Resell on Ebay
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October 21, 2009 |
The online auction site eBay has become a popular source of extra income for many people who enjoy making money from the comfort of their home. Once your eBay account is set up, you're ready to start selling. Finding unusual items that bring high bids is a lot easier than you might think. The best part is there are a number of unusual places where you can cheaply buy items to resell and make a nice profit.
Instructions
 Step 1 Browse through the eBay "Want It Now" pages. This section is dedicated to postings from buyers who are looking for specific items that you can send information to about your auctions. Plus, it gives you an idea of items to keep an eye out for while searching for items to resell.
Step 2 Search recently ended auctions on eBay to see what kind of prices other sellers are getting for their stuff. This will give you an idea of the average amount you might receive for like items and lets you know how much to spend on these items and still make a good profit.
Step 3 Visit all of the local thrift stores on a regular basis. Prices at thrift stores are usually very reasonable and if you know what kind of stuff sells the best and gets the higher bids, then you know what to look for while shopping. Some unusual things you might not think about are vintage jigsaw puzzles and games, which sell well and can usually be bought for as little as a quarter or no higher than a couple of dollars.
Continue:How to Find Cheap Stuff to Resell on Ebay
Source:ArticlesbaseLabels: eBay tips |
posted by Editor @ 12:27 PM   |
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Supply and Demand on eBay
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October 13, 2009 |
Sometimes it's not enough to merely have something to sell.
If your only goal is to hold a garage sale on eBay and turn your old junk into quick cash, eBay's a no-brainer. List stuff you're not using anyway, get paid, and smile all the way to the bank. If on the other hand you plan to turn eBay into a small business, a supplemental income, or even an occupation, you're going to have to be much more careful about what you buy and later sell.
eBay is a Fluid Market 
It is true that nearly everything will sell on eBay. It is also true, however, that many things on eBay typically sell at well below retail value because of eBay's nature as a near-ideal market: every seller can approach every buyer at the same time with no barriers, real or imagined, to trade. For manufactured goods that are neither rare nor out of production, this potential for near-infinite supply has the effect of driving prices down.
At the same time, the rapidity with which stock can enter and leave the supply chain on eBay leads to a marketplace in which demand can fluctuate as rapidly as consumer tastes. If you're a seller that has invested real money in your inventory with the expectation of generating a return, you don't want to be caught suddenly with worthless stock!
In order to stay above the fray and make money, you need to understand how demand for different types of items behaves on eBay, and be able to make smart business decisions accordingly before you buy.
Continue:Supply and Demand on eBay
Source: AboutLabels: eBay tips |
| posted by Editor @ 10:00 AM |
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How Can I Make Money on eBay
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September 27, 2009 |
How can I make money on eBay? Most people just think they need to sell the "best selling" products to profit on this site.
Therefore they go the "pulse" where there is a list of the 10 most popular products within each category. This will tell you the items that have the most demand for them.
This is the WRONG method
Why? They will have TONS of competition. Don't get me wrong-competition is good--to a point.
But when there is too much of it, you really have to know that you are doing. If you plan on selling these products you will have to have a great back-end to make money because the profits are simply too small on the site itself.
STEP #1) Avoid "best" selling products
eBay is a cutthroat site, and you will find it far easier to make money on the internet away from the site. It's MUCH easier to focus on less competitive products and sell them.
There will be less competition... the profit margins will be better... and the selection is much wider. In other words... don't restrict yourself to the "most popular" items sold on eBay.
STEP #2) Find "under the radar" items
It might take some time and effort... but it's very possible to find hundred of products that profit on eBay with that are not "best sellers".
But how do you figure out what things sell well before spending hundreds of dollars testing them? Search the completed auctions.
This will tell you the average selling price for that product... what percentage of the auctions did not sell... and how many auctions sold overall.
Ideally you will have a wholesale catalog in front of you so you know how much you will spend to get the product. Then you can determine if the profit margins are sufficient to warrant going into the market.
Don't ever invest in a product before doing this step.
So back to the original question--how can i sell on eBay? The key is finding "low profile" items. Once you get one profit stream up and running, just rinse and repeat. This is how to profit fast.
Source: EzineArticles Labels: eBay tips |
| posted by Editor @ 10:21 AM |
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Finding it on eBay
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August 24, 2009 |
With literally MILLIONS of items for sale the task of finding the exact item you want on eBay can seem overwhelming. However, with the right techniques, and a bit of know-how the search process on eBay can be both exciting & rewarding.
The purpose of this article is to help you better understand the basics of how the eBay search engine works and offer you some tips on how to use that engine to find exactly what you are looking for quickly & easily. You might even find yourself having fun!
 Almost every page of eBay includes a basic search box. Simply enter your search terms and click "search" or hit Enter on your keyboard. This will perform a search of auction titles from all 80,000+ categories.
Some tips on basic searching
1. Search terms must be entered following a simple format; a single word or multiple words with one space in between. Additional spaces before, between or after search words will result in poor search results.
2. The eBay search engine considers the singular and plural forms two different words. For example, searching for bracelet will display auction titles containing the word bracelet, not bracelets.
3. Recognize accepted seller shorthand. Item titles are limited in characters to sellers have developed shorthand versions of commonly used phrases. For example, NIB means "New In Box." NR means "No Reserve."
There may also be category specific shorthand. For example, CBK means "Cabbage Patch Kids," SS means "Sterling Silver."
When browsing your category of interest, make note of these terms & include them in your search.
4. Generally speaking, using a basic search will yield results from auction or BIN (Buy It Now) listings only, not store items.
5. Experiment with synonyms. Try searching for cell phone, cellular phone and mobile phone. You will end up with totally different results.
6. Consider alternative spellings and/or names when performing your search. For example, try both television and TV or phone and telephone.
Source:EzineArticlesLabels: eBay tips |
| posted by Editor @ 10:36 AM |
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What Not to Sell on eBay
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July 18, 2009 |
It’s often said that eBay is the best place on earth to sell anything and everything. In the broad sense this is true, but in fact there are a number of things that you generally shouldn’t sell or try to sell on eBay, since doing so could undervalue your item, endanger your own status as an eBay seller, or even endanger the buyer(s) that you transact with. Here is a rundown of such things, in no particular order:
 •Very common and inexpensive books, software, CDs, and DVDs. Very simply, unless you are a professional eBay seller with a ready source and broad stock of such items at discount prices, you’re probably not going to get very much money out of these kinds of items on eBay. They’re just too common, and even when new their values are often less than the price of an average lunch—not to mention that most buyers in the world would rather simply pop over to their favorite local shop to buy or rent a very common book or movie, rather than wait days or weeks for it to arrive after paying shipping costs that may be larger than the value of the item itself. If you’re really determined to sell such items on eBay, try Half.com instead, where your listings don’t expire after just a few days and there is a ready audience of buyers for these kinds of items.
