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Setting Realistic Goals for your eBay BusinessBy Kenny King Setting goals sometimes seems like a useless task. It would seem if you want to do something, you just get to it and finish. Though that sounds easy enough, I think there is more to it than that. Having something to work towards is important. If everyone's business plan, or goal, were simply, "Make More Money" most businesses would not succeed. Though you can't practically say, "My eBay business is just like Microsoft", I believe it is a mentality that gets us where we want to be. Success is measured subjectively, relative to each person. For some, hitting the million dollar mark is success, while for others it is the simple fact of being able to quit their job to stay at home and have that freedom. It's important to establish what it means to be successful for you. Don't just think about it, write it down. Know what you want, and don't forget it. Ideas in our head almost always seem to drift away if we don't manifest them somehow and sometimes immediate action isn't possible... so simply write it down. The practical thing to do, however, when it comes to eBay, is to measure your current business, or, if you're just starting, to know how to measure it. This means taking into account your total sales and everything that goes along with that, such as your eBay fees, Paypal fees, what percentage of auctions ended successful compared to how many items were listed and the average price each item sold for. If this sounds overwhelming, take a step bank and look at the whole picture. If you're an established business, it's as simple as measuring each statistic above within any given time period. Take auctions listed each week, month, and depending on how old or young your business is, each year. If you've just started, each week you list, measure these statistics after each of your listings end. This way, you'll know which items are selling well, where you can change certain aspects of your business, and, most importantly, how much profit you're making. One of the most important parts of measuring your business statistics is to know eBay fees. I sometimes get excited about how much I've sold and looking at the price on My eBay, think that I did well. Then I pay my eBay fees and realize I did not do quite as well as I had thought. If you have an accurate knowledge of eBay fees, this will increase your potential for profit. Of course, you're wondering what all this has to do with setting a goal for your eBay business. Pretty much everything. If you know your business inside out, you can set realistic goals that you'll know which areas of your business to improve. Making more money as a goal, then not knowing how to get to that goal, leaves you stagnant, and, worst of all, making the same amount of money. So, define what success is to you and write it down. Then measure every aspect of your business, whether you just finished your very first week of listings ever, or you've been in business for a few years, or ten years. Then use that knowledge to meet realist financial goals in accordance with your own definition of success. . About the Author Visit Kenny's Site Here: ebay selling. Also, the ebay selling blog Posted: Thursday 8th June, 2006, 11:06 AM Nine Simple eBay Selling HintsBy Terry Gibbs Some of these eBay hints will save you money, others will result in higher prices. Either way, these will help you run more profitable eBay auctions. 1. Write a simple description and do not clutter your auction with unneeded items like animated Gifs, and colored backgrounds. Remember, you are selling not entertaining. 2. Charge a flat rate for shipping, and mention the shipping costs prominently within your auction description. 3. Write a title that accurately describes your item. Use manufacturers name and model number within the title if applicable. 4. Write a detailed description that allows prospective bidders to make a decision about purchasing the item. A basic tip is the description can never be too long as long as it is describing the item. 5. Include large clear photographs. Invest in some lights and a quality camera. Your investment will pay for itself in higher eBay selling prices within only a few auctions. 6. Host your own pictures. By hosting your own pictures, you will save money, and, more importantly, be able to use as many pictures as you need to adequately show eBay bidders your item. This is the simplest thing to do, and yet 70 percent of eBay sellers ignore this simple tip. 7. Optimize your images for the web. Many sellers use the highest resolution settings on their cameras and generate huge files that download very slowly. Computer monitors only show 72DPI, any extra detail is just a waste of the bidder's time. 8. List your item in the most appropriate category. Many buyer's only search eBay by looking at listings within categories. If you are not in the right eBay category you will not be seen by lots of potential bidders and you item may end up selling for less than it's worth. 9. Systemize your eBay selling. Using a system to sell on eBay will lower the amount of time spent selling each item, and insure you don't forget any important activities. The Auction Revolution explains all of these hints in greater detail. Find out more at: http://www.auction-revolution.com Terry Gibbs is a collector/dealer of old toys and trains, and teaches others how to buy and sell antiques and collectibles. Gibbs is the author of two best selling eBay books "The Auction Revolution," and "The Complete Guide To eBay Consignment Sales." He has also written numerous other books about buying and selling antiques and collectibles. Learn more at his website: http://www.news.iwantcollectibles.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/ Posted: Wednesday 13th April 2005, 12:21 AM eBay - The BasicsBy James Hendrix I began selling on eBay in 1999 and have found it to be an enjoyable and profitable experience. I had owned a retail computer store for a few years and decided to close it. I still had a lot of computer inventory and soon discovered eBay was a good resource for selling the parts. This turned into an ideal situation as selling this way became a home-based business and the overhead was very low. This was a plus to my income opportunity. A spare bedroom in the basement soon became my eBay selling room. As time passed, more people began selling computer parts and the margins were getting thin. I needed to come up with a new idea that would keep my profit margins at an acceptable level. Instead of selling the computer parts, I would compile a list of my resources and then sell the list as a wholesale resource. The computer wholesale list became an overnight success on eBay. The list has cost me nothing except time, and I was able to sell the list several hundred times. I compiled the list in Excel and also in a text file. Another option was to have it burned to a CD and then mailed to the customer. I charged an extra fee for the CD, and sold quite a few that way too. After selling the wholesale list for a few months, eBay changed the rules and would no longer allow cross-posting the same item, and also limited the number of times the same item could be listed at the same time. This change caused sales to drop, and I eventually stopped selling the list. I still had the eBay bug, and was looking for other (http://www.auctionmanger.biz) eBay resources to sell. I started going to garage sales and looking for unique and inexpensive items. This was also another successful resource and lasted for about a year until more people started realizing this technique, and it was getting more difficult to find the bargains. The next resource I started using was going to auctions and putting the items I purchased on eBay. So far, this has been another good resource and one that I still use. My best buys are when I can buy a quantity of an item for a very low price. One example was several boxes of HO scale train cars, engines and accessories. There were over 300 items and I ended up paying $150. That came out to 50 cents for each item. There was a lot of work photographing and writing a description for each item. The worked paid off as each item sold anywhere from $3.00 to $12.00 each, making a very nice profit margin. Selling on eBay is still a resource for additional income, and I am always on the lookout for the next big sale. James Hendrix [http://www.jameshendrix.com/] has been putting people in business on the Internet since 1996. He has experience with web hosting, development, marketing and search engine optimization. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/ Posted: Tuesday 12th April 2005, 11:56 AM Unique Selling Proposition On Ebay Greg Hayes mammothprofits If you have dabbled at all in the world of Internet marketing, you may have heard the term "unique selling proposition" or USP. USP is a technique that Internet marketers use to set themselves apart from the competition. Internet marketing is highly competitive and highly saturated. In order to be successful, it is vital that the Internet marketer present himself as being unique and different from his competitors especially when many of them are selling the same products. It is also just as vital to have a unique selling proposition on Ebay. I am amazed at the number of Ebay sellers that are either unaware or just don't care about the importance of having a unique selling proposition. A case in point: A while back, I was researching some products on Ebay from a wholesale company called B&F System. B&F System is a wholesale only company that carries a variety of brand name products. One of the brands they carry is called Maxam. I came across several Maxam leather jackets on Ebay while searching ended auctions. Now here's the kicker. About a dozen or so of these leather jacket auctions were exactly the same. They all used the same image of a guy modeling the jacket that was captured from the B&F website. They even used the exact ad copy used by B&F! What was the result? Only one of the sellers was able sell any jackets. The top bid was only $26. And since he purchased the jackets from B&F for $20, he made about $5.00 profit after Ebay fees. That's a slim profit for an item that normally retails for $95. Always keep in mind that the amount of effort you put fourth on you auctions will be in direct proportion to the amount of return you get from your auctions. The sellers who put up the jacket auctions put fourth little effort by using stock photos and ad copy from the B&F website, and therefore received little or no sales from their auctions. The sellers in this case might think that using stock photos makes their auctions look more professional. It's just the opposite. These auctions look very amateurish. Using a picture of someone modeling a garment will not entice people to bid on your auction. Using three or four high quality pictures of the actual item along with a detailed description will entice people to bid. Remember that buying apparel off the internet is not like buying music CD's or software. You don't need to worry if a CD will fit. You don't need to see multiple pictures of a box of software to know what you'll be getting. However, when selling apparel, good quality pictures and a detailed description