Online Seller Tips

An Answer to the question What to Sell Online Idea of Something To Sell Online

2018-08-25T22:26:00.000-07:00

One question that I get asked a lot is, "What should I sell online?"

And while I usually answer that you should sell the things that you know about and that provide you the best chance to make a profit and that let you have some fun too.

While I don't think the profit motive is the most important thing, I do think that over the long run it can be a good motivator. Not the only thing to consider, but it has to be added to the mix of things that you think about.

Having fun can also be a good motivator, but it does not always help pay the bills. So it can't really be the most important factor.

I do think that it is best to start with what you know the best, or what you want to learn about the most. This will also help you stay interested, as you get deeper into the grind that is online selling. But note that I said to start with, because in the long run you will want to learn about different things and kind of challenge yourself to get better at selling all different kinds of things.

Well what are some of the options, there are many and probably too many to ever list them all.

A lot of beginning online sellers start with books, video games, clothes, shoes and other household items. Just things that can be found around your house or in your closet.

Again, this is a good approach to start with.

I like to think about selling an item were the I can have the maximum number of customers, or selling something that people have more than one of. That way, one person can be a multiple buyer.

So what is an item that fits this description?

Well some people own many video games, or many books, or some other items you can think of. And some people own none of these items. But the item that I have in mind, everyone you know owns several pairs. The item is shoes, if you think about it, probably every one you know owns more than three pairs of shoes, with some people owning into the double digits of pairs of shoes.

I've always been fascinated by this. Which is why among other things I sell shoes.

In a future post I will talk about this a bit more, and give some examples of shoes that are perfect for online sells.

A New Selling Platform That I Have Recently Been Using

2018-08-23T15:40:00.000-07:00

I have been recently been reselling on Poshmark. Check out my closet there. here. My closet is called SD Online Sales.

I sell a mix of women's, men's and kids shoes, tops and some pants.

So far it has been a cool experience selling on that platform, as well as selling on eBay. My eBay store can be found here >>> it is called Fitzgerald's Spot

I sell clothes as in my Poshmark closet on eBay, plus some hard goods and collectible items.

Please check it out, and give me some feedback about what you think of it. Also feel free to leave me a comment requesting clothes are hard goods that you would like me to find for you.

How Copy Writing Can Give You High-End Credibility

2013-10-30T14:28:00.001-07:00

How Copy Writing Can Give You High-End Credibility

You have clear, beautiful pictures of your product, a hard-earned and well-deserved reputation as a quality seller, and you may think you’re good to go - but you can undo all of your hard work by ignoring the importance of good copy. From the title of your listing to the description, careful writing can increase views, drive up sales, and lead to trust and interest on the part of your customers. Experienced sellers know this information by heart, but many find it easy to let little things go as their customer base expands and the number of listings grows; after all, what’s one or two little errors on one listing? What’s wrong with using a template description with just one line actually describing the product? However, these errors can cost sellers sales and customers, and they’re easily fixed by recognizing what customers want out of listings and descriptions.

Stand Out From Other Listings

In the early days, at the dawn of eBay, it might have been a new and innovative eye-catcher to use tricks like all caps, excessive punctuation, and liberal use of words like “rare” to lure in curious customers. Yet all bandwagons eventually fill up, and instead of a speedy race to the finish line you get an overburdened heap that lags behind the people who just dust themselves off and start walking. Buyers today - particularly the collectors who are the lifeblood of some sellers - are looking for coherency, accurate information, and confidence. Think about it in terms of offline stores; the ones whose salespeople are shouting and over-hyping their products are generally low-end, while high-end businesses treat their customers with dignity, intelligence, and quiet respect. No matter what you’re selling, it’s always better to be seen as Armani rather than the neighborhood dollar store. Keep your listings as grammatically correct as possible while still listing the important details, be scrupulously honest, and STOP SHOUTING.