•Perishable items. To put it most simply, perishable items don’t like being shipped via normal shipping methods in small quantities. Leave the grocery selling to grocery stores and trade in durable goods on eBay unless you’re already an expert in such matters.
•Items without value. Though the nature of eBay can tend to make us think otherwise, there are some types of items that just don’t have much intrinsic value. Any used consumable falls into this category—things like empty printer inks or toner cartridges, or used up batteries of various kinds. These things simply aren’t very much use to most people and won’t generate much revenue. Many durable goods fall into a kind of grey area at the edges of this category—worn-out clothing, for example, or very heavily used consumer electronics that are beginning to lose some of their functionality or reliability. Though such items may attract bidders or buyers—in the case of vintage clothing, for example—you should exercise your better judgment in deciding whether there is really any value in the item(s) you want to sell.
•Big-hassle items. Though it can make good business sense to sell very difficult to ship or deliver items on eBay, it can also represent more trouble than many eBay sellers are willing to cope with. Unless you have a ready process, workflow, and set of policies in place to deal with such complications, the selling of major appliances, furniture items, oddly shaped items, or very high-value goods is probably best left to those who trade in such items on a regular basis as a component of their eBay business model, and who are prepared for difficult processes like shipping freight.
•Intellectual property. This is another category that is best left to those who are willing to commit to it as a business model. Included in the intellectual property category are such things as software, media, artwork, text, or information, whether you’re the author of these things or not. Because eBay is careful to protect intellectual property owners’ rights, it can be a bookkeeping and regulatory headache to trade in such goods, and it is certainly against eBay rules (not to mention in violation of international copyright law) to sell intellectual property to which you do not explicitly have the rights—even if you found it “for free” somewhere via a Google search.
•Things that should no longer be used. This is a broad and eclectic category of items but includes anything that might present a danger to those that purchase it. Included here are toys or childcare products for which recalls have been issued, antique items that have been made obsolete by later safety regulations or realizations that they are unsafe to use (for example, household items containing lead or lead paint), or items that are used beyond their ability to be used safely (for example, dying or damaged power tools). At the very least, when selling such items you should take care to include strong warning language and to make it possible for customers to return items with which they are dissatisfied.
•Anything dangerous to ship or that runs afoul of eBay’s rules. All explosive or flammable fuel substances fit into this category, as do things like most alcoholic beverages. For a complete list of items that violate eBay’s rules (and that will likely be removed from eBay if you attempt to list them), please see eBay’s prohibited and restricted items list.
Source: AboutLabels: eBay tips |
| posted by Editor @ 10:09 AM |
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Win the Battle for the Bid
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June 09, 2009 |
eBay is big. You’ve probably noticed this, and you’ve probably noticed that whatever you happen to be selling, someone else is selling it, too—often right alongside yourself in search results.
When this happens, the game is one. Given one bidder, there will be one purchase and thus, only one winner. Naturally, it should be you. So when push comes to shove, how do you go about winning the battle for the bid? Here are some small things you can do to help you win the fight:
 1.Grow your feedback score. That number and star next to your member ID earns bids, even if not all buyers know what it means. Always ask your buyers for positive feedback and drive that number higher.
2.Keep percentage and detailed seller ratings (DSR) high. Now that there are stars next to every active seller’s name, buyers have a set of visual clues to work from, no matter what sellers think of them. More DSR stars? More bids. Same goes for percentage. Excellent customer service and explicit email requests for five-star ratings and positive feedback can help keep you in the game here.
3.Raise your shipping costs—or lower them! Price matters. Use psychology to your advantage, depending on the listing type. For a fixed price listing, if your shipping costs are lower than everyone else’s, increase them enough to lower your buy it now price and undercut competitors. “Cheapest on eBay” equals more bids for you. For auction listings, or if your shipping prices start to affect your DSR, list your item with free shipping instead and raise your price slightly. Buyers see this as a discount and will often choose the free shipping auction over others so long as the price increase isn’t obviously excessive.
4.Include real photos, more photos, and better photos. No credit for stock photos, sorry; consumers can see they’re more hype than happening. Use actual photos, give multiple angles or views, and make sure they’re well done and in focus, because nothing loses you a bid faster than a yellowed, unfocused image that makes your product look undesirable. Appearance is everything! Can you imagine a full-page BMW spread in a magazine that used a half-baked photo? Added tip: If you can spare the extra cents, consider including a photo of yourself and/or your team smiling and waving in your warehouse or in front of your building. You’ll be (pleasantly) surprised.
Labels: buying on eBay |
| posted by Editor @ 9:52 AM |
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Quick Tips at a Glance
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May 26, 2009 |
Follow these tips religiously to help ensure the most productive eBay selling experience.
•Include a photo. More than any other single factor, the photo that you include with your auction will determine the final value for which your item is sold. Take the photo yourself and take the time to do it nicely (well lit, on a clean surface) if you want to bring in top dollar.
•Use HTML to make your listing clean and readable. Bidders will bid if and only if they can  figure out what you're saying. Use some basic HTML tags to make your auction listing readable and user friendly so that you don't chase bidders away.
•Start auction format listings at $1.00 unless you have a reason not to. For most common types of items you'll receive more bids in the end if you begin your listing at $1.00, and you'll ultimately save on listing fees as well. Don't be impatient as you watch the price�most bids on eBay are placed on the last day (and the majority in the last hour) of an item's listing.
•Clearly list the items included in the sale. If you're selling a product that includes additional accessories or material when sold at retail, be sure to mention in your listing that these are included using phrases like "Includes all original accessories!" If item(s) that buyers might expect to be included actually won't be included in the sale, be sure to mention that as well.
•Clearly state the item's condition. Do use ratings such as "like new," "almost like new," "good condition," "fair condition," or "somewhat worn," but also be sure to include actual details like "has a scratch at the upper-right of the screen," "is missing two buttons," "somewhat faded and shopworn," or "I can't find a scratch, a scuff, or signs of wear anywhere on it!"
•Include shipping details. Do include a very specific shipping cost (or an actual shipping cost calculator of some kind), but also include details about the areas to which you're willing to ship, the carrier(s) that you're willing to use, whether or not you plan to insure the item.
