Auction It!

Did You Buy Stolen Merchandise?

2006-04-29T16:53:00.000-05:00

by Jim Edwards

In a recent article, I wrote about how owners of ebooks,
software, CDs and other intellectual property can keep from
getting ripped off through online auction sites such as eBay
and Yahoo auctions.

By popular request (a slew of emails), we'll now discuss how
buyers can avoid receiving stolen, "pirated," or
"bootlegged" merchandise via online auction sites.

Nobody wants to knowingly receive stolen merchandise and the
following tips should help you avoid trouble.

Digital downloads such as ebooks, MP3 audio files, and
software represent the easiest products to sell illegally on
an auction site.

The seller obtains a copy of the file, puts up an auction
listing, and then delivers the file to the successful
bidder(s) via email or website download.

Because it's so easy, that's where many people start their
lives of online crime.

Unfortunately for the buyer, this can lead to hot water with
the rightful product owner.

** Smart Buying Tips for Digital Download Products:

First, if the person you're buying the product from didn't
create the product (they aren't the author), immediately
become skeptical.

Do a little research on the author, name of the ebook, and
any other information you can find out (Google.com makes a
great starting point).

See if you can find where the author is actually selling
resell rights to their product and, if in doubt, contact the
author to see if others have permission to sell their
product at online auctions.

Second, when you see an auction with verbiage such as
"Attention eBay Staff: I have full resell rights to this
product" get suspicious.

The only reason someone puts that on their auction is if
they've gotten shut down before or they're worried they will
get shut down if anyone notices them.

A real business person doesn't need to place such a
disclaimer on a legitimate auction.

Third, check the seller's feedback. Sometimes, the rightful
owner of the ebook or software will purchase the product
being sold illegally and then leave negative feedback
advising people not to buy from that seller.

** Physical Product Purchase Tips:

Illegal CDs and DVDs represent one of the biggest illegal
sellers at online auctions when it comes to music, software,
movies and educational courses.

An excellent rule of thumb: if they are selling more than
one copy (or have held more than one auction for the same
product) you need to dig a little deeper.

Ask the seller how they came into possession of more than
one copy, especially if it's an expensive software package
or educational course.

Also, ask if the advertised item is an original. If it's a
copy, steer clear and do not buy it.

Another warning sign involves a seller with multiple
quantities of never-been-opened merchandise selling for
pennies on the dollar.

For example, someone selling 20 brand-new Dell computers
that regularly go for $1,500 with a "Buy Now" price of only
$200 should raise your suspicions.

If you suspect someone of selling stolen merchandise or
illegally selling downloadable products, report your
suspicions to the auction service immediately via their
support link.

Nobody wins when seller theft on auction sites goes
unreported and unchallenged.

--
Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the
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Auction Sites Trafficking Stolen Goods Online

2006-03-16T10:09:00.000-06:00

Copyright 2006 Jim Edwards

Ah yes, eBay! The online auction giant that makes all your
dreams come true for finding that special something you
can't find anywhere else.

It's like a giant garage sale in the sky.

Unfortunately, eBay's size makes it easy for people to sell
stolen or unauthorized merchandise and not get caught.

To their credit, I think eBay does as much as humanly
possible to police their site and shut down any offenders
quickly.

However, I recently discovered that plenty of mischief
still occurs, especially with downloadable products.

When checking my email yesterday, I found two messages that
disturbed me.

The first was an automated message from eBay telling me
about an auction selling an ebook about writing ebooks.

Another email came in from a good customer who sent me a
link to another auction on eBay that, to them, "looked
suspicious."

I clicked on the links for both auctions and found
identical postings by two different sellers.

Though they did not mention my ebook, "How To Write and
Publish Your Own eBook... in as little as 7 Days," the
blatant similarity between the wording on the auctions and
my http://www.7DayEbook.com website aroused my curiosity.

Since they didn't reference the ebook they were selling by
title, I decided to go ahead and buy from both sellers to
see what they sent me.

Imagine my horror when they both delivered my own ebook,
which they were selling illegally.

I immediately got the auctions shut down, but the damage
was already done.

Plenty of stolen merchandise gets sold via online auction
sites.

People call it "bootlegged" or "unauthorized copies" to
soften the wording for what they really know is "stolen
merchandise."

Of the two sellers mentioned above, I believe one knew he
was illegally selling my ebook and didn't care, while the
other person was just ignorant and thought she could sell
it because she'd bought it from someone else. Regardless of
their true intentions, their actions were illegal.

Now, let's discuss how you protect yourself and your
intellectual property against illegal sales and
"bootlegging" on eBay and other online auction sites.

First, set up automated searches on the major online
auction services.

Set them up to automatically notify you whenever an auction
gets posted that includes your name or the name of your
product.

You can also set them up to email you whenever an auction
gets listed with certain keywords in it, in my case "write
ebook."

Second, if you find someone has stolen your intellectual
property (sales copy, ebooks, photos, graphics, software,
etc.) you should first contact the seller and politely, but
firmly, ask them to remove it.

If they don't, or if they take more than a few hours to
respond, you should contact the auction site directly to
request an immediate takedown of the offending auction.

eBay's "Vero" program, for example, enables you to simply
fax in a form or send an email to get an auction removed.

You should also go back and check periodically to make sure
that an offending seller doesn't start selling your product
again once they think the uproar has died down.

Third, pay attention to emails from customers and prospects
for signs of anything strange.

Watch for comments like "I saw your ebook for sale on
eBay," or "I saw it cheaper on eBay."

Also, make sure to compare customer service inquiries to
your customer database.

Anyone who asks specific questions about a product and
appears to possess it, but never bought it from you, should
immediately raise a red flag.

Always try to find out where they bought the product and
get them to send you a copy of their email receipt, because
all roads to the thief usually lead back through the credit
card processor.

Finally, trust the never-failing boomerang of karma to come
full circle and ultimately whack any thief in the head!

About the Author:

Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the
co-author of an incredible new ebook that will teach you
how to write and publish your own highly profitable ebook
in a week or less... even if you failed high school English
class!
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9 Reasons To Do Joint Venture Deals On eBay

2005-12-12T09:38:00.000-06:00

© Copyright 2005 Sydney Johnston

eBay is THE most popular home business in the USA, but it's not
without its problems. Many have tried to succeed but have failed
due to confusion over what products to sell, giant numbers of
competitors, copy and picture theft from other sellers and eBay
and Paypal that eat into profits.

One way to avoid this swamp, though, is to do a Joint Venture with
established eBay sellers. This allows a JV partner to build her own
mailing list and sell products off eBay.

There are multiple advantages to this way of doing business on
eBay:

1. The biggest uncertainty for would-be eBay sellers is what
products to sell. Sometimes vendors risk large sums of money on
untried products, only to lose their investment, become sour and
give up. With a Joint Venture there is no risk except for a few
hours of time.

2. Since there are no auctions listed on eBay, no one can steal
copy or pictures from JV sellers - because there is nothing to copy.
In effect, we become invisible - no one even knows we exist and
this hidden aspect has many advantages.

3. eBay JVs are usually done with a digital product that can be
instantly downloaded. This is great for any entrepreneur because
inexpensive autoresponders mean that her entire business is
handled via autopilot. Contrast this with the usual way of doing
business on eBay which involves mailing dozens, hundreds or even
thousands of boxes.

4. eBay and Paypal have lots of rules. It's easy to break some
unwittingly, and even the most honest seller does so from time to
time. A JV merchant isn't answerable to eBay, however, but only to
her customers.

5. A JV seller never directly lists on eBay, thus avoiding eBay and
Paypal fees.

6. Successful Powersellers have large numbers of customers and
there are lots of administrative details involved. Implementing a
sales system can cost time and money because without attention
to detail packages won't be mailed in a timely fashion, payments
won't be accurate, items will be sent to the wrong buyers, and so
on. A JV partner eliminates all of that because all transactions can
be funneled through a hands-off system.

7. eBay selling lives or dies through the 'feedback' system.
Negative feedback can kill sales instantly and lack of feedback
causes buyers to hesitite and choose other sellers. Feedback is
totally irrelevant to a Joint Venture seller because she is using the
reputation of carefully chosen other sellers. She knows in advance
that their feedback is high quality or she doesn't do deals with
them.

8. Inexperienced sellers sometimes drag wiser merchants into
price wars. In a panic over sales, they foolishly slash prices,
beginning a chain reaction that results in bare bones bids that
allow no one to make any money. A Joint Venture seller floats
serenely above such hiccups in the marketplace.

9. Best of all, a JV seller doesn't settle for a one time sale. She
concentrates her efforts on a mailing list of happy customers that
she can sell to again and again and again. In this way, not only is
she ensuring repeate profits, but she gets paid for creating this
list, rather than having to pay someone else for names.

With its 147,000,000 registered users, eBay is the best source of
targeted, Net-savvy buyers on the web. By putting together Joint
Venture deals with established sellers, anyone can add large
numbers of qualified buyers to their database efficiently and
inexpensively.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
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and learn an easy way to sell on eBay. http://auction-joint-venture.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Insider Secrets Of An eBay Millionaire

2005-12-05T23:55:00.000-06:00

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Is Your Ebay Income Taxable?

2005-12-01T11:50:00.000-06:00

by Kirsten Hawkins

The income you get from selling items on eBay is just like the
income you get from any other business: it is taxable, at least
in theory. In practice, many get away without declaring profits
from their eBay sales just because they're hard for the
government to track. If you want to be strictly within the law
and legit, though, you should be paying tax.

Income is Income.

If you make money from it, then it's income - and if it's
income, then it's taxable. There is a question of scale
involved, though, where the more you've sold, the more
important it is to declare your eBay income. If you don't, you
risk getting yourself into all sorts of trouble.

There are some rules for deciding whether your income counts as
taxable or not. If you depend on the income you get from eBay,
spend a lot of time on it, or just act as if you are running a
business, then you need to file a Schedule C tax form and pay
tax as a business.

How Do I Work Out How Much to Pay?

The 'income' you make from eBay is how much profit you make.
Remember that you can subtract absolutely all of your costs
from this income, like this.

Sale price - cost of item - eBay fees - PayPal fees - cost of
postage - cost of packing materials = income.