Keywords For SEO

Search engine optimization used to be a black-hat hacker trick, and despite advances in using its powers for good, savvy internet users - that is, your customers - are quick to spot the sloppy work of SEO amateurs. While this might not deter them if your items are interesting enough, many might roll their eyes and click away. Employing trained search-engine specialists isone option, particularly if you need to give your store a jump-start, as you can also train yourself by studying the work they provide for you. For smaller stores, or those who are comfortable with their rate of growth, a major tip is to write normally (ignoring SEO writing for the moment) and then go back to change certain words to SEO-friendly keywords. The key is for it to appear natural and for the information to remain as informative as possible. After all, all your work won’t amount for much if you earn a click through SEO but your potential customer is turned away by a wall of shoutygibberish.

Keywords For Interest

It’s also critical to consider which words your customer might be looking for when they scan your listing and description. This may seem like an obvious point, but it depends on your target customer base, and many sellers make this mistake when branching out. Take vintage and antique furniture, houseware, and collectibles for example. There are two main market bases for these items: the average person who is interested in cultivating a certain mood and style in their home, and serious collectors who are more likely to be interested in specific details. Sellers targeting the former should focus on descriptions which are evocative, words which reinforce the buyer’s image of themselves, and any interesting history which will provide that all-important backstory. For sellers whose market is primarily collectors, a straightforward approach will be more successful; many collectors are suspicious of or annoyed by the stylistic approach to what most consider a fairly academic hobby. This tactic applies to almost any product, although the different markets for other products are likely to be different.

Stay Spare And Stylish

Most sellers have a template for their descriptions, which can work very well when used correctly. Unfortunately, the majority of these templates arebusy, confusing, and bury the information their customers are looking for. Given the fast pace of most eBay buying and browsing, this can easily lead to a distracted click away. Remember to always keep your descriptions front and center, using bold to create informative headings and avoiding its use in the copy itself. Whenever possible, put the rest of your template’s store information below the primary description, instead of over it; if you choose to use a sidebar, make it unobtrusive. Finally, remember that templates are not a substitute for good descriptive copy. Think of your template as simply a blank page - if one line on a blank page wouldn't be enough for you to buy an item, it’s likely that it won’t be good enough for your customers either.

Written by Melissa Gardner

eBay 101: Selling on eBay For Part-time or Full-time Income, Beginner to PowerSeller in 90 Days [Kindle Edition]

2011-11-28T10:57:00.000-08:00

Here is the Kindle version of this top ranked book and how to sell on eBay.

Editorial Reviews From Amazon.com

Product Description

With today's rocky economy and unsteady job market, there's never been a better time to earn extra cash online. And now there's a new book that guides you each step of the way: eBay 101: Selling on eBay For Part-time or Full-time Income, Beginner to PowerSeller in 90 Days. Access the world's biggest marketplace, right from your own home.

You'll learn how to:

-- Register at eBay and PayPal
-- Start part-time and expand your income when you're ready
-- Find great inventory at low prices
-- Auction to the highest bidder or sell at fixed prices
-- Identify niche markets for big profits
-- Get tax deductions for your eBay home-based business
-- Guard against scammers and rip-off artists

Starting a business on eBay is perhaps your fastest route to the American Dream. The payoff can be high, and the barriers to entry are low.

The world's most popular online marketplace, eBay has millions of registered buyers waiting to do business with you. For less than $100 and very little risk, you can start an eBay venture with profit margins rivaling those of any business. Exactly how much money you earn depends mostly on how much effort you put into your new enterprise and how efficiently you operate it.

In this new eBay guide, you'll see:

How eBay works ... Register your business ... Sell your item ... Build your listing

Timing, planning your auction ... Make a picture worth $1,000 ... Use Pre-filled Item Information ... Price your item ... Reserve Pricing ... Multiple Item (Dutch) Auctions ... The auction alternative: fixed prices ... Best Offer listing option ... Upgrade your listings ... The best time to list

Profit with a niche ... Start with used merchandise ... Win with niche selling ... Cash in on collectibles ... Autographed items ... Trust, but authenticate ... How to recognize fake autographs

