Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Do not Frighten Your Ebay Customers Away

Author: Dave Bromley

There can be very few people in the English Speaking world who have not heard about eBay. The online auction site has grown at a phenomenal rate since its launch ten years ago. It now provides an opportunity for millions of people around the world to buy and sell goods on the Internet. As a result hundreds of thousands of people rely on eBay as their main source of income.

However, for every person who has built up a successful business buying and selling on eBay there will be at least two others who have failed to make it. There can be several reasons for this and amongst the most common are using poor titles and giving an inadequate or insufficient descriptions for their items. Another common reason is the fact sellers set too high a starting or ""Buy It Now"" price.

There is one factor that can seriously affect your chances of being successful and that is by simply frightening would be buyers from making a bid. How would you feel if you saw something like:

""All bids are final, payment is expected within three days of the end of the auction. Failure to pay in time will lead to negative feedback.""

It is not uncommon to see such comments where the seller threatens negative feedback before anyone has made a bid.

This is hardly the way to start trying to build up a trusting relationship with your customers. You do not have to spend very much time searching eBay to find plenty of examples of this kind of threatening approach.

A further way to frighten off a potential buyer is something as simple as having the wrong User ID. I may seem very funny and a great idea to have an identity such as ""Slippery Trader"" or Rip U Off"" but what kind of impression of you do you think this will give. There are two money saving tactics that some sellers use that frighten away bidders. The first is to refuse to accept a Paypal payment, (to save their charges) or to sell at a low price but with high postage rates (to save on the listing fee). Most buyers these days prefer to use Paypal and by refusing to accept you will get considerably less bids than you might otherwise. Many eBay buyers feel very strongly about excessive postal charges and these will effect the number of bids your listing will receive. Another way of frightening bidder away is to reply aggressively to any e-mail questions sent by potential bidders or even worse not replying at all. Selling is all about communicating and creating a rapport one big issue both parties. This will not happen if your replies are rude or non-existent.

There was the instance of a seller in response to the question, ""What color is the item"", received the reply, ""Blue, it said so in the listing. What is wrong with you Dumbo, can't you read or something?"" Needless to say the sale was not made.

Finally, all transactions have to be based on mutual trust. There will be the odd occasion when this trust is misplaced but these are the exceptions rather than the rule. There are safeguards and procedures in place to protect both buyers and sellers.

By placing obstacles in the way of bidders you may ensure that you are never cheated or let down. Unfortunately it will also mean that you never realise the profits that you could be making on eBay.

About the author: Dave Bromley is a writer and full-time Internet Marketer who specialises in subjects relating to Online Auctions . His website

www.ukauctionline.co.uk contains hundreds of hints and tips about how to succeed on eBay

How To Use Feedback On Ebay

Author: Jason James

As an Internet savvy ebay business owner, you have undoubtedly had a friend or family member come to you at some point to ask whether or not it was okay to purchase from a certain Internet business. You might have found this humorous. As someone who regularly makes sales and payments online, you aren't even remotely afraid of being scammed. If something is a scam, you can spot it from a mile away.

However, to people who are considerably less experienced-- perhaps members of your family or your friends--this is a serious obstacle to shopping online regularly. They will probably think twice and consult a friend before buying anything.

This is why ebay's feedback system must be a crucial part of your strategy as an ebay seller: it gives people the unique opportunity to hear what ebay buyers had to say about your products and service.

If potential customers see anything sketchy, you can bet they will hit the 'back' button and shop somewhere else.

On the contrary, if they see dozens of positive responses from your customers, you will immediately gain their trust as a professional ebay seller.

Luckily for you, keeping your feedback record positive is relatively easy if you adhere to the following rules:

1. Avoid posting negative feedback at all costs.

If you encounter a negligent buyer, do everything in your power before leaving negative feedback. Most disputes on ebay revolve around miscommunication, so make an effort to resolve communicate clearly with the buyer. Even if they still wont respond positively, you are better off leaving no feedback at all than leaving negative feedback, which can prompt retaliatory negative feedback.

2. Create feedback rules (written or unwritten) and follow them consistently.

Many ebay sellers have a written feedback policy. They will only leave feedback after the buyer pays and leaves feedback. If a buyer knows upfront that he has to leave feedback to get feedback, he will be more likely to give you feedback after the transaction (provided he cares about his feedback rating).

Not only will this get you more responses, but it will give you more control over feedback. If the buyer gives you negative feedback, you can use your future feedback opportunity to bargain a withdrawal. Some ebay sellers use an unwritten policy. As soon as payment clears, they respond with positive feedback. When the customer sees positive feedback from the seller, they have a higher chance of posting positive feedback in response, even if they haven't received the item yet.

3. Communicate clearly with the buyer.

As I mentioned above, the majority of problems on ebay are caused by miscommunication. Make sure you create a consistent set of rules, post them with every auction, and follow them to the letter. If you have any problems with a customer, you can point to the rules. At the very worst, they can disagree with your policy; however, they cannot disagree that they entered into a contract with you with fair access to your policies.

In addition to using rules, you should also send follow-up emails after your auction ends. You should thank the buyer for purchasing from you and make sure he knows how to complete payment and when he can expect his item in the mail.

About the author: Jason James website 'The Auction Resource Network' reveals his inside secrets and sources that help him pocket over $10,000 a month on eBay.

Claim your FREE 'Top 10 eBay Selling Secrets' eBook: www.auctionresourcen etwork.com

Avoiding eBay Buying Pitfalls

Author: Nicky Pilkington

As with a real market, trading on eBay is not without its hassles and snags.

First of all, it should be duly noted that eBay is an online market/transaction facilitator. It merely becomes a means for the buyer and the seller to meet.

Because of its online nature, eBay's auction listing provides the buyers with a wide selection of goods. The buyers are also enabled to review the buyer through its feedback rating. This helps the buyer decide whether to pursue the trade or not.

The sellers on the other hand, benefit from a wider audience due to the popularity of eBay because eBay enables them to post easily, quickly, and extensively.

When eBay connects buyer and seller, the transactions truly begin...as well as the headaches.

Even with the automated nature of most of today's transactions, eBay is still built on the basic foundation of trading: trust.

A good deal of trust is involved in eBay trading. The buyer has to trust that the seller is listing a legitimate item, and that he or she will deliver that item when paid. The seller has to trust the buyer to pay fully and without any catches.

Here are some of the problems one may encounter while buying on eBay.

Seller does not deliver product This is the buyer's biggest fear. However, it is also one of the most common snags buyers encounter. Usually, when closing a deal, the seller will email purchase instructions to the buyer. This will most usually include instructions for payment. The seller will then promise to have the item delivered upon receipt of payment.

If the buyer, after fulfilling his or her part, does not receive the item within the agreed upon date, he or she should immediately try contacting the seller. If this proves to be fruitless, he or she should file a complaint with eBay for assistance regarding the matter.

Seller delivers a different/defective product Sometimes the trading is smooth. Everything goes according to schedule. However, upon receipt of the item, the buyer finds out that the item is significantly different from its description on eBay.

What should the buyer do about this?

Good communication between the buyer and seller usually brings about a speedy and satisfying end to any trading dispute. This should always be step one for disputes.

Seller cannot be contacted to close deal or for questioning Most disputes come about due to miscommunication between seller and buyer.

But if the seller can not be contacted, that presents a bigger problem for the buyer - especially if that person has already fulfilled payment of the item.

eBay may help in this regard by furnishing you with further information on the seller.

About the author: Find out more about ebay and online auctions at http://auctionhelper.info

Hot Tips for Ebay Buyers

Author: Nicky Pilkington

Ebay is the world's greatest e-commerce site. With over 147 million registered users from all over the world, it's definitely here to stay. Whether you're a newbie Ebay buyer or already an aficionado, you could always make use of the following tips on buying on Ebay.

Know exactly what you're looking for.

There's no other better way to waste your time browsing on eBay than not knowing what you're actually looking for. If you're not only looking for a single item, it will be helpful to jot down a list of your ""searchable"" items.

Browse like a pro.

In EBay, items are sorted and placed in almost 26,000 categories. If you would like to hasten the searching process, it will help if you look for the same keyword in the titles and captions of the item listings found. Just tick the small box right under the search box on the results page of your first search then hit the search button again.

Make use of your options.

To narrow down the category you're searching in, click on the option box above the results, which is found on the right part of the screen. Then, you can choose whether you would like your results to be focused on ""lowest price"", ""highest price"", ""newly listed"" or ""ending first"".

Inspect on the item.

Checking on the authenticity of an item, especially if it's an antique or a memorabilia is a must. Do your homework by researching more, confirming its condition and not just relying on its photograph. Comparing it with similar items will also improve your chances of purchasing an item that's worth your dough.

Know your seller.

Your seller might be continents away from you. It would be a wise move on your part to check on your seller's credibility. Seeing his feedback rating is one way to accomplish this. It's a number that's followed by a star. Reading the item's description carefully may also help in ensuring that you won't get ripped off. The return policies, mode of payment, and postage costs must be noted well. Also, the ""ask seller a question"" option is not placed there just for any reason. Make the most out of it.

Be the Best Bidder.

If an item you value a lot is auctioned and you want to jump in, go stick to your maximum bid. Bidding higher without really analyzing the item's worth commonly happens. Better consider that since you're the one buying, you call the shots on where your money will go. Sniping services can also help in this endeavor.

About the author: Find out more about ebay and online auctions at http://auctionhelper.info

I Bought My House over eBay

Author: Nicky Pilkington

The coupon strategy works well to promote sales of items on eBay. And just like its cardboard counterparts, the eBay coupon is fast, easy, and convenient to use.

Selling real estate over the internet may sound like an awkward idea. However, the mileage the real estate receives over such a widespread media like the internet is every realtor's dream.

Can eBay be used to market real estate? The answer is a resounding 'yes!'

eBay provides functionality that is clearly adaptable to the needs of a realtor. It provides a widespread medium of advertisement for the real estate. It is also an inexpensive method of advertising such.

The best thing about selling real estate on eBay is that it markets to the whole world, not just a local area. eBay makes the property available to more than 100 million potential buyers, including those from other countries. Visitors can browse through the property details 24 hours a day, 7 days a week - all without the realtor having to explain the details to every single prospect that drops by.

Advertising Your Real Estate on eBay When one has a house or other real estate to sell, he or she may list it for auction on the eBay Real Estate site which is found at http://www.pages.ebay.com/realestate/. If the realtor seeks to sell the estate at a fixed price instead of having the property go through an auction, he may request eBay to display a real estate listing in a format much like a local paper.

eBay's Real Estate page has three selling formats: there is the auction, fixed price selling, and the traditional real estate listing.

From here, the user furnishes additional information regarding his or her property. These details include lot size, number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, type of property, year built, and others. One also furnishes the auction listing period. He may choose to run a 1-, 3-, 5-, 7-, 10-, or 30-day auction, or a 30- or 90-day non-auction listing.

eBay Real Estate charges fees for both listing and final values. Charges for a 1-, 3-, 5-, 7-, or 10-day auction listing is $100. 30-day auction listings cost $150. A non-auction listing costs $150 for 30-day listing, and $300 for a 90-day listing. Timeshares and land fees are slightly lower. The final value fee for timeshares and land is $35 while residential and commercial real estate have no fees. Selling real estate on eBay is growing popular as the internet stretches to more countries. Although nothing beats direct and personal inspection of a property, the convenience of having eBay connect seller and potential buyer is definitely appreciated.

About the author: Find out more about ebay and online auctions at http://auctionhelper.info

Tuesday, May 30, 2006

The Day A Crook Tried To Defraud Me On Ebay

Author: Steve Hill

I have been reading lately about many cases of people, who are the victims of conmen on the internet auction website Ebay. I myself had a negative experience a number of years ago when a man tried to steal £170 from me. I was one of the lucky ones as I managed to get the money back.

I had been having lots of fun buying and selling on Ebay for a number of months, without any problems at all. I regularly sold second hand mobile phones and was making a fair amount of money for very little effort. If I ever bought anything that cost over £100, I would always meet the seller somewhere, normally just off the motorway. I managed to purchase what I felt were some real bargains and also sold off many items which I no longer needed or wanted.

This fun and easy way of earning cash was soon to come to an end. Maybe I am a bit of a fool, but it came as quite a shock when it happened.

On one particular day, I was scouring ebay, looking to purchase another second hand mobile phone, which I would then re-sell, hopefully for a profit. I eventually found an advert for a buy it now phone, with the asking price low but not extremely low. It was available for only £170, I believed I could quite easily make a profit of at least £50 at this price.

On the advert there was a mobile number, which I could phone if I had any questions. I duly did this and a man calling himself Tony answered. I asked him the general type questions, which he was happy to answer. He sounded and seemed really nice, however stated that he was unable to meet me as he was unable to drive, as he had yet to pass his driving test. The alarm bells should have started ringing, but for whatever reason, they didn't.

As his house was a long way from where I lived, I reluctantly agreed to pay via a bank transfer. He assured me he would post the phone that very day via Royal Mail Special Delivery to arrive by noon the next day. He seemed very genuine, they always do your thinking and that was that.

As you will no doubt have guessed, no phone arrived the next day or in fact any day.

I tried contacting Tony via e-mail, text and by phoning his mobile phone, there was no reply.

I realised what a fool I had been, however decided to go to the police. They were very helpful and about half an hour later I had a crime number, however was warned that it was very unlikely I would ever see a phone or receive a refund of my money. The police advised me to be very careful as they regularly have complaints from people who have been defrauded on ebay, I was not alone!

Outside the police station I sent Tony a text with the police crime number. To my shock he phoned me straight away swearing at me but eventually agreed to refund me the money, if I stopped the police action against him.

I was very lucky, I am sure many other people as the police stated, never get their money back.

About the author: Stephen Hill has a number of websites including:

stuttering

how to stop stuttering

botox center

From Seller to Buyer: Shipping Details for eBay Auctions

Author: Nicky Pilkington

Shipping details for purchases over eBay is actually a misnomer. eBay is not responsible for the shipping details of an item.

First of all, it should be duly noted that eBay is an online market/transaction facilitator. It merely becomes a means for the buyer and the seller to meet. It is also a regulating body that helps develop fairness of trades among parties.

However, the terms and details of the trade are subject to the agreement of both buying and selling parties.

For most cases, the details of a trade - the payment modes, conditions, and shipping details are specified by the selling party. Taking note of, and understanding such is important to avoiding disputes over shipping details between buyer and seller.

If the buyer does not pay attention to the terms stated here, he may find himself on the losing end of a trade. He must, therefore, be vigilant in studying the terms before agreeing to a trade.

The buyer should also note that shipping is usually exclusive of the bid price he may have agreed to on the auction. He should weigh in the costs of shipping and handling when considering trades.

Sellers on the other hand should ensure that the mode of delivery he specifies is convenient, cost-efficient, and attractive to most buyers.

Buyers should review the shipping details for an item listing. He must specifically take note of insurance, shipping and handling charges, sales tax and return policy.

In the case of insurance, if the seller does not specify any details for such, the buyer should discuss the possibility of including one in the purchase. One walks on the safe side if he does not assume that all will go well on the delivery.

The buyer should also inquire about the return policy - the rights available to a buyer if desires to return an item for whatever reason may it be dissatisfaction, damage, etc.

Depending on the size of the item and its location, shipping costs can add significantly to the total cost of the item. The buyer should make sure the shipping details are clear and fair before agreeing to them.

The buyer should also take advantage of the safety mechanisms available to him. The buyer and seller should agree upon such and contact their shipping company of choice to request measures to address their delivery concerns.

Again, the key component to considering the shipping details of an item over eBay is good communication.

In the end, one could say that shipping plans over eBay items can be safe - as long as one takes great pains and meticulous methods to ensure a hassle free delivery.

About the author: Find out more about ebay and online auctions at http://auctionhelper.info

Paypal eBay Vouchers

Author: Bill Holder

Have you ever used a eBay/Paypal voucher code, if not then you are missing out on saving lots of money. They come out every so often and dont last long. We have came up with a way for you to get an email once new paypal/ebay codes come out. So if you want more information then visit here: http://www.ukwebmasterforums.com/t308-current-paypal-ebay-codes-n ew-codes.html or

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The eBay Survival Guide

Author: Dave Bromley

When I was in the Armed Forces we were always being issued with ""Survival Guides"". How to survive in the Jungle, the Desert, and the Sea are just 3 titles that I remember. But if there is one environment that has been crying out for a survival guide it is eBay.

So I was intrigued when I got my hands on Michael Banks latest book ""The eBay Survival Guide"". I soon realised that it was a cut above many of the recent eBay books. As the webmaster for UK auctionline I comes across literally hundreds of books and reports about online auctions every year. I expected this would just be another expanded version of the eBay site map. But I was wrong; this book is an informative and riveting read.

It is a fact that it is possible to make a very good living selling products through eBay. However, it is equally true that if you either go about it in the wrong way or in some cases are just plain unlucky you can lose money. One of the biggest causes of this happening is the person not fully understanding how the market place works or knowing what to do if things go wrong. After reading the ""The eBay Survival Guide"" you should be much better equipped to tackle the day to day business of buying and selling on eBay.

One area that Michael covers in full detail is a subject that other books hardly mention and that is how to get the most out of the eBay search function. There are two detailed sections on buying and selling on eBay. The ""Do's and Don'ts chapters for both buyers and sellers not only show you the correct way to approach the task but also the traps to avoid.

The book is written in an easy to read no nonsense manner and you will find plenty of useful tips. One in particular that I liked was Michael's suggestion on how to react to a customer who claims that a sent item never arrived. To find out what it is you will have to buy the book.

There are two chapters that everyone who buys or sells on eBay should read. They are ""Shills, Sleazes and Seller Scams"" and ""Bogus products and Money making Scams"". Being forewarned is being forearmed and after reading these chapters you should be able to avoid the pitfalls that can trap the unwary.

The book covers a wide range of subjects including effective bidding strategies, buying stock to sell a dhow to create compelling listings. Whether you are new to online auction or an old hand this is one item you should definitely add to your eBay Library. This 260+ page paperback is published by No Starch and is available from Amazon.com for $13.57 (£7.99). And whether you are a new comer or an experienced eBayer I think you will find this book interesting.

About the Author:

About the author: Dave Bromley is the webmaster and publisher of the UK Auctionline web site and newsletter.This is an information packed site for all users of eBay. You can register for his newsletter and 6 part mini course at http://www.ukauctionline.co.uk

Monday, May 29, 2006

Find Bargain Items On Ebay Easily And Conveniently

Author: Susan Dean

To find bargain items on ebay is certainly easy and convenient. You will find many different types of things being sold this way including computers, household accessories, autos, pictures, clothes, in fact just about everything and anything that your heart desires can be found this way, often at great discount prices.

All you need to do is take your time and have a look at what is on offer and if there is anything that takes your fancy then you just need to bid. That's right just bid. Most things advertised on ebay are up for auction. That is why it is easy to find bargain items on ebay.

Of course you do have to know your prices before you start to bid so you will know if you are getting an item for cheap or not. Bargains are only such if you get them at a reduced price. You will find that there are individuals who want to sell their used goods this way and then there are those who run businesses and sell their goods at below cost. Whatever you are after you will no doubt find it and at a great price to boot.

Then again you may not necessarily be looking for a bargain but looking for something that you may want as a collectors item and are willing to pay top dollar. If this is you then ebay is still a great option.

Of course not only can you find bargain items on ebay but you too can also make some money selling this way as well. You may have one item or many that you could sell. Think of how much easier and less time consuming this way of selling is. Why keep your home cluttered with things that you do not use anymore when you can sell them and use the money on something that is more worthwhile.

About the author: Susan Dean is the webmaster and publisher of http://www.hot-deal-finder. net Visit her site for insider information on buying and selling on ebay.

Insider Secrets of an eBay Millionaire - Reviewed

Author: Mary Hanna

""The Insiders Secrets of an eBay Millionaire"" is a thorough study of the techniques to making a generous living on eBay. Derek Gehl and Brandon Dupsky have teamed up to produce a detailed eBay success system on how to navigate eBay, find the right products, enjoy profitable online auctions and become a Power Seller. Every tip and trick that Brandon has used on eBay to generate 8 million dollars in sales last year, are revealed to Derek Gehl.

The only part that was difficult for me is the length of time it took to study and digest the material included. There is so much information you will probably have to revisit the books until they become second nature. Derek and Brandon's claim that you will be up and running on eBay in the next 24 hours is a little ambitious. Take your time and really let the information sink in.

Let me supply a little background on Derek and Brandon. You may have heard of Derek Gehl CEO of The Internet Marketing Center, a company with over 40 million dollars in internet sales. Brandon Dupsky on the other hand tends to fly under the radar. He is a regular guy from Nebraska that started selling a few odds and ends from his garage. Brandon then turned the internet business into one with sales last year of 8 million dollars. These two guys know what they're talking about. Derek convinced Brandon to spill his secrets on how to become an eBay entrepreneur and I found this a very enlightening learning experience.

This work is loaded with tips and tricks that anyone interested in eBay auctions as a hobby or a home business must have. It will show you how to start from nothing and expand into a profitable eBay business. Many people spend years learning what works and what doesn't work on eBay. Derek and Brandon have drastically reduced the timeline it takes to become an eBay success.

The course materials are vast. Their heart is a 237 page manual and four audio-CD's, all filled with useful tips on building an eBay business from scratch. Each audio-CD has a read along transcript with margin notes to build on key points. The margin notes are excellent since they highlight the most important topics that were addressed on each page. There are also four bonus CD-ROMs with tips on more advanced eBay buying selling techniques. These CD-ROMs answer the questions of how to attract lots of bids on your products, how to create stunning listings that bring bidders to your auction, and how to set up foolproof payment and shipping systems. These steps are crucial to establishing yourself successfully on eBay. If you already have an internet business, Derek and Brandon will show you how to tap into some of the 2,000,000 visitors who come to eBay each day.

""The Insiders Secrets of an eBay Millionaire"" delivers on its promise to teach you all of the fundamentals needed in order to grow into an eBay expert. It logically and easily takes you through the steps, from finding a product to completing an auction. This resource will be something that you refer to time after time and I suggest you take notes as you go along.

If anything, you may have to read all of the books again before you will be able to absorb the subtleties of using eBay profitably. Brandon and Derek go into so much detail that I was amazed at what they revealed.

In Derek's introduction, he tells you that you can't afford not to have this information and I totally agree with him. For me, this was the ultimate source to learn more about eBay and I am making the most of it.

Some people have asked me if there was some way to improve on this product and I can honestly say NO. I was astounded about the secrets that I learned from Brandon because I have been selling on eBay since 1999.

The only question I have is how Brandon manages his various weekly auctions. I would have preferred an in-depth study on how he accomplishes this very involved task.

If you are interested in growing an eBay business, this is the comprehensive course you should have. I give it my highest rating. For more information on this subject please visit: ebay-insidersecrets.com.

Copyright © 2006 Mary Hanna All Rights Reserved.

This article may be distributed freely on your website and in your ezines, as long as this entire article, copyright notice, links and the resource box are unchanged.

About the author: About the Author Mary Hanna writes eBooks, Software Reviews (for people who are technically challenged like her) and Practical Articles on Internet Marketing, Cruising, Gardening and Cooking. Visit her websites at: http://www.eBay-InsiderSecrets.com http://www.CruiseGold.com and http://www.ContainerGardeningSecrets.com or contact her at mary@webmarketingreviews.com

ebay and Buying Adsense Websites

Author: Tom Dean

You can get a good deal from purchasing an adsense website on ebay but...

* You should use some caution *

I have seeen the same exact design sold on ebay everyday of the week. You may get 30 or so of these sites bundled (different topics) for about $99. The 30 sites total 6,000 pages.

Similar sites are also sold daily (in multiple quantities) on ebay like ""Huge Adsense Empire - 100+ sites 16,500 Pages""

Imagine 150 of these sold and posted w/out change. 2,475,000 duplicate pages on the web.

Just look at the site for sell then check the sellers feedback from ""buyers"" - most are private listings. You will see that they may sell 1 to 3 per day!

Many new buyers purchase these and are unfamiliar with editing or adding content to a php site and get frustrated.

Now, there are some excellent sellers - sites and good deals to be found on ebay but you need to take a good look at the site and the number sold.

Also be sure the articles include the author's resource box with a live link. Many sites chop off the end of some of the articles or do not display the authors ""clickable"" link (a no no).

Check the ""page title"" at the top of your browser. A page titled ""New Page"" or ""Untitled"" is not a good sign.

Look at the source code by right clicking your mouse and choosing view source to see if there are any meta tags or keywords in the page header.

Don't confuse most of the ""ebay mill"" sites with sites you may see for sell that have limited numbers like 25 - are made with private or original articles & have support forums or excellent instructions.

These are Great for new users who need help and they provide a way to learn about the site.

The ebay mill sites typically are not in the same league.

Some of the better sites that are sold on ebay are in limited numbers and include an admin panel where you can easily add your own links - and your own content before and after each article page - giving you some uniqueness. Look for these even if they cost a little bit more

Not all ebay sites are an unwise purchase - I was a power seller a few years ago & sold websites - you can find a good deal and a good site.

Just do your research. With adsense the number two search term on ebay pulse under websites for sale, sellers have really jumped on the popularity of these sites.

About the author: Tom Dean is a Work at Home Dad who runs multiple websites including The Dean Report. A site for Newbies Get Your Free Adsense Website and eBook Visit - The Dean Report

http://tomdean.net/VMN ewsletter.htm

eBay Listing Tips

Author: Jennifer Clason

Believe it or not, the success or failure of your eBay Store comes right down to your listing practices. Listing your items for sale seems like tedious work, however you must take your time and do it correctly to maximize your sales potential. By using these strategies, you will be able to get a larger audience to your eBay Auctions and the potential to gain more sales and higher ending bids!

Consider multiple auctions for spelling variations - If you have multiple quantities of the same items for sale, consider having two or more listings with different spelling variations of the product in the title. For instance you could either be selling ""tshirts"" or ""t-shirts"".

Include only keywords in your title - Never waste your space by including the words like ""LOOK"" or ""WOW"". No one searches for those terms and you are just using up space instead of your valuable search phrases. Make sure you keep your title using the major searchable keyword phrases only.

Include keywords in your description - A lot of people search by description too so make sure you repeat your keyword phrases in your description as well. However make it easily readable and not just a bunch of random words lumped together.

Include lots of details in your description - People want to know exactly what it is you have for sale. Include ""too much"" information just to be sure, otherwise you could lose a potential bid! Even things like dimensions, wattage, color, and details like that are very important! Don't make the seller chase you down by having to ask a question, it's very frustrating to them.

Learn to use HTML or an HTML editor - Listers who lump all of their text into one paragraph sell 30% less than people who break their paragraphs up and make it more readable. Also avoid using all capital letters and just make it all around easy on the eye.

Talk to your potential bidders as a friend - These people are bidding on an item from a total stranger. Don't talk to them with ""business talk"" in the description, talk as if you were chatting with a friend. It builds up trust.

Add color and graphics - Don't go overboard with too many things that takes the listing too long to load, but adding some color and graphics will enhance the listing and make it more appealing.

By using these very simple techniques, you will have a better eBay Auction. You will get more bids, thus driving your sales higher and you will have a higher chance of success in your eBay Auction Business!

About the author: Jennifer Clason is the site owner and operator of http://www.mommyjobs.com. She has been running a full-time home-based Internet business for several years now and owns more than 10 different Internet Sales websites.

How to price your ebook on ebay for maximum profits

Author: Dan Lim

I'm sure you know it is getting more and more difficult to sell any kind of information products on ebay. Gone are the days when you could buy the resale rights from a product creator, put it on ebay and wait for the cash to roll in. It just doesn't happen anymore.

Before I go into how to price your ebook or any kind of information product on ebay, let's first examine the reasons why it is so hard to sell. In my opinion, there are two major reasons.

Reason 1 : Every man and his dog is selling the same stuff on ebay.

I'm sure you have seen this on ebay, the same product can be found selling anywhere from $50.00 to less than $1.00. 99 per cent of people selling information products on ebay are resellers, meaning they brought the resale rights from either the product creator or from other resellers.

What 90 per cent of them will do is to list the products and start pricing them as low as possible to undercut each other on pricing. This happens so much to the point where it is no longer profitable at all. The other 9 per cent of them will bunch up all the ebooks, software they could find and start selling them together. Their main selling point is you could get as many as 10,000 ebooks for a low price. The problem of course is that they will undercut each other again so much that the prices start to look really ridiculous. I meaning selling 10,000 ebooks for $1.99? To buyers, it probably means junk.

