Make Money Online Selling On Ebay. Work At Home Dropshipping On Ebay

Selling on eBay can also be the right home business for you

2015-08-08T14:06:00.000-07:00

My name is Yasser Elnahas and I am an eBay Gold powerseller and Top Rated Seller. I have been selling on ebay for 5 years now. I am not an eBay guru as some people might think. I am not also making $10,000 everyday but I am making a decent monthly income that make me live the life I want. I am a regular guy exactly like you. I am the father of a family of 4. Few years ago, I was looking for ways to make money at home and I chose selling on eBay to be my business. During my journey I lost some money, on some programs until I realized that selling on eBay is the best choice for me. This can be the best choice for you also. I created this blog for anyone who wants to learn how to sell on eBay and start a successful selling on eBay business . There are no scams here. All the valuable information here are for free.

Let me show you how to make money on eBay

You Don't have to Pay hundreds to Learn

You Don't Have to be Scammed

No tricks or gimmicks, you will learn everything you need to get your eBay business up and running within a few days time.

Introducing Tradeitonebay !..

225 pages, full of Screenshots, diagrams, and tips which will take you hand by hand to start your ebay business and make the kind of money you want.
To make it even much easier for you, I have added this free bonus

34 High Quality ebay Video Tuorials

$10 Off the Regular price

Click here to learn more

Immediate download even if it is 2a.m. in the morning

Ebay Auction Pricing Strategies.

2010-11-26T22:16:00.000-08:00

If your items aren’t selling, then you might have a bad pricing strategy. There as many pricing strategies in the world as there are buyers – if you look at two businesses selling the same thing, often the only difference you’ll be able to find between them is pricing.

The ‘Few Dollars More’ Strategy.

Here’s something you might not have thought of. If you set your auction’s starting price to what you would usually charge for Buy it Now, while setting the Buy it Now price a few dollars above, you can make a profit by setting off an interesting psychological reaction in the buyer’s mind.

Here’s what they’ll think. They want the item, but why should they bother bidding for it? After all, they could use Buy it Now for just a few dollars more, and be sure of getting it! Doing things this way makes the value of the Buy it Now option extra clear to the buyer, and makes them more willing to pay extra for the privilege.

The ‘One Dollar Less’ Strategy.

This is simple, but requires you to keep an eagle eye on your competition. As soon as they start a Buy it Now auction for an item you stock, start an auction for one of those items yourself. Match the title closely, but price your item one dollar less than theirs. This will mean that your auctions will sit together in the search results, and who’s going to see both and go for the one that’s a dollar more expensive?

The ‘Free Shipping’ Strategy.

Buyers really hate paying for shipping. With Buy it Now, you might find it easier to incorporate the shipping cost into the main price of the item, and then write “free shipping” in the auction’s title. You’d be surprised how many buyers would prefer to pay one price including shipping for the auction, instead of having shipping added on at the checkout. Again, this is psychological: they pay the same at the end, but it doesn’t feel like they’ve paid an unnecessary ‘extra’ cost for Internet shopping.

The ‘Go for It’ Strategy.

If you’d like a slightly more risky strategy, try this. List your item for the maximum duration (ten days), starting the listing on a Thursday so it goes across two weekends and finishes on a Sunday. Set the starting price to the minimum (one cent).

What you’re trying to do here is give bidders as long as possible to discover your auction, so that they push the price up themselves. Pay for a few upgrades like bold and highlight, to give them a helping hand. If you do this right, you can make a much bigger profit than you would have with any Buy it Now price, especially with a medium or high value item.

Since running your auction for longer means that more people see it, you should always take the longest duration of ten days, right? Not always. Next we’ll talk about how long your eBay auction should run for.

eBay Scams – Steps to Take if You Have Been Defrauded

2010-11-25T06:55:00.000-08:00

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.

eBay – What a Strange Name for a Billion Dollar Corporation

2010-11-20T08:43:00.000-08:00

Every day millions of eBay users log onto their accounts to buy and sell, and don’t have any idea how eBay got its name. They might not really care, either. Like the person who turns on the TV and just wants it to come on and play their favorite television show, many eBay users probably aren’t curious about the fine points of the company. But it’s a fun story and all true eBay enthusiasts will be interested in knowing the history.

Just ask some friends what "eBay" stands for and you’re probably going to get an answer like "it’s maybe an abbreviation for ‘electronics bay’ or ‘ecommerce bay’ or something like that". But while the "e" could stand for lots of things, if you look up different definitions for "bay" there’s just no way to stretch any of them so they have anything to do with an online auction site. However if we search way back to 1995, the year eBay was founded, we can find some clues.

An explanation you’ll probably see on the Internet, and even in some books about eBay, says that the auction site was created by a young computer programmer named Pierre Omidyar to help his girlfriend, Pam, increase the size of her collection of PEZ candy dispensers. PEZ, if you are not familiar with them, are little plastic containers with character heads that flip back and push out a piece of candy. Pam supposedly wanted a way to enlarge her collection, so Pierre came up with an idea for an online marketplace. Since he was a computer programmer, he put together the code which would become the core for eBay.

Just goes to show you can’t always trust what you read on the Internet. According to Adam Cohen in his 2002 book, "The Perfect Store: Inside eBay" that’s not really the way it happened. The PEZ story, which is widely circulated and believed, was created by a public relations manager to further the myth surrounding the company and has been spread widely ever since.

The real story is that Omidyar was simply a smart man, and he wanted to make an impact with an online venture. He observed the operation of buyers and sellers in other markets and decided that an auction website would be a great service to offer. Ironically, he had never attended a real auction himself. The whole thing started out as a hobby, but the auction site soon was earning enough money so that Omidyar could quit his job and work it full-time. As a computer programmer he did write the original computer code which made the auction site function - in one weekend.

The website launched on Labor Day, 1995 and he called it "Auction Web". Pretty descriptive, right? Well, Omidyar had earlier founded a web consulting company which he called Echo Bay Technology Group. "Echo Bay" because he just liked the sound of it. There was already a gold mining company who owned EchoBay.com, so Omidyr took the second best option and dropped the "cho" part of "echo" and named his business - you guessed it - eBay. If you go to www.echobay.com today, you’ll see only one simple dark blue webpage with the words, "EchoBay - What eBay could have been!".

The original website operated as "Auction Web" for 2 years, then officially became eBay.com in 1997.

So there you have it. Maybe that will give you an answer for a "Trivial Pursuit" question, or maybe you can work it into a conversation and impress your friends sometime. Just know that when you buy or sell on eBay, you’ll be one of the few to know the real story of how eBay got its name.

E-Bay and Paypal

2010-11-03T01:18:00.001-07:00

E-Bay and Paypal are two giant firms which are involved in sales transactions of customers. E-Bay is an online portal in which buyers could auction and bid items for sale. On the other hand, Paypal is the most popular online payment system used through credit cards. The teaming up of both firms is inevitable because E-Bay provides the goods to be purchased while PayPal provides the resources to be used.

E-Bay has indeed grown as the number one destination of online shopping through auctions. E-Bay offers a variety of choices when it comes to books, food, gadget, technology stuff, and many others. The variety and diversity of E-Bay makes it the most visited site whenever buyers are thinking of something to purchase. It is also a favorite destination for online shoppers who want to have a quality bargain of the items they want to buy. On the other hand, Paypal is the most reliable online payment system utilized whenever holding transactions. The firm claims that they have 16 million users worldwide. Despite of such successes for both firms, there are still many criticisms regarding the nature of both businesses.

E-Bay is often criticized as a portal that is not pro-buyers instead, it some people consider it as pro-sellers. Some buyers accuse E-Bay as not being true to their business and does not really live up to their word. On the other hand, Paypal does not really receive a lot of complaints but when it does, no one seems to mind. This is because their customer service department does not do their job well. No one really assists the customers and when they reply, it seems like the customer waited for 20 years before an action was done.

Due to the partnership of these two companies, many speculated that E-Bay would acquire Paypal. Many people were not in agreement to this deal because they believe that once E-Bay had acquired Paypal, the rotten service of the firm would eventually be more than worst. Aside from that, competition would also diminish in the market. Despite the said speculations, both firms deny that a joint venture or acquisition between the two companies would happen. Both firms insist that they would continue each other’s operations separately and not as a joint company. Both firms also expressed that their partnership between each other is solid but not to the point of collaborating with each other.

