If you are like me, and are very confused about the options buyers and sellers have on Amazon, take heart! Contributing writer Edith Reynolds, who owns The John Bale Book Company with her husband Donato Gaeto, will explain it all in today's issue. She has figured out how booksellers can take advantage of Amazon, and clears up the confusion over Amazon Auctions, Z-shops and Marketplace.

There's a lot to explain - you may find it easier to print it out and read it.

Speaking of confusion, eBay's Checkout feature continues to befuddle buyers and sellers.

Checkout links continue to show up in End of Auction (EOA) messages, even for sellers who have opted out of Checkout. Several sellers reported that their EOA messages listed Shipping & Handling costs as set to $0.00, causing customers to think (understandably) that shipping is free.

We checked our own EOA emails from December 10th and found inconsistencies in the messages. Several EOA emails stated "Winning bidder, to complete this sale via Checkout, click here:" with a link. Other EOA emails had no link to Checkout, and stated, "The winning bidder and seller should contact one another within three business days to complete the sale. Winning bidders should send payment directly to the seller." We checked our preferences, which were still set to, "No, do not display eBay's Checkout button." This problem evidently applies only to the checkout button on the "View Auction" page and has nothing to do with Checkout links elsewhere.

If you are having problems with eBay's Checkout feature, I would suggest you contact eBay support and let them know: http://pages.ebay.com/help/basics/select-support3.html.

Reports of holiday shopping activity continue to roll in. So far, it looks like online shopping is up from last year (about 8.3%), while total retail spending is up only about 1.8%. Look for more facts & figures, including the number one reason for shopping online, in "Holiday Shopping Results" in this issue. I've also included some consumer resources in today's "This & That" section in case you have a problem with a purchase (online or offline).

I want to take a moment to thank everyone who wrote for AuctionBytes this year. We look forward to more stories about online auction selling and about collectibles in the coming year. David and I couldn't do this alone, and we are proud to have the best writers in the industry!

We also want to thank our friends and family for their unwavering support. We are celebrating Christmas today with my parents, and will be celebrating on Tuesday with David's family. I feel so grateful that we can take time to be with our families. Now is the time to be together and appreciate one another.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from David, Maggie and me!

Ina Steiner, Editor Email: ina@auctionbytes.com

PS: We'll see you January 6th, when we go back to a twice-monthly format.