1. Irfanview (http://www.irfanview.com/). You do not need an expensive program such as Photoshop to improve the photos you take for your auction. Irfanview is a nifty free program that contains many photo-editing functions.

2. Auction Shark (http://www.auctionshark.com/). It is always good to compare your prices against the going market rate. If you sell on eBay, you probably already know how to look up completed auctions to get an idea of market prices for specific items. However, you can broaden your search by having Auction Shark searching (current) auctions on eBay, Amazon, Yahoo and Overstock auctions.

3. Slide eBay Cross-Sell Gallery (http://www.slide.com/ebay?seller=true). This freeware tool pulls your eBay auctions (and photos)and then generates the code for a scrolling marquee that shows thumbnail pictures of your items. Just paste this code into your auction or website, and customers can see all your other offers scrolling by while they are looking at one of your items. You have to join Slide (for free), though.

4. 1st Page 2000 (http://www.evrsoft.com/1stpage2.shtml). A freeware WYSIWYG HTML editor that helps you build your own website without having to enter actual HTML code.

5. Convert (http://joshmadison.net/software/). The internet is a global market. Don't forget that there is a whole world out there that does not use inches and feet and ounces and pounds. This utility lets you convert measurements.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Pamela Bruce lives in Austin, TX. She is the owner of Love Beads Unlimited and sells the sterling silver and Swarovski crystal bead jewelry she designs and creates both in her eBay store (http://stores.ebay.com/LOVE-BEADS-UNLIMITED) and on her website at http://www.lovebeadsunlimited.com, where you can also download the free e-book "A Consumer's Guide to Buying Bead Jewelry Online".