Customers are always right – even on eBay.

2010-09-16T13:35:00.000-07:00

To be a successful seller on eBay, you need to consider several elements to achieve that goal. One of the most important aspects is to get all your customers satisfied, even if it means less profit in some cases.

Put yourself in their shoes. When you buy something for yourself, you want to feel that it is worth every cent you paid. This is how all customers feel when they go shopping whether on eBay or on any other online store.

Dissatisfied customers are what you should avoid at all costs. They tend to write negative feedbacks, which can have a very bad influence on your selling activity leading to the loss of more money than you would have expected.

Dealing with unsatisfied customers professionally is the key to maintaining your business and not ruining what you have been working for. There are certain situations where customers can be unhappy with the items they bought. Here are some examples on how to deal with them:

If they say the item never arrived, ask them to wait for a few more days and then email you if the item still did not arrive. When you receive that second email you should assume that the item was lost in the post and offer to issue a refund or to send another one if you have more of the same item.

If they say the item has been damaged in the post, offer to replace it or issue a refund and take the damaged item back.

If they say the item does not match the description, do not argue with them. Just take the item back and issue a refund. In the same time, work on your description to erase any confusion that might happen again.

I guess it is very obvious by now that issuing a refund is the magic solution to all problems you might face with unsatisfied customers. However, you should keep in mind that any money you lose through refunds is much less than what you will lose if you get a negative feedback from an unhappy customer.

You can even go further than that to keep your business alive. Most successful eBay sellers send emails to their customers asking if they have any problems with the items they bought. By this way, you will be able to handle any problem before your customers think of complaining to eBay and even before they think of posting a negative feedback.

Try not to forget that whether you are selling cheap or expensive items, negative feedbacks should be avoided. Losing some money for a refund in one week is much better than losing all your profit for several weeks.

Make no excuses and no exceptions when it comes to your business as a seller on eBay. Never forget: Customers are the key to your success, satisfied customers bring more customers and customers are always right.

eBay stores = more items and less fees

2010-09-03T01:45:00.000-07:00

Selling on eBay is a very fun thing to do. Whether it is a hobby or an ongoing business, you can make a lot out of it.

Every now and then you might hear that some sellers win the jackpot, when they find out that the item they bought in a garage sale worth thousands on eBay. But this is not the common case here. You need to make your best to get the profit you are dreaming of.

If you are a seller who is hoping that one of your items will be the one that worth thousands on eBay, then you need to list a huge number of items and wait for the wheel of fortune to knock your door. However, you need to pay a fee every time you list an item.

eBay listings last for only seven days, and you will have to pay fees for re-listing the items more and more again, if they did not sell by the end of every auction. If you have hundreds of items to list every week, this will cost you a lot of money.

How can such a problem be fixed? It is very simple. An eBay store is the solution.

eBay offers stores that allow sellers to list their items on a permanent basis. These stores are virtual storefronts, where items can be displayed and sold. Similar to eBay auctions you can add a description to the item you are selling to give buyers an idea about what they are buying and you can add photos too. Yet, the only difference is that you do not have to pay any more fees for the items that do not sell. Items in an eBay store stay for as long as a seller wants without any additional fees.

Another benefit of the eBay stores is that they can be customized, linked to or even taken offline in case the seller becomes unavailable. eBay stores has static URLs, which makes it easier for sellers to register their domain names and establish them to lead buyers to the store directly.

Moreover, if you are selling items that can fall under the categories of, for example, antiques, clothes or even gadgets, you can still set up an eBay store for every category of those, which helps you organize your selling activity.

The increased visibility of your items is one another benefit of the eBay stores. When buyers search for items on eBay, not only the auction listings appear but also the store items turn up. Put differently, the more views your items have, the more potential buyers they can get. Furthermore, the static URL of your store allows you to market your business by placing links on your personal blog or website or even your email. You can even present the store's URL to social networking sites and search engines. Keep in mind that marketing is an important key to your success as a seller on eBay.

Visit the eBay website to get more detailed information about how to set up an eBay store, as well as to read the terms and conditions in relation. Remember that having an eBay store will not only save you a lot of time, but also a lot of money that will be added to your profits.

Blacklisted items on eBay

2010-08-28T06:51:00.000-07:00

Similar to offline markets, online markets also has specific rules to keep every thing in order during buying and selling. As an online market, eBay also has certain rules that control auctions and transactions made to make sure they are legal.

eBay has the right to end every auction that contains one or more of the items banned or regulated by its policies. In case eBay discovers that there are items listed in an auction that go against its regulations, an email is sent to the sellers and bidders telling them that their auctions violated its policies and that they will be ended.

There are certain items that can not be listed for sale on eBay. These items fall under three categories: prohibited items, questionable items and potentially infringing items.

Prohibited Items:

Items listed under this category are not allowed on eBay. This includes tobacco, alcohol, drugs, animals, government holdings, lottery tickets, human parts or remains and others. eBay's policy statement includes a whole list of all banned items.

Questionable Items:

Items listed under this category can be posted only if they conform to certain conditions. Some adult materials, for instance, can be listed provided they are posted under the Mature Audiences Section on eBay. Event tickets also can be sold in auctions only if the auction ends before the actual event begins. Other items listed under this category are: batteries, food, used items, artifacts, weapons, knives, police related equipments, dangerous chemicals, international selling and buying.

Potentially Infringing Items

Items listed under this category are legal. However, they almost go against copy rights, trademarks and other commercial rights. Academic software, beta software, contracts, tickets, movie prints, counterfeit items and bootleg recordings are among other items listed under this category.

All lists of banned or regulated items on eBay are updated regularly and are integrated into the User Agreement. However, whether you are a seller or a buyer on eBay, you need to make sure that the items sold or bought are legal. eBay is only a mediator in the transaction process.

Keep in mind that even if you are offering your items on eBay for free, eBay's policy still applies.

All policy guideposts mentioned above are only reminders. You need to seek legal help if you want to post an item in your auction on eBay, but doubt its legality.

Customer service on eBay

2010-08-16T16:28:00.000-07:00

Whether you are running an online business or an offline one, you need to provide an outstanding customer service to guarantee that your customers will come back again and again. Unfortunately, most of eBay sellers do not count customer service as a big deal. When an auction ends, they deliver the sold items and it is over. Yet, when buyers receive a high quality customer service, they will possibly act in one of two ways and sometimes in both. They will either write you a great feedback or search for more of your auctions in the future. Dealing with eBay as a business and not just an auction is what you should do to guarantee a decent income out of it.

Imagine that you are standing in your store and customers start to walk in. The first thing you are going to do is put a big smile on your face and start doing whatever you can to make their shopping experience at your store both a pleasurable and a satisfactory one. You will even offer them a discount or extra items to guarantee that your store will be the first thing to come across their minds when they go for shopping the next time. That is exactly what you should be doing for your eBay auction customers too.

Once an auction ends, the first thing you need to do is to contact the winners and congratulate them. In your email, do not forget to describe the items that they purchased and how it will be shipped to them, even if they already knew this information when they started bidding. Remind them also of their winning bid amount, explain the different methods of payments, inform them about when the item will be shipped and give them all the instructions that they might need. Think of this email as a real conversation between you and your customers in that imaginary offline store. End your email by thanking them for participating in your auction and you might even take this chance to draw their attention to your other running auctions.

Once the payment and shipping details have been taken care of, contact your buyers again to let them know when the item was shipped - the exact date and time - and when it is expected to arrive to their doorstep. Do not forget to inform your buyers in this email that you are open to any questions or any problems that might happen and that they can contact you through the eBay site. If you said that, then you should honor your word, so whenever they contact you in the future, answer quickly and do your best to make them satisfied with their purchase - even if it means issuing a refund.

Yes!! You should expect to be issuing refunds when you sell on eBay. Naturally, it is reasonable to wait until the buyer returns the item to you, at your expense, before you issue a refund. But once you receive the item, the refund should be issued without delay. Business is Business -you know- and the customer is always right.

Using eBay as a tool to develop your other businesses

2010-08-15T00:27:00.000-07:00

Selling is not the only thing that most sellers do on eBay to earn an extra income. In fact, a decent amount of the money that eBay sellers make comes from using eBay as a tool to help their existing businesses.

