wongbusiness

Careers

2010-07-14T00:55:00.000-07:00

Careers

There are many different careers in the field of accounting ranging from entry-level bookkeeping to the Chief Financial Officer of a company. To achieve positions with more responsibility and higher salaries, it's necessary to have a degree in accounting as well as achieve various professional designations.

One of the primary milestones in any accountant's career is to become a Certified Public Accountant or CPA. To become a CPA you have to go to college with a major in accounting. You also have to pass a national CPA exam. There's also some employment experience required in a CPA firm. This is generally one to two years, although this varies from state to state. Once you satisfy all those requirements, you get a certificate that designates you as a CPA and you're allowed to offer your services to the public.

Many CPAs consider this just one stepping stone to their careers. The chief accountant in many offices is called the controller. The controller is in charge of managing the entire accounting system in a business stays on top of accounting and tax laws to keep the company legal and is responsible for preparing the financial statements.

The controller is also in charge of financial planning and budgeting. Some companies have only one accounting professional who's essentially the chief cook and bottle washer and does everything. As a business grows in size and complexity, then additional layers of personnel are required to handle the volume of work that comes from growth. Other areas in the company are also impacted by growth, and it's part of the controller's job to determine just how many more salaries the company can pay for additional people without negatively impacting growth and profits.

The controller also is responsible for preparing tax returns for the business; a much more involved and complex task than completing personal income tax forms! In larger organizations, the controller can report to a vice president of finance who reports to the chief financial officer, who is responsible for the broad objectives for growth and profit and implementing the appropriate strategies to achieve the objectives.

eBay Quick Tip videos

2010-07-08T05:29:00.000-07:00

eBay Quick Tip videos

How to sell on eBay - first steps
click here to view video
How to sell on eBay - listing the item
click here to view video
How to take better photos—layout and lighting

click here to view video
How to use shipping labels
click here to view video
How to edit listings in bulk
click here to view video
How to apply new item conditions
click here to view video
How to upload tracking for shipped items
click here to view video
How to use Unpaid Item Assistant
click here to view video

Consignment Selling

2010-07-07T06:22:00.000-07:00

Consignment Selling

Another way of making money on eBay is consignment selling. That’s when you sell other people’s products. If you go this route, focus on higher-priced items. I don’t like one-of-a-kind items. We're going to discuss that in a little bit.
Make sure it’s worth your while. If you go to AuctionBytes.com - which is a great Web site for eBay information - on the left hand side there’s a link for consignment sellers. You can look and see how much money they charge for selling other people’s items. You can also take a look at their contracts and see what kind of paper work you’ll need to get started.
That can be an ongoing source. It would be friends and neighbors and older ones, people at work that you might be able to sell their product. That can work out really well. I'm actually working right now on a method, a whole system for doing business consignment selling. That is a huge market because there are so many businesses with products to sell they can't get rid of. But that’s a discussion for another night.

Selling Knowledge Products

2010-07-07T05:56:00.000-07:00

Selling Knowledge Products

Of all the products, this is even better than liquidated goods. This is the ultimate product to sell. A knowledge product can be an e-book; it can be an audio file; it can be a video file; it could even be a CD or a DVD, even a list of links for a Web site. If you develop the product yourself, the cool thing is you limit the amount of competition you'll have on eBay.
Remember the key to eBay is “limit your competition.” It is your best way to succeed. Less competition is more profit. For example, go on eBay and search for the words “best digital video.” There's a guy named John; I think he’s from Arkansas. He sells a DVD training set to show you how to set up lighting for use with your digital camera and your digital camcorder.
Check in the history by “completed items.” He sells two or three of these a day for $50 each including shipping and handling. He’s been doing this for at least a couple of years. His cost is probably $3 apiece, maybe $5 with shipping. He’s clearing easily $120, $150 a day, day after day, fully automated. That’s a wonderful, wonderful thing.
Maybe you have some experience that you can use. Maybe this is a hobby that he taught other people and he’s making a killing doing that. Recently eBay set up a procedure for delivering digital products automatically; it’s a new policy going into effect. People can go on at midnight, buy a product, pay immediately, and automatically be sent to the page to download.
You do nothing. You don’t even have to e-mail them something. It’s automatic delivery. Knowledge products are wonderful. For example, think of it this way. You write an e-book. You call it “How to Teach Your French Poodle to Sing.” You sell it on eBay for $10.
You get this lady who loves French poodles. At nighttime, she’s got insomnia. She buys your e-book. She pays for it immediately. She gets the link. She can download it and read it so she’s very happy. You had to do nothing except you wake up with that money in your PayPal account.
Keep that in mind. If you're going to sell knowledge products, make sure it’s a quality product that people are going to be happy with. Otherwise, you'll have the hassle of returns. Don’t do a product like, “How to Get Rich on the Internet” or things like that. Do something you're familiar with and what other people will be willing to pay money for.
For example, do you have a hobby?
Have you figured out a way of saving a ton of money in that hobby? Or do you know how to turn a hobby into a profitable business? Then, write an e-book on it. It’s that simple.
If you can't write, then simply record your thoughts on audio and have someone else write the book for you. You can hire anybody to do anything at RentACoder. You can go to Elance. They will do any programming, graphics, or writing. They’ll even write a book for you and put your name on it.
ScriptLance is also another website where you can find freelancers can do all sorts of stuff for you. There are many sources of very good, cheap labor that you can use. Some people are actually making money selling $2 e-books on eBay. I don’t know. Maybe now that the process is automated, you can make money doing that.

The Dangers Of Dropshipping Backorders

2010-07-07T05:44:00.000-07:00

The Dangers Of Dropshipping Backorders

backorders are one of the biggest dangers of dropshipping. If you’ve ever experienced this, you know what I mean.
This happened to me way back early in my eBay selling career, I had a pretty hot-moving product from a dropshipper. It was actually a kind of rolling suitcase that women who do stamping or scrapbooking would use to carry all their supplies around.

