PowerSellerKing

Rise to the Top of eBay's Best Match - Powerful Tips!

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 05:46:42 -0700

eBay recently changed its default for results on Best Match. 80% of buyers NEVER change how search results are displayed. You want to be at the top of these search results to catch the "lazy" buyers who aren't going to change the search result order, and get the clicks.

Watch this 10-minute video about how to optimize your listing in eBay's Best Match Results. A summary:

1) Your listing's title is much more important than ever - certain words result in more clicks.

2) Learn how to use eBay Research Labs (FREE) to optimize key words in your title and strategically use all 55 characters in your item title.

3) Learn how to determine what words "buyers like" when they search for a particular product.

This video is well worth watching, and only takes 10 minutes.

Funny eBay Site - Goofy Auctions

Sat, 31 May 2008 10:22:41 -0700

I'll round out the month of May with some link love to Goofy Auctions. This site is hilarious. Dave, The Goofy Professor, who is also an eBay seller, takes charge of broadcasting the goofiest auctions he can find on eBay. Goofy uctions showcases all the weird, offbeat, and totally bizarre listings on eBay. Most of them are oddly shaped food products. Freaks of nature, if you will. Some listings include:

Mutant Twin Banana

Piece of Wood Shaped Like New Jersey

Cheeto Shaped Like a Boot

Cereal Nugget that Looks Like ET

And my personal favorite:

Fed Up Wife Selling Home Cooked Meals to Pay for Divorce

I wonder if I should start looking more closely at Cheetos, popcorn, and rocks.

Need Help With a PayPal Issue? Here is Who to Contact!

Sat, 31 May 2008 08:05:34 -0700

I was helping a fellow eBay seller with a Paypal issue this week, and learned about an actual contact person at Paypal who can help with disputes. The information was posted on a thread on the eBay Power Seller's Board. He is also a guest blogger on the eBay Chatter Blog. Also known as "The Dispute Resolution Guy," Colin Rule has helped sellers work through complicated and unfair Paypal disputes.

eBay members involved in the discussion confirm that Colin has helped them and resolved sticky Paypal disputes. You may also want to read thru Colin's posts on the eBay Chatter Blog for some valuable insights into resolving Paypal disputes. And be sure to bookmark his blog, or save this information somewhere in the event you need some Paypal help in the future.

eBay Workshop - Save Time and Money on Shipping

Fri, 30 May 2008 22:11:42 -0700

eBay has scheduled a member workshop on June 4 at 1 PM Pacific time. The workshop will provide information regarding techniques for making your shipping process more efficient and cost effective. I plan to attend this one. Sometimes I feel buried in my shipping and that there must be a better way!

Our host will be Rachael Zimberoff, an active eBay seller and ShipRush manager. The workshop is free for any eBay seller to attend, will be held on the eBay Workshop Discussion Board and will last approximately one hour.

Now if eBay can just figure out a way to keep the USPS rates from going up every six months....

How to Make Money on eBay Selling Golf Shirts

Fri, 30 May 2008 19:54:18 -0700

Golf, or polo style shirts are a men's wardrobe staple. Men wear them to the office, as casual sportswear, around the house for every day wear, and of course, to play golf. Golf shirts have been the core product in my eBay store since 2003 and I've sold over 10,000 of them.

Check out my new eBook, "The Golf Shirt Bible - How to Profit Selling Golf Shirts on eBay." This 40-page eBook explains all the nuts and bolts of selling men's golf shirts including brand names;, top selling tournament logos, best selling fabrics, colors, and sizes. You'll also learn important details to include in the description and key words to drive more traffic to your auctions.

With summer right around the corner, now is the perfect time to experiment with selling golf shirts in your eBay store.

