Paypal plugins are tiny pieces of software that are added on websites so that visitors and buyers (website users) can pay for goods and services they would like to buy from the website. These plugins will literally turn your webpage or blog into some kind of a shopping website. This is done by inserting Paypal buttons on which people can click to pay for products and services on sale on the site or blog. They are easy to ‘plug-in' (download and install) into your website and they make your site fetch money for you, even without your presence.

There are various Paypal plugins that help you to incorporate the buying and selling features on your website. These are Paypal API (Name-Value Pair Interface), Paypal API: SOAP Interface, Website Payments Pro Payflow Edition, Payflow Pro and Website Payments Pro, UK edition. There are also Paypal Supported Plugins and the Website Payments Standard.

The Paypal (Name-Value Pair Interface) works best with Express Checkout, while Paypal API: SOAP Interface is an enhancement that require experience with SOAP web services. Website Payments Standard is a set of toolkits with the software programming code that shows how payment - sending and receiving - that goes on in the background on your website, including acknowledgements for money in and money sent out. Paypal Supported Plugins were those made by Paypal developers and are easily supported by the system. They include Paypal plugin for Quickbooks for sending invoices via Quickbooks, Paypal plugin for Outlook and Outlook Express as well as osCommerce Modules (available in US and UK versions). One version requires the creation of a store account on the osCommerce store by any person buying products and services from a website while the other doesn't.

Paypal has also moved to integrate its plugins in popular internet browsers like Mozilla's Firefox and Microsoft's Internet Explorer. The main focus in this is the Secure Card feature for handling card transactions online.

All these plugins help integrate Paypal, the internationally-preferred online payment method, onto your website. Users can buy securely using their cards without the risk of exposing their private payment details. Paypal plugins are a great advancement in necessitating online payment only that as of now, they're not available in all countries.

Blabble is a Facebook application that makes it real easy to add speech bubbles to your photographs. Developed by Rethink Communication for Solo Mobile, this software is free for everyone to use anyway they want, and it's my secret weapon on eBay.

This software application lets anyone create text boxes on top of the photos they have stored inside Facebook. This box is a dialogue bubble, just like the ones in the funny pages except this speech cloud is orange and has a movable beak.

Facebook members can make their photo creations public, or not - they can save their Blabbles back inside their photo galleries, or on their computer desktops (for easy listing in auctions).

Images are very important in eBay auctions. No matter how well sellers describe their items most buyers want to see pictures before they purchase anything online. Good pictures are one of the best ways to really showcase your pieces, and make it stand out from the crowd, especially if you can inject some humor into the images, and compel shoppers to click the listing just to see more angles, and read more 'story'. Before I list items, I take digital pictures and (try to) follow my own set of nine simple rules. Here are my photo secrets:

1. Use natural light whenever possible.
2. Use a plain background that makes the item stand out - I try to avoid using a white background as this washes away colour and the contrast can soften details ... esp product logos and any text that's written on paper labels. But rules are made to be broken and sometimes white is the very best background.
3. Photograph items in sections - take close-ups of small sections of detailed items, and multiple views (front, back, side, top) so potential buyers can see the actual condition of the item. Always remember to get a wideshot ... in the movie business this master scene shot is often called the 'establishing shot' and the details are considered 'coverage'.
4. Crop your photos to remove any unnecessary background elements that might otherwise distract from the item - this rule I have also broken with some success.
5. Face directional objects into the text to create dynamic layouts. This idea comes from the golden age of newspaper publishing where human portraits were often positioned so that they appeared to be reading the text. Today this is called a 'dynamic layout' in desktop publishing.
6. Resize all image files to approximately 330 pixels tall by 440 pixels wide which appears to be the perfect size for eBay Picture Services hosting.
   


7. Balance the contrast and brightness for optimal detail transmission, not artistic merits.
8. Make back-ups! Save the picture on your computer for future use because eBay Picture Service provides only temporary photo hosting.
9. Use text bubbles sparingly, and with style to convey more relevant information to buyers and spark interest by highlighting otherwise invisible features.

Blabble is a great way to share bits of story and thereby hook shoppers into reading ALL the descriptive text in an otherwise ordinary eBay item listing.

Pay close attention to shipping charges : Just because a seller has used the “calculate” feature to figure the shipping costs, doesn't mean that you are going to be charged only actual shipping. The shipping calculator is just that, it calculates what info that seller has provided. Some sellers will over estimate the weight or size of a package in order to make a profit on the shipping. Do your homework, are other sellers charging similar shipping fees for similar items? An item with a lower bid or buy it now price than competitors may not be the best deal.