My wife enjoys stamping as a hobby and she said, “This is a hot item. It’s hard to find.” So, I started selling it and was doing really good with it. Then what happened was one day, I learned the dangers of backorders. I sold one and my office manager went to place the order. The reply she got was, “Sorry, but those are backordered. We expect them in two to three weeks.”
I'm thinking, “Oh, no.. I’m in BIG trouble.” I've learned since then: if anybody ever tells you that something’s expected in two or three weeks, that means they have no idea if, when, or how they're ever going to get them in.
From eBay Zero To eBay Hero 22 of 50
So, don’t hold your breath for two or three weeks. That’s the lemonade that I made from this lemon of a situation.
But then I figured, “This is no biggie. I'll just tell the eBay buyer and just say, ‘Sorry. It’s such a hot item and so popular, we're out of stock and we expect more in two to three weeks.’”
I was sooo…. naive. I figured, “No problem. We'll take care of it.” That’s what I did and I e-mailed her. I get a reply back from her and I thought her e-mail was going to melt my computer.
It was like a flaming hot e-mail!
She was like, “Say what? I immediately paid for that item and I want immediate shipping. If you don’t, I'll report you to eBay and PayPal and the FBI and the CIA and NBC and the IRS.”
She was really, really mad. You know what? When I stopped and put my buyer’s shoes on, I realized that she was right.
She did pay immediately. I think she even used Buy-It-Now and she immediately sent the money. Who knows…. Maybe she had a get-together that she needed the item right away.
What happened next was that the office went into full code RED alert and my office manager and I spent the rest of the day trying to find somewhere in the country where we could find this hot item in stock.
We had to go all the way cross country to a distributor. I lost money on it, but at least I got the problem solved and the fire out. The most important things are that I got rid of those flames of wrath and I didn’t get my eBay account shut down!
Amazingly, the buyer ended up giving me a positive feedback for the transaction I was patting myself on the back that I survived that and got a positive feedback. Sweet!
What happened after that experience, and if you’ve been through that yourself, it was like falling off a horse. I was really scared to get back in there. In fact, I said, “It’s not worth it. I'm not going to put myself through this again. This was crazy.”
Actually, I stopped dropshipping those products because I didn’t want to have to deal with backorders and having the, “Two to three more weeks we'll have more stuff in.”
One day, I'm in the shower thinking. I don’t know about you, but that’s where I do my best thinking. “Okay, there's got to be a better way of doing this.” That’s when I thought about it and it hit me like a light bulb going off, a great way to take care of the problem.
From eBay Zero To eBay Hero 23 of 50
Since I've done this, I've never had a single backorder over 10,000 items later.

Some Common eBay Seller Responsibilities

2010-07-07T05:31:00.000-07:00

•Figure out what to sell on eBay.
•Source it, purchase it, and manage inventory of product.
•Research more products to sell.
•Write the auction ads for eBay.
•Answer emails with questions from potential buyers, and other customer service tasks.
•You need to box and ship the items.
•Etc…

eBay Radio Broadcasts

2010-07-07T04:34:00.000-07:00

Listen to a live or archived eBay Radio, Ask Griff & Lee or eBay Town Hall broadcast: 1. Subscribe to this Group (Click the Join Group button in the box below)
2. Click the Log In link to the left (under My Groups).
3. Click the Home link under Group Menu to the left.
4. Then, click the Listen Live button to activate the media player for either a scheduled LIVE or archived (On Demand) show.
Phone in your question or comment during the live shows, Tuesdays 11-2 PM Pacific and Thursdays 3-5pm Pacific toll free @ 888-708-6226. Send all email for Griff to griff@ebay.com

want to join click here

I won the auction on ebay and the item I wanted is Mine! How do I get it?

2010-07-04T23:59:00.000-07:00

I won the auction and the item I wanted is Mine! How do I get it?

You and the seller should have exchanged emails, you're verifying that you are going to pay, and the seller is providing you with information about payment and shipping costs and such.

Sellers often provide several alternatives for both payment and shipping. For the most part, sellers want to get paid in a safe and expedient manner, which usually means paying them using a cashier's or bank check or money order. None of these need to be verified (they are like cash in that manner). Many sellers, especially small businesses, are accepting credit cards, an easy form of payment to verify. Some sellers now even offer secure servers on which credit card numbers can be sent and used for payment. If you do pay by personal check, you can expect the seller to wait until the check clears (when the bank verifies that sufficient money is in your account to cover the amount of the check) before the item is sent off. This should take fewer than 10 business days from the deposit of your check, so be patient.

Sellers often offer various shipping options, which can include regular U.S. Mail, priority services, or UPS. There are costs associated with all of these, so be sure to read the note from the seller carefully before sending payment; ensure that you're sending the correct amount.

It is the responsibility of both the seller and the buyer to reach a mutually satisfactory arrangement for payment and shipping. The vast majority of eBay transactions are smooth and easy to complete.

EBay Ebook- Business!

2010-07-04T07:44:00.000-07:00

Tools To advance your EBay Ebook- Business!

Author: ravinderjit

Tools To advance your EBay Ebook- Business!
Spending too a lots of time trying to sell your Ebooks on EBay, instead of sourcing fresh products, or finding new ways to make money can ruin your business. After a few years of mediocre sales you might just want to stop selling altogether and find a new business to get involved with. This isn’t the solution you should be seeking; actually there are many ways to make your eBay business selling Ebooks skyrocket in overall productivity.

Pitch original products as much as possible to boost your daily Ebook sales on EBay. The most popular Ebooks on EBay are ones that are unique in content, and offer users some new and exciting information they can in reality use for their own benefit. Think about what Ebooks will offer your customers the most advantage, and then purchase them for resale. The more you offer the customer, the improved your daily sales will be.

Make your listings a preview of your product each and every time you sell Ebooks on eBay. The major problem with most e-book listings is that they don’t offer customers enough information about the product they are purchasing. This isn’t to say that most EBay Ebook listings don’t have a lot of words in them, but rather they don’t have enough real information about the product for sale. Most EBay Ebook ads are full of jibber jabber sales jargon that relates to the product in almost no fashion whatsoever. Instead what you want to do is list as much information about your Ebook as probable, and any other info that would cut through the formal jabber and get to the point.

