Do a quick search on Google, Yahoo, or your favorite auction resource site, and you'll quickly discover there are several software programs targeted to vendors who want to promote hot selling products on eBay.
The infatuation with hot selling products exists because sellers believe if you target items that have a robust sales pattern, you'll have a better chance at profiting on eBay. This is both true and false.
Yes... hot selling products can improve your bottom line. But unfortunately by the time the average eBay seller (a) realizes what the hot selling products are, (b) purchases stock to sell on eBay, and (c) actually puts the items up for sale, the demand is already being met by other eBay sellers who probably started the hot selling product trend some time ago.
Not only that, with thousands of people also having access to the same hot selling product lists, you'll have to contend with other eBay vendors who have the exact same ideas that you do. So you'll be up against the original sellers who are currently feeding the demand, AND doing the tango with newer sellers who have jumped on the same hot selling product bandwagon that you did.
Okay maybe this won't happen to you.
But suppose it does.
What if competition becomes so great that prices start dipping below the wholesale cost that you paid for the item? (It happens all the time on eBay.) And what if you lose $100, $200, or even $1,000 on inventory that you thought would be flying off the shelf? Suddenly that hot selling item is looking rather cold sitting in your garage collecting dust.
So if not hot selling products on eBay, then what?
Do what the majority of PowerSellers do. Sell what you want, instead of what's hot. Repeat after me, "Every day ordinary items sell extremely well on eBay... Every day ordinary items sell extremely well on eBay... Every day ordinary items sell extremely well on eBay." Allow this to become your mantra, because it is very much true.
I know this from first-hand experience as I analyze top sellers instead of hot products. And my research has continuously shown me that mediocre products don't necessarily translate into mediocre sales.
For instance, there's a seller right now who clears about $1,000-$2,000 a week selling magnets. And that's AFTER eBay and PayPal fee's. Another seller promotes homemade CD's to a specific audience and clears $900-$2,000 a week. A few sellers make $500-$700+ a week - after expenses - promoting public domain information. And the cool thing about public domain information is that anybody can sell it because it's free. So that's pure profit by selling something they never paid for. Talk about the ultimate arbitrage opportunity!
The ultimate key in succeeding no matter what product you end up selling, is to build a successful strategy. To figure out 'how' to profitably market what you have, instead of chasing after the next great thing. Because once you have the strategy part down, you can sell anything on eBay and make it a hot seller to your bank account.
About the author:
Alexis Dawes is a student of eBay sales strategies, instead of hot selling products. She's the developer behind Auction Seller Analyzer, a Windows-based application that inspects eBay sellers auctions to determine the winning strategies they're using. You can get more information about Auction Seller Analyzer at (http://www.AuctionSellerAnalyzer.com).
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Thursday, November 15, 2007
Why is Affiliate Marketing Popular with Home Based Business Entrepreneurs?
The great strides made in the development of the Internet in the recent past has enabled information to be transmitted thousands of miles away with such ease and clarity that time and space are hardly of any consequence to the Internet Marketer today.
Marketing Programs have literally taken over the Internet and riding high, is Affiliate Marketing.
According to the Computer Industry Almanac "The world-wide Internet population for 2004 was 934 million and the projection for 2006 is 1.21 billion."
Sean Michael Kerner in an article in Click Z News quoting a spokesman for eBay states "According to eBay their largest affiliate earned over $1.3 million dollars in January commission, the largest amount yet in their affiliate program's history. Their top 25 affiliates averaged over $100,000 per month each and the top 100 affiliates earn almost $25,000 each per month."
With this sort of statistics around, is it any surprise that thousands of entrepreneurs especially those Home Based Business entrepreneurs with very small marketing budgets are jumping on to the Affiliate Marketing band-wagon!
Given below are some of the Popular reasons for this desire and urge to do Affiliate Marketing:
1. Cost Factor:
Most Entrepreneurs refrain from starting a brick and mortar business or for that matter a Home Based Business (non internet) because of the investment required. In Affiliate Marketing the set-up cost is negligible with most programs being free to join and the merchant even providing you with the tools, tips and websites.
2. Pick and Choose Products:
With dozens of Affiliate Program providers and thousands of merchants having their own affiliate programs, there are several thousands of products to choose from. You name it they have it! In fact there are even Fortune 500 companies to choose from. The idea is to pick and choose your niche products and promote them.
3. No need for an Inventory.
The hassle of purchasing, stocking of items and storing of finished items (in a production unit) and dispatching them are not there. There is no need to maintain an inventory. It is all handled by the merchant.
4. No need for Employees.
In any business the wages of the employees is one of the major expenditures to contend with. Here the problem does not arise since the marketer himself will operate his home business and probably get the assistance of a family member to help him.
5. Necessity for Customer Service does not arise.
Customer service plays a major role in the success or failure of a business. The advantage here is that there is no direct dealing with the customers. The website will automatically direct the customers to the merchants.
6. Two Tier Affiliate Marketing:
An attractive feature of certain affiliate programs is that they have a Two tier system, whereby affiliates can sign up as sub-affiliates below them. When the sub-affiliate earns a commission, the affiliate above him too earns a commission.
7. Income without a limit.
In a paid job the salary structure has a vice-like grip over your monthly income. Here the possibilities are limitless. Though it is not every marketer who earns a big income, the fact remains that avenues are all there for the enterprising marketer to make it to the big time.
8. Global Market Place.
You no longer need to restrict your market to your home town or country. With your well chosen niche product you can sit in the comfort of your home and target the Global Market.
9. Low Risk Factor.
The risk factor in Affiliate Marketing is so small that it has become one of the major attractions for many Home Based Business entrepreneurs especially for those with low marketing budgets.
10. Business works Right Round the Clock.
One major asset of Internet marketing is that your Website, or in other words, your Home Based Business never sleeps. It works right round the clock (24/7) making money from home for you.
Having indicated the above reasons for the popularity of Affiliate Marketing, it has to be mentioned that statistics indicate that only 5% of the marketers do make big money. It is presumed that there are of course several thousands of marketers who make some money, thus giving them an additional income.
As long as the top marketers in the 5% slab, continue to make their millions and the latter continue to make reasonable amounts of money and have the urge to emulate the top marketers, Affiliate Marketing will continue to draw the attention and be popular with Home Based Business Entrepreneurs.
About the author:
Copyright © 2005 Kanaga Siva
Kanaga Siva has been a Marketing Manager and Business Manager and has a wealth of experience in Marketing. He now operates his own Home Based Business. For Articles, Resources, Tips and Ideas to start a Home Based Business from anywhere in the World, visit his website, http://www.business-fromhome.com
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Marketing Programs have literally taken over the Internet and riding high, is Affiliate Marketing.
According to the Computer Industry Almanac "The world-wide Internet population for 2004 was 934 million and the projection for 2006 is 1.21 billion."
Sean Michael Kerner in an article in Click Z News quoting a spokesman for eBay states "According to eBay their largest affiliate earned over $1.3 million dollars in January commission, the largest amount yet in their affiliate program's history. Their top 25 affiliates averaged over $100,000 per month each and the top 100 affiliates earn almost $25,000 each per month."
