bank statements, in the "Bank Name" box. (Box marked A.)
- Tell PayPal whether the account you're linking is a checking account or a savings account. (Choice marked B.)
- Enter the routing number for the bank or branch where your account is housed in the box labeled "Routing Number." (Box marked C.) If you don't know this number, you can find it on the checks you have for the account in question; it is the 10-digit number at the lower-left.
- Enter the account number for this account in the boxes labeled "Account Number." (Boxes marked D.) Once again you're asked for the same information twice so that PayPal can be sure you've typed it correctly; be sure to enter it carefully and correctly each time.
- Click the "Continue" button to confirm your account and proceed to the next step. (Button marked E.)
Step 10: Follow any additional directions from PayPal
Once you've entered your account information and clicked on the "Continue" button, PayPal will provide you with a simple set of instructions for confirming that the account you've supplied is indeed yours, steps that vary with from case to case and with the type of account provided.
Most of the time, PayPal will make one or several small deposits to your account in the days following your registration. Your job in such cases is to record the amounts of these deposits, return to PayPal directly, log in using your email address and password, and enter the amounts of these deposits to prove to PayPal that the account in question is indeed yours, is active, and that you currently have access to it.
Whatever the directions supplied, follow them carefully to confirm the linking of your checking, savings, or credit card account to your PayPal account, so that you can send and receive payments on eBay quickly and easily.
Congratulations! You're done!
That's all there is to it. Once you've completed each of the steps above, you're ready to begin life as an eBay trader, buying and selling with ease. As a final note, take care not to forget the eBay nickname/user ID you chose, the email address that you supplied to PayPal, or the password(s) that you supplied to both eBay and PayPal in order to protect your accounts. Should you forget any of these (as many, many have over the years), you may find it difficult or impossible ever to resume trading on eBay/PayPal.
Welcome to the eBay community, and be sure to read more about getting started on eBay, buying on eBay, selling on eBay.
Happy trading!
Previous page < Join eBay in 10 Easy Steps < Page 1, 2