Track your sales and make adjustments on items that are not selling well. If you have 10 Ebooks for sale on average, make notes about what products are selling, and what ones are not. If an Ebook is not selling after adding all the information about it possible, and featuring it several times, it is fair to say that it needs to be dropped. Don’t look at dropping an Ebook from your EBay sales inventory as failure, look at it as a business choice that makes plenty of sense.

Spend money to make money is a motto that works as well on EBay as anywhere else. What can you spend money on to improve your EBay Ebook listings? Try adding a listing template to spice up your graphics, enter in a few bonuses for the purchaser of your listing, and buy a few email lists to promote your listings. Spending money if done smart, can definitely make you money in the end.

EBook marketing, EBooks, internet marketing, online marketing

Do you want to have fun while you are exercising your own artistic instincts?

2010-06-13T23:10:00.000-07:00

Do you want to have fun while you are exercising your own artistic instincts? Do you want to give your own client jaw dropping copywriter’s layouts? Do you want to get some profitable repeat business with clients begging for your service because they want to simply hire you over and over again? You can have all the aspects that can surely boost your creativity and income. All these are possible.

With your own freelance design, you surely would want people to know your great potential as an artist. What you need is to get a medium to help you market yourself. You need control over the packages that you have, make an extra income per package, increase client’s satisfaction, and ensured that the copy gets a high rate. One such place would be at Boozooyoo where your freelance design can be better appreciated not just within your community but all over the globe.

Having a freelance design service means that you save a lot of time and effort in presenting your copies. You get your packages emailed quicker and able to check their status. This is beneficial for you wherein you can get your collections as soon as possible. You also get to enjoy the satisfaction of gaining more artistic control over the layout of the copy. You likewise earn more money on very direct mail assignment. All these are possible, and maybe now you get so interested with it. Wonder how and where to get all these deals? There is only one agency to go to and that is at Boozooyoo.

Boozooyoo can help provide you with not just a community
presence but you can go international. Your graphic design may be seen in some far away country. Somebody out there is looking for a great freelance design for their projects. This is a great chance for you to show what you are capable of. There are a lot of people searching for the right person to create a stunning graphic design. One of the place they go to is at Boozooyoo.

Boozooyoo does not just provide a market place for experts of graphic design. It is a great place for finding the right people with freelance design. It is also where people post different businesses and services. Anybody looking for someone special to create a great graphic design is bound to look at Boozooyoo. Whether it is on the field of writing, real estate, web design, software programming, scrap book consultant, graphic design, programming, and design, and any other career, you can find it at Boozooyoo. Actually, most people are going into a career in freelance design. Because of this, Boozooyoo is offering the best people capable of creating a freelance design that would suit your needs.
AdsSpy: 20 sites by this AdSense ID

Boozooyoo only offer the great deals possible when it comes to freelance careers. Freelance careers, such as freelance graphic design, are in demand on the Internet. There are a lot of people who are looking for those who can make the best graphic design for their online business. The future for businesses now is to go online. In order to get the right people for graphic design, log on to Boozooyoo. You might even find somebody who has a freelance design that would look great for your site. If there is something else you need, there are still a lot of people skilled in graphic design that you can find at Boozooyoo.

For your stunning graphic design needs, you can check out Boozooyoo. It is a one-stop shop when searching for people with freelance design.

Tags: extra income, money, globe, direct mail, satisfaction, graphic design, creativity, repeat business, copywriter, collections, great potential
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Source: http://www.a1articles.com/article_568516_15.html

Ebay Revealed the product sources

2010-06-11T23:18:00.000-07:00

Ebay Revealed the product sources

Author: Sunita Kaushal

This article will probably make some Power Sellers uneasy but will also make quite a few people very happy. I am going to reveal two out of the 4 suppliers that I currently use because I have started another venture which occupies most of my time. I have found that a true Dropshipper makes the best supplier most of the time. What I mean by a true Dropshipper is a supplier who will ship direct to your customer on behalf of your name. Some Dropshippers may require you to fill out a short form to authorize them to ship to different addresses other than your own. This is just a security measure to protct you.

There are many kinds of Dropshippers. Some specialize in certain products while others sell several hundred different items. I like to use a Dropshipper with a good variety of products and competitive prices. Once you think you have found a good Dropshipper, do a thorough search of the site. Find a few products that you are interested in and then search a few auction sites to see what they are selling for.

Ask the dropshipper how quickly they will be able to fulfill and ship the order. Be sure to inquire about whether or not a tracking number will be available. The tracking number will be very important because, if an item doesn’t arrive, you will need to have some means to track the purchase and to make sure that it was shipped. If a customer doesn’t receive a product, they will look to you for answers. Also Be cautious of a dropshipper who requires that you pay a fee to access their product line. A legitimate dropshipper should not charge to set up an account.

Here is what you have been waiting for. The first site I am going to reveal is Best Wholesale Electronics http://www.bestwholesaleelectronics.com
This site has not been around very long but I have been very pleased so far. They have over 30,000 products that you can pick and choose from. Not all of their products are profit makers, but doing a good search of the site you will find several that will give you a good profit. Ordering went very smooth and easy while the shipping was fast, normally within 24-48 hours.

The next site is called Software Outlet http://www.softwareoutlet.com. I don't know a whole lot about this company but I have used them several times. Prices are about the cheapest as far as wholesale software goes. Ordering and shipping was smooth and fast with no proplems.