Get more great inventory ... Estate sales ... Bankruptcy sales ... Thrift shops ... Local artisans ... Close-out merchandise ... Library sales ... Overstock distributors ... Find overlooked gems at estate sales ... Live auctions ... Postal Service auctions ... Treasury Department auctions ... GSA Auctions ... Government Liquidation ... Law Enforcement Auctions ... Classified ads ... Get merchandise on eBay ... Get merchandise on consignment ... Become a trading assistant

Expand your business ... Create your `About Me' page ... Cross-promotions ... Open an eBay store ... Set up shop ... Promote your store ... eBay Express ... Using eBay's Half.com site ... Google Base ... Why many would-be PowerSellers fail

Prevent problem customers ... Set Buyer Requirements ... Be a feedback fanatic ... Completing sales ... Communicate with a packing slip ... Respond to feedback ... Mutual Feedback Withdrawal ... Feedback policies ... Handle customers right ... Unpaid item disputes ... Work with PayPal

Avoid scams and fraud ... Spot shady buyers ... Recognize predators ... Avoid phishing e-mails ... Beware of hoax e-mails ... Avoid drop-ship, wholesale scams ... Recognize crooks and middlemen ... Warning signs of bogus wholesalers ... Know a fake from the real McCoy

Ship efficiently ... Choose a shipping company ... Communicate when you ship ... Pare shipping costs to the bone ... Sell Get It Fast Items ... Handle delivery snafus ... Print online postage ... Organize your inventory ... Design your SKU system

Get efficient with fulfillment software ... TurboLister ... Selling Manager ... Software for media sellers ... Research prices wirelessly

More eBay rules ... Prohibited and restricted items ... Shill bidding ... Keyword spamming ... Fee Circumvention ... Sales taxes ... Income taxes ... Business use of your home ... Hiring employees

eBay Has Major Search Outage Over Weekend

2009-11-23T06:56:00.000-08:00

During this critical shopping period, with the economy in the doldrums and retailers of all sizes needing to make as many sales as possible eBay experienced a world wide search system failure on Friday, November 21st.

AuctionBytes.com by Ina Steiner has complete details and many comments by eBay users.

CNN.com is reporting on the incident in an article titled EBay Apologizes for Web Site Glitch

Online auction giant eBay apologized Sunday for a daylong glitch that inactivated the search function on its Web site, and said it will compensate sellers for their losses.

The Wall Street Journal.com is reporting about the problem in an article titled EBay Search Glitch Damps Sales where they state;

A search glitch at eBay Inc.'s main e-commerce sites over the weekend damped sales in the run-up to the crucial holiday shopping season.

Although auctions continued to function, sellers began noticing problems with eBay's search system Saturday morning that prevented users from finding products on the U.S. and some international eBay sites. EBay said search functions were fully restored Sunday morning.

The overall consensus is that EBay is a victim of it's on success. The number of buyers that flocked to the site over the weekend crashed the search function. This however begs the question, "Didn't EBay realize this would happen in this climate where many shoppers would be searching for bargians?"

Books About EBay @Amazon.com

QuickBooks

2009-04-03T01:11:00.000-07:00

QuickBooks Pro 2009

Product Features

Complete tasks like paying employees, invoicing, bill tracking and check-writing
Track sales and expenses, and easily share this data in Word and Excel
Stay on top of your business by seeing who owes you money or which bills are coming due
Quickly create your own professional-looking custom forms
Over 100 included templates for reporting

Spend more time making money, rather than tracking it. QuickBooks Pro 2009 makes the job of running a business easier by giving you tools to organize all your finances conveniently in one place. Easily keep track of sales and expenses so you know at a glance who owes you money and who you owe money to. Use any of more than 100 included templates to create your own professional-quality forms, including estimates, invoices and reports. Plus, you can share your data with such programs as Word and Excel, making it even easier to both make sense of and make use of your business's constantly changing financial information.

Compatible with QuickBooks Point of Sale version 4.0 and later

eBay Announces Lay Off of 10 Percent

2008-10-06T19:44:00.000-07:00

According to an article on the New York Times.com Technology page, eBay "is both tightening its belt and expanding its reach in preparation for the coming economic storm."

On Monday, eBay announced it would lay off 10 percent of its 16,000 workers, including 1,000 permanent employees, and pay $1.35 billion to acquire the Web payment firm Bill Me Later and the Danish classified advertising companies Den Bla Avis and BilBasen.