Find eBay Inventory for Free by Playing the Drugstore Game

Fri, 30 May 2008 04:40:34 -0700

One question I see again and again on my eBay groups and forums is, "How can I get my inventory cheaper to increase my profit?" If you are buying new items to sell, one way to save significantly is to learn to use manufacturer's and store coupons, store discounts, rewards programs combined with clearance sales to get your inventory for practically nothing. Granted, this business model takes some time, effort, and planning, but if you're willing to spend the time crafting your strategy, you can make it work.

Here are some excellent sites that explain the various rewards programs and techniques for mastering the Drugstore Game.

Money Saving Mom - Making CVS Work for You

Get Rich Slowly - Playing the Drugstore Game

Mommy Making Money - Why Buy Something You Don't Need?

Be Centsable - Lists current shopping deals and printable coupons

Be Thrifty Like Us - Dedicated to helping you spend your money wisely

Bottom line: Increasing your profit on eBay isn't necessarily about increasing your sales or selling more. It can also be about paying less for what you are already selling.

How do These Types of Sellers Stay on eBay?

Thu, 29 May 2008 12:58:35 -0700

More problems with eBay sellers. Some are just wonderful, some are absolutely atrocious. Here is another story of an eBay seller I did business with this week. Notice the apathy, lack of professionalism, and outright rudeness of this eBay seller.

1) Purchased item on May 18. Paid immediately with Paypal.

2) Heard nothing from seller regarding receipt of payment, ship date, etc.

3) Emailed seller on May 22 inquiring status of order.

4) Received this response on May 23, "Item shipped May 21. Doesn't matter when you pay, we ship when we get around to it."

5) Waited. Waited. Waited. Nothing arrived.

6) Opened "item not received" dispute on May 28 - 7 days after the item was supposedly shipped via First Class Mail from less than 100 miles away.

7) My message on dispute, "According to seller, item shipped May 21. Have not received item and sufficient time has passed for item to have arrived."

8) Message from seller on dispute, "No comment."

9) Second message from seller (after asked to provide shipping information), "Again, no comment."

10) Received refund.

11) Left negative feedback.

The lazy bum never mailed it. I did get my refund, but what a hassle. Reordered the item from another seller and received it in 2 days. To quote the great Forrest Gump, "eBay is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get."

Top 5 Photo Faux Pas on eBay Clothing Listings

Wed, 28 May 2008 22:46:53 -0700

Little things bug me - like photos on eBay that aren't up to par. I've sold over 15,000 items on eBay, most of them clothing. I just think that if you are putting your item in front of millions of people around the world, you should take a few minutes to make your item, and your photo, look as neat, clean, and attractive as possible.

Here are my top 5 pet peeves when it comes to photos of clothing on eBay. (All photos taken from eBay listings.)

The sideways shot. I never understand this one. One click on "rotate" and the image is upright. You practically have to stand on your head to figure out what the item really looks like.

Clothes hanging in trees. I just don't get this one. Here is a listing for a "really cool hippie dress" (actual title). I guess so. It looks pretty free and easy blowing in the wind and hanging in a tree. I wonder if a guitar and a headband comes with it.

The wrinkled garment. These shorts look like they have lived under a child's bed for a year. 5 minutes with an iron would do wonders.

Clothing laid out on a bed. Call me a germaphobe, that's fine. All kinds of things go on in beds. I mean, we have all seen the Dateline special where they go around to motel rooms with the ultraviolet light and look at all the "stuff" left behind on beds. Enough said.

The "huge lot of clothing" thrown together where you can't tell what anything is. It may be more effective to photgraph each item individually and make a collage for your gallery photo.

eBay Policy Change - No More Outgoing Links on About Me Pages?

Wed, 28 May 2008 10:37:00 -0700

Corrrect me if my interpretation is wrong. On eBay's Announcement Board on May 19, this statement (along with others not discussed here) was released by John McDonald, Sr. Director of eBay Trust and Safety:

Updated Links Policy

Starting in July, an updated Links Policy will take the place of links guidelines that were previously covered in several policy areas. Under the updated policy, only specific types of links are allowed in a seller's listing or other content on eBay, including eBay store pages, About Me pages, eBay Blogs, Reviews and Guides, and forums. Allowed under the new policy are links to:

1) Any page on eBay or an eBay property including Paypal, StubHub, and Half.com.