Reason 2 : Ebooks have a low perceived value than hard-cover books

Many people seems to think because ebooks are digital in nature, therefore should be priced lower compared to hard-cover books. In fact, many people I know thinks ebooks should be free! Well, there's nothing much you can do about it anyway. However there are some ways to tackle this problem as I will discuss later. Read on.

Now that we have determined the two main reasons why ebooks do not sell, here are a couple of my tips that will boost the price of your ebooks.

Tip 1 : Jack up the price of your ebook

I know this may sound like crazy but people do perceive value with price. The higher priced your ebook, the more valuable your information will be in the eyes of your prospective buyers. There is just a thing you need to take note. You need to bundle it with other good quality ebooks. The ideal is include other ebooks that you would buy as 'standalone' products. I can't emphasize this enough, when you jack up your price, make sure the information is of high quality or you'll get tons of refund requests.

Tip 2 : Pack them into theme packages

More likely than not, you probably have other products that will compliment your ebook. Package them together. Write a new sales letter and bam, you will have a unique product that nobody else is selling. The idea here is to bundle them together into a theme product. For example, I'm selling an ebook on dog food. I have a software that I have resale rights called pet medical recorder that allows pet owners to record their dogs medical conditions. I also have another report that outlines how to train your dog in 7 days. I bundle them together, write a new sales letter. See how it raises the perceived value of the product.

Tip 3 : Add audio or video with it

Audio and Videos helps to increase the value of your products. There are some software and companies that will help you convert your ebook into audio either in cassette tapes or as mp3 files. Do make sure you have the rights to convert it into audio first. What I usually do is to make a video of the product I am selling. For example, if I am selling a pet medical recorder software, I could make a series of videos explaining how to use it.Sort of like a video FAQ.

If you implement the above tips I have mentioned, you will have a unique product to call your own and can demand higher prices for your products.

About the author: Dan Lim is an avid ebay fanatic who has been quietly earning a comfortable living online. For more ebay selling secrets and strategies, visit bestnzb.com

Sunday, May 28, 2006

The Marketing of Affiliate Success: eBay - ezine Advertising Coops

Author: BW Griggs

Introduction & Boilerplate

What does it take to successfully market a software product using only the Internet? This is the question I was faced with in January 2005. I had just completed development of my Affiliate Success: eBay software and now all I needed was a couple of thousand sales I would be happy. I quickly realized that developing my software was just the first step. I knew this all along but I had not really put any energy into marketing while building my product.

As I began researching various marketing avenues I made the decision to share my marketing trials and tribulations with the world. The decision to do this was driven in no small part by a discussion I had with a certain super-affiliate who shall remain nameless at this point in time. Every series needs a little mystery and intrigue right? There are tons of books about emarketing and some even provide real-world examples but wouldn't it be fun to actually come along for the ride? To learn as I learn? To see the real deal, blemishes and all? And so, the series The Marketing of Affiliate Success: eBay was born.

Each installment is this series will be posted on my website as well as on several article directories, and will also be available via newsletter subscription. Each installment will focus on a specific marketing channel or approach. A few examples: marketing using ezine ad coops, marketing using Adwords, joint ventures, forum marketing, and website advertising, and niche newsletter advertising.

The Marketing of Affiliate Success: eBay - ezine Advertising Coops

This first installment of The Marketing of Affiliate Success: eBay is concerned with ezine advertising coops. At some point while searching for advertising opportunities I ran across a website that offered advertising within an ezine ad coop. The focus of the ad coop was home business related - a perfect fit for my product. My original plan was to do some focused ezine advertising but when I discovered I could have my ad placed in dozens of ezines I figured this would be a great deal. I must admit I was slightly suspicious when I noticed that they required me to subscribe to each newsletter but after another hour of research it was clear that all ezine ad coops had this requirement. Well, I thought, it does make sense that I should be a subscriber since then I will be able to verify that they actually run my ad.

The Concept Behind the Ezine Advertising Coop

The general idea behind an ezine advertising cooperative depends on your perspective. For ezine publishers, membership in an advertising cooperative is a great way to build their newsletter membership. Remember, in order to run the ad I had to become a subscriber to a bunch of ezines. The more subscribers a newsletter has, the larger the potential financial return on marketing activity and these guys are all about marketing.

From the advertiser's perspective, the value proposition is that for a minimal cost the advertiser can get his message in front of hundreds of thousands or even millions of people. Ideally, the coop will be focused on a niche that the advertiser's product fits into but this doesn't always have to be the case. Bottom line - the cost per pair of eyeballs appears to be very, very low.

My Campaign Begins

The sum required was minor - around $30. Not a big deal considering my ad would run in dozens of ezines with a total combined readership of well over one million people. So, although I was suspicious of the subscribing requirement, I figured I couldn't lose on the deal. Look, I thought, if only one person purchases my software I have paid for the ad and put $70 in the bank (before taxes.) It seemed to be a very favorable value proposition.

So, in a great flurry of activity I created an ad, revised it, threw it out, and created another! I worked feverishly to perfect my ad. Night became day, day became night and finally, I was done. Here is what I ran -

I Made $29,000 Last Year On Just One Of My Websites. So Can You! I will show you how you can make thousands of dollars on your website using my software and one of the leading affiliate programs on the net today. One guy calls my software ""Adsense on Steroids!"" without the Adsense! No website? Build a 27,000 page website instantly. http://www.shrubsoft.com/ase-ez1.php

I will grant that it's a little cheesy but those $$ titles really pull clicks. My thinking was that since the ad cost was limited to my initial outlay, I could afford to pull all potential traffic - even unqualified traffic. My reasoning behind such a generic ad approach was that I felt it would be very challenging to pull any traffic if my ad referenced eBay Web Services and PHP. These words and concepts are alien to many people. I planned to use my sales letter to convert people with little technical sophistication. My approach and my ad copy was different when I entered the world of pay-per-click but that is the topic of another installment.

Next, I went to the website that offered the ezine ad coop service, filled out the form, and PayPal transferred the cash to the owner of the coop. I quickly received a response from my new ad agency and it had some very interesting information contained within it. I had to subscribe myself to over a dozen of the ezines. But it wasn't simple. Yahoo Groups hosted one ezine, several required I send emails to listserv machines, and in several cases I had to go to websites and fill out a form.

Ezine Ad Coop Campaigns Are Hard Work

One hour later I was regretting my decision to forego the slightly more expensive option of advertising without the need to become a subscriber to all those newsletters, but that was only the beginning of my regrets. I next had to confirm my subscription to various newsletters - double opt-in and all that. One of the ezines actually had me wade through 15 pages of surveys and ""would you be interested in this offer"" pages before finally confirming my subscription. I then found that the ezine had been dormant for seven months!

Finally, after confirming that I was successfully subscribed to all the ezines, I sat back and let out a sigh of relief. In the coming days about half of the ezine owners sent me notes informing me when my ad would run. The ad runs were spread across the next six weeks.

Am I The Advertiser?

With the ezine ad coop business behind me, I returned to my marketing research with the revised thought that if only two sales resulted from the goat rodeo I had experienced I would be satisfied. Within a few days the newsletters started arriving, and not just newsletters but plenty of highly valued and very important solo ads that were filled with text like this:

F.ree mo.ney for you. No effort required. Easiest MLM pro.gram ever!

They have to insert those periods or the SPAM filters will flag the messages every time. Why? Because the message is SPAM! Okay, I understand that SPAM filters are sensitive and sometimes you need to insert a period or two to lower the SPAM Assassin score of your broadcast message but these solo ads had a punctuation density so high that the messages approach being unreadable; I began to think I was reading Morse code.

For the uninitiated, a solo ad is an advertisement that is sent in a single email without other newsletter content to subscribers of a newsletter. Generally this would be considered SPAM but the subscriber agreement you accept for these types of ezines contain language stating that you agree to receive such communications. I like to call it opt-in SPAM.

It continued like that for six long weeks. They were easily six of the most painful weeks I have ever lived. It was interesting to note that many of the ezines were not delivered via email. The list owner would instead simply send a broadcast message informing me that the newsletter could be viewed on their website. Interesting thing though, the solo ads were delivered directly into *my* mailbox.

eZine Advertising Coop Campaign Results

The result of my ezine advertising campaign was 89 referrals from various newsletters in the cooperative to my ezine destination URL. I know because I created a specific URL with redirection code so I could track the click-through performance of the campaign. While I have no way of tracking each individual source since some newsletters were delivered via email, I did know the aggregate results and 89 click-throughs was not the level of success I had expected. More importantly, 89 click-throughs and zero sales.

The campaign was an unmitigated disaster. Of course the deck was stacked against me from the start. I quickly noticed that 95% of the ezine publishers had dozens of ads in each newsletter issue. There was generally a top, middle, and bottom sponsor ad and these ads were generally demarcated very well and they probably received decent response too but they were for ""their"" advertisers. I generally found my ad near the bottom of their newsletters in a special section for the ad coop. In many cases, the newsletter belonged to multiple ad coops so there might be 40 ads and five coop sections in each issue! The slickest trick I found was the publisher that actually had a special edition of his newsletter filled with ads. Yes, filled with ads. Sure he also threw in a syndicated article that he grabbed from one of the article sites but it was rather clear that his normal readers ignored the ""special edition"" of his newsletter each week. I know I would. If Adsense has taught us anything it's that ads are most effective when they are integrated into the text on a page. These guys segregate ads so their subscribers don't need to bother ignoring them within the main body of their newsletters.

Worse though was the quality of many of the ezines. The only original authorship in some of these ezines was the editorial and by the time I made it two or three sentences into that it became obvious why! If you believe we live in the age of universal literacy you are wrong. It wasn't all bad though. Several of the newsletters actually provided some decent content but more often than not content came in the form of articles culled from the article sites. I don't have a problem with article sites but I expect a newsletter to provide significant original value.

Lessons Learned

I did learn some things though. I know that a HYIP (High Yield Investment Program) is a really cool way to turn $10 into $20. I found that I really needed an e-gold account if I wanted to achieve financial freedom. I learned that the government *doesn't* want me to know about the secret banking system, that my money was not at risk even though they didn't have FDIC insurance, and that I could truly take part in a risk-free investment that would double my money and pay me interest every single hour of the day. I learned that people apparently fall for this crap.

I learned that I could buy ""make money at home"" leads by the thousands, import them into my autoresponder, and then SPAM these leads. Apparently it's okay though because the nice folks on the list I have purchased filled out a survey and expressed an interest in making money from home. I learned that people just don't understand what double opt-in means.

But most important of all, I learned that ezine ad coops exist for one reason only - to dupe people into joining a bunch of marginal ezines so they can market their crap to you. I discovered that the insult is that much more powerful because I gave them $30 for the privilege of being assaulted day after day with SPAM in the form of solo ads and substandard newsletter content. I suppose if you need to market your new HYIP, sell some red hot ""work at home"" leads, or push your latest get-rich-quick scheme you will find kindred souls in some of the ezine ad cooperatives operating today but if you need to market a legitimate, quality product you should look elsewhere.

Final Conclusion

If you want to advertise in ezines, locate ezines in your niche, subscribe, and once you are sure that they publish to high standards, toss them a couple of bucks. Ask the publisher what his subscriber count is. Inquire as to click-through rates on previous ads. You also need to insure you know where your ad will be published within the newsletter and when it will be published.

Don't bother with ezine ad coops especially when their home page feels like a trip back to 1999.

Rest assured, most installments in this article series will be informative *and* upbeat. This ezine ad coop episode represents an ugly departure from what is generally proving to be an exciting, profitable, and informative learning experience. And please don't misunderstand my message. I obviously did not work with *every* ezine ad coop so I can't with conviction say that they all operate in this way or that they are all comprised of solo ad slinging, no original content newsletters.

About the author: BW Griggs is a software developer and active affiliate. He is the author of Affiliate Success: eBay, a nifty piece of software that takes advantage of eBay Web Services.

Learn more about Affiliate Success: eBay here: http://www.shrubsoft.com/ase-details.php

Read new articles in this series here: http://www.shrubsoft.com/blog/published-essays/

Ebay Ebook Success Tips: Avoid Spoof Emails!!!

Author: Tom Parker

One of the things I have noticed as I have increased my sales volume on eBay is the increased volume of spoof emails I have received claiming to be eBay or PayPal. They do this to try and gain access to your eBay or PayPal account, and sometimes even to try and get your bank details. I therefore felt that my next article should be on spotting and avoiding spoof email as it will surely be a problem that all you ebook sellers are going to have to deal with too.

Spotting spoof email can initially be quite tricky. After all the address appears to be a PayPal or eBay one and the often use eBay and PayPal graphics to make the emails look even more authentic. However, once you have had a reasonable amount of spoof email come your way, you soon realise that they all generally stick to the same format. Below are some of the most common spoof emails.

1) Ebay / PayPal Account Suspension:- These claim that your account will be suspended by a certain date if you do not take action. Some look more genuine than others. They ask you to click a link which directs you to a false eBay login screen where the spoof company then tries to steal your eBay Username and Password. These are relatively easy to spot because you are unlikely to receive an email on this subject from eBay or PayPal unless you have committed a serious violation of policy. Even if you believe you have been suspended it's always best to be safe and logon to eBay manually through your internet browser.

2) Ebay / PayPal Unauthorised Access:- These claim that someone has been making attempts to access your account from another IP address. Some even give false IP addresses and locations from where your eBay account was apparently accessed. These are obvious spoof emails because the fact that you have accessed your account from a different IP address does not constitute someone else trying to access your account. It could simply be you accessing your account from a different computer.

3) Unpaid Item Reminder:- These send you an unpaid item reminder for an item you haven't even purchased. For example a few days ago I received one for a $2000 camera. Surely I wouldn't forget if I had purchased an item like that. If you click on the links in this email you are directed to a false eBay page which tries to steal your eBay Username and Password.

4) Question about Ebay Item:- These are one of the trickier spoof emails as it is likely that you do receive questions about the item. Some even have an eBay ID link embedded in the email so that they look more authentic. However, most of the spoof emails do not state which eBay item the query concerns. Furthermore, the questions often do not make much sense and include phrases such as ""How much is your last item?"" The best way to make sure you do not get caught out is to log into eBay manually and then answer the question through my messages.

5) PayPal payment Sent:- These spoof emails again look a little more genuine. They claim that an unauthorised PayPal attempt has been sent. I received one today saying that I had sent $400 without my knowledge. They then have a link saying if you did not authorise this payment ""Click Here"" which then leads you to a spoof PayPal page where they try to get your User ID and Password. However, when you make a genuine PayPal payment they do not usually mention anything about it being unauthorised. If they did suspect it to be unauthorised they would probably just hold the payment.

6) Ebay PowerSeller Confirmation:- I received a couple of these before I actually was made a PowerSeller. They do look genuine but instead of directing you to eBay to enter your Username and Password you are directed to a spoof website. The best way to make sure the email is genuine is to go to the eBay PowerSeller page and login at http://pages.ebay.co.uk/services/buyandsell/powersellers.html. If the email is genuine you will be recognised as a PowerSeller here. If you are not then you know the email is spoof.

Beware that this is only some of the spoof email subjects you may receive. The people who write them will always be thinking of new ways to steal your ID and Password and as a result new spoof emails are surfacing all the time. Below is a list of the common things to look for in emails to identify them as spoof.

1) Ebay ID / PayPal Name:- If the email addresses your either by your eBay User ID or your actual name it is much more likely to be genuine. Most spoof emails simply address you as the email address to which the email has been sent. For example a genuine email from eBay is likely to say ""Congratulations ebookcavern..."" whereas a spoof email is likely to say ""Congratulations sales@theebookcavern.co.uk...""

2) From Email Address:- Although this is not a dead certain way of identifying spoof email on some it is noticeable. The spoof emails will claim to be from eBay or PayPal and in a large majority of them when you check this out the email address looks genuine. However, some of the from email addresses do not look so genuine. For example I recently received a spoof email claiming to be from the PayPal address: service@paypal.comservicepaypal.com which made it pretty clear that this email was spoof.

3) Excessive use of eBay / PayPal images:- Many of the spoof emails in an attempt to look genuine use eBay or PayPal images in the email. However, some use excessive amounts of these and when compared to a normal email from eBay or PayPal and so can be easily identified by this.

4) The Hyperlink:- This is the link that the email is trying to get you to click on. It is also the best way of identifying whether the email is spoof or not. If you scroll over the link or right-click and view the properties you should find out what the actual link is. If this link is not part of a PayPal or eBay domain then you can be sure it is spoof.

If you identify an email as spoof using the above criteria then you must not click on any of the links inside it. If it is an eBay spoof email forward it to spoof@ebay.co.uk and if it is a PayPal spoof email forward it to spoof@paypal.com and then delete it. Remember it is always better to be safe then sorry so take precautions such as logging into eBay and PayPal manually through your internet browser and regularly changing your password. You can also read eBay's guide to spoof email at http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/confidence/isgw-account-theft-spoof. html Stay safe and Good Luck!!!

About the author: Tom Parker (Owner and Creator of The Ebook Cavern) http://stores.ebay.co.uk/theebookcavern http://www.theebookcavern.co.uk/ http://www.theebookcavernreviews.co.uk/

Feel free to use any of my articles on this website but if you do please include my signature (name and website) from above.

Seven Ways to Make Your eBay Auction Fail

Author: Pamela Bruce

I don't know how many books there are by now that propose to tell you how to succeed on eBay, how to make lots of money on eBay, or how to become a millionaire through eBay. Here are a few of my tips on how not to make money with an eBay auction:

1. Use irrelevant titles. I have actually seen eBay auctions with titles such as ""This is nice"" and the infamous ""L@@k"". I am sure that many people are going to search for such a title! It is inconceivable that something like ""Vintage garden sundial, copper, 1930s"" might lead more potential buyers to your auction.

2. Use ALL CAPS, ALL THE TIME . Everyone likes the equivalent of being shouted at, and long texts in ALL CAPS are so easy to read, aren't they?

3. Show your educashion . Nothing attracts buyers like spelling errors and grammatical goofs. If you really want to impress customers, misspell the name of the item (""Dell latpop for sale"" ""Rare silver doller"").

4. Skimp on your descriptions . Why should you tell the buyer the size, age or specific condition of the item? All those details would just confuse people...

5. Forget Feedback . I am certain that eBay buyers will just flock to your auction for a $3,000 diamond ring, even though you have zero feedback. Some people may slowly build up their feedback by buying and selling before offering expensive items, but who can be bothered?

6. Harsh words sell . Of course every buyer loves terms of sale that contain such phrases as ""Absolutely no returns"" or ""Don't bother me with complaints""!

7. Seeing is believing . Naturally, people love out-of-focus pictures of your items, particularly when photographed against the background of a dark shag carpet. Who cares about the details of that diamond ring - they are going to trust youArticle Submission, arent't they?

About the author: Pamela Bruce lives in Austin, TX. She is the owner of Love Beads Unlimited and sells the sterling silver and Swarovski crystal bead jewelry she designs and creates both in her eBay store (http://stores.ebay.com/LOVE-BEADS-UNLIMITED) and on her website at http://www.lovebeadsunlimited.com, where you can also download the free e-book ""A Consumer's Guide to Buying Bead Jewelry Online"".

Make Money Selling Information Products On eBay

Author: Jason James

At some point, you bumped into a virtual item auction on ebay, where the seller was exchanging a downloadable product for cash. You probably wondered why the seller was offering the product for such a low price--and you probably also wondered how he was making money.

There are two answers to this question: the first answer is that the seller had no idea what he was doing and, in fact, wasn't making any money on ebay.

The second answer is that the seller was highly-experienced and was making hundreds of dollars each day, even though his auctions were only showing one-dollar sales.

This sounds totally bizarre, especially if you haven't sold information before, but it is absolutely true: there is a fortune in selling information--especially on the Internet.

Now, in the case of the ebay seller I mentioned above, she was probably using information products as a ""loss leader"" to make back-end sales. She might sell 10 copies of an ebook for $1 each and might end up being $2 in the red at the end of the day after paying seller's fees.

But she knows this--and this is okay because she now has 10 highly-qualified prospects for whatever product she is using her ebook to sell. If her ebook is about teaching people how to make money selling on the Internet, she might list purchasing a domain name and hosting as one of the steps the buyer must take. To the buyer, this may seem innocent enough; however, when he follows her plan and purchases the hosting and domain name as directed, she will earn a commission on the domain name registration and a recurring commission on the hosting for as long as his Internet business sticks around.

If you want to try this system out, you can search google for ""re-brandable"" ebooks with ""resale rights."" You can also search ebay for similar products. A number of people make money on ebay selling these ebooks.

If the rights permit, you can purchase the product and then sell it as a downloadable product on ebay.

If you want to maximize the effectiveness of this strategy, you should keep prices very low. Your goal should be to use ebay as a medium to disseminate the book for free or for a very low price. Unless you are selling a book that contains no back-end sales mechanisms and no affiliate links, your goal should be to sell a powerful system (contained within the book) to a customer who will use it successfully to make money--and, in turn, earn you a residual income by sticking to a system that earns you money. Want to Learn How to Sell on eBay? Click Here: http://Auctionresource.Opportunity.com

About the author: Jason James is a 10 year Internet marketing veteran and an eBay Power Seller of 4 years. His proven step-by-step system shows even users with no business experience how they can make huge profits selling products at online auctions. Claim Your Free eBook: ""Top 10 eBay Secrets for Successful Selling"" below: http://Auctionresourcenetwork.Opportunity.com

How To Gain An Unfair-Advantage On eBay

Author: Mark Flavin

Have you heard about eBay? It has been the greatest shopping mall which started off in 1995 for an intention of being a hobby by Pierre M. Omidyar which now, has been the place for creating auctions by millions and millions of sellers every day.

Having thousands and thousands of competitors in your auctions, how do you stand out and make people choose to buy from you instead of the others? Easy, offer a Targeted free informational product, which leads to, an e-book.

That's all you have to do, offering a free e-book in your auctions that is highly complimentary to your product. This will cause high interest to your potential bidders. People are craving for information every day, that's how e-books became one of the most popular product for sale on the Internet.

So why does this work so well? When you offer a highly targeted or connected bonus, sometimes even valued Higher than what you sell, how could the potential bidders not take it up? They've looked at other auctions in your category - sometimes even selling exact products, but only yours offer this unique informational product that comes along with their purchase. People even sometimes claim that they purchase an auction not for the main product, but the bonus that comes along.

That's eBay, small little things can distinguish between a sale or not. How much does an informational bonus costs anyway? None, it's free, you can send as many as you want, anytime, anywhere you are.

How does it work?

Every time when you list your auction, simply have a note some where visible, at the top of your auction or below as long as you catch your visitors' eyes when they visit your auction. Let's take an auction which sells gardening tools for example. A short one like, ""**Important - All buyers of my product will also receive an e-book on How To Plant An Apple Tree. This sells on my website at $12, but it comes with your purchase for Free.""

Gardening tools are cheap, and with this boost it'll cause a high increase of response. This is a unique selling tip and it doesn't matter what you're selling, one simple technique can shift your business from below right up to the top.

So where can you find these e-books you can legally offer as part of your auction? Of course, you can't simply purchase an e-book you liked and offer it as a bonus, you need to get e-books with resell rights. Still, make sure it's targeted and somehow goes with the auction you have, it's the most important thing.

What are Resell Rights? They are products with rights that can be purchased by people so they can sell the same product as well without being called stealing. It is similar to buying Tagheuer, Nike or Adidas watches and selling them in your own shop. You have the rights to selling it as you've purchased the rights for them. For digital products such as e-books or software, you can duplicate as many of them for being sold/downloaded so it's a great deal.

Other than offering the free bonus to only the successful bidders, offer the other bidders as well with the condition that they opt-in to your subscriber list. In any ways, do it politely! You'll be having an unfair advantage than your other competitors simply by giving and receiving.

About the author: Mark Flavin Is An Expert On Making Money Online & All Work From Home Topics. Find Out How Mark Makes His Living Online At http://markflavin.com/index.html

Saturday, May 27, 2006

Use Your Ebay Store To Double Your Sales

Author: Ali

If you don't have an eBay store you could be losing money big time.

Why?

When eBay stores first came out they were a flop. They actually wanted you to pay big time listing fees to put items in your store for up to 30 days but store items don't appear in the regular eBay searches.

Because eBay stores were not doing that well eBay added ""Good Till Canceled"" listings. The listing fees are only 5 cents every 30 days which is a total bargain. But the big problem again is eBay store items don't appear in regular searches.

So how can you still make money?

Simple, list a ""Good Till Canceled"" item and then PROMOTE it using you regular eBay auctions. Put a section at the bottom of your auctions with ""mini ads"" directly linked to your eBay store items.

You are not breaking any rules because you are linking to your own eBay auction which is allowed. Because eBay stores items are so much cheaper to list, it's an excellent way generate higher profits.

There are three different store subscriptions for an eBay store; eBay Basic, Featured, and Anchor, in order of price. Of course, you would want to start out with the Basic Store ($15.95 p/month) rather than Anchor ($499.95 p/month), but you might want to upgrade to the Featured option ($49.95 p/month). With a featured store, you get $30 of free eBay keywords every month, meaning that you can place your listing at the top of the page for the keywords you choose. This means, more exposure, and can also significantly increase your store sales.

Owning an eBay store will not only bring you more sales, but it'll cost you less by using it in the long run. These are just some of the many advantages of owning an eBay store. Once you own one, you'll wonder why you didn't go for it sooner.

Try this method out. It could make you a lot of money.

About the author: If you would like to find out the 7 dirty tricks eBay doesn't want you to know, which will help you tremendously in your ebay selling , check out http://www.i4unow. com/ebay/articles.asp today

Avoid These eBay Mistakes and Make More Sales

Author: Daniel MacDougall

When Marie and I first started selling on eBay we made some very common mistakes. Experience has taught us a few things.

Many first time sellers have one thing in common - they often fail. Many of them fail time and time again, never understanding what is going wrong. They do hours of research looking for the perfect item to sell, get the auction set up, and wait for the bidding to begin. Hours go by and no bids are placed. Days go by, and there are still no bids - or there are very low bids. Finally the auction ends, and it turns out to be a total failure. Considering the huge number of sellers who run eBay auctions, there are specific things you must do, and specific things you must not do if you are to be successful.

There are many reasons why auctions fail. The most common reason is that the item is not in high demand. This problem can be avoided by doing the necessary research to determine which items sell well, and which items should be avoided. This research takes a great deal of time - but in the end, you will find that it is time well spent.

Another reason for eBay failure is pricing. If you set that opening bid too high, most people won't even click the link to read the description for your item. Another pricing problem is lack of research. Before you set your reserve price, you must determine what the item is really worth, and the price similar items have sold for in past eBay auctions.

Poorly written descriptions are another cause of failed auctions. Poor grammar and misspelled words drive people away. Failing to post a picture of the item will also keep people from visiting your auction page. Make sure that your description is well written. This is essentially your 'sales copy.'

Shipping prices scare people away from auctions if they are too high. Find the lowest shipping prices that you can find, and consider paying for the shipping yourself if it won't cut into your profits too much. Do not charge handling fees.

Offer great 'customer service' for all of your auctions, and ask your buyers to give you feedback. If the items that you sell are everything that you said they would be, and you offer great customer service, you can expect wonderful feedback - and this feedback will help a great deal in your future auctions.

About the author: Daniel MacDougall is an writer, speaker, and artist. He and partner Marie, make their living online. http://earnmoneywithauctions.com . Go to http://attracting-wealth.com and learn more about how you can have all the wealth and abundance you desire in life. Free newsletter available.

Start your own profitable ebay business TODAY!

Author: shane

** Start your own highly profitable eBay business! ** ANYONE can start a home business selling everyday items on eBay and earn up to $100,000+ or MORE the first year!

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Insider secrets of an Ebay millionaire

About the author: None

Selling Problems on eBay and Their Solutions

Author: Nicky Pilkington

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

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

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

The user's recourse...information and meticulous care in dealing on eBay. Only then can he be less vulnerable to the scammer.

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

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

Fake Escrow Services

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

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

Victims of such find it difficult to reclaim their items. They may, however, appeal to the legal means afforded by the state they live in. They must also contact eBay regarding the matter for any assistance they may offer at that juncture.

Deadbeat Bidders

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

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

Trade Dispute

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

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

Prevention is Better than Cure

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

About the author: Find out more about ebay and online auctions at http://auctionhelper.info

Finding a Good eBay Seller and How to Spot the Bad Ones

Author: George Peirson

EBay is possibly the largest online market place, with millions of transactions happening every day. You can find just about anything imaginable on eBay, from that toy you remember fondly from your childhood, to cars and houses. But along with this huge selection and resource there are dangers as well.

The core of the eBay experience is the auction concept where individual Sellers put items up for sale and Buyers can then bid on these items. Here in lies the danger. Who are these Sellers? Can you trust them? Will they send you your item after you have sent your payment? Will they supply customer service after the sale in case something goes wrong?