For example, let's say you sell CDs for $10 each, including
shipping. You pay $5 for the CDs at wholesale. That's $10 - $5
(cost) - 25c (insertion fee) - 52c (final value fee) - 30c
(PayPal fixed fee) - 29c (PayPal percentage fee) - 37c (stamp)
- 50c (packaging) = $2.77 income.

For reference, eBay's final value fee on a $10 item is 5.25%,
while PayPal's cut is 30c + 2.9% for most sellers. These
numbers will vary depending on the value of what you sell and
the kind of account you have.

When you work this out at the end of the year, you can
calculate your overall price for all sales, and then work out
how much of that you actually received, remembering to adjust
for non-paying buyers. Then just subtract what you spent on
shipping and packing. There's no real need to do tax
calculations on a transaction-by-transaction basis, although it
is advisable to keep a printed record of everything you buy and
sell.

You can sell over 2,000,000 products from 4,000 brands from your home!

However, there could be a few advantages to paying tax on your
eBay sales - you might be able to make it back through
deducting tax on your business expenses. All of the costs in
the sum above that aren't profit are business expenses and so
tax-deductable. You may also be able to deduct the cost of any
computer equipment you buy, as well as ink and paper for your
printer. You could even try something a little unusual, like
deducting the cost of renting your home office from yourself.

Whatever you do, though, don't just rely on the information in
this email. If you want advice about tax issues, you should
really go to an accountant.

Another way to make back the money you spend on tax, of course,
is to simply make more profit on each item to begin with. Our
next email will show you how to get more bidders with the power
of pictures.

About The Author: Kirsten Hawkins is an Ebay and internet
auction enthusiast from Nashville, TN. Visit
http://www.auctionseller411.com/ for more great tips on how to
make the most from Ebay and other online auctions.

Why A Selfish Jerk Is 100% Guaranteed To Fail On eBay

2005-11-27T10:44:00.000-06:00

Copyright 2005 Sydney Johnston

Tens of millions of people are trying to earn money on
eBay these days and most of them will make only small
amounts and eventually quit trying and drift away. Most
of those millions will wrack their brains, trying to figure
out how to win riches from eBay, and never really
understand why it didn't happen. Sometimes it's easier to
observe failure and know what NOT to do.

This email is from a man who is guaranteed to fail and
the reasons aren't hard to figure out. Here are his exact
words ...

- - -

Hello Sydney,

I can't afford any investment in more marketing programs
right now. I could use some promotion for the ones I
have a lot of time a fair amount of money invested
already.

I also haven't been able to produce with eBay!

Please visit my links: (3 URLs here)

Also, if you'd really ('really' is in bold type and italics) like
to help, please encourage others to visit my sites as well.
I haven't been able to make a dime on the Internet yet. I
also am having great difficulty finding a job as well;this is
no money from anywhere!

I have child support to pay and if I go much longer
without paying, I'm looking at 1-3 years in prison for non-
payment. Yes, debtors prison is still alive and very well
here in Northern Michigan.

So, I'm asking you to please help me in this way and I
won't have any problem with rewarding you handsomely!

- - -

(1.) There are so many issues here that it's hard to know
where to begin, but the best place is with his three
websites:

His first site is about:

* Bookkeeping
* Personal Income Tax
* Classic Rock & Roll
* With "links to eBay, Amazon & more!"

Who, exactly, is his audience? There is no clear focus and
no defined audience. Those searching for information on
rock and roll are unlikely to be interested in bookkeeping.

What's even more amazing is that there is absolutely
nothing at all about bookkeeping or income tax, except
for a comment on the home page. There are a couple of
links to rock and roll sites and one to the front page of
Amazon. How is he hoping monetize this site?

His second site is about how to make "Explosive" income
with his "revolutionary home based business". This from
a guy who admits he hasn't made a single cent on the
Net, yet he isn't bothered about selling others a program
that obviously isn't working for him.

The third site is about auctions and the home page says,
"CLICK TO ENTER" ... but when I do absolutely nothing
happens. A completely blank page opens and remains
constant. There isn't even a 404 message.

(2.) He wants my help, yet has total disrespect for me
and my business. What he is truly saying is, "I have
spent all my money in other places, and now that I have
none left, I want you to help me". Where will I get the
time to help him? It will have to come either from my own
business or I will have to take time away from my
students who pay for my help. He says he "won't have
any problem with rewarding you handsomely!" Very
generous of him, I'm sure.

(3.) He wants me to send traffic to his sites. But he says
nothing about how my customers and students would
benefit from what he has to offer. Does he really believe I
would betray their trust by sending them to three
absolutely worthless sites that offer them no benefit
whatsoever?

And even if I shared his moral character, why would I do
such a thing? If I don't mind betraying others, it would
have to be for personal gain and I will not make money
by sending him traffic.

(4.) Worst of all, he displays no concern whatsoever for
his children or their mother who is trying to care for their
children without any financial support from their father.
He says, "Yes, debtors prison is still alive and very well
here in Northern Michigan.". He's not in trouble for debt -
he's in trouble for not making his child support payments.
As well he should be.

The entire focus of this email is me, me, me. The author
cares nothing about anyone else and obviously doesn't
understand the top three rules of marketing, which are:

#1: Focus on your customer
#2: Focus on your customer
#3: Focus on your customer

I used to take the time to help people see that a major
reason for their lack of success is that they aren't putting
the needs of their customers first. Generally, though,
their response is to argue with me that once they're
making money, then they can afford to care about others.
It doesn't work that way.

Does this mean that all caring and decent people are
certain to succeed while selfish ones are certain to fail?
No, but offering value to the customer is definitely the
starting place of success.

Sometimes I do help people who are down on their luck
and can't pay me anything, but this guy won't be one of
them. His callous disregard for others is repulsive. My
delete key is the perfect response to this selfish man.

-------------------------------------------------------------
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How To Turn Ebay Returns Into Profits

2005-11-21T08:41:00.000-06:00

by Kirsten Hawkins

Don't worry, getting items returned happens to everyone
eventually. You can't satisfy all of the people all of the
time, and occasionally someone's going to want to send
something back to you. Turning returns into profits isn't easy
- but with a little determination, you can manage it.

Don't refund shipping charges: If followed our advice and
you're now making a decent profit on your shipping charges by
using cheaper materials, then you might still be able to come
out ahead with returns. Just refund the charge of the items but
not the shipping. I know sellers who make $1 profit on the sale
and $2 profit on the shipping. If they get a returned item then
they don't really mind: they still get to keep two-thirds of
their profit.

Charge a restocking fee: You're perfectly within your rights to
charge a restocking fee, and that's nothing but profit for you.
Bear in mind that this will get customers very annoyed,
however.

Resell with a better description: Now that you know if there's
something wrong with the item, you can write a more honest
description. Surprisingly enough, items can sometimes sell for
more the second time around, simply because word has had time
to spread that you were selling the item and there might be a
few people looking out for another.

Take their packing materials: Inexperienced buyers will send
back your items using all sorts of expensive luxury packing
materials - take them and re-use them the next time you want to
give a buyer an extra special service. Incidentally, this also
applies when you buy things on eBay - you'll find that you can
save a lot on packing when you re-use every piece of packaging
that comes your way. Make sure to take off any labels first,
though.

You know what they want: Remember that every buyer who buys
something from you and then returns it was at least interested
in it. They're a potential sales lead, and you should add them
to your mailing list to follow up later - if you were nice to
them when they returned the item, they might be willing to give
you another chance.

Replace with a better model: Finally, if the buyer is returning
the item for a replacement, then tell them that the only
replacement you have in stock at the moment is a slightly more
expensive model - but you'll send it to them if they pay the
extra. Again, more profit for you.

Of course, it's up to you whether you want to use these
techniques: you might think it's more valuable to refund the
shipping on returns as a gesture of goodwill, as part of your
perfect customer service. I would tend to agree with you: your
reputation is invaluable. If what you're interested in is
making as much profit as possible in the short term, then go
right ahead - but remember that in the long-term you might be
sacrificing some repeat business for the sake of a few dollars.

In the next email, we'll look at the myths and magic of
drop-shipping vendors, and what they can do for you.

About The Author: Kirsten Hawkins is an Ebay and internet
auction enthusiast from Nashville, TN. Visit
http://www.auctionseller411.com/ for more great tips on how to
make the most from Ebay and other online auctions.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Free eBook - Wholesale
Sell over 2,000,000 products from
4,000 brands from your home!
www.myaffiliateprogram.com

What You Can Learn From Competing Ebay Auctions

2005-11-10T09:40:00.000-06:00

by Kirsten Hawkins

If you've a savvy businessperson, the chances are you've
already taken a look at your competitors' auctions. What you
might not have realised is just how much you can learn if you
know what you're looking for.

To begin with, don't bother looking at listings that haven't
ended yet - you don't know what's going to happen with them.
Instead, use the advanced search page to search for listings
that sold. Just go to the advanced search page, type in the
keywords that you know will find your competitors' items, tick
'Completed listings only' and set the minimum number of bids to
1. Set it to sort by 'Price: highest first'.

This will show you auctions competing with yours that have
recently finished, starting with the ones that sold for the
most (ignore any with prices in red - they didn't sell). Go
through and take a look, paying special attention to the
following points:

Titles. What information do the top sellers of your item put in
their titles, and what do they leave out? If your titles are
very different to theirs, it might be time for a rethink.

Descriptions. You'll probably notice that the highest sellers
haven't just copied text from the company's website or an
Amazon.com review - they've gone to the trouble of writing a
little about the item, and about themselves. Learn from their
example.

Pictures. I can almost guarantee you that the listing will have
very nice pictures - not catalogue quality, but good enough to
see what you're getting. With items of any significant cost,
you'll probably find more than one photo from different angles.

Style. Is it written conversationally, or in terse businesslike
language? The way you should write entirely depends on what the
market seems to like - and the market seems to like what the
top sellers wrote.

Time. It's pretty easy to ignore this as a factor without
meaning to, but pay attention to when the top selling items'
auctions began and ended. This might give you a few clues about
the best to catch buyers who will bid highly on your item, and
then you can schedule your items accordingly.

Price. If your competitors are selling using Buy it Now, you
can see what the maximum is that they've managed to sell for
recently, and set your own Buy it Now price slightly below
that.