Continue: Selling on eBay: Quick Tips at a Glance
Source: AboutLabels: Selling on eBay |
| posted by Editor @ 9:38 AM |
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eBay Home and Garden Tips
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April 23, 2009 |
Many eBayers don’t immediately think “home and garden” when they think about eBay, but in fact eBay is amongst the top three retailers (top two if only online retailers are counted) in the home and garden market in the United States. eBay offers home and garden shoppers a unique range of goods from around the world, while offering home and garden sellers—especially small and medium-sized sellers—access to markets outside their local area.
•For home and garden shoppers, therefore, eBay should be one of your first destinations, especially if you’re looking for unique, indigenous-craft, or one-of-a-kind items.
•For home and garden sellers, eBay is one of the best places to be since it has a proven track record of moving home and garden goods and is a destination that buyers are clearly aware of.
Whether you’re buying or selling, here are some tips to make your home and garden experience on eBay a good one.
eBay Home and Garden Tips For Shoppers
Shopping online for home and garden goods can present special challenges, most notably around shipping methods and product assembly, since home and garden goods may be very large and bulky and may arrive in unassembled fashion. Here are some things to keep in mind:
•Be aware of shipping costs. Furniture is particularly at issue here, but so are many smaller decorative items that may be made of stone, plaster, brass, or other materials, or that may involve significant bulk (bags of soil, for example, or lawn furniture). Especially with free shipping becoming more and more popular, it can be easy to miss a high shipping cost and pay more than you want to.
•Remember shipping delays as well. If you’re buying for an occasion like a wedding or for a time-sensitive project like some kinds of seasonal home improvements, pay special attention to estimated shipping and handling times. Home and garden gear on eBay may have to be sourced from warehouses, custom-assembled upon order, or in some cases shipped from overseas, all of which can add delays. If the listing isn’t clear and time is important to you, ask the seller about timing.
Continue:eBay Home and Garden Tips
Source:AboutLabels: buying on eBay |
| posted by Editor @ 9:31 AM |
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Increase Profits with PayPal Micropayments
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March 22, 2009 |
Transaction fees are a part of life for eBay sellers, and PayPal fees can often take something of a bite out of profits. This can seem to be especially true for sellers with very tight margins, who usually happen also to be sellers of very inexpensive items. Margins can be so tight, in fact, that it can start to seem as though it’s not possible to be competitive.
If this sounds like you and you aren’t using PayPal Micropayments, now may be the time for you to learn more about the program and consider using it.
Different Fee Structure
PayPal Micropayments offers sellers a different fee structure that is more advantageous for high-volume, low-margin, low-value items. Some sellers increase their profit margin by as much as 20-30 percent upon switching, though your results may very (you should therefore run some numbers before you switch to make sure the alternate fee structure is better for your particular eBay business).
With PayPal Micropayments you’ll pay 5 percent plus 5 cents per transaction (for U.S. accounts) versus 2.9 percent plus 30 cents per transaction at the usual PayPal rate. If a sizable percentage of your transactions fall under the $12.00 mark, there’s a good chance you’ll find that PayPal Micropayments will save you money.
Caveats and Limitations
The catch is that any one PayPal account is either one thing or the other (a micropayments or a standard account) and there is no way to switch back and forth between the two on a per-transaction basis. To use PayPal Micropayments, therefore, you’ll either need to:
•create a brand separate PayPal Micropayments account (with a separate bank account, since PayPal won’t let you use the same bank account twice) and remember to carefully switch between your two accounts as you list items for sale, or
•convert your existing PayPal account to micropayments rates entirely, losing the ability to conduct business at non-micropayments rates.
Making it Work
That’s all there is to it! Payments you receive in micropayments accounts are automatically charged at the alternate micropayments rate. If you’re having trouble making a high-volume, low-cost business model work, PayPal Micropayments can be one part of a strategy (along with things like good fee control) for getting back on your game.
Source:AboutLabels: eBay, Micropayments, PayPal |
| posted by Editor @ 9:26 AM |
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Shop and Sell Better with RSS
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February 15, 2009 |
 Whether you’re a buyer or a seller, the RSS feeds that are increasingly available as eBay tools can help you to use eBay more effectively. If you’ve never used RSS before, now may be a good time to start.
What is RSS?
RSS stands either for “Really Simple Syndication” or for “Rich Site Summary,” depending on who you ask, but at the end of the day RSS is basically both of the following for eBay users:
•If you’re a buyer: RSS is a way of monitoring lots of different “collections” of items on eBay that will interest you—all of the items matching one of your searches, or all of the items sold by a specific seller. You get to choose how these collections are put together and how often you check in on them.
•If you’re a seller: RSS is a way of making your own wares available to buyers as just these kinds of “collections” that they can easily watch. It’s also a way of automatically spreading your current eBay listings around the web and its search engines.
In practical terms, an “RSS feed” is a special link or URL (a web address, in short) that points to one of these kinds of collections for you. You get to create all the collections that you want through eBay, and describe what should be in each collection. eBay then supplies you with a link that will contain the collection in question.
Continue:Shop and Sell Better with RSS
Source:AboutLabels: eBay |
| posted by Editor @ 9:19 AM |
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Viral Marketing on eBay
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January 13, 2009 |
 Back to school time is here again and while eBay isn’t necessarily the go-to retailer for K-12 school supplies bought by busy parents, there is one back-to-school demographic for which eBay is a natural fit—the college dorm crown. Today’s college kids tend to be online creatures and also tend to have some discretionary spending money, making them the ideal demographic to which to sell cool wares of all kinds: interior decor, small appliances, consumer electronics, computers and peripherals, clothing, and more.
The trick, though, is that today’s college kids also make their buying decisions in very different ways from those of “typical” consumers. If you want to really do well with the college crowd, in other words, you’ve got to go viral—you’ve got to market your eBay goods and/or store using social networking and online tools.
Going Viral 101
If you’ve never been all too hot on the “Internet buzzword” bandwagon, now’s the time to get familiar with it. There are a number of free Internet sites and tools that you’ve absolutely got to make use of if you’re going to make the most of the August-through-October “dorm room boom.” They are, in no particular order of importance:
•YouTube—Find a young person (your own college-age children, your childrens’ friends, yourself if you’re college-age, your own friends) and make them into a film star by having them demonstrate your products on video in short, informative clips that end with a reference to your eBay store. Then, post these videos to YouTube. Be sure that the star of the video is (a) young, (b) photogenic, (c) enthusiastic, and (d) understandable when they speak on camera. Do this in particular for every unique, boutique, or “cute” product that you stock or sell.