You can read the full article here, EBay Trims Its Work Force And Makes Acquisitions.

Scot Wingo's Thoughts on eBay Changes

2008-08-22T15:09:00.000-07:00

Scot Wingo the author of the blog eBay Strategies has a very interesting and informed opinion regarding the recent changes at eBay. He makes the points in an article in his blog titled eBay mega-changes day 3 - Wall St reaction and some 'deep thoughts'..., where he states;

Not all of the analysts have chimed in, but as you'd expect the bears view this as vindication the model is broken and bulls are cheering that the company is making progress on moving towards more CPA vs. listing fee model. Most analysts are concerned that here we are in September basically and the buyer experience hasn't materially improved yet. Thus eBay is looking at a potentially disadvantaged holiday season vs. other retailers (they mean Amazon when the say this IMO).

I really like how he compares eBay to Amazon.com and looks at their business models.

More Changes From eBay

2008-08-20T14:40:00.000-07:00

Various news organizations are reporting new changes in eBays pricing policies. Check out Some eBay sellers frustrated with rule changes from the Associated Press.

According to the article;

Even with the rancor, some sellers clearly have benefited from eBay's changes. Steven Holt and his wife, Crystal, who sell DVDs from Denison, Iowa, say they've seen record sales since the spring, when eBay search results began favoring vendors who, like them, have high feedback ratings.

Changes are coming in the following five areas:

Pricing, - All fixed Price listing fees will be lowered to 35-cents and the listing period will expand for 30 days, and one listing fee will cover an unlimited number of items. This will also be accompanied with an increase in final value fees by categories.

Search, - The new search will treat auction and Fixed Price listings more fairly. Fixed price listings and auction listings separately for best match and then combine them in the final listing. The new search algorithm will look at the success rate of an item. The fixed price listings that have a higher sales rate will rank above those that don’t.

Seller Standards, - One of the recent changes to the changes that eBay made was to stop counting neutrals in your feedback score. There will probably be more changes made in this area as eBay is serious about getting rid of problem sellers.

Shipping, - Soon eBay will set a maximum shipping & handling charge for items listed in the media categories (books, DVDs, CDs, etc.). They also indicated that maximum shipping charges may be set in other categories in the future. This will be accompanied by promotions for buyers that will help with your item rankings.

Electronic Payments, - eBay will go to an all-electronic payment system soon. Checks and Money Orders will not be accepted for payment. This change has been in the works for a while, and it will be interesting to see how it pans out.

As always with eBay things remain fluid. Most of these changes will be implemented in late October, if they do not change their minds between now and then.

Ten Niche Items That You Could Be Selling Online

2008-07-31T11:18:00.000-07:00

I get a lot of questions from sellers wanting to know what they should be selling. Two good places to find the best things to sell are eBay and Amazon.com.

Both of these sites are giants in the online retelling world. You can buy wholesale and in quantity on both eBay and Amazon.com.

What follows are ten niches that you could be selling right now;

1. Cellphones - Cellphones are the number one consumer electronics item out there. They are bought and sold world wide and even children own cellphones.

2. Bluetooth headsets - With the recent increase of laws making hands free driving a must, bluetooths will only continue to be popular.

3. Bike Frames - The profit margins on bikes will surprise you. Go to eBay and look at what bikes are being sold for.

4. Military Collectibles - Military collectibles is an area that has a long and interesting history. These collectibles go all the way back to the beginning of the last centry.

5. MP3 players (iPods) - Mp3 players are also one of the must haves for the average consumer of electronics. The demand for the new models ensures that this niche will be popular for years to come.

6. Autos - Autos like cellphones is an area of sells where everyone can be your customer, because almost everyone has an auto. So the ability to sell makes this an area that if you are a serious seller you will want to consider.

7. Entertainment Memorabilia - Entertainment memorabilia is an area that resist down turns in the economy and other glitches that cause other niches to loose their popularity. Even during down turns we need to escape into the world of entertainment. This makes this area of sells very attractive.