Shipping. Look around to see the sweet spot for shipping. If
you can figure out a way to get your shipping costs lower than
the highest sellers, then this is a great opportunity to
differentiate yourself in the market.

Once you see what works, you can start to emulate your
competitors - of course you can't just copy them completely,
but you can structure your auction similarly and make sure it
includes the same information.

If you want your items to do even better, then start stocking
the items in your category that are the most in-demand. We'll
show you how to tell what's selling and what's not in our next
email.

About The Author: Kirsten Hawkins is an Ebay and internet
auction enthusiast from Nashville, TN. Visit
http://www.auctionseller411.com/ for more great tips on how to
make the most from Ebay and other online auctions.

`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
You can sell over 2,000,000 products from 4,000 brands from your home!

10 Ways To Avoid Being Ripped Off On eBay

2005-10-22T06:38:00.000-05:00

by Kirsten Hawkins

It is important to remember that eBay is a lot like a
marketplace. There will always be a dodgy guy in the corner,
selling things that most people wouldn't touch. The trouble is
that, on the Internet, these people can be a little harder to
spot. Here are ten tips to help you keep an eye out for the
rip-off merchants.

1. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is: This holds
for everything in life, but especially for eBay. Things that
seem too cheap are usually too cheap for a reason - it might be
a complete scam, or the items might just be of extremely poor
quality. Investigate before you go further.

2. Know the value of what you want to buy: There are people on
eBay who regularly bid such high prices for used cameras that
they might as well have gone out and bought them brand new.
Check around for prices first.

3. Only bid on real things: eBay has plenty of people who are
trying to sell all sorts of schemes and scams. It is never
worth bidding for these, no matter how cheap they might be.

4. Don't do anything outside eBay: Occasionally people will ask
you to send them money outside eBay, to avoid the fees eBay
charges sellers. Any money you send this way is entirely
insecure - don't do it.

5. Be careful where you send payment: People may hack into
others' accounts, and ask you to send payment to addresses that
eBay has not confirmed as belonging to that account - you might
send your money and receive nothing in return.

6. Look out for sellers who suddenly change what they sell:
Sellers can look like they've made lots of transactions, when
really they've never sold anything of worth. If they suddenly
start selling $1,000 televisions, steer clear - the chances are
they're planning to run off with the money.

7. Beware the shill bidder: If someone who doesn't seem to have
bought anything before is constantly outbidding you on a certain
item, be suspicious. It might be a seller 'shill bidding' to
force up his item's price.

8. Don't use the seller's escrow service: If an escrow service
is recommended to you by a seller, it could well be owned and
run by them - and they're quite likely to keep your money and
send you nothing.

9. Pay electronically: You are more likely to be able to
recover any losses if you pay using a credit card instead of
sending out cheques and money orders - these low-tech payment
methods can't be tracked as easily.

10. Buy from reputable sellers: Each seller has a number next
to their name, which is their feedback rating. The higher this
rating, the more you can trust them.

On that last point, feedback ratings are the most important way
that buyers and sellers can protect themselves on eBay - and
you, as a buyer, have a rating too! Now that you won't get
ripped off, the next email will be all about your rating, and
what you can do to make sure people know that you're not going
to rip them off either.

About The Author: Kirsten Hawkins is an Ebay and internet
auction enthusiast from Nashville, TN. Visit
http://www.auctionseller411.com/ for more great tips on how to
make the most from Ebay and other online auctions.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

You can sell over 2,000,000 products from 4,000 brands from your home!

Top 10 Reasons Why Ebay Auctions Fail

2005-10-17T12:06:00.000-05:00

by Kirsten Hawkins

Are you finding that auction after auction fails to attract any
bidders or buyers? It happens to the best of us sometimes - take
a good look at these things to see if any of them could be
making your bidders avoid you.

The starting price was too high: People don't want to have to
make a high bid before anyone else has - you should always
start your auctions low and let the bidders bid them up.

The fixed price is too high: If you're just selling with Buy it
Now, then of course your items won't sell if they're too
expensive. Try reducing the price a little each time the item
fails to sell.

No picture: Most buyers are reluctant to bid on something
without a picture, and that goes even more for high-value
items. Think of it from the buyer's point-of-view: would you
want to bid on an item when you've no idea what it looks like?

You had a reserve: Reserve prices scare away buyers like you
wouldn't believe, not to mention costing a percentage of your
final sale price. Avoid them like the plague.

Bad spelling and grammar: If your titles are spelled wrongly,
then no-one will find your auctions. If your descriptions are
incoherent, then no-one will know what you're talking about.
Always run your text through a spelling and grammar checker
before you put it up on eBay.

Too much for shipping: You might be expecting people to pay
more for shipping than they're prepared to. Give them a few
cheaper options that will take longer, or use cheaper
materials.

Negative feedback: If you got negative feedback on your last
transaction, expect things to be slow for a while. Try selling
cheap things for a while to get your account back in good
standing.

Nasty terms: Don't write things all over your auction like "I
will only accept returns in PERFECT condition" or "Serious
bidders only, no timewasters!!" This is entirely unnecessary
and just makes you look difficult to deal with.

No PayPal: Many buyers simply avoid any seller who doesn't
accept PayPal as a payment method - they can't be bothered with
the hassle of anything else. Even if you don't like PayPal, you
should accept it if you want to business on eBay.

The items were bad. You will have to accept that there are some
items no-one wants - perhaps they were hyped to begin with, but
now people had heard that they're useless and stopped buying.
Before you come to this conclusion, though, check everything
else you can, and check if anyone else is managing to sell it.
If you're sure, try to return the items, and buy in some new
stock.

When selling on eBay is so much trouble, you might start to
wonder: should I just go and sell my stuff somewhere else? In
the next email, we'll take a look at the various alternatives
to eBay that have sprung up over the years.

About The Author: Kirsten Hawkins is an Ebay and internet
auction enthusiast from Nashville, TN. Visit
http://www.auctionseller411.com/ for more great tips on how to
make the most from Ebay and other online auctions.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

You can sell over 2,000,000 products from 4,000 brands from your home!

Beware: The Dangers of Selling on eBay 101

2005-10-13T07:46:00.000-05:00

Copyright 2005 Brad Eden

It's obvious that eBay provides internet users with an
online flea market where buyers and sellers from around the
world meet to conduct trade.

However, like most traders who are faced with an innovation
of this sort, the first question will always be: It is safe?

The answer is yes, but devious scammers seem to be plotting
daily to forward their dastardly schemes and take advantage
of eBay's power.

So, what is the user's recourse? The users of eBay must
learn to gather information and take meticulous care in
dealing on eBay. Only then can they be less gullible to
scammers.

A common consensus is that bidders are often scammed by
sellers. But it is possible for things to be the other way
around.

Here is a list of the common problems sellers encounter and
the means to handle them.

Fake Escrow Services

A winning bidder may request that an escrow service be used
to assure both parties of a fair transaction.
Unfortunately, the seller is sometimes duped into using a
fake escrow system.

To avoid this situation, the seller must always verify the
authenticity of an escrow service. eBay recommends the use
of escrow.com. If the bidder insists on his or her escrow
service, chances are, that person is a scammer.

Victims of this fraud find it difficult to reclaim their
items. They may, however, appeal to the legal system
afforded by the state they live in. They must also contact
eBay regarding the matter for any assistance they may be
willing to offer.

Deadbeat Bidders

Deadbeat bidders (a winning bidder who doesn't pay for an
item at the auction's close) are more common on eBay. If
the winner of your auction does not pay, you may leave that
person a negative feedback.

As for the listing fees the seller shells out, eBay lays
out a four step procedure that sellers can use to
potentially recover lost selling fees. If sellers complete
the process to eBay's satisfaction, they will receive a
Final Value Fee credit and a re-list credit. Filing out an
Unpaid Item dispute is the first step toward eBay
reimbursing such fees. A person can report an unpaid item
up to 45 days after an auction's close.

Trade Dispute

This occurs when the seller and bidder disagree on some
terms of the sale. This may also happen if there is a
purported violation of any of these agreements.

If communication between both parties does not help, they
may consider availing of a third-party dispute resolution
outfit to help. SquareTrade.com is one of these outfits
that eBay recommends.

An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure

A seller's life may be made terrible because of the
constant scamming attacks unscrupulous individuals
undertake. But, with proper information and care, he or she
can continue trading on eBay with relative safety.

Payment Methods on eBay

Gone are the days when only cash (or cattle in some cases)
was the only accepted mode of payment for trades. As the
concept of trading evolved, so did the means of paying for
items.

Today's electronic world pushes the envelop further. With
the advent of online trading systems such as eBay, many new
forms of payment have flourished.

First of all, on eBay, the mode of payment depends on the
agreement between the buyer and the seller. Most often, the
seller will specify his or her desired payment method. In
these cases, the seller often has primacy in the decisions
regarding payment modes. However, the buyer may still
communicate with the seller regarding a viable alternative
if it suits both parties.

The following is a list of common eBay payment modes.

Cash On Delivery

Cash is, after all, still cash. This payment method can be
done through a third party courier system or by the buyer
and seller meeting each other at an agreed place. The
advantage of a cash transaction is that the exchange of the
item for payment is done in the presence of the buyer and
the seller (or the seller's representative). However, some
people will not accept the risk present when two strangers
meet.

Personal Check

One popular method of payment is personal check. Writing
checks is easy and safe. However, many sellers do not like
accepting check because they are easy to cancel.

PayPal

PayPal is the payment of choice on eBay. In fact, eBay owns
PayPal.

Using PayPal is easy, convenient, and relatively safe.
PayPal acts as like an internet 'wire transfer.'

After signing-up for PayPal, one may send cash to anyone
with an email address using the PayPal system. PayPal also
has security features that safeguard against fraud in case
there is a dispute between the seller and the buyer. This
system is best for transactions up to $1000.

Escrow.com

Escrow.com is the payment of choice for purchases over
$500. Escrow.com holds the buyer's money from the seller
until the seller delivers the item. Only then will the
funds be released to the seller. This system makes for a
very safe, although highly procedural transaction.