With this sort of statistics around, is it any surprise that thousands of entrepreneurs especially those Home Based Business entrepreneurs with very small marketing budgets are jumping on to the Affiliate Marketing band-wagon!
Given below are some of the Popular reasons for this desire and urge to do Affiliate Marketing:
1. Cost Factor:
Most Entrepreneurs refrain from starting a brick and mortar business or for that matter a Home Based Business (non internet) because of the investment required. In Affiliate Marketing the set-up cost is negligible with most programs being free to join and the merchant even providing you with the tools, tips and websites.
2. Pick and Choose Products:
With dozens of Affiliate Program providers and thousands of merchants having their own affiliate programs, there are several thousands of products to choose from. You name it they have it! In fact there are even Fortune 500 companies to choose from. The idea is to pick and choose your niche products and promote them.
3. No need for an Inventory.
The hassle of purchasing, stocking of items and storing of finished items (in a production unit) and dispatching them are not there. There is no need to maintain an inventory. It is all handled by the merchant.
4. No need for Employees.
In any business the wages of the employees is one of the major expenditures to contend with. Here the problem does not arise since the marketer himself will operate his home business and probably get the assistance of a family member to help him.
5. Necessity for Customer Service does not arise.
Customer service plays a major role in the success or failure of a business. The advantage here is that there is no direct dealing with the customers. The website will automatically direct the customers to the merchants.
6. Two Tier Affiliate Marketing:
An attractive feature of certain affiliate programs is that they have a Two tier system, whereby affiliates can sign up as sub-affiliates below them. When the sub-affiliate earns a commission, the affiliate above him too earns a commission.
7. Income without a limit.
In a paid job the salary structure has a vice-like grip over your monthly income. Here the possibilities are limitless. Though it is not every marketer who earns a big income, the fact remains that avenues are all there for the enterprising marketer to make it to the big time.
8. Global Market Place.
You no longer need to restrict your market to your home town or country. With your well chosen niche product you can sit in the comfort of your home and target the Global Market.
9. Low Risk Factor.
The risk factor in Affiliate Marketing is so small that it has become one of the major attractions for many Home Based Business entrepreneurs especially for those with low marketing budgets.
10. Business works Right Round the Clock.
One major asset of Internet marketing is that your Website, or in other words, your Home Based Business never sleeps. It works right round the clock (24/7) making money from home for you.
Having indicated the above reasons for the popularity of Affiliate Marketing, it has to be mentioned that statistics indicate that only 5% of the marketers do make big money. It is presumed that there are of course several thousands of marketers who make some money, thus giving them an additional income.
As long as the top marketers in the 5% slab, continue to make their millions and the latter continue to make reasonable amounts of money and have the urge to emulate the top marketers, Affiliate Marketing will continue to draw the attention and be popular with Home Based Business Entrepreneurs.
About the author:
Copyright © 2005 Kanaga Siva
Kanaga Siva has been a Marketing Manager and Business Manager and has a wealth of experience in Marketing. He now operates his own Home Based Business. For Articles, Resources, Tips and Ideas to start a Home Based Business from anywhere in the World, visit his website, http://www.business-fromhome.com
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When Scintilating Near Nudity On eBay Pays You Well !
It may cause undue stress in their marriage unfortunate as that is. The fact that she cant remember where the other four are or the suspicion that they were broken by her husband - perhaps a remiss act, while washing dishes, that was hidden in the trash can long ago. But, regardless, the where abouts of the other four had been a contentious debate in the household ever since - well ever since that truly ugly Tiki cup sold on eBay last night for $118.00 and the backup bidder bought the other for $115.00. Yes, Miss Penny, aka, pennycopper22 (87) made one of those great sales on eBay that you hear about and wonder what on earth is this? The next Beanie Baby craze? So where are the other four Tiki mugs she just knows they had at one time?
Click on image to see in full view
Yes, another Seller hit pay dirt on Ebay. Well, it was a sale. And a good one. With a probable investment of a quarter at a yard sale too many years ago to recall - this was a good "sale" and even better in todays depressed market. It actually sold - unlike a lot of other items out there in auctionland at the present time.
Miss Penny has been on my Appraisals and Expert Help group for several years now. We have never met. But that does not stop a good online friendship forming. Somewhere along the way she got the eBay 'bug' and got to selling a few things here and there. Actually, she has been selling on eBay for five years now - how time flies when your having fun. Mostly Wedgwood, she loves Wedgewood. But also has an interest in Jasperware and Pfaltzgraff Pottery, Travel, and Cooking. She has expanded her repertoire of computer skills to include her own website, Penny's Pantry . Not bad for a little ole lady - its amazing how this eBay bugs heightens the desire to succeed in a world before unknown. Now Penny is expanding her horizons and she is going to be in charge of the CSV uploads and downloads on iCell.biz - currently she is working on the O-SAN.net - The Open-Source Auction Network files, Auction Site Alliance Program , and the Auction Network USA. Who would have thought that two little ole fuddy duddy's like Penny and I would be working on facilitating our sales thru channeled auction communities and optimized search engines all those years ago when we were using on the wall wooden crank telephones on party lines?
Penny is of a generation, like I, that had not even heard of computers in school, let alone college. But here she is, all these years later in retirement, and out pandering on eBay. Oh what would Miss Daisy Mae have to say about that at the afternoon tea parties of ages gone bye. But its the odds and ends on eBay that bring strife to this household in this modern age - just where are those other four cups with a naked nymph on them anyway?
As the listing prices rose on eBay Penny expanded her horizons to include: iCell.biz, BidChaser.com, eBuysUSA.com, Bidville.com, iOffer.com, OldandSold.com. To some degree of success, she has listed on all hoping to find a niche where the listing costs are within the confines of the price of the product, where she has customer support, and she does not have to be a rocket scientist to figure out the billing each month.
But last night, yes, last night, she hit pay dirt. Well it would be paydirt if she could remember where those other four mugs are. The search is on. The cupboards are being searched high and low and it just has to be the hubby - yes he must have put them somewhere obscure. How tough is it to find four very dusty Tiki mugs resplendent with a naked lady on them - all the while of dubious quality china. Yes, a little ole lady hit paydirt on the red light district of eBay last night. Did anyone notice? Surely you did not miss this hotly contested little item? But where are those other four mugs - that is the four hundred dollar question today?
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About the author:
Kathleen Johnson founded the Yahoo Group Appraisals and Expert Help group for assisting people with their antique appraisals and merchandising questions several years ago, and she still offers those services today. Kathleen is also under contract to Primedia Inc to Moderate the Allexperts Board at About.inc. For many years she worked as a registered expert on Yahoo Experts, Keen, AskMe and Allexperts. Kathleen continues to write articles on online facilitation but is currently working full time on the iCell.biz platform as it goes thru Beta testing.
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Click on image to see in full view
Yes, another Seller hit pay dirt on Ebay. Well, it was a sale. And a good one. With a probable investment of a quarter at a yard sale too many years ago to recall - this was a good "sale" and even better in todays depressed market. It actually sold - unlike a lot of other items out there in auctionland at the present time.