Continue:Viral Marketing on eBay
Source:AboutLabels: buying on eBay |
| posted by Editor @ 9:11 AM |
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Find What You Want on eBay
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April 01, 2008 |
Browse items ending soon
and find a great bargain
Laptops, diecast toys, perfume, handbags, furniture
Find lots of items with bidding starting from just $1
Musical instruments, clothing, DVDs
Labels: eBay |
| posted by Maggie @ 3:31 PM |
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Selling on eBay is Easy
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March 29, 2008 |
 Learn to Sell
Get started with our new & easy 4 step selling guide Get ideas on what to sell
The eBay House shows how frequently everyday items sell on eBay - get tips on what you could sell from around your house and make extra cash!  Great Listing Tips
Want to know what makes a great listing? See eBay's listing tips for ideas on getting the most out of your listing Labels: eBay |
| posted by Maggie @ 1:02 PM |
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Words of Wisdom from Thomas Watson
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March 28, 2008 |
I have made a good many predictions about the future of our business and I have been wrong every time because I have always underestimated its possibilities.
It is better to aim at perfection and miss it than to aim at imperfection and hit it.
Thomas Watson |
| posted by Maggie @ 11:21 AM |
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Really Really Basic eBay
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March 25, 2008 |
These are the very first steps you have to understand before using eBay.
1. Find
Search or browse for an item
2. Buy
Place a bid or use "Buy It Now".
Place a bid
For auction-format items, enter the amount you want to spend; eBay bids for you, up to the limit you set.
Buy it now
You don't have to wait for the auction to end - you can puchase your item instantly.
3. Pay
Once you've won, pay the seller.
Pay for your item
You'll receive an email from eBay explaining how to contact and pay the seller. Click here to learn more about payment options.
Get your item
After the seller receives your payment, the item is sent to you. It's that easy!
PayPal
Most sellers accept PayPal, the safe, fast and easy way to pay for items. Many sellers also accept payment by cheque.
All this without ever leaving your house! Do be careful. Shopping on eBay is highly addictive.Labels: eBay |
| posted by Maggie @ 10:55 AM |
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Basic Tips For eBay Buyers
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March 20, 2008 |
# Check the Seller's feedback rating - this is their online reputation # Get to know your seller and what they're selling by asking them questions # Use PayPal and shop without sharing your bank account or credit card details # Look for listings offering Buyer Protection# Download the eBay Toolbar and protect yourself from logging onto fake sites  Alastair McGibbon - Trust and Safety Director, eBay Australia Labels: buying on eBay, eBay |
| posted by Maggie @ 10:37 AM |
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eBay Power Seller Logo
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March 07, 2008 |
The last part of an article by George Peirson
"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."
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.comArticle copyright 2006 George Peirson Labels: eBay |
| posted by Maggie @ 4:16 PM |
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Negative Feedback on eBay
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March 04, 2008 |
Part 3 of an article by George Peirson
"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."
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.comArticle copyright 2006 George Peirson Labels: eBay |
| posted by Maggie @ 4:08 PM |
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eBay Tools to Help You Qualify Sellers
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March 01, 2008 |
Part 2 of an article by George Peirson
"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."
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.comArticle copyright 2006 George Peirson Labels: eBay |
| posted by Maggie @ 4:04 PM |
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Finding a Good eBay Seller and How to Spot the Bad Ones
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February 27, 2008 |
This article by George Peirson is quite long, but very interesting and written by an authority on eBay. Because of its length I will post it over a few days." 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." 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.comArticle copyright 2006 George Peirson Labels: eBay |
| posted by Maggie @ 3:53 PM |
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eBay Quality of Service Ranking System
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February 24, 2008 |
At any one time there are thousands of sellers competing for people to buy their products or services on eBay rather than the same or similar products put up by their competition. Sellers on eBay are rated through feedback from customers who have bought goods from them previously. For this reason it is critical to maintain good customer service, and if you are dealing in any large quantity you need a good customer service policy which is strictly upheld by anyone working for you.  Description
One area to consider in your item description is that you need to be perfectly honest. If you are selling second-hand goods and there is a defect of any sort, describe it or photograph it so that the potential buyers will know if they are interested or not. If this is not done you will probably get negative feedback when the buyer realises the item has been misrepresented. The picture gives an example of a worn edge on a laptop which can be clearly seen in the photo, so nobody will have to wonder how extensive the damage is. During bidding
Customer service during the bidding process means that you are attentive, and if a bidder wants more information you give it quickly and clearly. It doesn't matter what the question is, answer it as quickly as you can, even if the answer seems obvious to you. Delivery
Of course the final step, the delivery of the item, is probably the most important to your customer who is waiting eagerly for what they have bought to be delivered to them. Send the item the same day or the next day at the latest, and don't inflate the postage cost. Nobody minds paying a fair price, but nobody likes to feel they have been ripped off. Buyers will naturally look at the feedback ratings and favor sellers who have a positive feedback rating. Always be diligent and honest, and your customers will reward you by giving you positive feedback. |
| posted by Maggie @ 10:27 AM |
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Good Business Tips
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February 21, 2008 |
 Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position falls, your ego goes with it.
Colin Powell  It takes more than capital to swing business. You’ve got to have the A. I. D. degree to get by -
Advertising, Initiative, and Dynamics.
Isaac Asimov  I say, beware of all enterprises that require new clothes, and not rather a wearer of new clothes.
Henry David Thoreau |
| posted by Maggie @ 8:46 AM |
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Collectible Books
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February 18, 2008 |
 "Collectible books do especially well in eBay stores. Research is showing an increasing number of collectible books with the highest closing prices sold from stores. Because eBay sellers can add as many photos and as much description as needed, you have a big advantage over other fixed price venues.
Another new strategy used by booksellers is the Best Offer feature. You can list a collectible book at a very high price with a Best Offer feature. When offers come in you can decide if you want to accept them. In the meantime, you can get a good idea of the demand for the book by checking the traffic statistics that are provided for store sellers. You do not need to run auctions to drive traffic to your eBay store because collectible books with fewer than twenty copies will show up in searches.
Fill your store and watch the sales roll in!"
Source: Elaine Krieg SmithLabels: Best Offer, eBay store |
| posted by Maggie @ 12:43 PM |
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About Me Page
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February 12, 2008 |
 Create an About Me page at eBay to tell the world about yourself and your interests.
It can be used for:
* Letting the eBay community know who you are.
* Showing off your fabulous finds.