Many times you will have nothing to go on and you will have to place your trust in the eBay Seller. This is especially true of new Sellers and Sellers who only sell a few items and never build up a track record. But there are several ways that you can get a sense of the Seller before you bid on an item, especially from Sellers who have been on eBay a while or who sell a large number of items.

EBay has some useful tools to help you qualify the Seller ahead of time. The first and most valuable of these is the eBay Feedback system. Whenever a transaction is made on eBay both the Buyer and Seller have the opportunity to leave a short comment about the transaction. EBay calls these ""Feedbacks."" The feedback can be labeled as Positive, Neutral, or Negative. Then a comment of about 80 characters can be left to further describe the purchase experience.

Mostly these feedback comments will praise fast shipping or the successful completion of the purchase. You can usually ignore these comments as they are either automatically placed (using an eBay option) or they are not carefully thought out. But if you look through the feedback comments you should see more specific feedbacks. These can be product reviews after a product has been tried, or they can be complaints.

The most important feedbacks to look for are negative feedbacks. These are easy to spot. First find the feedback page for the Seller you are investigating. Find the Seller name in the auction you are looking at. You will find this in an information box labeled ""Seller Information"" located in the upper right corner of the auction. Here you will find the Seller's eBay name, the feedback rating of the Seller and the Seller's Positive Feedback percentage. If your Seller has a 100% Positive Feedback rating, congratulations, you have found a Good eBay Seller!

If the Positive Feedback rating is less than 100% you should take a look at the actual Feedback Page. Next to the Seller's name you will find a number. Click on this number to go to the Seller's Feedback page. Once you are here take a look at the Recent Ratings box. This will give you a summary for the last month, the past 6 months and the past year. Look for Negative and Neutral Feedbacks. If there are only one or two Negative Feedbacks listed and the Seller has a lot of Positive Feedbacks it could be an isolated problem. But if the seller has more than 10 Negative Feedbacks during the past year, or more than 2 Negative Feedbacks in the past month you should look further.

Next look at the Feedbacks Received section, here is where you will find the actual comments left by the Buyers. Look through this list to find the Negative and Neutral feedbacks and read the Buyer comments. This will allow you to quickly judge the quality of this Seller.

The next thing to look for is the eBay Power Seller logo. This is a logo that eBay awards to sellers who maintain a certain level of sales per month and who also maintain a feedback rating of 98% or more. So a Power Seller will be a Seller who sells consistently on eBay and who keeps their customers happy. It goes without saying that a Seller with a 100% feedback rating and a large number of sales will also be an eBay Power Seller.

Another thing to watch out for is a recent eBay name change or a new eBay seller with little or no track record. In the Seller Information box in the Auction you will see a line stating how long this Seller has been an eBay member. The longer they have been a member of eBay the better, especially if they have a high Feedback Rating. This will tell you that they have not only kept their customers happy, but they have done so for a long time.

Be wary of new sellers, and be very wary of Sellers who have recently changed their eBay name. The easiest way for a Seller to get rid of a large number of negative feedbacks is to change their name. New name, no feedbacks. For the first 30 days of a name change eBay will put a note next to the new name letting you know that the name has been changed. After 30 days you will not be able to tell.

Finally, one of the best ways to judge a Seller is to ask the Seller a question. Good Sellers will answer questions quickly and completely. Bad Sellers will usually take a long time to answer or ignore your question all together. In the same Seller Information box you will find a link to ""Ask the Seller a Question."" Simply click on this link and fill in the simple form. EBay will send the Seller an email with your question. Make sure that your question is specific enough to get a sense of how the Seller will treat you as a customer. If they are good they will answer you back quickly and fully.

EBay is a great market place and one of the most enjoyable places to shop online, but you do have to be careful.

* Look for Negative Feedbacks and be sure to read through them to see what the problems were. * Look for the Power Seller Logo. * Watch out for new Sellers and stay away from Sellers who have recently changed their eBay name. * Ask the Seller a question. There is nothing like communicating directly with a Seller to set your mind at ease, or to convince you to look elsewhere.

There is no guarantee that you will find the perfect seller, but by using these recommended steps you will greatly improve your chances for a painless and enjoyable eBay experience.

About the author: George Peirson is President of How To Gurus and is an eBay Power Seller with a 100% Positive Feedback Rating. He is the author of over 30 multimedia based tutorial training titles. To see training and other articles by George Peirson visit http://www.howtogurus.com Article copyright 2006 George Peirson

Friday, May 26, 2006

How To Find Top-Selling eBay Items

Author: Jason James

Unless you are willing to pay for software that finds top-selling ebay items, you will have to conduct your own research by hand. Luckily for you, there is a simple method you can use to perform market research for ebay.

If you are already selling on ebay, you probably have a general idea of what you want to sell. For instance, you might know you want to sell collectibles, jewelry, or consumer electronics. However, what you might not know is what you want to sell within those categories or what you should be selling within those categories to maximize your profits per sale.

Your goal should be to select products that have both a high demand (high search popularity) and a low supply (number and quality of sellers). In business, this is generally referred to as a ""niche."" If you want to maximize your profits, you should search out a number of niches within your ebay selling sub-category.

You can start this process by going to http://category-keyword.ebay.com/all_categories.html and clicking your current selling category and then sub- category. Drill down and build a list as you go of potential niches by recording the ""commonly searched words"" for each level.

Continue to drill down until you have the ebay search results for a given niche. For instance, if you continue to drill down for jewelry, you can eventually get results for ""white gold rings"" or ""sapphire gold rings."" Spend some time analyzing the raw amount of results (i.e. 4300 results for ""white gold rings"") you get for a given keyphrase, the quality of the sellers within the niche, and the prevailing market rates within the niche.

If supply is low and demand is high for that given ebay selling niche, prices will be inordinately high, allowing you to maintain high profit margins until your niche fills out with more sellers.

In order to assure consistent profits, you should select a number of profitable ebay selling niches and sell within each. When you pick a good niche, your sales will reflect it: your merchandise will move fast and you will consistently sell over the ebay market values.

If you find a good niche, but do not have sufficient stock to sell within that niche, you can simply find a dropshipper or an affiliate program to do all of the work for you. You can sign up at places like www.cj.com, www.linkshare.com, and http://www.megagoods.com for free and immediately start selling items as an affiliate.

About the author: Jason James is a 10 year Internet marketing veteran and an eBay Power Seller of 4 years. His proven step-by-step system shows even users with no business experience how they can make huge profits selling products at online auctions. Claim Your Free eBook: ""Top 10 eBay Secrets for Successful Selling"" below: http://Auctionresource.Opportunity.com

The Secret to eBay Store Success

Author: Jason James

If you care to take the time to look, there is more advice out there on the Internet about how to be successful with your Ebay store than you could ever possibly read in a lifetime. Ebay itself offers plenty of advice for newcomers to the world of online auctions that can be quite useful. But at the end of the day everything will really boil down to just one thing: excellent customer service.

Living and Dying by Reputation

When you are first starting out in any business it is absolutely vital to generate positive feedback from customers. This not only helps you get their business in the future, but it also helps generate word of mouth advertising about your company. An Ebay business is definitely no exception to this rule.

A company offering the absolute cheapest product or service possible will still die if it treats customers poorly. Although you cannot please every single person that uses your Ebay store to buy something, it is definitely possible to keep the vast majority pleased with the services you provide.

Accurate Descriptions

Since the customer cannot physically touch or see the actual item you are trying to sell at your Ebay store, descriptions are absolutely critical. Misrepresenting an item may yield you a few dollars more on the winning bid but the negative feedback can absolutely destroy your reputation and any chances of true success using online auctions to make a living.

Also, you want to write your descriptions so that you anticipate most questions a customer may have about the item. You still have to respond to customer questions as soon as possible but you certainly don't want to be bogged down all day shooting e-mails back to people. Try to think of all the questions a customer might have before writing your description so you can write it so that almost all of these questions are answered in the description itself.

Clear Photos

Never be tempted to use trickery or odd angles to misrepresent your item with a photo. Again, negative feedback kills more Ebay business owners and their dreams than you would ever believe. Look carefully at the picture you plan to post with your listing and ask yourself if it accurately represents what you are selling. If it does not, take another picture that does.

Transactions

It can honestly be intimidating for customers to use the Internet to buy the things they want and Ebay auctions can be even scarier. People want to believe that they are buying from a reputable and honest seller who is professional in every respect. You send this very message by making the transaction as convenient as possible.

All of your terms should be clearly listed up front so that there is no chance for confusion. Inform customers about your shipping charges and consider including the Ebay calculator in your listing so that they can figure them out themselves and cut down on questions that you will have to respond to.

Be certain to include your return and warranty policies so that you did everything possible to inform the customer of precisely what they are getting should they decide to buy from you. You may want to consider making an occasional exception to your policies in the interest of avoiding negative feedback, but that is something you, as owner of your Ebay store, have to decide on a case by case basis.

Include as many payment options as you can reasonably accommodate. Fewer options generally means few bids and less profitable online auctions for your Ebay store.

By following these simple guidelines and being sure to make the customer feel as special as possible, you will build a great reputation on Ebay. In the end, this will help grow your Ebay business and keep your business thriving.

Want to Learn How to Sell on eBay? Click Here: http://Auctionresource.Opportunity.com

About the author: Jason James is a 10 year Internet marketing veteran and an eBay Power Seller of 4 years. His proven step-by-step system shows even users with no business experience how they can make huge profits selling products at online auctions. Claim Your Free eBook: ""Top 10 eBay Secrets for Successful Selling"" below: http://Auctionresourcenetwork.Opportunity.com

How To Make Money On Ebay By Buying

Author: Dan Lim

How To Make Money On Ebay By Buying

Most people think you got to sell on ebay in order to make money. However, there are other ways to make money on ebay other than selling. One secret way is buying. What do I mean? Read on.

That secret method is called ebay arbitrage.

The term arbitrage has been around for a long time. It is a technique used in the stock market by large players who search (with powerful computers in real time) for price discrepancies from one market to another. For example if they see dealers in London trading IBM stock at 1/8th pt lower than in New York, even if it's only for a few seconds, they'll grab it at the lower price and sell it in New York where they'll make an 1/8th pt profit.

So how does that apply to Ebay?

The strategy is buying low in one central Internet market and selling in another more active market for a premium.

Ebay is a huge marketplace, and even though it's centrally located (in cyberspace) it is still a relatively 'inefficient' marketplace. There are several reasons for this : availability of detailed market information available to the participants being one, but the more common reason being the seller doesn't know a thing about the item he or she is selling

Here's where you can benefit. If you have intimate knowledge of a particular market, you probably already have a rough idea of how much an item listed on ebay is worth.

For example, I'm a IT professional who deals with computers all day long therefore it is easy for me to spot bargains relating to desktops, laptops, computer software etc.

Now, there can be many spins on this. I could simply buy the item and resell on ebay for a profit or I could buy the item and sell it locally either in my neighborhood.

Also, I could always do it the reverse way. Buying locally and then selling it on ebay or other auction sites.

By now, you probably realize in order for you to do ebay arbitrage, you need to have expert knowledge on the particular market you are interested in selling.

So do your homework, check out the discussion boards, ask your friends or consult shop owners which sells the items you want to sell. If you want to make more money on ebay, you have to do some research, there's no easy way out.

About the author: Dan Lim is an avid ebay fanatic who has been quietly earning a comfortable living online. For more ebay selling secrets and strategies, visit bestnzb.com

11 Ways To Find Products To Sell On eBay

Author: Tim Knox

I was part of an eBay Roundtable discussion recently with six other experts and we all agreed that the number one question most new (and even old) eBay sellers ask is:

""Where do I find things to sell on eBay??""

To help answer that question I have compiled 10 ways that anyone can use to find products to sell on eBay. This is by no means a definitive list and depending on your situation, some of the ways may not apply to you. However, if you're a beginner and don't know where to start, this list should help you get on track.

1. Look Around The House:

We all have items lying around the house that we no longer use or need. Have you grown or shrunk in size? If so, you have clothes you can no longer wear and can sell. Did you get a gift for Christmas or your birthday that you will never use? If so, slap it on eBay (just don't let the person who gave you the gift find out). Do your kids have toys they no longer play with? Just looking around your house and garage should give you plenty of things to get your eBay ball rolling.

2. Garage Sales and Flea Markets:

When it comes to eBay, remember this old adage: One man's junk is another man's treasure. Now this is not to say that you should sell junk on eBay. You should only sell products in good condition. The point is you can find items in good condition at garage sales and flea markets that you can pick up cheap and resell for a profit. Remember, nobody wants to buy your old Beanie Babies that no longer have eyes and noses, but they may buy ""gently used"" items if they're in good shape and offered at a good price.

3. Talk To Your Friends and Relatives:

After you've gone through your own in-house inventory, contact your friends and relatives and tell them you have started an eBay business and will sell their items for a piece of the sales price. Chances are they have as much excess stuff lying around their house as you did. Offer to list the items for them and if they sell, take half the profits. You will probably have to pay the eBay fees out of your pocket up front, but you can then deduct the eBay fees from the sales price before slicing up the pie.

4. Consignment Sales:

Consignment sales are a great way to find a wide range of products to sell on eBay. Consignment selling means that you offer to sell an item that belongs to a company. In exchange for your trouble you get a percentage of the sales price. You can charge up to 50% plus fees for smaller items like clothing, lamps, jewelry, etc. and around 15% for larger items like cars, boats, and bulldozers (yes, I said bulldozers).

Contact every business in town and offer to list their excess goods on eBay for a piece of the action. Most businesses have returned items, liquidated products, used equipment, etc. that they would love to get rid of, but don't have the time to do so. Many will see you as their hero if you can help them get rid of this merchandise and you'll make a pretty profit for your efforts. For business customers you should have them pay the eBay fees on the front end, not you.

5. Thrift Stores:

Thrift stores are an excellent place to look for things to sell online. Stores maintained by the Salvation Army and non-profit%

About the author: Tim Knox Entrepreneur, Author, Speaker Tim Knox is a nationally-known small business expert who writes and speaks frequently on the topic. For more information or to contact Tim please visit one of his sites below. http://www.dropshipwholesale.net http://www.smallbusinessqa.com http://www.timknox.com

5 Hidden Resources For eBay Users

Author: Jason James

Many thousands of people making a living both buying & selling on eBay. Currently ranked as the 37 biggest site on the net (according to Alexa figures) eBay shows no signs of slowing down, even fortune 500 companies are opening eBay shops to sell surplus & unwanted stock. The following are five resources that I use personally & encourage you to use them to increase your eBay profits with ease.

Reports show that over 90% of searches on eBay are done using the search facility. What users do not know about eBays search factility is that by default it only searches the item titles - not the descriptions of the items. Remember this fact as it will show the significance of some of the resources listed below.

1) FatFingers

How professional a seller are you? Do you check your listings before submitting them or even does someone else proof read them for you? With millions of listings on eBays networks of sites at any one time, a small proportion of these listings contain errors - & a misspelt word is about the biggest error you can make.

Imagine your selling a Sony Television for example. What if you misspell the item as Sony Televisoin. Anyone who searches for the term ""Sony Television"" simply isn't going to be presented with your item. Only those eBayers who search manually though the category will find your items. Needless to say that if people can't find your item, they're unable to bid on them.

FatFingers is a service you can use to find all misspelt variations of a term. Why would you need such a service?

Well obviously if an item has low visibility on eBay it's also likely to have zero or few bids enabling you to snap yourself up a bargain. I've known people use this service to make a full time living, purely buying items cheaply and relisting them without errors.

Details at: http://www.fatfingers.com

2) eBay Pulse

Back to the search facility eBay pulse shows you the top 10 searched keywords in every category. It's a real gem of a service, obviously by looking at the most widely used search terms you can see what eBayers are after. And if your selling in this category, by inserting some of these keywords within your title your items will be seen by more users. The only thing to watch out with this service is make sure the keywords are relevant to your item, IF NOT DON'T USE THEM. How many times have you saw listings such as ""SONY PANASONIC LG WIDESCREEN DIGITAL TELEVISION GUIDE"", - listings such as these are well thought out to earn high visibility from the way users search. Anyone searching for the items with any of the keywords will uncover your listings.

While it may lead to a high number of views, firstly fellow users will get annoyed if they find your item completely unrevealed to what they searched for, Secondly keyword spamming as it is known, is against eBay policy and will lead to your item being pulled. I use pulse daily with all my listings but make sure it's relevant to your item first.

Details at: http://pulse.ebay.com

3) Keyword-Pro

Keyword-Pro is a commercial subscription service which is similar to eBay pulse. However, the main difference is Keyword-Pro offers a much more in depth list of relevant keywords. It lists the top 50 keywords for every category for both eBay.co.uk & eBay.com. This is a great addition, especially if any of the terms found in eBay pulse are not relevant to your item.

Keyword-Pro is available as both a web service or as a small program that downloads the list onto your P.C. It's data is updated weekly to keep you informed of the latest search terms.

Details at: Trading-Web-Solutions.com/keywords

4) Selling Manager

When you first open a selling account on eBay, options listed under the sell tab of eBay are enough to get you by. However, you can upgrade to a more in depth service known as Selling Manager. As eBay describes the service ""eBay Selling Manager is our online sales management tool for medium to high volume sellers"". It allows you to track every eBay sale, customise your feedback comments, print shipping labels & much more. It saves me about four hours a week tracking orders and watching my sales.

Selling Manager is FREE on eBay.co.uk & has a small monthly charge of on eBay.com (after one a month trial free). Once I moved over to Selling Manager, there's simply no way I would go back.

Details at: Click on services once you've logged into your eBay account.

5) Hot Item Finder

Performing a market analysis is one of the most important ways to maximize your net revenue once you have listed enough auctions to collate plenty of raw data. ""Hot Item Finder"" software program is an unbelievable product to conduct this eBay research. You can extract and analyze licensed eBay data and statistics to virtually ensure your auction success by seeing what has sold, for how much, how many bids it got, etc. Visit the website here: http://www.hotitemfinder.com/auctionresourcenetwork

I hope you find these services useful & time saving in your goal for a successful home business on eBay. Remember, your most important resource is your time when your starting or building up an online business & if you discover any site, person or opportunity that can save you time give it the attention & serious consideration it deserves. Every top Internet marketers constantly educate themselves by purchasing & reviewing almost every new product released. The way I look at it, if an ebook costs $197 and the information within the ebook saves me this or allows me to make an additional $197 it's well worth it - once you can do it once you'll be able to repeat the exercise over and over again making repeated profits. If you discover a precious eBay related resource let me know & I'll consider revising this list for future editions.

Good luck with your eBay selling. Want to Learn How to Sell on eBay? Click Here: http://Auctionresource.Opportunity.com

About the author: Jason James is a 10 year Internet marketing veteran and an eBay Power Seller of 4 years. His proven step-by-step system shows even users with no business experience how they can make huge profits selling products at online auctions. Claim Your Free eBook: ""Top 10 eBay Secrets for Successful Selling"" below: http://Auctionresourcenetwork.Opportunity.com

Thursday, May 25, 2006

Finding Items To Sell On Ebay

Author: Michael Russell

There are lots of people selling great new items on Ebay every day but many Ebay items are old used things that you have already. A good place to start searching for items to sell is your own home. You can start in your garage where you could find something rare and valuable, along with all that other stuff you've had for years. All its takes is one day to organize everything then spend that next day using your digital camera to take pictures of all your items. For the remainder of the week you can just focus on writing descriptions for the items and deciding on the starting price. You should now have your garage clean and your pockets full of cash, and no more items for Ebay in your home.

You should then go around to all of your friends houses and people that you know and ask them can you take all of their old stuff that they do not need any more. If you want you can offer to pay them for it, and even clean and sweep when you're done. Take all of the items you got from the different places and put them on Ebay. You now have more profit in your pocket.

Next, buy your local newspaper and search for garage sales and yard sales that are close to you. Go there to see if they have rare or vintage stuff that would sell on Ebay. After you have done that, search your area for flea markets. Flea markets have lots of great Ebay items.

When you've finished selling all those, you should have a great profit from old used items on Ebay so now its time to start selling new items. You can start by finding a wholesale supplier in your area. With a wholesale suppler you buy in bulk, so save some money from your profits from your used auction sales. Just buy a small amount of wholesale items at a time, and then put them on Ebay to see how they do, and then put more online. Also remember to research the price of the new items you are putting up for auction. To do this, just go to Ebay's website and search on closed auctions. This should bring up all the closed auction prices so you will know what price to start your auctions at and you will know what the buy it now price should be.

You can also get great items from other online auction sites. Just do a search for what you want on any auction site, bid for it and you may get it for a good price. Put that item for sale on another auction site and get your profit.

So remember to start with your own items. When you have sold all those, offer to clean your friends garage and offer them cash. Then go to garage sales, yard sales, and flea markets. After that, wholesalers is where you can get more items for Ebay. This should help you find items to sell on Ebay and earn yourself some profit.

About the author: Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to Online Auctions

eBay Business Solutions

Author: Mark Flavin

If starting an eBay business is your goal, as opposed to just auctioning a few items off for some extra cash, you need to use the eBay business solutions that are available to you. Because eBay's success depends on the success of its sellers, they strive to help you at every turn. eBay Business Solutions is the key to starting an eBay business.

eBay Stores is one of the better solutions for eBay business owners. An eBay store will allow you to list multiple quantities of the same item, and allow you to keep them listed for longer time periods. eBay Store owners also enjoy lower auction fees, and have access to advanced merchandising tools. Eventually, you should consider upgrading to an eBay Pro Store, which will allow you to customize your storefront with your own brand and web address.

There are many other eBay Business Solutions, such as seller tools, the eBay solutions directory, and the merchant solution center, but you should definitely start with your very own eBay store, followed by an eBay Pro Store.

About the author: Mark Flavin can show YOU how to""Steal"" the Secrets of a Regular Guy Who Made $8 MILLION On eBay Last Year!! A guy just like YOU & me. Find out his secrets below NOW before its too late:

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How To Get Good Feedback On Ebay

Author: Michael Russell

Getting an auction running is easy. You just put your item online and wait to get a bid. However, getting a bid depends on your feedback. Feedback is like credit. If you have bad credit, you cannot buy what you want. In terms of Ebay's system, if you have bad feedback, people will not bid for your item, some will not even read your description. So if you're new to eBay you should follow these steps to make sure you keep a good feedback record all the time.

First, when you write your headline, be sure to state that your item is new, used or factory renewed. Some people use wholesalers and buy factory renewed items, which are items people bought and used but decided that they did not want any more and that they sent back. The warehouse repackages the item and sells it again. So write in the headline the item condition.

Another common way to get negative feedback fast is by not using a dropshipper correctly. A dropshipper is a company that ships out items from a warehouse to the sellers' customers. You buy the item when the Ebay customer pays you, then you forward the money to the dropshipper and they ship it. One common mistake is to put an item on a one day Ebay auction that only has 10 or less items in stock. The item sells but the dropshipper has sold out. Now you have a mad customer wanting the item that they've won. So do not put an item online for auction if it only has 10 or less items stock. I suggest only putting something online from a dropshipper that has 20 or more, and then check the dropshipper site daily. 50 or more and you can check the site a least twice a week.

Another way to get negative feedback is not shipping the item out fast enough. It should only take 2 business days to ship someone their item, more than 2 days and you can expect some email asking you whether the item has been shipped. You should always use a shipper that offers tracking so you will know where the item is at all times and when it arrives. Your customer will know too and you can relax knowing that he won't be send you emails asking where the item is.

Always offer insurance or better yet, make insurance standard so if the item gets damaged en route you can relax knowing that you have nothing to worry about. If you are shipping new items, it's best to offer a return and replacement policy on your products. If you get emails from anyone on Ebay that may want to buy your item, answer their questions without delay. You will also receive questions after someone buys something from you, so always check your email.

To recap, headline your items as new or used, ship as fast as you can, tell your customers you shipped their item and send them the tracking number to prove it. If you do all this, you should have great feedback on Ebay.

About the author: Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to Online Auctions

Selling Your House on eBay

Author: Brennan Howe

Can eBay be used to market real estate? The answer is a resounding 'yes!'

eBay provides functionality that is clearly adaptable to the needs of most realtors. It provides a widespread medium of advertisement for the real estate. It is also a relatively inexpensive method of advertising.

One of the best things about selling real estate on eBay is that it ""markets"" to many areas around the world, not just a local area. Advertising on eBay makes the property available to more than 100 million potential buyers, including those from other countries. Visitors can browse through the property details 24 hours a day, 7 days a week - all without the realtor having to explain the details about the property to every single prospect wanting information.

Advertising Your Real Estate on eBay

When one has a house or other real estate to sell, he or she may list it for auction on the eBay Real Estate site. This is found at http://www.pages.ebay.com/realestate.

There are many different ways to present the property for sale on eBay. If the realtor seeks to sell the estate at a fixed price instead of having the property go through an auction, he may request eBay to display a real estate listing in a format much like a local paper.

eBay's Real Estate page has three selling formats. These are the auction, fixed price selling, and the traditional real estate listing.

For each of these selling formats, the ""user"" furnishes additional information regarding his or her property. Details may include lot size, number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, type of property, year built, and other information. The auction listing period must also be specified, where the choices range from 1-, 3-, 5-, 7-, 10-, or 30-days, or a 30- or 90-day non-auction listing.

The eBay Real Estate website charges two types of fees for listing a property. There is a simple fee for listing the property and also a fee is based on the final amount of the property sale. The charge for a 1-, 3-, 5-, 7-, or 10-day auction listing is typically around $100. A 30-day auction listings cost about $150. A non-auction listing costs $150 for 30-day listing, and about $300 for a 90-day listing.

Fees for Timeshare property and land are usually slightly lower. The final fee amount for Timeshares and land is generally about $35.

Selling real estate on eBay is growing in popularity as the internet stretches it's outreach to more countries. Although nothing beats direct and personal inspection of property, the convenience of having eBay connect seller and potential buyer is definitely appreciated.

About the author: Brennan Howe is owner of www.freeinfosites.com. Where you can find information on a variety of topics including tips on selling a house on your own .

Make Money Selling Information Products On Ebay

Author: Jason James

At some point, you bumped into a virtual item auction on ebay, where the seller was exchanging a downloadable product for cash. You probably wondered why the seller was offering the product for such a low price--and you probably also wondered how he was making money.

There are two answers to this question: the first answer is that the seller had no idea what he was doing and, in fact, wasn't making any money on ebay.

The second answer is that the seller was highly-experienced and was making hundreds of dollars each day, even though his auctions were only showing one-dollar sales.

This sounds totally bizarre, especially if you haven't sold information before, but it is absolutely true: there is a fortune in selling information--especially on the Internet.

Now, in the case of the ebay seller I mentioned above, she was probably using information products as a ""loss leader"" to make back-end sales. She might sell 10 copies of an ebook for $1 each and might end up being $2 in the red at the end of the day after paying seller's fees.

But she knows this--and this is okay because she now has 10 highly-qualified prospects for whatever product she is using her ebook to sell.

If her ebook is about teaching people how to make money selling on the Internet, she might list purchasing a domain name and hosting as one of the steps the buyer must take. To the buyer, this may seem innocent enough; however, when he follows her plan and purchases the hosting and domain name as directed, she will earn a commission on the domain name registration and a recurring commission on the hosting for as long as his Internet business sticks around.

If you want to try this system out, you can search google for ""re-brandable"" ebooks with ""resale rights."" You can also search ebay for similar products. A number of people make money on ebay selling these ebooks.

If the rights permit, you can purchase the product and then sell it as a downloadable product on ebay.

If you want to maximize the effectiveness of this strategy, you should keep prices very low. Your goal should be to use ebay as a medium to disseminate the book for free or for a very low price. Unless you are selling a book that contains no back-end sales mechanisms and no affiliate links, your goal should be to sell a powerful system (contained within the book) to a customer who will use it successfully to make money--and, in turn, earn you a residual income by sticking to a system that earns you money.

About the author: Jason James website 'The Auction Resource Network' reveals his inside secrets and sources that help him pocket over $10,000 a month on eBay.

Claim your FREE 'Top 10 eBay Selling Secrets' eBook: www.auctionresourcen etwork.com

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

How To Apply NLP Techniques To Explode Your Profits On Ebay - Part 1

Author: Dan Lim

This is the first of a two part article.

Introduction Wouldn't you like to hypnotize people into purchasing your auction items?

Or what about if you could indirectly influence, sway and control people's decision-making process, without them even realizing it?

That's what NLP is all about. NLP stands for Neuro-Linguistic Programming, a form of hypnosis based on hidden, subliminally persuasive language patterns either spoken or written.