Miss Penny has been on my Appraisals and Expert Help group for several years now. We have never met. But that does not stop a good online friendship forming. Somewhere along the way she got the eBay 'bug' and got to selling a few things here and there. Actually, she has been selling on eBay for five years now - how time flies when your having fun. Mostly Wedgwood, she loves Wedgewood. But also has an interest in Jasperware and Pfaltzgraff Pottery, Travel, and Cooking. She has expanded her repertoire of computer skills to include her own website, Penny's Pantry . Not bad for a little ole lady - its amazing how this eBay bugs heightens the desire to succeed in a world before unknown. Now Penny is expanding her horizons and she is going to be in charge of the CSV uploads and downloads on iCell.biz - currently she is working on the O-SAN.net - The Open-Source Auction Network files, Auction Site Alliance Program , and the Auction Network USA. Who would have thought that two little ole fuddy duddy's like Penny and I would be working on facilitating our sales thru channeled auction communities and optimized search engines all those years ago when we were using on the wall wooden crank telephones on party lines?
Penny is of a generation, like I, that had not even heard of computers in school, let alone college. But here she is, all these years later in retirement, and out pandering on eBay. Oh what would Miss Daisy Mae have to say about that at the afternoon tea parties of ages gone bye. But its the odds and ends on eBay that bring strife to this household in this modern age - just where are those other four cups with a naked nymph on them anyway?
As the listing prices rose on eBay Penny expanded her horizons to include: iCell.biz, BidChaser.com, eBuysUSA.com, Bidville.com, iOffer.com, OldandSold.com. To some degree of success, she has listed on all hoping to find a niche where the listing costs are within the confines of the price of the product, where she has customer support, and she does not have to be a rocket scientist to figure out the billing each month.
But last night, yes, last night, she hit pay dirt. Well it would be paydirt if she could remember where those other four mugs are. The search is on. The cupboards are being searched high and low and it just has to be the hubby - yes he must have put them somewhere obscure. How tough is it to find four very dusty Tiki mugs resplendent with a naked lady on them - all the while of dubious quality china. Yes, a little ole lady hit paydirt on the red light district of eBay last night. Did anyone notice? Surely you did not miss this hotly contested little item? But where are those other four mugs - that is the four hundred dollar question today?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
About the author:
Kathleen Johnson founded the Yahoo Group Appraisals and Expert Help group for assisting people with their antique appraisals and merchandising questions several years ago, and she still offers those services today. Kathleen is also under contract to Primedia Inc to Moderate the Allexperts Board at About.inc. For many years she worked as a registered expert on Yahoo Experts, Keen, AskMe and Allexperts. Kathleen continues to write articles on online facilitation but is currently working full time on the iCell.biz platform as it goes thru Beta testing.
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What Does it Take to Make Money Online?
What a loaded question! Let’s narrow that down a bit and take it from the perspective of someone who wants to work from home and make money online in a home business. That will make it an easier question to answer.
Let’s assume you’ve never had a website, don’t know how to get a merchant account, don’t know html, and are pretty much stuck with being an expert on sending and receiving email.
What’s there for you to do online to make money? Lots, in fact! These days are not at all like a couple of years ago or even six months ago. If I only had all the opportunities to make money online when I started marketing!
Here is a list of things you can do with just a website and a hosting account today:
Sell affiliate products (products like reports, ebooks, hard goods of every conceivable make, model, size, shape and function, and much, much more). Sell services (do you know how big a business being a Virtual Assistant is these days? It’s quite amazing what you can do for people without ever meeting them face-to-face, anywhere in the world!) Online auctions (Ebay has made thousands and thousands of people full-time incomes from auctioning collectibles, antiques, and even brand new equipment and gadgets of all imaginable types. You name it, it has been sold on Ebay!) Membership sites: Know of any groups of people that would love to get insider information on virtually any topic? You could make money online with a membership site!
The list is a long one and one I am not prepared to detail here. You have found your way onto the net and if you have been surfing for very long at all you know it is a gigantic super shopping mall. Who to you think is making the most money online? Aside from big corporations, most of the web is made up of sites put up by little businesses people work from home.
I sell information and I love it. Most of the products I sell are other merchants’ products. I just drive traffic to my site, provide information, and point to relevant products related to the information I provide people looking for a way to make money online. I love helping people make their first few sales.
After that, they are always hooked and cannot do enough to learn everything there is to know about how to make money online. Many people I have worked with now have a couple to several websites selling everything from reports to hard goods that can be shipped direct to their customers. Most people start out to make money online as affiliates of certain products or authors. This is a great way to get your feet wet and learn what making money online is all about. People then either work to create their own products (which they get 100% of the profits from) or expand their website into other related niches.
About the author:
Darrell Knox is a writer and entrepreneur with 15 years of home business and marketing experience.Website: http://cgi.tripod.com/lazaraus26/cgi-bin/index.pl
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Let’s assume you’ve never had a website, don’t know how to get a merchant account, don’t know html, and are pretty much stuck with being an expert on sending and receiving email.
What’s there for you to do online to make money? Lots, in fact! These days are not at all like a couple of years ago or even six months ago. If I only had all the opportunities to make money online when I started marketing!
Here is a list of things you can do with just a website and a hosting account today:
Sell affiliate products (products like reports, ebooks, hard goods of every conceivable make, model, size, shape and function, and much, much more). Sell services (do you know how big a business being a Virtual Assistant is these days? It’s quite amazing what you can do for people without ever meeting them face-to-face, anywhere in the world!) Online auctions (Ebay has made thousands and thousands of people full-time incomes from auctioning collectibles, antiques, and even brand new equipment and gadgets of all imaginable types. You name it, it has been sold on Ebay!) Membership sites: Know of any groups of people that would love to get insider information on virtually any topic? You could make money online with a membership site!
The list is a long one and one I am not prepared to detail here. You have found your way onto the net and if you have been surfing for very long at all you know it is a gigantic super shopping mall. Who to you think is making the most money online? Aside from big corporations, most of the web is made up of sites put up by little businesses people work from home.
I sell information and I love it. Most of the products I sell are other merchants’ products. I just drive traffic to my site, provide information, and point to relevant products related to the information I provide people looking for a way to make money online. I love helping people make their first few sales.
After that, they are always hooked and cannot do enough to learn everything there is to know about how to make money online. Many people I have worked with now have a couple to several websites selling everything from reports to hard goods that can be shipped direct to their customers. Most people start out to make money online as affiliates of certain products or authors. This is a great way to get your feet wet and learn what making money online is all about. People then either work to create their own products (which they get 100% of the profits from) or expand their website into other related niches.
About the author:
Darrell Knox is a writer and entrepreneur with 15 years of home business and marketing experience.Website: http://cgi.tripod.com/lazaraus26/cgi-bin/index.pl
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What Does It Take to Make Money Online?
What a loaded question! Let’s narrow that down a bit and take it from the perspective of someone who wants to work from home and make money online in a home business. That will make it an easier question to answer.
Let’s assume you’ve never had a website, don’t know how to get a merchant account, don’t know html, and are pretty much stuck with being an expert on sending and receiving email.