There are many different ways to use eBay as a helping tool. On the one hand, you can use eBay as a new market for your old inventory. If you are running a business and having a leftover stock or used items, then eBay is the right place to sell these things. In fact, you can do this on a regular basis to get rid of things that won’t sell for the amount of money you ask for in your offline store, or items that are no longer in demand in the town or city where your business is based. Do not forget that you are already an expert in the items you are selling and you know for sure that they are of good quality to be sold on eBay. So, know for sure that you will make a lot of money out of this.

On the other hand, being an eBay seller with a good reputation makes you an excellent buyer too and your chances will be bigger in getting all what you need for your offline business on eBay for a good discount.

However, the best of eBay comes out when you use it as a marketing tool. As a seller on eBay you are probably aware of this great tool that eBay provides for its users. "About Me" page is where the true power of eBay lies. On this page you get to write whatever you want about yourself and accordingly about your other businesses. Moreover, "About Me" page allows you to provide a link to your website. In other words, you will be able to attract viewers to your business website by providing a link to your "About Me" page from each of your auctions and providing a link to your website from your "About Me" page.

To create an "About Me" page, you just need to click on "Community" on the toolbar, scroll down to the bottom of the page, and click "Create an About Me page". Afterwards, you get to choose between entering your own HTML or allowing eBay to lead you through the whole process. Next, you need to write a small paragraph about your business, and if you have a website, provide a link to it, - and you’re done. All you need to do now is to sit back and watch as buyers browse your website for good deals.

This marketing strategy is not new. In fact, thousands of eBay users guarantee that it works perfectly in attracting buyers from eBay to their websites, and with the help of a well written sales copy they were able to sell directly to buyers without using eBay. Furthermore, the people you will get to your website will be targeted, because they are those who were interested in your auctions in the first place.

If you still do not have an "About Me" page, then it is time to think about creating one. And if you are still confused about how to attract buyers to your auctions, then it is time to read my other blog posts.

Proper Timing of eBay listings can Maximize profits

2010-08-14T01:13:00.000-07:00

Selling on eBay depends on several elements to achieve the success that you expect. While shopping on eBay, buyers always look for good deals, and if you are not up to their expectations you will not be able to reach your goal. However, choosing a good quality item to sell and providing a detailed description of the product that you are selling are not the only things you should do. Timing your eBay auctions is an important key as well. Top eBay sellers use timing strategies to increase their profits and that's what you should be doing too.

Generally, most auctions do not get any bids in the first few days of the listing. So do not get disappointed. Buyers who have been observing your auction will try to place their winning bid in the final hour of the auction or even in the final minutes to bring down competition. That's why you should make sure that your auction ends during peak buying times, like other successful eBay sellers do.

According to eBay professionals, the peak buying times on eBay every day are between 8 pm and 10 pm EST. On a weekly basis, Sunday evenings are when purchases reach the top. If your auction ends during any of those periods of time, your listing is more expected to be viewed and to get bids. But if your auction ends in the very early hours of the morning, your chance of getting final hour bids is very unlikely to happen.

So how do you time your auctions to end when eBay has the most visitors? It is very simple. Every auction ends at the same time of its listing and this goes for auctions with a long duration or a short one. For instance, if you list an item for three days, the auction will end at the exact listing time, three days later. Also, if you list an item at 9 pm on Saturday evening, the auction will end at 9 pm the following Saturday evening

Although timing of auctions is not a strategy that everyone pays attention to, yet it can have a drastic impact on your sales on eBay. So be careful when you time your auctions. Besides, you need to consider the duration of your listings. If you list an item for three days, you are shutting out thousands of potential buyers. By leaving your items for a longer duration, there is a chance that many buyers will view your items and place bids on them. Otherwise, it reduces the listing fees. Instead of listing your items for three days several times, list it for seven or ten days once. However, some products like antiques and collectibles, can take some time to attract bidders. List them for three days only and they will lose many potential viewers. Increasing the length of your auctions will give your items the chance to draw in auction viewers who could place their bids in the final moments of your auction.

Ending your auction at a time when nobody was watching is the worst you could do to your sales. Time your auctions carefully for maximum visibility and your profits will reach the sky.

Top eBay sellers : What are their secrets?

2010-08-13T08:52:00.000-07:00

You probably heard some stories about those eBay sellers who became millionaires in no time. A few of these stories are true but the most are only fairy tales. In spite of the hard work you are doing to earn a decent income by selling on eBay, you can not help thinking about what those top sellers have been doing and what are their secrets? How did they manage to achieve success in a short period of time?

For all eBay sellers the traditional basics of success are the same. It is no secret, that you have to work hard, provide an excellent customer service and choose the right products to sell. Yet, there are a few hints and tips that separate sellers who are doing this as a hobby and sellers who aim the six zeroes. Here are some of them:

1. Keyword Managers: Keywords play a main role nowadays. A web page with a whole set of relevant words will be displayed on web searches. Similarly, auctions with relevant, highly searched terms will show on eBay searches. To get an idea about the terms that buyers look for on eBay, you can seek the help of some subscription programs like "Keyword Pro" and "eBay Pulse". These programs generate lists of the most frequently searched terms in any given category. Add some of these terms to your own listings to increase views. However, make sure that the words you choose are relevant to what you are really selling.

2. Typo Searches: Poor spelling on the internet is one of the most common mistakes that some sellers do. Misspelled items never turn up on eBay searches and that's why many online sellers lose their businesses. Fortunately, there is a free website that allow searchers to find the common misspelled terms on eBay. By using Fatfingers.com to search, for instance, for the term "scarf", you will be redirected to eBay.com, where a search for the terms "sacrf", "sxarf" and several other typos of “scarf” is done. You will be amazed of the huge number of items that are listed for low prices, but not viewed because of incorrect spelling. A lot of sellers make use of these spelling mistakes and buy the items at very low prices and sell them for a decent amount of money. Let this be a lesson to prospective eBay sellers: Proofread your listings. Twice!!

3. Data Analyzers: Using data analysis in the offline business world is what successful businessmen do before making any of their decisions. And that's what you should be doing too. By using software packages that studies eBay's data such as Hot Item Finder (), you will be able know which items are selling like fire on eBay and which ones are not. This way, you get to grab these items at relatively low prices and then sell them on your eBay store at higher prices, and thus increasing your profits. Another advantage of using data analysis is that it spares you hours and hours of researching products. There is also a program called Auction Yen which runs analysis for "Want It Now" listings. This program gets to the bottom of what customers are really looking for.

4. Selling Managers: Since it is really crucial to keep track of your stock lists and auction listings, then you should use eBay's selling manager, which is offered for a low monthly cost. This online tool helps sellers track and customize their listings, print shipping labels, and more. It is a great time saver, so do not miss the chance of using it.

All these tips and hints are just a few things of what you should be doing to increase your earnings on eBay. Keep digging and searching to find more secrets of the top sellers and one day you will be sailing in your luxurious yacht with a big smile on your face when you think of your first days as a seller on eBay.

Advertising offline stores using eBay

2010-08-12T06:48:00.000-07:00

Using eBay to sell your items is one of the great ways to make money online. However, eBay can also be used in promoting and activating your offline selling activities. When you list your items on eBay, submit some information about your other offline businesses. By doing this, your eBay store acts as a marketing tool to your other selling activities. Buyers who check your auctions will get additional information about your store. It is a legitimate technique that does not violate the terms of using eBay, so do not worry, you will not be the only one doing this, other smart eBay sellers are making use of this advantage too.

After selling on eBay for a while you will be able to find auction titles that can draw in potential buyers. While checking any of your item's description, those buyers will get the chance to have a look at any other information you are listing about your offline store. This method is very useful especially for eBay members, who sell antiques, collectibles, or other items that can take a long time to be sold. Other smaller items can be listed on eBay along with the address and phone number of the seller’s offline store, where more products can be found. It sounds like an easy and effective marketing tool, isn't it?

However, before using this free advertising tool on your eBay listings, remember that not every business benefit from it. If you are selling products within a niche market, such as musical instruments or rare artwork, then using this kind of advertising on your auction listings will probably bring buyers to your offline store. But if you’re a provider of general goods that can be easily found, then you should consider another way for promoting them.

Including basic information about the offline store when using this marketing tool is what successful sellers do, and that is what you should do too. Provide a valid phone number, so that buyers can contact you. Add an accurate store address with a map, some pictures of the shop front and interior and if possible a simple description of the surrounding area. Do not forget also to provide a schedule of the store opening hours and to mention the parking status, especially if your store is in a vital location. All these extra information will help potential buyers get a complete picture about where they are going.