One famous example is Tony Robbins, a master in motivational success and personal growth training, talks using NLP naturally without him even thinking about it. If you listen to him talk in seminars, on television or cassette tapes, you can become quite inspired and NLP is at the heart of his courses and seminars. He uses NLP to help people change their lives by showing them how to use NLP for personal growth, life management, motivation, combat depression and much more.

There is nothing illegal or unethical about using NLP to sell your products, in fact it's something many large companies do all the time. By using NLP, all you are doing, is simply presenting your products in the most convincing, compelling, and psychologically-effective, way possible. And, of course, that gives you an incredible advantage over your competitors on ebay.

Applying NLP in your auction titles

Using NLP in your auction titles can be a little difficult since you only have a small amount of space. However, it can still be done.

One way is to have an auction title that deals with a state of mind you want people to have. This technique is called Thought Binding. It simply means having your prospects recall what it's like to be in the mood you want them to be in.

Thought Binding enables people to be much more receptive to any information about you and your products you want to throw at them because you've set up and bound the direction of their thinking and emotional processes. And the beauty of it is they will never catch it because they aren't used to hearing or looking for it.

Let me give you an example. There are many sellers on ebay selling CD and software items that will supposedly make you X amount of dollars each month by reselling. Instead of having an auction title such as ""My CD will make you RICH"", you could have a title like ""Make ebay your career with my CD, 4K a month, I did""

Another way is to play on people's curiosity. A title such as ""Click here or my dog will die tonight"" is meaningless yet I guarantee you will have a lot of people clicking on your ad which is the purpose of your auction title, to get people to click on your auction title and check out your offer.

Remember, your auction title is the doorway to your offer on ebay. It is the door people will choose to go through or not, based on your auction title. Creativity and ingenuity will help.

One Tip, if you run out of good ideas for your auction title, go flip some magazines and newspapers. Pay special attention to the classified ads, see which ones grab your eyeballs and model your auction title after it. You could do the same thing with television commercials or radio ads etc.

About the author: Dan Lim is an avid ebay fanatic who has been quietly earning a comfortable living online. For more ebay selling secrets and strategies, visit bestnzb.com

Find Out The Key eBay Selling Tips

Author: Chris Fox

Ever wondered how to get the most out of eBay? First off here are some practical eBay selling tips:

You need an eBay account. Then, take note of this step-by-step guide for setting up an auction. This is the core of eBay selling tips that you need to know.

Before you sell anything on eBay you should be guided by the eBay selling tip of researching first to make sure that you are going to get the best possible result. There might be better ways to sell your items in the research what sells on EBay section of the eBay.

Auctions with pictures almost always sell for more than those without pictures. You\'ll eventually want to invest in a digital camera, but for just getting started, you can take pictures with a regular camera.

On eBay selling tips regarding listing of products, one of the big mistakes when it comes to selling on eBbay is not listing the item at the right time and not for a long enough duration.

Try to write a clear and concise description and title. This will help save you time by cutting down the number of questions from potential bidders. If you do get questions, you should try to answer them promptly.

Research closed auctions to get an idea of what you might expect your item to sell for, and to figure out what to set your starting bid at.

The eBay selling tip on the best time start your auction is during weekdays so that it will finish on the weekend. The main reason for this is that most people are home on the weekends and have the time to sit and wait to the last minute to make their. Try to have your auction end by Sunday evening. This eBay selling tip is very advisable and have been experienced successful by most sellers.

Read the rest of this article by going now to

eBay Selling Tips

About the author: Discover These 19 Free eBay Secrets That Will Help You Make More Money By Selling On eBay By Going Now To

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eBay Express - A New Way Of Buying And Selling On eBay

Author: Pamela Bruce

In January 2006, eBay announced a new specialty service named eBay Express. Here are some of the highlights of this upcoming venture, according to eBay e-mails and websites:

1. It emphasizes new merchandise. eBay obviously wants to distance itself from the ""online flea market"" image that many people associate with it. However, eBay also states ""eBay Express will allow shoppers to buy products ranging from new, used, refurbished and more"".

2. It is not auction-based. Everything on eBay Express will have a fixed price and will be available for immediate purchase - no more waiting for auctions to end (of course the Buy-It Now feature has also been available on eBay.com for quite a while).

3. There appear to be plans for some kind of shopping cart, making it easier for buyers to make multiple purchases from the same seller.

4. There are a number of seller requirements: a feedback score of 100 or more, 98% positive or better, public feedback (as opposed to private), PayPal Premier or Business account, setting PayPal account to ship to unconfirmed addresses or make sale-by-sale decisions (a point that has caused some stir among sellers), and being based in the US (it seems that eBay Express will be offered only in the USA at first). Sellers also must state shipping costs, either flat, calculated or free, rather than forcing buyers to look for them in the item description or having to e-mail the seller.

eBay Express is supposed to be launched during the spring of 2006. Like the ""IT"" campaign, it seems to be another attempt by eBay to get away from the ""cleaning out your garage and selling stuff on eBay"" image and a challenge to conventional online rivals who have offered fixed prices and shopping carts for a long time.

About the author: Pamela Bruce lives in Austin, TX. She is the owner of Love Beads Unlimited and sells the sterling silver and Swarovski crystal bead jewelry she designs and creates both in her eBay store (http://stores.ebay.com/LOVE-BEADS-UNLIMITED) and on her website at http://www.lovebeadsunlimited.com, where you can also download the free e-book ""A Consumer's Guide to Buying Bead Jewelry Online"".

eBay and Customer Service

Author: Mark Flavin

If you are running an eBay business, you may not realize that the need for great customer service still exists - even for online auctions. When a buyer receives quality customer service from you, they will potentially do one of two things - or both. They will give you great feedback, and they may look for more of your auctions in the future. If you hope to make a living from eBay, you have to stop thinking of it as an 'auction' and start running it like a 'business.'

If you owned a brick and mortar business, how would you treat your customer while they were standing at your counter, waiting for you to finish ringing up their order? You would be helpful and respectful of course! You would do everything that you could to guarantee that customers return to your establishment in the future. You would bend over backwards to make sure that their buying experience with you was both satisfactory and enjoyable. Why would you do any less at the close of one of your eBay auctions?

First, act quickly at the close of your auctions. Contact the winner, and congratulate them. Describe the item they have won and how the item will be shipped - even if this information is already part of the description for the auction. Remind them of their winning bid amount, and give them payment options and instructions. Let them know when the item will be shipped.

Close your email by thanking them for participating in your auction. You might even take this opportunity to tell them about other open auctions that you have as well. Think of this contact with the winner as a conversation that you are having with a customer who is standing at your counter in that imaginary brick and mortar store.

Once the payment and shipping details have been taken care of, contact your buyer again. Let them know when the item was shipped - the exact date and time - and when it is expected to arrive on their end. During this contact, let them know that if they have any problems or questions, that they should contact you through the eBay site. If they do contact you in the future, make sure that you answer promptly, and that you do all that you can to make them happy with their purchase - even if it means issuing a refund.

Yes. You should be open to issuing refunds, depending on what the item is. Furthermore, you should issue refunds promptly. Of course, it is reasonable to expect the buyer to return the item to you, at your expense, before the refund is issued - but once you receive the item, issue the refund promptly. This is just good business!

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eBay and Drop shipping - Getting the Product to

Author: Mark Flavin

If you hope to own an eBay business, and make a full time living at it, you can easily make that dream come true - even if you don't have a product of your own to sell. eBay provides many people who want to quit their corporate nine-to-five jobs with a way to make a good living, without having to put up a lot of start up capital. This is made possible with the help of drop shippers. Drop shippers send merchandise to the customers of business owners. If you have an eBay business, you are a business owner. This will allow you to offer a wide variety of stock in your eBay store, without having the need to warehouse all of those products!

All you have to do is set up your auction, and sell the product. You then pass the customer's information on to the drop shipping company. The drop shipper does the rest, and they will even use your company information, as well as your company logo if you have provided it to them. When the product arrives at your customer's home, they will have no idea that your company didn't send it. The drop shipper will package, label, and ship the products that you sell, allowing you more time to set up even more auctions, for greater profits.

You must establish a relationship with several drop shipping companies in order to become successful. In the beginning, most companies will require you to pay for the items that your customers order before they are shipped. You need to fill orders in a timely manner, so you should pay for the items with a credit card for speedy service. Eventually, you will be able to have the drop shipper fill your orders, and then bill you for them later.

When you set up your eBay auctions, make sure that your reserve price is set higher than the price that the drop shipper will be charging you for the item. The idea, of course, is to earn a profit! Depending on the item you are selling, a markup of about 10% should be about right, but you should do some research to see if the item is selling for a lower price in another eBay auction, or through other online sources.

By starting an eBay business using the drop shipping method, there is essentially no financial risk involved. The product will be sold before you pay the drop shipper for the item. This is one of the few businesses where you can actually turn a profit before you have expenditures!

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Tuesday, May 23, 2006

eBay Courses - Are They Worth It?

Author: Mark Flavin

There are numerous eBay courses that are available on the Internet today. These books and courses are designed to help you become more successful on eBay. Unfortunately, not all of these courses are worth the money that you will pay for them. Some of them are full of what used to be good information - when it was relevant - and others are simply junk information, written by someone trying to make a quick buck.

Before you purchase any eBay course, find out when the course was written. If it was written in 2004, for instance, you don't want it. Even though that hasn't been very long ago, eBay changes so fast that much of the information will not be relevant. However, if the original issue of the course was written several years ago, but the course is updated each year, this will probably be a good course for you.

Again, use care when purchasing eBay courses. They can be quite helpful and enlightening, but only if the information in them is still good. Talk to other eBay sellers - preferably successful ones - to find out what courses are recommended.

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eBay University - What Is It All About?

Author: Mark Flavin

eBay University is the learning program that eBay established to help people become successful eBay merchants. For convenience, eBay classes are held in many locations throughout the United States, and classes may also be completed from home, using your computer.

You should note that all of the information you will learn through eBay University can be found on the website - for free. However, understanding that free information isn't always easy. eBay University will teach you how to open a seller's account, how to conduct research and create listings, how to improve listings for greater success, how to integrate Paypal with eBay, how to monitor your auctions, and how to complete transactions.

Once you've finished the Selling Basics course, you are ready for the 'Beyond the Basics' course. This advanced course will teach you how to start and grow an eBay business, how to choose and create listing formats that sell, how to use all of the eBay resources, how to market your business, how to pack and ship your items, and much more. Both courses are reasonably priced, and well worth the short amount of time that it takes to complete each course.

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eBay Scams - Steps to Take if You Have Been

Author: Mark Flavin

eBay is a relatively safe marketplace. Unfortunately, like most online marketplaces, it is vulnerable to scams. eBay tries to keep instances of scams occurring, but with more than 100 million members, and approximately $40 million moving through the site on a daily basis, this can be a little difficult. Sometimes, scams occur.

If you have been scammed, there are certain steps you need to follow to report the incident, and to try to come to a resolution. If you paid for the item through Paypal, the first step is to login to your Paypal account and open up a dispute for the payment. If you did not pay through Paypal, contact your credit card company. In most cases, if you have used one of these two cases, you will recover your money.

The next step is to use eBay's dispute process to report the seller. This is specifically for items that were not received, or items that were significantly different than what was described in the auction. eBay also has a purchase protection program to further protect buyers. If a settlement cannot be reached with the buyer, the next step is to make an eBay buyer purchase protection claim.

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eBay Success - How to Price Your Items

Author: Mark Flavin

Many new sellers don't realize how important pricing is when it comes to eBay auctions. Many don't even realize that 'pricing' needs to be done. eBay is an auction site after all! But eBay auctions are not quite the same as the auctions you attend in the offline world. In fact, quite a bit of work goes into determining and setting prices.

Essentially, there are only three prices that can be set for an eBay auction: the 'buy it now' price, the reserve price, and the starting bid price. Of these three, the starting bid price is the only one that is required for an eBay auction. The reserve price and the 'buy it now' price are optional. The starting bid price is fairly simple - never set it higher than $50 or so - no matter what your item is really worth. This low opening price will get bidders to your auction.

Setting low starting bid prices creates the need for a reserve price. A reserve price is the absolute lowest price that you want to get for your item. You may sell the item below the reserve price, but you will not be required to. In other words, if you set your reserve price at $100, and your highest bid is only $50, you do not have to sell the item to the highest bidder. You can close the auction without any negative feedback or repercussions. Set your reserve price at the absolute lowest price you are willing to sell your item for. Keep what the item is worth, as well as what it cost you in mind.

The 'buy it now' option will allow you to set a price, and buyers can buy the item immediately, without bidding, for that set price. This option can be used for any type of item, and it should be set to match your reserve, give or take a few dollars. This option is great if you have multiple identical items to sell.

Shipping has a price, and potential buyers take this into consideration when they are looking at an auction. If you can see your way clear to offer free shipping, you will find that people are placing more bids. Make sure that your potential buyers realize that you are offering free shipping!

Before setting any prices, you need to determine what the item is really worth. The value of the item in different markets might be quite high. However, you are selling on eBay, and it is a different world altogether! Find out the price that similar items sold for on eBay before setting any prices. If it is a collectable, or a high ticket item, have the item evaluated to ensure that you aren't going to lose money!

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Monday, May 22, 2006

The eBay Blacklist

Author: Nicky Pilkington

eBay can be most likened to an online flea market. But, as with most flea markets, there is always the possibility that questionable hawkers lurk around the corners. Therefore, there must be rules in place to insure that the auctions and transactions formed through eBay are legal. Only then can a market - online or not - flourish.

Certain types of items are prohibited or regulated on eBay. eBay reserves the right to terminate auctions that violate its specifications for allowed items on listing. In the case of such, eBay emails the bidder and the seller to notify them of the violation and to explain the need to terminate the auction.

eBay's policies describe items that may not be posted for auction. They fall under three categories: Prohibited Questionable, and Potentially Infringing.

Prohibited This describes items that are not permitted on eBay. This list includes alcohol, tobacco, drugs, animals, human parts or remains, government properties, lottery tickets, and others. eBay contains a complete list of such in their policy statement.

Questionable Items listed as questionable can be posted provided they follow certain conditions. For example, some adult material may be listed for auctioning only if they are posted in the Mature Audiences section of eBay. Event tickets may be sold provided that the auction closes before the actual event itself. The list also includes batteries, artifacts, food, used items, event tickets, weapons and knives, police related equipment, Freon, hazardous chemicals, offensive material, mature audiences material, international selling, and international buying among others.

Potentially Infringing Items listed under this heading may be legal. However, they almost always violate copyright, trademark, and other rights. Some examples of such are: academic software, beta software, bootleg recordings, contracts and tickets, downloadable media, movie prints, OEM software, Replica and counterfeit items, and unauthorized copies.

This list is updated periodically and is incorporated into the User Agreement of eBay. These guidelines do not represent legal advice. It would do well to check with law enforcement agencies, a lawyer, or other legal outlets to verify the legality of a questionable item to be posted. This policy applies even if you offer to give your item away for free. As long as it is posted on eBay, it is subject to the abovementioned policy.

As a final note, it is stressed that the buyer if subject to liability if he or she purchases an illegal item. It is still the responsibility of the buyers and sellers to monitor the legality of their transactions since eBay is merely a facilitator in the market process.

About the author: Find out more about ebay and online auctions at http://auctionhelper.info

eBay Data and Research - How Important Is It?

Author: Mark Flavin

eBay is a business anyway you look at it. Sure, it is a great deal of fun for both the buyers and sellers, but when you look at it from another view point, you will see that it is a business from the seller's point of view, the buyer's point of view, and eBay's point of view. 40 million dollars a day travels through eBay. Selling items on eBay successfully is an art, and eBay offers many different forms of Data and Research to ensure that you are selling the right items, to the right people, in the right way.

Some of the data and research is not free, but much of it is. The available resources include hot items by category, eBay Pulse, merchandising calendar, sales reports, marketplace research, buyer behavioral report, and the eBay solutions directory. These tools are quite easy to use, and the information that can be gleaned from them is extremely valuable.

The Data and Research tools are all accessible through your seller's account, by clicking on the 'Advance Selling' link. Learn to use those tools, and get your piece of that $40 million eBay revenue each day.

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Getting Started on eBay

Author: Mark Flavin

You've probably heard about how much money can be made on eBay. With dreams of quick riches and easy money, you are probably ready to jump in with both feet - right now! The best thing you can do if you are serious about making money with eBay, however, is to slow down. In fact, just stop for a minute. Don't rush straight in. Take your time, and do it right.

eBay has over 100 million members. Think about that number for just a minute or two. When you get your eBay business set up, that is how big your customer base will be - instantly. 100 million people - 100 million people who are just waiting for you to get set up and running so that they can throw money at you! Well, not quite. It is true that there are over 100 million members, but at this point, they don't know that you exist. In fact, no matter how well you do on eBay, most of them will never know that you exist. 100 million is a very large number.

The most successful eBay sellers started out as buyers - and you should too. This will give you a sense of how everything works. It will also show you how things are from the buyer's side of the fence. Let's call this period of time 'consumer research.' You are literally studying how eBay works, from a customer's point of view. You may not realize this, but this eBay buyer experience will actually make you a much better seller - right from the very start.

Really pay attention to the customer service you receive from the buyer. Think about how you want to be treated as a buyer, and take notes. Take your time during this process. Interact with the sellers. Get involved in hot auctions to see what they are like. In your spare time, start making notes about the hot items that you see. These notes will come in handy later.

eBay works just like any other business. You have to determine what people want to buy before you can hope to be successful. There are very specific items that sell really well on eBay - you just have to figure out what those items are. There are many resources for finding out this information. Start with the lessons that eBay offers to their sellers. Strongly consider attending the eBay University as well. This is the next step in the process. After you have had the eBay buyer experience, it is time to learn how to be an eBay seller.

Read all of the information eBay provides for you at the site. The information is free and you will learn a great deal from it. Take full advantage of this - before you start setting up your first auction or your eBay store! By reading through all of the resources, you will avoid making numerous mistakes that so many before you have made. This is another step towards building a successful eBay business. Once you've made it through the learning process, you should know everything you need to know to get started with a money making eBay business of your very own.

About the author: Mark Flavin can show YOU how to""Steal"" the Secrets of a Regular Guy Who Made $8 MILLION On eBay Last Year!! A guy just like YOU & me. Find out his secrets below NOW before its too late:

==>>> http://www.unorthodoxtraffic.com/recommends/eBaySecrets

eBay Gift Certificates - The Gift Solution Suitable for

Author: Mark Flavin

We all know one. There is at least one in every family, and one in every circle of friends. There is even one in every office! There is always that one person that you know who is absolutely impossible to buy a gift for! These people either have everything, or want nothing. They don't drop hints at all, and when asked, they simply say that they don't know, they don't care, or they don't want anything.

Well, now you can buy a gift for that person. The solution lies in an eBay gift certificate! This will allow your loved one to essentially buy anything that they want, in a very exciting way. eBay gift certificates can easily be purchased through paypal, in varying amounts.

There are things that you should point out to the gift recipient, however. For instance, eBay gift certificates do expire. eBay gift certificates will not be accepted for all auctions either - they can only be redeemed for those auctions that accept Paypal as a form of payment. Other than that, your loved one should not have any problems redeeming their eBay gift certificate!

About the author: Mark Flavin can show YOU how to""Steal"" the Secrets of a Regular Guy Who Made $8 MILLION On eBay Last Year!! A guy just like YOU & me. Find out his secrets below NOW before its too late:

==>>> http://www.unorthodoxtraffic.com/recommends/eBaySecrets

Wholesale Dropshipping For eBay Sellers!

Author: Ron Keegan

Copyright © 2006 Ron Keegan

Ebay is the 'BEST' opportunity you can use right now to make money online in the dropshipping business from the comfort of your own home.

Thousands of people just like you use eBay auctions on a daily basis to sell and buy products on the Internet; now it's your time to START your own dropshipping home-based business and succeed in the eBay auctions 'game'!

There are no special skills required for this dropshipping business, all you need is a computer, Internet access and some basic computer / Internet knowledge.

Dropshipping is when you sell products on the Web, forward the orders to the dropship supplier and, in return, the dropshipper ships the product to your customer (buyer).

You act as the middleman between the dropshipping supplier and your buyer. You can take orders by credit card, fax or any other method you can think of. You can sell via your own Web Site or even through e-mail.

Your profit is generated on the difference between your selling price and the price the dropshipping supplier charges you.

Thanks to dropshipping you can start making money 'instantly' without any investment in inventory, warehousing, shipping, equipment, employees or office space.

How do I find something to sell on eBay?

Of course, finding something to sell isn't hard. Finding something at a ""Low enough price"" to make a profit on eBay is much more difficult. That's because eBay is a price-driven model and buyers expect a bargain. If they don't get one, they're not buying.

So, the REAL question is:

How do I find something at a 'low enough price to sell profitably' on eBay?

Answer: THE LIGHT BULK WHOLESALE DIRECTORY

1. WWB has an entire research section in their Florida office that 'personally interviews' each and every wholesaler and dropshipper. Without an interview, no one gets into their directory. No one.

2. They have 'Very Exacting Criteria' for being listed. If the source doesn't meet those criteria, they aren't listed. For example, they must be 'genuine wholesalers' and they must be willing to Sell to eBayers in Low minimum quantities.

Most wholesalers want to sell to big retailers with huge budgets, so finding dealers willing to work with the little guys that's us isn't so easy. And, as you probably know, way too many so-called wholesalers are only 'middlemen'.

That won't happen with the new Light Bulk Directory.

Having products drop shipped by suppliers, allows you to concentrate on truly important aspects like advertising, sales and promotion.

Pay attention! There are lots of companies claiming to be 'Drop Shippers'. However, a legitimate drop shipper is a factory-authorized wholesale distributor, or sometimes the actual manufacturer of the product. A legitimate drop shipper should not charge you an 'account setup fee' or ask you to place a 'minimum quantity order'.

Make sure you find some legitimate drop shippers who have the product(s) you want to sell, talk with them on the phone / by e-mail and let them know that you are truly serious about doing business with them.

Customer support counts in the dropshipping business, so don't hesitate to contact some dropshipping suppliers before you want to work with them.

This will help you decide if you really want to do business with a particular drop shipper or not.

To succeed in the dropshipping business you'll have to LOOK for hard-to-find products that people desperately need and want to purchase.

The key is to sell products with little or no competition.

I suggest you RESEARCH for quality products & legitimate dropship suppliers, MONITOR the eBay auction listings to see if there's any competition and TEST the market (e.g. find out if people really want to spend CASH on the product you want to sell)

Remember! Dropshipping makes it EASY for you to start and run your own home-based businesses on a shoestring budget; and eBay is the 'perfect' MEDIUM to expose your product to potential buyers all over the globe!

By Ron Keegan Megastar Distributors http://www.megdis.com

About the author: Ron Keegan runs http://www.Megdis.com an eBay Information Web Site with lots of *FREE* Resources, Tips & Reports on DropShipping & eBay.

Sunday, May 21, 2006

eBay. Are they the Best Option for Collector Cars?

Author: Shane Corliss

eBay is the largest online auction site in the world. You can find anything from Wind Captured from the Katrina Hurricane to Rare Antiques. They have made millions putting buyers and sellers together and pioneered consumer and dealer based online auctions. I decided to take a good look at the over 1,000 collector car auctions that were posted on eBay in the last two weeks. I think you may agree that my findings are a bit startling.

The Statistics

Most searched for term on eBay: Xbox 360

Most Watched Item: One Owner 1942 Vintage Martin D-45 Guitar Hmm. No collector cars here!

Most Popular Make and Model Listed

1969 Chevrolet Z-28 Camaro. Low Retail $19,100

Average Winning Bid: $7,296. A staggering $11,804 off a low market price.

Top Auction:

1968 Shelby : Shelby GT500 Matching #s

Auction ID: 4611842807 - Winning bid $118,000

Auction Results From February 9 to February 22 2006

1,000 Collectible Automobile Auction listings were examined

280 Sellers appeared to be dealers

4,944 Bids Were Placed

120 Cars Had 0 Bids

263 Cars Reached the Reserve Price (Successful Sale) estimated gross $1,911,000

738 Cars Did Not Reach Reserve (No Sale) estimated gross $5,400,000

Volume of Non Winning Bids $2,900,000

Average Winning Bid: $7,296

Successful Sales $1,911,000

*Estimated eBay Revenue $58,000 (based on current eBay insertion fees)

$24,000 from Auctions reaching the Reserve Price

$34,000 from Auctions not reaching the Reserve Price (No Sale)

Estimated Fees Collected: $58,000

The eBay Money Machine

Keeping the above statistics in mind, the emergence of new online auction sites has been a bit slow partially because of the tremendous marketing power of a multi-billion dollar behemoth that rivals Wal-Mart in the marketplace. Most have gone the way of the Mom and Pop stores. One of the biggest challenges faced by alternatives to eBay is attracting sellers who are willing to give them a shot. You need listings to attract bidders and you need traffic to attract sellers. It's the whole chicken and the egg story.

Challenges with eBay.

The good news is millions of buyers and sellers meet online every month to look for bargains, rare and unique items and yes even collector cars. The bad news, fake cashiers checks, stolen cars, fraudulent emails and more. As you can see from the stats we gathered many individuals spent $45.00, answered a lot of questions, sent a lot of pictures and unfortunately the car still sits in the garage. Are there other options?

The Route 66 Auction

The Route 66 Auction an emerging online auction site that touts ""No Dolls, No Knick Knacks...just everything automotive"". You can place your vehicle online for $29.95 and they will relist it until it sells at no additional charge. They also have a marketing program that will place your vehicle in an online auction and then advertise it in car classifieds sites like Hemmings, Old Car Trader and Collector Car Trader Online. The owner of The Route 66 Auction, Shane Corliss has chosen more of a grass roots ad campaign--Car Clubs, make and model specific websites, discussion board postings and every link exchange he can get their hands on. Adoption is slow but steady. You might want to show them your support by registering at http://www.theroute66auction.com.

Cal Cruising

With over 12,000 members nationwide, CalCruising is one of the largest online auction sites for Classic and Muscle Cars. In addition to auctions, they are a full service transportation super-site with many site features including, Auto-Dispatch, Auto Directory, Dealer Programs, Muscle Car Directory, and much more. CalCruising Members can post auctions for free in our Member area or for $39 post their vehicles in featured auctions and be seen by thousands of collectors and enthusiasts. Already members have run over 5,500 auctions and placed over 26,000 bids. As far as presentation CalCruising needs a huge face lift but their results speak for themselves. Your can check them out at http://www.calcruising.com.

Online auctions can be a great way to sell your collectible automobile. Explore your options and do not become discouraged. A collectible automobiles is sold every day. The keys are persistence and effective targeted marketing.

About the author: Shane Corliss is one of the leading sales and marketing strategist for the automotive publishing industry. He can be reached at shanecorliss@gmail.com

Ten Tips for Finding Great Vintage Clothing on eBay

Author: Mary Kincaid

I've been buying and selling vintage clothes on eBay for five years. It's fun...and sometimes frustrating. Here are some tips to help you find the best vintage clothes on eBay.

1. SEARCH REGULARLY

Ebay allows you to list auction or fixed price items for 1, 3, 5, 7, or 10-day periods. Most sellers choose longer periods because they are buying more advertising for their money but I'm finding more and more 3-day auctions. So try to do your searches at least every 3 days.

2. SEARCH MISSPELLINGS

It's easy to misspell Furstenberg and to type Pulizter instead of Pulitzer. If you can find a quality designer item that has a misspelling in the title, you will probably compete with a much smaller pool of buyers for the item.

3. DON'T JUST SEARCH THE VINTAGE CATEGORY.

Not everyone offering vintage clothing is a vintage dealer. Sometimes people are just clearing out Aunt Anna's clothes from the attic and don't have a lot of experience with either vintage clothes or selling on eBay. Often you'll find these items buried in the Women's Clothing category which appears before the Vintage category in the eBay listing process. So search for VINTAGE VICTORIAN BLOUSE in the Clothing & Accessories category rather than VICTORIAN BLOUSE in the vintage category.

4. SEARCH TITLES AND DESCRIPTIONS

Not all sellers include the word VINTAGE in their auction titles. To be sure you find all the VINTAGE VICTORIAN BLOUSES, be sure to check the box under the search field to search both titles and descriptions.

5. GET CREATIVE WITH YOUR SEARCHES

It's easy to find high-end vintage by searching for a designer's name but you can also find high-quality items by searching on fabrics (brocade, velvet, mink, cashmere), searching for high-end department store names (Saks, I. Magnin, Bonwit Teller) or searching for ESTATE SALE buried inside auction listings.