What’s there for you to do online to make money? Lots, in fact! These days are not at all like a couple of years ago or even six months ago. If I only had all the opportunities to make money online when I started marketing!
Here is a list of things you can do with just a website and a hosting account today:
Sell affiliate products (products like reports, ebooks, hard goods of every conceivable make, model, size, shape and function, and much, much more).
Sell services (do you know how big a business being a Virtual Assistant is these days? It’s quite amazing what you can do for people without ever meeting them face-to-face, anywhere in the world!)
Online auctions (Ebay has made thousands and thousands of people full-time incomes from auctioning collectibles, antiques, and even brand new equipment and gadgets of all imaginable types. You name it, it has been sold on Ebay!)
Membership sites: Know of any groups of people that would love to get insider information on virtually any topic? You could make money online with a membership site!
The list is a long one and one I am not prepared to detail here. You have found your way onto the net and if you have been surfing for very long at all you know it is a gigantic super shopping mall. Who to you think is making the most money online? Aside from big corporations, most of the web is made up of sites put up by little businesses people work from home.
I sell information and I love it. Most of the products I sell are other merchants’ products. I just drive traffic to my site, provide information, and point to relevant products related to the information I provide people looking for a way to make money online. I love helping people make their first few sales.
After that, they are always hooked and cannot do enough to learn everything there is to know about how to make money online. Many people I have worked with now have a couple to several websites selling everything from reports to hard goods that can be shipped direct to their customers. Most people start out to make money online as affiliates of
certain products or authors. This is a great way to get your feet wet and learn what making money online is all about. People then either work to create their own products (which they get 100% of the profits from) or expand their website into other related niches.
About the author:
Darrell Knox is a writer and entrepreneur with 15 years of home business and marketing experience.Free Home Business Tips Newsletter at: http://www.cashgroup.biz/biztipspop.html
Website: http://cgi.tripod.com/lazaraus26/cgi-bin/index.pl
as above
as above
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Let’s assume you’ve never had a website, don’t know how to get a merchant account, don’t know html, and are pretty much stuck with being an expert on sending and receiving email.
What’s there for you to do online to make money? Lots, in fact! These days are not at all like a couple of years ago or even six months ago. If I only had all the opportunities to make money online when I started marketing!
Here is a list of things you can do with just a website and a hosting account today:
Sell affiliate products (products like reports, ebooks, hard goods of every conceivable make, model, size, shape and function, and much, much more).
Sell services (do you know how big a business being a Virtual Assistant is these days? It’s quite amazing what you can do for people without ever meeting them face-to-face, anywhere in the world!)
Online auctions (Ebay has made thousands and thousands of people full-time incomes from auctioning collectibles, antiques, and even brand new equipment and gadgets of all imaginable types. You name it, it has been sold on Ebay!)
Membership sites: Know of any groups of people that would love to get insider information on virtually any topic? You could make money online with a membership site!
The list is a long one and one I am not prepared to detail here. You have found your way onto the net and if you have been surfing for very long at all you know it is a gigantic super shopping mall. Who to you think is making the most money online? Aside from big corporations, most of the web is made up of sites put up by little businesses people work from home.
I sell information and I love it. Most of the products I sell are other merchants’ products. I just drive traffic to my site, provide information, and point to relevant products related to the information I provide people looking for a way to make money online. I love helping people make their first few sales.
After that, they are always hooked and cannot do enough to learn everything there is to know about how to make money online. Many people I have worked with now have a couple to several websites selling everything from reports to hard goods that can be shipped direct to their customers. Most people start out to make money online as affiliates of
certain products or authors. This is a great way to get your feet wet and learn what making money online is all about. People then either work to create their own products (which they get 100% of the profits from) or expand their website into other related niches.
About the author:
Darrell Knox is a writer and entrepreneur with 15 years of home business and marketing experience.Free Home Business Tips Newsletter at: http://www.cashgroup.biz/biztipspop.html
Website: http://cgi.tripod.com/lazaraus26/cgi-bin/index.pl
as above
as above
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USP on eBay
If you have dabbled at all in the world of Internet marketing, you may have heard the term "unique selling proposition" or USP. USP is a technique that Internet marketers use to set themselves apart from the competition. Internet marketing is highly competitive and highly saturated. In order to be successful, it is vital that the Internet marketer present himself as being unique and different from his competitors especially when many of them are selling the same products.
It is also just as vital to have a unique selling proposition on Ebay. I am amazed at the number of Ebay sellers that are either unaware or just don't care about the importance of having a unique selling proposition. A case in point: A while back, I was researching some products on Ebay from a wholesale company called B&F System. B&F System is a wholesale only company that carries a variety of brand name products. One of the brands they carry is called Maxam. I came across several Maxam leather jackets on Ebay while searching ended auctions. Now here's the kicker. About a dozen or so of these leather jacket auctions were exactly the same. They all used the same image of a guy modeling the jacket that was captured from the B&F website. They even used the exact ad copy used by B&F!
What was the result? Only one of the sellers was able sell any jackets. The top bid was only $26. And since he purchased the jackets from B&F for $20, he made about $5.00 profit after Ebay fees. That's a slim profit for an item that normally retails for $95.
Always keep in mind that the amount of effort you put fourth on you auctions will be in direct proportion to the amount of return you get from your auctions. The sellers who put up the jacket auctions put fourth little effort by using stock photos and ad copy from the B&F website, and therefore received little or no sales from their auctions. The sellers in this case might think that using stock photos makes their auctions look more professional. It's just the opposite. These auctions look very amateurish. Using a picture of someone modeling a garment will not entice people to bid on your auction. Using three or four high quality pictures of the actual item along with a detailed description will entice people to bid. Remember that buying apparel off the internet is not like buying music CD's or software. You don't need to worry if a CD will fit. You don't need to see multiple pictures of a box of software to know what you'll be getting. However, when selling apparel, good quality pictures and a detailed description are vital. You should use a good quality digital camera to take pictures of the item from different angles. If you're selling jackets or coats, include a picture of the lining as well. In your description, don't just say it's a large size. Give measurements of the garment including overall length, sleeve length and chest size. If you're going to specialize in apparel, it would be a good idea to purchase a form or clothing dummy to model your apparel. Doing these things will go a long way in setting you apart from the competition and establishing a "unique selling proposition."
What ever you're thinking about selling, always look at your competition and think about how to set yourself apart. Remember that unless you're selling antiques on Ebay, there's always someone else who's trying to sell the same thing you're selling. Establishing your USP will put you on the road to Ebay success.
About the author:
Are You Tired of the scams and the get-rich-quick schemes?
Greg Hayes is founding editor of http://www.mammothprofits.com/
Mammothprofits is the website devoted to helping others filter out the scams and become successful in a home based business.
Circulated by Article Emporium
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It is also just as vital to have a unique selling proposition on Ebay. I am amazed at the number of Ebay sellers that are either unaware or just don't care about the importance of having a unique selling proposition. A case in point: A while back, I was researching some products on Ebay from a wholesale company called B&F System. B&F System is a wholesale only company that carries a variety of brand name products. One of the brands they carry is called Maxam. I came across several Maxam leather jackets on Ebay while searching ended auctions. Now here's the kicker. About a dozen or so of these leather jacket auctions were exactly the same. They all used the same image of a guy modeling the jacket that was captured from the B&F website. They even used the exact ad copy used by B&F!