* Displaying your items up for bid.
* Describing your favorite hobby.
Creating an About Me page
You can enter your own HTML code or you can use a simple process:
* Enter page content.
* Add pictures if you want
* Select a page layout
* Preview and once you've chosen a layout that you like, click the Submit button save your page.
* When you're finished, eBay will email you the Web address (URL) to share with your friends. * Other users will see the icon next to your User ID. They can click on the icon to view your page and learn more about who you are.
Managing your About Me page
Once you have created your About Me page you can :
* Use the edit function to add new information to your About Me page. You can personalize your page using eBay's special HTML tags for About Me pages.
* Add pictures using eBay Picture Hosting. Your About Me page can display up to two pictures with a size of 2 MB per picture. If you need assistance uploading pictures, see Uploading Your Pictures to eBay.
* If you understand basic HTML, you can personalize your page using eBay's special HTML tags for About Me pages.
* You can delete your About Me page at any time by clicking the "Delete Your Page" link. Once deleted, your icon will no longer be displayed.Labels: eBay |
| posted by Maggie @ 1:00 PM |
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Listing Your Item On eBay
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February 07, 2008 |
Here are some tips to help you list your item/s on eBay. If you want more information just follow the links or go directly to the eBay web site.
* Make sure the item is legal and allowed.
* Take one or more pictures of your item in a well-lit area. Evenly distributed artificial or natural light is better than a cameras flash for most items, and a tripod steadies your camera and ensures your picture will be in focus.
* Choose the most specific category available. Use the Suggested Categories feature to have eBay suggest categories for you. For an additional fee, you can list your item in a second category to maximize your item's visibility.
* Imagine you were the buyer when you prepare the title and description for your listing. What would you want to know about the item? What are its most appealing characteristics? (see Writing a Good Title and Description).
* Save time by composing your item description in a word authoring program first, and then pasting it into the item description area in the Sell Your Item form. Be clear and complete, but use short sentences that are easy to read. Including specific details about the item, such as dimensions, shipping, and payment etc. may help reduce the number of email questions you receive about your item. Use of Advanced Selling Tools will also save you time creating and managing your listings.
* Plan your pricing strategy. Look at similar completed eBay listings using the completed listings search. You can also visit online stores that sell similar items and ask friends to help determine what the item is worth. This will help you set your starting price or your Buy It Now price. Also, decide whether you would like to set a reserve price. * Consider registering for selling-related services before you begin the Sell Your Item form. For example, if you want to sell in the Mature Audiences section, it will make the listing process easier to complete the ID Verify process before you list your item. If you want to open your own eBay Store, see eBay Stores Overview. Labels: eBay, Selling strategies |
| posted by Maggie @ 11:23 PM |
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Assorted Trivia
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January 28, 2008 |
Here is an assortment of trivia that may appeal to you. Share any extras that you know of so we can get a long, long list.
'Stewardesses' is the longest word typed with only the left hand . And 'lollipop' is the longest word typed with your right hand. (Bet you tried this out mentally, didn't you?) No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver, or purple. 'Dreamt' is the only English word that ends in the letters 'mt'. ? (Are you doubting this?) Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears never stop growing. The sentence: 'The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog' uses every letter of the alphabet. (Now, you KNOW you're going to try this out for accuracy, right?) The words 'racecar,' 'kayak' and 'level' are the same whether they are read left to right or right to left (palindromes). (Yep, I knew you were going to 'do' this one.) There are only four words in the English language which end in 'dous': tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous. (You're not doubting this, are you?) There are two words in the English language that have all five vowels in order: 'abstemious' and 'facetious.' (Yes, admit it, you are going to say, a e i o u) TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the letters only on one row of the keyboard. (All you typists are going to test this out) A cat has 32 muscles in each ear. A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds. (Some days that's about what my memory span is.) A 'jiffy' is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second. A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes.  A snail can sleep for three years. (I know some people that could do this too.!) Almonds are a member of the peach family. An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain. (I know some people like that also) Babies are born without kneecaps. They don't appear until the child reaches 2 to 6 years of age. February 1865 is the only month in recorded history not to have a full moon. In the last 4,000 years, no new animals have been domesticated.  If the population of China walked past you, 8 abreast, the line would never end because of the rate of reproduction. (No comment on the mechanics of that, thank you) Leonardo Da Vinci invented the scissors Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite! Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated. The average person's left hand does 56% of the typing. The cruise liner, QE 2, moves only six inches for each gallon of diesel that it burns. The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket. (Good thing he did that.)  The winter of 1932 was so cold that Niagara Falls froze completely solid. There are more chickens than people in the world. Winston Churchill was born in a ladies' room during a dance. Women blink nearly twice as much as men. Now you know more than you did before!! |
| posted by Maggie @ 2:24 PM |
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More Proxy Bid Information.
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January 21, 2008 |
As I said yesterday, eBay is making a couple of small changes which should make things easier for buyers, and this is the second one.
To help educate users who aren't familiar with proxy bidding, they're adding the option to let members see all the past proxy bids that were placed on an item. Buyers will be able to see the full bid history, including when the system automatically raised a buyer's bid to beat a subsequent bid.
To see this expanded bid history once it rolls to the site, simply click the link labeled "Show automatic bids" above the Bid Time column on the right side of the table. One thing to be sure of – just like today, the high bidder's current proxy bid is not revealed. (Learn about the proxy bidding system here.) |
| posted by Maggie @ 9:01 AM |
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Calculated Shipping Amount to be Displayed in More Places.
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January 20, 2008 |
There are a couple of changes being made to the eBay site that should improve the buying process.
Currently, when the seller uses the Shipping Calculator, the shipping amount can be calculated on the item page but shows up as "Check item description" on other pages during the buying process.
Later this month the calculated rate will be carried over and displayed on the Review Your Bid page so that buyers can make a more informed decision. We will also display the calculated rate on several other pages where we show shipping costs, such as the Bid History page and within Bid Assistant. |
| posted by Maggie @ 8:39 AM |
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Your eBay Advertisement
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January 14, 2008 |
"To succeed, an ad (or a persona or product, for that matter) must establish its own unique personality, or it will never be noticed."
Levenson, 1987Labels: Ad, Advertisement |
| posted by Maggie @ 12:20 PM |
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Think About Your eBay Ads
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January 04, 2008 |
You can say the right thing about a product and nobody will listen. You've got to say it in a way that people will feel in their gut. Because if they don't feel it, nothing will happen.