6. USE AN AUCTION SNIPING SERVICE

Sellers, of course, want you to bid on their items as soon as possible. Their hope is that several bidders will become interested in the piece and bid up the price. Smart buyers take a different approach. Instead of entering their highest bid early, and watching it get bumped up by other bidders over the next few days, they wait until the final seconds of the auction. Even better, use an auction snipe service. For a small fee, these companies will place your bid in the last few seconds of the auction and you don't even need to be at your computer! No more forgetting that you wanted to bid on something--the snipe service does it for you. I like these services because if I enter my highest proxy bid too early, someone can keep bumping up the bid trying to discover what my highest bid was. If I enter it in the last few seconds, I may end up getting the item for a lot less than if I bid in the first few hours of the auction.

7. ALWAYS CHECK SELLER FEEDBACK

Again, not everyone offering vintage clothing on eBay is a vintage clothing dealer. If someone has great feedback but has been selling auto car parts, it might be wise to ask the seller a few specific questions about the item before bidding. What you think of as Mint condition and what they're calling Mint condition could be vastly different. Also, as a seller who talks to other sellers, I know that sometimes negative feedback is left for sellers that is unwarranted. Or things like Katrina happen and your auction item never gets sent. A negative feedback or two every couple of years is not a big deal. What you should be wary of is a pattern of recent negative or neutral feedbacks. Drill down and read why they were left. If you are unsure about a seller's responsiveness, send a simple question to them and see how quickly and accurately they respond.

8. KEEP A LIST OF YOUR FAVORITE SELLERS

You can add a seller to your list of Favorite Sellers by clicking on the link in one of their auctions. You can also sign up to be emailed when your favorite sellers add new items. You're never out of the loop and it makes browsing a lot more fun when you are looking at items that you consistently like.

9. BROWSE, BROWSE, BROWSE

Browsing eBay can be just as much fun as browsing at the mall. Looking for bargains? Browse through vintage by Lowest Price First. Want to see the crème de la crème? Browse by Highest Price First. If you have lots of time, do what a friend of mine does: every day, EVERY day, she browses the Newly Listed vintage category items and stops when she reaches the first listing she saw the day before. She wants to make sure she never misses out on a great item.

10. PIGGYBACK ON ANOTHER BUYER

Do you find you keep losing auctions to the same buyer? Do you find that the same people seem to be bidding on the same auctions as you over and over? Piggyback on them by doing a SEARCH BY BIDDER. Enter their bidder ID and you will be able to see a list of all the items they are currently bidding on. Chances are good that they have found a great vintage item that you missed!

With these tips you should be able to find all kinds of vintage clothing and accessories on eBay. One final tip: be sure to pay for your items quickly and establish good feedback of our own so you can continue to buy vintage bargains on eBay.

Mary Kincaid has been buying, wearing, and collecting vintage clothing for over a decade. Visit Zuburbia , her Vintage Clothing Blog, to see her Vintage Pick-of-the-Day and get tips, info, and insights on vintage clothing.

Copyright 2005, Mary Kincaid. May be reprinted in its entirety with full credit given to Mary Kincaid and a link to www.zuburbia.blogspot.com.

About the author: Mary Kincaid has been buying, wearing, selling and collecting vintage clothing and accessories for a decade. She is the editor of Zuburbia , a Vintage Clothing Blog that features her Vintage Pick-of-the-Day (VPOD) and tips, information and insights for current and future vintage fashionistas.

Sell Like an eBay Powerseller

Author: Michael Ellis

There isn't a week that goes by without someone asking me how to sell products on eBay. It's a great question! And I enjoy talking about the topic quite a bit, but my answer is always the same - sell like a Powerseller! Here's what I mean...

An eBay Powerseller is someone that generates $1000 or more in sales for three consecutive months. You don't have look too far on eBay to realize that the place is literally crawling with Powersellers.

I've spent over 5 years studying eBay, as well as, buying and selling products under several eBay IDs. I noticed that there are two types of eBay Powersellers: 1. Niche Powersellers

2. On-Demand Powersellers

The Niche Powersellers specialize in a particular area - like antiques, coins, dolls, etc. This particular area is a hobby to these people and they are very good at finding products at a low enough cost within this market to sell for a nice profit. These Powersellers are hard to imitate.

One the other hand, the On-Demand Powersellers are not very familiar with the products they sell, but they are very familiar with what the eBay community wants and how they can go about getting it. I call them On-Demand Powersellers because they seek out products to sell based on the level of demand inthe eBay community. These are the Powersellers that you should try to follow.

A common misconception that new eBay users have is thinking that all Powersellers are large retail outlet doing business on eBay. This simply isn't true. The majority of the Powersellers that I know typically run their business out of a basement or garage. Ebay has a great way of leveling the playing field in this respect. For example, a student can open an account and create ads that are just as enticing as any large company that happens to be selling the same products on ebay.

So how can you do business like On-Demand Powersellers?

That's actually an easy question to answer; obtain a seller's permit, find a demand for a particular product, and then find a wholesale supplier for that particular product.

A seller's permit will allow you to purchase products for wholesale from wholesale venders. This is the first thing any legitimate wholesale company will ask for, and if you don't have one, they could very likely not do business with you. You can obtain a sellers permit at http://www.businessnameusa.com You can find the demand for numerous products on eBay by using the eBay 'Hot Items' resource (in link below). This resource consists of (among other things) a 40+ page pdf document that lists which items are hot sellers in the numerous categories. The data is usually for the previous 2 months. Find out 'What's Hot' on eBay at http://pages.ebay.com/sellercentral/whatshot.html After you've identified which items were hot sellers, go to eBay's Advance Search and conduct a search for those products to make sure they're still hot sellers (have plenty of bids). Also do a search for the same product with the 'Completed Items' option in the Advanced Search checked. This will show you which auctions sold and how much they sold for.

Once you have a product in mind, do a search on Google for the manufacture of the product. When you get to the website, look for a contact number, or a 'Dealer inquiry' number. This information is also usually on the box of the product itself, so it may take a run to your local store if you don't have any luck on the web.

Give them a call. Inform them that you run a business and are interested in becoming a dealer of the product. Most are very helpful in getting you setup. However, be aware, some may have a minimum purchase order. Never the less, if you did your eBay research correctly, you'll know how much these items have recently sold for, and how much they are currently selling for, thus, you can be pretty confident that the money will be made back.

I recently came across two Powersellers that are extremely successful doing with this process. One Powerseller had sold over $100,000 worth of those little robotic-vacuuming-Frisbee thingies in 60 days! The other Powerseller does extremely well selling dog chews. Both Powersellers simply identified the demand for these products, then sought out the manufactures and became dealers... the rest is history.

Sincerely,

Michael Ellis

About the author: Michael Ellis is an Internet technology expert that specializes in marketing products and services online. Be sure to visit Michael's website http://www.VictoryKey.com for FREE Internet Marketing articles, tips and discussion forums .

eBay the new revolution

Author: Tristan Jud

I am probably a bit slow on the uptake of this but it is something that really hadn't interested me until not too long ago when I started to hear things about that some people are going to ask me some advice on how to use eBay to their advantage. I'm not just talking about the average Joe that wants to have an auction I'm talking about someone who wants to make money out of it, just like a normal online store.

So it wasn't until today that I set out to discover if eBay could really be more then just an auction site.

I had a few theory's that I had come up with about eBay a before I set out to find out what was on offer.

1. If you were to make any kind of money you would want to have a store which had a permanent address. 2. You would need some kind of product that consumers would want to buy online.

So what did I learn, well quite simply I was correct there is such thing as an eBay store. From my knowledge of online marketing this would have to be the best way to get ahead from everyone else on ebay.

This way you would have more chance of repeat customers and you could use your URL to advertise outside eBay itself. This is the ultimate option for anyone considering eBay as a means of making money online.

From what I can tell while looking around it is not just physical products sold on eBay. Closer to my home, web design, there are a few people offering their webdesign services over ebay.

I am not sure how successful that is but I have decided that I will give it ago. That is really the only way to find out how it is going to work isn't it. So tomorrow I will start and auction to see where it leads me.

So is eBay the new revolution in online selling? Well if you think about it the amount of people that seem to use it could only mean that it has to work.

About the author: Able Net Design, located in Perth, Western Australia, Able Net Design provides web design and development solutions for both large and small clients, from complete website design to basic site maintenance. Able Net Design - web design perth

Jewelry Wholesale and eBay Auctions

Author: Tony Robinson

eBay is a great place to find almost any item that you can imagine. Jewelry wholesale auctions are quite common on eBay, and in many cases, you cannot beat the deals that are offered here. However, there are also many con artists that operate through eBay, and you have to use caution.

Start by reading all of the fine details about the jewelry wholesale lots that you are purchasing. If you still have questions, send those questions to the seller through eBay's website. Make sure that you keep all of your contact with the seller through the website so that there is documentation.

Check out the person or company that is offering the jewelry wholesale. Look at their ratings and their feedback. Has there been any negative feedback? If so, you may want to reconsider your options and look into other auctions. If the feedback is all positive, and the seller's rating is high, doing business with them should not be a problem.

Make sure that you are clear about shipment costs and the shipment time frame, as well as the payment options offered. Usually, the buyer is responsible for the shipment costs, and this is added to the total and paid before the item ships. In the case of high ticket items, insurance may be required on the item as well. The seller seldom pays the shipping costs.

If the jewelry wholesale is a high ticket item, such as jewelry that is bought in bulk or rare pieces of expensive jewelry, you should strongly consider using the escrow service that is recommended by eBay. If the seller recommends any escrow service other than the one that eBay recommends, you might not want to do business with this seller - it could be a scam.

Beware of sniper's on eBay! Sniping is against the rules at eBay, but a large group of people do it anyway. Sniping is automatic bidding, which is not against the rules, but the software or service is instructed to place the highest bid in the last possible minute of the auction - leaving no time for anyone else to place a higher bid. Again, this is against eBay's rules.

Instead of sniping, place your first bid at the maximum amount that you are willing to pay for the jewelry wholesale lot. Each time the bid is raised, your bid will automatically be raised - until your limit is reached. This is not sniping, and it is a perfectly legal way to bid on auctions at eBay.

About the author: Tony Robinson is a Jewelry Enthusiast, International Author and Webmaster. Check out his Jewelry Cleaning advice at http://www.officialjewelrycleaner.com/

Saturday, May 20, 2006

How I Made A Fortune On Ebay Using Dropshippers... And Then Lost It All

Author: Kevin Nobleman

My name is Kevin and I'm 24 years old. This is the true story of how during the summer of 2001, I made $40,000 selling dropshipped goods on ebay only to lose it all and end up with $4,000 of debt. Read my cautionary tale to prevent yourself from making the same mistakes that I made.

I first found out about dropshipping back in June of 2001 a little after I started a not-so-profitable business on eBay selling cell phone accessories and such. I saw dropshipping as an all profit method of business. You don't pay for shipping. You don't pay for inventory. You basically just advertise the product on auction websites such as eBay, take orders, collect the money, and pay the set amount for each item to the dropshipper keeping the remaining amounts for yourself as profits. I now realize that it is only that easy when you're dealing with the right person.

I first started dropshipping with a guy named Chris. I was selling Nike Air Jordans on eBay. I saw that Jordans are real popular on eBay and people pay huge amounts for them. I've seen some pairs go for $1,000+. Chris only charged me $67 a pair. So, I basically just doubled the price and sold them on eBay for $134 a pair. I sold about 20 pairs of shoes within a week giving me a profit of $1,340. I suddenly became happy with the success I had because obtaining over $1,000 in a week at the age of 19 is pretty rare. So, I wanted to start putting up way more auctions so that I could make way more money. Unfortunately, this is when Chris became unreliable. He never returned any of my e-mails and never got back online. Plus, he only had shipped half of the 20 orders I had. So, I decided that I needed a replacement quick before I started to have some unhappy customers on my hands.

This now brought me to dropshipper #2. I talked to the guy about the situation and he said that he would be able to handle it. I paid him for the remaining 10 orders I had left and he shipped the shoes off to my customers. I respected the fact that he picked up right where my previous dropshipper had left off at and took care of business. So, I assumed that this guy was all about business and was a very reliable and legitimate dropshipper. So, I started to put up more buy it now auctions and these shoes were selling faster than I could put them up for auction. This is the unbelievable part. I had sold 250 pairs of shoes in a matter of 4 days. I collected over $40,000 in 4 days. That's $10,000 a day! This came as an amazement to me especially since I was only 19 at the time. I've made some people's yearly salaries in a matter of only 4 days. Little did I know though that I was in over my head. I got a little too greedy and started to splurge on money that wasn't even mine yet; buying clothes, shoes, and even put a $1,000 down payment on a new car. My dropshipper shipped my first 30 orders only to find out that he had shipped off nothing but all wrong sizes and wrong colors. So, I had a lot of complaining customers. Some even went straight to PayPal to complain causing PayPal to limit access to my account. So, now I had over $40,000 sitting in my PayPal account that I had absolutely no access to and over 200 orders that need to be shipped off. So, my only option was to refund everyone their money back to get my PayPal account back to regular standing, which brought me to my next dilemma...

I spent almost $4,000 of the $40,000 I thought would be mine to keep. So now, my Paypal balance was negative $4,000 and I needed to come up with that $4,000 quick before PayPal took legal action to get that money. I thought the only way to get me out of this mess was by the same way that got me into this mess. This is what brought me to dropshipper #3.

I stumbled upon a guy named Jarell. I found him through a legitimate business website so I decided to sell enough pairs of Jordans to make up the $4,000 and then I'd call it quits because this was too much for someone so young. Everything went smooth and I was able to make the $4,000 using my girlfriend's PayPal account. Unfortunately, PayPal then limited access to her account also finding out that she was linked to me. This then aggravated me because now I had 15 orders that I in no way could pay my supplier. If I had shipped to my customers it would bring more complaints and negative feedback which was very bad for business. That was then, this is now.

After reviewing my whole experience with dropshipping in hindsight, I realized all of the mistakes that I had made. For anyone who is looking into working with dropshippers, please pay close attention.

1. Before going into business with someone who is going to be dropshipping merchandise for you, be sure to get to know the person really well. Don't go by instinct. Have a few converstations with the person before you start anything. Collect all methods of contact of the dropshipper for emergency contact.

2. I suggest that you do not start off having the dropshipper ship the merchandise to your customers. Order some of the merchandise for yourself and examine it thoroughly before you go into business. I started to recieve e-mails from angry customers stating that the Jordans were of terrible quality when I was told by my dropshipper that they were of authentic quality.

3. Don't bite off more than you can chew. As stated previously, I sold 250 pairs of shoes in 4 days. Within those 4 days, I had to deal with about 600-700 e-mails which is almost impossible for only one person to deal with that also has school to worry about. Patience is the key to success.

These were a few of the mistakes that I made dealing with dropshipping. I had a price to pay for my mistakes. I owed $4,000 to PayPal and I had a $2,000 eBay bill that I ended up working during the summer to pay off. My purpose in writing this is for everyone considering going into business with a dropshipper to take precautions and use the tips I provided. I would also like to say that even though I had a bad experience dealing with dropshipping, that is not always the case. I know there are some people who have become successful and wealthy off of dropshipping.

Five years have passed since I began my journey in this industry. I finally did pay off all of my debts that summer and have made it my mission to educate and inform people of the scammers out there waiting to ambush the inexperienced and naive. I wrote this article because I don't want anyone else to go through the experience that I did. There were times where I felt hopeless and bitter for falling into a trap that left me feeling depressed. Needless to say, I have learned from my soul-crushing mistakes and now make a decent living selling on ebay.

About the author: Kevin Nobleman has researched and uncovered numerous scams in the corrupt online drop ship industry. He has written special articles to help people avoid drop shipping scams. Kevin has discovered over two dozen legitimate dropshippers, wholesalers, independent suppliers and buyer/seller communities. Read about it at http://www.restaurantandbar.org/

Don't Let Negative Feedback On Ebay Get You Down

Author: Stephen Pope

Remember the student in school who complained (or even cried) because they only got a ninety-nine percent mark on an assignment or test. Meanwhile, some of us were relieved (if not ecstatic) to have merely passed.

I actually witnessed one case where the math student insisted that he was not wrong. On rechecking the test, the teacher realized the answer sheet was wrong and not the student. The student got one hundred percent correct.

Realistically, however, most of us lesser mortals can't expect to get a perfect mark or score every time.

First of all, none of us are perfect. We all make mistakes.

Secondly, unlike math, some subjects are more subjective in nature. In certain subjects, the answer to a question may not be simply right or wrong. The teacher may have more latitude in how your grades are calculated. The teacher may even (consciously or subconsciously) increase or decrease your grade based on whether they like you (or your attitude) or not.

Similarly, in business, you can't please everybody all of the time.

In eBay or other Internet auctions, you will not be able to satisfy everyone. Even if you have one hundred percent positive feedback on eBay now, eventually it must fall.

Not all of your customers will be happy with you all of the time. You might make a mistake resulting in an unhappy customer. Sometimes factors beyond your control (such as a lost shipment) may result in a negative feedback.

Occasionally, you might even get a customer who is unreasonable. If he leaves you negative feedback, sometimes all you can do is leave a negative feedback in return. This is not so much as an act of retaliation; it is more a matter of presenting your side of the story.

Sometimes, a customer has a legitimate complaint. Other times the customer has jumped the gun and hasn't given you a fair chance to resolve matters. It is even possible that your customer is a sadist who takes delight in tormenting others.

Regardless, you can make the offer to mutually agree to withdraw negative feedback from each other.

If you both agree and follow eBay's procedure, the negative feedback will be removed from both of your total scores (thus improving both feedback ratings). The negative comments themselves won't be removed by eBay but neither will your response to defend yourself.

Even if this tactic to remove negative feedback is not successful, at least you tried. Don't let your pride stand in the way of trying to make peace with the customer and reversing any negative feedback.

If the customer won't agree, at least you've told your side of the story. Let your prospective customers decide if they want to do business with you or not.

I personally like it when I see an eBay seller with a perfect feedback rating. Realistically, however, I realize that you simply can't please everyone. Even if you did everything perfectly, there are still people who are just not reasonable.

Thus, even if a seller has some negative feedback, if the overwwhelming majority are pleased with him, I tend to discount the few dissidents. I suggest you do the same in evaluating others as well as yourself.

About the author: J. Stephen Pope, President of Pope Consulting Inc., has been helping clients to earn maximum business profits for over twenty-five years. To learn more about Internet auctions and other profitable Work at Home Small Business Ideas, visit http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/auctions.html

Use eBay to Generate Website Traffic

Author: Michael Ellis

If you're looking for a way to market your website, and you haven't considered using eBay, then you could very well be missing out on one of the lowest cost website marketing options around. Let me explain...

Everyone is looking for a way to generate targeted website traffic at the lowest possible cost, but it seems that a whole lot of people are overlooking an awesome website marketing tool that is probably already book-marked inside their browser - eBay.

EBay has over 65 million registered users buying, selling and browsing all kinds of products around the clock. Just think, what if we (website owners) had a way to funnel some of that traffic off onto our website? Well, we do, and we can do it relatively cheaply!

The key to accomplishing this is the eBay 'Me' page. The eBay Me page is sort of a profile-like page that you setup for your eBay ID. When potential customers look at your auctions, and your ID, they will see a little 'Me' icon graphic that links to your Me page. And it's very important to note: your Me page can link to your website.

Let's see how this could work with an example. Let's say you have a website that sells a course on how to make money using Pay-Per-Click (PPC) search engines and you want to get traffic from eBay to this website.

A good way to go about doing this is to create a small report on PPC Advertising that you can market on eBay. This report should contain useful information, but it should also pre-sell your main product - your PPC course on your website. Your PPC report should be something that you're willing to give away or sell for very little, in the following example, you'll be selling it for 99 cents.

You then need two more things: an enticing auction advertisement, and an enticing Me page that drives visitors back to your website.

You're now ready to open your auction. The particular auction you're going to create should be a Featured Plus auction, which means it is displayed at the top of the auction listings before the non-Featured auctions (regular auctions). You will also want the auction to be a Dutch auction, which means you can sell multiple items from the same auction. A Featured Plus auction will cost around $20.00 to post, along with about $5 - $6 of miscellaneous posting fees including the Dutch auction fee. So your cost for selling a low-cost report in this manner will typically be about $26.00.

Now, I hate to go over figures because there's just so much that contributes to the outcome of those figures, but let me throw out some typical scenarios as I experienced them.

If your auction has an enticing title, you could very possibly get 100-300 visitors to your auction. I've personally seen auctions that sell home business informational products get up to 1500 visitors! Let's say you get 150. Of that 150, about 20% will visit your website through your Me page, which works out to about 30 visits, again my experience.

Of the 150 visits to your auction, you will generate some sales for your report. If the auction copy is good, it isn't uncommon to get 10% - 20% sales, especially at the 99 cents range, which works out to 15-30 purchases. Let's say you generate 15% sales, which works out to 22 sales (rounding down).

Now let's tally everything up. At the end of the auction, you've spent $26.00 on the auction itself. You made $22.00 on the report sales. And you generated 30 website visits. If we do the math, you came out paying about 13 cents for each website visitor ($26.00-$22.00/30 visits). Plus, you have a copy of your report in the hands of 22 hot prospects (remember your report pre-sells your website PPC course). Can it get better than that? The answer is yes! I've been conservative with these figures. The fact is, you can actually make money and drive traffic to your website with some practice/tweaking.

Interesting to note, at the time of this writing, Overture was charging anywhere from $0.51 for the tenth place position and $2.55 for the number 1 place position for the ""PPC"" keyword. In our example, we generated 30 visits for 13 cents per visit from 1 auction. What if you had 10 or 30 of these types of auctions running?

Granted, I realize that this example may not fit everyone's situation, but you should be able to apply it to some extent.

The formula is really quite simple: 1. Sell something that pertains to your website that you can give away or sell for very little. Information is the perfect product.

2. Then make sure your auction (and auction title) is extremely enticing - try to drive as much traffic to your auction as possible.

3. Then make sure your Me page drives the visitor to your website (maybe offer something free, like another report). Give it a try... you may have to tweak it here or there... but the formula does work.

Sincerely,

Michael Ellis

About the author: Michael Ellis is an Internet technology expert that specializes in marketing products and services online. Be sure to visit Michael's website http://www.VictoryKey.com for FREE Internet Marketing articles, tips and discussion forums .

Find Out The Key Ebay Selling Tips

Author: Chris Fox

Ever wondered how to get the most out of eBay? First off here are some practical eBay selling tips:

You need an eBay account. Then, take note of this step-by-step guide for setting up an auction. This is the core of eBay selling tips that you need to know.

Before you sell anything on eBay you should be guided by the eBay selling tip of researching first to make sure that you are going to get the best possible result. There might be better ways to sell your items in the research what sells on EBay section of the eBay.

Auctions with pictures almost always sell for more than those without pictures. You'll eventually want to invest in a digital camera, but for just getting started, you can take pictures with a regular camera.

On eBay selling tips regarding listing of products, one of the big mistakes when it comes to selling on eBbay is not listing the item at the right time and not for a long enough duration.

Try to write a clear and concise description and title. This will help save you time by cutting down the number of questions from potential bidders. If you do get questions, you should try to answer them promptly.

Research closed auctions to get an idea of what you might expect your item to sell for, and to figure out what to set your starting bid at.

The eBay selling tip on the best time start your auction is during weekdays so that it will finish on the weekend. The main reason for this is that most people are home on the weekends and have the time to sit and wait to the last minute to make their. Try to have your auction end by Sunday evening. This eBay selling tip is very advisable and have been experienced successful by most sellers.

About the author: Read the rest of this article by going now to

http://www.ebaysellingtips.net/ebaytips/The-Key-Ebay -Selling-Tips.html

eBay feedback - Establishing and Maintaining Your eBay Reputation

Author: Ryan Bowman

If you think of eBay as a social forum, Feedback is your popularity rating. For every transaction that takes place on eBay, buyers and sellers have the opportunity to rate eachother by leaving Feedback. Also before engaging in a transaction with a buyer or seller, eBay participants can view a buyer or seller's previous ratings in their Feedback Forum, and based on previous ratings and comments, determine whether or not they wish to do business with a particular buyer or seller.

So how does feedback work??

Each feedback rating consists of a positive, negative, or neutral rating, as well as a brief comment left by the buyer or seller. These ratings and comments allow other eBay Community members to get a good idea of how that rated individual does business and how previous customers who have bought or sold from them have been treated in the past.

Feedback ratings are cumulative, adding 'points' to your Feedback score. One point is added for a positive rating, a point is deducted for a negative rating, and a neutral rating has no effect on the score. eBayers with a score of at least 10 are given a yellow star, and as you accumulate points you receive various stars of various colors, up to a score of 100,000 which gets a red shooting star. These stars are symbols of trust and reliability which other eBay members can use to evaluate you.

Why would I get negative feedback?

When a customer is dissatisfied with a purchase, or the way they were treated, this can result in negative feedback. Also, when a seller is unhappy with how a buyer behaved in the transaction, negative feedback can result as well. Things that may result in negative feedback are:

-failing to make a payment for an auction you won, making payments late, or ignoring that you won the auction

-misrepresenting a product you sell by lying or using a false picture in your item description

-taking too long to ship a product to an eBay buyer, or failing to send the product although payment has been made

-rude or offensive business practices

-making a payment that is fraudulent, or making a payment with a check that is not good

-anything that basically makes the buyer or seller unhappy with the transaction

How can I avoid negative feedback?

Negative feedback is an ugly thing, and no one really likes to see it or get it. Fortunately there are several things you can do to ensure to your best knowledge, that you are doing everything on your part to avoid negative feedback. This simple and practical advice can save you a bad reputation, and ensure your eBay success:

-Make sure the items you are selling are honestly represented in your item description. If you are using stock photos, make sure that it is EXACTLY what the item looks like. Do not fail to mention damage, malfunctions, or falsify factual information the customer needs to know

-Be sure to mail all items and payments ON TIME. No one likes to be kept waiting, and late payments/shipments are a sure bet that you'll probably never transact with that party again.

-Respond to all correspondence and questions IMMEDIATELY. Online customers usually do not like to wait more than 8 minutes for an email response. While this response time may be a little extreme for some people, keep in mind that the faster you get back to a potential customer, the greater the chance that they will bid on your item once their questions are answered. This is why it is important to have a thorough item description which can answer any possible questions the customer may have.

-It may seem like common sense, but it you receive a payment for an item, MAKE SURE YOU FOLLOW THROUGH! Either mail out the item within 24 hours or refund the customers money immediately.

Hope this was helpful! Good luck and Happy eBaying!

About the author: Ryan Bowman is an experienced eBay member and webmaster for www.ebay-portal.net , your portal on the web for ebay success .

Friday, May 19, 2006

Move into the top 1% of all eBay Sellers - Accepting the Best Payment Methods

Author: adam ginsberg

eBay is becoming a more competitive environment to make money these days. As such, there are certain things that you can do as an eBay seller to separate yourself and distance yourself from your competition.

As you set up your eBay selling systems, make the commitment to accept all methods of payment. If not, you'll lose out on potential customers.

The following short list should be considered your preferred method of accepting payment on eBay:

1. PayPal

Paypal, owned by eBay, now has over 100 million members and is the most accepted payment method online. While some sellers don't like the 3% PayPal fees - remember that 97% of something is better than 100% of nothing.

PayPal is simple (and free) to set up - you are only charged a fee when there is a transaction. PayPal makes it easy for every seller to accept credit cards safely online without the time and expense of setting up a typical merchant account.

Many people shop on eBay for convenience. PayPal provides the simples and most convenient way for a buyer to pay. You can register for a free PayPal account at: http://www.paypal.com

2. Money Order or Personal Check

Some sellers don't like accepting a personal check for fear of the check bouncing. 99.9% of all checks are good. As long as you follow the basic strategy of not shipping your item until the check clears you have nothing to lose - even if the check is not good.

Remember that there are some buyers who don't have a credit card. If you make them go to the bank to get a money order, they may simply buy from someone else who takes a personal check.

I would suggest NOT taking checks from International Buyers as it simply takes too long for the check to clear. Reminder: In your payment terms in your auction, you'll need to disclose your payment policies - and be sure to specify whether you'll accept a personal check or money order from an International Seller.

3. Cash

While it's not the best method of payment, some eBay sellers do accept cash payments. It's not likely that a buyer will send you cash for their purchase.

4. Escrow

For a high-ticket item (car, real estate, jewelry, etc.) escrow is a safe and secure way to accept payment for the simple reason that the escrow service will guarantee full protection prior the close of the transaction. NOTE: With escrow, the seller has to wait for the confirmation that the buyer has received the merchandise prior to receiving payment.

Safe Payments Policy

Recently, eBay instituted a ""Safe Payments Policy"" in an effort to continue the safe and secure transactions on their site. eBay evaluates various payment methods to insure that transactions are safe within the eBay marketplace.