I hope these two suppliers will help you on your way to being a successful Ebay seller. Just remember to have fun and do lots of research before starting an auction.
About The Author:-
For more useful tips & links, please browse for more information at our website

www.auction-entrepreneur-kit.com

www.auction.infozabout.com

Article Source: http://www.a1articles.com/article_620037_15.html

About the Author:
ebay, Auction, business, marketing, internet, product, earnings, sell

Custom Labels and Wholesale Labels

2010-06-11T23:14:00.000-07:00

Enrich your product with Custom Labels and Wholesale Labels

Author: Mike Benson

For any business, it is important to reach out to your target audience through best means and measures. Before buying any product, we first go though its description, content, usage direction and other information printed on the label. Thus labels are a very crucial part of advertising and promoting your product. There are different types of labels available to cater to requirements of various industries that include product labels, printed labels, custom printed labels, industrial labels, food and packaging labels, manufacturing labels, health and beauty labels, promotional labels, laser sheet labels, electronic labels, shipping labels, labels on roll, embossed labels, foil labels, wholesale labels and more.

Custom labels are made to fit the specific requirement in the best possible way. It almost gives a brand identity to your product and works as the face value of the same. They are available in various shapes, sizes and colors. In a way they act as your personalized labels to add that personal touch. These labels are available in a variety of papers that depends on the texture and kind of paper used. There are number of effects that are offered by manufacturers including mat, glossy, embossed, on roll, printed, colored, textured and many more.

Custom labels can be used for industrial purpose, commercial use, or even personal usage. Be it business identity, product information, stamps, shipping or digital custom labels, they can be made-to-use as per guidelines. High quality labels are made of finest papers that are long lasting and durable as compared to one line of labels. When it comes to wholesale labels, they are manufactured in bulks. They can be used for all types of products and services.

Wholesale labels are manufactured for big consignments and are manufactured in huge lots. They are available in stock for quick delivery and time saving. These labels make your product look more attractive and pleasant. They are printed with the required information and are there for brand value. They also act as a trade mark for the product.

Mike Benson is Expert author in making articles for business branding and industrial engineering. Currently I am researching on business branding through use of Custom Labels and Wholesale Labels.

Article Source: http://www.a1articles.com/article_1598018_15.html

About the Author:

Labels acts as your guide and gives you required information about product or services. Customize your labels with custom labels and for bulk orders

Providing a “Featured” or “Tip of the Day/Week” to Encourage Repeat Visits

2010-06-11T23:10:00.000-07:00

Have a section that offers cool tips that relate to your business, your products
or services, or your target market, as in Figure 3.4. These tips can be from one
sentence to one paragraph long. In the example shown in Figure 3.4, Cosy
Homes provides a “Quick Tip of the Week.” This tip is about watering your
garden, but they change to a different subject every week. You can be guaranteed
that home owners will return to this site on a regular basis to read the
quick tip of the week.
If visitors find your advice helpful, they will return repeatedly to see what
interesting piece of information you have displayed that day. Ask your visitors
if they would be interested in receiving the tip via e-mail or if they would like to
be notified when the tip has been updated so they can then visit your Web site.
Encourage people to send the tip to a friend. You can also encourage others to
use your tip on their Web site as long as they provide a link back to your site as
the source. You can go a step further and syndicate your content, putting it up
on appropriate sites to be accessed and available by anyone looking for content
for their newsletter, e-zines, or Web sites. You can also make it available to
other sites by way of an RSS feed.

Safe trading tips for eBay sellers

2010-06-05T21:26:00.000-07:00

Much has been written about the perils of trading. online. In existent fact, rading on eBay or your ain. website. Brings forth no greater protection scourge than. Getting your ain retail or wholesale business. When. Selling online, resting secure can be attained by. Utilising simple commonsense.
Passwords
As your eBay sales grow, you may need more than one person to access your eBay and PayPal accounts. Remember that anyone with your eBay password has the ability to alter business-critical functions, and even has the ability to purchase items on the site. Keep a record of all employees/colleagues who know
your eBay password, but never put the password in writing or circulate it via email. The password should be a combination of letters and numerals, and a
mixture of upper and lower case. For added security, consider changing your passwords on the first of every month. This means that only those employees who need to gain access to eBay on a daily basis will know it, and past employees, or those who have changed roles, will not be able to maintain access. In order to sell on eBay, all sellers must offer PayPal (the eBay-owned online-payment mechanism). Your PayPal password should be guarded more carefully. Only those who are empowered to make financial decisions for your company should be granted access to your PayPal account as, once logged in, they can transfer funds or pay for items bought online, and they may also be able to gain access to your bank
account and credit card information.

Financial accounts
In order to limit the threat of loss, it is advisable to open a bank account and a PayPal account and have a credit card all of which are only used for business purposes. Limit the amount of funds available in each so that if their security should be breached, your loss is limited to a low amount. Some banks now offer mobile phone password protection when transferring money to new accounts, while your
credit card’s TCV number (located on the back of the card) means a person must have the card in their possession in order to use it. Stay on top of your financial records. Always double-check your financial statements and query any unfamiliar amounts with your bank immediately. For PayPal, you can limit the type of access
your employees can gain if you open a business account. In doing so, different passwords allow different employees access to the areas of the site you specify. Again, if you see any activity on your PayPal account that looks questionable, contact PayPal immediately.

Spoof mail
Spoof is an unfortunate reality of the online world. Spoof emails are created by criminals to try to trap you into entering sensitive or financial information online. Once gained, your information can then be used for fraudulent transactions. Recent developments have made it easier for law-enforcement professionals to track down online fraudsters, but the best way to avoid being the victim of online fraud is to use protection.

• Make sure all the computers you use for your eBay sales are enabled with security software.
• Never enter your personal or financial information into a website with which you are unfamiliar.
• If an offer or reward sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
• If you receive an email purporting to be from eBay, PayPal or your financial institution, and it asks you to enter your password via email, report it as spoof (forward it to spoof@ebay. com.au, spoof@paypal.com.au, or check your
bank’s spoof mail forwarding address).
• When making an online payment, make sure the site uses a verified security gateway

• To avoid receiving spoof altogether, create an email address that is difficult to guess. Forexample, if your eBay user ID is ‘abc123’, don’t make your email address abc123@hotmail.com or your contact email info@abc123.com.au.
Online fraudsters have sophisticated software to help them guess your contact information, leaving you open to unsolicited email that can be a nuisance or a threat to running your business.