are vital. You should use a good quality digital camera to take pictures of the item from different angles. If you're selling jackets or coats, include a picture of the lining as well. In your description, don't just say it's a large size. Give measurements of the garment including overall length, sleeve length and chest size. If you're going to specialize in apparel, it would be a good idea to purchase a form or clothing dummy to model your apparel. Doing these things will go a long way in setting you apart from the competition and establishing a "unique selling proposition." What ever you're thinking about selling, always look at your competition and think about how to set yourself apart. Remember that unless you're selling antiques on Ebay, there's always someone else who's trying to sell the same thing you're selling. Establishing your USP will put you on the road to Ebay success. About the Author: Greg Hayes is editor of www.mammothprofits.com/AuctionWealth. Mammothprofits is the website devoted to helping others filter out the scams and become successful in an Internet business. mailto:ghayes@mammothprofits.com This article provided by the Family Content Archives at: http://www.Family-Content.com Posted: Wednesday 2nd February 2005, 9:22 AM Here's What I Use to Help my eBay Selling Brian McGregor WorkWinners I get many requests about the systems I use in running my own eBay and internet business. To give you the answer in one place, here is the software which I use daily in my own business. I should point out that much of my own activity is now to do with selling digital information via eBay and from websites i.e. ebooks and software, which is why some of the software programs I use are concerned with this activity. General productivity Shortkeys This is lovely utility which saves me hours of time each week. It is perfect for those occasions when you are required to key in information to websites. For example, how often do you key in your name and address, or a username and password, or an email address? With Shortkeys, you associate 3 or 4 unique keystrokes with a string of frequently used information. Let's suppose I want to have a shortkey for my email address, and I set this as ##z1 in Shortkeys. Whenever I am required to key in my email address, in Outlook, on web forms, in Word documents etc, I just type in ##z1 and Shortkeys instantly replaces that with my email address. There is an uncharged version called Shortkeys Lite which has a limit of 30 items. The full version of Shortkeys allows you an unlimited number of items. You can get it here: http://www.workwinners.com/nlrshortkeys.htm Download Accelerator If you regularly download ebooks or software, and it seems to take forever, you will find Download Accelerator is a useful addition to your portfolio. Download Accelerator increases download speeds by up to 300%, regardless of the speed of your internet connection. I don't know how it does it, but I guess 89 million users can't be wrong! You can get Download Accelerator on 14 day test here: http://www.workwinners.com/nlraccelerator.htm Ebook Production Acrobat Adobe I create all my ebooks in pdf format as this file can be read by anyone with Acrobat Reader, and this includes Mac users too. The way I create an ebook is to write it in Microsoft Word first. Once I'm happy that the Word version is exactly how I want it, I use an integrated converter which takes the Word file and converts it automatically into a pdf file. This conversion preserves everything which appeared in the Word document, including headers/footers, page numbers and web links. You can read all about Adobe Acrobat here: http://www.workwinners.com/nlracrobat.htm If you are considering developing your own ebooks using Acrobat, the most cost effective way of purchasing it is to buy online from Adobe's US site, and select the download option. To buy the download version this is the place to start: http://www.workwinners.com/nlracrobat_dl.htm At 167 Mb, Acrobat is quite a large software product. If you would therefore prefer to buy the boxed CD version, the cheapest way in the UK is to get it from Amazon. http://www.workwinners.com/nlramacrobat.htm ebook Covers It is a fact that showing your ebook in 3D form so it looks like a book really helps to boost sales. Compact Draw is the software I use to create my ebook covers. You can try it for 30 days here: http://www.workwinners.com/nlrcompact.htm Website creation and maintenance Website design I use Macromedia's Dreamweaver to design websites, and indeed to create eBay auction description pages. Dreamweaver is a premium web design product, and unless you're going to do serious website design I wouldn't advise you to acquire it. It comes in boxed form, and Macromedia will channel any UK purchasers to a UK based reseller. The cheapest way in the UK is to get it from Amazon. http://www.workwinners.com/nlramdream.htm Image Manipulation & Optimising I use Paint Shop Pro for picture manipulation and for optimising. This is important for auction pictures, as eBay have a size limit of 50KB on any pictures which you want to upload to their Picture Service. The authors, JASC, have just released Version 9 of this software. I find Version 8 is perfectly acceptable for everything I want to do, and it's cheaper than Version 9. You can't now buy Version 8 from the author's USA site, which is unfortunate as this was the cheapest way of buying the product before Version 9 came out. The good news is that Version 8 is currently half price at the author's UK site, as you can see here: http://www.workwinners.com/nlrpsp.htm It's available for trial at the UK site, and I recommend you test it to see if you can work with it. Website upload Cute FTP is probably the best known FTP software. I have used it for several years and have been very satisfied with the software. http://www.workwinners.com/nlrcute.htm Website hosting ProWebSpace are excellent and reasonable web hosts which I have now been using for over a year. I transferred to them from another host with whom I was having lots of problems. Now, I have a better service, and it's at one third the price! Of course, you can get web space for nothing from a variety of ISPs. Take a look at http://www.freeisp.com You only need companies like ProWebSpace if you intend to "go commercial" in your internet activities. If you do, it's important to have a paid service as this gives you the right to kick b**t if ever you experience hosting problems. If you would like to know the hosting company who I moved from, email me. If you think you need professional hosting, this is definitely where I would start. http://www.workwinners.com/nlrpws.htm Newsletter and other Mailings As my newsletter has grown, I've tried various ways of managing my mailing lists. I currently use Press-Manager, and have found their service to be very easy to set-up and to use. It's a web based service, and all mailings are performed from their site. This means there's no software to be installed, I can manage my mailings from any PC and my ISP no longer bears the mailing load. http://www.workwinners.com/nlrpm.htm Autoresponding You may know that the use of autoresponders is one of the keys to marketing on the internet. I use Promasoft, and have found it can easily handle everything I want. http://www.workwinners.com/nlrpsoft.htm I hope this glimpse into the systems and services I use has been helpful. Good luck in your own internet business developments and in your eBay selling. About the Author Brian McGregor specializes in showing website owners how to make more money from their sites by applying inventive and original use of eBay. For a free copy of ‘The eBay Traffic Funnel’ which shows you how to use the power of eBay to make more money with your website, visit http://www.more-auction-sales.com/websites This article provided by the Family Content Archives at: http://www.Family-Content.com Posted: Friday 28th January 2005, 10:28 AM Drive Yourself to More eBay Auction Money Big ticket items are increasingly popular on eBay. Cars are probably one of the best examples of this. In fact, eBay is the largest dealer of used cars in the USA. And eBay's car sales in the UK is also growing significantly. Every 16 seconds, a car is sold on eBay! If you're an eBay seller, here's an idea you might like to consider to make extra cash. The vast majority of car dealers don't use eBay. They advertise in the press, usually locally, and their customers likewise usually live within reach of the car dealer. What eBay Motors has successfully proved is that people will bid on cars from owners hundreds or even thousands of miles away. Why not take your eBay selling expertise, and offer your services to car dealers in your area? You know how to create auctions, take and upload photos, and manage auctions. The dealers have vehicles which are getting a tiny fraction of the exposure which eBay could offer. You might decide to offer this to dealers on a no-cost basis. In other words, you bear the cost of eBay's listing and selling fees. The benefit here is that there is no reason why the dealer shouldn't give you the go-ahead. They could get a sale without cost to them and no extra effort on their behalf. That's what I call a no-brainer! Alternatively, you could pass on the fees to the dealer on the basis that they would be spending money anyway on press advertising. The other commercial arrangements are simple. You could work on a commission, where you get a percentage of the sale price. Or you could agree a price which the dealer will accept for the sale of the car, and anything you can get above that price is your profit. This would work particularly well if the dealer has had a vehicle for some time, and has no interest in it. The best types of cars to sell on eBay are those that are unusual for one reason or another. It might be vintage or classic vehicles, sports cars or high value models. You're best to avoid what might be termed "normal" cars. It also depends on the kind of dealers you have in your area. One of the major potential problems is easily handled. You can't expect the dealer to cease trying to sell a vehicle which you have on eBay auction. In every auction you run for a car, you state that the vehicle is also on sale in other ways, and that you reserve the right to withdraw it before the end of the auction period. You will see such statements on many eBay car auctions. This idea doesn't have to be limited to cars. There are big ticket item opportunities in several categories. You're looking for retail outlets which tend to concentrate on local advertising and local trade. Examples of this would be jewelers, antique traders and real estate operations. With big ticket items, just one or two sales per week could make a significant difference to you. Worth thinking about! About the author: Brian McGregor is an internet entrepreneur specializing in leveraging the power of eBay. He is author of ‘The eBay Formula’ on how to sell successfully on eBay time after time, and is editor of the eBay Auction Newsletter. Brian is also creator of Keyword Pro, the software which enables sellers to find the top keywords by category currently on eBay. His website is www.workwinners.com Circulated by Article Emporium Posted: Tuesday 18th January 2005, 9:58 AM There’s nothing new