eBay | online repu-tation | payment services | Korea

american way: What more needs to be done to combat counterfeiting, and what role is eBay playing?
whitman: Fraud is quite small on eBay: Less than 1/100th of 1 percent of our listings result in a confirmed case of fraud. We're proud of that, but we want to make that number even smaller. The No. 1 tool to help users protect themselves is the Feedback Forum, which is a user's online repu-tation. We also help provide payment services - such as person-to-person credit card payments and escrow - to make payments secure.

american way: As you've moved into other countries, what have been the challenges, both in the company culture and in serving new customers?
whitman: Growing internationally is always a challenge, no matter what industry you're in. Fortunately, eBay is as relevant in Korea or France as it is in the U.S. Our goal is to bring the best of the eBay culture to international markets, while leaving room for our in-country teams and the local communities to make it their own.

ebay business tips
marsha collier, author of the just-published starting an ebay business for dummies (hungry minds), teaches ebay users all over the country - including the nearly 100,000 people making their living on the site - how to increase their sales revenue and better their bargain-buying. she offers these tips for american way readers who want to lower their company's purchase costs, start a new ebay-based business, or simply find that rare collectible from their childhood.

when selling ...
keep photos small: using many images - more than 40k total per page - makes your auctions load more slowly, especially for those with slow dial-up connections. your prospective buyers may not wait. to show details, use small photos that link to larger ones for those who want more.