William Bernbach 1911-1982
Keep this is mind when writing a description of the item you are wanting to sell on eBay. This is a man who knows what he's talking about when it comes to advertising.
William Bernbach was famous in the advertising area. He worked as a clerk for a company called Schlenley, and in his free time started creating advertisements for the company. He was subsequently moved from the mail room to the Marketing and Advertising department, and it was in this capacity that Bernbach was noticed by Grover Whalen, the Chairman of the Board.
For the next two years, Bernbach served as Whalen's right hand man, developing his long time interest in writing as Whalen's head speech writer. Whalen's long history in New York politics proved beneficial for Bernbach. He was invited to write political speeches for a number of notable New York politicians and eventually went with Whalen to work for the 1939 World's Fair in New York.
Bernbach believed wholehartedly in creative thinking in advertising, as opposed to writing from a formula, or just stating facts. As he says in 1947 in a letter to Grey's management, for whom he was then working:
"I'm worried...that we're going to worship techniques instead of substance...I don't want people who do the right things. I want people who do inspiring things. Let us prove to the world that good taste, good art, good writing can be good selling," (Millman, 1988).
Bernbach, along with Ned Doyle and Mac Dane formed Doyle Dane Bernbach (DDB) in 1949. This was the beginning of a very successful collaboration skyrocketing the company to huge succes, counting VW and Avis among their most successful clients. By 1965, the agency reached the top ten in billings ($130 million) and regularly won industry awards for their creative work.
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| posted by Maggie @ 5:20 PM |
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Business Truisms
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December 28, 2007 |
Show me the business man or institution not guided by sentiment and service, by the idea that “he profits most who serves best,” and I will show you a man or an outfit that is dead or dying.
B. F. Harris of Harris Technology
You can take my business, burn up my building, but give me my people and I’ll build the business right back again.
Henry Ford
Once an organization loses its spirit of pioneering and rests on its early work, its progress stops.
Thomas Watson |
| posted by Maggie @ 8:45 AM |
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StumbleUpon Also With eBay
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December 20, 2007 |
In my previous post about the eBay company, I neglected to mention the great search tool StumbleUpon, which is also in the eBay family. Here is what the managers had to say about it.
A big day… joining eBay
May 30, 2:02pm•
StumbleUpon has officially joined eBay. We’re excited about this, and we hope you are too.
Looking to the future, we think that joining eBay is the right thing to do to help us to grow StumbleUpon to its full potential. We think eBay is a great fit for us because eBay and StumbleUpon share similar approaches – we’re both driven by our community of users, and we are both dedicated to connecting people.
We also want you to know that not much will change around here. We’ll be running StumbleUpon separately within eBay Inc., and we’ll still be focused on developing features based on your feedback.
Thanks for all your support. Keep stumbling!
-GMC, Geoff & Justin
What people are saying about us
"Next time you want to wander the Web, forget about Googling it. Stumble it." 
"StumbleUpon is a brilliant downloadable toolbar that beds into your browser and gives you the chance to surf through thousands of excellent pages that have been stumbled upon by other web-users"  |
| posted by Maggie @ 8:20 AM |
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Everyone decides what they want
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December 19, 2007 |
Yes, I sell people things they don't need. I can't, however, sell them something they don't want. Even with advertising. Even if I were of a mind to.
John O'Toole |
| posted by Maggie @ 5:26 PM |
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Failure Is Your Friend On the Road To Success
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December 12, 2007 |
This is an inspiring story about the formative stages in the life of Thomas Watson, founder of IBM.
Watson thought about his success in plain terms. When he was once asked what the secret to all he had achieved in his life was, Watson replied, “It’s quite simple, really. Double your rate of failure. You’re thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn’t at all.”
Rather, Watson believed that failure was not only an inevitable part of the equation in the formula for success, but that it was both a necessary and also a positive stepping stone towards achieving the goals he had set out for himself. “I have made a good many predictions about the future of our business and I have been wrong every time because I have always underestimated its possibilities,” said Watson.
Despite heading one of the most powerful companies in the country of his time, Watson was not perfect. He, too, made mistakes along the way – mistakes that would cost the company dearly. But, what set Watson apart from his peers was his determination to bounce back from his failures.
In his early years, Watson was struggling as a salesman with Wheeler and Wilcox in Buffalo. He had just relocated to a new city and was finding it difficult to adjust not only to the change of environment but also to having to now sell priducts door-to-door. After making a particularly hard sale, Watson celebrated his success with a drink at the local pub. But, when his equipment and horse and buggy were all stolen outside the bar, his success would be transformed into a failure in the eyes of the company. He was promptly fired.
Disillusioned with his prospects, it took Watson over a year to find another steady job. Was having that one drink a mistake? Perhaps, but it was never one that Watson would regret since it would start him on the path towards running his own company.
Watson was never content to take the easy road. He set his sights high and tried his best. He made some mistakes, suffered the consequences, and bounced right back. “It is better to aim at perfection and miss it than to aim at imperfection and hit it,” he said.
Watson was not about to let fear of failure get in his way of achieving the impossible. For him, the impossible was not only possible, but it was indeed the only thing that was worth striving for; it was the only thing that would differentiate him and make him stand out.
Mistakes, according to Watson, were nothing to be ashamed of and were, in fact, a necessary part of the process of running a business. Both failures and successes were something to be celebrated, because both signaled effort and triumph in the end.
“The man who does not take pride in his own performance performs nothing in which to take pride,” said Watson. Therefore, the choice for Watson was a simple one. “You can be discouraged by failure or you can learn from it,” he said. “So go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because, remember that's where you'll find success. On the far side." |
| posted by Maggie @ 9:23 AM |
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Thomas Watson on Thinking
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December 08, 2007 |
All the problems of the world could be settled easily if men were only willing to think. The trouble is that men very often resort to all sorts of devices in order not to think, because thinking is such hard work.
What every business needs is more people who think.
Think. Think about your appearance, associations, actions, ambitions, accomplishment. |
| posted by Maggie @ 9:40 AM |
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How To Follow Up An eBay Sale
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December 04, 2007 |
You have listed an item, had the auction, and the sale is finished. What next?
As soon as the sale ends, email the buyer and advise them of payment options and shipping costs. It is acceptable to ask them how many they would like if you have additional stock, and you could also refer them to your website for related items.
Send out a polite "We haven’t heard from you" email note if a buyer hasn't responded within a week. If you think the problem may be a communication problem, get a phone number from
eBay and try to make voice contact.
If this doesn't get a result, the next step (after 7 days but before 45 days) is to request from eBay a non paying bidder alert (NPB), following their help guidelines.