about using joint ventures (JV's) to get traffic to websites. And good information is freely available from many internet marketing sites on how to set up JVs. This article is for the 97% of webmasters who aren’t aware of a particularly powerful JV partner who already exists, and is willing to work with you. Before I reveal all, let me just check... Like me, I would image you’d be happy if: * Your JV partner’s site gets huge traffic. * The vast majority of page views are by targeted traffic. * You can create links wherever YOU like from their site. * You can start now. There’s no delay in setting up the JV. * The JV continues as long as you want. * It costs you pennies to set up and run. Does that sound like it’s what you’re looking for in a JV? If so, welcome to eBay. You’re new joint venture partner. But I Thought... "eBay?" I hear you ask, "Isn’t eBay just an auction site?" Well, it certainly started as an auction site. Today, eBay is an ecommerce phenomenon. * eBay’s 1.5 billion page views puts it in sixth place on Alexa traffic rankings. Ahead of Amazon, AOL and CNN. * eBay members make 79 million targeted searches for items each day. * There are 35,000 categories within which to place items for sale. * There are eBay auction sites in 27 countries. * eBay has 125 million registered users. * 40,000 new members join eBay each day. What we have here is a hugely successful internet business with massive traffic. And, thanks to eBay’s sophisticated categorization and searching mechanisms, the traffic is totally targeted. More importantly, there are several smart ways to drive eBay’s targeted traffic to your own website. All of these clever methods add up to what I call the eBay Traffic Funnel. Does it work? Well, I sell a communications product from my website. I run 5 simple auctions in the appropriate categories using the principles of the eBay Traffic Funnel. Each auction costs me 30 cents and runs for a week. I get around 300 targeted leads from these auctions to my website every week. Not bad for one dollar fifty! Let me show you just one of the ways to get hold of that targeted traffic... Sell, Sell, Sell First of all, you make eBay part of your marketing mix. You start selling your products on eBay. Why do I say this? Well, eBay isn’t just for mom and pop businesses anymore. IBM, Disney, Motorola, Xerox and Dell, are just a few of the major corporates that now use eBay as an additional sales and lead generation channel. Creating eBay auctions is easy. Anyone can do it - literally. But if you don’t want to learn, you can use a Trading Assistant. These are eBay experts who will create, run and manage auctions on behalf of others for a percentage of sales or a small fee. When you set up your auction one of the decisions you make is in which category to place your item. This is important. Visitors to your auction page - just by being there - have self qualified themselves as being in the market to buy products in that category. This is targeting in real time. But merely creating the auction isn’t the trick. Here’s the key tip. In your auction page, make sure you tell your viewers that if they’ve any questions about your auction, your products or your policies, they should email you. And encourage them to do this by having a live email link in your auction, like this one brian@more-auction-sales.com As soon as they make contact with you, you’ve acquired a targeted lead you wouldn’t have got any other way. You can start building a relationship. You can get them on your list, direct them to your website and start selling to them. Pieces of Eight I’ve only the space to show you one way in which you can direct your share of eBay’s targeted traffic to your website. There are eight ways in total. If you want to know the other seven, you’ll find them in my free ebook ‘The eBay Traffic Funnel’. You can get this here: http://www.more-auction-sales.com/websites Setting up a JV with eBay can produce significant results. There isn’t another business on the web that gives you access to the targeted traffic eBay supplies for the price of a few pennies. Best of all, 97% of webmasters have yet to realize the power of this. The opportunity for you and your website is there for the taking. About the author Brian McGregor specializes in showing website owners how to make more money from their sites by applying inventive and original use of eBay. For free information on how to use the power of eBay to make more money with your website, visit http://www.more-auction-sales.com/websites Circulated by Article Emporium Posted: Saturday 15th January 2005, 12:29 PM John Lynch Merchant Account Service Everyone is aware of online auctions nowadays. We all know someone who has bought or sold something on an Ebay online auction site. But how many people know that this hobby can be turned into a profitable business? The fact is online auctions are a new kind of home-based business created by the Internet with no capital investment and no risk. An online auctions business has the following advantages: * No start-up costs. * No financial risk. * Work whenever you choose. * Targeted customers brought to you by auction sites such as Ebay. * No technical skills required. * Start-up in 5 minutes. How do I start an online auctions business? First, if you are not familiar with the process of buying and selling, you need to understand how auctions operate. By far the biggest online auction site is Ebay (http://www.ebay.com), boasting millions of users worldwide. However, this is the tip of the iceberg. Other popular auction sites include: Yahoo Auctions - http://www.auctions.yahoo.com uBid - http://www.ubid.com OnSale - http://www.onsale.com QXL - http://www.qxl.com Start off by buying an item yourself to get the feel of how it is done. This will give you an overall insight into the process of registering with the auction site, bidding, paying for your goods and the delivery arrangements. Don't Feel Forced to Buy As a buyer you should not feel pressured into buying something that you know is overpriced because you think it is the last item. There are many online auctions and there is a good chance that you will come across the same item at another site. Leave Your Bid Late Experienced online buyers will leave their bids until the last few minutes before an auction closes to prevent the price being driven up too high. Use Automated Bids If you don't want to spend a lot of time waiting for an auction to close, you can use an automated bidding service such as eSnipe (http://www.esnipe.com). You can open a free account and type in the auction number and the amount you want to bid. ESnipe can then place a last-minute bid for you just before the close of the auction. If you win the bid, you pay eSnipe a small fee and if you lose you pay nothing. Search for Misspelt Items Savvy buyers know that many items listed for sale at Ebay are misspelt. You can use this to your advantage by searching for wrongly spelt items. You will have far less competition as most people search for correctly spelt items. Once you have bought something and paid for it, you will know how the auction process works from the buyer's point of view. This is vital as it will give added insight into how you can provide good customer service when you set up your own business. So now that you have bought and paid for an item on an online auction, you are ready to sell something yourself as a first step to setting up an online business. At this point, most people look around their own homes to rid themselves of some unwanted items for which they have no use. This is a good way to get started. When you list your item on auction sites, make sure you provide a photograph. This will grab the attention of the buyers. Description of Goods A good description of your 'for sale' items is essential. Give all relevant details including technical specifications and dimensions where necessary. Guaranteed Refund Give a guaranteed refund to potential buyers to reassure them of your integrity. Most buyers and sellers on the Internet are honest but there are a few rogues, and buyers like to be reassured. Positive Feedback Getting positive feedback from your previous customers is the best way to prove you are trustworthy. Always request feedback politely after a successful sale. Reserve Price Set a reserve price to ensure that your goods do not sell for less than you want. Make it reasonable. If you set it too high, you will not receive any bids. Payment Options The more payment options you offer your buyers, the more likely you will be to make a sale. Ebay auctions offer the online payment transfer system Pay Pal (www.paypal.com) which is free to set up. Credit cards also offer security and are popular. If you intend to set up an online auctions business, it is best to specialise in a niche which is a little out of the ordinary. Thereby facing less competition and guaranteeing your profitability. Setting up an online auctions business can become a reality for anyone who is prepared to do the necessary research and put in the effort. The enormous interest in auction sites created by the success of Ebay has provided huge numbers of targeted visitors ready to part with their cash for a great variety of goods. (C) John Lynch 2003 Visit http://www.merchant-account-service.com/ebay.html for a FREE extensive auctions EBook on how to start and source goods for a successful online auctions home business. This article provided by the Family Content Archives at: http://www.Family-Content.com Posted: Tuesday 11th January 2005, 1:21 PM Bill Platt The Phantom Writers Millions of people are still coming online each year, and many of those people come to the Internet with dreams of making their financial dreams come true. The truth is that building a website to sell products and services is not the easiest way to make a living online. A lot of specific knowledge or money will be required to be successful with a standard website. You must acquire skills --- or pay someone who already possesses those skills --- in the following areas: · Graphic design · Copywriting · HTML design · Perl or PHP programming · Database programming · Marketing research · Promotions When this is understood, most people throw their hands up in frustration and walk away from their entrepreneurial desires. Maybe cash is the problem; maybe the desire is just lacking. If you have reached this point yourself let me offer one piece of advice... DON'T THROW AWAY YOUR DREAMS JUST YET More people than I can count are making a successful living online, and none of them own their own website or send a single commercial email to anyone. How is this possible? Two words, *Ebay auctions.