While searching, the advanced search may provide better results. While using the advanced search, you can exclude certain words, set the price range, and include store inventory. When you use the regular search feature, store inventory is not included. You can expect the number of search matches to double when you include store inventory. You can also choose to view only auctions, or “buy it nows” for immediate purchase.

Feedback is essential: Sellers feedback is now more detailed including ratings for item description accuracy, sellers communication, how fast the item was shipped, and if the shipping charges are fair. Before you jump right in, take a good look at the sellers feedback and detailed seller ratings. Do you see any patterns? Do many customers complain of slow shipping? Or description wasn't accurate?

Pay attention to what buyers are not saying. Most buyers on eBay will leave positive feedback even if the experience wasn't. If many eBayers have left the seller feedback just stating one factor, “fast shipping,” or “nice” the things that they are not mentioning may be the sellers weakness. If you see many comments like “seller refunded promptly” that may suggest that the item(s) doesn't live up to the description and these buyers were not satisfied with their purchases and had to go through the hassle of returning it.

Return Policy Problems : Just because a seller offers a return policy doesn't mean you are in the clear. How long does the seller allow you to return the item? If it is three days, you may want to stay clear of that item, especially if it is an electronic item. You want at least a few days to test the item without having to worry about sending it back the same day you received.

Also, do they refund the original shipping cost? If not, when you buy an item for $5 but the shipping was $10, you'll loose that shipping fee amount and have to pay to ship the item back to them. Sometimes its will cost you less to keep the item than to return it. If they do not offer return policy, you are stuck with that item, whether or not it is what you paid for.

Just because it says that it is authentic doesn't mean that it is: Fake items are sold on eBay everyday as authentic. Ebay does work very hard to prevent fakes being sold as real, but its hard for them to keep up with all of the items that are listed for sale on a daily basis. Be cautious of listing that do not include several pictures. For example, if you are interested in a designer purse, the seller should have included several images including the interior pockets, lining, and tags. Be careful for items that do not match the designers normal standard of products. If in doubt, don't bid. Ask the seller if they guarantee authenticity, if they don't, don't bid. If they don't allow returns, don't bid.

Occasionally, the picture isn't even what you are bidding on: Every now and then you may come across an item with a picture but that picture isn't of the item you are interested in. A seller may be selling a list of wholesalers, but the picture is of a digital camera. Also, eBay does provide stock photos of popular cell phones, PDAs, DVDs, etc. You could be viewing a stock photo of a perfect new item but in fact the listing states that it is used.

Its also suggested that you take a moment to read through some of the topics on Ebay's support pages, including buyer protection, item not received disputes, and marketplace safety.

Most eBay sellers are reliable merchants, while a few are not. It is easy to overlook important information while browsing through items on Ebay. Hopefully these tips have helped to introduce you to the amazing marketplace of Ebay.

In recent years, there have been literally hundreds if not thousands of online dating websites springing up all around the internet. All of these websites shout offers like "Find love in 6 months or get 6 months free!". Now, being a single guy myself who has a hard time finding girls that I like, I realize that I am not in the best position to be critiquing an online community whose main goal is to help people like me. However, something about these websites really has me uneasy.

First of all, you never have to face the rejection (real, not online) that for generations has helped turn boys into men. Getting an ice-cold rejection from a beautiful woman hardens your skin and sure, nobody likes it, but it is a necessary experience to face or else we humans would never be able to handle the decades worth of rejections and disappointments that are damn well guaranteed to come.

Secondly, I don't know about you, but personally, a lot of the excitement of a relationship is getting to know the person you are with. I prefer finding things out slowly about my significant other and it seems to me that a relationship where I know so much about a person before I have even met them may get boring pretty fast, but what do I know?

And my largest worry about the online dating scene? How about it's popularity! At the rate it's going, it's almost an inevitability that ten years down the line, the only way to meet a quality girl will be online and I'll be sitting there at my little touch screen computer the size of a damned post-it note creepily inputting my favorite chick flicks.

"Ooh! Love Actually! That's a non-negotiable one, this bitch better fucking love that movie or we've got no future together!"

Online Shopping

I mean...sure, I've done my fair share of buying things (more like helplessly charging my credit card) over the internet and I love the convenience and unbeatable prices online. But online grocery shopping? Is that really necessary? The majority of Americans live within 5 minutes of a fucking supermarket yet people are buying their fruits and veggies online at their computers (presumably while shopping for their future mates)! And we try to place the blame of our country's obesity problem on fast food! Sure, that food is not healthy in the least but blaming fast food places for obesity is like blaming the delicious salmon in my belly for possible mercury poisoning instead of...oh, I don't know, us dumping tons of radioactive waste into the ocean? I digress...People, GO TO THE GROCERY STORE! If you are smart about it, it's cheaper, healthier, and you'll get some valuable exercise while you're at it!