8. Sports Gear (Golf, football, basketball, soccer) - Like entertainment, sports is an area of escape. And even when we cut back in other areas we still need the escape and inspiration that sports offer. Not to mention the health benefits of using sports gear.

9. Blue ray DVDs - Blue Ray DVDs are also a new area that if you start selling you can expect that there will be years of stable sales growth. This is one of the features that all online sellers should be looking for.

10. Video Games - Video games like cellphones, blue ray dvds and other consumer electronics are growing a rate that offers a very good chance to generate a stable income into the future.

The above list contains items that will give you a good profit margin and allow you to make money. I also hope that it makes you think about what niches that you come up with yourself. The whole point of this post is to get online sellers to think about what they themselves like to sell and what items have to potential to generate the best sells for them.

Amazon.com Offers New Payment Method

2008-07-30T05:00:00.000-07:00

According to the article Amazon payment services debut in ComputerWorld.com;

Amazon.com Inc. on Tuesday launched hosted e-commerce payment services for merchants that want to outsource all or some of their online transaction processing tasks.

The two new offerings, called Checkout By Amazon and Amazon Simple Pay, are the latest services for businesses introduced by Amazon, which is best known for its massive online retailing operation.

It will be interesting to see if this new service will have an impact on eBay's PayPal system.

Don't Break Up With Your Customers

2008-07-29T10:45:00.000-07:00

This amusing video makes some points that I think the average online seller would do good to remember.

1. Communicate with your customer.
2. Understand their needs.
3. Listen when they talk to you.
4. Make sure they have good channels of access.
5. Be genuine.

The Break Up

Book for Online Sellers; The New Rules of Marketing and PR

2008-07-27T19:42:00.000-07:00

Here is a book with a long name, the full name of the book is; The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use News Releases, Blogs, Podcasting, Viral Marketing and Online Media to Reach Buyers Directly.

In this book the author argues that the old rules of marketing have changed with the new media. As can be seen with what is happening with old media like newspapers, magazines, radio, and even TV, there are new opportunities for the new media formats like blogs, online news releases, podcasting viral marketing and other online media

The book takes the position that the transition from old media to new media is a good thing for online sellers who know how to use it. The new media offers more integrity and information that helps to produce quality content for less, as opposed to to the one-sided expensive old media marketing methods.

The book provides the technical novice a thoughtful and accessible guide to cutting-edge media arenas and formats such as RSS, vodcasts and viral marketing, without neglecting the fact that technological wizardry can't substitute for a well-thought out marketing program. It emphasizes fundamentals like defining one's audience.

eBay Software Pirate Sentenced

2008-07-25T11:41:00.000-07:00

In yesterdays post I gave suggestions on how all online sellers can go about increasing the trust that buyers have for us as a whole.

Today I want to point out a recent news story that shows what not to do to foster trust in online selling.

You can read PCMag.com's coverage of the story Software Pirate Sentenced to Four Years.

The Software and Information Industry Association said this week that a key seller of fraudulent software on eBay, Jeremiah Mondello, had been sentenced to 48 months in federal prison.

Mondello pled guilty in May to counts of copyright infringement, mail fraud and aggravated identity theft. He was also sentenced to three years supervised release after the conclusion of his sentence, as well as 150 hours of community service.

Five Ways To Foster Trust From Online Customers

2008-07-24T16:33:00.000-07:00

Eairlier today I wrote a post in my blog for parents called Baby Buggy Bumper about quality shopping online in response to a comment that a reader made.

Her comment was;

"You can't guarantee the origin of car seats on ebay nor can your be assured that these are brand new car seats. You should only buy a new car seat, unless you can guarantee that your car seat has NEVER been in an accident. Car seats also have expiration dates, and you can't confirm the manufacture dates of a car seat on ebay. Buy new from a reputable dealer. It's worth the extra cash for your child's safety."

I tried to educate buyers on how to make their online shopping a more secure situation. But there is a lot of mistrust in the comment, and it got me to thinking about how online sellers are all in the same boat. When it comes to trust that is.