* EBAY MAKES IT EASY Ebay covers all of the difficult technical issues. And more importantly, Ebay already has floods of visitors eager to purchase your wares. I have read that Ebay is serving a billion page views per day --- now that is a ready supply of purchasers! Ebay has provided everything you need to operate a successful business online with three exceptions: 1. Products to sell 2. Time to list the products in the Ebay database 3. Cash to acquire the products CHOOSING THE KINDS OF PRODUCTS Before choosing your products, you should ask yourself what you enjoy the most. You may enjoy cats, NASCAR or even antiques. You should select products consistent with what you enjoy for two reasons. First, you bring to your presentation a real appreciation for the products your are offering. Secondly, a job you hate is one you will quit. A job you enjoy doing will be one that you will want to keep forever. If you are starting your own business, the hope is that you will be doing it for a very long time. I personally know people who have generated a nice living on Ebay selling cat-related items, NASCAR memorabilia and antiques. FINDING THE ACTUAL PRODUCTS TO SELL I recommend against diving in and spending thousands of dollars buying products that you may or may not be able to sell. A drop-shipper is a middleman who is willing to permit you to buy an individual product, and then they will put your business name on the return address of the product package and handle the actual delivery for you. By utilizing a drop-shipper, you can speed product delivery to the client without risking your own cash to keep a product in inventory. If you are lost as to how to find a drop-shipper, consider subscribing to the drop-shippers directory: http://thePhantomWriters.com/dsd.html Through this site, you can get all of the information you need to find drop-shippers from which you can order over 500,000 products from over 1,000 brand names. LEARNING TO LIST YOUR PRODUCTS AT EBAY Learning to use Ebay is pretty easy and straightforward. Ebay has put forward a lot of effort to help people to become successful. For example, Ebay has an entire area of their site devoted to the online entrepreneur. To get an overview of all of the services and tools that Ebay provides to sellers, you may visit: http://pages.ebay.com/services/index.html Ebay also delivers courses and strategies to help you to be more successful: http://pages.ebay.com/sellercentral/index.html THE IMPORTANCE OF CASH FLOW TO YOUR SUCCESS Ebay provides tools for both buyers and sellers to rate one another. The speed of delivery is one of the most important factors that sellers are rated on. By providing quick delivery, your buyers will give you a good rating --- and more shoppers will bid on your products. Ebay recently purchased PayPal.com to help facilitate purchases for their buyers and sellers, and they have integrated the two systems together. Unfortunately, getting the money from your PayPal account to your personal account generally takes four days. Even with a merchant account, the time gap is nearly the same. This time gap expands the turn-around between the transaction and delivery of the product unless you take action to speed the process. If you were doing high volume, you would want to minimize the handling of a transaction to reduce the chance for a foul-up and to increase your ratings within the Ebay system. But how can this be accomplished? MANAGING CASH FLOW While you could rely upon credit cards to get the job done, it is not something I would recommend. Paying credit card interest rates to process your customer's purchase, is an unnecessary burden. Instead, put a sum of money into a dedicated bank account with a debit card attached to it. When you verify a transaction has been credited to your PayPal account, then use your debit card to immediately process the order with your drop-shipper. You may even apply to get the Paypal branded debit card which will be directly attached to your Paypal account. Some of you may even want to buy from wholesalers who require a small minimum purchase to buy a specific lot of a particular product. By utilizing wholesalers of this type, you can get a much better price per unit purchased for resale. I strongly recommend that you do not undertake this activity until you have found that you can actually sell the products you want to purchase. To learn more, check out the Light Bulk Wholesalers Directory: http://thePhantomWriters.com/lbwd.html Still, you might be asking yourself how you can do this on a tight budget? THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO THE RESCUE Let me ask you this. Do you have a 401(k) account? Experts advise that you not touch your retirement savings for anything other than retirement income. That is good advice. Fortunately, it is possible under special circumstances to acquire loans against your 401(k) accounts. Beginning in 2002, even the self-employed small business owner with no employees could open his or her own 401(k), called a solo-owner 401(k), and borrow from it just as employees with big companies can. Weigh this option against the others available to you. It only makes sense to take out a loan rather than to take a hit in heavy taxes and penalties for drawing your retirement money early. Seriously, consider taking advantage of our historically low interest rates to meet your cash flow needs. To learn more about creating and borrowing from a solo-owner 401(k), please visit: http://www.investsafe.com IN CONCLUSION It is wise to choose your new business venture based on a model that has proven itself over the long-term. Ebay has been proving its concept since 1995; helping thousands of people build a successful and very profitable business. The time to act is now. Choose the product line that will give you the most satisfaction and then get busy. Your success awaits you. Bill Platt owns http://thePhantomWriters.com . Do you need free content for your website or ezine? Our archives deliver more than 450 free-reprint articles available for your use. http://content.thePhantomWriters.com . Do you write your own articles? Let us distribute them for you to our network of 6000+ publishers & webmasters http://thePhantomWriters.com/distribution Posted: Tuesday 11th January 2005, 1:01 PM J. Stephen Pope Work at Home Small Business Ideas If your business is not using eBay and other Internet auctions, you could be missing out. Here are just a few ways of generating additional income, profits and cashflow from online auctions. 1. Convert Excess Assets to Cash Sell personal or business items that you no longer use. For example, are there slow moving inventory items in your store? A major camera store chain sells their slow movers, quite successfully, through eBay. 2. Buy and Sell Anything Sometimes people put things out in the garbage because they don`t need them anymore and don`t know anyone who could use them. You can successfully sell some of these items by Internet auction. As well, if you pick up bargains from garage sales, flea markets, importers, wholesalers, closeout dealers or other sources, these items can also be sold through online auctions. 3. Drop Shipping There are suppliers who will ship one item at a time for you. You don`t have to stock any inventory. You simply pay your dropship supplier out of the money you receive from your auction sale. They will ship the product directly to your customer. For further information about drop shipping, visit: http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/dropship.html 4. Self-Publishing Do you have expertise in a specialized area of interest to people? Then, you could publish your own information product. A very popular format for self-publishing information products is the electronic book (or e-book). E-book compilers, some of which are free, are readily available on the Internet. When people buy your e-book, they can download it from your website or receive it by e-mail. You could sell such self-published information products on eBay and other Internet auction sites. Incidentally, online auctions are an inexpensive method of testing the market for your information (or other) products. For further information about self-publishing, visit: http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/selfpub.html 5. Reprint and Resale Rights You may not want to produce your own information products presently. Or, perhaps, you may already have an information product, but would like to supplement your income with additional, related product offerings. This is where reprint and resale rights come in. You can buy the rights to reprint or resell excellent information products created by other people. Some of these rights are inexpensive. In addition to selling these products from your own website, you can use Internet auctions to create extra sales. Another advantage of online auctions is that they can create additional traffic for your website. For further information about reprint and resale rights, visit http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/instantpub.html 6. Sell Your Services Do you design logos or websites? Do you sell consulting or other services? These, also, can be successfully sold through eBay and other auction sites. 7. Run an eBay Consignment Shop There are still people who don`t have a computer or who don`t use eBay. You could sell on a consignment basis for them, taking a commission on the successful sale. You would need to charge for advertising expenses incurred, such as eBay listing and selling fees. 8. Promote Affiliate Programs through Auctions Some affiliate programs have brandable e-books that contain your affiliate link. When people order from the e-book that they bought from your online auction, you get credit for the sale. As well, some of those purchasers may sign up as affiliates, earning you additional commissions. Some of these e-books have valuable information that is worth the nominal value you would sell it for on eBay. In other cases, such an e-book is readily available for free. In this latter case, you might consider selling another related product and offer the e-book as a free bonus. For further information about affiliate programs, visit http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/affiliate.html 9. Supply Fellow Online Auctioneers During the gold rush days, it is said that those who sold picks and shovels were more likely to make money than those panning for gold. Similarly, since there is such a big market for online auctions, you can make money supplying eBayers with information and auction tools to help them start and grow their own online auction business. 