Online Gaming

Three words; World of Warcraft. Having been a part of this phenomenon, I know first-hand the horrors of being addicted to one of the best drug...err games ever made. I played for one year in my college dorm and missed homework assignments, opportunities to meet girls, midterms, food, you name it. My dorm mate broke up with his girlfriend of 2 years (who he met in real life ironically) because she was suffocating him during scheduled online gathering times with his guild (A dedicated community of online friends comprised of everything from 50 year old fathers to 19 year old crackheads). Can you believe that? I'd drop a bitch too if she was trying to hug and kiss me and shiet during a 40-man raid.

None of this is very bad when compared to a couple in Korea who let their baby die after they were busy living World of Warcraft and forgot to take care of her. Let that settle in for a minute and then tell me you don't understand my fear of an eventual future where we will have become an introverted and anti-social society whose lives are so uneventful that slaying a virtual dragon is the most fun we can have.

Online Resources for School

Now I'm going to go on a limb and say that cheating in school prior to the internet was not as prevalent as it is today. Sure, the desire was always there but the means were not. In the technology/information age that I am for better or worse a product of; the means to cheat have finally surpassed the desire. Think about the seriousness of that statement. In today's schools, anyone who has even the smallest desire to cheat can go online to find their answers. There are websites where you can literally buy essays for whatever class you have from political science to the fucking Simpsons for all you potheads in the media/pop culture fields. There even exist sites like academia-research.com where you submit a prompt and some prick like me will write you an essay for some cash.

Not to even mention sites like Wikipedia or Google that straight up do your homework for you. And sure, I used Wikipedia and Google throughout my college stint, but not once did I purchase an essay online. I sure as hell witnessed all of this going on around me though and was even offered money to write one for someone. With no sense of responsibility and the idea that money can buy anything, even homework, it's no wonder the people running this country are all a bunch of corrupt pricks driving our country into the ground.

If you are looking to buy new merchandise on eBay, such as shoes, purses, or clothing you can get a good bargain on great name brands. But if the Louis Vitton bag that you want is still too pricey, you can always check in the vintage clothing. You can get name brands like that for cheap because it may be an older or discontinues style.

When searching for collectibles or antique items, you know that you may have to pay a little higher price for a good quality item. But you can even find deals on autographs, trading cards, and antique furniture. To find deals, first try misspelling your search keywords. Often times items are listed in the wrong categories if they are misspelled. There is also another way to get a deal on some great collectibles. You can buy a collectible such as a trading card at a less than perfect condition and keep a stock of these. Then, when you find one that is in mint condition, you can sell off your stock of less than perfect cards to pay for the new one.

Finding deals on eBay takes a little work and a lot of patience. But if you want to save money and have fun while shopping, eBay is the only online store you'll ever need.

eBay has a way of keeping you up to date on your auctions when you're doing other things than staring at your computer like a mindless drone. All you need is a cell phone and eBay will happily provide this service for you for a quarter. 25 cents per auction. Ouch. Considering that I'm actively watching 13 different items at the moment - $3.25 doesn't seem too fair when they can email me for free.

If you visit the preferences section of eBay, you can get notification emails for free, and you can be notified of nearly everything imaginable:

Buying Notifications

• Watched item ending reminder
• Watched item daily list
• Watched item emails for relisted items
• Bid confirmation
• Outbid
• Winning buyer
• Non-winning bidder
• Second Chance Offer
• Personalized New Item Updates
• Daily buying status
• Want It Now reminder

Selling Notifications

• Saved draft reminder (Sell Your Item form)
• Listing confirmation
• Sold item
• Unsold item
• Buyer checkout
• Selling account invoices
• Daily selling status

MAKING IT WORK

You'll be using a couple free services to make this happen. First - Gmail - a free web based email program built by Google, and teleflip to help forward your email notifications to your wireless device.

So, make a Gmail account if you don't already have one - you don't have to change your life around or anything. You can keep whatever other email you use. From your Gmail inbox, look to the upper right hand corner of your browser and find “Settings.”

From there, choose “Filters.”

At the bottom of the Filters Tab, choose “Create a New Filter.”