Do not forget that buyers like to know that they are welcome to come down to your store to make some business, so writing a small paragraph in your eBay listing about how your store provides an excellent service is what you need to do. Keep in mind, that even a simple invitation can make a difference between a casual browser and someone who will take the time to come and look at your merchandise.

Many sharp sellers and offline stores know that using eBay is an effective tool to promote their products and to sell their overstock. Don't you think it is time to be one of them too?

DropShipping = More money on eBay

2010-08-11T07:27:00.000-07:00

Having a successful business on eBay is a dream that many people hope to realize. If you are one of those, who were able to make this dream come true and you are already earning your living in the comfort of your own home, then it is time to feel the results of all the long hours of hard work, it is time to make this business a much profitable one.

Increasing your profits on eBay is not a hard thing to do. By considering a few elements, you will be able to reach your goal. One of these elements that help adding up to your profits is "Drop Shipping".

Drop shipping is a great way to offer many different products to your buyers without having to keep a stock of products in your garage. Basically, you act as a mediator. You start by selling products for a company or warehouse using your online auctions or your own website. Once a sale is made, the drop shippers take it from here. They receive the order information and the money owed for the product from you and then they handle the whole thing, starting by processing the order, packing it and then shipping it to your customer using your own information or the logo of your company. Thus the buyer never knows that the item they received was drop shipped. What you gain out of this is the difference between your actual cost and the price you charged the customer.

By considering the huge number of deals made everyday on eBay you will find that using drop shipping in your business will help you in many ways. Instead of doing all the stocking, packing and shipping of products on your own, drop shippers will handle all this. They can even take care of product research and purchase a stock of products for you. Actually, drop shippers can take care of everything except selling the product, which gives you more free time to work on your auctions and to bring new products to your eBay store.

Besides, using a drop shipper puts you at almost no risk financially. You do not have to stock products in your back yard or even pay the drop shippers until only when you receive money from your buyers. However, some drop shippers ask their members for a small fee in advance when they sell their products to guarantee that the products remain cheap and that the members are getting a really good deal.

With drop shipping, the chance is much bigger for everyone to make great profits using eBay auctions, and at the same time not having to worry about getting the product to the customer. Since your customers will never know that you're using drop shipping, you gain credibility and look very professional in the process.

Unsecured Loans For A Bad Credit- Take What Is Best For You

2010-08-10T12:46:00.000-07:00

Finding an unsecured personal loan for a bad credit is not an easy thing to do. After running down several financial options at banks and different fiscal institutions, people tend to address cash advance loaners to come up with solutions for their financial problems.
However, cash advance loaners with their extremely unfair terms are not the best option. They impose very high interest rates and large loan fees, leaving borrowers in a very bad position regretting that they have not studied other available options before turning to cash advance lenders in the first place.
Do not be one of them. Take your time to study all offers on hand and go for what is best for you to save your time and your money.
Borrowing The Money – For what?
Before surrendering yourself to loan providers, you need to visualize the amount of money you will need and where you are going to spend it. Arrange your priorities and buy the things that you truly need. Otherwise you will find that the high borrowing fees that are usually a part of the bad credit loans are much more than the price of the items that put you in this situation in the first place.
However, if the money you are spending is for your best interest and therefore borrowing is the only solution for you, then do not be hasty in making your decision and research all lending possibilities before taking that specific loan.
Generally, people face credit problems due to impulsive buying of things that they do not really need or due to leading a life that goes past their incomes. In time, they start to exceed their credit card balances and become unable to honor their credit obligations. This leaves them with huge late charges and fees from existing loaners, in addition to unreasonable conditions on their future loans due to bad credit.
Explore All Available Offers
Taking money from your savings or from your friends and family members is what you should consider first before turning to bad credit loaners. However, if there is no other way but to take an unsecured loan for bad credit, then beware greedy loaners and always study all terms and conditions of the loan you are taking.
Do not get excited when you find a lender who is willing to give you an unsecured loan for poor credit, because in most cases the contract terms are very unfair and you will end up paying extra money for your loaners.
Keep in mind that unsecured loans for bad credit are mostly very expensive, so keep looking for the loan that you can repay. However, visiting all lending companies that accept to give loans for bad credit is simply a waste of time.
Since most financial institutions now have an online service, then it is time to make use of it to find the suitable lending company. Do not forget also to use a matching service for online loaners, which helps you to have a look at loan products and to submit your application to several lenders in the same time.

Unsecured Loans Are The Best For You- So Stop Looking Around

2010-08-10T12:42:00.000-07:00

At a certain time of our lives, we find that we need extra money for a certain thing that we truly need. This thing may be a house or a car, may be educational or health expenses or may be to make a dream come true.
Unsecured personal loans are definitely what we should look for. Lenders who offer unsecured loans do not ask for any collateral in return, they even do not ask about where we are going to spend the money. If you do not have any property to offer as collateral or if you have no patience to go through an extended operation of assessment, insuring and confirmation, then an unsecured loan is the best option for you.
Unsecured Loans – How Good They Are For Borrowers.
The only thing you need to do to get an unsecured loan is filling out an application with your permission to the bank to access your credit history. It can never be easier than that; you do not need to offer collateral or any credit lines as in case of home equity loans.
However, unsecured loans do not offer big amounts of money. In few cases you can get up to $25,000, which is far less than what you can get out of a loan secured with collateral. Moreover, the interest rates of unsecured loans, although lower than those of credit cards, are somewhat high. Lenders tend to impose higher interest rates, as they do not have any other guarantees.
As for the period of repayment, it varies from loan to loan. In general, it depends upon the policy of the bank, the amount of the loan, the credit history of the borrower and several other elements. They normally range between one to seven years.
Terms Of Unsecured Loans
There are several factors that lenders put into consideration when they make their decision of granting a loan to a potential borrower. The duration of continuous employment and size of the family are among those factors.
However, the most important factor is past credit performance. Having a good credit history makes you a qualified candidate for receiving an unsecured personal loan. You also get to enjoy the privilege of highest loan amounts, longer repayment duration and lower interest rates.
Yet, people with an average or even bad credit history still have the chance to get an unsecured personal loan as well. By considering the pre-mentioned factors, they might only be able to borrow small amounts of money with higher interest rates and for a shorter repayment period.
Unsecured Loans - Offline and Online.
The banks are no longer the main center for granting loans. Unsecured personal loans are becoming more and more available offline and also online through various lenders.
No doubt, the internet has increased the competition between lending institutions. All lenders promote their different kinds of loans online and offer online loan processing services, which makes it easier for potential borrowers to submit their loan application and receive a decision in a few minutes.
Since online lenders do not need to spend money on retail offices and branches, and since online loan processing does not cost them much, there is a chance that you might find them announcing special offers and valuable rates for the unsecured personal loan you have been looking for.

Unsecured Loans Are Life Savers for Bad Credit

2010-08-10T12:41:00.000-07:00

Certainly, the life of most Americans has been touched by the tremendous effects of the global recession. A lot of homes, vehicles and other valuable properties were blown away due to this economical crisis and due to secured loans as well, which eventually resulted in an increase in numbers of bad credit borrowers.
Whether it is bankruptcy, nonpayment or any other reason for bad credit, people are still entitled to get a loan, and an unsecured personal loan is the best for them. The interest rates will be a bit higher than secured loans, but they will not be put at risk of losing their homes or any other properties of value.
Moreover, people with bad credit benefit widely from unsecured loans. They gain points to their credit scores, when they submit their monthly payments on time.
It is worth mentioning also that experts refer to unsecured loans as signature loans, since the signature of borrowers is the only guarantee that they will repay their debts.
Signature Loans = No Collateral
You might be surprised to know that borrowers with bad credit were the main reason behind the creation of unsecured loans on the hands of innovative financial experts.
Submitting a proof of income is the only requirement to get a signature loan. This is definitely suitable for homeowners, students or in fact for anyone else in the United States, who need the money but do not want to risk losing their homes or any valuable property that they have worked hard for.
Experts estimate that a loan of $39,000 is very convenient for emergency situations and also for people with bad credit to be able to pay back. This amount of money might seem minimal for some people, but knowing that they will lose nothing in return is fair enough to accept it.
Unsecured Loans And Interest Rates
The fact that loaners can not regain any of the money they lend to borrowers makes them insist on imposing higher interest rates when they offer unsecured personal loans. Yet, you still have the chance to pay all your debt ahead of time and thus saving a lot of money.
For this reason, you need to spend more time on the internet searching for lenders who do not charge you extra money for paying your debt earlier than agreed upon and in the same time for legitimate loaners who offer low-interest loans on their websites to get yourself a good deal in the first place.

