Build your own PORTABLE eBAY OFFICE

eBay PH is now emerging as one of the most trusted online stores in Philippines. For four years now it has been growing in leaps and bounds eclipsing other "entrenched" online stores. With the increasing momentum of the worldwide financial crisis, more and more people will be looking for alternative means of revenue. And this eBay PH can provide.

I am one of the "Oldies" of eBay PH. But I never made it to the much coveted powerseller status. Still, I can proudly say that I am a certified eBay Instructor. The concept of a Portable eBay Office started even before I passed the certification exams of eBay.

Here is a short story how this Portable eBay Office came to be.

"Once I was asked by a college student if it was possible to engage in online business using eBay without the internet and a computer (was not an eBay specialist yet). People generally think that selling in eBay involves sitting on a coffee shop sipping outrageously expensive coffee and banging at your poor notebook. Not so, I told her.

I told her the story of someone I know who started selling on eBay on internet cafe's. This guy bought his own personal computer through his profits in eBay. That guy was me. :-)

We talked about the software to use and the issue that not all internet cafes have that same software installed. Summing it all up it would be really helpful for people aspiring to be eBayers who are in a situation like hers. So this idea of a Portable eBay Office was born. The year was 2005 then."

The Portable eBay Office is simply a USB drive containing essential software that an eBayer needs to fully interact with ebay.

It's primary target users are:

• eBayers who do not have laptops or computers
• eBayers who have home computers but without access to the internet
• eBayers who do not have any computers and internet access
• eBayers who work in the office but cannot install software

Here in the Philippines, not all eBayers have their own personal computers and laptops. Internet access is commonly done through internet cafes and for those daring enough... the office. I myself started my forays in eBay by jumping from one internet cafe to another until I earned enough to buy my own computer.

So what tools and applications does the Portable eBay Office have? Well it contains applications that I have found useful in one or another during my journey through eBay.

A list of tools that may be included in the Portable eBay Office:

• AbiWord: An efficient MSWord compatible word processor.It comes in handy on internet cafes or office terminals where the MS Office Suite is not installed.
• 7-Zip: A very powerful file compression program. Supports lots and lots of formats.
• Converter: A simple units converter. e.g inches to centimeters, lbs to kg...
• Sumatra PDF: A very effective PDF reader. It has almost all the features of the original acrobat reader plus a little bit more...
• PSTART: This is what brings together the Portable eBay Office components to a coherent whole. Its actually a simple menu system that centralizes your eBay office applications.
• Irfan View: A lean and mean image browser with a built in but limited photo editing features. IT is used as a demo tool in Southeast Asia eBay training.
• Chikka: A PC to Mobile phone messaging system. With this you can send sms/text messages from your computer to any mobile phone.
• NotePad PLUS: One of the best text editing application in the world. It recognizes dozens and dozens of programming languages. For eBayers... its html capabilities is a big help.
• Miranda: An all in one internet messaging hub. You can chat with your AIM, YAHOO, ICQ... in just one application. No need to have multiple clients. This one does it all...

• SunBird: One of the best organizers around. Keep yourself on schedule with its simple yet effective methods.
• Thunderbird: In my opinion, the best email client in the universe. ;-) Download your gmail and yahoo mail from the internet to your usb and read them offline.
• KompoZer: A WYSIWYG html editor. Actually used by professional web designers. A very powerful tool in designing eBay listing templates.
• FireFox: Probably the best browser in the world.
• Skype: eBay owns Skype and therefore makes it important to an eBayer. It is communications tool that feature VOIP and instant messaging.
• GIMP: A great photoshop alternative. All the power of photoshop with a price we all come to love - FREE. This tool provides a cutting edge advantage in making your auction images appealing to buyers.
• GNU CASH: When you join eBay, 95% chances are money will start rolling in. And when the rolling money becomes out of control... you'll nee this to save the day - a virtual accountant to keep track of your finance: ebay or otherwise
• Google Chrome: A very promising browser for eBayers

First, you've got to have a USB drive or an external portable hardrive. If possible get the largest capacity you can afford. These drive are relatively cheap now than they were before. Here in the Philippines it about $2 per gigabyte and it gets cheaper as the capacity increases.

Have your USB drive ready and go to this web site: Amorsiko.com

Register (this used to be on the home page, but too much downloads deactivated my hosting service so I had to regulate the downloads and transfer most of the files to a file sharing service) on the site and and go to the download section. Select and download the files you think you'll need. Unzip them once you have completed the downloads and copy the directory to your USB. If you want to get everything at one shot... choose the Portable eBay Office download.

That's it... now you have you own Portable eBay Office.