Wire Transfer

This is the payment of choice for countries that do not
carry the PayPal service. Wire transfers are risky because
the buyer usually has to wire over the funds before the
seller sends the items. The chance for non-delivery of
items is high.

Other Payment Systems

The number of third party payment services is steadily on
the rise. Their systems for payment vary. However, to be
successful they must be convenient to use and safe as well.

About the Author:

Brad Eden is a Entrepreneurial Sciences expert with 14
years of industry experience in real estate, marketing
and technical communication. He currently consults with IBM
in CA. Brad owns & operates a free traffic resource for
entrepreneurs.
http://www.americanfreetraffic.com

-----------------------------------------------------------------

You can sell over 2,000,000 products from 4,000 brands from your home!

10 Sure-Fire Ways To Kill Your Ebay Business

2005-10-10T09:41:00.000-05:00

by Kirsten Hawkins

It's surprisingly easy to kill your eBay business, if you're
not careful - sure, you can start over from scratch without it
costing you anything, but do you really want to? Still, if you
want your business to end up dead in the water, here are some
simple ways to do it.

Lie about an item: Say it works fine when it sometimes doesn't
work. Say it's in perfect condition when it has a scratch. Your
customers will hate you!

Post whenever you feel like it: Make sure to leave your
customers hanging around, wondering when their item is going to
turn up. This makes sure they buy from someone else next time.

Let items end anytime: Few people will be around to care about
your auction if it ends in the middle of the night. Why go to
the trouble of working out whether auctions will end at a good
time?

Don't bother with email: Customers are just timewasters anyway.
eBay businesses are supposed to run themselves! Never give
informed responses to questions about your item.

Sell rubbish: Really, it's just eBay. You can just sell any old
tat from the market for a 200% profit. Let quality be someone
else's concern - I mean, really, what do they expect for that
price?

Refuse to give discounts: You know what your items cost, you
know what your profit margin is going to be, and you're not
going to negotiate. Remember that giving customers special
deals might make them feel good and come back to you again.

Make your listings ugly: As many colours, flashing lights and
animations as possible will really give those customers a
headache. Write as much in CAPITALS!!!! as you can. Preferably
big, red capitals. Be sure to use the fonts Impact and Comic
Sans. For an extra special touch, see if you can figure out a
way to add some music.

Don't take photos: It's such trouble, after all. If buyers are
picky enough to actually want to see items before they bid on
them, then screw 'em, that's what I say.

Write short descriptions: Be as brief as possible, and use lots
of mysterious abbreviations. This obviously makes you look very
cool. You can even just write the title again in the
description box. Think of the effort you'll save!

Use reserve auctions: Now, this is a fairly controversial final
choice, but it really is one of the best ways to scare away your
customers. They'll see 'reserve not yet met', and click that
'back' button before you know it. Luckily, they can always bid
in a normal auction for the item somewhere else.

Now that you know the ten ways to kill your eBay business, how
about we explore what to do if you want to do the opposite, and
make a success of it? The next email will give you ten steps to
successful selling on eBay.

About The Author: Kirsten Hawkins is an Ebay and internet
auction enthusiast from Nashville, TN. Visit
http://www.auctionseller411.com/ for more great tips on how to
make the most from Ebay and other online auctions.

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How to Become an Auction Genius: A Radio Interview with "The Queen of eBay"

2005-10-06T22:04:00.000-05:00

by George McKenzie

I saw another one on a local TV newscast a few days ago...
you know...one of those stories about a stay-at-home mom who
had turned eBay into a stay-at-home job.

I like stories like that, and I especially admire people who
have found a way to make more money on eBay (without leaving
their house) than they could commuting to a "regular" job.

But I also know this: even most people who are doing eBay
"full time" haven't figured out yet how to make really big
money with it...like Sydney Johnston is doing.

Sydney is known as "The Queen of eBay" or "The Auction
Queen." She was one of the original sellers on eBay and has
been selling on eBay since the winter of 1996.

She told me during a recent interview on my San Antonio
radio talk show that she runs her eBay business very
differently from most people.

"You can spend all day Saturday going to garage sales," she
said. "And that's fine, there's nothing wrong with it. But
if you want to make a real a business of it, you better have
a systematic method. The problem with going to garage sales
is, you can't rely on your inventory.

Sydney also mentioned the stories we've all heard: how
someone found a trinket in their attic, put it up for bid on
eBay, and sold it for hundreds of dollars.

"There ARE some incredible stories out there," she said.
"But they're flukes. You have to have a steady source of
supply and it's got to be something you can rely on. That's
step number one"

"Step number two is to take that steady source of supply and
sell the same items -- over and over again -- using the same
listings."

She says her one of her other big secrets is selling to the
same people -- over and over again.

"If you buy a men's shirt from me on eBay," she continued,
"I assume that you'll buy more shirts in the future. And if
I'm selling men's shirts, you're going to keep hearing
from me. I'll email you, for instance, to let you know about
my Fourth of July sale on men's shirts. You're going to keep
hearing from me until you tell me that you don't want to
hear from me anymore."

"Furthermore, when you buy something from me, there will be
an invitation to buy something else inside your package when
it's delivered."

Sydney shared about a dozen of her "secrets to success" on
eBay during our time on the air. To read a transcript of the
entire interview, or to listen to an MP3 recording, click on
http://www.ebay-auction.ws/sydney.htm

Or of course, you could spend a couple of hours this weekend
cruising the garage sales...

There might even be a TV crew hanging around one of them.

About the Author: Award winning TV anchor George McKenzie
offers a free 7-part email "Publicity Crash Course" at
http://www.publicity-pro.com. During his 33-year
broadcasting career, George's work appeared on ABC, NBC,
CBS, ESPN and CNN.

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What's Your Ebay Reputation Really Worth?

2005-10-05T00:28:00.000-05:00

by Kirsten Hawkins

Your eBay reputation is everything you are on eBay - without
it, you're nothing. Your reputation is worth as much as every
sale you will ever make.

If you've ever bought anything on eBay (and the chances are you
have), then think about your own behaviour. Buying from a seller
with a low feedback rating makes you feel a little nervous and
insecure, while buying from a PowerSeller with their reputation
in the thousands doesn't require any thought or fear - it feels
just like buying from a shop.

A Bad Reputation Will Lose You Sales.

In fact, a bad reputation will lose you almost all your sales.
If someone leaves you negative feedback, you will feel the pain
straight away, as that rating will go right at the top of your
user page for everyone to see. Who's going to want to do
business with you when they've just read that you "took a month
to deliver the item", or that you had "bad communication and
sent a damaged item"? The answer is no-one.

Your next few items will need to be very cheap things, just to
push that negative down the page. You might have to spend days
or even weeks selling cheap stuff to get enough positive
feedback to make anyone deal with you again.

It's even worse if you consistently let buyers leave negative
feedback - once you get below 90% positive ratings, you might
as well be invisible.

You Can't Just Open a New Account.

Besides eBay's rules about only having one account, there are
far more downsides than that to getting a new account. You
literally have to start all over again from scratch.

You won't be able to use all the different eBay features. Your
existing customers won't be able to find you any more. Your
auctions will finish at a lower price because of your low
feedback rating. Opening a new account is like moving to a new
town to get away from a few people who are spreading rumours
about you: it's throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

A Good Reputation Will Get You Sales.

When a PowerSeller tells me something, I tend to believe them.
They can be selling a pretty unlikely item, but if they
guarantee it is what they say it is, then I trust them -
they're not going to risk their reputation, after all. This is
the power of a reputation: people know you want to keep it, and
they know you'll go to almost any lengths to do so.

This is true even to the point that I would sooner buy
something for $20 from a seller I know I can trust than for $15
from someone with average feedback. It's worth the extra money
to feel like the seller knows what they're doing, has all their
systems in place and will get me the item quickly and
efficiently.

You really will find selling on eBay so much easier, and
there's only way to get a good reputation: make sure you please
your customers every time. But some customers can be, well, just
a little difficult to please. In the next email, we ask: is the
eBay customer always right?

About The Author: Kirsten Hawkins is an Ebay and internet
auction enthusiast from Nashville, TN. Visit
http://www.auctionseller411.com/ for more great tips on how to
make the most from Ebay and other online auctions.

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A Beginner's Guide To The Different Ebay Auction Types

2005-10-04T04:15:00.000-05:00

by Kirsten Hawkins

Over the years, eBay has introduced all sorts of different
auction types, in an effort to give people more options when
they buy and sell their things on eBay.

For every seller who doesn't like the idea that their item
might sell for a far lower price than they intend, there's
another who wants to shift hundreds of the same item quickly.
eBay tries to cater to all tastes. This email gives you an
overview of the different kinds of auctions and their
advantages for you.

Normal Auctions.

These are the bread-and-butter of eBay, the auctions everyone
knows: buyers bid, others outbid them, they bid again, and the
winner gets the item. Simple.

Reserve Auctions.

Reserve auctions are for sellers who don't want their items to
sell for less than a certain price - a concept you'll know
about if you're familiar with real auctions. They work just
like normal auctions on eBay, except that the buyer will be
told if their bid does not meet the reserve price you set, and
they'll need to bid again if they want the item. If no-one is
willing to meet your price, then the auction is cancelled, and
you keep the item.

Fixed Price ('Buy it Now') Auctions.

Buy it Now auctions can work in one of two ways. You can add a
Buy it Now button to a normal auction, meaning that buyers can
choose either to bid normally or to simply pay the asking price
and avoid the whole bidding process. Some sellers, though, now
cut out the auction process altogether and simply list all
their items at fixed price. This lets you avoid all the
complications of the auction format and simply list your items
for how much you want them to sell for.

Recently, eBay added a twist to fixed price auctions: the 'best
offer'. This means that buyers can contact you to negotiate a
price, which could be a good way to get sell some extra stock
at a small discount. The only downside to reserve and fixed
price auctions is that you pay a small extra fee to use these
formats. In general, it is more worth using reserve auctions
for higher-priced items and fixed price auctions for
lower-priced ones - but remember that you can combine the two
formats.

Multiple Item ('Dutch') Auctions.

These are auctions where you can sell more than one of a
certain item. Dutch auctions can be done by bidding. Buyers bid
a price and say how many items they want, and then everyone pays
the lowest price that was bid by one of the winning bidders. If
you have trouble getting your head around that, then don't
worry - everyone else does too! These auctions are very rare.