Many online buyers don't trust us, because we don't all do things to foster trust in our customers. And so mistrust of me, becomes mistrust of you.

The things that I do, can effect your business and vis versa. So I want to give a list of things that I think online sellers can do to build trust with their customers.

1. Identify yourself, post your picture, give your email address and a business phone number where you can be reached. This builds trust, it lets your buyer know who they are dealing with, and it gives them a way to communicate with you. Use the about page and or profile page of the selling site you use.

2. Communicate with the buyer. Acknowledge their payment, let them know when you have shipped their item. Let them know that you will answer all and any questions that they have. Answer your emails as quickly as possible.

3. Sell only the best quality goods and services that you can. This is a no brainer, but it gets to the heart of the trust matter. There are too many sellers out there selling subpar goods and giving subpar service. If you do sell used or damaged items, then describe them accurately.

4. Stand behind the items that you sell. Mistakes happen, if it is your fault, live up to it. Be responsible. Give returns, refunds and other forms of compensation to your buyers who deserve it.

5. Make it easy for your customer to understand the terms of the sale. Shipping cost, and all other fees above the price should be clearly placed in your listing. Also let your customers know all your policies, when will you give a refund, when will you allow items to be returned. Who will pay for shipping when an item has to be returned.

How to Sell Anything on Amazon...and Make a Fortune! (Paperback)

2008-07-23T05:00:00.000-07:00

From the Back Cover;

Turn your goods into gold on the world’s #1 online retail site

Amazon makes it easy for customers to find and purchase exactly what they want quickly and securely. How to Sell Anything on Amazon…And Make a Fortune! makes it easy for you to sell your merchandise to millions of buyers all over the world. Whether you want to start your own online business or extend a retail business, you’ll learn, step-by-step, how to set up shop on Amazon--and start making money--right away.

Get expert advice on determining what to sell and how to categorize your products. Find out how to sell items on Amazon Marketplace, become a Pro Merchant, set up Paid Placements, use Amazon Auctions, establish an Amazon zShop, and more. Start selling on Amazon today and include your products among “Earth’s Greatest Selection.”

Discover the selling secrets of Amazon

Develop listing and pricing strategies to beat the competition
List and sell items on Amazon Marketplace easily
Use Amazon Auctions to get the best prices for special items
Establish your own virtual storefront—an Amazon zShop
Promote your products by becoming an “Amazon Expert”
Use Paid Placements for maximum exposure
Develop targeted email marketing campaigns
Become an Amazon Pro Merchant
Distribute your own intellectual property through Amazon worldwide
Sell worldwide through Amazon’s international sites

I have been selling on Amazon for about as long as I have been blogging, which is about a little over three years now. Over that time I could have used a guide to help me avoid some of the mistakes all newbie sellers go through.

This book is just such a guide, if you are new to Amazon, then it is a good guide to get you started an will teach you the ends and outs of online selling on Amazon.com.

Auction Sniping

2008-07-22T05:00:00.000-07:00

According to Wikipedia;

Auction sniping is the process of watching a timed online auction (such as on eBay), and placing a winning bid at the last possible moment (often seconds before the end of the auction), giving the other bidders no time to outbid the sniper. Some bidders do this manually, and others use software designed for the purpose. A bid sniper is a person or software agent who performs auction sniping.

There are also online sniping services, where the software agent is run from a website rather than the sniper's own computer. This decreases the failure rate of the snipe, because the website is expected to have more reliable servers that might be quicker to react.

Auction Sniping @ Amazon.com

3 easy ways to botch your online sales

2008-07-21T05:00:00.000-07:00

Some online sellers go through the year waiting for their peak sales period. If something goes wrong during this time it could do a lot of damage to their online business if not end it all together.

There are some lessons that others have learned over the years that can help an online seller avoid some costly mistakes. Not just during their times of peak sales, but all through the year.

On of the biggest problems that online sellers can have is processing payments.

Mistake No. 1: Not knowing your limits.

Think about what will happen if you get more purchases than you planed for. Do you have credit card processing in place? Do you have enough stock? Do you have enough shipping material? What are the limits of your business? Know these, and you will be able to avoid trouble before it starts.

