Whitehall Township Public Library Director Patty Vahey shared her hobby with patrons at a presentation Nov. 1.

Vahey, who has been selling on eBay for 10 years, shared the secrets to making money this way.

"I have sold over 950 items on eBay and I have helped others sell their items as well," Vahey said. "That is what eBay calls a 'trading assistant' – one that sells items for others that cannot sell items on their own."

The online auction website, known as "the worlds largest marketplace," was founded in 1995 by computer programmer Pierre Omidyar. He now has more than 15,000 employees and the site has become one of the largest companies in America.

"I enjoy being able to make extra money at the comfort of my home," said Vahey, who is what eBay calls a "power seller." That means she must continually generates a certain amount of revenue as established by the site.

To get started, Vahey said, a seller must open an account. This includes opening a PayPal account in order to accept electronic payments from buyers.

PayPal charges a fee to sellers accepting payments but not to buyers making payments.

The next step involves finding out what your items are worth – which can often be done by checking out other listings for similar items.

The words used in the item title are those that turn up in buyer searches.

"Maximize your item title by including key words that buyers will search," she said. "Use unique or descriptive attributes, and always check your spelling. Your item title is critical in helping others find your items. Always describe your item in detail."

The listing body will include a space to describe the item in more detail than you can in the title.

"A picture is worth a 1,000 words," said Vahey. "Invest in a camera and take clear photographs of the items you want to sell."

One of the trickier aspects of eBay selling is determining shipping costs.

The eBay site offers a free shipping calculator to make it easier for the seller to specify shipping costs even though the costs will vary according to where the buyer is located.

Vahey recommends making shipping costs as reasonable as possible.

"Communicate, always respond quickly to any buyer questions. Include an extra handwritten note in the box to really surprise and delight your customers," Vahey said.

When the transaction has been concluded, buyers and sellers leave feedback for each other on the eBay site. The feedback rating helps both buyers and sellers build their eBay reputation.

"Make sure to leave a feedback for your buyer so they'll do the same for you," Vahey said.