Between 10 and 60 days after the NPB alert, if you still haven't heard anything, file a Final
Value Fee Credit. This gets you half of your eBay fees back; the listing fee comes back on a free successful relist.
Add-on fees (such as gallery or reserves) are lost.
A bidder alert does not penalize the buyer, but FVF notices do. eBay will automatically file a FVF for you if the buyer has become NARU, short for Not a Registered User.
An eBay sale is an enforceable contract under the Uniform Commercial Code, but it is usually pointless to go beyond a FVF and possible negative feedback. Don’t worry about a NPB - just relist and get on with your life.
If you find too many of your sales not closing, you may have to think about what you are trying to sell and to whom. |
| posted by Maggie @ 11:35 AM |
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Add Phrases in a Snap
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December 03, 2007 |
QuickPhrase Typing ToolQuickPhrase is a handy tool where you can store your frequently used snippets of text and add them to any Windows application in a snap. This is such a time-saving device if you are putting the same items up for auction on eBay. It is possible to download a free trial version, and if it suits the way you work you can then buy QuickPhrase online. You can:- * Add frequently used text snippets to any application with just a click of the mouse
* Easily manage even a large number of phrases and folders
* Define hotkeys and autotext abbreviates for phrases of your choice
Macro support for advanced users including date, mouse and application macros
Manual available
FAQ
Compatible with Windows 95/98/ME/NT4/2000/XP/ 2003/Vista and TabletPC |
| posted by Maggie @ 4:05 PM |
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What Will Destroy Us?
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November 23, 2007 |
An empowered organization is one in which individuals have the knowledge, skill, desire, and opportunity to personally succeed in a way that leads to collective organizational success.
Stephen R. Covey  The things that will destroy us are: politics without principle; pleasure without conscience; wealth without work; knowledge without character; business without morality; science without humanity; and worship without sacrifice.
Mahatma Gandhi  That some should be rich shows that others may become rich, and hence is just encouragement to industry and enterprise.
Abraham Lincoln |
| posted by Maggie @ 8:43 AM |
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The eBay Company
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November 17, 2007 |
The eBay Company
It seems that everyone everywhere has heard of eBay, but did you know about the other companies that are under the eBay umbrella?
PayPal was acquired by eBay Inc. in October 2002, and enables any individual or business with an email address to securely, easily and quickly send and receive payments online. PayPal has tens of millions of registered accounts and is accepted by millions of merchants worldwide, on and off eBay.
Skype was acquired by eBay Inc. in October 2005. Skype is available in 27 languages and is used in almost every country around the world. It is the world’s fastest-growing Internet communication offering, allowing people everywhere to make unlimited voice and video communication for free between the users of Skype software.
Shopping.com was acquired by eBay Inc. in August 2005, and is one of the fastest growing shopping destinations on the Internet. With millions of products, thousands of merchants and millions of reviews from the Epinions community, Shopping.com empowers consumers to make informed choices and, as a result, drives value for merchants. Shopping.com has sites in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Australia.
Rent.com was acquired by eBay Inc. in February 2005. It is the most visited online apartment listing service in the United States, and has more than 20,000 properties listed across the country. Rent.com’s service is available to renters as well as property owners and managers in most American cities and provides extensive information about apartments, including availability, rental rates, virtual tours, roommate searches, and links to moving resources.
Online Classifieds are designed to help people meet, share ideas and trade on a local level, and eBay Inc.’s online classifieds websites are available in hundreds of cities and regions around the world. eBay’s classifieds sites include Kijiji, Gumtree.com, LoQUo.com, Intoko, Netherlands-based Marktplaats.nl, and German automotive classifieds site mobile.de. In addition, eBay owns a minority investment in craigslist.
eBay brings together millions of people every day on a local, national and international basis through an array of websites that focus on commerce, payments and communications. |
| posted by Maggie @ 7:04 AM |
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Quote Me
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November 12, 2007 |
Success is going from failure to failure without a loss of enthusiasm.
Winston Churchill 
Corporation - An ingenious device for obtaining individual profit without individual responsibility.
Ambrose Bierce  In the business world, everyone is paid in two coins: cash and experience. Take the experience first; the cash will come later.
Harold Geneen |
| posted by Maggie @ 6:31 AM |
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Use the About Me page
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November 06, 2007 |
Once you have customers and you treat them fairly and with respect, you can expect to be able to sell to them over and over, making them repeat customers. The hardest thing in business, whether it be online or offline, is to convert a prospect into a customer.
One way of developing a business relationship with people is to set up an autoresponder and use the About Me page to get your customers to register with you so that you can have ongoing communication with them. By this means you leave the door open for future business and presenting back-end products or services to your existing customers. This is the way to build your business.
The About Me page is one of the most fun and one of the least used features on eBay, and it has the potential to help your sales and increase your name recognition amongst bidders. If you're an eBay seller and you haven't created an eBay "About Me" page yet, now is a good time to consider doing so. It'll only take a few minutes! Click here and get started.Labels: Selling strategies |
| posted by Maggie @ 5:29 PM |
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Selling on eBay Help
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October 31, 2007 |
 Where can you go to get help when you want to sell something on eBay, or even set up a business selling on eBay, and don't know all the details necessary to get started? There is a place!! It's called File House, and is a great site about file hosting, auction hosting, image and sound hosting and domain hosting which is ideal for people selling on eBay.
This site not only guides you through the processes, but if you need extra help there is excellent customer service. The owner of this site actually handles the accounts himself by phone, email or instant messaging.
Some of the main features are:-
* HTML help, including an alphabetical list of HTML codes, and HTML Tags by Function. This is fantastic for those of us with just a smattering of knowledge about the subject.
* Gives you the HTML code to insert an image and takes you step by step through the process of inserting an image in your eBay ad. With just a little practice you will be creating backgrounds with images and inserting your own images into your eBay auctions and saving those image fees.
* There is a Free Image Gallery that you can use on Ebay and have a fancy gallery that changes the main image when the potential buyer clicks each image thumbnail.
* Explains image load times and how to make them quicker.
* A very simple image slide show can be created that will scroll right to left wherever you place it on your website or auction page. This requires no knowledge of java script and will meet eBay's requirements as it uses no javascript.
* The HTML code to insert a sound file into your eBay ad is also available, and these days incorporating sound generates more sales.
* There are several beautiful eBay templates which are free if you are a customer of file-house.com or a member of the the DOUA (Disabled Online Users Association).
* Other highlights of the site are several pages on color, free software tools and a Meta tag generator.