What you'll be doing is forwarding all emails from eBay to your wireless device. When eBay sends you an email - “eBay” is in the “From:” field. Therefore, you will type eBay in the “From:” field. Then click on “Next Step”

Now that you have told Gmail what to look for, you have to tell it what to do with it. You want it to forward to your wireless device. Teleflip helps here by automatically determining what your wireless device “email” address is.

On the page that follows, Choose the check box for “Forward it to:” and type in your 10 digit wireless number @teleflip.com. Once you click “Create Filter” you're done! Wireless phone emails count as text messages and are billed by your wireless provider accordingly. Most plans have a provision for text messages.

After your filter is created you can modify it accordingly - here are some examples:

• In the “Forward it to:” field, put any other email address you would like to receive the update separated with commas
• Create several filters to further customize your notifications
• Keep your eBay stuff organized and separated by automatically applying labels

I've tried a vast amount of different websites in trying to find legitimate ways to make some money from home. They all ask for a fee or they just don't have anything available for you. I've looked up paid surveys, paid emails, mystery shopping, blogging, among others. Here's a summary of what I've found:

• If you really like teaching, try tutoring online. Some good websites are Tutor.com (although it's completely full with tutors so good luck there) and GlobalScholar.com. Just make sure you are willing to give the time to answer questions for homework and tutoring sessions (and make sure you know a lot about the subject!) Personally, I'm not much on teaching.
• The one thing I liked when looking up stuff was freelance writing. I first got onto Helium.com, but they take a long time to publish your article and are somewhat strict about the guidelines about writing them. However, if you're really into writing, give it a try. There's a good amount of money available for excellent writers.
• The only place I've earned any sort of money so far is on Triond. It's not much, but I know it'll accumulate eventually (I hope!) and it's for people like me who aren't professional writers! You can publish whatever you want: text documents on anything with no specified length, pictures, even audio and video! The only requirement is that it's your own stuff. They publish it on relevant websites for you. The way you earn money is by the number of people that view it. So, when you publish something, make sure to promote it! It's really easy. With enough publishings, I'm sure you'll be making some dollars eventually 

• Well known brands equals better security. You should shop with companies you have heard of. If you see something that's too good to be true, then it probably is. For example if you see the new iphone for $40 then it may well be a scam to get your details.
• If you're not sure about the website then check them out. If there isn't an email address or phone number then that's a major sign for not using that site. If there is a number then ring it to find out whether it is real or not. If it goes to answer phone or you don't like what you're hearing then you should shop elsewhere.
• Also, you should enter any important details and passwords on shared/ public computers. People can put key loggers onto shared computers so that when something is typed into them, they can find out exactly what you wrote, when, where and what it was for.

There's stuff for sale, too, but it's usually cheaper than bricks-and-mortar merchandise, and shopping on the Internet is almost as safe as shopping in a rather run-down area in, say New York City. I don't shop on the Internet anyway. Or at least I thought so until I found out that the Internet, a vast world of treasure and delight, is also a minefield that can blow up the unwary.

“Free Credit Report”, the ads screamed. I'm always leery of that, but legislation was passed not long ago to enable US citizens to obtain exactly that. So I went online. Well, it turned out that the credit reports were not exactly free, but there was a 7-day free trial period, during which the website assured me, I could obtain a free credit report from the three major credit bureaus. I filled in the online form, and waited happily for the free, immediate credit reports.

Shunted off to the website of one Credit Bureau after another, I was asked obscure questions about my past financial life, some of which didn't seem to apply to myself at all. What was the name of the auto leasing company that I signed papers with 5 or so years ago? What vehicle did I hire, and how much did I pay. There were questions about an obscure escrow company that I had either forgotten, or never heard about. “Sorry,” the websites told me, we don't like your answers, and you're not getting an immediate credit report. “Talk to our representative,” they said.

“Good,” I thought. “I prefer dealing with humans anyway.” The humans must have been programmed by the website developer. They asked the same questions, which I was unable to answer, and they refused to deliver my free credit report. I quit. I know I have bad credit, I guess that's enough. End of story.

Except that, exactly a week later, the charges rolled in, destroying my fragile bank balance, and causing overdrafts, followed by further, domino-effect overdrafts. I had no idea where these charges originated, certainly not the free Credit Report companies. However, on tracing down the tangled URL threads, I did, finally, arrive back to the free credit report company. It was based in Texas, and supplied no phone number. Texas doesn't appear to have any knowledge of it, or its phone number, and my emails go unanswered.

I know, I should have been more careful. Nothing is free. Pay nothing, get nothing. Except that in this case I paid and still got nothing, except a bill, annoyance, and several overdrafts.

Caveat Emptor. Let the buyer beware.