How long does it take you to restock items? How long does it take you to get shipments out. What is the max. number of shipments you can do in a day, a week, a month. These are limits that you need to know.

And also consider what you will do when you reach these limits. How will you limit the damage to your business. Reaching any of these limits does not have to mean the end. It just may mean that you go to plan "B". That is if you have a plan "B".

So the first lesson is to know you limits and have a back up plan. Constantly your sells so that you understand how close to you limits you are. If there is a problem you will want to know about it early so that you can put plan "B" into action.

Mistake No. 2: Not watching the home front.

It is good to have a plan "B" but to know when plan "B" is needed you have to be able to detect when there is a problem. You need to have in place some type of early warning system.

The best way to sure you have a good early warning system is to consistently monitor what is going on with your business. I can not tell you how ofter to monitor your online sales. It may be enough to do a weekly report, or in many cases you will want to look at things daily. Probably what will work best is to have a series of checks, dailies, weekly, and monthly checks that let you know when problems are popping up.

Never thing that everything is OK, check to make sure that it is. Because you have not had any problems recently does not mean that there are not some lurking just out of sight.

Keep an eye on your personnel, your hardware, and software. If your online sells operations is large enough that you have people working for you then build in a system of checks and balances. Always have people check each other, one person does a task and another one goes behind them and checks it.

Maintain your hardware systems and make sure they are being used properly and that you are maintaining them. You don't want to have hardware problems when your sales are at their highest point.

Also make sure that your software is used properly and that it is maintained current. Don't let the lack of an upgrade or patch stop you from preforming some critical function at a critical time.

Have all service contracts for repairs and support that you need, when you need it. That way your hardware, software and the home front of your business will be monitored and repaired when needed.

Mistake No. 3: Not keeping tabs on your online selling sites.

You would probably surprised how may times a site goes down or there are problems with the site and the online seller does not recognize that there is a problem until it is too late.

In this time of great change in the online selling world it kind of goes with saying that you need to monitor you site. But what I am really talking about is the working of the site. The way listings are done, how feedback is given, what are the fees for listing items, these kind of things change all the time.

You have to know how your site is operating and if some of the changes are affecting your sales, the amount of traffic and other factors that determine how successful you are.

In the case where you sell on multiple selling sites this even more important. There are times when these type of changes can make it better for you to place inventory on one site and not the other. And know the changes the various sites are going through will help you make these kinds of decisions.

This also ties into the other two items, by monitoring how your site is working you are kind of keeping your eyes on the other concerns as well. Monitoring will also allow you to catch glitches and other unexpected problems.

BloggingStocks reports: Overstock.com plummets on earnings

2008-07-20T08:18:00.000-07:00

In an article titled Overstock.com plummets on earnings BloggingStocks' Zac Bissonnette describes the latest numbers from Overstock.com.

Shares of Overstock.com (NASDAQ: OSTK) are down nearly 30% after the company reported second quarter earnings. Revenue rose 27 percent to $188.8 but the company reported yet another big money-losing quarter, with $6.5 million, or 28 cents per share, flying out the door.

Bissonnette also points out the difference in the stock performance and the press releases coming from the company.

The Onion's Take On Why Meg Resigned

2008-07-18T16:20:00.000-07:00

This is old news, but I still think it is kind of funny.

eBay CEO Resigns.

Amazon.com Introduces "Bill Me Later"

2008-07-14T23:36:00.000-07:00

Amazon.com anounced that they will now accept Bill Me Later® is a quick and easy way to pay for Amazon.com orders without using a credit card. Starting today through July 21, buy now and get $10 off purchases of $50 or more. Pay with Bill me Later® and use promo code BMLSAVES at checkout.

Join Amazon.com's affiliate program

In this Economy Online Shopping is the Way to go.

2008-07-03T17:11:00.000-07:00

In this economy where;

Gas prices are on the rise.

Housing cost are going up.

Credit is difficult to get.

Job losses are on the rise.

Shopping on line is the way to go. It will save on gas and some of the other cost of shopping at brick and mortar stores.