A Long Term Personal Loan For Bad Credit Is Possible To Find

2010-08-10T12:35:00.000-07:00

In comparison to loans with short-term defrayal plans, a personal loan for longer periods of repayment makes it available for borrowers to make reduced payments on a monthly basis with a minimal interest rate. However, customers need to pay attention when taking a personal loan to avoid facing any unfair terms.
Moreover, people with a history of bad credit must be aware of greedy loaners who may try to capitalize on their weak credit and ask for expenses and high interest rates. In this article, you will find hints and tips about how to get a low-cost loan for a bad credit.

A Personal Loan For A Bad Credit With No Guarantees- Unsecured Loan
Have you thought of looking at other options before applying for a personal loan by the lending company of your choice? Have you thought of knocking the door of a financially stable friend or a member of your family to get the amount of money you need?
When taking up money from friends or family members you will not need to submit credit checks or collaterals and certainly you will be able to repay for longer periods of time and at a minimal rate of interest. However, taking money from someone you know does not mean that you do not write down all terms and conditions in a piece of paper and get it signed by all members of the agreement.
A history of bad credit may make it difficult for you to take a personal loan with no collateral. If you were able to come across a lending company that offer unsecured bad credit personal loans, you will find that they tend to impose very high interest rates, which may get you in a lot of trouble later on.

A Personal Loan For A Bad Credit With Guarantees- Secured Loan
A secured loan for a bad credit is one of the best options a homeowner can get. In most cases, a secured loan comes with long term repayment plans as the debt is secured by the properties of the borrower.
In case the borrower was not able to submit the payments in time, the lending company is entitled to take back the property and sell it to pay the borrower's debts. On the other hand, a home equity loan is another good option for homeowners.
Borrowers get the chance to take money against the value of their property for a certain period of time. When the amount of money taken matches the value of the property, the borrower starts to pay his debts to the loaner according to terms and conditions of the loan taken.
Finally, there are certain points you need to take care of to guarantee that you will get a long term bad credit personal loan. In addition to comparing and assessing every potential lender, you need to make sure that you will not be faced with hidden expenses or that your lender can modify or increase your loan within the period of repayment.

Unexpected costs you should know about while Selling on eBay

2010-08-09T20:26:00.000-07:00

Having a successful business on eBay is what most sellers are looking for. They believe that eBay is the gate to realizing their dreams. Yet, there is a hidden side of eBay that most sellers do not see. With thousands of people browsing eBay everyday, you get to believe that advertising on eBay is very cost efficient. This is, however, half the truth. When compared to other forms of advertising eBay is really cheap. But there are some hidden costs that eBay sellers rarely pay attention to when they make a sale.

Obviously, when you start your business on eBay, you become aware of the fees that you have to pay, like those required for listing your items, for enhancements and the final value fees. Add to that the fees collected by PayPal, if it is the method of payment that the buyer prefer. So far everything is crystal clear. Yet, there are some costs that you do not see. That is why I like to call them " the invisible costs".

Allow me to clear things up. If, for example, you purchase a lot of the items that you sell on eBay from flea markets and garage sales, then this means that you spend a lot of time going to these places, in addition to all travel expenses you pay to get there.

After buying these items you will be needing more time to research, take pictures and list your items. Then, once a sale is made you will spend more time and effort in packaging and posting the sold items. By doing some calculations you will find that every sale you make on eBay takes about one hour or more of your time.

Keeping track of all the time you spend on your eBay business is what you need to do to work out exactly how much a sale on eBay costs you. Record the time from the moment you go out to buy items for your eBay auctions until the moment you return home. Also at home remember to write down the time spent in listing, photographing and packing. Moreover, add any expenses other than the cost of the items that you buy to sell on eBay.

After a few weeks from doing so, you will get an idea about all the time you spend on your eBay business. Estimating how much you should be paid for every hour is what you should do next. If you are working for someone else, you could be paid $10, $20 or $50 an hour. But you are your own boss and you get to value your time and effort.

Suppose you work for 6 hours a week at $20 per hour, then your weekly salary will be $120. Suppose also that you sell 30 items per week, then this means that every item you sell costs you $4 of time. Add that to the cost of the item, eBay fees, PayPal fees and the shipping fees, and you will get an accurate figure of how much an item really costs you. In that case, you will be able to discover the exact amount of profits or losses you made on each sale on your eBay business.

Now you are probably wondering how to fix this problem. You can try to make the best out of your spent time on eBay by using any kind of software to speed up some of the tasks that you do and possibly also by reconsidering the way, through which you get your items that you sell on eBay.

Keep in mind that criticising eBay is not what i am doing here, in fact it is quite the opposite. I am just trying to present all what you might face while selling on eBay. Making real profits is what you were looking for when you started your online business, and eBay is surely the place for you to do that.

eBay income: taxable or not?

2010-08-08T14:01:00.000-07:00

Making money by selling items on eBay is one of the most common online businesses. However, a lot of eBay sellers do not know that the income they make is taxable, like any other income from any other business.

Theoretically, if you are making money out of eBay, then it is income and if it is income, then it is taxable. Yet, practically, many sellers do not declare their profits from their eBay sales. Why??! just because they do not want to lose any of the profit they made for taxes and in the same time they know that it is hard for the government to track their online businesses and so they get away with it. You, however, do not want to do that. To have a legally solid business, you should be paying taxes. Yet, there is a question of scale involved, the more you have sold, the more important it is to declare your eBay income. Otherwise, there is a chance you might get yourself in all kinds of trouble.

Determining whether your income is taxable or not depends on many rules. If the income you get out of eBay is your main source of living and you count it as your private business, then you need to file a Schedule C tax form and pay tax.

Now you are probabaly wondering how to estimate your income from eBay. It is that simple: the net profit you make on eBay is your income. To calculate this net profit, you need to subtract all of your costs from the money you earned, like: the sale price, the cost of the item, eBay fees, PayPal fees, the cost of postage, the cost of packing materials. The money left after deducting all that is the income that you pay tax for. For instance, if you are selling CDs for $10 each, including shipping. Out of this $10 deduct the following costs: $5 ( the cost of one Cd at wholesale), 25c (insertion fee), 52c (final value fee), 30c (PayPal fixed fee), 29c (PayPal percentage fee), 37c (stamp), 50c (packaging). You will find that out of the $10 you got only $2.77, which is your taxable income.

N.B. eBay’s final value fee on a $10 item is 5.25%, while PayPal’s cut is 30c + 2.9% for most sellers. These numbers will vary depending on the value of the item you are selling and the kind of account you have.

At the end of each year calculate your overall price for all sales and how much you actually earned, not forgetting to adjust for buyers who did not pay, then just take off the shipping and packing costs. The amount of money left is your taxable income. Although it is recommended to have a printed record of all your selling activities, you do not have to calculate your taxes after every selling action you make.

Do not be surprised to know that paying tax on your eBay sales could be useful in some respects. By deducting tax on your business expenses, you can get some of the money back. All of the costs mentioned above in addition to the cost of any computer equipment you buy, as well as ink and paper for your printer are business expenses and so they are tax-deductable. Moreover, you could consider the cost of renting your home office from yourself as business expenses, although it is a bit unusual.

However, the simplest way to win back the money you spent on tax is by increasing the profit you make on each item in the first place. Another great way to increase bidders and thus your earnings is by using pictures. The next email will reveal this in detail.

Finally, let me say that what is mentioned in this email is only hints about how to calculate your taxes. To get a full idea, it is recommended that you visit an accountant.

Making use of the "Buy It Now" feature on eBay

2010-08-08T07:31:00.000-07:00

Competition is the main feature that marks every auction. Whether it is an auction right down the street or an online auction like eBay, sellers do their best to encourage buyers to place bids on their items instead of bidding on other seller's items. Along with keywording and accurate auction timing, sellers make use of the many features on eBay to help manage their auctions in an easy way to reach maximum profit.