2) Photos of the item for sale, as long as the page displaying the photos does not offer, or link to a site that offers a product of service for sale off eBay.

3) Embedded videos within a listing, as long as the content and format comply with all eBay policies for videos.

So, does this mean no more affiliate links on About Me pages? No more links to eBay Membership groups, Big Crumbs, Silent Sales Machine newsletters, or other eBay systems? No more links to your website to try to recruit business directly from your site?

This one needs clarification. Granted, the About Me page was the one loophole still out there regarding outside links, and many sellers have a presence on eBay specifically for the purpose of directing traffic to their own website to capture the eBay segement of the consumer market. Is this over now, too?

Changes to eBay Picture Hosting

Tue, 27 May 2008 19:09:34 -0700

eBay announced today some changes regarding its picture hosting service. The changes will make uploading pictures "easier and more reliable and improve the quality of images on your listings."

In a nutshell, here is what is new:

The standard uploader is now the default uploader. If you are using the basic uploader, and notice that your images won't upload, go ahead and switch to the standard uploader. (I encountered this issue yesterday when listing some items.)

The photo uploader in Turbo Lister is being upgraded to improve how images are compressed and resized.

Additional picture sizes will be offered.

A new feature is being added which allows for photos to be uploaded ahead of time from camera phones and other external devices. You can then add these photos to your listings when creating the full listing.

For all the details on the Picture Hosting upgrades, visit this eBay announcement thread.

50 Tips to Boost eBay Sales - From Jenny How's Blog

Tue, 27 May 2008 05:12:47 -0700

My friend and colleague Jenny How has posted a comprehensive list of "50 Strategies for Boosting Your Online Sales." I'd like to elaborate on two of her points - underpromise and overdeliver. What does this mean anyway?

It means that you shouldn't make promises you can't keep. The concept is to have your customer set their expectations lower that your plans for service.

For example, your shipping policy might be, "Item ships within 24 hours." You might want to revise it to, "Item ships within 3 business days." You may very well ship every day, but life gets busy, unexpected things happen, and from time to time you won't be able to keep that promise. Your customer would rather be pleasantly surprised when his order arrives early, rather than be disappointed that is does not arrive when expected.

Use the 5 Whys to explore the cause and effect of "underpromise overdeliver" as related to your customers. (The 5 Whys is a method used to get to the root of a problem - you ask why 5 times.)

Example:

1st Why: Why did my customer leave negative feedback? Because he was mad didn't receive his item as quickly as promised and it was a gift for someone. It didn't get there on time.

2nd Why: Why didn't he receive his item as quickly as promised? Because I was too busy to ship his order in the time promised.

3rd Why: Why were you too busy to ship his order? Because I have too much to do and can't keep up with all my shipping.

4th Why: Why can't you keep up with your shipping? Because I am trying to be competitive and offer shipping within 24 hours on all orders.

5th Why? Why are you trying to ship everything within 24 hours? Because it sounded like a good idea at the time.

So, good ideas can backfire. Better to underpromise and overdeliver than to have an upset or disappointed customer who is going to leave a negative feedback.

Eee Microcomputer Finds its Way to eBay

Sun, 25 May 2008 20:41:28 -0700

The latest rage in laptop computers has made its way to eBay. The Eee (triple e) notebook computer by ASUS is showing up on eBay for a starting price of $299.00.

If you aren’t familiar with the Eee notebook computer, it is going to revolutionize the way we access the internet. This microcomputer is about the size of a personal DVD player with a 7 inch (diagonal) screen. It is small enough to fit in a briefcase, purse, or even coat pocket – saving travelers time in airports when going thru security check points.