10. Internet Auction Consulting As you gain experience and expertise in online auctions, you might consider charging for your knowledge. Consulting services, seminars, information products and other ways of packaging your knowledge can earn you additional income streams. For more information about consulting, visit: http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/consulting.html These are just a few of the ways you can profit from Internet auctions. For more information about Internet auctions, visit: http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/auctions.html J. Stephen Pope, President of Pope Consulting Inc., http://www.popeconsultinginc.com/ has been helping clients to earn maximum business profits for over twenty-five years. For valuable Work at Home Small Business Ideas, visit http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/ This article provided by the Family Content Archives at: http://www.Family-Content.com Posted: Monday 10th January 2005, 11:58 AM Omar Johnson Make Profits The best way to get started as a seller on Ebay is by first cleaning out your closet, attic, garage or any other place where you store your unused items. You know the items I’m talking about remember? The items that you supposedly cherished and wholeheartedly promised to put to good use once you got around to it. But hey you and I know that you never got around to it!lol. Don’t worry I promise to keep this our “little secret” only after you’ve agreed to the following conditions. Condition #1 – You have to get out the dust rag and began to dust off these hidden treasures and prepare to sell them on Ebay. Condition #2 – If you’re not already registered as an Ebay member after you’ve finished reading this article, go to www.ebay.com click on the register link and register as a member. It is fast, simple and most of all free. To register as a seller, all you need is a debit or credit card and a checking account. Also, don’t forget to sign up with Paypal so that you can accept online payments for your auctions. When you sign up for your personal Paypal account, make sure you click on the link to upgrade to the Premier account. This upgrade will allow you to accept credit card payments. And oh by the way Ebay owns Paypal and integrates it so well in its auction system that it makes buying and selling on Ebay as easy as A-B-C Condition #3- This is the final condition. Before the week is over, you have to list your first item for sale on Ebay or I’m going to reveal our little secret! Author: Omar Johnson Website- http://www.makeprofitsnow.com Author of the Ebook: “The Secrets Of Making $10,000 On Ebay In 30 Days” This article provided by the Family Content Archives at: http://www.Family-Content.com Posted: Monday 10th January 2005, 11:47 AM Brian McGregor I get frequent emails from my newsletter readers wondering why their eBay auctions aren't working. You might have the most brilliant auction description page with a fantastic set of pictures offering a superb item at an incredible price. But the page counter shows after seven days of your auction that it’s only been seen by 3 people. Has that happened to any of your auctions? If it has, I always start at the same point. The auction title. In 99% of cases, the reason for low viewing figures is that your auction title isn't smart enough. Here are a few facts. At the end of this small list you’ll understand the secret power of eBay auction titles: a) 79 million times each day buyers use eBay's search box to locate items in which they are interested. b) eBay's standard search system takes the search words keyed in, and compares them with the titles in its database of 10 million auctions. (Note it doesn’t compare them with sub-titles, nor auction descriptions) c) If an auction title doesn't contain the words keyed into the search box, the auction won’t get returned in the search list. And that’s another of the 79 million searches you’ve missed out on! d) If an auction isn't returned in a search list, it can’t be clicked on to have the auction description viewed. So, the whole of eBay's default search system relies on matching keywords with auction titles. And that’s the secret power of auction titles. If your title contains words which the buyer searches upon, your auction will be returned time and again in search return lists. Actually, that’s not quite everything. Let’s say you want to create a new auction. Your auction title has three functions: 1) To contain keywords. (Number one on this list for the reason you now know!) 2) To persuade buyers to click through to your auction description page 3) To convey what the item is To decide on the keywords to use, you have to think like a buyer. What words would be used by a person interested in searching for an item like yours? At this stage, just list them. Don't put the words into a sentence yet. Spend as long as you like on this exercise. The more effective you are with this, the less likely you are to have one of those sleepy auctions that rarely gets a visitor. Having listed as many keywords as you can think of, you have to decide which are the strongest. Remember, you only have 55 precious characters for your auction title. Taking your best keywords, you now create your auction title. It's not an English exam, so it doesn't matter if it doesn't scan like a sentence. You can add a power word or two if you've space. By this I mean words like stunning, limited edition, unique, rare, new, one-off, exclusive, distinctive, dramatic etc. These are words which can influence buyers to click through to your auction description. They won’t be searched on by buyers, so use them sparingly. For the same reason, I don’t advocate the use of "clever" words like l@@k or w0w! Finally, do the words in your title convey what the item is? If so, that's it. You've created a powerful and compelling auction title. And your title will appear more often in search return lists. And, as you know, that’s the key! If you can get your auction to appear more frequently in search return lists, more buyers will view your auction description page. The more people that visit your auction description page, the more likely you are to make a sale at an acceptable price. Now you know the secret power, why not create a new title today for one of your auctions? If you do, believe me you’ll get your fair share of the 79 million eBay daily searchers. Good luck in all your eBay selling. About the Author Brian McGregor specializes in showing website owners how to make more money from their sites by applying inventive and original use of eBay. For free information on how to use the power of eBay to make more money with your website, visit http://www.more-auction-sales.com/websites This article provided by the Family Content Archives at: http://www.Family-Content.com Posted: Monday 10th January 2005, 11:43 AM Written by: Joyce Moseley Pierce Web Site: Emerson Publications Seems like we’ve been hearing about how bad the economy is for a long time now. You probably can’t even count on one hand the number of people you know who have lost their jobs due to lay offs. Hopefully you’re not one of them – but then again, maybe you are. Some of us are just looking for ways to make a little cash while reducing the clutter in our homes. I guess I fall into both categories. I lost my job in April 2002 and opted to find ways to earn money at home. I have a couple of businesses that I work at, but they don’t offer instant income. No, unfortunately, they require work! Sometimes we just go through life events that require changes. My mother has moved in with us and we want to move to a more efficient home for all of us. I want a one-story home where she’s not required to use the steps. I also want something smaller with less to take care of. When I look at the way we’re bulging at the seams now, it’s hard to imagine that we can cram it all into something smaller! My thought process now, when trying to determine if something is worth keeping, is this: “Do I really want to move this to another house? Do I love it? Is it worth packing?” and even worse, “Is it worth unpacking?” Whether you’re looking for money to help pay your bills, or would just like a little extra to stick in your pocket, or to put away for something special, here are a few suggestions for turning your trash into cash! Run an ad in your local paper to advertise furniture and other large items. Many planned communities have their own newspapers and allow free advertising. Maybe there’s a freezer in your garage that’s not being used. If you, like many others, are trying to downsize, chances are you have an extra sofa or bed that you can’t squeeze into your new place. Sell it! Have a garage sale if you think you have enough to sell to make it worth the time. I’m not sure I’ve ever made a profit on a garage sale if you count the hours of time spent sorting, cleaning and pricing items on top of the time spent manning the sale all day and working late nights to make it happen. If you have a digital camera, or at least access to one, try eBay! I have a friend who sold a wireless dog fence on eBay. I recently sold an electric typewriter that hadn’t been used in more than 10 years. The shipping charges, paid by the buyer, were double what I got for the typewriter, but at least I got it out of my house! When cleaning my garage last year looking for items to contribute to our local Boy Scout garage sale, I came across some Playboy mugs that we have had since probably 1970. I didn’t think they were appropriate for the Scouts, but they sold rather easily on eBay. The great thing about eBay is that you have an international audience. Your neighbor may not want what you have, but I would guess that there are millions of people logged into eBay at any one time who are searching for some obscure item that they can’t walk into a store and buy. My first experience with eBay was to find a Buzz Lightyear talking bank for my grandson’s birthday for less than the retail price of $60! I was thinking more about having money to put IN the bank instead of paying a fortune FOR the bank! I found just what I wanted for about $20 and have been hooked on eBay ever since. After having some success in selling the typewriter, the mugs, and some unopened diet supplements, I’ve decided that (1) you can sell or buy anything on eBay and (2) if you’re not careful, you’ll become an eBay junkie. Once you’ve made your first dollar auctioning off your trash, you’ll find yourself digging through every cabinet for something else to sell. Just this week I took my favorite autographed Springsteen photo off the wall and listed it because I’d rather have the money than the photo. As sick as that may sound, it’s true. Sorry, Bruce. Whatever your reason, the season is right for auctioning or selling your trash. With Christmas just around the corner, this gives you an opportunity to (1) get rid of stuff you never wanted in the first place, (2) make some money on the old stuff so you can go buy more, or (3) help someone else who may be searching the world for that one thing you have hidden in your closet or garage. This article provided by the Family Content Archives at: http://www.Family-Content. Posted: Monday 10th January 2005, 11:40 AM By Doug Feiring Sometimes the simplest things can boost the number of visitors and bids to your auction listings and increase your eBay profits. Robert G. Allen, author of Multiple Streams of Internet Income, writes, "If you are going to play online, then act like your life depended on it. Embed your web address and e-mail address in your off-line brochures, on your business cards, in every marketing message, and in every advertisement you place." This advice rings true for eBay, Yahoo!, and Amazon auction sellers as well. You need to make it easy for web-surfers to find your current auction listings. The more visitors your auctions have, the higher your eBay profits. Create a signature file and add a link to your auctions with every e-mail that you send. Most e-mail programs will allow the reader to click on any phase that begins with http://. Your signature should include a short marketing message that directs the reader to your current auction listings. Here's an example: STAR WARS COMIC BLOWOUT! - All auctions open at 99 cents with NO RESERVE Click --> http://auctions.yahoo.com/user/fearlessdf To create a signature file in Microsoft Outlook Express 6 simply: >On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Signatures tab. >To create a signature, click New and then either enter text in the Edit Signature box or click File, and then find the text or HTML file you'd like to use. >Select the Add signatures to all outgoing messages check box. Additionally, you should consider promoting your auctions by including a link with every post you make on bulletin board discussions (such as Yahoo! eGroups), news groups, and in the various free classified ad listing services around the internet. According to Allen, these venues can often create the opportunity "to reach huge numbers of people, multiple times, over a long period of time." Make sure you include the web address to your auction listings on the thank-you note you include in the package sent to your winning bidders. A repeat customer is much easier to develop than a new customer. It's a waste of time and money to post an elaborate auction listing if you are the only one who knows that it is there. Don't overlook or underestimate these powerful grassroots marketing campaigns when you are looking to drum up bids on your online auctions and increase your eBay profits. Doug Feiring is the creator of http://www.AuctionLink.to - A free service that provides short web addresses that automatically link to an eBay seller's current auction listings. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/ Posted: Monday 10th January 2005, 11:11 AM By Gillian Tarawhiti FACT: eBay’s Gross Merchandise Sales (GMS) 2003 - GMS, the total value of items sold, was a record $24 billion, representing a 60% year-over-year increase from the $15 billion reported in the full year 2002 FACT: Over 79 million times a day, eBay users find products and brands of their choice. FACT: In the final quarter of 2003, reported and increase of 41.2 million active users, up 3.8 million from the previous quarter. (Exerts from January 21, 2004 - eBay™ Inc. Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2003 Financial Results.) When I read the 2003 Financial Results, the first thing I thought of is ‘what a lot of traffic’. Think about it 79 million times a day people are looking at the eBay site for products or services. And if you think anything like me … the next thought would be, ‘can I drive some of that traffic to my site’ The answer is YES! This scenario is the ‘norm” in an auction. * Seller lists item * people visit auction * some make bids * highest bidder wins (one winner) * product sold and delivered Question: What happens to all the people who visited the auction and didn’t bid or bid and didn’t win? Answer:Lost Revenue, Lost Opportunity It doesn’t matter what kind of service or product you are selling or decide to sell.There are TECHNIQUES that can help you DEVELOP constant flow of traffic, SALES and GENERATE LEADS. If you use eBay solely as an auction site, then you will make a few dollars, a couple of thousand if you are bulk selling. Power eBay Sellers know that they real money comes when you drive people from your auction sale to where ever else you need to send them.This of course should firstly be to your own website, but you can send them to affiliate sites just as easy. eBay is more that a giant flea market, you see, eBay auctions attract millions of TARGETED customers.You don’t have to go in search of subscribers – they will come to you. About the Author Gillian Tarawhiti, is Founder and CEO of Community Training Centre, an Internet Marketing firm providing Online Training and Support to the new and not so new netpreneurs. Gillian is also the author of eBay Billion Dollar Goldmine and the creator of the Multiple Ripple Effect System © 2004. http://www.ezy-money.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/ Posted: Monday 10th January 2005, 10:10 AM By L C Peterson Some sell on eBay to clean out their garage or attic. Some sell to make a little extra money here and there. But for some, eBay represents a chance to create a second income or start a home business. Product choice is important. But to really increase profit you must know how to increase the number and amount of bids per item. An eBay seller must maximize each product's profit margin. This article describes techniques to make as much profit as possible. 1. Sell like products at the same time. Bidders look to see what else you have for sale they might be interested in. Combined shipping saves postage for the buyer. Packing in the same box saves time and packing costs for the seller. 2. Bundle a less desirable item with a more desirable item increases sales. This is an old offline auction technique. If the bidder wants the better item he has to buy both. If two sellers offer the same item, the buyer bids on the two item auction. Bundling two low cost items together also increases bids. A buyer may not be willing to pay shipping for one item, but would for two. 3. Remember seasonal issues. Don't sell snow skis in July, water skis in January. Be sure to offer seasonal items early enough to allow for shipping. Don't expect to sell many Christmas items that must be shipped during the second week of December. 4. Understand profit margins. Don't buy to resell for only a $5 profit when you can make $20 on a different item. Determine your desired monthly income and choose products appropriately. Want to make 1000 a month? That is $250 a week. That's ten successful actions at $25.00 profit, or five items at $200 a month, or ten items at $100 each. Also packing 10 items takes less time than packing 20 items. Always consider time as a cost. 5. Don't forget back end sales and secondary products. Offer similar products during the payment process or on your auction store/web site. If you sell underground fences for dogs, an up-sell item is a customized collar. A secondary product could be a pet door. Another secondary product could be a ebook on "Travel Safely With Your Pet". A back-end sale to the ebook could be a item that helps your family travel safely with your pet. 6. The List - For many successful online sellers the mailing list is where their money is made. Using a autoresponder, sellers automatically email customers on their list at regular intervals. Including content with announcements of upcoming sales increases back end sales. Once a customer buys, they are more likely to buy again from same person or company. 7. Customer demographics should be considered. Collectors have expectations non-collectors don't. Example, some book buyers that are allergic like to see "book from non-smoking home" in ad. This would earn you a higher bid. What does the customer expect to see in a description? 8. Auction terms and conditions should be included with each auction. What shipping options are available? Do you take questions? Do you ship only certain days? What kind of payments do you take? Type whatever standard terms you offer in a word processor and cut and paste into your auctions. This saves time. For some sellers, typing the content for each auction is one of the most time consuming tasks. Profit involves keeping costs reasonably low and creating higher bids. We've described some techniques for increasing profit. Sit down and mentally run through the process of auction selling and come up with some of your own ideas. EBay is a great business opportunity but like any business, sellers must be wise in their product choice and sales techniques. Author info: L. C. Peterson is a writer and web marketing consultant. Her sites include http://www.new2auctions.com, http://www.LCPeterson.com, and http://www.publishingebooks.com. For more information on online marketing, content and ebook creation and online auctions take a look. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/ Posted: Monday 10th January 2005, 10:01 AM By John Reese No matter how many times I see it happening, I’m constantly amazed at the number of people who are literally throwing money away by making incredibly simple mistakes when they sell items in an online auction. Over the last seven years, I’ve been making a great living buying and selling products on eBay and other online auction sites, and I’ve perfected a technique that pretty much guarantees anyone can start making a profit right away. That technique starts with avoiding mistakes like these -- mistakes I’ve seen people make every day for those same seven years. If you’re doing any of these four things, you’re leaving money on the table with every single item you sell. * Listing an item at the wrong time. It’s a proven fact more buyers browse Internet auction sites on Sunday evenings than any other time during the week. If your auction is scheduled to end at any other time than Sunday evenings (specifically between 9 p.m. and 11p.m. Eastern time), you’re not getting the maximum exposure for your auction at a time when people are most eager to buy. * Not giving your photos the attention they deserve. There are two common mistakes people make with the photos they use to entice buyers on eBay. One is not having enough pictures to accompany your item’s description. Over the years, I’ve learned pictures of your item are one of the most important components of your sales page. (There are many reasons for this, but I don’t have the space to go into much detail here.) Multiple pictures from various angles will ALWAYS help you get higher bids for your products. The second mistake is not making sure the pictures are up and running on whatever server you’re using BEFORE you list your item. How many times have you been browsing an auction site and seen a blank box where a picture of the item should have been? That’s a seller who’s losing money because of a very simple, and very common, oversight. * Using "Las Vegas style" listings. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about here. A Las Vegas listing is one that uses all kinds of flashing animation, multicolored text and other bells and whistles in an attempt to entice bidders. In fact, it does just the opposite. Listings like these are distracting, hard to read, and will always discourage people from bidding, resulting in a lower final sales price. The descriptions that you give of your item on your sales page ARE NOT designed to get a buyer’s attention (you already have that if they’ve clicked on your listing in the first place). They should be designed to get someone to actually place a bid. * Using a reserve. Using a reserve to guarantee that you’ll get a minimum price for an item will absolutely kill your auction. Trust me, I’ve seen it happen too many times to not accept this as a given. In fact, I often use other seller’s auctions that have a reserve as a way to pick up items at ridiculously low prices that I can sell "the right way" for a huge profit a few days later -- but that’s a different article altogether. For now, just realize that nothing scares away potential bidders better than seeing the "Reserve Not Yet Met" tag. If you’re truly concerned about a minimum price, simply set your starting price a little higher. John Reese has been actively involved with online auctions and eBay since 1996. Mr. Reese has written several articles on the subject and has recently created the "Internet Auction Secrets" Video for teaching others how to start, run, and manage a successful online auction business from home. His 2-Hour Step-By-Step Video comes with access to a "Student's Only" web site where his students can keep up with the latest tips, tricks, and techniques. You can learn about how *you* can become one of his students at: http://www.auctionsecrets.com You may run this article provided you run it with the bio box intact. Please email a copy of your publication with article in it to the author's publicist at ArticleDeptBill@rtir.