What was the result? Only one of the sellers was able sell any jackets. The top bid was only $26. And since he purchased the jackets from B&F for $20, he made about $5.00 profit after Ebay fees. That's a slim profit for an item that normally retails for $95.
Always keep in mind that the amount of effort you put fourth on you auctions will be in direct proportion to the amount of return you get from your auctions. The sellers who put up the jacket auctions put fourth little effort by using stock photos and ad copy from the B&F website, and therefore received little or no sales from their auctions. The sellers in this case might think that using stock photos makes their auctions look more professional. It's just the opposite. These auctions look very amateurish. Using a picture of someone modeling a garment will not entice people to bid on your auction. Using three or four high quality pictures of the actual item along with a detailed description will entice people to bid. Remember that buying apparel off the internet is not like buying music CD's or software. You don't need to worry if a CD will fit. You don't need to see multiple pictures of a box of software to know what you'll be getting. However, when selling apparel, good quality pictures and a detailed description are vital. You should use a good quality digital camera to take pictures of the item from different angles. If you're selling jackets or coats, include a picture of the lining as well. In your description, don't just say it's a large size. Give measurements of the garment including overall length, sleeve length and chest size. If you're going to specialize in apparel, it would be a good idea to purchase a form or clothing dummy to model your apparel. Doing these things will go a long way in setting you apart from the competition and establishing a "unique selling proposition."
What ever you're thinking about selling, always look at your competition and think about how to set yourself apart. Remember that unless you're selling antiques on Ebay, there's always someone else who's trying to sell the same thing you're selling. Establishing your USP will put you on the road to Ebay success.
About the author:
Are You Tired of the scams and the get-rich-quick schemes?
Greg Hayes is founding editor of http://www.mammothprofits.com/
Mammothprofits is the website devoted to helping others filter out the scams and become successful in a home based business.
Circulated by Article Emporium
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Used Cars For Sale On eBay
There are thousands of used cars for sale on eBay every
single day. In fact, eBay Motors is the most profitable
sales division on eBay and naturally there are many
entrepreneurs who are interested in jumping into this
market. For instance, eBay claims it sells an SUV every nine
seconds and is the biggest online car dealer in America,
exceeding the traditional car companies. In fact, there are
15 million cars sold over the Internet each year - and
growing.
The recent rapid growth of the consignment business model
has made the used car market even more enticing. Many
sellers are able to sell cars they have never even seen and
with no more risk than the cost of the auction listing. Some
negotiators even persuade the car owner to pay for the ad,
thereby risking no more than their time.
The biggest single issue for this business model is the
trust of prospective buyers. After all, paying thousands or
tens of thousands of dollars for a car sight unseen is an
awesome leap of faith. Even buying for a plane ticket to go
see a car before paying causes buyers to be uncomfortable.
The best way sellers can overcome this fear is to use an
escrow service. The one chosen by eBay is Escrow.com, which
handles eBay auctions in the US and Canada.
An escrow service acts as a neutral third party. In an
exchange of merchandise, the buyer sends his money to
Escrow.com and the seller ships the product to the buyer.
The buyer usually has two days to inspect his purchase, and
if he is happy, he notifies the excrow company who releases
the money to the seller, minus its fee. If the buyer is
dissatisfied, he returns the undamaged merchandise to the
seller, and after the seller receives his merchandise back
(in satisfactory condition), the escrow company returns the
buyer's money. Thus both sides in the transaction are
protected. The buyer almost always pays the fees for this,
although sometimes buyer and seller split the cost.
Escrow.com has created its "Vehicle Services Division"
specifically for dealing with the used cars, trucks, SUVs
and almost anything else with wheels and a motor. The buyer
can have a 160 point inspection performed before agreeing to
the purchase. This is an inexpensive service and certainly
will save the buyer any headaches.
* The buyer pays a $125 fee that is non-refundable
* The seller is contacted and the inspection is carried out
* The buyer receives a report
* The buyer chooses to go ahead with the purchase - or not
Another choice for the buyer is to deposit his payment with
Escrow.com and then take delivery of the vehicle. The
seller ships the car after he knows the money is secure with
the escrow company. The seller must provide tracking
information, which is verified by Escrow.com.
The buyer has between one and 30 days to thoroughly inspect
his new purchase (the period is negotiated between the two
parties ahead of time). If this time expires and the escrow
company has not heard from the buyer, it assumes he is happy
and gives the purchase price to the seller.
The buyer may return his vehicle if he isn't happy and
sometimes buyers and sellers work out partial payment
agreements, the buyer being satisfied with some parts of the
transaction, but not with others. If a dispute arises, it is
settled by the American Arbitration Association.
The fee for this service is:
* $0 - $7,500 = value of vehicle: $125
* $7,500.01 to $15,000: $170
* $15,000.01 to $30,000: $200
* $30,000.01 to $50,000: $275
* $50,000+ = 6% of the value
Once both parties have agreed, the title transfer process
begins and Escrow.com will guarantee this too, for a fee of
$95. Title transfers are handled by Centerpoint Diversified
Services which works in all 50 states. The fee, naturally,
doesn't include any transfer costs - it is only insurance
that the title will be expedited to the satisfaction of both
parties.
Escrow.com also offers a service that will ship cars almost
anywhere in the world and will gather an auto history report
to inform sellers if their new chariot has been salvaged or
stolen, suffered flood or hail damage, been in a fire or
accident, has had an odometer rollback or has been used as a
police car, a rental or a taxi.
Anyone considering offering used cars for sale on eBay would
be well advised to thoroughly learn the services available
through Escrow.com and offer those to prospective buyers.
The trust factor will skyrocket and your chances of
completing sales will dramatically increase.
About the author:
Learn how to sell on eBay with 16 hours of online instruction taught by a 10 year eBay veteran. Own an eBay business instead of an eBay hobby.
http://www.auction-genius-course.com
Circulated by Article Emporium
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single day. In fact, eBay Motors is the most profitable
sales division on eBay and naturally there are many
entrepreneurs who are interested in jumping into this
market. For instance, eBay claims it sells an SUV every nine
seconds and is the biggest online car dealer in America,
exceeding the traditional car companies. In fact, there are
15 million cars sold over the Internet each year - and
growing.
The recent rapid growth of the consignment business model
has made the used car market even more enticing. Many
sellers are able to sell cars they have never even seen and
with no more risk than the cost of the auction listing. Some
negotiators even persuade the car owner to pay for the ad,
thereby risking no more than their time.
The biggest single issue for this business model is the
trust of prospective buyers. After all, paying thousands or
tens of thousands of dollars for a car sight unseen is an
awesome leap of faith. Even buying for a plane ticket to go
see a car before paying causes buyers to be uncomfortable.
The best way sellers can overcome this fear is to use an
escrow service. The one chosen by eBay is Escrow.com, which
handles eBay auctions in the US and Canada.
An escrow service acts as a neutral third party. In an
exchange of merchandise, the buyer sends his money to
Escrow.com and the seller ships the product to the buyer.
