I can't answer all your questions, but here are some answers.
Does this mean that I am set to go, and the listing will appear on eBay?
It can take up to 24 hours for a listing to "index" and appear on eBay, especially with new sellers and high value items.
Will it appear twice because I clicked the link twice?
Probably not, because eBay doesn't allow duplicate listings. You may get a grumpy note about this. Don't worry about it.
Or have I just lost my whole listing.
If it doesn't appear, yes. Sadly.
It's a learning curve, and this is a lesson. Maybe even a whole semester of lessons.
What I do is write all my descriptions in TextEdit (or Word if you use a PC) then add the HTML coding which I originally found online years ago. Then at that point on the Sell Your Item form I just cut and paste into the box -- but remember you want the HTML tab. Switch back to the Standard tab to see how it looks. You can edit either way and actually there is a tool bar that will add coding.
I save all my descriptions.
Which means I now have over 10 years worth of descriptions saved. I think I am a candidate for "Virtual Hoarder- Buried Online."
My PayPal account is only linked to a credit card.
That's fine, although your husband should understand that the bank information required by PP is only what is on your cheque forms and allowing PP access to your credit card might give them more access to your finances than you really want or would be possible if your bank account were the only financial information attached. Most people have much higher credit limits on cards than they keep in their bank accounts. (It's been my experience that men can sound very sure about stuff they are completely baffled by. It's sometimes called "mansplaining". Do your own research.)
I use my Paypal balance from sales just the way you describe, paying fees from my balance. The downside is that when I buy, I also am paying from that balance. If I were paying from my cc, through PP, I would have two levels of Buyer Protection, from PP first and from the cc if all goes pear-shaped.
PP is a very very secure way to send and recieve payments for online sales and purchases.