What is more common is when a seller has a lot of one item, and
lists it using a combination of two auction types: a
multiple-item fixed price auction. This just means that you can
just say how many of the item you they have, and offer them at a
fixed price per unit. Buyers can enter how many they want and
then just click Buy it Now to get them.

Now that you know about the different types of auctions, you
should make sure that the items you plan to sell don't violate
eBay's listing policies. The next email will let you know
what's allowed and what is a big no-no.

About The Author: Kirsten Hawkins is an Ebay and internet
auction enthusiast from Nashville, TN. Visit
http://www.auctionseller411.com/ for more great tips on how to
make the most from Ebay and other online auctions.

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Ebay Income Possibilities

2005-10-03T10:19:00.000-05:00

by Kirsten Hawkins

If you've ever read an article about eBay, you will have seen
the kinds of incomes people make - it isn't unusual to hear of
people making thousands of dollars per month on eBay.

Next time you're on eBay, take a look at how many PowerSellers
there are: you'll find quite a few. Now consider that every
single one of one of them must be making at least $1,000 per
month, as that's eBay's requirement for becoming a PowerSeller.
Silver PowerSellers make at least $3,000 each month, while Gold
PowerSellers make more than $10,000, and the Platinum level is
$25,000. The top ranking is Titanium PowerSeller, and to
qualify you must make at least $150,000 in sales every month!

The fact that these people exist gives you come idea of the
income possibilities here. Most of them never set out to even
set up a business on eBay - they simply started selling a few
things, and then kept going. There are plenty of people whose
full-time job is selling things on eBay, and some of them have
been doing it for years now. Can you imagine that? Once they've
bought the stock, everything else is pretty much pure profit for
these people - they don't need to pay for any business premises,
staff, or anything else. There are multi-million pound
businesses making less in actual profit than eBay PowerSellers
do.

Even if you don't want to quit your job and really go for it,
you can still use eBay to make a significant second income. You
can pack up orders during the week and take them down to the
post office for delivery each Saturday. There are few other
things you could be doing with your spare time that have
anywhere near that kind of earning potential.

What's more, eBay doesn't care who you are, where you live, or
what you look like: some PowerSellers are very old, or very
young. Some live out in the middle of nowhere where selling on
eBay is one of the few alternatives to farming or being very
poor. eBay tears down the barriers to earning that the real
world constantly puts up. There's no job interview and no
commuting involved - if you can post things, you can do it.

Put it this way: if you know where to get something reasonably
cheaply that you could sell, then you can sell it on eBay - and
since you can always get discounts for bulk at wholesale, that's
not exactly difficult. Buy a job lot of something in-demand
cheaply, sell it on eBay, and you're making money already, with
no set-up costs.

If you want to dip your toe in the water before you commit to
actually buying anything, then you can just sell things that
you've got lying around in the house. Search through that
cupboard of stuff you never use, and you'll probably find
you've got a few hundred dollars' worth of stuff lying around
in there! This is the power of eBay: there is always someone
who wants what you're selling, whatever it might be, and since
they've come looking for you, you don't even need to do
anything to get them to buy it.

So you want to get started on eBay? Well, that's great! There
are only a few little things you need to learn to get started.
Our next email will give you the lowdown.

About The Author: Kirsten Hawkins is an Ebay and internet
auction enthusiast from Nashville, TN. Visit
http://www.auctionseller411.com/ for more great tips on how to
make the most from Ebay and other online auctions.

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10 Steps To Successful Selling On Ebay

2005-09-29T03:22:00.000-05:00

by Kirsten Hawkins

So you want to be a successful seller with your own eBay
business, do you? Here's a simple, ten-step path to eBay
enlightenment.

Step 1: Identify your market. Take a while to sit and watch for
what sells and what doesn't out of the items you're interested
in. Any market research data you can collect will be very
useful to you later on. You'll probably see the 'sweet spots'
quite quickly - those one or two items that always seem to sell
for a good price.

Step 2: Watch the competition. Before you invest any money, see
what the other sellers in your category are up to, and what
their strategies are. Pay special attention to any flaws their
auctions might have, because this is where you can move in and
beat them at their own game.

Step 3: Find a product: Get hold of a supplier for whatever it
is you want to sell, and see what the best rates you can get
are - don't be afraid to ring round quite a few to get the best
deal. If the eBay prices you've seen are higher than the
supplier's, then you're set.

Step 4: Start small: Don't throw thousands at your idea
straight away - get started slowly, see what works and what
doesn't, and learn as you go. Remember that it's very cheap to
try out even the craziest ideas on eBay, and who knows, they
might just work!

Step 5: Test and repeat. Keep trying different strategies until
you find something that works, and then don't be ashamed to keep
doing it, again and again. The chances are that you've just
found a good niche.

Step 6: Work out a business plan: A business plan doesn't need
to be anything formal, just a few pages that outline the market
opportunity you've spotted, your strategy, strengths and
weaknesses of the plan and a brief budget. This is more for you
than it is for anyone else.

Step 7: Invest and expand: This is the time to throw money at
the problem. Buy inventory, and start spending more time on
your business. Set a goal number of sales each week, increasing
it each time.

Step 8: Make it official: Once you've made a few thousand
dollars worth of sales, you should really register yourself as
a business. Don't worry, it's not expensive or hard to do - a
lawyer is the best person to help you through the process.

Step 9: Automate: You'll probably find that you're writing the
same things again and again in emails or item descriptions.
This is the time to give up on the manual method and turn to
automated software that can create listings for you, and
respond to completed auctions and payments with whatever
message you provide.

Step 10: Never give up: Even when it looks like it's all going
wrong, don't stop trying until you succeed. If you keep working
at it then you'll almost always find that you make a real
breakthrough just when things are starting to look desperate.

Once you get into the swing of things, you might start thinking
that you should quit your job and take up eBay selling part
time. But it's not always as easy as that - there are all sorts
of factors that you need to consider. The next email will weigh
up the case for and against taking up eBay full-time.

About The Author: Kirsten Hawkins is an Ebay and internet
auction enthusiast from Nashville, TN. Visit
http://www.auctionseller411.com/ for more great tips on how to
make the most from Ebay and other online auctions.

----------------------------------------------------------------

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How I Made 11K Per Month On eBay
And How You Can Too!
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Starting an Ebay Business - An Online Business Model that Works {Revised}

2005-09-28T08:37:00.000-05:00

Copyright © 2003-2004, Bill Platt
the Phantom Writers
http://thePhantomWriters.com

THE REALITIES OF AN INTERNET BUSINESS

Millions of people are still coming online each year, and many
of those people come to the Internet with dreams of making their
financial dreams come true.

The truth is that building a website to sell products and
services is not the easiest way to make a living online. A lot
of specific knowledge or money will be required to be successful
with a standard website.

You must acquire skills --- or pay someone who already
possesses those skills --- in the following areas:

· Graphic design
· Copywriting
· HTML design
· Perl or PHP programming
· Database programming
· Marketing research
· Promotions

When this is understood, most people throw their hands up in
frustration and walk away from their entrepreneurial desires.

Maybe cash is the problem; maybe the desire is just lacking.

If you have reached this point yourself let me offer one piece
of advice...

DON'T THROW AWAY YOUR DREAMS JUST YET

More people than I can count are making a successful living
online, and none of them own their own website or send a single
commercial email to anyone.

How is this possible?

Two words, "Ebay auctions."

EBAY MAKES IT EASY

Ebay covers all of the difficult technical issues. And more
importantly, Ebay already has floods of visitors eager to
purchase your wares. I have read that Ebay is serving a billion
page views per day --- now that is a ready supply of purchasers!

Ebay has provided everything you need to operate a successful
business online with three exceptions:

1. Products to sell
2. Time to list the products in the Ebay database
3. Cash to acquire the products

CHOOSING THE KINDS OF PRODUCTS

Before choosing your products, you should ask yourself what you
enjoy the most. You may enjoy cats, NASCAR or even antiques.
You should select products consistent with what you enjoy for
two reasons.

First, you bring to your presentation a real appreciation for
the products your are offering.

Secondly, a job you hate is one you will quit. A job you enjoy
doing will be one that you will want to keep forever. If you
are starting your own business, the hope is that you will be
doing it for a very long time.

I personally know people who have generated a nice living on
Ebay selling cat-related items, NASCAR memorabilia and antiques.

FINDING THE ACTUAL PRODUCTS TO SELL

I recommend against diving in and spending thousands of dollars
buying products that you may or may not be able to sell.

A drop-shipper is a middleman who is willing to permit you to
buy an individual product, and then they will put your business
name on the return address of the product package and handle
the actual delivery for you.

By utilizing a drop-shipper, you can speed product delivery to
the client without risking your own cash to keep a product in
inventory.

If you are lost as to how to find a drop-shipper, consider
subscribing to the drop-shippers directory:

http://thePhantomWriters.com/dsd.html

Through this site, you can get all of the information you need
to find drop-shippers from which you can order over 500,000
products from over 1,000 brand names.

LEARNING TO LIST YOUR PRODUCTS AT EBAY

Learning to use Ebay is pretty easy and straightforward. Ebay
has put forward a lot of effort to help people to become
successful. For example, Ebay has an entire area of their site
devoted to the online entrepreneur.

To get an overview of all of the services and tools that Ebay
provides to sellers, you may visit:

http://pages.ebay.com/services/index.html

Ebay also delivers courses and strategies to help you to be
more successful:

http://pages.ebay.com/sellercentral/index.html

THE IMPORTANCE OF CASH FLOW TO YOUR SUCCESS

Ebay provides tools for both buyers and sellers to rate one
another. The speed of delivery is one of the most important
factors that sellers are rated on. By providing quick delivery,
your buyers will give you a good rating --- and more shoppers
will bid on your products.

Ebay recently purchased PayPal.com to help facilitate purchases
for their buyers and sellers, and they have integrated the two
systems together.

Unfortunately, getting the money from your PayPal account to
your personal account generally takes four days. Even with a
merchant account, the time gap is nearly the same. This time gap
expands the turn-around between the transaction and delivery of
the product unless you take action to speed the process.

