I'm actually surprised that many sellers on Half.com do not post a picture of the product they are selling. It can create trust that the product you are selling is in your posession. Anyway, I redid all the photos I posted for Half.com and used the following:
After doing this, it brings me to the topic about a regular Internet user selling on eBay, Amazon, or Half.com. Creating your own auction using your own resources isn't that hard, though, I know many users who struggle posting items on eBay or Half.com. Mainly, I think their concerns are the following:
- Taking an image of the product you are selling
- Packaging the item for shipment (including pricing shipping costs)
- Fraud
Taking a good picture isn't that hard. In fact, I've learned that many quality picture can be taken with the flash turned off. My Half.com pictures for Items without a flash were taken with ISO 50 on a tripod in a average lit room. Even though the shutter was open for about 1 second, I was able to get a very clear shot because it was a stationery object. After running the dark picture through PSPX using Smart Photo Fix, I was able to bring all the colors back without having the dark corners or inconsistent lighting due to the weak flash on the camera.
Packaging is another thing. Of course, you have to buy packaging material, which you can get from your closest office supply store. Most boxes cost anywhere from $0.99 to $1.50. If you are shipping a book, you can probably use padded envelopes. Additionally, to calculate how heaving your item is, I use a bathroom scale. Weigh yourself first on the bathroom scale. Then, bring the item you want to sell and carry it with you on the scale. The difference should be the weight of the item. Of course, if your item weighs less than one pound, you should probably use a scale at your closest post office or buy one. Based on the weight, you can have at least an estimate of how much shipping is going to cost. Additionally, be sure to take distance into account, since many shippers also charge by distance. This matter most when you are on the east or west coast.
Now, fraud is another story. This is one topic I haven't experienced first hand. Though, there are many ways to prevent fraud. One way is to always get a confirmation or tracking number of any type when you ship an item, which means an extra cost. This is as much as you need to know for Half.com and Amazon zShops. For eBay, you have to take a look at a combination of Feedback and Shipping address. If asked to ship to another shipping address than the billing address (especially if they are more than 10 miles apart), you should ask yourself if you really want to take that order. Many eBay businesses factor that risk in their costs and profits. But, a user who only has one item should NEVER take this risk. It's an unnecessary risk and you are probably better off taking a lower bid/purchase than taking a user (who may even have good feedback) with an unverified address. This is the one distinct difference that all private online sellers should always remember.
After all this, I don't see a reason why an average person cannot create an auction/listing themselves.