As such, their recent policy states that sellers may accept the following methods of payment: -PayPal -Direct Credit Cards (for those sellers with a merchant account) -Bank Wire Transfers -Personal Checks, Money Orders, Cashier's Checks and Certified Checks

Not permitted on eBay.com: Sellers may not solicit buyers to mail cash. Sellers may not ask buyers to send cash through instant cash transfer services (non-bank, point-to-point cash transfers) such as Western Union or Moneygram. Sellers may not ask buyers to pay with Stormpay, Greenzap.com or e-gold payments. Finally, sellers may not request payment through online payment methods not specifically permitted in this eBay policy.

About the author: Adam Ginsberg is an author and educator and has built a small fortune selling on eBay. Adam has discovered a system for generating wealth in the eBay marketplace. He has personally sold over $20,000,000 on eBay. Adam is the author of the bestselling book How to Buy, Sell & Profit on eBay.

EBay Business 101 for Newbies

Author: Ralph and Liz Henderson

Are you somewhat new to eBay business? Or just planning to enter the world of the eBay profession and evaluate its waters? You've not anything to dread. Here are simple startup tips for you, newbie.

Entering the eBay vocation means that you are opening up shop on eBay and becoming a merchant. It is easy and risk-free. All you are required to own is a computer, an internet connection and an inventory of items to vend. No startup costs are expected of you. Even if you're at your house, you can monitor your eBay profession easily enough. You can also do business online, right within eBay.

Starting out As a newbie merchant, you possess a somewhat adequate chance of succeeding in your eBay occupation by starting out with items that you understand and have experience with. Take it from the experts, when you begin by marketing in what you are knowledgeable about, you are right on target regarding its value. However, if the items you are supposed to start with do not fall in the line of your knowledge, there's no reason for worry. You only have to a little research about the items you possess to understand their value. There could be some odds and ends in your house that are sufficiently in good shape but not needed anymore. Or you might know of relatives and friends who have assets they want to get rid of. You can also buy discounted goods, seasonal and unusual items and crafts then resell them. The eBay profession has no limit on what market you could sell, as long as there are buyers attracted to what you have.

Have a photo, make a sale

Once you have set-up shop in the eBay area, start the ball rolling by letting clients know of your stock. Do this by taking pictures of the goods you are putting up for sale. The photo alongside your item listing is free. A 35-cent paid photo post of your item is offered by eBay - it's called Gallery. It works by having a concise photo of your product along with its listing on the search results. Understand that most customers in the eBay profession favor to see the photo of the item for sale. Most often, your listing will get hits largely because of photo attachments. People require to know they are buying something that exists. You may encounter that once you upload additional photos for each of your product listing, the demand for your products increases. Close-up and high-quality photos of your products are likely to bring you enormous sales outcome.

Price 'em good

Besides seeing your product, the next thing budding buyers on the eBay business look up is the cost. Note that in the eBay business, it is necessary to remind you not to price your article too elevated, or else buyers may lose interest. With a reasonable starting price, you only require to have two bidders to set off a higher price.

The principle in the eBay PowerSeller, with regards to setting up the starting price, is that the lower you set the price, the more likely buyers bid on it. You can even get them so connected to the item and inspire a need to be the bidder who gets the item.

For how long do you list up your product?

As a seller, listing a product in the eBay business involves meeting qualifications to use one-day period listing and paying necessary fees for 10-day listings. There are a few factors to know how long you should list an item in the eBay business: - Longer period listing gives potential buyers additional time to see your item and place bids - Listing relaying on your traffic volume. - Restricted period of listing if you are selling products related to certain events Additional things which sellers in the eBay business need to do to generate more profits:

- Regularly checking out the hit list for your items to know if you are obtaining more traffic. Additional traffic means more buyers. - Have a detailed product description on your listing to minimize numerous buyer inquiries - Proper directing of payment and shipping. Be aware that 3 out of 4 buyers on the eBay business prefer paying with PayPal. - Keep your buyers, delighted and satisfied with your products and overall service. - Lastly, keep tabs on other eBay sellers' experiences in the eBay business for you to understand and succeed.

Thank you, Ralph and Liz Henderson

About the author: If you are looking for more information on becoming an eBay PowerSeller make sure you visit ebay powerseller and remember to sign up for the FREE 5 day ecourse.

Ebay The Exciting World Of Trade

Author: Ruth Bird

Are you just starting off to buy and sell on eBay? Then read this article first. There are tips, ideas and hints on how to improve your EBay experience.

For buyers: If the seller is using a stock photo or didn't include a photo, ask for a current photo of the actual item, unless it's a major seller (in which case fraud should no be at issue) the seller should respond favorably to the request for an image, if the seller does not this is a warning sign. You have a right to ask for contact information once you enter into a transaction. Remember that once you ask for contact information, your transaction partner will also receive your contact information. Make sure you know what you are buying, so that there are no surprises when your item arrives in the mail. Bidding at the last moment doesn't always work; this method is popular, but with eBay's proxy bidding system, it's not necessary. Simply enter the maximum you're willing to pay for the item, rather than bidding a million times.

Of course, sometimes it's a good idea to enter a higher maximum during the last few minutes of an auction, but usually, this isn't necessary. Use the search tool properly when searching for items this is certainly an overlooked tool when it comes to eBay. Remember that sellers are limited in the number of characters in the title of their item, and sometimes sellers write poor titles to begin with. If your search is yielding no results, try doing an advanced search. Check off search descriptions, and you just might find what you're looking for.

For the very beginning seller,

1) Go to eBay, open an eBay selling account. This procedure is very simple. Just follow the steps given.

2) Check out some of the listings already active in eBay.

3) When starting off for the first time, enter your listing, add a picture, and perhaps add a gallery picture. No need to get fancy.

4) Pay special heed to your title, make sure it is explanatory, and catchy, and has enough information for the buyer

5) Make sure in the ""description"" you disclose full details pertaining to your item. Do not hide or try to cover anything. Also, try to write your description in a way that will grab the attention of the readers. Don't be boring in your writing. MAKE the buyer want to buy your product.

6) Do research, it's easy with eBay.

7) Learn, always learn! There are many places on the ""net"" where you can teach yourself for free.

8) Have fun on eBay, try the unusual, you will be surprised what sells. When selling, write a title that accurately describes your item. Use manufacturers name and model number within the title if applicable. Write a detailed description that allows prospective bidders to make a decision about purchasing the item. A basic tip of the description can never be too long as long as it is describing the item. 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. List your item in the most appropriate category.

Many buyers' 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. 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. Know the fair price and your maximum eBay includes an option in their advanced search to search for completed auctions. Use the completed auction search feature to find similar items and their final price.

Search other stores like Amazon.com, overstock.com, and other online stores to see if they are selling it for less than the auction. You can also use sites like Shopping.com and PriceGrabber.com to find existing non-auction deals. And most importantly, know your maximum bid. Determine the price you're willing to pay for the item. If it sells to someone else for a penny more that your maximum, you should be able to think ""They overpaid!"" You should also feel that if you win it for one penny less than your maximum, you can think ""I got a deal!"" Your maximum bid should be your true maximum bid.

Review seller feedback before ever placing a bid, you must review the seller's feedback. The seller should have very few negative feedbacks, if any. With items worth only a few dollars, you can be more lenient with new sellers. If it's an expensive item, be very careful bidding if the seller has a low feedback rating or any number of recent negative ratings.

Is the seller using an anonymous e-mail address (eg Yahoo! hotmail), scammers often use anonymous e-mail accounts. Seller and buyer leave feedback on the same day the auction ended. Feedback left by the buyer and seller the same day the auction ended, often for more then one auction. This might indicate the buyer was a shill. The other side of buying is the selling. Anyone can sell anything on eBay. Open an account, list your product, and wait for the bids to start coming in. There are secrets to being a power seller on eBay. If you have any questions, ask again, a seller who does not respond to your e-mail, is not much of a seller.

About the author: Ruth has been engaged in internet marketing for many years. Pet and People Health are her passions. Ebay has just become a new and exciting and different way of selling for her. She has an eBay home site, http://myebayat.blogspot.com /

How To Apply NLP Techniques To Explode Your Profits On Ebay - Part 2

Author: Dan Lim

This is the second part of a two part article

Applying NLP on your auction description

Using NLP on ebay can be very effective however as with all things, you should use some common sense and not overdo it.

When you write your NLP laced ad description, formulate a plan. The following is an example of the order of operation.

1) Elicit Values

Eliciting Values simply means putting yourself in your customers' shoes and find out their needs and wants. Know your target market.

Some of the questions you can ask yourself are:

- What do they want? - What do they like? - What are they afraid of? - Can my product or service fulfill that need? - How much would they pay for much a service or product?

Some of the answers to the questions above are already there on ebay market research section. Use ebay pulse to find out what they want. Check the completed items on the average selling price of your product or service.

2) Set up mental states, bind them linking to your product or service

I have already mentioned this in the first part of my article. It is called Thought Binding. Since I already talked about it, I shall not go into detail here.

Essentially, it is about building a chain of states, with the first link being the current state they are in now to the final state you want them in.

For example, they are in a state of indifference about buying your product. That is the first state. The final state is you want them to be drooling about your product and whipping out their credit card to buy after reading your auction description.

Using curiosity, intrigue or just paint a picture in their minds how they will benefit by using your product.

3) Presuppositions - Influence the buying decision with 'trick' questions

Presuppositions can be used in ordinary sentences to help someone decide or rather decide for them indirectly. A presupposition is a question in which a person is choosing the path you indirectly set for them. So, in a sense you are not giving them a chance to say yes or no to your product.

One example is the following sentence

""You won't the most out of the product just reading about it, since the best way is to experience it yourself""

Another example:

""Won't it be great after you get (your product) and you can experience for yourself what it can do for you? Then you can just look back, smile that smile of satisfaction and wondered why you hadn't got it sooner""

4) Binder commands

Binder commands or subliminal messages/command is the one of the most sneaky facets of NLP.

An example is ""When you buy (your product) by today, you will also get X amount dollars worth of products free to the first 50 people""

The binder command is Get It Now.

The above order of operation is only an example and may vary from case to case. In most cases, you may need to change the order depending on your product or service.

About the author: Dan Lim is an avid ebay fanatic who has been quietly earning a comfortable living online. For more ebay selling secrets and strategies, visit bestnzb.com

Move Into The Top 1% Of All Ebay Sellers - Accepting The Best Methods Of Payment

Author: Adam Ginsberg

eBay is becoming a more competitive environment to make money these days. As such, there are certain things that you can do as an eBay seller to separate yourself and distance yourself from your competition.

As you set up your eBay selling systems, make the commitment to accept all methods of payment. If not, you'll lose out on potential customers.

The following short list should be considered your preferred method of accepting payment on eBay:

1. PayPal

Paypal, owned by eBay, now has over 100 million members and is the most accepted payment method online. While some sellers don't like the 3% PayPal fees - remember that 97% of something is better than 100% of nothing.

PayPal is simple (and free) to set up - you are only charged a fee when there is a transaction. PayPal makes it easy for every seller to accept credit cards safely online without the time and expense of setting up a typical merchant account.

Many people shop on eBay for convenience. PayPal provides the simples and most convenient way for a buyer to pay. You can register for a free PayPal account at: http://www.paypal.com .

2. Money Order or Personal Check

Some sellers don't like accepting a personal check for fear of the check bouncing. 99.9% of all checks are good. As long as you follow the basic strategy of not shipping your item until the check clears you have nothing to lose - even if the check is not good.

Remember that there are some buyers who don't have a credit card. If you make them go to the bank to get a money order, they may simply buy from someone else who takes a personal check.

I would suggest NOT taking checks from International Buyers as it simply takes too long for the check to clear. Reminder: In your payment terms in your auction, you'll need to disclose your payment policies - and be sure to specify whether you'll accept a personal check or money order from an International Seller.

3. Cash

While it's not the best method of payment, some eBay sellers do accept cash payments. It's not likely that a buyer will send you cash for their purchase.

4. Escrow

For a high-ticket item (car, real estate, jewelry, etc.) escrow is a safe and secure way to accept payment for the simple reason that the escrow service will guarantee full protection prior the close of the transaction. NOTE: With escrow, the seller has to wait for the confirmation that the buyer has received the merchandise prior to receiving payment.

Safe Payments Policy

Recently, eBay instituted a ""Safe Payments Policy"" in an effort to continue the safe and secure transactions on their site. eBay evaluates various payment methods to insure that transactions are safe within the eBay marketplace.

As such, their recent policy states that sellers may accept the following methods of payment:

-PayPal -Direct Credit Cards (for those sellers with a merchant account) -Bank Wire Transfers -Personal Checks, Money Orders, Cashier's Checks and Certified Checks

Not permitted on eBay.com: Sellers may not solicit buyers to mail cash. Sellers may not ask buyers to send cash through instant cash transfer services (non-bank, point-to-point cash transfers) such as Western Union or Moneygram. Sellers may not ask buyers to pay with Stormpay, Greenzap.com or e-gold payments. Finally, sellers may not request payment through online payment methods not specifically permitted in this eBay policy.

About the author: Adam Ginsberg is an author and educator and has built a small fortune selling on eBay. He has personally sold over $20,000,000 on eBay and has written the best selling book: How to Buy, Sell & Profit on eBay. You can learn more at adamginsberg.com

Thursday, May 18, 2006

Make Money Online Selling On eBay

Author: Bing Zou

You may know every Internet Giant, from Amazon, Yahoo, to AOL, Google, but not forget eBay. Only eBay is so close that home based business can make money online. It is the easiest way to make money online selling on eBay.

You may not realize it yet, but you are about to begin an exciting new lifestyle! The world of online auctions is not only a very profitable world, but it can also mean a lifestyle change unlike any you could've imagined just a few years ago.

eBay is now the world's largest marketplace and the online auctions model which eBay first brings into business actually allows you the opportunity to make money online quickly. So why not use this to the advantage of your website and your business? By creating an easy-to-use eBay Store and listing some hot, in-demand items at a small discount from the price on your website, you can drive traffic from eBay back to your website as well as creating sales and revenue for your company through eBay. eBay Store's monthly fees is nominal and can easily be paid off from the profit of just a few small sales. eBay Store is set up to where your item can be listed automatically saving your valuable time and making the maintenance of your eBay Store effortless.

Compare this with the majority of businesses out eBay, which may actually take a year or couples of years before they realize any real profits, you will feel satisfied. Is it amazing to make money online selling on eBay? By simply understanding and knowing what you are doing, you can be very successful doing your online business to make money selling on eBay.

The traffic on eBay is massive, check out the figures for yourself at any source you trust. eBay has a staggering 10 million items on sale at any point in time. The site gets 1.5 billion auction page views each month. This is the key that makes it so easy for ordinary people to make money on eBay. It is simply a matter of taking your products to where the customers are waiting for it. But you need to know what you are doing. It all boils down to getting the formula to maximize your auction effectiveness.

You can be found by more eBay users by being as descriptive as possible in the item description and by using as many keywords as possible that describe your item and industry within the Item Title. Reports show that over 90% of searches on eBay are done using the search facility. What users do not know about eBay search facility is that by default it only searches the item titles - not the descriptions of the items. Imagine building a website that got more than 10 million unique visitors per Day. Do you think you might be able to find a way to make money online selling on eBay? One of the greatest benefits of selling on eBay is this sheer volume of traffic that you automatically acquire as a registered seller of eBay.

eBay allows you to set up an account with only some basic personal information and a credit card for billing. There is typically no up-front investment required! Meanwhile, you can use PayPal as your tool to collect your money from selling on eBay. If you compare this to traditional business, you have to admit this is for your utility.

One of the main concerns that sellers have about trading on internet is: ""How do I know that they are going to pay?"" That is not a question at all.

eBay and

PayPal have protections for sellers and protect buyers also. One protection is ""feedback"". This is simply a recorded ""comment"" (either positive, neutral or negative) left by both the buyer and seller after a transaction ends, telling future buyers and sellers how that particular transaction went.

Just imagine the facts that there are numerous of people making money online. The facts are that there are numerous of people who make money online selling on eBay. So why the next one is not you?

About the author: Bing Zou is the owner of website www.haveatry.com and www.onlyworkonline.com . Haveatry.com is designed for making money at home with a new lifestyle. Onlyworkonline.com recommends opportunities to make money fast. You can contact him at email: infofreetoyou@yahoo.ca

Internet Marketing Research With Google, Ebay And Amazon

Author: Rene Graeber

Internet searches are extremely effective in finding not only how popular your topic is, but how to set up your autoresponder for maximum results.

A vast majority of internet users find what they're looking for by searching, whether they use a general web search engine like Google or a site-specific engine to wade through consumer mega-sites like e-Bay and Amazon.

A quick search on your topic will reveal how many people are interested, and what convinces them to check products out.

Google

Without a doubt, Google is the most popular internet search engine--so much so, its name has become a synonym for the act of running a web search (i.e., ""I couldn't find that site that posts the winning lottery numbers, so I just Googled it."")

Many internet marketers make increasing their site ranking--the ""place in line"" the site appears in Google results using their keywords--one of the key components of their advertising campaigns.

Obtaining a top 10 Google rank (appearing on the first page of search results) is akin to winning an Olympic gold medal in the marketing world.

How can this help you with your market research? By studying the top search results for pages you find through keywords relating to your topic, you can find out what these sites are doing to achieve search engine success.

The following steps will help you run an effective and informative Google search.

1. List keywords and keyword phrases relating to your topic. For example, if your topic is ""working from home"", your list of keywords might be: work from home, working from home, work at home, telecommute, telecommuting, at home jobs.

2. Go to the Google home page and type in your first keyword or phrase, then click on ""Google Search"".

NOTE: If you are not familiar with Google, clicking on ""I'm Feeling Lucky"" will not produce a list of web sites; it will take you directly to what Google has determined the most relevant site for your keyword. But if you're in the mood for a laugh, you might try ""I'm Feeling Lucky"" just for kicks.

When you receive the search results, check out the pages that are relevant to your topic (search engines are by no means exact, and sometimes you will find results that don't relate to your topic--or at least, not in the way you had in mind). The best way to do this is to right-click on the links you want to visit and choose ""Open in new window."" This will keep the Google search results page open so you don't have to backtrack through your browser to find it again.

3. Note the way the sites are laid out (is it appealing and easy to read, or does it make your eyes bleed?), what kind of text is on the front page (does it seem informative, or is it all hype? Are there a lot of spelling and grammar errors?), and whether there is an obvious available product. If there is a site counter, note how many visitors the site has received.

4. Repeat this process with the rest of your keywords. You will often find the same sites showing up in the top 10 for different, related searches. Pay special attention to these; they are the ones you may want to emulate when you create the web site for your autoresponder.

NOTE: If you run a Google search on your topic and find only two or three related web sites before the results turn up unrelated material, it may indicate there is a limited market for your topic. In this case you should either rewrite your keywords and try again, or consider choosing a different topic altogether.

eBay

It's said you can buy anything on eBay, from cars and computers to clothing formerly worn by celebrities.

This massive online consumer marketplace and auction house is a haven for buyers and sellers looking for great deals from the comfort of their own homes.

Searching for products related to your topic on eBay can help you home in on your market. It will also help you determine how much buyers are willing to pay for products related to your subject.

Follow these steps to exploit eBay for information:

1. Sign up for a free eBay account. This personalizes your experience and allows eBay to provide you with relevant information every time you visit.

2. Go to the eBay home page and log in.

3. Choose one of the categories on the left-hand side of the page that's relevant to you topic and browse through the listings, or search for a specific item or topic using the search bar at the top of the page.

4. Make note of the price ranges people are willing to pay for items or products related to your topic. This will give you a general idea of what to charge for yours. Also, note how many products are available related to your topic in comparison to other topics. This is not limited to books: you might find CDs, audio programs, or one of many forms your product can take.

Amazon

Amazon.com, the ""other"" internet consumer giant, is similar to e-Bay in that you can find just about anything you want to buy. Amazon's biggest selection is in media: books, movies and music; but they also have an enormous inventory of electronics, toys, jewelry, clothing and accessories, and much more. Where e-Bay concentrates on selling used products through auctions and classifieds-style advertising, Amazon carries new products along with a healthy dose of independent sellers touting used wares.

Your purpose in using Amazon for market research is twofold: you will identify your competition and find out how popular your topic is, and you will familiarize yourself with how Amazon works, as you will likely want to consider making your product available through Amazon.

Here's how to check it out:

1. Sign up for an Amazon account, if you don't already have one. Like eBay, Amazon will give you personalized recommendations based on your searching and buying history, and keep you updated with the latest available information on your topic.

2. Once you've signed up, go to the Amazon home page and log in (you may be automatically logged in; Amazon really likes keeping track of its customers and often will keep you perpetually signed on, even when you leave the site...)

3. Using the search bar at the top of the page, choose ""Books"" from the dropdown list and type in your topic or keywords. The results you get will be both print books and e-books. Since Amazon deals primarily in new product, you will be able to view the retail price of competitive products.

4. Make note of prices and the number of titles available relating to your topic. Also, you might want to consider checking out the Listmania sections on the product pages you view (you can find this by scrolling down on the page, almost to the bottom). Listmania is an Amazon program that promotes customer recommendations by allowing Amazon users to compile lists of their favorite books on Amazon. Checking out Listmania picks helps you understand what type of product your target market is interested in, and how much they are willing to pay for it.

5. Once you find a product, if you scroll down past Listmania you will find sections on ""similar items by category"" and ""similar items by subject."" You can browse through the available products related to your topic in this way without going back to your search results page.

About the author: Did you know that 99.92% of the people trying to earn a living on the Internet are failing miserably? The problem is the frame of mind that most of the ""dreamers"" are in! If you want to change this make sure to visit the website: http://www.online-marketing-center.com

Ebay Selling 101: Things A Seller Should Know Before Selling On Ebay

Author: Nicky Pilkington

Nowadays, eBay is becoming a fast increasing market for online shoppers. It gives them the convenience and feasibility of shopping online.

However, it is the seller that benefits most of the time as they find selling things on eBay a lucrative way of earning additional wages. But before a seller logs in and sell his or her items on eBay, there are some things that needs to be done first, here's how:

1. Sellers must know the rules.

It is extremely important for sellers to know first the rules and regulations of eBay concerning items to be sold and the transaction method. This is one way of protecting themselves so as to avoid fraudulent activities.

2. They should know their market.

Before selling, a seller should first contemplate on what type of market is she or he aiming at. If the sellers know who their target market is, it would be easier for them to think of effective words to use on their descriptive title and the details of their items.

3. They should know the selling fees.

It's a must for them to know how much the selling fees of eBay are so that they may include this on the initial price of their item.

4. They should know the available payment scheme.

The sellers should know these first so that they can assess which type of payment mode are they comfortable with. After all, they should stress this out when posting their items on sale.

5. They should know how to make an account.

It is, indeed, important for the seller to know first the basic procedures of creating an account on eBay before selling an item. No one can go start selling an item right away without having an account on eBay.

They should know how to register first. They can do this by going to the eBay website and set up a seller's account by entering some pertinent information like a valid credit/debit card account or bank account. Though, they may opt for an alternative if they are not comfortable doing this. They may opt to become ID verified as a substitute.

For payment purposes, they should also know how to open a PayPal account.

Also, they should know first what kind of format to use, the category of the item, how to write the title and the specifications of the sale, item description, how to increase the item's visibility, and how to contact the winning bidder before starting to post an item on eBay.

If all of these things are already clear on the seller, then posting an item on eBay will never be a problem. It's that easy!

About the author: Find out more about ebay and online auctions at http://auctionhelper.info

How To Get More For Your Car On eBay Motors

Author: Gregg Hall

Everyday more and more people turn to eBay to sell products online and eBay Motors, the branch of the company created to sell vehicles is no different. I have bought and sold vehicles myself at eBay Motors and have had great experiences on both sides of the fence.

There are a few things that one should do in order to get the best price when selling online however. First, you must detail the car so that it appears as close to perfect as possible and you should not any flaws. This will circumvent any headaches later.

Don't go cheap on your auction description and pictures. It is far better to take many pictures and put them up as a slideshow than to put one picture and say email for more. Many people will not go through the trouble of requesting more photos.

From experience let me suggest that you take pictures of the following:

Start at the driver's side and take a shot at an angle shooting toward the headlight but showing the entire driver's side in the photo then move around the vehicle taking the side, rear, passenger, and then straight on front. Be sure to take close ups of any damage or flaws and point them out in your text as well. Next, take good pictures of the interior including the seats, floormats and under the floormats, the headliner, and the dashboard featuring the odometer to verify the mileage.

Next, you want to take pictures of the engine compartment which is why it is crucial that it has been detailed as well. One little trick I have used that I haven't seen many do is to also take the dipstick out and take a close up of the oil to show that is fresh and clean.

Lastly, this is something I learned from a shopper on one of my auctions. People want to see the underside of the car as well to be sure there is no rust or other damage so be sure to take pics of the underneath as well as the fender wells.

Be sure to answer any email requests promptly and courteously and include your phone number so people can call with questions.

If you follow these guidelines you are sure to get the most for your car.

About the author: Gregg Hall is a business consultant and author for many online and offline businesses and lives in Navarre Florida with his 16 year old son. Get the car care products you need to detail your vehicle from http://www.5starshine.com

How To Increase Site Revenue by adding self updating Ebay Pages

Author: Ian Simpson

One of the more time consuming tasks of maintaining a website is having continuously to update it with new products and other relevant content. Wouldn't it be nice therefore if you had a website that was self maintaining with automatically renewing content and the possibility of it earning a nice income for you?

There are a lot of savvy netpreneurs who are quietly raking in thousands of dollars each month by joining the ebay affiliate program and building niche websites based on the hottest selling products presently listed on ebay. Others add permanently updating content to their existing website to create more interest.

The first thing to do is to sign up to the ebay affiliate program, by going to Commission Junction.com who administer ebay's affiliate program in America and the UK. You will be sent a user name and password. An important point here is never disclose your log in details to ebay or Commission Junction. Scam emails are still doing their rounds on the web purporting to be from ebay and asking you to confirm your log in details. Always ignore these emails and delete them straight away.

What you will receive from ebay is a welcoming email with links to the various tools and resources that will allow you to build an ebay listing of your chosen subject. The three main tools to create listings are the flexible destination tool, the ebay editor kit and the API Tool.

The flexible destination tool allows you to create links to specific pages on ebay. Simply enter your Commission Junction PID (do not get this mixed up with your Commission Junction account number), the ebay page you want to link to, give your link a title and then generate your link to copy and paste into your web page.

By using the ebay editor kit you can build a whole page of listings of your chosen niche, anything from 1 to 200 listings, although 15 to 25 is a good size page to have. Let's say that you want an ebay page that deals with cars, you could generate a whole page of cars of any make or model or you could narrow it down to a particular make and model, the options are there for you to choose from.

The API Tool is designed for the more adventurous webmaster and allows you to take the ebay affiliate program to greater heights. Unless you have a penchant for developing it is best avoided and left to those that have the necessary experience to use it.

If you cannot think of a subject to build a website about, just visit any ebay home page and click ""Advanced Search"" at the top right of the page and choose a category from the menu to the right of the search box. From here tick ""Completed Listings Only"" and press to continue. If you want to be more specific and narrow down your search, add a description into the box. On the next page select ""Price, Highest First"" from the menu and you will get all the highest ticket items sold in the past few weeks. This is an excellent exercise to conduct if you are not too sure what you want to promote from ebay.

So there you have it, the above process will add updated clickable links to eBay auction listings for whatever you decide to promote. The process makes it simple for you to add future and updated content on your site relating to whatever your site is about and you can add as many pages of auction listings as you like. For more information about starting your own ebay business please visit http://www.deals4-u.com.

About the author: Ian Simpson reviews software and informational products on the internet for their value and usefulness. Subscribe to his free tips newsletter at http://www.information4income.com

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

The Secret To Purchasing Designer Handbags To Resell On eBay Or Your Own Online Store

Author: Laurie Winslow

You may have noticed that when you try to find authentic wholesale designer purses/ handbags it is nearly impossible to find information on true wholesale distributors. This article will define wholesale and tell you why it is almost impossible to become an actual wholesaler with a designer handbag company, and will show you the alternative to purchasing wholesale; that is how to purchase authentic designer handbags at below wholesale prices that you can resell instead.

First what does Wholesale really mean? Wholesale is the selling of goods to merchants; usually in large quantities for resale to consumers.

According to the United Nations Statistics Division Wholesale is the resale (sale without transformation) of new and used goods to retailers, to industrial, commercial, institutional or professional users, or to other wholesalers, or involves acting as an agent or broker in buying merchandise for, or selling merchandise, to such persons or companies. Wholesalers frequently physically assemble, sort and grade goods in large lots, break bulk, repack and redistribute in smaller lots, for example pharmaceuticals; store, refrigerate, deliver and install goods, engage in sales promotion for their customers and label design.