The "Buy It Now" option on eBay is one of the most common features that sellers use to attract buyers. This option, however, is useful for both the sellers and the buyers. On the one hand, it helps sellers to sell their items quickly. On the other hand, it enables buyers to purchase the items instantly at a preset price. Buyers who do not want to go through the bidding process for an item they want, tend to use this option and thus avoiding the risk of losing the item to a higher bidder. Yet, what makes this option so appealing for many buyers is the fact that it has a limited availability. In other words, when a bid is placed, the "Buy It Now" option becomes no longer available for use.

However, some professionals warn sellers about using the "Buy It Now " option on their auctions on eBay in a random way.

The "Buy It Now" option can be somehow risky for sellers. As an eBay seller, when you list an item for a duration of seven to ten days, there is a chance that it might draw in bidders. But if someone grabs the item for its "Buy It Now" price, you will never know how much money the item would have generated and probably regret that you did not list the item at a higher price

However, choosing to use the "Buy It Now" option during the holiday season, for instance, is the best thing to do. During the holidays people prefer to use online auctions for gift shopping instead of facing the crowd in the malls and the local stores, and they generally tend to purchase what they want instantly without waiting for auctions to end. In that case, when you use the "Buy It Now" feature, you allow buyers to make purchases right away before they change their minds, and thus selling your items quickly and at a decent price.

Yet, there are sometimes where you should avoid using the "Buy It Now" feature. If you are listing an item that you do not know its real value, then you should let it remain in the auction for its maximum duration. For instance, if you are selling some collectible plates and you are not certain of how much they are worth, then you should not list them with a "Buy It Now" price, because the price you are setting might be much less than their real value. Smart collectors who browse online auctions for such items will surely grab them immediately, and you will certainly lose some of your profit. In that case, forcing buyers to place their bids is what you should do to earn a much larger profit.

Before listing your items with a "Buy It Now" price, you should think about doing some research to avoid losing some of your potential profit.

Browse the "Completed Auctions" to find out how similar items have been performing. Since the "Buy It Now" option will probably let your items be purchased quickly, it makes sense that you should set slightly low prices for them. Yet, you should take care not to set very low prices for your items that they become no more profitable. Keep an eye on the market trends by searching items in similar categories. If you find out that the market is saturated with items similar to yours, then you could use low "Buy It Now" prices, or sell different items until the market recovers.On the other hand, If demand outweighs supply, then it is your chance to make some profit by setting the "Buy It Now" price higher than you normally do.

Keep in mind that the "Buy It Now" feature on eBay could be the key to an additional amount of money in your account, if you know exactly when to use it to your advantage.

Knowing and following eBay rules is a must

2010-08-08T07:28:00.000-07:00

As an eBay member, you definitly know that selling and buying on eBay is a very interesting thing to do online. That's why eBay members are increasing rapidly every year. Yet, whether you are an old member or a new one, whether you are a seller or a buyer, knowing how eBay works is the key to have a great experience on it. In other words, learning more about eBay rules will help you increase your profits if you are a seller and get you great deals if you are a buyer.

Like all other online markets, eBay developed a set of rules and guidelines that buyers and sellers should stick to. Being one of the world’s most popular online marketplaces with thousands of deals being made every single day, eBay had to be ready for the problems that might appear during selling and buying, especially those related to security or inappropriate content. So whether you are an eBay buyer or an eBay seller, the first thing you should do is to learn about those rules and follow them.

As an eBay seller, there are a number of important rules that you should respect. On top of those comes the dealing with banned items. Although every seller on eBay has the right to list almost everything for sale, there are some restrictions. Items like drugs, pornography, alcohol and stolen products are a few of the many items that you and other sellers are not allowed to sell. Respect that rule and you will guarantee a flowing selling activity of your items. Another eBay rule that you and other eBay sellers should follow is not to delay the payment of your eBay fees. To make things easier for you, eBay has a set pay schedule that you will be notified of beforehand. In order to keep making a profit from selling your items on eBay, make sure you pay your eBay fees on time.

On the other hand, eBay has built up a set of rules for its buyers as well. The very first rule for you as an eBay buyer is related to the bidding process. You should only bid on the items that you intend to buy. Do not go around bidding on items that you do not need or want just for the fun of doing so. The moment you place a bid on an eBay auction or agree to buy an item listed in a "Buy It Now" listing format, you must honor that. If you feel that you can not pay for the items that you bid on or agreed to buy, then eBay is not the place for you for the moment. The second important rule that you should stick to as an eBay buyer is to be honest when you buy on eBay. Although most of the scams on eBay are related to sellers, many buyers nowadays are beginning to set off a lot of trouble. One of the most common scams that buyers do is reporting that they had not received a purchased item, although they actually did. This normally results in a refund as well receiving the item they bought once more.

"Rules are made to be broken" - This saying should not be your motto on eBay, especially if you want to get great deals as a buyer or have a profitable business as a seller.

Using eBay’s "Second Chance Offer" feature.

2010-08-05T22:39:00.000-07:00

At the end of any auction, there are always a winner and a loser. Yet, this is not the case here on eBay. As a matter of fact, you can have more than one winner to your auction. How??! - By using eBay's "Second Chance Offer" you are still able to offer your items to bidders who did not win in your auction.

You are probably thinking why you would do such a thing. Let me tell you the most common three reasons for doing that.

1. The bidder who won the auction did not pay. Unluckily, this is the case in many auctions. Buyers sometimes change their minds about buying the item they won in the auction and refuse to pay. Using the " Second Chance Offer" feature enables you to give your item to other buyers, who are well known to be paying for their purchased items.

2. Having a similar item that you want to sell. Bidders who lost in your auction, bid in the first place, because they were interested in having your item. So, why not offer them the item and take the money they already wanted to pay.

3. Receiving an email from a buyer. Sometimes buyers get outbid in the last minute and it in not uncommon to find interested buyers in your item sending you emails asking you to sell them the item for an amount of money you agree on. In that case, you might also want to make them an offer. After all, selling your items for cash is what you actually do.

Making a second chance offer: How can it be done?

Using "My eBay Screen" is the easiest way to make the offer. Simply go to the "Selling Page" and click "Make a Second Chance Offer". After an item is sold, or after reporting a non paying buyer, eBay sends you an email including a link to be able to make a second chance offers.

Now that you made the offer, it is up to the buyers. They can accept your offer or reject it. In case they decline, then there are no more steps to be taken. But, in case of acceptance, then you do what you normally do when someone wins your auction. In other words, you pay a final value fee, the buyers pay you and then you both leave feedbacks to one another.

Saving your effort of re-listing your items and not paying another insertion fee are some of the benefits you get when you use the "Second Chance Offer" feature on eBay, especially when you know that almost 50% of the buyers who receive these second chance offers gladly accept them. The time spent in sending all these offers is the only disadvantage you might find. Put differently, making second chance offers on all your auctions will bring you extra cash with less effort

However, this feature might not work for all kind of items. If you made second chance offers for an item and it did not work, do not worry. Just re-list it again. Sometimes buyers tend to bid again, with the hope, that they will get the item for a more lower price in the second time.

Now that you became aware of the "Second Chance offer" feature on eBay, make use of it to increase your sales and your profits. Always keep in mind, that a successful business on eBay is what you hoped for when you got started and a successful business on eBay is what you are going to have.

eBay auctions: how long should they run?

2010-08-05T22:22:00.000-07:00

As an eBay seller, you have all the control on your auctions and how long they should run. Depending on your feedback ratings, your auctions can run for ten, five, three or even for only one day if the feedback is good enough.

Having the ability to choose different durations for your auctions is quite an advantage. Yet, deciding how long your items should be listed, requires knowing the answers of these questions:

"Do you want to sell your items quickly?"
If you prefer selling your items in only a few days, with the risk that you might lose some of your profit, then select the shortest duration available. On the other hand, if you have enough patience, then a longer duration is the thing for you.

"How valuable is your item?"
An item with a higher price should be re-listed every 3 days. You can even use the "Buy It Now" option in that case. The fees deducted for doing that will only be minimal in regard to the item's price. Listing items with higher prices gives you the chance to be in a top place on the search results, which means more sales for you.

"A competitive bidding: Is it good for your item?"
Not every item has the ability to make bidders try to outbid one another. An item that keeps on getting more than five bids, is worth to get listed for the longest time possible to reach its best price. Bidders will be curious to follow your auction for as long as it lasts, while offering higher prices as they go.