With the help of File House you can create your own website, be more flexible with the added abilities of ftp (file transfer protocol), move multiple files onto your own space on the web and create multiple folders for your content. Labels: eBay |
| posted by Maggie @ 8:51 AM |
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Mirror Your Customer
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October 30, 2007 |
If you're trying to persuade people to do something, or buy something, it seems to me you should use their language, the language in which they think.
David Ogilvy 1911-1999
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| posted by Maggie @ 5:13 PM |
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Do You Need Help With Weight Loss?
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October 29, 2007 |
I've just come across a really neat web site that takes you by the hand and helps in your quest to lose weight. It includes a 100% FREE Calorie Counter and food diary so you can keep track of your meals and exercise quickly and easily. Without these tools the task of recording everything you eat and the exercise you do is daunting, and most often puts people off. Studies have shown that the more consistently you track your food intakeand energy output, the more likely you are to lose weight. How does it work?
At MyFitnessPal, there is a wonderfully simple tool that actually learns from you! All of us tend to eat the same foods over time. MyFitnessPal remembers what you’ve eaten and done most often in the past, and makes it easy for you to add those foods again to your log and tally the calories consumed. So the more you track your meals, the easier it becomes! There is already a searchable food database of over 6,000 items which is growing every day.  FREE membership to MyFitnessPal includes these benefits:-* Track what you eat with just a few clicks from anywhere with an internet connection – at home or at work. * Add your own foods and recipes at any time. * Get support and motivation from people just like you – the discussion forums let you learn from others, share your own tips, receive and give encouragement, and make friends. * A personalized diet profile – customized to your unique weight loss goals * Charts and reports – so you can see your progress and stay motivated * Flexibility - the system can support any diet like Atkins, the South Beach Diet, the Zone, and more. All the tools you need for healthy, sustainable weight loss are right at your fingertips — and you'll never have to pay a cent! Join MyFitnessPal today and get on the path to healthier living! Labels: Weight loss |
| posted by Maggie @ 8:35 AM |
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Combine FindPopularSearches and FindPopularItems
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October 27, 2007 |
After you've finished using FindPopularSearches to look for the most popular word searched for, you can combine it with FindPopularItems.
This enables you to find the most popular items from the most popular search terms.
If you only use FindPopularSearches you will not have any item information, so it makes sense to do the 2 searches together to find out what buyers are looking for.Labels: Searching eBay |
| posted by Maggie @ 12:25 PM |
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Find Popular Searches on eBay
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October 26, 2007 |
There are two types of searches that I'll briefly describe here - alternative and related.
When you do a 'find popular search' on eBay it finds the words most frequently used when people are searching for listings. A keyword search returns alternative search terms, and also related search terms, and there is a difference.
Alternative
An alternative search term may replace the exact word you are looking for. An example would be if you're looking for Nike shoes and you just enter 'Nike', alternative terms might be Adidas and Puma.
Related
A related search term will be a refinement of the search term, so if you use the keyword 'Nike' related terms might include Nike shoes and Nike clothing.Labels: Searching eBay |
| posted by Maggie @ 11:30 AM |
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Chat in the WireClub
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October 25, 2007 |
 If you’re looking for a central place on the internet where you can go to meet like-minded people, look at becoming a member of the WireClub, the hottest new chat and dating site on the internet. It’s fast, free and easy to join – all you have to do is 1) Sign up, 2) Create a Profile, 3) Have Fun!!
Whether you want to meet your next business partner or the love of your life, WireClub facilitates the broadest range of connections possible. You can join free online chat rooms and chat with friends or meet new people.
WireClub is an exciting network of small communities that together create one of the most interesting places to hang out and chat on the ‘net. Find people with common interests and create a club just by joining the free online chat room. Choose from hundreds of rooms, create your own or message people directly and chat with instant messages.
Clubs
Clubs consist of groups of people with similar interests, and are a good place to find new friends and discuss common interests. The clubs are organized into categories, so you can create a club in any category you want or join any club that others have set up on the WireClub site. When you’ve joined a club you can chat with the members there in the built-in club chat room. You don't even need to join a club if you feel like chatting to people, just visit the chat room. All you need is a WireClub account!
Some of the categories already available are:- games, music, food, lifestyle, passions, fashions, and there are lots more.
Countries
There are 100 or more countries represented, the top 10 countries with the most active members today being:
United States, Canada, United Kingdom, India, Australia, Philippines, Turkey, Egypt, Pakistan, Nigeria
Check out the other countries and see if yours is there by going to the WireClub web page.
Interests
Just before you turn off, have a look at the long list of user interests by clicking here. |
| posted by Maggie @ 7:26 AM |
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PayPal and eBay
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October 20, 2007 |
Some analysts think eBay would be better off pouring its resources into another acquisition, PayPal. The online payment service, which drives an estimated 25% of the company’s revenues, posted $470 million in sales for the third quarter, increasing 35% for that same period a year ago. Wall Street has predicted that PayPal will account for 30% of eBay’s growth by 2011.
“The market opportunity for PayPal may very well exceed eBay.com someday,” says Scott Kessler, an analyst with Standard & Poor’s. “It has the possibility of becoming the standard of global e-commerce.”
PayPal is expanding beyond the eBay marketplace and has a preferred payment tool on a range of mainstream e-commerce sites. On Monday, US Airways became the latest airline to offer PayPal as a payment option, joining Northwest, Southwest and Midwest Airlines this quarter. Whitman cited consumer research that ranked PayPal behind Visa as the most trusted method for online payments. |
| posted by Maggie @ 3:15 PM |
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Skype and eBay
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October 19, 2007 |
For the first time since it announced the write-down on Oct. 1, eBay’s top executives publicly admitted that making money from Skype, which it paid $2.6 billion for in 2005, had been a setback. “Clearly we are disappointed with the impairment charge,” Whitman said. eBay’s chief financial officer Bob Swan added that the company tried too quickly to charge customers for Skype, which lets users make free Internet phone calls to other Skype users, but makes them pay for calls outside the network.
On Oct. 1, eBay said that it paid “certain Skype shareholders” $530 million to settle future obligations. That same day Skype co-founder Niklas Zennstrom stepped down as CEO and was replaced by interim chief Michael van Swaaij, eBay’s Chief Strategy Officer. The Internet calling service made up 5% of third quarter total revenue with $98 million. With its debts settled, Whitman said the company would find a new chief and refocus Skype’s strategy.
More tomorrow |
| posted by Maggie @ 3:12 PM |
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