PayPal seller protection on eBay

2010-06-04T22:09:00.000-07:00

PayPal offers sellers on eBay protection on qualifying
transactions in the event that the sale should be the
subject of a credit card chargeback, or when a buyer
claim is made through PayPal’s online dispute process
for items not received or significantly different to
what was described by the seller. Seller protection
is provided at no extra charge. In order to make a
claim, a seller must:
• sell an item on eBay and accept payment into
their Australian PayPal account (the item must
be a tangible good, not digital or a service, for
example);
• send the item via an approved postal service to
the buyer’s address, as stipulated on the PayPal
transaction page (approved postal services
include those that can provide proof of shipment,
an official acceptance by the shipper and
documentation showing the recipient’s address).
Note that where a seller cannot provide the necessary
documentation, and the buyer is able to prove
their item was not received or was different to as
described, the seller will have to finance the cost
of providing the buyer with the refund. This is the
same as usually occurs for retail stores.

Padded Pensions Add to New York Fiscal Woes

2010-05-29T09:26:00.000-07:00

By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH and AMY SCHOENFELD
In Yonkers, more than 100 retired police officers and firefighters are collecting pensions greater than their pay when they were working. One of the youngest, Hugo Tassone, retired at 44 with a base pay of about $74,000 a year. His pension is now $101,333 a year.

It’s what the system promised, said Mr. Tassone, now 47, adding that he did nothing wrong by adding lots of overtime to his base pay shortly before retiring. “I don’t understand how the working guy that held up their end of the bargain became the problem,” he said.

Despite a pension investigation by the New York attorney general, an audit concluding that some police officers in the city broke overtime rules to increase their payouts and the mayor’s statements that future pensions should be based on regular pay, not overtime, these practices persist in Yonkers.

The city has even arranged for its police to put in overtime as flagmen on Consolidated Edison construction sites. Though a company is paying the bill, the city is actually reporting the work as city overtime to the New York State pension fund, padding future payouts — an arrangement at odds with the spirit of public employment, if not the law.

The Yonkers experience shows how errors, misunderstandings and wishful thinking are piling hidden new costs onto New York’s public pension system every year, worsening the state’s current fiscal crisis. And the problem is not just in New York. Public pension costs are ballooning everywhere, throwing budgets out of whack and raising the question of whether venerable state pension systems are viable.

In fact, the cost of public pensions has been systemically underestimated nationwide for more than two decades, say some analysts. By these estimates, state and local officials have promised $5 trillion worth of benefits while thinking they were committing taxpayers to roughly half that amount.

The use of public money for outsize retirement pay really stings when budgets don’t balance, teachers are being laid off, furloughs are being planned and everything from poison-control centers to Alzheimer’s day care is being cut, as is happening in New York.

According to pension data collected by The New York Times from the city and state, about 3,700 retired public workers in New York are now getting pensions of more than $100,000 a year, exempt from state and local taxes. The data belie official reports that the average state pension is a modest $18,000, or $38,000 for retired police officers and firefighters. (The average is low, in part, because it includes people who worked in government only part time, or just a few years, as well as surviving spouses getting partial benefits.)

Roughly one of every 250 retired public workers in New York is collecting a six-figure pension, and that group is expected to grow rapidly in coming years, based on the number of highly paid people in the pipeline.

Payouts for Decades

Some will receive the big pensions for decades. Thirteen New York City police officers recently retired at age 40 with pensions above $100,000 a year; nine did so in their 30s. The plan’s public information officer said that the very young retirees had qualified for special disability pensions, which are 50 percent larger than ordinary police pensions. He said several dozen of the highest-paid New York City police retirees had disabilities related to 9/11 and the rest of the disabilities resulted from injuries in the line of duty.

In virtually every case, the officials who granted the rich pensions thought they were offering something affordable, because the cost estimates were too low.

Before Yonkers adopted a richer pension formula for police in 2000, for instance, it was told the maximum cost would be $1.3 million a year. But instead, the yearly cost is now $3.75 million and rising.

David Simpson, a spokesman for the mayor of Yonkers, said pension cost projections were “often lowballs,” so the city could get stuck. “Once you give something, you can’t take it away,” he said.

Police pensions and overtime have been a sore point in Yonkers for many years and were the subject of an exposé in The Journal News in Westchester in 2009. A special audit of police overtime in Yonkers in 2007 found that the police department had failed to enforce its own rules, creating pervasive opportunities for abuse.

Listing Your Items on Ebay part 2

2010-05-28T02:19:00.000-07:00

Once you are registered and have set up your seller's account you are ready to list the items that you want to sell. This is known as your eBay "listing". Your goal is to create a listing that is sensational and stands out from other listings. The secret to making money on eBay is to attract as many bidders as possible.
There are several different sections that you can complete to create an eBay listing that is perfect for the item that you are selling. These include:

Selecting a selling format that is right for you. Do you want to use the online auction format or set a definite fixed price for your items? You may want to experiment with several items and use a different selling format for each one. Keep track of which selling format works best for which items. The "Buy It Now" option may work wonderfully for one particular item but for another item it may be more advantageous to sell using the online auction format. Once you have experimented with a few items you will soon know what selling format to use for which of your sellable items.
Choose the right category for your items. You will want to find the category or categories that best define the items you are selling. This is so that target buyers are able to easily and quickly find your item. If you are unsure about what category to choose for you items it is wise to play it safe and list them in more than one category.
Write a descriptive title for your items. Choose words that define what you are selling and that will appear in any search that a buyer might try on eBay. Remember that you are competing with many other powersellers to get the attention of buyers and earn money. Your title is important because eBay's search engine works by reading the title line. You should try and use some key words in your title line for these search purposes. Identity the item clearly. If possible mention a brand name. The more information contained in your title line the more bidders you will attract to your listing.
Description of your items. This is your opportunity to be creative and promote your item. A description should be written in some type of logical order. You should: (a) describe what the item is, (b) include the title, (c) include the artist, author or manufacturer of the item, (d) indicate identifying marks or other identifying information, (e) describe what the item is made of, (f) list the size and dimensions, (g) describe the condition of the item, and (h) include any special history or features that you think the buyer should know. It is also important to include one line in your description that encourages buyers to e-mail you with any questions.
Use pictures. People like to see exactly what they are bidding on. EBay makes the process of including pictures in your listings an easy process. Pictures will attract buyers to your items. If you are posting more than one photo use your most informative picture first, one that includes all the features of your item. Take the time to get the lighting in the photo right and the setup of the item correct so that you are taking a top-quality picture. Remember that a picture is worth a thousand words and will sell your item.
Price. Decide what price you want to establish for the items you are selling. Determine whether you are using the online auction format or are using the "Buy It Now" option. You will also want to decide how long you want your listing to run. It is important to carefully determine what price is best for the item you are selling. Take the time to look at similar items that are selling on eBay. Research your competitors and see what they are doing. If you want to sell crystal vases, for example, you should take a look to see at what price other vases are being sold and at what prices they are listed. It is important that you research similar items so that you know what price to charge and if there is a market for what you want to sell. This step is vital since you may discover that you can't compete with current sellers on price or there is simply no market for what you have to offer.
Indicate your payment and shipping preferences. You should offer as many payment options for the buyer as possible, including credit cards. The more payment options that you offer potential bidders the more attention your item will attract. This will ensure you success as an eBay powerseller.

Listing Your Items on Ebay part 1

2010-05-27T02:15:00.000-07:00

There are some simple basics that you should know about listing your items for sale on eBay. The more items that you list the more experienced you’ll become in knowing how to write descriptions to entice buyers to take a longer look at the item that you’re selling than the items of other sellers.

The first thing that you need to do is find items that you want to sell. For your first few selling attempts choose items that you yourself like so that you can create a listing that you can relate to. Find similar items that are for sale on eBay so that you get a good idea of how much the item is worth, what other sellers are selling it for, and what category it best fits into.
To find items that are similar to the one that you’re selling use the following steps:

Use the “Search” button at the top of the eBay webpage.
Select the “Advanced Search” and type in key search words.
Choose the “Completed Items Only” option.

You’ll quickly have a listing of items that were for sale on eBay but are now ended so that you can see what items are popular and what didn’t sell.
Once you have your item ready to sell you’re ready to begin listing it. The steps that you’ll need to complete, in the following order, are:

Select the format that you want to use to sell your item.
Choose the best category for the item.
Write a title that catches the eye of buyers.
Write a complete description of the item making sure to include all the specifics such as measurements and condition.
Include photos of the item that you’re selling in the listing.
Let buyers know where you live.
Use some of the promotion tools available at eBay to promote the item.
Include the payment that you’ll accept for the item as well as information about shipping and packaging.

Be creative and step outside of the box. You need to establish new ways of marketing the items that you’re selling. Take time to examine your competitors on eBay so that you know what they’re doing and what you have to do better.

Seller Registration on Ebay part 3

2010-05-26T02:12:00.000-07:00

Your account information: When you want to make any other account changes that include information about your account or yourself, you can contact eBay by using the “Change Your Registered Information” form. This form will allow you to make any changes to your account that you need eBay and buyers to know. Keep in mind that any changes may take a day or two to be implemented on your

account information page. Plan your changes accordingly so that you let your buyers see what you want them to see.
Other administration features: There are other administration features at eBay that you should be aware of so that you can become familiar and proficient with the selling process. The more experienced and comfortable you are moving around the eBay website the more you can focus on the selling of your products and the promotion of your business.
If you’re looking for a certain feature of eBay, and can’t seem to find it, don’t hesitate to contact them by email to find the appropriate place where you need to look.
Some of the other administrative features that you can find on eBay include:

Feedback Forum: The Feedback Forum is filled with information about your eBay transactions. This information is available for other eBay users to see.
My eBay: This eBay feature allows you to view your current, and historical, selling and bidding information. This is handy feature to have since you can find out in one viewing what you’ve sold and what you’ve bidding on if you’re buying something from another seller.
About Me: The “About Me” feature of eBay lets you provide any other information to eBay registered users that you want them to know. This can include personal or business information.

EBay administrative services are there to make your selling experience as easy as possible and so that your business can succeed. Take advantage of these administrative services whenever you can so that you build a solid and positive relationship between eBay and yourself.

Seller Registration on Ebay part 2

2010-05-25T02:10:00.000-07:00

Your email address: When you first register with eBay you’ll be need to use a current email address for the registration process. If you change your email address it’s not necessary to register again. You want to maintain the status that you’ve built up as a successful seller on eBay by simply notifying eBay of your email address change. There is a “Change of Email Address” form that you can fill out and return to eBay that makes the change easy and fast. It’s important that you don’t register with your new email

address because when you do you risk losing the information and data that correlates with your old email address. Should you mistakenly reregister with a new email address it can take eBay administration up to two weeks to merge the data from the old address to the new one. In the event that you do register again with a new email address you can contact eBay at ukemerge@ebay.com to let them know.
Your User ID: You can change your User ID at any time by using the “Change User ID” form. Your User ID is an important aspect of your eBay account. It’s a way for buyers to identify you easily, especially when you’re relying on repeat sales from the same buyers. You don’t want to take the chance of buyers not finding you by changing your User ID. This is why it’s important to create a User ID that
you know is right for your business when your first register with eBay so that you avoid these changes. Your User ID should be a reflection of you and your business as opposed to a cute user name. Remember that buyers are going to identify you by this User ID so you want to be as professional as possible.
Your eBay password: Your password is your access to your eBay account so you’ll want to remember it and protect it. If you want to change your password at any time you can use the “Change Password” form on the eBay website. There is also a “Forgot Your Password” form that you can fill out if you forget what your password is. You’ll receive notification in your email of how you can change your password so that you can access your eBay seller’s account.
Your present password will stay valid until you change it, so if you forget your password you won’t be able to access your account until you fill out the “Forgot Your Password” form and make the password change and respond back to eBay with replying email.