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/ Posted: Monday 10th January 2005, 9:58 AM By Michael Schandorf-Lartey Ebay is without a doubt the greatest internet marketing phenomenon of all time. Millions of people log on every minute and every second there are hundreds of items listed, sold and bought, and of course money is made. It has become the world's largest marketplace, where the potential for selling an item is exponentially increased due to the sheer volume of people who can view the item for sale. The attraction Ebay holds for the most people is the possibility of selling or buying anonymously, and getting a great bargain. And for the first time ordinary people are making extraordinary incomes selling literally everything from beanie babies to diamond rings and cars. For those who venture out of their comfort zones into the cybermarket place, the following may com in handy as a guide to selling on Ebay: A. RESEARCH WHAT IS LIKELY TO SELL, DON'T JUST SELL ANYTHING Contrary to what you might think, not everything sells on Ebay. Your success on Ebay depends on selling what people want and need, and what they will pay for. You can find this out by browsing closed auctions of items you are interested in selling, see how many bids there were for the item and how high the bid price went. The more bids and the higher the closing price the more successful the auction. B. ASSESS THE COMPETITION It's no use selling an item that there are hundreds of thousands to choose from. Your chances of success will be severly diminished. The rarer the item and the fewer the number of people selling the same item the better your chances of making a sale. Find out how many similar items there are for sale by using the search feature on Ebay. Avoid items that are oversupplied and that everybody else is selling. C. FIND THE CHEAPEST SOURCE OF THE ITEM The best way to begin is by using a dropshipper. This is a wholesaler who will ship single items on your behalf to your customers and does not charge you a fee to do so. You don't have to keep inventory of the items you sell, and you order the item to be shipped to the buyer after you have sold it on Ebay, thereby reducing your risk to near zero. Remember the principle "Buy low and sell high" That is the key to maximizing your profits. D. LEARN THE TRICKS OF THE TRADE It is prudent to learn as much as you can about how Ebay works before you start, as there is more to it than meets the eye. There is no surer way to fail than to jump in without doing your homework well and believe me, it is work. If anyone says otherwise they're simply not telling the truth. E. START WITH A SMALL MONTHLY BUDGET AND STICK TO IT Don't spend more money that you can afford to lose. As with all businesses it takes time to tweak your skills to perfection. It is very easy to fall prey to internet sharks who promise fantastic returns in a short period of time. It simply does not work that way. F. GIVE IT TIME Forget about making a lot of money in a short time. It is slow tedious work,a ndmake some allowances for failure. Don't get discouraged. Find out what works and what does not work and improve yourself as you go along. c. Michael Schandorf-Lartey 2004 http://www.amazingdealz.dropshipdesign.com Michael Schandorf-Lartey is an internet entrepreneur, and operates a successful wholesale sourcing website that assists internet newcomers to launch their own Ebay businesses. He lives in Clermont, Florida with his wife and three children. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/ Posted: Monday 10th January 2005, 9:51 AM by: David Espino The online auction giant - eBay - has exploded on the Internet scene. Currently boasting over 29 Million members, eBay is one of the most visible and far-reaching Internet companies in existence, with a large segment of the population either using the service, or at the very least, aware of it. Among the eBay sellers, there is a designation given to approximately 4% of the people. These are eBay's "Powersellers", a group of sellers that is distinguished by the amount of volume they produce. The entry-level Powerseller, the Bronze level, does at least $2,000 a month in eBay sales, maintains a 99% positive feedback level and maintains their eBay account current. Higher award levels are granted at the $10,000 level, (Silver level) and at the $25,000 level. (Gold level) What are some of the strategies and techniques that these Powersellers use? As someone who achieved Powerseller status a little over a year ago and continues to study other Powersellers, I've compiled a listing of the 21 Success Strategies of eBay Powersellers. Powersellers are serious - Powersellers treat their eBay business just like they would any other business. They are dead-serious about it. Look at any Powerseller operation and you'll find organized systems and "assembly-line" techniques being used. While a Powerseller may not have invested thousands of dollars into her operation, she treats it as if she has. Powersellers are focused - A Powerseller is focused on listing, packing and shipping, often on different days of the week. Their focus is as intense as that of a Corporate Executive or an Olympic athlete, because they are juggling various activities at the same time. Powersellers are organized - The Powerseller is organized, otherwise they wouldn't make it to the level of Powerseller. Since Powersellers do a huge volume of listing, packing and shipping each month, they must develop processes to ensure that the items sold are delivered within a reasonable period of time and that customer satisfaction is always at the forefront. Powersellers delegate - Powersellers delegate because they have to! Their volume dictates that they hire an assistant to do some of the more repetitive tasks that don't require the Powerseller's attention. This way the Powerseller can focus on the important money-making tasks of product acquisition and marketing. Powersellers use assembly line techniques - The Powerseller has developed smooth running systems to make sure that product fulfillment is accomplished as quickly and efficiently as possible. This may involve setting up a large 4' by 8' table with bubblewrap and packing materials at one end, products in the middle, and boxes, labels and packing tape at the far end. Powersellers use Dutch auctions - Many Powersellers have graduated from selling one-of-a-kind knick-knacks found at yard sales and are now selling a volume of the same item through Dutch auctions. In a Dutch auction, a seller can place a large number of the same item up for sale. The bidders can bid on one or more of the item, but the highest bidders will be first in line to actually get or "win" the products they bid on. So there is a possibility that if someone bid too low, they might not get a product. A Powerseller uses Dutch auctions often because it is a huge time-saver. This is a true "assembly line" auction from start to finish. The packing and shipping goes a lot faster when the same item is being packed and shipped over and over again. Powersellers do efficient work - Another trait of the Powerseller is that they are extremely efficient, knowing that time is money. A Dutch auction is a great example of this efficiency. In the same period of time that it takes to list one item, you are listing dozens, or even hundreds of items! This time-efficiency is a powerful way to leverage your time and profits. Powersellers "Bulk List" their auctions - Bulk listing your auctions using a bulk listing software or auction management service will dramatically organize your time and allow your eBay operation to run a lot more smoothly. There are various options in this area, from eBay's own "Mister Lister" to Blackthorne software to Andale, and Auction Watch auction management services, there are a lot of options for you to look into. These services allow you to list your auctions at your leisure and then schedule them to go live on a certain day and time. This saves you the hassle of having to list your auctions on the particular day that you want them to go up. Powersellers use clearly focused photos - Powersellers have acquired their status by using clear photos or scans of the items they are selling and making sure that the photos show all flaws. In effect, along with all of the other skills they have acquired, they have also become semi-pro photographers! Many have built a "mini-studio" with optimum lighting and background, that is available at their beck and call for those quick shots when they need to e-mail an additional photo to a bidder. The Powerseller usually has both a Digital Camera for photographing 3-dimensional items and large items and also has a scanner for the paper items and flat items. Powersellers use headlines with key words and no fluff - A Powerseller resists the temptation to use "fluff" words like "L@@K", "WOW" and "MUST SEE". Instead, the Powerseller uses descriptive words in the headline, realizing that the headline is the "ad for the ad". A Powerseller is also "search engine savvy", realizing that keywords in the headline are picked up by the eBay search engine. They are sure to load the headline with descriptive, key words that help the bidder determine if the item is what they are looking for and keeps out the "fluff". Powersellers write thorough and detailed item descriptions - A Powerseller has achieved their level by maintaining a high ratio of positive feedback. This is primarily accomplished by having clear and accurate descriptions of the items so that the bidder can clearly "imagine" the item as if it were sitting in front of her. The art of writing a great item description involves an interesting mix of using "selling words" (such as "beautiful", "fantastic", "intricately designed", "gorgeous", "spectacular", "powerful", "colorful", etc.) along with describing the flaws in the item. A great description should entice the bidder to bid while at the same time providing full and complete disclosure of the item's condition. Your test of whether you have a great description or not is if it answers the following two questions well: A. If I were to compare the description to the item, while holding the item in my hand, would it be an extremely accurate description? or would I have good reason to return the item? B. Does this description entice me to place a bid on the item? Powersellers give "Benefit of the doubt" customer service - Customer service is such a cliched catchphrase in American Business today. In the eBay auction world, it is mandatory that you implement a very meticulous level of customer service. Powersellers have a clear reflection of their level of customer service in their feedback profile. One glance at any eBay seller's feedback profile and you have an instant snapshot of that individual's customer service rating. (Imagine if regular "brick and mortar" stores had a feedback rating posted at the front door!) This public feedback rating is both your best advertisement (if you provide great customer service) and can also be your downfall. (if you don't) A Powerseller is constantly aware of this "sign at the front door" and places a high priority on giving