Designers Keep Their Products Exclusive

Companies, such as Kate Spade, Louis Vuitton and Coach that sell designer handbags will not just sell their handbags to anyone. They are very selective in who they allow to sell their handbags. The companies that they allow to sell their merchandise are required to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars per order and purchase in multiple quantities. In fact Louis Vuitton does not wholesale to anyone. Their products are so exclusive that their handbags can only be purchased at their company owed exclusive shops and one web site.

Recently someone paid to have a question answered on GoogleAnswers and this was the response they were given:

""Most wholesalers in Italy sell lots of $100,000+ at a time, and there are plenty of buyers for this merchandise. Most people who buy from Italy sell in lots of $10-$15k at a time and again, they're more likely to run OUT of merchandise than be over run with merchandise just lying around. Unless you plan to spend $100K or more, you are probably better off buying from people who buy from people in Italy."" The article went on to give an internet web site link where you could purchase handbags at discount prices and suggested to contact the online store to set up an account with them and negotiate a deal for better prices if you purchased in bulk.

The Secret to Getting Handbags To Resell

Since it is so hard to become a wholesaler for designer handbags you might be wondering how you can get merchandise for your online stores or eBay auctions. eBay PowerSellers know this answer and I am now going to share their secret with you. There are many reputable companies on the internet who sell authentic designer handbags at discounts up to 80% off retail prices. This is the key to getting handbags to sell below wholesale. These discounted handbags are usually past season, over-production, and closeout items. To find these web sites you have to scour the web and in the process you will run across a ton of sites that sell designer knock offs. To ensure the store is reputable you will have to do some research, including checking the About Me or a similar web page (look for a link off the home page), the handbag description itself and the stores guarantee about their merchandise. Make sure they guarantee that the handbags are ""authentic"". Many sites selling counterfeits omit this information or just mention the handbags are ""new"".

Authentic handbags come from many sources, including purchasing department store liquidations, purchasing directly from a distributor, or purchasing vintage products. Some companies even go over to Italy and purchase closeouts and liquidations and bring them back over here to resell. Don't be scammed by people claiming to provide you with actual wholesale lists for designer handbag companies. Their lists will be the same sites that you find on the internet and in my directory- not for the handbag manufacturers and distributors. As I have shown you it is nearly impossible to purchase handbags directly from the handbag manufacturer or distributor unless you have hundreds of thousands of dollars to spend, but by doing some careful research you can find products for your business at or below wholesale prices.

About the author: Laurie Winslow is the owner/ webmaster of http://www.internetmoose.com , a website business dedicated to helping other online internet businesses succeed. Be sure to check out her ebook on where to get Authentic Designer Handbags at discounts up to 80% off.

This article may be reprinted freely as long as all links remain active.

http://www.internetmoose.com http://www.internetmoose.com/prada_ebook.html

Clever Sellers Scoop Up The Bargains On eBay and Resell For Profit

Author: Teresa Ballinger

Did you know that everyday there are hundreds (maybe thousands) of eBay auctions that have misspelled words in the titles and descriptions? Auctions with misspelled information do not come up on the regular eBay search, so frequently these listings have no bids and can be scooped up at a bargain price. This means you can profit by locating these misspelled auctions before anyone else does!

If you are trying to sell ""jewerly"" instead of ""jewelry"" you are extremely likely to lose out on a ton of potential customers. If someone is an avid collector of ""vintage costume jewelry"" you can bet that the search term they use will be ""jewelry"" not ""jewerly"".

Remember - ""If you can't spell it...you can't sell it!""

The one and only way to seriously earn money on eBay is to take it into your own hands! Find deals whether it be locally or online. You should know a great deal when you see one. If you have trouble recognizing a good deal from a bad deal you may not want to get into eBay selling at all. That's not a slam on you, that's the reality. You have to be a ""natural"" when it comes to finding deals.

I want to share with you a really foolproof and definite way to make profits on eBay. Clever sellers purchase bargains on eBay all day long then turn around and re-sell those same items making a huge profit! This is a unique opportunity for those selling on eBay.

You can uncover these misspelled auctions by using this

free eBay misspelling tool . Simply enter a keyword and the tool will search eBay for matches for you. For instance, typing in the word ""jewelry"" will return tons of active eBay listings with misspellings of the word that may mean profit for you. At the time this article was written, there were 4774 active eBay listings with misspellings of the word ""jewelry"".

Benefits In Selling This Way:

No more shipping supplies to buy. You buy misspelled items, they are shipped to your house in boxes with packaging - do you understand where I'm going with this? You never have to pay for shipping supplies again. As soon as you receive the package, open it, inspect it, close it and re-label it.

Job security. With literally thousands of items per day being misspelled and listed.....even if 1,000 people were doing this, you would still never run out of opportunities and eBay has no spell check and never will.

Low investment. Try this method once and discover for yourself how easy it is. Buy something for $10 and re-sell it in days for $20. This happens ALL the time.

You should be to pick up some true bargains with no one else bidding against you. Just bear in mind thousands of items on eBay are listed with misspelled descriptions and item names, from a single word to multiple words. These items often close with no bids on them as no-one can find them. Use this

free eBay misspelling tool to uncover those hidden gems.

About the author: Teresa has been quietly making money online for 3 years. Try out this free eBay misspelling tool now by visiting http://www.power-buys.com/spelling.php. Do yourself a favor and bookmark this site - it's one amazing tool you will want to use again and again.

Mine Gold From eBay

Author: Niall Mehaffey

In this day and age, many people are turning to the internet to try and make their living or to just make some extra money and eBay is a great resource for those people to get started. Selling on eBay can be very lucrative if done the right way. In this article, I am going to give you a few points about selling on eBay to hopefully make it easier for you to make money.

Open an eBay shop. An eBay shop can boost your sales by quite a bit. With a shop, customers can bookmark it so they come back again and buy again, customers can sign up for your eBay newsletter so you can notify them of certain products, the shops are included in search engines so there is even more chance of getting seen and you can promote your shop with every auction you make.

Study your competitors. If you can learn how the successful eBay sellers are running their business, you can copy them and be just as successful as they are. Watch how they write their listings, use the ebay features and what type of products are the top sellers.

Cross promote with other sellers that sell the same type of items as you. Contact certain sellers and ask them if they would like to cross promote with you. If they agree then you simply show a few of their items on your listings and they do the same for you.

Automate everything. You should automate the feedback process, the relisting of unsold items and if you sell digital products you should automate delivery of the product. This will show customers that you are a proffessional eBay seller and therefore they will be likely to deal with you again. There are many programs out there that will automate delivery of your digital items, just search google for one.

Writing guides and reports. You now have the opportunity to write guides and reports and have them shown on eBay. This can be a good way to generate traffic to your auctions as people will read your guide/report and hopefully visit your shop. If you write a good article that makes people interested then they will more than likely want to see what items you are selling.

Never stop learning. As you grow your business you should always be looking for ways to learn new things about the eBay marketplace. Look for different ways to improve your business. You should always be studying your competitors and keeping up with the top selling items. There are functions on eBay that will also help you find out what's selling well.

About the author: Niall Mehaffey is an internet marketer and webmaster. If you would like to learn the real potential of eBay then click here make money on ebay

Ebay Wedding Planning - Decorations, Favors, Flowers and More!

Author: Stephanie Mulac

I wholeheartedly recommend inviting Ebay to your wedding! Well, actually Ebay won't be on your guest list, but if you do your research, the auction giant can be with you in spirit every step along the way.

Turn to Ebay for all your wedding planning needs, and you will soon find that you have a better selection than what is available in most local stores. And if you are on a budget, even better, because Ebay is the place to go for all your discount wedding supplies, favors, decorations, gifts, and more. There is a whole segment of Ebay sellers that are ready and waiting to accommodate your wedding planning needs - large or small, budget or extravagance. And because the sellers know there is usually a time frame associated with wedding related purchases, most items are also available as Buy it Now, so waiting for an auction to end is not even an issue.

Here is just a sampling of some wedding related items that can be had on Ebay:

Champagne Flutes - There are as many varieties as there are themes and color schemes for a wedding. Crystal, engraved, adorned stems that match handles on cake servers and knives, even glow in the dark for the eclectic amongst us.

Wedding Favors - These are really fun, especially if you are having a small wedding because, unlike many retail stores the minimum orders are very small and many sellers will accommodate just about any quantity you ask for. There are gorgeous candy wrappers that include foil in multiple colors. Casino chips that contain custom imprints of your name and special day, a face value for the chip and even a graphic! Foil stamped napkins are also a popular favorite and come in about 2 dozen color and graphic choices. There are heart shaped measuring spoons, measuring tape and about 10 other related items with the theme ""Love Beyond Measure."" Sachets, candles, and a myriad of other items that can be sold as is, or engraved for that special touch.

Unity Candles - Another popular category, due in large part to the emergence of weddings that include blended families. I would wager you could scour every store in your area for Unity Candles and you will not find any that come with more than two tapers. After all, the original concept of the Unity Candle was the joining of two. However, Unity Candle ceremonies are starting to involve more than just two and children are often a part of this touching ceremony. But that leaves a need for more than just two taper candles. Up steps the Ebay sellers to the plate. Since many of them are making custom candles, with you own personalized poem or saying on them and decorations to match the wedding colors, they also have the ability to put together any number of taper candles as well. This is something you won't find in most places.

Ring Pillows and Flower Baskets - Much the same as the Unity Candle makers, these crafty Ebay sellers are making all type of custom baskets and ring pillows for the little one's special part in your ceremony. There are embroidered varieties as well as a host of options for color and trim selection.

Banners and Decorations - If you've tried to purchase any type of vinyl banner lately, you know the prices are sky high, mainly due to the fact that people in the market for a vinyl banner are usually businesses and the banners are priced accordingly. So a consumer looking for a durable ""Just Married"" banner, can end up finding nothing but commercial pricing. Ebay to the rescue once again, you'll find a banner to your liking in no time at all.

Flowers - No wedding is complete without the flowers and Ebay offers a huge variety for any and all purposes. A favorite choice amongst brides who want to have a hand in their own flowers are wholesales of artificial flowers. The selection is endless and the photos are absolutely wonderful, so it is very easy to determine what you are getting both in color and flower type. Buying multiple quantities of sprays, bouquets, garland, etc. all give you the opportunity to break apart the bundles and create any type of custom bouquet or headpiece you desire.

This is just the tip of the iceberg as to what is offered on Ebay and with diligent research, you will find inspiration for many other ideas as well. On average, many of the sellers who specialize in wedding supplies are artists and craftsmen and they take great pride in what they produce. You will see this reflected in very positive feedback on most sites. If not, simply steer clear and go on to the next seller.

All in all, a little research and common sense will be your guide and when your special day is over, you will almost feel like sending Ebay a thank you note for the special part they played in your wedding!

About the author: Stephanie Mulac is a Motivational Coach and owner of http://www.90PercentAttitude.com, a website dedicated to helping Marketing Professionals Make Money With Websites on the Internet by developing a positive, winning attitude and providing online encouragement to others who don't have a support system in their lives. For additional wedding planning tips visit: http://www.smallweddingadvice.com

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

It's Easy To Use Ebay Auction Templates

Author: Monster Internet Empire

For many ebay sellers it makes sense to use auction templates to list their items, instead of having no design at all. Using a pre-designed ebay auction template allows you to present your product in a professional way. In fact, recent research has shown that visitors stay longer on a well designed website compared to amateurish looking one. Well, this very same principle it also true for your eBay auction listing. The better your ebay auction listing looks, the longer they stay on your site and the greater is the chance that they place a bit. Watch your own buying behaviour when you buy something on eBay. You'll be surprised why you placed a bid on a particular item.

Another big advantage of using ebay auction templates is, that even an absolute beginner and eBay newbie can use it and launch professional eBay auction listing instantly. Furthermore, you can re-use the same template over and over again. You can just add the text and description, upload the new pictures, make a link to the pictures in your new auction listing and you are ready to go. The best thing is that you can leave other details, like contact information, shipping details, company policy, payment instruction and a link to your 'about me' page all in place. There is no need for you to re-write it. This saves you precious time. You don't need to know a lot of HTML. In fact modifying existing auction templates is easy as 1-2-3:

You read the template file into your preferred WYSIWYG HTML editor. I personally love the 'Composer' program from Netscape. It's free and has many features that only expensive HTML editor programs offer. The big advantage of designing your auction listing offline is that you have full control on the design process. I had many ugly looking auction sites, because I wanted to save time and use Internet Explorer, logged into my eBay account and tried to list an item online - 'on-the-fly'. Big mistake! In fact, it took longer and the outcome was not convincing at all. I then decided to design the auction listing 'offline' first. I have used several HTML editor programs before but after I have tried Netscape 'Composer' I haven't looked back to any other HTML editor. When I am happy with the site, I just save the source code to my hard disk and I can always re-use this template. Then you simply copy and paste the source code into the 'eBay description' box when you list your item. It's just very easy...

There are thousands of ebay auction sites and even though there may be more than one ebay auction listing using the pre-designed auction template you choose, the likelihood of a visitor and potential buyer seeing both sites is not great. Every ebay auction site is unique in the products it presents. EBay auction templates present your item quickly and professionally without the hassle of designing an eBay auction listing from scratch.

About the author: Thomas Haselhorst is CEO of Monster Internet Empire and webmaster of http://www.auction-design-for-free.com | http://www.powerseller-articles.auction-design-for-free.com | http://www.rebrand.auction-design-for-free.com | http://www.monster-ebook-sale.com | http://www.submit-articles.biz

Why over 90% of Sellers are Losing Money on eBay

Author: Nick Destefano

Let's face it, everyone is trying to earn money on the Internet and there is no better and easier way to do that than selling products on eBay. It's very easy to setup an online auction which can only take a few minutes that can have the potential of millions of people view your item for sale. People in all different categories such as stay at home mom's, college kids, or even people with full time jobs that in their spare time, are all selling things on eBay to make a little extra income. It can cost as little as 25 cents to setup a basic auction with a description and one picture included in the listing fee. eBay also charges a percentage of the final bid price, but is usually minimal for the seller and that cost can be tacked on to the buyer in the shipping & handling fee. Since millions of people use eBay everyday, this is the cheapest and easiest way to sell your products and make a good profit.

A term that has really exploded over the Internet in easily selling products on eBay is through a method called ""dropshipping"". Using the dropshipping method allows someone selling products on eBay without having to carry any inventory or even ship the product to the buyer. There are many companies out there that will allow the user to purchase their products and then have them blind dropship the item to the winning bidder. The company will use the eBay auctioneer's name or company name and address as the return address so it appears the product actually came from them and not the true supplier. The true supplier will handle the packing, shipping, and any returns. Dropshipping is very popular because of the ability to not have to pay for the product up front until the auction ends and the buyer has paid you. Once the buyer has paid, you would simply send the order to the dropshipper and they would handle the rest including the sending of a tracking number for the package that can be forwarded on to the buyer. Using this method is very easy and does not take up much time so almost anyone can do it and profit. However, since more people are jumping on the eBay selling bandwagon, is there anymore room for profit?

It's getting easier to locate wholesalers and dropshippers, by either searching the Internet yourself, or simply purchasing a compiled list of dropshippers like the one at DropShippingWholesalers.com. Either method will put you in contact with dropshippers, however using an updated database that you have purchased can save you a lot of time and headaches because they have already rated and reviewed each dropshipper in their database. There are very good dropshippers out there, however many people are finding out about them and using the dropshipper for the same products and posting them on eBay. Here is where the competition comes in. For example, you found a nice Sony DVD player that retails for $199 and you can get for $125 wholesale through a dropshipper. Not bad if you can consistently sell these for around $175 which is still below retail. People these days on eBay expect to buy products on eBay below retail to save money, otherwise they can simply go to the store and buy it and not have to wait for shipping. This poses another problem that I will get into later. Others find the same dropshipper and want to sell the same Sony DVD player and they do some research on eBay and sell theirs for $165 to undercut you. Well you can see the trend, as more and more people use this dropshipper, the same products are flooded on eBay and the selling price keeps dipping until there is hardly room for any profit.

Sellers are always searching for new products to sell and make a profit on because as in the example above, so many other products are being sold for little above or in some cases below wholesale costs. What sellers will do is try to put up as many items for sale that they can handle and even if they only make a dollar or two on the sale, it all adds up to them. But does it really? I don't think so if you put the time it takes to setup the auction, answer email questions from potential buyers, collect payment from the buyer, purchase the product from the dropshipper, and then email them the tracking number. Many people believe that if you can make as little as a dollar profit, it's worth selling as many items as you can. This is why there isn't room for a decent profit, because sellers are trying to sell their products at the lowest cost possible to undercut everyone else. Furthermore, EBay is such a huge market that it cannot and will not be ignored by the product distributors themselves. Some of the dropshippers will sell their products directly on eBay and its guaranteed that they get the product cheaper since they deal directly with manufacturer. The product is already marked up when they turn around and sell it to someone else using their services for dropshipping.

Another problem that I mentioned earlier is that everyone that buys on eBay expects to pay below retail and whatever price the item is selling at their local store. If the price was the same, they would simply go to the store and purchase the product to get it right away and avoid paying shipping costs. Speaking of the shipping costs, the final auction price and shipping costs should not be higher than the retail price of the item or a buyer will not bid on it. Buyers on eBay also love all the competition going on because they can often find products at the actual wholesale cost or even below. eBay has become a buyers paradise and a sellers nightmare that are driving many people that have been selling for years, out of the eBay business.

So where can someone make real profits outside of eBay? The answer is quite simple, but many people do not want to take the time to do it. Building a website to sell products online can be the key to success in making real profits. Sure setting up a website can take time and may be costly to some people, but in the long run, this is where the real profits are made. There are services out there that will actually create a customized website for you stocked with hundreds of products through a dropshipper ready for you to sell. You basically get your own domain name and online business in which all you need to do is promote it to be successful. The only downside is that your website won't get much traffic, right away, but if you market it correctly, the profits can be rewarding!

Not everyone buys things on eBay and that is because of a few simple reasons. When buying items on eBay, you will have to outbid everyone else which may entail sitting and waiting by your computer until the last few minutes elapse before the auction ends to put in your final bid to win. eBay does offer ""Buy it Now"" auctions where you can simply buy the product without waiting for the end of the auction, but these prices are usually much higher than for what an auction would go for. Some people simply do not have the time or energy to wait for an auction to end and will purchase something directly from a website and be done with it. The second reason people are more likely to buy from a website over eBay is because of the quality of goods for sale or reputation of the seller on eBay. Many sellers on eBay offer refurbished or restocked products which means they have already been used and returned to the manufacturer. Sellers at times may list their item as new when it really is a refurbished item. Some sellers may also have negative feedback on some of their transactions because of long shipment delays or never receiving the product at all. While purchasing something from a website, you have everything about the store in one place in case you would ever need to contact them or return an item. Contacting the seller or returning an item on eBay can be a difficult task if a seller has hundreds of auctions going on at one time.

Due to the over saturated seller market on eBay, many have turned to their own online website business and have reaped in better profits through that avenue. Many people can simply design their own website and their costs would be very minimal to setup and run the site. The only monthly fee for basic sites would be the hosting that can be as little as $2.95 per month at sites such as SturdyHosting.com. Otherwise there are services such as the one mentioned earlier that will fully design a site for you and stock it with hundreds of products from a dropshipper ready to sell. Although no site will succeed without traffic, there are many cost effective and even free ways to market your site. So if you are one of the 90% of the people that are losing money selling on eBay, it's time to take the step into running your own online business website and start making real profits!

About the author: http://www.DropShippingWholesalers.com Hundreds of Quality DropShippers Easiest Way to Start an Online Business

Ebay Product Sources Revealed!

Author: Kevin Anthony

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.

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: Kevin Anthony is an Ebay seller who makes a nice living selling consumer electronics. For Ebay products to sell try: http://www.bestwholesaleelectronics.com http://www.softwareoutlet.com

kanthony39us@yahoo.com

eBay Franchise

Author: Charles Fuchs

Starting an eBay franchise is ""the next big thing"" in franchising. Ebay attracts millions of sellers and buyers to its site for a multitude of reasons. You can find just about anything you want on eBay from that childhood lunchbox you always wanted to a brand new car. Yet many people are finding that there is an untapped group of people looking for someone else to sell their things on eBay, prompting an new opportunity in eBay franchises known as ""dropoffs.""

EBay franchises specializing in dropoffs are like the middlemen of the eBay world. In many cases, you can purchase an eBay franchise that will allow you to help others sell their items on eBay. Most of these eBay franchises have locations where people can drop off their things for the eBay franchise to sell on the website. These e bay franchises are just beginning to see a boom, so it is still a good time to get in on the eBay franchise action to develop a name for yourself.

One area that many people considering an eBay franchise as a dropoff business is that you will need to find a way to attract people to your business, because you will need get enough product to pay for your operating costs. Getting people to bring you their things to be auctioned off on eBay means getting creative in your marketing.

If you are considering an eBay franchise and wonder if you have enough experience, you should know that the ideal candidate for these eBay franchises have broad business experience. Plus, you do not have to know everything about eBay to consider an eBay franchise, you just have to be willing to learn. The willingness to learn is a key aspect to creating a successful eBay franchise.

If you are concerned about your lack of eBay knowledge, you can begin by joining the eBay Trading Assistants Program, which is a free training program offered through the eBay website. This program will allow you to learn about the site itself and can help you determine if having an eBay franchise is right for you. You will be able to gain valuable knowledge for free before putting your money into an eBay franchise.

There is a lot of optimism about the potential of the eBay franchise market. There are a number of people out there who will never use eBay because they do not want to take the time to learn how to use the site to sell their products, and this type of eBay franchise can work well for you and the person who wants their items auctioned off. As the eBay franchise market takes off, people will be seeking out these middlemen to make selling their items easier. It will allow eBay to become exposed to a whole new market.

Read the rest of the article here:

eBay Franchise .

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Home Based Business Manual (Free $97 Value!) and receive valuable tips, strategies and techniques designed to grow a very successful Home Based Business.

Charles Fuchs is an established Six Figure Income earner and one of the top online marketer's. He specializes in showing people the fastest way to Starting a business .

About the author: Charles Fuchs is an established Six Figure Income earner and one of the top online marketer's. He specializes in showing people the fastest way to Starting a business.

Ebay Started our Family Camping Adventures

Author: Stephanie Mulac

There was a time that I never would have pictured myself camping, let alone purchasing my first travel trailer on Ebay. But after a number of circumstances falling into place, that is just where I found myself in 2005, spending late nights on Ebay scouring the RV travel trailer listings.

And so the camping adventure began...

We don't exactly live in the camping capital of the world and when my family and I decided to purchase a travel trailer, we were in for quite an education. We did what I suspect most people would do, and started scanning the local classifieds, picked up the trader magazines, etc. All to no avail. Everything we looked at locally was either way overpriced or uninhabitable. Mind you, we weren't looking for a mansion on wheels, but we wanted to at least make sure that we could tow it to our driveway without falling apart.

So, that little voice inside said, Ebay! But I was a little hesitant at first because this was a large ticket item and there were the logistics of transport to consider as well. But hey, it doesn't cost a dime to look, so off we went to search Ebay.

Luckily, I have an uncle who is basically a camping and RV guru in his own right, so I can't quite claim that I did this single handedly, but for the most part, it took about two weeks before I clicked on an auction that would forever change our family's vacation adventures.

We ultimately found our ""perfect"" trailer, but not after swapping many emails and more photos beyond what was in the listing. But along the way, Ebay did more for us than just match us up with a seller. It matched us up with two wonderful human beings that were just as happy to have found us as buyers as we were to find them as sellers.

After the auction was complete, we arranged a pickup date that was a few weeks away - perfectly fine with the sellers because they wanted to get our new toy ready for us. Little did we know, how far these two people went to make our purchase smooth and enjoyable.

As the two weeks elapsed, the emails turned to camping advice, trials and tribulations and the wishes from the sellers that we would have as many fond camping memories as they did. Knowing that we were complete novices, these two people went so far above and beyond a seller's obligations, that they could give lessons in good service after the sale. They covered questions we didn't even know we had!

So the big day came and we took off on our road trip to go get out new baby. It was a 7 hour drive, so we also made arrangement to stay at a local hotel - which our new friends recommended based upon the ease of parking our new trailer there overnight for the first time. And until that point, being car travelers, the size of a parking lot was certainly never a concern when we booked our hotels.

When we arrived, the trailer was everything we thought it would be and more. One of those rare times that the photos didn't even do it justice. And the hospitality the sellers extended was awesome. They even had dinner waiting for us! So after our long trip and a very tasty dinner, we were taken through all the basics of hookup, awning setup, electronics, maintenance, upkeep and more! It was so refreshing to find others who go the extra mile and we were so clueless going in, they don't even know how easy they made the whole transaction on us.

So as we swap campfire stories from campground to campground, we will always have such fond memories of our largest Ebay purchase yet. And what a story to tell!

About the author: Stephanie Mulac is a Motivational Coach and owner of http://www.90PercentAttitude.com, a website dedicated to helping Marketing Professionals Make Money With Websites on the Internet by developing a positive, winning attitude and providing online encouragement to others who don't have a support system in their lives. For additional camping information, visit http://www.RVCampingTips.com

Monday, May 15, 2006

A Guide to Buying a Website Business on Ebay

Author: Pradip Patil- FreeForYou.Mobstop.com

This article and others can be found at FreeForyou.Mobstop.com

So you've seen all of those appealing listings on eBay for websites that promise a living from doing almost nothing. Now I've seen countless people buy these things and I dont know why. In real life, if a person came up to you and promised everything like that you would naturally figure it to be a scam and not pay attention to it. So why don't people do the same on ebay? It's because these auctioners are crafty, they often times provide you with tables of potential sales and usually state things like ""If you just make 5 sales a day, you'll earn $3900 a month!"". This is what ropes most people in (and by most I mean inexperienced or first timers). Little do they know that getting 5 sales a day is a feat.

Unestablished Sites Go ahead, go on ebay and search ""website business"", infact heres a link to the search if your too lazy:

http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?cgiurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi. ebay.com%2Fws%2F&fkr=1&from=R8&satitle=website+business&category0 =

Website business search on ebay. Now if you check out most auctions on that search I just linked to, you'll see that most do exactly the things I said, they'll include a ""potential"" profit table and not much else other than lines and lines of bragging about how their market is huge etc.(which is actually a bad thing, which I'll explain later). Very few of those auctions will say how many visitors they currently get, or more importantly they wont state their conversion ratio. Sites that aren't currently getting any visitors or sales are called ""unestablished"" meaning that they aren't marketed at all, which means once your suckered into buying one of these sites, the sole burden of marketing (believe me, its a heavy one) will rest on your shoulders. Before I go on, I must say one thing, most auctions now include the word ""established"" in their title just to attract people, often times this is not the case. These sites are NOT established, what they mean when they say ""established"" is that the site is merely set up, which doesn't really mean anything.

Cookie Cutters Most ""unestablished"" sites I mentioned before that you will see on ebay are most likely ""cookie cutters"". What are cookie cutter websites? They are sites merely ""generated"" by someone slapping a different domain name on a template. That means they'll take a graphic image, stuff it with the same content and just slap on a different name for example one being www.cookiecutter.com which looks exactly the same as another one the seller is auctioning off like www.cutcookie.com. Buying a cookie cutter site is a sureshot way of failing in the online business world (and its what most new people do).

Diluted Markets One thing I mentioned before was sites bragging how huge their market is and how everyone else is doing what their website is doing. Now, experienced webmasters know that this means stay away, why? Because if a thousand other people are selling what you are selling, then why would they even care what you sell? Markets with too many sellers selling the same thing wont turn you a big profit. As counterintuitve as it sounds, the more specific your service or product is, the better. Sites that are unique or sell a unique product are called niche sites. A highly targeted niche product will do two things, one, it will ensure that the people who are likely to buy your product will only have you to turn to and two, you will be ranked much higher in the search engine because you'll be the only one or one of the few to sell what you're selling.

What you ARE looking for So you know what to avoid when you look towards eBay to buy your own web business. Well what do you want an auction to have? The answer is basically the opposite of what I've said so far, you want auctions that state upfront the number of visitors to their site in the current month or last month etc. You want a auction where the seller states the conversion ratio of the website (how many people actually bought the product out of the people who visited) and also you want the seller to be open about how much money the site makes (not ""can"" make). Also be sure that the site is not a cookie cutter and is actually unique in its design. Follow these guidelines and chances are you'll certainly end up with a good profit turning website on your hands.