The real good news, is that the number of places that you can shop on line is at an all time high. The purpose of this post is to give those interested in saving money a list of options from shopping on line.

Two of my favorite places to shop online are eBay and Amazon.com. Between these two online shopping sites most of your electronics, books, video game, and other entertainment needs can be fullfilled.

Some of the most popular eBay catagories that can also save you money by allowing you to buy from the comfort of your home are;

Car, boats, vehicles and parts

Cellphones and PDAs

Collectibles

Computers & Networking

Consumer Elcectonics

DVDs and Movies

Music

Real Estate

Sporting Goods

Toys and Hobbies

Travel

Video Games

Amazon.com also sells much more than books and CDs. Below you will find various departments that can save you money by reducing your cost of shopping. One of the most interesting areas is their Grocery, Health and Beauty departments;

Books

Movies & TV

Video Games

MP3 Downloads

Computers & PC Hardware

Electronics

Home Improvement

Grocery

Toys & Game

Baby Store

Apparel & Accessories

Sports & Outdoors

Power Tools

Amazon.com is offering customers to save an extra 15% plus get automatic reorders and free shipping on items they use frequently, including coffee, shampoo, and laundry detergent, when they order through Amazon's new Subscribe & Save program. Click link to learn more about the program.

eBay Ordered to Pay Millions to High End Fashion Company

2008-07-01T10:13:00.000-07:00

A court in France on Monday ordered eBay Inc. to pay a high-end fashion company to pay $61 million due to the sale of counterfeit goods on the auction site.

Yahoo news reports in an atricle titled eBay told to pay $61M to fashion brand for fakes.

"If counterfeits appear on our site, we take them down swiftly," eBay spokeswoman Sravanthi Agrawal said. "But today's ruling is not about counterfeits. Today's ruling is about an attempt by LVMH to protect uncompetitive commercial practices at the expense of consumer choice and the livelihood of law-abiding sellers that eBay empowers every day."

A Tip for Buyers: Don't Overpay for Returns

2008-06-27T12:08:00.000-07:00

I've been spending most of my time as of late trying to manage various online stores. But one tip that I have wanted to give buyers after noticing a problem with my online stores.

The Tip is: Don't over pay when shipping an item back for a return or exchange.

In our store we offer a no questions asked full money back guarantee with most items that we sell. And that means that we get our fair share of returns. But I have noticed that some buyers are returning items back to me using premium shipping services, such as priority mail and even registered mail.

I understand that you might be a little afraid that you are not going to get your refund, return or exchange but you have to consider the extra cost you might be running up.

So here is my guidance on shipping items back for return, refund or exchange.

- Make sure you understand who is paying return postage.
- Only use as many premium postage upgrades as needed.
ie. if possible send the item first class as opposed to Priority mail.
- Always get tracking, but don't over do it. Deliver confirmation cost $0.45 at most while registered mail can cost as much as $15.00 extra if not more.
- Save the packing material that the item came in and reuse as much as you can.

If you follow these steps you will save either yourself or the seller some money. And in the case where you save the seller some money they may show their appreciation by giving you even better customer service.

There Are Many New Changes Coming to eBay

2008-05-20T21:19:00.000-07:00

Just received the below message in my eBay inbox;

Big changes to Feedback start this month

Important changes to Feedback are slated to be live in May. Since sellers can now leave only positive Feedback for buyers, we've added important new protections for good sellers:

Provisions for removing negative and neutral Feedback from
suspended members.

Credit for repeat Feedback from your loyal buyers.

New reminders to encourage buyers to communicate with
their seller before leaving negative or neutral Feedback.

Shorter window of time to leave Feedback.

7-day wait period for buyers to leave negative or neutral
Feedback for PowerSellers that have been on eBay for
at least 12 months.

Increased ability for sellers to block buyers with
non-payment history.

Some of this I like and some of it I'll just have to wait and see.

I've always thought that feedback from repeat buyers should be counted in your overall score so I like that one.

But the changes to negative feedback for buyers kind of has me steamed. And I also don't care for counting neutral feedback as negatives in your overall feedback score.

I am sure we will visit all of this again soon.