"Sellers who get best prices: What do they do?"
To have an answer for that question, you need to go back to that list of completed items, and have a look at how long those sellers let their winner auctions run. There is a possibility that their tactics do work well.

Shipping: How fast can you do it?
Customers like to get their purchased items as fast as possible. They think it is more than enough that they waited until the auction is over. So, if your auction is running for a long duration, try to get your items packed and ready for shipping on the day the auction ends.

When to have a one day running auction?
If it is the holiday season or your specific item is suddenly required, then having a one day running auction is what you should do. A fast turnover is surely for your best interest, so make use of the least duration option.

Do you want to be always visible on eBay?
Being an eBay seller, you might already know that eBay sorts search results according to which auctions end first. So, the sooner your auction ends, the more views it will get.

Now that you know the importance of setting the right durations for your auctions, it is time to be familiar with different ways to increase your auction’s visibility on eBay. But, this is another email, so keep checking your inbox.

Checking out the selling activity on eBay

2010-08-05T07:56:00.001-07:00

To find out what is actually selling on eBay is really easy. You can do it either manually or statistically.

If you are a relatively new eBay user, then the most simple way to know the selling activity on eBay is to go to your category, mark the ‘Completed listings’ in the left-hand menu, and then click the ‘Show items’ button. Sort them according to the highest price first, and you will get all the items that sell for the highest prices. Naturally, this does not stay the same for a long time in most categories. Yet, it is good to have an idea. If you think you have an item that you can offer for sale for a lower price than the kind of prices it is already selling for, do not hesitate and post it in your auctions..

If you are thinking of using eBay's search, then think again. It is a bit slow and difficult to use and you are unlikely to come across what you are looking for. However, there are other ways to adopt in order to find out exactly what is selling and what is not .

A deep statistical analysis of what is selling on eBay might sound so complicated. Do not worry . It can be done.

Type the word "eBay analysis" into a search engine. Do not be surprised with the long list that will come out. Through what is known as a "programming interface" eBay makes all of its market data available to third party developers who will take all the market data from eBay and study them for you.

From a personal point of view, Andale (http://www.andale.com) provides some of the most effective eBay statistics tools out there. Andale is one of the firmest and oldest service providers for eBay. They will offer you a web-based tool and you will probably have to buy a software, such as Auction Intelligence, to be installed on your computer, to get the work done. This program comes with tutorials and help, so practically it will do all the work for you. However, do not expect to get it for free, because eBay charges Andale for the information given to them.

A quick, broad ranged look on what people are buying on eBay can only be found on "http://pulse.ebay.com". This eBay page includes a list of the top 10 "most searched for" items and the top 5 largest eBay stores. By searching this page you will come across the most recent selling activity on eBay. Nowadays, it is media items, either books or music, that people are interested in. Taking the words "i Pod" and "i Pod mini" as example, you will find that they come at the fourth and sixth place on the list of "the most searched for items" on eBay. Finding a trust worthy provider who can supply you with cheap, good quality i Pods is your way to start making a lot of cash.

However, good, reliable suppliers are not always right at the doorstep. Yet, not finding a supplier should not be the end of your trip on eBay. There are a number of ways that you can adopt to detect the selling activity on eBay. And believe me, you will find something to sell.

Creating An eBay Sales Page

2010-08-05T07:54:00.000-07:00

A successful eBay auction requires several elements to bring the income you are looking for. One of the most significant elements for your eBay auction is composing a sales page for it, a perfect sales page that brings buyers' money to your bank account.

For a sales page to be a winner, you need to consider several elements.

A prominent headline is definitely the one thing to start with. The headline must be different and unique to be able to compete among other headlines, when bidders search for particular items. The headline must include the name of the item posted for sale and the title of your auction, so that when someone searches for a specific item in your category, that title appears in the search results. So, be sure to make it an eye catcher.

Completing the rest of your sales page is done while setting up your auction on eBay.

Especially if similar items to yours are being posted on other eBay auctions, you need to urge bidders to bid on your items or even buy them now. To do that, you need to give out the main features of the item you are selling, by using words that catch the attention of the bidder or even words that get them emotionally involved. For example, when you sell an inherited item, you should talk a bit about its history and give some details about it to make it more of value to potential buyers.

Telling the bidders about the benefits they are going to get out of the item you are selling them also counts in making the item more valuable and more worthy to them. At the end of your sales page make sure to tell your bidders that you are offering a money back guarantee, in case of dissatisfaction.

However, when a guarantee is made, it should be honored. Usually, a guarantee is being offered only on new items. Yet, if an item arrives at the buyers address in a condition different than what was described on eBay, you are obliged to give the money back. That's why eBay requires that you give an accurate description of your items when displaying them for sale.

Explaining to the bidders why they should bid on your item and not on items similar to yours on other auctions, must be done without degrading other sellers or their products. There is a fine line here that you cannot cross. An outstanding sales page with benefits and features of the items you are selling, clear pictures of them and a promise that you will respect your money back guarantee is the right way to encourage them to bid on your auctions.

Remember always that you are using the sales page to sell stuff on eBay. And as a seller you should use all your marketing tools to sell all items on your list. Including pictures of your items will surely bring more bidders. People tend to see what they are buying, that sometimes they can ignore an auction that does not include pictures. Make sure you upload clear pictures that show the item in its best light and from all sides.

Simply, using the right words on your sales page is the key to a successful selling career on eBay.

eBay's Consignment Centers. What are they?

2010-08-05T07:52:00.000-07:00

eBay consignment centers??! - the words might sound strange to your ears, but you do not have to worry about that. eBay consignment centers are relatively new, and so you are not the only one who have not heard of them. If you have an item that you can not sell, you can take it to a consignment center and it will sell it for you and share the profits.

Yet, a consignment center can work both ways. In other words, you can sell your items at a consignment center or you can be one.

Collect all the items you want to sell and bring them to a consignment center. It will handle all steps required, starting by the listing of items, providing description of them and ending with their shipping. However, you will have to give up a part of the profits in return. This might be an acceptable idea, but there is a negative side for that. You will lose control over your auctions completely and you will not have a say on the price placed for the items on your auctions. Besides, there is a chance that you get a fraction ot the item's real value, as if you have taken it to the pawnbroker's shop at the end of the road.

On the other hand, you can be a consignment center for the people in your neighborhood who do not use eBay. After being an eBay seller for a long time, the people around you might already know that. Perhaps, some of them will come to you and ask you to sell a specific item for them on eBay. Give it a try and if you like it, you can start your own consignment center business.

Start by placing an ad in your local newspaper or by giving out flyers saying:

"Create Space and Get Money Doing It! How about to have someone to clean out your old stuff in your house and give you money while doing it? I am currently looking for items to sell on eBay and I can do this for you. Give me a call on [your number]."

When you get a response, pay those houses a visit, look around and take the things that you think might sell well on eBay. In return, give the owners of the items a sensible amount of money for them. Do not pay too much, as they already do not know the real value of the item you are taking. It’s also best to try to take things that are part of a set or a collection, so you can sell lots of items of the same kind. Keep in mind that your position is much stronger, since you are offering them money for things they are cluttering up in their homes.

However, to achieve success as a consignment center, you need to be able to evaluate the items you are seeing. It is also preferred to open a new account on eBay for the things you are selling for other people. After all, it is not your item that you are selling and so you can not guarantee its quality. Keep your own account only for selling the things that you are expert in.

Another thing to keep in mind, is to change your selling strategy according to the season. The same item can have different prices depending on the time of year. Following all these steps will boost up your chances to be a succesful consignment center.

Using ebay’s "Promotional Flyer" Tool.

2010-08-05T07:49:00.000-07:00

As an eBay seller you are probably aware of the " Promotional Flyer" option on eBay. It is a free tool that you can use to promote your eBay store.

" Promotional Flyer" is basically a list of all items available in your eBay store. It comes with this default message: "Thank you for your purchase! Please visit my eBay Store for more great items and friendly, reliable customer service. You might have received one of those from another eBay vendor. Yet, there are ways to make your own " Promotional Flyer" stand out from all other flyers.

You are wondering how you can do that. It is very easy.

Log in to your eBay account, then go to "Manage Your Store". Click now on "Promotions", and there you will find the "Store Promotional Flyer" option. A flyer will be automatically generated using the products and settings from your eBay store and you can customize it the way you want. Make sure to add a frame to your flyer to make it look more attractive in the eyes of your recipients.