The buyer usually has two days to inspect his purchase, and
if he is happy, he notifies the excrow company who releases
the money to the seller, minus its fee. If the buyer is
dissatisfied, he returns the undamaged merchandise to the
seller, and after the seller receives his merchandise back
(in satisfactory condition), the escrow company returns the
buyer's money. Thus both sides in the transaction are
protected. The buyer almost always pays the fees for this,
although sometimes buyer and seller split the cost.
Escrow.com has created its "Vehicle Services Division"
specifically for dealing with the used cars, trucks, SUVs
and almost anything else with wheels and a motor. The buyer
can have a 160 point inspection performed before agreeing to
the purchase. This is an inexpensive service and certainly
will save the buyer any headaches.
* The buyer pays a $125 fee that is non-refundable
* The seller is contacted and the inspection is carried out
* The buyer receives a report
* The buyer chooses to go ahead with the purchase - or not
Another choice for the buyer is to deposit his payment with
Escrow.com and then take delivery of the vehicle. The
seller ships the car after he knows the money is secure with
the escrow company. The seller must provide tracking
information, which is verified by Escrow.com.
The buyer has between one and 30 days to thoroughly inspect
his new purchase (the period is negotiated between the two
parties ahead of time). If this time expires and the escrow
company has not heard from the buyer, it assumes he is happy
and gives the purchase price to the seller.
The buyer may return his vehicle if he isn't happy and
sometimes buyers and sellers work out partial payment
agreements, the buyer being satisfied with some parts of the
transaction, but not with others. If a dispute arises, it is
settled by the American Arbitration Association.
The fee for this service is:
* $0 - $7,500 = value of vehicle: $125
* $7,500.01 to $15,000: $170
* $15,000.01 to $30,000: $200
* $30,000.01 to $50,000: $275
* $50,000+ = 6% of the value
Once both parties have agreed, the title transfer process
begins and Escrow.com will guarantee this too, for a fee of
$95. Title transfers are handled by Centerpoint Diversified
Services which works in all 50 states. The fee, naturally,
doesn't include any transfer costs - it is only insurance
that the title will be expedited to the satisfaction of both
parties.
Escrow.com also offers a service that will ship cars almost
anywhere in the world and will gather an auto history report
to inform sellers if their new chariot has been salvaged or
stolen, suffered flood or hail damage, been in a fire or
accident, has had an odometer rollback or has been used as a
police car, a rental or a taxi.
Anyone considering offering used cars for sale on eBay would
be well advised to thoroughly learn the services available
through Escrow.com and offer those to prospective buyers.
The trust factor will skyrocket and your chances of
completing sales will dramatically increase.
About the author:
Learn how to sell on eBay with 16 hours of online instruction taught by a 10 year eBay veteran. Own an eBay business instead of an eBay hobby.
http://www.auction-genius-course.com
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Turning online purchases into profit.
Dear internet marketer,
I have some advice for improving your bottom line, whatever that may be.
It could be many things ranging from improving website traffic to increasing sales or even just expanding your mailing list.
But whatever your bottom line is, you have two choices when setting out to achieve it.
Your first choice is to employ an assortment of free traffic, sales, or opt-in subscriber generating techniques.
These can be effective but generally take time and results are usually slow.
Most people adopting solely this choice end up failing and frustrated. But at least they haven't lost their pants in the process.
The second choice you have is to pay for services designed to improve your bottom line. This will almost certainly speed things up and improve the results you achieve both short and long term.
If you find yourself choosing this second option, make sure you can measure quantitative results as you need to know what ROI (return on investment) is being achieved for each paid service.
Most of you are probably a combination of both choices. And if you're anything like me, you probably started using free techniques before moving to paid alternatives.
Enough beating about the bush.
What's my advice? Simply this.
If you pay for any form of online advertising or promotion, do yourself a big favour and explore services designed to assist this process without attempting to influence your decision-making in any way.
Affiliate directories and Customer Acquisition Exchanges also known as "Customer Reciprocation" are 2 such services.
These are really an extension or improved version of link exchanges as they can provide paying customers instead of potential traffic generation (leads, click-throughs, or visitors).
It's that simple. These paying customers earn you sales or commission, depending whether they purchase your own products or products from your affiliated merchants.
So what are you waiting for?
Each time you purchase online and don't take my advice, you're missing out on paying customers willing to purchase through your own referral URLs.
Choose wisely and turn your online purchases into profit.
Side note - I've mentioned thus far your online advertising and promotion purchase intentions but did you know that all online purchases you make can gain you paying customers?
That's because customer reciprocation services incorporate unrestricted global shopping directories.
A comparison with Ebay makes interesting reading.
Whereas Ebay matches buyers and sellers of products through an auction process, customer reciprocation services match buyers and sellers through referral URLs via their own exchange engines.
In effect, they work like limited versions of Ebay.
The exchange process can only be completed for people who promote product using referral URLs.
However, they expand on the Ebay model in the sense that with Ebay, sellers can only offer their own product whereas sellers are able to offer both their own product and those of other merchants through the use of customer reciprocation services.
Regards
Michael Lever
About the author:
Michael Lever is a co-founder and CEO of SpinningTornado.com , an independent company offering unbiased tools and services to help affiliate and network marketers build profitable online businesses . http://www.SpinningTornado.com Partnering affiliates the world over .
Circulated by Article Emporium
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have some advice for improving your bottom line, whatever that may be.
It could be many things ranging from improving website traffic to increasing sales or even just expanding your mailing list.
But whatever your bottom line is, you have two choices when setting out to achieve it.
Your first choice is to employ an assortment of free traffic, sales, or opt-in subscriber generating techniques.
These can be effective but generally take time and results are usually slow.
Most people adopting solely this choice end up failing and frustrated. But at least they haven't lost their pants in the process.
The second choice you have is to pay for services designed to improve your bottom line. This will almost certainly speed things up and improve the results you achieve both short and long term.
If you find yourself choosing this second option, make sure you can measure quantitative results as you need to know what ROI (return on investment) is being achieved for each paid service.
Most of you are probably a combination of both choices. And if you're anything like me, you probably started using free techniques before moving to paid alternatives.
Enough beating about the bush.
What's my advice? Simply this.
If you pay for any form of online advertising or promotion, do yourself a big favour and explore services designed to assist this process without attempting to influence your decision-making in any way.
Affiliate directories and Customer Acquisition Exchanges also known as "Customer Reciprocation" are 2 such services.
These are really an extension or improved version of link exchanges as they can provide paying customers instead of potential traffic generation (leads, click-throughs, or visitors).
It's that simple. These paying customers earn you sales or commission, depending whether they purchase your own products or products from your affiliated merchants.
So what are you waiting for?
Each time you purchase online and don't take my advice, you're missing out on paying customers willing to purchase through your own referral URLs.
Choose wisely and turn your online purchases into profit.
Side note - I've mentioned thus far your online advertising and promotion purchase intentions but did you know that all online purchases you make can gain you paying customers?
That's because customer reciprocation services incorporate unrestricted global shopping directories.
A comparison with Ebay makes interesting reading.