stellar customer service. I call it "Benefit of the doubt" customer service because even in those instances where the customer is clearly wrong, the Powerseller doesn't argue or get into an emotional "war of words", she simply refunds the money or reduces the shipping cost or sends an unexpected gift with the package. The Powerseller realizes that business and ego don't mix, they leave their ego on the table - they go on to build lifetime customer relationships. Powersellers have their own websites - A Powerseller realizes that business conditions change. On the Internet, business conditions can change literally from quarter to quarter! Because of the transient and high-speed nature of change in the Internet business, the Powerseller realizes the value of having their own storefront on the Web. They have either built a website themselves or have had someone build a site for them. They have developed a following and a customer base through their eBay auctions that can help sustain them even if dramatic changes come about on their main selling venue. As eBay continues to evolve and change - applying restrictive and invasive policies - this will become more of a priority for all eBay sellers, not just Powersellers. Powersellers make it easy for bidders to pay - By offering a variety of payment options, Powersellers make it easy for winning bidders to pay for their items. They offer to accept Checks, Money Orders, all types of credit and debit cards through PayPal, Billpoint, or their own Merchant Accounts. By offering a wide variety of payment options, they open up their market of available bidders and end up with higher ending bids as a result. Powersellers offer discounts on multiple items - Whether it is a discount on shipping multiple items or a discount on the actual price of multiple items, Powersellers realize the value of a good customer and treat that customer special. Unexpected discounts tell the customer "You're special" and build a reciprocity that keeps customers coming back or searching the Powersellers' auctions. Powersellers are always on the lookout for great deals - The Powerseller is the consummate "deal-maker". Whether it's at an antique store or at a swap meet, the Powerseller is always thinking about things they can re-sell. They find that pop-culture collectible and buy it. List it the same day and see the bid amount grow and grow. Part of the thrill of selling on eBay is "taking a shot" and listing items that you are not familiar with. Seeing the items shoot up in price is a fun and enjoyable hobby! Powersellers do not mind making money! - A Powerseller has no "issues" with making money. Many Americans have been brought up with the notion that the only "respectable way" of making money is by working at a job for thirty years. Sales and selling is looked down upon. The Powerseller is way beyond that. They have a healthy attitude towards making money and it becomes like a "hobby" to them! As new and strange as it may appear to the more traditional types, selling on eBay is one of the easiest and most lucrative ways to make a part-time income. The alternatives to selling on eBay are either too time consuming or too unrealistic. This "new" way of earning an income is powerful and realistic. Powersellers enjoy their work-at-home lifestyle - Powersellers love the fact that they get to work from home while the rest of America sits on the freeway, waiting for their fellow "worker-bees" to move. The freedom of having a Home Based Business is something the Powerseller relishes and appreciates. This enjoyment of the lifestyle has many tangible benefits - better health, freedom of time, being able to spend more quality time with kids, attending their school functions and field trips, better scheduling of time (around the rush hours) and an overall feeling of well-being. There is no doubt, working from home is the wave of the future. Powersellers are willing to invest in their business - Whether it means investing in a high-speed cable modem or DSL connection, high-quality computer components, including digital cameras, monitors, keyboards, etc. or whether it means buying a "Featured Auction" listing which will drive further traffic to their other auctions, the Powerseller knows how to use their money wisely. There is a difference between wasting money and investing money in your business. An eBay Powerseller knows when to "invest" money into their business. Basically, anything that saves you time or saves you money is an investment in your business. As an example: A digital camera is a huge time-saver over taking traditional 35 mm photos and then scanning them. If you go the scanner route, here are the steps you must take: 1. Buy film. (this takes driving time and money) 2. Shoot the photos. 3. Get the film developed. (this takes driving time, waiting time and money) 4. Inspect the photos for clarity and re-shoot, if necessary. (this takes additional time and additional money) 5. Scan the photos (additional time) 6. Crop and edit the images 7. Upload the images to your webhost The same actions using a digital camera are much more efficient: 1. Shoot the photos. (film purchase not necessary) 2. Inspect the photos for clarity and immediately re-shoot. (no additional cost) 3. Crop and edit the images. 4. Upload the images to webhost. The investment in a digital camera is one of the best ways to become a more efficient eBay seller! I paid a little over $700 for my digital camera about two years ago, it was the best time and money-savings investment I've made! Powersellers stay up-to-date on auction trends and changes - Because Powersellers take their business seriously, they constantly keep themselves up to date on the latest industry trends and changes. They do this by buying books about online auctions, participating in eBay Message Boards / Forums, and staying tuned to the eBay Announcements Board. They don't want to be caught off guard with a new change or new policy that might affect their business. Powersellers are always looking for better ways to do things - Whether it's listing auctions, packing and shipping, getting organized, or expanding their business, Powersellers are always looking to improve their online business. This is the nature of all successful business people, they want to improve their business constantly. As the 4% of eBay sellers known as Powersellers continue to improve their processes, here’s hoping that the above strategies will be helpful reminders in improving yours! About The Author David Espino is the Author of Beyond eBay and Life In The Dot Com Lane. To receive a free excerpt from the book - Beyond eBay, visit www.HomeBasedBusinessowner.com Email: dave@HomeBasedBusinessowner.com Posted: Monday 10th January 2005, 8:04 AM by: Lynn Terry Click Here to hear this topic LIVE on the Entrepreneur Magazine Home Biz Show, with Guest Lynn Terry of Web Service Network: http://media1.select.net/wsradioarchive/sho_hbbiz5021903.wma (opens in Windows Media Player) eBay receives over 1.5 billion page views per month! Over 9,000 new users register with eBay every day! This makes eBay one of the greatest money-making opportunities on the internet! Below you'll find Selling Tips & resources that will help you cash in on the eBay market! Sure, I want to make money on eBay... but what would I sell?? You can sell virtually anything on eBay! From household items you would normally sell in a yard sale for pennies on the dollar, to informational products (advertising space, ebooks, books, publications, reports, etc) that don't even require shipping! Do some research! Choose an item (clothing, a book, electronics - something specific), and see how well it has done on eBay in the past by searching similar completed auctions. The same item may bring much higher bids in one auction than it does another... Pay close attention to the differences in their ads: Starting/Ending Time, Title or Headline, Description & Photos. Some items, such as computers & electronics, tend to bring the highest bid when they end on Saturday night. Keep in mind the time zone differences, and try not to set auctions to end during church time or business hours on either the east coast or the west coast. Internet advertising, and informational products (which target the office worker or home business owner) might do best on a weekday in the afternoon hours. Get the idea? Next you will want to line up the products you have chosen to sell... Make that item SELL! You must add good, clear pictures of your product to your auction listing! Using either a digital camera or scanner, make sure you take clear pictures that show detail. Gain attention to your auction by making the most of the 45-Character Title! For example, lets say you were selling a piece of unused software: QUICKBOOKS PRO 2002 - 5 USER - NEW/SEALED Accounting Software Program for sale Obviously, the first title would get more clicks! Next is your description... Include everything about your product - size, dimensions, brand name, etc... any pertinent details. Add extra pictures without extra cost by using a free image hosting service and simple html tags. If you don't know HTML, you can use a program to create it for you... You can learn some basic commands at www.HTMLGoodies.com . Tip: If you create your description in Frontpage, Dreamweaver, or any other web design program, you can simply copy the code and then paste it into the description field on the eBay form. Your About Me Page Once you sign up for your free eBay account, and get ready to sell, be sure to set up your About Me page! This is the one place that you can tell all of your potential bidders about yourself, your website, and your product line. What you aren't allowed to include in your auction description... you CAN include here! A colorful "me" image shows up beside your eBay user name on all pages & transactions, allowing viewers to click for more information. See these examples: http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/hostmary/ http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/lynn%40webservicenetwork.com/ Follow-up & Back-end Sales Be sure that you use a signature file in all email communication with bidders & auction winners. Include information about your website, your contact information, and include a PS if you would like to bring their attention to something else they may be interested in. Follow up with your auction winners via email and make sure that they received the item and are happy with it. Encourage them to leave you feedback, and do the same for them. This promotes confidence in future potential bidders that you are a legitimate seller. About The Author Questions? Join us at the Vision Possible Forum! Join Lynn Terry, owner of Web Service Network, in the eBay & Other Online Auctions Forum: What to sell, how to sell, tips and tricks to increase bids. eBay as a full-time biz? at www.MaryGoulet.net/forum Lynn Terry, owner of Web Service Network, brings you the full report online at http://www.WebServiceNetwork.com/ebay.htm . Like Lynn's Tips? Get them by email every week! Self Starters Weekly Tips will put you ahead of the game in Online Business: http://www.WebServiceNetwork.com/sswt_archives.htm Lynn@WebServiceNetwork.com Posted: Monday 10th January 2005, 7:58 AM |
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