After creating your flyer, you can print it as many times as you want. Keep in mind that your flyer will be updated automatically to display your latest items. So print what you need day by day to make sure you promote for all your items.

Now comes the second step: How to use these promotional flyers? - Well, you can use them in many different ways. The first possible idea that can come to your mind will be to go out to the street and hand them out to the people walking past you. Yet, it is not an effective way. Most people taking your flyer on the street might not be interested in looking at the items your are promoting and it’ll just be a waste of paper, ink and time. No, there are much better ways to give out your flyers.

Putting them in envelopes is quite a good way to start with. Like you do with your business cards or compliment slips, put your flyers in envelopes and send them to your customers. Knowing what your customers bought in the past will help you place the right items on the flyer you are sending. These flyers will act then as a mini catalogue, which will surely help you make a few sales out of it.

If you have an existing shop or business, then you can give out these flyers directly to your customers. That way, you let them know that you have an eBay store with lots of other products that they can have a look at.

Looking up the addresses of business organizations and commercial enterprises in your area that might need what you are selling is another way to target your flyers.

If you are into underground marketing ways, then giving out your flyers outside a rival store that sell items similar to yours, is another way for you . Yet, you have to be aware that your presence outside a rival shop will cause the owners to be furious. So, give your flyers only to people coming out of the store, not entering it.

Finally, if someone types your store’s address as written on the flyer and then buys something, you’ll get the 75% final value fee credit for advertising, without even having to pay anything doing so. This should be more than enough for you to start using eBay's "Promotional Flyer" now.

Using eBay's Turbo Lister Program

2010-08-04T14:58:00.000-07:00

As a seller on eBay you probably came across eBay’s Turbo Lister program. Perhaps you did not think of having a look at it before. So here is your chance to know the program and have an idea about what it does. eBay’s Turbo Lister program can really make selling on eBay so easy that you will wonder how you mangaed your business without it before.

First of all you should know that eBay’s Turbo Lister program is available to download on eBay’s website. It is free, easy to install and to use. After installation you are provided with step by step instructions on how to list your items for sale. So whether you are a computer genuis or still finding your way through using it, you should be able to use eBay’s Turbo Lister program without any problems.

eBay promotes its Turbo Lister Program especially to eBay vendors who have high or medium selling activity on eBay. Yet, it is also very convenient for eBay sellers who use a dial up connection. Listing a large number of eBay auctions can get the phonelines so busy. But with eBay’s Turbo Lister program you do not even need to be connected to the internet. It is an offline program that you can access anytime.

Knowing how and where to get eBay’s Turbo Lister program is only the first step. Knowing how to use it and how it can help you is what you are about to read. After downloading and installing the eBay Turbo Lister program, it starts setting up your eBay auction listings or your "buy it now" listings the same way it is done online. In other words, when you use eBay’s Turbo Lister program, you are asked to arrange your items under the different available categories, create a headline for your auction, provide a detailed description of the items you are selling, upload pictures of those items if you have any, state how your item will be shipped, as well as specify what methods of payment you are accepting. How simple is that? everything is being explained gradually and you will be able to list your auctions in no time and without even being connected to the internet.

However, eBay’s Turbo Lister program can do more than that. In addition to the fact that it allows you to create as many auctions as you want, even thousands of them, without being connected to the internet, it also enables you to save your listings for a later date and even determine when an auction should start or end.

Now, you are probably wondering about how your items will be listed on eBay's website without being connected to the internet. Do not worry. Once you get online, a simple click of the mouse and all your listings will be uploaded automatically on eBay's website.

Using eBay’s Turbo Lister program is optional. You do not have to download it if you do not want to. Yet, all the benefits mentioned above should at least urge you to have closer look at it. Should you not like the way the program works, you could always go back listing your items on eBay the same old way.

Pricing your ebay items

2010-08-04T14:01:00.000-07:00

Several new sellers do not realize how significant it is to price their items on their eBay auctions. A lot of them do not even know that they have to set prices for their items. After all eBay is an auction site, similar in many ways to the auctions you might attend in your neighborhood, and only differs in that you have to do some effort determining and pricing.

Basically, eBay auctions offer only three prices to be set: the "buy it now" price, the reserve price, and the "starting bid" price. Only the "starting bid" price is mandatory for an eBay auction. The reserve price and the "buy it now" price are optional. When you set your "starting bid" price, never let it exceed 50$, even if your item is worth more. This relatively low price attracts eBay customers to start bidding in your auction.

Making your " starting bid" price relatively low creates the need for a reserve price. A reserve price is the absolute lowest price that you would like to have for your item. Selling your product for less than the reserve price is up to you, but it is not a must. Put differently, if you set your reserve price at $100, and you got 50$ as the highest bid, you are not obliged to sell your product to your highest bidder. You can end the auction and spare yourself a negative feedback. When setting your reserve price, keep in mind the value of the item today and how much it cost you in the first place.

As for the "buy it now" price, it is a useful option to use. Simply it allows you to sell your items right away without waiting for any bidding. Buyers interested in having that item will accept your "buy it now" price and the deal is done. However, you have to keep in mind to set the "buy it now" price relatively similar, may be even a bit more or less, to your reserve price. A "buy it now" price can be set for any type of product and it works well when you are offering several similar products for sale.

When looking at auctions, eBay buyers keep in mind the shipping fees. If it is possible for you to offer free shipping of the items you are selling, this will definitely increase the number of your bidders. Yet, you have to make sure that you state this "Free Shipping" option clearly, so that your potential customers won't miss it.

Knowing the value of the product you are selling is the key to a perfect price setting. Offline markets often set higher prices for their products. Yet, as an eBay vendor, you should check out the prices displayed on other auctions for similar items that you are selling before you set your prices. When selling a collectible item or a costly one, you need to have them evaluated first before setting prices for them to make sure that you make a profit.

eBay sellers: Having an " About Me" page is really important.

2010-07-29T14:03:00.000-07:00

eBay is definitly the first place most internet users turn to when they are looking for ways to make money in the comfort of their own homes. Yet, to be a successful seller on eBay there are some steps that you need to adopt to ensure that you become one. Having an "About Me" page is surely one important step to start with.

A relatively new eBay seller might not know what an " About Me " page is. An "About Me" page is a webpage that lets you state whatever you wish about yourself, the products that you are displaying for sale or the services that you provide. Since it is really easy to be scammed on eBay, several eBay customers do not make any deals except with an eBay buyer that they can trust. An " About Me " page is your key to achieve that trust. Although it might seem unnecessary for you to create it, but it has a great impact on many eBay customers. What people think of you is another key to achieve success as an eBay seller.

On that " About Me " page, you will find a section dedicated to write whatever you want. Make use of that option and try to provide information about yourself that you feel could help you as an eBay seller. For example, if you are a single mom or a stay at home dad, you would probably want to mention that. Showing certain sides of your life and the reason behind your work on eBay is a great way to get eBay customers to see you as a person, just like themselves.

It is also quite useful to mention in your personalized " About Me" section, whether you are a full time seller on eBay or you just sell there occasionally and whether you specialize in a certain type of product or you sell a variety of items. Besides, try to write down everything you might think can act as a magnet to your potential customers. Keep in mind that what is written in your personalized "About Me" section should reflect what an eBay customer wants to see.

There are some other sections that eBay automatically admits in a seller's "About Me" page. Besides your own personalized section there is another one that includes a summary of all products available for sale in your different auctions. So if you are posting various items in different auctions, a summary of all these items will come out on your "About Me" page for everybody to see. All visitors are also provided with a link to the auction listing, the current highest bidding price, as well as a short description of what is currently available for sale. In a sense, having an " About Me" page can serve as a marketing tool which helps increase your chances of making a sale.

An "About Me" page on eBay normally includes information about your feedback. If you have been selling on eBay for a long time, you probably have a lot of feedback. Having feedback ratings displayed on your "About Me" page might work for your best interest, as visitors of your page will be able to see how well you have been doing as a seller on eBay. Though, you have to keep in mind that not all feedback ratings will be presented, only the most recent ones from your past dealings. Depending on how you closed your latest deals, these feedback might be negative, positive or neutral.

To have an " About Me" page on eBay is not a must. But with considering all the benefits mentioned above, you are advised to try making your own. It is free and takes only a few minutes to create. So go for it and you will find that the final result is really surprising.