Whereas Ebay matches buyers and sellers of products through an auction process, customer reciprocation services match buyers and sellers through referral URLs via their own exchange engines.
In effect, they work like limited versions of Ebay.
The exchange process can only be completed for people who promote product using referral URLs.
However, they expand on the Ebay model in the sense that with Ebay, sellers can only offer their own product whereas sellers are able to offer both their own product and those of other merchants through the use of customer reciprocation services.
Regards
Michael Lever
About the author:
Michael Lever is a co-founder and CEO of SpinningTornado.com , an independent company offering unbiased tools and services to help affiliate and network marketers build profitable online businesses . http://www.SpinningTornado.com Partnering affiliates the world over .
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Top Ten Buyer Searches For Fine Jewelry on eBay!
Are you looking for "Hot Items" to sell on your eBay Auction? Are you having trouble deciding on a category? Being an active eBayer, I am often asked about what products to sell. As explained in my book "eBay Marketing Wholesale SourcePak" finding the right product in the right category is cruical.
Many people ask me whether jewelry is a good item to sell on their eBay auction. My opinion is yes, it can be. For the most part jewelry is easy to package and easy to ship. And provided you have done your research first, you should be able to make a good profit selling it. One of the points you will need to research before adding any jewelry to your eBay auction is, what are eBay shoppers looking for in the jewelry niche? Knowing this will help you to decide just what type of jewelry you could include in your auctions. Below you will find Top Ten Buyer Searches for Fine Jewelry (at the time of this writing) as per eBay
10 - Earrings
9 - Turquoise
8 - Sterling Silver
7 - Cameo
6 - Italian Charms
5 - Vintage
4 - Gold
3 - Diamond Rings
2 - Designer Jewelry
And the number 1 jewelry search at the time of this writing is...
Italian Charm Watches.
By knowing what people are searching for you will have a better insight of what items are popular, and what items should sell well on your auctions. If you decide to sell jewelry on eBay, finding items that fit into one or more of the above categories will see your number of bids increase substantially. Always remember to do your research before listing any item for auction. Know what categories are "Hot!" Do a price analysis of your product. Know what the item costs you and what you can potentially sell it for. Then sit back and watch the bidding heat up!
Happy Selling!
Joe Clare
About the author:
Joe Clare is an active Netpreneur and eBayer! He is the author of numerous articles on how to make money online and be successful on eBay! Check out his latest Best Selling eBook "eBay Marketing Wholesale SourcePak" Your Passport to Success! at http://www.ebooksnsoftware.com
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Many people ask me whether jewelry is a good item to sell on their eBay auction. My opinion is yes, it can be. For the most part jewelry is easy to package and easy to ship. And provided you have done your research first, you should be able to make a good profit selling it. One of the points you will need to research before adding any jewelry to your eBay auction is, what are eBay shoppers looking for in the jewelry niche? Knowing this will help you to decide just what type of jewelry you could include in your auctions. Below you will find Top Ten Buyer Searches for Fine Jewelry (at the time of this writing) as per eBay
10 - Earrings
9 - Turquoise
8 - Sterling Silver
7 - Cameo
6 - Italian Charms
5 - Vintage
4 - Gold
3 - Diamond Rings
2 - Designer Jewelry
And the number 1 jewelry search at the time of this writing is...
Italian Charm Watches.
By knowing what people are searching for you will have a better insight of what items are popular, and what items should sell well on your auctions. If you decide to sell jewelry on eBay, finding items that fit into one or more of the above categories will see your number of bids increase substantially. Always remember to do your research before listing any item for auction. Know what categories are "Hot!" Do a price analysis of your product. Know what the item costs you and what you can potentially sell it for. Then sit back and watch the bidding heat up!
Happy Selling!
Joe Clare
About the author:
Joe Clare is an active Netpreneur and eBayer! He is the author of numerous articles on how to make money online and be successful on eBay! Check out his latest Best Selling eBook "eBay Marketing Wholesale SourcePak" Your Passport to Success! at http://www.ebooksnsoftware.com
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Tools for Online Tracking
In order to determine which advertising and marketing efforts are effective you must have ways to measure the results of those efforts. Alerts and instant notifications can be instrumental in monitoring search engine position, trademarked terms, monitoring competitors and staying abreast of online occurrences. And, of course, the notification can be used for "ego searches".
Ego Searches
What is an ego search? Find out where your name or company is mentioned, view forum posts or online articles that mention your name or company.
Trademarks
The best offense is a good defense. By monitoring newsgroups or search engines for trademarked terms, you often head off a future conflict. As a trademark owner, it is your responsibility to actively protect your mark. Otherwise, you could lose your trademark rights. Monitoring tools send immediate notification should any suspected trademark infringements occur.
Search Position
Statistics show that more than 85% of Internet users find web sites with the help of the search engines. Therefore, a website's search engine position is crucial to its success. Prudent webmasters regularly check their search engine position. Monitoring fluctuations and re-indexing of major search engines affects keyword terms and phrases. Monitoring of positions will alert webmasters to any shifts before sales decline.
Competitor Watch
Monitoring newsgroups for mentions of competitors may allow you opportunities to chime in and offer an alternative solution in a helpful, friendly way. Knowing exactly what your online competitors are doing provides a competitive edge that can be used to your advantage.
Website Downtime
Accessibility is the most critical measure of your website's performance. If customers can't access your site, they can't shop; and if they can't shop, they can't buy. More important, your business could gain a bad reputation among your customers, which translates into negative word of mouth and even worse, if you're highly visible, negative press. So regardless of what else you monitor, you want to monitor websites for downtime.
Take a look at the various tools available and how they can be used to keep you current on relevant issues.
WebAlerts - Recieve email updates of the latest relevant Google results based on your choice of query or topic. Alerts can be sent based on information in Google News, Google Searches or both.
http://www.google.com/webalerts
PubSub - PubSub matches your requests against new information as it appears real time. Searches can be categorized to search, blog entries, SEC/EDGAR Filings, press releases, news group posts or flight delays.
http://www.pubsub.com
Ego Alerts - Google news search turned into an RSS feed.
http://www.justinpfister.com/gnewsfeed.php
Ebay Alerts - Ebay Alerts monitoring will create an RSS feed to monitor Ebay auctions for specific keywords or phrases. When a new item that contains those keywords is added to Ebay you will receive notification via your RSS feed!
http://www.freebiddingtools.com
Amazon Alerts - Generate a URL which you can use to automatically search Amazon.com with your favorite RSS news reader. It will automatically update you when new items meet your search criteria. I personally use it to look for new books on topics I'm interested in, and I have the defaults set to do the same, but you can adjust it to search any of Amazon's stores. You can also adjust the search order and what kind of items you wish to search.
http://www.oxus.net/amazon
Internet Seer - InternetSeer remotely monitors your website to insure that your site is available 24/7. If InternetSeer is unable to reach your site, we will send you an immediate e-mail alert that your site is unreachable.
http://www.internetseer.com
NetNewsTracker - NetNews Tracker is a clipping service for Usenet newsgroups. Newstracker searches newsgroups twice daily for any specified words or phrases and delivers alerts via e-mail. Newstracker can be used to monitor newsgroups for names, company names, products, URLs, or any other topic of interest.
http://www.netnewstracker.com
Other Suggested Resources -
Monitoring Tools - Monitoring Tools is a directory of online monitoring tools and applications
http://www.monitoring-tools.net
Monitoring Software - Monitoring Software is a collection of downloadable monitoring software solutions.
http://www.monitoring-software.net
About the author:
Sharon Housley manages marketing for NotePage, Inc. http://www.notepage.netand FeedForAll http://www.feedforall.com.