If you were doing high volume, you would want to minimize the
handling of a transaction to reduce the chance for a foul-up
and to increase your ratings within the Ebay system.

But how can this be accomplished?

MANAGING CASH FLOW

While you could rely upon credit cards to get the job done, it
is not something I would recommend. Paying credit card interest
rates to process your customer's purchase, is an unnecessary
burden.

Instead, put a sum of money into a dedicated bank account with
a debit card attached to it. When you verify a transaction has
been credited to your PayPal account, then use your debit card
to immediately process the order with your drop-shipper. You
may even apply to get the Paypal branded debit card which will
be directly attached to your Paypal account.

Some of you may even want to buy from wholesalers who require
a small minimum purchase to buy a specific lot of a particular
product. By utilizing wholesalers of this type, you can get
a much better price per unit purchased for resale. I strongly
recommend that you do not undertake this activity until you
have found that you can actually sell the products you want to
purchase. To learn more, check out the Light Bulk Wholesalers
Directory:

http://thePhantomWriters.com/lbwd.html

Still, you might be asking yourself how you can do this on a
tight budget?

THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO THE RESCUE

Let me ask you this. Do you have a 401(k) account?

Experts advise that you not touch your retirement savings for
anything other than retirement income. That is good advice.
Fortunately, it is possible under special circumstances to
acquire loans against your 401(k) accounts.

Beginning in 2002, even the self-employed small business owner
with no employees could open his or her own 401(k), called a
solo-owner 401(k), and borrow from it just as employees with
big companies can.

Weigh this option against the others available to you. It only
makes sense to take out a loan rather than to take a hit in
heavy taxes and penalties for drawing your retirement money
early. Seriously, consider taking advantage of our historically
low interest rates to meet your cash flow needs.

To learn more about creating and borrowing from a solo-owner
401(k), please visit:

http://www.investsafe.com

IN CONCLUSION

It is wise to choose your new business venture based on a model
that has proven itself over the long-term. Ebay has been proving
its concept since 1995; helping thousands of people build a
successful and very profitable business.

The time to act is now. Choose the product line that will give
you the most satisfaction and then get busy. Your success awaits
you.

Resource Box:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
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free content for your website or ezine? Our archives deliver
more than 450 free-reprint articles available for your use.
http://content.thePhantomWriters.com . Do you write your own
articles? Let us distribute them for you to our network of 6000+
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Secrets to Managing Your Time and Increasing Your eBay Profits

2005-08-05T06:47:00.000-05:00

by Janiece Smith

Every successful eBay seller has a system that works for them. It can sometimes get crazy trying to manage your listings, collect payments, and ship items. Below are some points to consider when you are trying to make more money and mange your time more wisely.

Auction template. A professional-looking auction can do wonders for your final selling price. If you take yourself seriously, buyers will too. If you're not computer savvy enough to create your own template, consider paying someone to create one for you. Not only will it get more buyers interested in what you have to sell, but it will also save you time. Whenever you have a new listing, just change the image URL and write a new description.

List smart. Buyers will usually check your other auctions, so make sure to list similar products at the same time. So, if you have a pair of shoes that looks great with the skirt you're listing, list them. This encourages buyers to bid on both auctions because they'll get a deal on combined shipping. Plus, you save time (fewer boxes to pack up) and money (fewer shipping materials needed).

Group items. Let's say you have an item that you aren't sure will sell, or even if it does sell, it may not go high enough for it to be worth your time to list. Group this item with a more desirable one and list them together. Buyers will be more apt to bid on your auction than on an auction with only one item listed.

Sell based on season. Don't waste your time selling swimsuits in January. To get better prices, take the season into account. But don't wait until eBay is inundated with other sellers selling similar products. If you are selling fall clothing, get it listed in late July or early August, before the rush.

Anticipate questions. The more information you provide in your description, the less time you'll spend answering emails from potential bidders. So, if you're listing clothing, include measurements. If you scrimp on your description, a potential bidder may simply turn to another seller because they don't have the time or patience to email you. Remember, you only need two interested bidders to drive up the price of your auction. If you lose one, you might as well give your stuff away. Likewise, make your auction terms and conditions crystal clear--for example, shipping options, combined shipping discounts, payment methods accepted. Include a flat rate for shipping or use the eBay calculator to determine shipping cost based on the buyer's zip code.

Build a mailing list. Give your buyers the option of signing up for a mailing list so that you can contact them when you have new items listed. Once a person has bought from you, they are more likely to buy from you again. And it's always much easier to sell to previous buyers than to try to find new ones.

Ship smart. The days of driving to the post office and waiting in line are gone. Take advantage of your ability to purchase and print USPS and UPS labels from home. You can use your PayPal funds to pay for postage and either drop off the boxes at the post office or schedule a pick up. This saves you time (buyers are automatically sent an email with their tracking number) and money (delivery confirmation is free for USPS Priority and UPS gives lower-than-counter rates).

Guard your feedback rating. Why do some sellers glean higher prices for items identical to yours? The answer is usually simple: their history of satisfied customers. A high feedback rating is the most valuable sales tool you have. There have been times I've refunded money to buyers who've claimed the goods were damaged, even when I didn't entirely believe them. Why? To protect my feedback rating. I just move forward, but not before adding the buyer to my blocked bidder's list. Put these tips into practice and you'll not only increase your profits, you'll have more time to spend doing the things you really want to do--like searching garage sales for that next great find.

Your personal eBay coach and partner,

~Janiece Smith

PS Check out this Subscriber Recommended Resource:

SurveyProfitsOnline.com shows you how you can easily earn an extra $25, $50, $100, even $250 for just voicing your opinion. Visit now and qualify to receive a free 7-part transcript of a never-before-heard e-interview with Jessica B! Jessica reveals her secret tips and tricks she uses to earn cash, points, and prizes--100% free! Click here to see how… http://www.surveyprofitsonline.com

PPS You’ve just read “Thoughts From Janiece”, a section of your eBay Profit Pill Newsletter provided by www.expressprofitsonline.com

How to Turn eBay ® Browsers into Buyers: A Call to Action

2005-08-03T09:53:00.000-05:00

How to Turn eBay ® Browsers into Buyers: A Call to Action

by Janiece V. Smith

http://www.expressprofitsonline.com

During my time as an eBay ® consultant, people have asked me many questions. Often, people ask questions that are contrary to the success of their business, and it’s my job to redirect their thoughts in a more appropriate direction.

Consider the following question: “I have all of my items listed and I’m not getting as many bids as I’d expected, should I lower my pricing?”

I cringe when I hear this question, yet I understand why people ask it. It’s logical that, if something isn’t selling, it must be too expensive, right? Wrong!

There are several answers to this question, none of which are to lower the price. Today, I’m going to address a key factor that anyone can implement to increase their sales––a call to action in their item description.

What is a call to action?

A call to action is a very simple word or phrase that tells your “browser” what they should do next. This may seem obvious, but one of the biggest mistakes you can make as an eBay seller is to sit back and “hope” that your browser will become a buyer.

It is important to put aside your need to be subtle in your ads. Instead, come right out and tell your potential customer what they should do next. You can use words or phrases such as the following:

*Bid Now and Save Money

*Bid Now, Don’t Miss Out on This Incredible Deal

*Buy Now, Before the Price Gets Too High

*Bid Now, Quantities Are Limited and Moving Fast

*This Is a Hard-to-Find Item, Bid While It’s Still Here

You get the idea. Your product may have a special element, which will make this part easy. But, even if your product isn’t unique, you can still come up with an effective call to action.

Increase your sales immediately.

Using a call to action is not something new and it is more than just an idea. This method of selling has been repeatedly tested over time. Experts report that you will increase your sales by 80% simply by telling your browsers what to do next.

Bonus Tip.

Remember, you also have the option of giving potential customers more than one call to action. For example, assume that you have an eBay ® business selling collectible trains and you get a visitor who is looking for one particular item. This browser comes to one of your listings and sees that it isn’t the one they’re seeking. Because your “buy now” call to action might not work here, you’ve lost this person as a customer, right? Wrong again.

You have two things you can do at this point. The first is pretty well known and practiced, which is to direct the potential customer to a complete list of related items. Provide a call to action, such as, “If this item isn’t what you’re looking for, please click here (link to your entire list of auctions on eBay ® ) to see all of my train-related listings.”

The second, and my favorite, is to invite potential customers to sign up for free information. Provide a call to action, such as, “Click here to visit my About Me page and discover how to receive free, weekly tips about buying collectible trains on eBay without getting scammed.” Collecting names of those who are in the market for your type of product is absolutely priceless.

Watch for an upcoming article about creating and using newsletters to increase Internet sales.

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Resources Box:

Janiece Smith is the author of Internet’s top-selling eBook teaching everyday people how to make their own small fortune selling on eBay®.

Discover The Secrets Janiece Smith Used To Earn Up To $11,212 Per Month Selling On eBay. Her New eBook "How An Overworked, Traveling, Soggy Sandwich Eating Dental Hygienist Made up to $11,212.00 a Month––100% Online" allows you to easily and quickly apply the author’s secrets of finding and selling products on eBay® to create huge amounts of instant profits!

Click here for more details
http://www.expressprofitsonline.com

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

From Garage to eBay: Making the Most Out of Local Garage Sales

2005-07-23T08:23:00.000-05:00

by Janiece V. Smith

When looking to build your inventory for eBay, one of the first, and easiest, places to look could be right in your own back yard. Neighborhood garage sales often provide a variety of items that could enhance your eBay inventory…and increase your profits.

One of the nicest things about garage sales is that the items are typically sold inexpensively. The trick is to locate items that are worth buying and that will likely sell for a profit on eBay. Following are some points to consider when searching garage sales.

New in box. Regardless of the item, take notice of whether it's new and in an unopened box. By virtue of being unused, you increase the chance of it selling on eBay for a higher price than you'll likely pay at a garage sale. Look for items like dolls and collectibles as well as kitchenware and decorative items.

Designer clothing. Many people use garage sales as an opportunity to clean out their closet. For eBay's purposes, stick to designer clothing or well-known brands such as Gap or Old Navy. As your looking at the items, pay close attention to their condition. Don't bother with items that have stains or tears. Lastly, as you build your inventory of clothes, be sure to list them within season. That is, don't try to sell wool sweaters in August. Save your sweaters for sale in the fall.