The system operates with a touch pad and is portable, packable, durable, and perfect for travelers or anyone needing internet access on the go. It includes Windows XP Home Edition, 8GB of memory, a webcam, stereo speakers, microphone, Ethernet access, and weighs only 2 pounds. The batteries last for 3 ½ hours before recharging is needed.

The Eee is a Godsend for travelers who just need to check email, check bank accounts, or write a blog post. The price is more than reasonable for all it can do, and the fact that it can be replaced fairly inexpensively (compared to traditional laptop comptuers) if lost or damaged in transit when traveling.

Source for eBay Inventory - DSW Shoe Warehouse

Sat, 24 May 2008 16:32:28 -0700

DSW Shoe Warehouse is a retail shoe seller with stores across the United States. They offer upscale, name brand, and designer shoes at a discounted price. Among the brands carried in DSW stores are Merrell, Nike, Cole Haan, Stuart Weitzman, Ralph Lauren, Dr. Martens, and Uggs. The trick to finding items to resell on eBay is learning to work the DSW system. Here's how.

All DSW stores have a clearance section in the back of the store, and on their website. The clearance section occupies about 20% of the store, so the selection is huge. The clearance items are marked with different colored tags to indicate the savings percentage. Purple tags allow a 65% discount. For example, I found a pair of $65 Dr. Martens fisherman sandals for $17 because of the purple tag discount. I just sold them on eBay for $35 - they were brand new in the box. My profit was about $16.

DSW also has a rewards program. Sign up in the store or online, and receive points for your purchases. Every few months you will receive a DSW gift certificate. Buy something for yourself as a reward for your hard work, or if you are stingy like me, buy some more inventory with it.

You won't become a millionaire selling DSW shoes on eBay, but this is just another source to add to your list of where to find items to sell.

New Feedback Platform - Sellers Not Happy!

Sat, 24 May 2008 12:06:07 -0700

May 19 was a big day for eBay sellers. Not necessarily a good one. The new feedback system was implemented - sellers can no longer leave negative or neutral feedback for buyers. I've already been slammed.

I offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee on everything I sell. Granted, sometimes I eat the cost of an item, but that is the cost of doing business. I received an email from a customer who was not happy with her item. I admit, I made an error fulfilling her order. I was wrong, I new I had made a mistake, and I quickly issued a full refund for her items. This refund cost me $40.

After I refunded her money, she left me a negative that she was disappointed that I didn't refund her money AND give her a free replacement product. She never mentioned that she wanted a replacement - only that she wanted a refund. The kicker here is that she has only been a registered user on eBay for 4 months, and has a FB score of 4. Obviously a newbie.

As a seller, I feel very vulnerable, powerless, and taken advantage of with this new system. I did my best (and paid $40 out of my pocket) to please this customer, to stand by my 100% satisfaction guarantee, and to make things right for her. She slammed me with a neg, and all I can do at this point is leave a comment under her neg, which I did. My comment, "Refunded customer full amount as soon as aware of error - our apologies for inconvenience."

How is the new system working for you? What can we do as sellers to deal with unfair negatives like this one? Suggestions? Has this happened to you yet?

Visit Auction Add-Ons for Customized eBay Storefronts

Tue, 20 May 2008 12:11:15 -0700

One way to separate yourself from the competition on eBay is to create a brand identity. You can do this by having a custom storefront made specifically for your business.

Angie and Melanie, the owners of Auction Add-Ons, are both eBay Stores Certified Designers and have been in business since 2004. Angie and Melanie were both template sellers on eBay and stay-at-home moms. Their design business has grown by leaps and bounds over the last 4 years, and Auction Add-Ons is one of the most successful and recognized eBay store design services on the internet.

Their portfolio includes several styles from whimsical, retro, sleek, mod style, country and primitive, shabby chic, and black and white photography. Storefronts start at $19.99.

Auction Add-Ons is celebrating their 4th year in business and offering some great discounts during their Birthday Bash. For an additional 5% off from now through June 30, enter coupon code ebay-coach.