Tell-N-Sell Online! A revolutionary Service

2010-05-24T03:07:00.000-07:00

May 3, 2010 - Tell-N-Sell is the world’s first free classified paper from the costal empire, serving more than 27 counties in Georgia and South Carolina. The e-classified paper “Tell-N-Sell” has the largest selection of Free Savannah classifieds in the Coastal Empire.

Tell-N-Sell shopper is committed to provide a wide variety of product options to buyers across different categories ranging from Antiques & Collectibles, Baby Items, Clothing, Electronic Equipments, Furniture, Jewlery to Utility Trailers. The online service offers a number of options to sellers for placing free ads across these categories. The ads can be placed in Savannah Classifieds Section, Free Issue, Full Page Ads and so on.

The service is gaining popularity due to the introduction of more & more newer features such as Early Edition, Old Issues etc. Lately, Tell-N-Sell has also updated the website and is now offering a new advanced search option to facilitate buyers and sellers. Innovation is a way of life at Tell-N-Sell; the online service has plans to offer many additional interactive applications in the near future including video and audio uploads and downloads.

Tell-N-Sell Online is a revolutionary service and has become a first choice of smart buyers looking for a wide variety of products at best bargains from the costal empire.

Notes to the editor:
Since 1980 Tell-N-Sell Shopper has been the number #1 choice of smart buyers looking to buy and sell a wide variety products throughout the Coastal Empire and Carolina Low Country. P.S. Tell-n-sell.com offers a unique portal where a customer can take the lead in telling their own story. A registered Tell-n-sell.com user can place their ads for free, can update and maintain their own web blog and can even post entries in the special databases such as lawn and garden.

http://www.i-newswire.com/tell-n-sell-online-a-revolutionary/34737

Seller Registration on Ebay part 1

2010-05-24T02:06:00.000-07:00

All types of people and businesses are using eBay to sell their products. This includes the stay-at-home mom who is supplementing her family’s income by selling craft products to large companies such as IBM who are seeing huge profits by selling online through eBay. When you sell items on eBay you can reach a large number of customers all around the world.

There are many benefits to selling on eBay. Some of these legal and financial benefits include:

The low cost of registering at eBay.
The ability to have fast and secure transactions with your buyers.
Tax laws that are clearly defined.
Accounting advice that even an amateur can follow.
Low advertising costs.
Free advertising tools.

There are many books that have been published that show you how successful you can be selling on eBay. This is a great market niche itself, to focus on the sale of items that show others how to sell, what to sell, and what to sell it for.
With so many benefits of selling on eBay more and more people are taking advantage of the opportunity. Make sure that you’re one of the successful sellers by knowing all of the legal and financial angles of the eBay selling process. The sellers who fail are often the ones who remain blind to the legal side of selling online through eBay. Studies show that the most successful sellers on eBay operate businesses that are well organized and maintain perfect financial records of each and every transaction that they do both through eBay and with their wholesalers.
The first thing that you will have to do in order to sell on eBay to is register. There are several reasons why you first have to register on eBay. These include:

EBay requires a certain amount of personal information from you. This is to keep the eBay site secure.
EBay requires that you register with them before you can begin selling an item or bidding on other saleable items.
Registration will provide you with updates on the latest eBay information and deals.

Registration at eBay is easy. All you have to do is follow the steps laid out for you. You will be required to provide your name, address, phone number, and a valid e-mail address. Many eBay powersellers choose to use a business name for their online transactions. You’ll want to include this business name in your eBay registration.
The next step needed for registration is your online user ID. This is the ID by which you will be known as both a buyer and seller. Make sure to choose an ID name that sounds businesslike and professional. You will not want to come up with a cute name only to want to change it to something more sophisticated at a later date. Choose a password that is easy for you to remember.
Once you have completed the first two steps you simply have to check your e-mail for confirmation of your registration. You will then need to set up a seller's account. You will be asked to provide a valid credit or debit card as well as provide your banking information. This is necessary so that when you start selling your items eBay has accurate and legitimate information about how and where you will be accepting payment. EBay also needs your banking and credit information so that they can bill you appropriately for the small fees owed to them for any listing fees and commissions. Any personal information collected by eBay is done through a secure system so you do not have to worry about security issues.
The registration process takes only a few minutes for you to complete. Make sure your credit card and banking information is accurate and up to date to avoid confusion and error later.
During the registration process at eBay you’ll be required to provide information about yourself and the items that you’re selling. One of the things that you’ll want to remember is to always keep the information in your seller profile current. Not only does eBay need to have this current information, sellers want to see that your information is accurate since it lends you a high degree of professionalism.

Start Selling on Ebay

2010-05-23T02:02:00.000-07:00

It’s easy to start selling at eBay since the process is easy and smooth to understand and implement….and it costs you very little money to get started. One of the most significant things to note about selling on eBay is that there is little financial risk involved to get you started. Most new businesses require large amounts of money to cover start-up costs such as rent and distribution.
There are really only a few things that you need to become a powerseller on eBay:

products to sell
a digital camera so that you can take pictures of the items that you’re selling an upload them to the eBay website
a computer
the enthusiasm to become an eBay powerseller and increase your annual income'

You’ll want to make sure that you have enough room in your house to accommodate the items that you’re going to be selling. You’ll need to have room set aside not only to store these items but also a space set aside where you can manage the shipping of these items. If your goal is to be a huge eBay powerseller you might want to eventually find a space to rent so that you can sell your items in large quantities.
There are many sellers on eBay since the process of signing up is so simple. Becoming an eBay powerseller is just one step away from being a seller who sells only the occasional item. Powersellers make multiple sales each month and earn high profits from these sales.
Getting started selling at eBay is as simple as registering your name, or your business name. There are some details that you’ll need to include in your registration as a seller, such as where you are located and how you plan on shipping your sold items.
Your goal as an eBay powerseller should be to look as professional as you can so that buyers take you seriously and learn to trust your reputation. Setting up an “online” shop is one way that you can gain a more professional outlook among the many sellers that can be found on eBay.
There are several different options available at eBay that will help you to make a good impression on buyers. You don’t want buyers to think of you as just another eBay seller and pass you by for a more professional seller. When you first start selling your items on eBay you’ll find that there is a learning curve as you find out what works for you and what doesn’t. The important thing is to be flexible so that you can make changes to the way that you sell in your favor.