Popular brands. Just about anything from Pottery Barn and/or Crate and Barrel could get noticed more easily on eBay. If you find such an item, research it on the company site before listing it on eBay. Include as much information as possible from the company description and note the original price of the item. Even note whether it was featured in a particular catalog. By positioning the product's brand, you could catch the eye of those who frequently shop at these stores.

Group items. Let's say you come across a garage sale that has great items, in great condition. However, most of the items are small-ticket items. Consider grouping the items and selling them as a package on eBay. Buyers may not be interested in a single package of unopened recipe cards. But group them with an interesting recipe box and a new cookbook and you might get a better sale. Small packs of unused stationery could be grouped with packs of pens or desk accessories and sold as stationery sets. Be creative and use trial and error to see which groupings are most popular. Once you find selections that work, follow that pattern for other sales.

Do your homework. Get a good book on collectibles and begin to familiarize yourself with markings. When looking at garage sales, many people clear out items without realizing their value. Being able to spot and identify these items, will greatly increase your ability to spot treasured items for a low price…and resell them for what they're really worth.

Know your neighborhoods. When you check local listings for advertised garage sales, look for sales featured in middle- to upper-income neighborhoods. It may be that the items sold in these neighborhoods are more likely to feature popular brands and newer items. Identify neighborhoods with the best garage sales and hit those on a regular basis.

Once you begin shopping garage sales with a new eye for the right products and brands, you'll soon find a wealth of great products to enhance your eBay inventory and increase your profitability. And, best of all, you'll have fun doing it!

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Janiece Smith is the author of Internet's top-selling eBook teaching everyday people how to make their own small fortune selling on eBay®.

Discover The Secrets Janiece Smith Used To Earn Up To $11,212 Per Month Selling On eBay. Her New eBook "How An Overworked, Traveling, Soggy Sandwich Eating Dental Hygienist Made up to $11,212.00 a Month––100% Online" allows you to easily and quickly apply the author's secrets of finding and selling products on eBay® to create huge amounts of instant profits!

Click here for more details
http://www.expressprofitsonline.com

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Discover How You Can Use "Want It Now" To Increase Your eBay Sales In 21 Minutes Or Less.

2005-07-19T09:12:00.000-05:00

by Janiece V. Smith
© Janiece V. Smith - All Rights Reserved

http://www.expressprofitsonline.com

As eBay sellers, we are always looking for new and unique ways to use eBay to create a positive cash flow. Recently, eBay announced a new service that may be able to help us on this quest––it is called "Want It Now."

What is "Want It Now"?

"Want It Now" is reminiscent of the newspaper classified ad "wanted" section. Potential buyers post items they are seeking so that you, the potential seller, can let them know that you have what they want. The potential buyer that posts the wanted item or items is truly a "potential" buyer with no contract or agreement.

Even so, eBay buyers who post a "Want It Now" ad are showing their willingness to buy a specific item if it meets their requirements. Buyers must maintain a Feedback rating of at least five, or have a credit card on file. What does this mean to you? If you have an item that they want, you are definitely dealing with someone that is more than just a casual "window" shopper.

When I checked "Want It Now" on January 20, there were 148,686 items listed in 32 different categories. It is logical to assume that the numbers will grow as more people learn about this service. The top 10 categories were as follows:

eBay Motors
Clothing, Shoes, & Accessories
Everything Else
Collectibles
Home & Garden
Books
Toys & Hobbies
Music
Sporting Goods
Sports Mem, Cards, & Fan Shop

The other 22 categories include the following:

DVDs & Movies
Computers & Networking
Consumer Electronics
Health & Beauty
Pottery & Glass
Crafts
Jewelry & Watches
Business & Industrial
Dolls & Bears
Musical Instruments
Video Games
Antiques
Cameras & Photo
Entertainment Memorabilia
Art
Tickets
Cell Phones
Coins
Real Estate
Stamps
Travel
Gift Certificates

Using "Want It Now"

Before we get into some specific ideas on how to use "Want It Now" to make money, let's take a quick look at this new section and see how it works.

First, go to http://pages.ebay.com/wantitnow/ . Upon arriving, you will see a page that looks like this:

Then you can choose a category that is of interest to you. For example, if you have an eBay store that sells cameras and photo equipment, then you might want to browse that category. Simply look in the blue Sellers box and click on Cameras and Photo; then click Browse Want It Now.

Doing so will bring you to a page that looks like this:

Now let's assume that you have the Arc Soft Camera Suite, Version 2.0. Simply click on the link:

From here, you would click on the "respond" button:

If your items is already listed on eBay, then you would type in your item number. If you have the item but have not yet have it listed on eBay, then you would do so now and then type in your item number. As soon as you enter the item number, an email is sent to the potential buyer that you have the item they are seeking. It is that simple!

Increasing Sales with "Want It Now" Listings

So, how can you use this new section of eBay to increase your profits? There are many ways! You simply have to use a little imagination and some entrepreneurial skills! Let me give you a few ideas to help get the ball rolling!

1. Connect with Potential Buyers: The first way to increase profits is the most obvious and the way that eBay originally envisioned its use. You have items to sell and eBay buyers have needs that are not being met by the eBay listings. If your items match those needs, then you have a sale! You can browse the Want It Now listings to find potential buyers for items that you have on hand. Want It Now serves as a tool to help buyers and sellers connect!

Check the "Want It Now" listing in your category on a daily basis
Post your items to any "Want It Now" potential buyer of your product
Increase sales by finding your potential buyers instead of them having to find you!

2. Find New Market Niches: You may also do some research on related products and find that there is a market for an item that you previously thought was not really sellable. For instance, if you currently sell musical instruments, you may want to consider selling sheet music as well. When I checked this category today, there were 127 "Want It Now" entries for Sheet Music and Songbooks. As a seller, you can browse through the requests to get new ideas for items that are in demand!

Look for high mark up items––because this research takes a bit longer, you want to be sure to get enough money to pay for the extra time.
Look for repeat sale items––once the buyer finds that you have what they need, you may be able to keep the customer for future sales.
Look for items that you already have access to but have not been listing––finding a new market is always useful!

3. Be the Go-Between: Do a bit of research to connect potential buyers and sellers together. For instance, there is someone currently on "Want It Now" that is requesting Riverdance tickets at NY Radio City Music Hall.

As you can see, one person has responded with tickets. However, the "Want It Now" buyer has not responded to this post. If you research on eBay, you will find that there are many other people with Riverdance tickets for sale. Try emailing them to let them know that you know of someone looking for Riverdance tickets. Then ask them for a commission if you point them to the person and it results in a direct sale. If they say yes, it should only take an email or two to work out the details. Then you just have to send the seller the link to the person wanting the tickets so they can post what they have for sale.

For example this person has river dance tickets:

The seller, Minionofnothing, has not posted that he has tickets available to the "Want It Now" post for Riverdance tickets at NY Radio City Music hall. Also, In this case, the person that posted it on "Want It Now" might not know about these tickets. You could email Minionofnothing and try to work out a deal.

Another thing would be do to a quick Google search for Riverdance tickets. Then write an email to the vendor of those tickets to see if you can get a finder's fee. Once again, work out the details, and send the vendor the link to post the tickets. For instance, a quick search of Google found http://www.tickco.com/Concerts/Radio_city_hall_tickets.htm has available Riverdance tickets.

For either of these "Be the Go Between" methods, you should be able to make a deal in about 15 minutes, thus creating four potential sales per hour.

4. Create an eBay Store with an Affiliate: I came up with this idea when I was looking at the travel section of "Want It Now." There are plenty of people looking for lodging, airline tickets, tours, etc. You can capture these leads by creating an eBay store dealing with travel. On your eBay store site, you can have an affiliate partner that takes care of the sales. For instance, EconomyTravel.com has an affiliate program that pays 2% of all sales for an average commission of $29.16. ABSTravel.com is another possible affiliate that pays $5.00 for every round trip airline ticket, 5% on every car rental, 5% on every international hotel, and 4% on every domestic hotel. By hooking up the "Want It Now" posts to your website, you have the potential to earn a commission!

For example, someone on "Want It Now" wants cheap European tickets:

Respond with something from your eBay travel store, and then you will be able to communicate with them via email and send them to your store. If they purchase any tickets through your affiliate, you have earned a commission!

These are just a few ways to make money using the "Want It Now' section of eBay. Start using this wonderful new tool to increase your sales and your profits today!

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Resources Box:

Janiece Smith is the author of Internet's top-selling eBook teaching everyday people how to make their own small fortune selling on eBay®.

Discover The Secrets Janiece Smith Used To Earn Up To $11,212 Per Month Selling On eBay. Her New eBook "How An Overworked, Traveling, Soggy Sandwich Eating Dental Hygienist Made up to $11,212.00 a Month––100% Online" allows you to easily and quickly apply the author's secrets of finding and selling products on eBay® to create huge amounts of instant profits!

Click here for more details
http://www.expressprofitsonline.com

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

eBay Vs. Other Auction Sites

2005-07-13T20:26:00.000-05:00

by Janiece Smith

Hi Friend,

I received an interesting email recently from someone who wanted
to purchase my ebook. The person asked me a lot of the typical
questions that I receive but also one that I am asked less frequently.

Maybe you've been wondering about the same thing…

Should I sell on eBay alone, or should I sell on all popular auction sites?

My thoughts on this are based solely on my own success and my own
area of expertise. I can't criticize the other auction sites, because I am
just not very familiar with them. But, I do have a very strong opinion
about why you should only sell on eBay…at least for now that is.

The cold hard facts are that eBay is the online auction giant. After all,
24% of all e-commerce in the U.S. in 2004 took place on eBay.com.
With these kinds of stats it's hard for any other auction site to even
compare.

I think of it like a used car lot. Consider that you have the choice of
two locations to promote your cars.

One is in a prime traffic location. You get a lot of free exposure simply
from people driving by the lot who do so every day. You also get the
exposure of those new people who are driving by for the first time.