About the author: Pradip Patil is just a man with his own webapge and a little bit of advice to give. You can see his reviews, articles and guides at FreeForYou.Mobstop.com

How To Make Money On Ebay

Author: Mark Woodcock

The auction website eBay is an ideal outlet for those who are looking to buy just about anything, and for those who are looking to sell just about anything. Selling items on eBay is a great way to earn extra money, unload some old things from around your house, or to start a home-based business for yourself. Using eBay can become quite a profitable venture, and you can do it all from your own home. All it takes is some merchandise, a little background information, and some determination for you to make money on eBay.

You know that saying, ""One man's junk is another man's treasure?"" Well, that adage has never applied to something better than it does to eBay. If you have a lot of old and unused items lying around your house or cluttering up your garage, clean them up, and sell them on eBay! You can begin to make money on eBay right now! It's so easy to start an auction on eBay.

First, make sure the item is not damaged and that they are cleaned up and operational. Then, you will want to take a few good photographs that you can use on the site to showcase the item. You might also want to do a little background research on the item, so that you can write a really thorough description, as well as be able to answer any questions that a bidder might have about it. Once you have all of the information about the particular item you want to sell, post it (along with the photographs) on eBay. Then, decide on your opening bid price.

The opening bid price is an important step in the process. Either you can start at a really low bid in order to see lots of action, or you can start with a minimum bid that you will accept. If you start with the lowest possible bid, though, you might be risking taking a lower price overall for the item than you might want, as well as have to pay eBay listing fees. So, really think about your opening price.

If you do start out with the higher minimum bid, it might take a while for your item to catch on. Don't worry, though, because it only takes a few people to be interested in an item to have an auction. If you have prepared well, presented your item in the best possible way, and opened with a fair bid price, you will begin to make money on eBay in no time.

Once you have sold all of your own items, you might find that making money on eBay was pretty easy, and you want to keep doing it. So, what should you sell? The first thing to do is to think of things that you would be interested in selling, things that you have knowledge about. Maybe you are crafty, or you can sew, and you can produce interesting and quality products to sell on your own. If you do this, you know what you are selling, and you can answer any questions that bidders might have about the merchandise. If you can't produce your own items to sell on eBay, you can try purchasing new items through a wholesaler, or you can scour yard and garage sales on the weekends in search of unique or interesting items.

It is easy to make money on eBay when you are selling something that you are interested in and have knowledge about. However, it is important to remember that, as a seller, it is your responsibility to be professional, courteous, and timely with all of your buyers and their transactions. Negative ratings can put an end to your eBay career as quickly as you started it. If you are conscientious and polite as a seller, though, you will earn a good reputation among eBay buyers, and people will return repeatedly to bid on your items. In addition, word of mouth is the best advertising you could ask for. Selling items is a great way to have a home-based business and make money on eBay!

About the author: Learn the essential information for picking the right auction site at Ebay Auction Registration

4 Tips for Successful eBay Selling

Author: Debbie Dragon

For any products that you would consider selling, you should understand there are only a few people who would be interested in buying the product. These people make up your target market, and you need to somehow relate to them, and advertise to them, in order to sell the products you know they need or want.

Selling on eBay is no different. While eBay allows you to reach millions of shoppers without ever leaving the comfort of your home, you still need to create your auction listings in such a way that you are targeting the people who are most likely to be looking for the product(s) you are selling.

1. eBay Product TITLE line

The title is probably your most important aspect to consider when setting up an eBay auction. Users (read- SHOPPERS!) search for products by the TITLE, so you need to choose your words carefully! Make sure the title IDENTIFIES what you are selling clearly, mention the BRAND NAME whenever applicable, and then something about the item's size, color, or materials whenever relative to the product you're selling. Do you think that eBay users search for ""wow"" or ""the best"" or ""awesome"" when they are looking for a product? No, of course not- so adding words like these to your title is going to effect your ability to be listed in the eBay search engines when users type in keyword phrases of what they want to buy.

2. Don't Be the Hero

Many people believe they should search for things that other sellers are unable to sell on eBay- because they feel they can somehow create a better listing and cash in on the things that others are losing money on. Very bad idea! If the rest of the eBay sellers can't sell it, there is little chance that you will sell many of that item. It probably indicates there is not a need for that particular product.

3. Categorically Speaking

eBay is set up with categories to help shoppers find what they are looking for easily. However, everyone has a different idea for what category an item would best fit into, and it's impossible to know with certainly where the majority of your buyers will search for your item if it is something that can be classified under more than one category. There have been products that sell for minimal prices in one category- but when the same product is listed in the same format under a different category- the amount people are willing to pay for it is sometimes ten times more than what you'd get in the other category! List your items in more than one category to increase the chances of reaching your entire target market.

4. Describe it- or you may as well Hide it

eBay allows you adequate space for describing your items. Make use of this feature and give your potential buyers the information they need to know to make an informed buying decision, or else you will lose buyers to someone else selling the same product who took the time to give them all the details they needed. You wouldn't buy an item in an unmarked box from the store would you? Your eBay description is the packaging of your products. Include:

*The product name/brand specific identifying information (a scratch on the lens of a used camera, or new in box for unopened products)

*size and dimensions

*colors and other appearance info (even if you post a photo,

*describe it in case the colors are hard to see on the monitor)

Using what you learned from these 4 Tips, you'll increase your chances of successfully selling items on eBay. These tips will work whether you're cleaning out your attic or buying items at wholesale and selling them at retail!

About the author: Debbie is a full time freelance writer who specializes in writing quality web content and articles that are both informative and keyword optimized. She is available to write for your site, blog, newsletter or ezine- email debbiep@mhcable.com or visit www.debradragon.com

Ebay-A Business or a Hobby?

Author: Keith Anthony

1. First you need to decide if you want to make a business out of selling on Ebay or not. If you do then you do not want to be greedy in trying to make the biggest profit all at one time. By this I mean the reserve price. The reserve price is a price that you set at the beginning of the auction that you will only sell if your bidders reach this price. By setting the reserve to high, most likely you will not sell the item. Another error in alot of sellers is no reserve but the starting price is to high which will run buyers off. If you have to put a reserve on the item, start low and hopefully it will hit your realistic reserve price.

2. Determine what products you want to sell. Research different products that you might have an interest in. This could be sporting goods, clothing, jewelry, electronics or a number of items. Finally narrow it down to one or two different items. I decided to just stick with the electronics field which seems to do very well consistantly.

3. Suppliers are going to make you or break you. I found this out years ago. You need to find a good reliable supplier with good prices and hopefully dropshipping available. I try to find a supplier where I can make 10%-20% profit off of each item after my Ebay fees. This is what I was talking about earlier. You don't want to be greedy and try to make it all at once. Say you are selling a $100 camera, and you make $15 profit after your listing fees. Selling 10 of these a day calculates to over $1000 a week. It just keeps adding up if you don't try to get it all at once.

4. Finally I would like to talk about customer service. On Ebay, quite a bit of customer contact takes place before a sale is made, and it mostly is answering questions by people who have placed a bid or are considering placing a bid on your item. Customer service on Ebay, to a large extent, is a matter of checking your e-mail and responding to it in a professional an timely manner. After a sale, customer service means making sure the merchandise is sent out quickly and that it arrives in good shape as described. One last piece of advice I would like to give is--1. Try to sell things that you know a little something about. 2. Try to sell items for which there is a demand on Ebay. 3. Always be there for the customer to answer questions.

I hope some of these tips will help you get started in the Ebay business. Just remember to have fun with it and don't stress yourself out. Below is a website address that will help you out with your product source.

About the author: Keith Anthony has done quite well in the Ebay business. He currently makes this his only source of income and continues to master the art of selling on auction sites.

Marketing Your Merchandise on eBay

Author: Chris Robertson

According to a 2005 survey, close to sixty percent of Americans reported that they dreamed of starting their own business, both to increase their income and their independence. It appears that, more than ever, Americans are turning to eBay to fulfill that dream. According to the same study, almost three quarters of a million Americans are considered professional eBay sellers, using their eBay sales as their primary or secondary source of income. Another 1.5 million Americans reported that they use eBay to supplement their income. With annual eBay merchandise sales at around $20 billion, the eBay economy is a force to be reckoned with. If you haven't yet dabbled your toes in the eBay waters, it may be time to consider marketing your merchandise on eBay.

If you don't know what to sell, begin by looking around the house. If you've ever perused eBay's various sites, you know that sellers move everything from gifts and garments to cars and real estate. Selling on eBay isn't difficult once you get the hang of it, but there is a rather steep learning curve. It's best to start small, with items you have around the house that you'd normally sell at a garage sale. After that, all you need is a digital camera, a computer, and some time. eBay provides online tutorials and will walk you through the process of listing your item.

Once you get a handle on the basics, you'll be ready to sell more valuable merchandise. You can buy merchandise at store sales, from liquidators, or - if you're a weekend warrior - at garage sales. You can also sell on eBay and use a dropshipper to deliver your merchandise to your buyers.

You can spend as much or as little time as you'd like marketing your merchandise on eBay. You can opt to use only auction style listings, or open up an eBay store and sell items at fixed prices. eBay is launching eBay Express, which provides shoppers with a more traditional online buying experience, complete with shopping cart and check out.

Part of your marketing efforts can include developing an ""About Me"" page, which gives your buyers the chance to get to know you. You can also use eBay keyword campaigns, special listing features, advertising outside of eBay, and other marketing strategies that sellers typically use.

eBay's feedback system, where buyers rate sellers and sellers rate buyers, should be a crucial part of your marketing strategy. Your excellent customer service will garner positive feedback from your buyers, which in turn gives other buyers confidence when trading with you.

Whatever type of merchandise you decide to sell, you can be sure that your marketing efforts will be rewarded.

About the author: Chris Robertson is an author of Majon International , one of the worlds MOST popular internet marketing companies on the web. Visit this Business and Entrepreneurs Website and Majon's

Business and Entrepreneurs directory.

Sunday, May 14, 2006

How to REALLY attract highly targeted customers to your website / ebay auctions

Author: James Penn

How to drive thousands of potential buyers to your eBay auctions ABSOLUTELY FREE!

It is a known fact that the more visitors you get to your ebay auctions, the more sales - and therefore more money - you will make.

In this FREE report, I will tell you the exact methods myself, and the internet marketing guru's, use to drive highly targeted traffic to their eBay auctions and increase sales by up to 1000% for absolutely free and with little or no effort.

I will cover the two easiest and most profitable methods to successfully market your auctions.

METHOD 1

This method is perhaps the easiest way and will ensure you huge amounts of traffic to your auctions initially but eventually the traffic will die down.

The Marketing Powers of Forums

Forum: An online discussion group, where participants with common interests can exchange open messages.

I'm sure you have all come across forums before. Maybe you heard about this report through a forum. There are thousands of forums all over the internet, from sports discussion forums to health related forums to ebay forums. No matter what specialist products you sell on eBay, there will be at least one forum somewhere over the net.

Heres what you do first:

Establish what you sell on eBay.

Define a catgory under which your auctions fall. If you sell exercise equipment, then your category is health and fitness. If you sell jeans, then your category is clothing.

Find a forum related to your category.

There are forums on every single subject somewhere on the internet. Find all the relevent ones to you. Use search engines such as Yahoo, AOL and most importantly Google. Visit www.groups.google.com/ and find forums and discussion boards on your category.

Bookmark the forums

Create a new word document and add the URL of the all the relevant forums you can find. Spend a few minutes browsing on each forum and get to know the regular posters.

Register on all of the forums

Register on each of the forums using your ebay user ID as a for a username and the same password for each forum. (This makes remembering passwords and usernames much easier)

Time to post

Make a few knowledgeable posts on the forums. Offer advice and seem like an expert in your field. If people see you as an expert your more likely to earn respect and there more likely to buy from you. Converse with the more regular posters on the forums to again add to your reputation.

Create a signature

You've become known on the forum and you have built a solid reputation. Now you create a signature. A signature is a line which appears at the bottom of your message saying anyhting you want. You need to create one advertising your eBay items. Write a brief description of what you sell and add the URL. Here is an example.

Check out my eBay items for bargains on all types of eBooks : http://search.ebay.co.uk/_W0QQsassZpalace789QQhtZ-1QQfrppZ50QQfso pZ1QQfsooZ1QQrdZ0?

(If you can't click on the hyperlink, select the Select Text tool on the top toolbar and highlight the hyperlink before pasting it into your web browser)

Obviously that link looks a bit ugly and long, so you will need to shorten it down.

Paste the URL into a word document. Right click on it and select ""Edit Hyperlink"". A new window will open and at the top there will be a section called ""Text to Display"". Delete the long URL from there and type in whatever you want. Here is an example.

For a great collection of eBooks and more visit my ebay Auctions

However, on some forums this does not work. If this is the case, visit www.tinyurl.com, type in your link and it will automatically genearate a shorter link. Like this http://tinyurl.com/o5ag9

Start a new topic

You've created your signature, now you want maximum exposure. Start a new topic offering advice or asking a question. This will ensure maximum exposure for your signature. Everyone who opens the topic will see your post and therefore your signature. Whether they decide to click on your link however is another matter. Once you've started a topic on each forum, move onto the next step.

Count the hits

This is possibly the easiest and most fun part.

Most forums have counters which count the number of people who open up a topic and view your post. Keep an eye on these. If a topic that you created has 100 views, then 100 people have seen your post as your was the first one. Typically, about 50% of these people will follow your link. That's an extra 50 people seeing your auctions! Considering the average conversion rate of visitors to sales is about 10%, that means you should make an extra 5 sales. But because you have advertised on a forum which is specific to what you sell, you can expect a higher conversion rate. Not bad considering you havn't put excessive amounts of effort in.

Bare in mind that you will have more than 100 people viewing your topic. Using this exact method, I advertised on 6 forums. After 7 days here is how many hits I received.

Forum Number of Views Forum 1 80 Forum 2 86 Forum 3 330 Forum 4 721 Forum 5 770 Forum 6 2785

That, I think, is nearly 5000 views. Therefore 2500 more visitors to my auctions. And working with a 10% conversion rate is 250 more sales. Considering my lowest priced item on eBay is £2, that means in that week I made a minimum of £500.

Your work is not done yet...

Continue to post on each forum

The more you post the more exposure you will get. It is likely that you will recive questions about your eBay items. Answer these promptly and honestly and you will earn the trust of the forum posters. Bump your topics to the top of the forum for more exposure. But do not do this in an obvious way or in a way which will annoy people. Otherwise the reputation you've built up over the last few dyas will vanish almost instantly.

Watch the sales fly and the money roll in

Enjoy your success because it won't last for too long. Eventually you will run out of forums to post on and everyone will have visited your auctions.

But don't panic, the following method will ensure sales last for a lifetime.

Method 2

Create a report which spreads over the internet like wildfire.

A report is virtually a mini eBook. At this very moment you are reading a report. If you were to take a chapter out of an ebook, that would be a report.

They are easy to create. They only have to be a couple of pages long and can be about ANYTHING!

Ok, the challenge is to write a report which you issue for free on forums just like you did advertising your eBay auctions.

Write a report which is related to what you sell on eBay. If you sell exercise equipment, write a report about how to lose weight. If you sell clothes, write a report about the latest and future trends in fashion, or how to avoid scams and buying fake clothes online. There are literally thousands of reports you could write.

For the purposes of this report we will use the example of writing a report about 'How to lose weight with the aid of mini trampolines (rebounders)'

Notice how the report is not about just losing weight but losing weight with the aid of trampolines. The more specific you are with your report, the more you will issue and the more beneficial they will be to your customers.

Write a report a few pages long about how to use trampolines for effective weight loss. Include in your report, links to your eBay auctions and join as many affiliate schemes as you can selling trampolines.

Add your affiliate links in relevant places in your report.

Once you've written the report, upload it to a website. Alternatively, you could send it out manually but if you do you are likely to be sitting at your computer all day just sending it out. Host your file at www.ebookshare.co.uk It only costs £1 per year if your file is under 1mb and is the simplest way of hosting your ebook.

You will be issued with a unique URL. Paste this URL into all of the forums you used in Method 1.

Again, start a new topic.

Title of the topic: Create a title like you would if you were selling this item on eBay. Use emotive words but also give the hard facts.

The Message: Explain that you have writeen a report about (insert subject here) and you are issuing it FREE to anyone who wants it. Explain what the benefits would be from reading the report and give instructions for download. Add your unique URL for download.

Finally, explain how they can also give away the report or use it as a bonus for their eBay auctions.

Lets say 1000 people download your report. It is likely that 90% will check out your auctions and so again you will make some sales this way. A large percentage will also visit your affiliate links and perhaps purchase off of them. That way you will make you a nice commision. A smaller percentage will also sell the report or use it as a bonus for their ebay auctions.

Do you see how this report can spread around the internet so quickly? You can also issue it as a bonus for your eBay items to increase sales.

TIP: Make sure the report is in PDF format so that it can not be edited and therefore your affiliate links and eBay auction links will remain the same. With a bit of hard work and good advertising you could quite easily issue 5000 reports. But the beauty of reports are that they will continue to spread around the internet for years to come.

That's it for this report. I will be releasing new reports in due course so keep an eye out. Also keep an eye on my ebay auctions for new products.

I always appreciate feedback, good OR bad. Tell me whether you like this report or whether there's anything I have missed out. Contact me at j_penn7@hotmail.com to give me your reviews.

Thankyou for reading this

James

About the author: Check out this special offer for a great deal which WILL help you make £££'s online!

http://tinyurl.com/k4ryc

An Open Market eBay alternative

Author: peter spencer

The latest statistic for eBay is that their auction sites makes the eBay company over 26 millions daily! That is just their auction site revenue, not to mention the rest of their holdings. They make billions yearly and still they find the need to raise listing, selling and every other fee periodically. It's a fact that users now days are looking for other sale strategies and eBay alternatives to sell their goods without paying too much on their closing sales and posting fees.

By creating an open market eBay alternative that encourages honest dealings to sell their collectibles, crafts, stamps, autos and stuff without charging for listing http://www.atoncer.com hopes to make it easier, safer and cheaper for everyone to conduct business with strangers over the Internet.

So now you can sell your stuff at Auction or fixed price, You can reach potential buyers locally and worldwide without being charged any fee for only doing that, or before the sale is complete and your have been paid.

Most people are honest. And they mean well. Some people go out of their way to make things right. I've heard great stories about the honesty of people here. Occasionally you may meet people who are not honest. It's a fact of life.

Here, those people can't hide. We'll drive them away. Protect others from them. And this depends on your active participation. Become a registered member. Use http://www.atoncer.com Feedback Forum. Give praise where it's due?make complaints where appropriate. Let everyone know what a joy it was to deal with someone.

Above all, conduct yourself in a professional manner. Deal with others the way you would have them deal with you. And remember: at http://www.atoncer.com you're usually dealing with individuals, just like yourself. People sometimes make mistakes. That's just human. We can live with that. We can deal with that. We can still make deals with that.

Thanks for participating. Good luck and good business!

About the author:

Peter Spencer is an author, columnist, editor and marketing director of the collectibles and crafts auction site http://www.atoncer..com . For hundreds of free collectibles and craft selling ideas ideas, visit him at http://www.atoncer.com

Making Money on eBay

Author: Charles Fuchs

Are you looking for a way to make extra money from the comfort of your own home? The eBay revolution has allowed many people to start making money on eBay by selling wholesale products for less than what people would pay in a retail store. If you have not explored how to start making money on eBay, you may want to consider taking advantage of this opportunity.

First, you need to understand that reselling a few wholesale products may make you extra money, but it probably will not make you rich. Still, making money on eBay is fairly simple as long as you have an idea how to use eBay, what items you want to sell, and how you can find the items you need.

When you are looking to start making money on eBay, you need to understand how eBay works. The site is an online auction. This means that people bid on certain products, and the highest bidder gets to purchase the product. There are thousands of items available on eBay from used merchandise to brand new products. You can find everything from baby items, electronics, and movies to music, services, and crafts. People are even making money on eBay selling cars and homes.

The site does have specific rules about selling, and make them clear in their explanation on ""How to Sell."" You need to begin by setting up a seller's account and getting your ID verified. When you want to start making money on eBay, you can set up different type of sales, which range from traditional auctions, fixed price, best offer, and you can even have an eBay store. Each type has rules about how long items can be listed on the site

When you sell items on eBay you will have to pay a fee on your selling price and your insertion fee. The insertion fee is the cost of putting the item on eBay and the selling price is how much you sold the item for. In order to start making money on eBay, you will need to be sure you choose a bid high enough to cover all of your costs. You will also need to list shipping costs so that they buyer covers that, too. If you do not cover all those costs, you will not be making money on eBay - you will be losing it.

Once you explore eBay and see how it works, you will need to decide what items you want to sell. A simple way to start making money on eBay is to decide on items you like and then purchase them wholesale. There are a number of wholesale providers for just about any type of item. If you want to begin making money on eBay, you will probably want to start small with simple items. For instance, if you want to sell jewelry, you can start making money on eBay by specializing in rings. See how well you do with small items and then move on to more.

Read the rest of the article here:

Making Money on eBay .

Download the

Home Based Business Manual (Free $97 Value!) and receive valuable tips, strategies and techniques designed to grow a very successful Home Based Business.

Copyright © Charles Fuchs is an established Six Figure Income earner and one of the top online marketer's. He specializes in showing people the Best Home Business on the internet.

About the author: Copyright © Charles Fuchs is an established Six Figure Income earner and one of the top online marketer's. He specializes in showing people the Best Home Business on the internet.

EBay Stores and the Benefits they Provide

Author: Bryan Collins

If you are just getting started as an eBay Seller, one wonderful way to reach potential customers is through an eBay store. EBay Stores can provide your business with the kick start it needs and the first 30 days are free to try. Below I have listed several benefits of owning your own eBay store:

PROFITS - A study by eBay showed that sellers with eBay Stores see an average of 25% increase in total sales within three months of opening store. Listing fees are reduced because store fees are much lower than auction fees. Storeowners also receive promotional offers and free subscriptions to some of eBay's services.

Return Customers - Those who buy from your eBay Store are more likely to turn into repeat customers depending on the service and promotional offers you provide them with.

Professional Look and Feel - A professional looking eBay Store adds professionalism and credibility to your eBay business. EBay store owners also have access to the eBay's Business Resource Center. The resource center provides professional resources such as business cards furthering your creditability with potential customers

Additional Features - becoming an eBay store owner provides you with additional features such as longer listings and automatic re-listings. These additional features will help free up your time to concentrate on creating more and more listings.

Having Your Own Website - opening an eBay store gives you your own personal unique website which you can customize. EBay store customization features allow you to control the design of your website. You have the ability to add up to 20 categories to sell what you want. Find a domain name and start advertising your site on and off eBay. With a well planned out marketing campaign your store can become highly successful in a short period of time.

Search Capabilities - eBay stores have built in search capabilities. This is important because customers can find exactly what they are looking instantly.

Promotional Features - another additional benefit of owning an eBay store is cross promotion. You have the ability to cross promote other products to potential buyers. EBay stores also have an email marketing tool which helps you keep in touch with your customer base. You can use this tool to email your list of customers with special offers.

Reporting - storeowners also receive monthly reporting. This helps store owners track sales activity. Information such as monthly gross sales, conversion rates, and number of buyers are calculated. As an additional bonus there is an accounting tool in which you can export data from your eBay and PayPal accounts directly into QuickBooks.

EBay stores are a great start to online entrepreneurship they provide credibility to new online marketers. They are low cost to fit any budget and they can be setup within minutes.

About the author: This article was submitted Bryan Collins is the owner of http://www.thebarginwharehouse.com which provides real time eBay auctions. The site also provides vistors with a misspelling tool to find those hidden and untapped auctions. Also provided is a clickbank market place, here you will find a directory of how to information products provided by clickbank.

eBay and the Advent of Cybercash

Author: Nicky Pilkington

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

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

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

The following is a list of common eBay payment modes.

Cash On Delivery Cash is, after all, still cash. This payment method can be done through a third party courier system or by the buyer and seller meeting each other at an agreed place. The advantage of such is that the exchange of item for payment is done in the presence of the buyer and the seller (or the seller's representative). However, some people will qualm over the risk present when two strangers meet.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

About the author: Find out more about ebay and online auctions at http://auctionhelper.info

Saturday, May 13, 2006

eBay - Pierre Omidyar's Success Story - Famous Entrepreneurs

Author: Evan Carmichael

eBay - Pierre Omidyar's Success Story - Famous Entrepreneurs

""I never had it in mind that I would start a company one day and it would really be successful. I have just been motivated by

working on interesting technology.""

Growing Up

Omidyar was born in Paris in 1967. He moved to Baltimore when his father began his term of residence at Johns Hopkins. Omidyar

became captivated by computers while at high school and skipped his gym classes in order to use it. Noticing the boy's keen

interest, the principle gave him the job of creating a program that would produce catalog cards for the library. He was paid $6 an

hour.

At Tufts University, Omidyar worked on a program to assist Macintosh programmers with computer memory problems. His request that

users of this shareware file pay on the honour system did not bring many replies; the cheques that should have been going to fund

his years as a computer science undergraduate went solely to paying for the post office box.

In 1991, Omidyar went to work with three friends to create pen-computing programs. Though Pen computing was a dismal failure, the

e-commerce site (eShop) on the Web site that Omidyar introduced and operated enticed Microsoft to buy the company.

Starting The Business

Omidyar went to work with General Magic, a software company, in 1994 and made extra money designing Web pages on the side. The girl

he was dating at the time, Pamela Wesley, who would later become his wife, collected Pez dispensers and often complained how

difficult it was to meet others passionate about her hobby on the internet. Thoughtfully, Omidyar appended a small online auction

to his personal website so Pamela would make contacts with other collectors as well as buy and sell.

eBay (electronic Bay, as in the San Francisco Bay area), as it was when it first appeared in 1995, operated merely as a forum for

people to sell and bid on various items. Omidyar did not back goods, mediate conflicts, or get involved if there were accusations

of dishonesty or abuse of the system. Almost immediately, collectors of Barbie dolls, Beanie babies and the like flocked to eBay.

Three months after its launch, Omidyar had to ask his friend Jeff Skoll, also a programmer, for help. In order to cover the new

costs involved with the growth of the business, Omidyar began charging small change to list an item on the site and took a small

commission if the item was bought.

Building An Empire

Omidyar was surpised by his continued success and had to hire someone to open the large number of cheques that were being sent in.

He was also surprised that people were not simply using the site to buy and sell, but also as a meeting place where relationships

were made over common interests.

After qutting his day job, Omidyar worked along with Skoll to improve eBay. They felt that if a sturdy framework was in place,

business would generate by itself. After just under two years of operation, eBay was one of the most popular internet sites, 150

users bidding on 794,000 items daily. And the company was now doubling every three months.

At such a rate of growth, Omidyar and Skoll sought venture capital assistance and a management team that would further move the

company forward. Benchmark Capital gave the partners a $4.5 million cheque for 22% of the company. Benchmark also found a CEO for

eBay, Margaret Whitham, an executive from Hasbro, and with her leadership, the business became a slick corporate entity. With a new

look, better publicity, and greater organization, eBay went public on September 24, 1998. Within four months of trading, the stock,

which started at $18 per share, was worth $300. Omidyar became a billionaire.

Now selling far more than just Pez dispensers, eBay has completely changed e-commerce. Despite increasing competition, eBay

continues to grow. Omidyar recognized and seized the opportunity that essentially fell into his lap and revolutionized internet

use.

About the author: Evan Carmichael is an entrepreneur and international speaker. His webpage is among the top 10 Internet sites globally for entrepreneurship and contains profiles of famous entrepreneur, lessons learned from successful business owners, and expert opinions and analysis. He also runs Entrepreneur Mastermind Groups to give business owners important insights from their peers into managing and growing a small company. http://www.evancarmichael.com

tips to start your eBay business

Author: Derek Gehl

Hi,

I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when I started getting bombarded by questions regarding the e-mail I sent you a couple of weeks ago...

After all, who WOULDN'T be a little skeptical to hear about a man who made $22,000 A DAY on average selling everyday household items on eBay.

I mean, that's more than some people make in an entire YEAR!

Anyway, people have been calling and e-mailing practically non-stop, asking me to reveal the *exact* system Brandon Dupsky is using to make his fortune on eBay.

Some of the more common questions have been: ""What is this guy selling?"", ""How does he turn his auctions into bidding wars?"" , ""What is his secret for driving TONS of traffic to his auctions?"", and so on...

Brandon's system is SO extensive, and SO in-depth, that I can't possibly do it justice in a brief e-mail like this one, but I CAN tell you this...

... It has nothing to do with selling junk from around your house, scrounging stuff from flea markets or pawn shops and reselling it on eBay, or spending endless tedious hours listing a m