eBay Sellers: Tips to Help Your eBay Items Sell

2010-05-22T01:53:00.000-07:00

Are you an eBay seller? If you have been looking for a relatively easy way to make money, there is a good chance that you are. Different individuals use eBay, but many use eBay to make a little bit of extra money or even to financially support themselves and their families. If you are an eBay seller, how is everything currently going? Are you making as much money as you had hoped to? If not, you will want to continue reading on; as some tips are outlined below on how you can help to make sure that your eBay items sell.

When it comes to buying items on eBay, there are many eBay buyers who are the lookout for eBay scams. Before purchasing an item, one of the first things that an eBay buyer does is check the feedback of the seller. Doing business with a highly rated and recommended eBay seller reduces or completely eliminates the chances of getting scammed on eBay. Feedback helps to give you a good reputation, but there is something else that can help you get a good reputation too, an “About Me,” page. This is a page where you are able to introduce yourself and give a little bit of background information about yourself or your eBay business. “About Me,” pages are optional, but there are a number of benefits to having one.

Once an eBay buyer has learned that a seller who has an item that they want for sale is a reputable one, they will then continue to examine the product being sold. This is where your biggest chance of making a sale comes in. First, you will want to make sure that your products are being sold at a fair price. Keep in mind, when making your auction listings that you want to make a profit, but you don’t want to scare off any potential buyers with high prices. Just making sure that your prices are reasonable is enough to increase your chances of making a sale.

Secondly, you will want to make sure that you accurately describe all of your items that are being sold. For instance, if you are selling a lot or a group of children’s toys, you may want to take the time to list the names of each toy being sold. Outline the condition that each toy is in as well. If you are selling toys that require batteries, you may want to state whether or not the batteries are included. Providing a detailed, accurate description of all of your items will definitely increase the chances of them selling.

In addition to a detailed description, it is also important that you have pictures of your items. eBay allows you to post one free picture, but more can be posted for additional fees. Don’t let these additional fees deter you from posting additional pictures, as they are likely to increase the chances of making a sale. In fact, you may want to look into free photo sharing websites, such as PhotoBucket, as they allow you to post additional eBay pictures for free. When taking pictures of your eBay items, you will want to make sure that you take a number of close-up pictures. Also, make sure that the pictures are easy to see and that the lighting is good. Having poor pictures or no pictures at all is one of the many reasons why many eBay items go unsold.

The methods of payment that you accept may also have an important impact on how well your eBay items sell. One of the most common forms of payments used, to pay for eBay purchases, is PayPal. The reason why PayPal is so popular is because it enables shoppers to buy items from you, without having to disclose their account numbers. If you aren’t already accepting PayPal, you will want to look into doing so. Although most eBay buyers use PayPal, you will also want to remember that not everyone does. For that reason, you may also want to accept other methods of payment, including money orders or personal checks. The only thing with personal checks is that you may want to wait until the check clears before shipping the buyer their merchandise, especially with large purchases.

By implementing the above mentioned eBay seller tips, you may start seeing an increase in your eBay sales, even right away. In all honesty, you need to think of it from a seller perspective. Look at your auction listings; would you buy what you were selling?

AHIC Leader on the Year Ahead Spivak points to positive signs in LIHTC market in early 2010

2010-05-21T02:53:00.000-07:00

BY DONNA KIMURA
As the aff ordable housing industry tries to rebound from a blistering year marked by a critical drop in capital, the Aff ordable Housing Investors Council (AHIC) will have plenty of work ahead.

“Our goals are to remain focused on AHIC’s core mission to educate our investor
members on information that is relevant to what they are doing and relevant
to market conditions,” says AHIC President Sindy Spivak, senior vice president
at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. “AHIC also provides a forum for investors
to share their insight on what’s happening in the aff ordable housing market
and what’s impacting their businesses.”

AHIC is a nonprofi t made up of 40 member organizations that invest in affordable
housing, largely through lowincome housing tax credits (LIHTCs).
The group held its spring meeting in March.
Spivak says there are some positive signs in early 2010, including a pipeline
of projects aided by the new Tax Credit Assistance Program and the exchange
program. She adds that investors have more clarity around their investing priorities

than they did a year ago. “Goals may not be set in stone, but investors entered
2010 with a better understanding of their goals and strategic direction,” she says.
Huge industry concerns remain, including funding gaps in proposed projects
and overall portfolio performance. “The LIHTC program has been extremely successful and will continue to be successful as long as the industry focuses on solid underwriting and the structuring of new investments based
on market conditions as well as works together to strengthen the program to
ensure its continued success long term,” says Spivak. Over the years, AHIC has prepared and updated diff erent guidelines, including one on underwriting. In just one example of its recommendations, AHIC suggests annual replacement reserves of $250 per unit for new seniors projects, $300 per unit for family developments,
and more on rehabs. The strong structuring of deals remains a big industry focus in 2010. “In general, our recommended underwriting guidelines remain sound and
relevant to today,” says Spivak. “What has changed is the level of exceptions to the
guidelines. What we saw in 2006 and 2007 was a willingness to accept underwriting exceptions across the industry. These exceptions have been reduced in 2009 and in late 2008, refl ecting recent economic and market conditions as well
as portfolio performance. Underwriting has been consistently relevant. The issue
is sticking to strong and prudent underwriting to ensure strong portfolio performance.” Spivak’s bank is a leading investor. Bank of America invested roughly $583 million in low-income housing, historic, New Markets, and solar tax credits last year, with the majority in LIHTCs. For more information about AHIC,
visit www.ahic.org.