The other location does get some traffic going by. But, it is off the
beaten track, and is not a very well-known road. So, although you get
the consistent traffic, the volume is just not great enough to generate
sufficient sales to keep your lot open and thriving.

Again, I won't pretend that I know very much about other online auction
sites, because I just don't. My profitable business was conducted solely
from selling on eBay, so I can't pretend to know any differently. But the
way I look at things and the way I teach my students is as follows:

Start your business selling on eBay and using the techniques I teach first…

There is no need to add too much to your load of learning (i.e., learning
the ins and outs of each auction site) at first. Learn eBay, build your
business, and wait until you are making a good profit and your business
in running smoothly. Then, if you're still interested, and if the curiosity is
still there, you could always add selling on different sites as well.

I feel strongly about this, because I think one of the biggest reasons for
failure in most business is that the individual feels overwhelmed with
information. If you're trying to learn too many different things all at once,
you may just end up frustrated and discouraged.

Your personal eBay coach and partner,

~Janiece Smith

PS
Check out this Subscriber Recommended Resource:

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=
How One Woman Made $11,212 A Month On Ebay--And How You Can Too!
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=

Selling through Auction Marketplaces

2005-06-29T06:22:00.000-05:00

By Nowshade Kabir, Rusbiz.com

Consumers are increasingly feeling more comfortable in buying
products through the Internet. According to a report released
recently by the Department of Commerce first-quarter retail sales
rose 23.8 percent to US$ 19.8 billion in the United States from
US$ 16 billion a year ago. E-commerce sales during the first
quarter of 2005 rose 6.4 percent from the fourth quarter of last
year. Forrester Research estimated that 2005 online retail sales
will increase at a pace of 22 percent. Today, a third of all
households in US make at least one purchase online within a year,
a figure which will grow to almost 40 percent by 2009, predicts
Forrester. As a seller, this strong growth of online sales means
that you have to put considerable stress on your Internet sales
endeavor if you are not doing this as yet.

According to statistics compiled for the Internet Retailer Top
400 Guide, the top retailers in 2004 garnered combined online
sales of more than US$ 51 billion, which accounts for 58.3
percent of all US Internet sales. The growth in online sales is
quite impressive for large retailers. J.C. Penny Co. Inc., for
example, reported a 35 percent year-over-year rise of online
sales in May, 2005. Can new online ventures boast same type of
significant growth? Unfortunately, not!

Each day, there are thousands of new companies are setting up
shops on the Internet trying to sell every conceivable type of
products and services. Most of these websites do not attract
enough visitors to make them profitable. Competition on the
Internet is fierce! Internet marketing campaigns are becoming
increasing expensive. Many small companies can't afford to spend
money required to promote their sites. So, what are the options
available for a small company with modest product range to thrive
on the Internet? One of the best sales channels, in my opinion,
on the Internet by far is auction marketplaces. Of course, no
matter what, you will still need to promote your website with all
the methods you can master. However, selling your products and
services through established auction marketplaces has its own
advantage.

eBay

With 63.8 million unique visitors hitting the auction site only
in April of this year, eBay has established itself as the largest
marketplace on earth. In 2004 alone US$ 34.2 billion worth of
merchandize exchange hands on eBay. Presently, the site has
around 135 million registered users in 32 markets worldwide.

With such a vast community of buyers and sellers, eBay should be
your number one choice for selling your products or services
online. On the eBay you can sell any kind of item. The varieties
of stuffs people are selling through eBay are mind boggling! At
any given time there are over 29 million items displayed on eBay.
The number of new items added each day exceeds 3.5 million.
However, still many offline sellers perceive eBay as an auction
site for mainly collectible items. They can't be more wrong! The
largest selling category on the eBay is, believe it or not,
automobile and accessories, which comprises of almost 22 percent
of all sales. I have, personally, bought three luxury cars over
the course of last two years through eBay and I have nothing to
complain about.

As a seller on the eBay, the biggest advantage that you gain is
the possibility of becoming from a local merchant to an
international player over night. If you are already selling
merchandize to consumers online or offline, eBay gives you an
additional sales channel without any extra cost. If you are
planning to begin selling goods or services through the Internet,
eBay allows you to start your business online quickly and with
minimum expenses.

Yahoo

You may have difficulty in imagining the biggest portal on our
planet as a marketplace, in some countries, like Japan and
Canada, Yahoo auction is, actually, doing better than eBay. In
the US market Yahoo has just announced its intention to eliminate
fees charged for using its auction site. This is a good news for
even many eBay power sellers. Some of them will definitely move
to Yahoo in a bid to save on high fees charged by eBay. The good
thing about Yahoo is slowly it is becoming a major hub for many
small business web stores. As a matter of fact, according to
Yahoo, every eighth online store is now hosted by Yahoo.

Amazon

Amazon, may be is not as popular as eBay or Yahoo as far as
auction marketplace is concerned, however, many auctioneers claim
that some of the products sell better on Amazon than any other
auction marketplace.

Why should you consider selling through auction marketplaces?

Here are some reasons, why auction marketplaces are viable sales
channel for businesses:

. The auction marketplaces are very popular and each of
them has huge community of buyers and sellers.
. There is virtually no start-up cost involved.
. No extra overhead is required.
. You really don't have to set up a website to start
selling.
. Easy to learn.

While determining what to sell through auction marketplaces,
choose your products very carefully. Don't try to sell products
like DVD, cellular phones and similar common items. There are way
too many people are trying to sell those products. Do your
research before jumping into online auctions. Go through the
categories of your choice. See how your competitors are doing.
Check out the listings of sold items. For how much the products
you intend to list are getting sold for? What keywords your
prospective competitors are using to market these products? On
which auction site these products are selling better?

Go with the trend! Travel, cosmetics and jewelry sales are
expected to do better than other categories of e-commerce in
coming years. In every category of goods and services you will
find a niche, which is doing fairly well. All you have to do is
find that niche by making extensive and thorough research!

Selling through auction marketplaces like any other business
process requires sound judgment and careful planning. Be sure to
use them before starting your online sales.

About the author

Nowshade Kabir, is the founder, primary developer and present
CEO of Rusbiz.com - a Global B2B Exchange with solutions to
create e-catalog, Web store, business process management and
other features to run a business online. You can read various
articles written by Nowshade Kabir at http://ezine.rusbiz.com .

Niche Auction Sites

2005-06-08T06:44:00.000-05:00

by Aaron Turpen
A special presentation courtesy of The eBay® PowerSeller's Book of
Knowledge: Second Edition
http://www.AaronzWebWorkz.com/ebaybook.shtml

For many sellers, finding the right items to sell is only half their
battle. Finding a place to sell it can sometimes be just as
challenging. After all, if you're selling a rare or hard-to-find item,
you will most likely find success at the larger sites such as eBay and
Yahoo. Sometimes, though, those sites don't work out as well as you'd
hoped. Or maybe you'd like to supplement the sales there and expand to
another site. In either case, you'll most likely be searching for a
niche to move into with your product.

This is where the power of the Internet really comes into play. The
Internet is broad, powerful, and heavily populated with people willing
to buy if they see something they really want. Like any mass media,
you need to target your intended audience to focus your sales and get
the best results. Luckily, the Internet seems made for this!

Online auctions are a great way to not only find customers, but
encourage sales. If you look for them, you can find auction "niche"
sites which specialize in a specific type of auction or a specific
type of item for sale. These sites combine the best of both worlds:
online auctions AND targeted buyers!

The first step is finding the sites you want to use for your auctions.
A good tactic for this is to use Google or The Open Directory
(dmoz.org) and search for the item (or similar items) to what you wish
to sell. Most likely you'll come up with quite a few hits. Narrow the
search as far as you can. Include words like "auction" or "sell" in
your search terms along with the item. Once you have the list as
narrow as you can get it, begin checking out the sites in the results.

Many of them will be retail outlets, "fan" pages, and hobbyist
"how-to" pages. Some of these are useful - especially the last -
because they may include links to good niche sites for selling at
auction. It may take some time, but eventually you should have at
least one (try for two or three) sites that specialize in your item
for sale at auction.

Now check the sites out thoroughly before you sign up or use them.
Peruse the lists from the buyer's prospective. Are there plenty of
listings? Do they seem to have a fair amount of bids, watchers, or
visitors? Now look at it from the seller's prospective: read their
information on selling. What will it cost? How long do the listings
last? What are their policies for returns, refunds, privacy, and so forth?

Once you have decided on a site or two to list on, begin blowing away
the competition with the skills you're learning here in this book.
You'll find that most of the sellers on these sites are fairly
amateurish - using ugly listings, badly taken pictures (if any
pictures are used at all!), and atrocious descriptions of their
product. Take advantage of this and make your listings shine in
comparison. You'll find that, at most niche sites, the sellers are
much less refined than they are at eBay and the competition is most
likely much less fierce. The tradeoff is usually the visibility -
after all, on eBay, the people visiting your auction are usually
measured in the hundreds or thousands whereas on niche sites, they'll
be more likely to be measured in tens. You can make up for this by
listing your items at a fair price to begin with - rather than having
to stoop to the ".01 auction" to get attention as you would on eBay
and risk losing your shirt when only one bidder tries for the item.

Another bonus to these smaller sites is that they usually have looser
rules than eBay and the bigger auction sites do. You may be able to
cross-post your item on more than one site because the delisting rules
are simple so if the item sells on one site, you can remove it from
another. This is a great bonus as you can spread the visibility of
your item and therefore boost sales of them.

So if you're selling something unusual, hard-to-find, or sometimes
even something that's overly-competitive on the larger auction sites;
you'll want to look into selling on the smaller niche sites that are
sure to exist for your particular item. In any case, a little
experimentation never hurt anyone and you might be surprised at what
you come up with!

You might want to check out the Aaronz Auction Newsletter "Big Boy
Alternatives" list of reviews of alternative auction sites to eBay®.
You can find that at http://www.AWWStore.com/news/oah/

About the Author
Aaron Turpen is the author of "The eBay PowerSeller's Book of
Knowledge" and the editor/publisher of two successful newsletters, in
their fourth year of publication, The Aaronz WebWorkz Weekly
Newsletter and Aaronz Auction Newsletter. You can find out more about
these and other great resources from Aaron at his website
http://www.AaronzWebWorkz.com