Circulated by Article Emporium
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Ego Searches
What is an ego search? Find out where your name or company is mentioned, view forum posts or online articles that mention your name or company.
Trademarks
The best offense is a good defense. By monitoring newsgroups or search engines for trademarked terms, you often head off a future conflict. As a trademark owner, it is your responsibility to actively protect your mark. Otherwise, you could lose your trademark rights. Monitoring tools send immediate notification should any suspected trademark infringements occur.
Search Position
Statistics show that more than 85% of Internet users find web sites with the help of the search engines. Therefore, a website's search engine position is crucial to its success. Prudent webmasters regularly check their search engine position. Monitoring fluctuations and re-indexing of major search engines affects keyword terms and phrases. Monitoring of positions will alert webmasters to any shifts before sales decline.
Competitor Watch
Monitoring newsgroups for mentions of competitors may allow you opportunities to chime in and offer an alternative solution in a helpful, friendly way. Knowing exactly what your online competitors are doing provides a competitive edge that can be used to your advantage.
Website Downtime
Accessibility is the most critical measure of your website's performance. If customers can't access your site, they can't shop; and if they can't shop, they can't buy. More important, your business could gain a bad reputation among your customers, which translates into negative word of mouth and even worse, if you're highly visible, negative press. So regardless of what else you monitor, you want to monitor websites for downtime.
Take a look at the various tools available and how they can be used to keep you current on relevant issues.
WebAlerts - Recieve email updates of the latest relevant Google results based on your choice of query or topic. Alerts can be sent based on information in Google News, Google Searches or both.
http://www.google.com/webalerts
PubSub - PubSub matches your requests against new information as it appears real time. Searches can be categorized to search, blog entries, SEC/EDGAR Filings, press releases, news group posts or flight delays.
http://www.pubsub.com
Ego Alerts - Google news search turned into an RSS feed.
http://www.justinpfister.com/gnewsfeed.php
Ebay Alerts - Ebay Alerts monitoring will create an RSS feed to monitor Ebay auctions for specific keywords or phrases. When a new item that contains those keywords is added to Ebay you will receive notification via your RSS feed!
http://www.freebiddingtools.com
Amazon Alerts - Generate a URL which you can use to automatically search Amazon.com with your favorite RSS news reader. It will automatically update you when new items meet your search criteria. I personally use it to look for new books on topics I'm interested in, and I have the defaults set to do the same, but you can adjust it to search any of Amazon's stores. You can also adjust the search order and what kind of items you wish to search.
http://www.oxus.net/amazon
Internet Seer - InternetSeer remotely monitors your website to insure that your site is available 24/7. If InternetSeer is unable to reach your site, we will send you an immediate e-mail alert that your site is unreachable.
http://www.internetseer.com
NetNewsTracker - NetNews Tracker is a clipping service for Usenet newsgroups. Newstracker searches newsgroups twice daily for any specified words or phrases and delivers alerts via e-mail. Newstracker can be used to monitor newsgroups for names, company names, products, URLs, or any other topic of interest.
http://www.netnewstracker.com
Other Suggested Resources -
Monitoring Tools - Monitoring Tools is a directory of online monitoring tools and applications
http://www.monitoring-tools.net
Monitoring Software - Monitoring Software is a collection of downloadable monitoring software solutions.
http://www.monitoring-software.net
About the author:
Sharon Housley manages marketing for NotePage, Inc. http://www.notepage.netand FeedForAll http://www.feedforall.com.
Circulated by Article Emporium
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The Top Ten Tips For Auction Success!
If you were to look through eBay, or any other online auction site for that matter, you would find that many people make some very basic mistakes. And, they repeat these mistakes over and over again. As indicated in my book "eBay Marketing Wholesale SourcePak" with a little common sense these mistakes are completely preventable. So to prevent you from making these very same mistakes I have put together the Top Ten Tips For Auction Success.
10. Shipping
Always state what your shipping price will be. And, Do Not try to rip off your buyers by inflating the shipping price to increase your profit. Believe it or not, people do have a fair idea of what shipping costs should be. If they feel you are inflating your shipping price they will not bid on your item and may not look at any of your other auctions either from fear of being ripped off.
9. Customer Support
You must respond to all emails regarding your auctions. Yes, responding to emails is time consuming. But, if you don't, that potential bidder will look else ware for the product and you will have lost yourself a customer.
8. Reserve Price
Do your research on the price for your item. If you must use a reserve price keep it real. If you over price your item you will not get as many bids. And, while all good marketers know there is a time and place for the Reserve Auction, you may actually get more bids using no reserve pricing at all. Do your research to help you make this decision.
7. Item Condition
You must let bidders know what condition your item is in. Is it new and in it's packaging, or used but like new condition. Does it have any imperfections they should be made aware of.. A potential bidders will want to know what condition your item is in before making any bids.
6. Terms
This could come under the heading Customer Service. If you have terms on your auction page that read something like this "Not Responsible For Item Once Shipped" or "Item Sold As Is" you will lessen the number of bidders for that auction. Be a responsible eBayer, have insurance on the item that your buyer can purchase. And be sure to have some sort of guarantee on your products.
5. Feedback
One of the most important parts of your eBay Business. Feedback is a method eBay uses to allow buyers and sellers to record their experiences with each other. Then, others can check out the feedback of any eBayer they wish to deal with, to see if there has been any negative comments left. Therefore, it is extremely important to keep your feedback rating positive.
4. Auction Start/Close Time
You must plan your auction start/close time around the bidders you wish to attract to your auction. If the product you are selling appeals to the working woman, the best time to start/end your auction would be in the evening or on the weekend. Always create a profile on your product and what group of the population you are selling to.
3. Item Description
Not enough information or too much rambling of information will discourage people from bidding. So too will to many typos. Your item description must be clean and concise. Succinctly provide all the information required to describe the item sufficiently and create buyer interest.
2. Image
You need to use an image on your auction page. Remember a picture is worth a 1000 words! Potential bidders will want to see what the item looks like before they make a bid. With digital cameras, being so affordable these days adding a image to your auction page is easier then ever. But, make sure the image is clear and well lit to show it's detail or any imperfections it may have. Also, keep the image at a reasonable pixel size so your auction page doesn't take to long to load.
1. Headlines
This is the most important issue for getting more bidders to your auction page. You must include words that people will search on eBay. And, you must make your headline enticing, so potential bidders will click it. If you are selling an antique make-up table a headline saying old vanity table would not pull in a lot of bidders. But, if you said something like "Vintage Vanity Table - Mint Condition - Collectors Item" not only would you get more potential bidders to view your auction, you would also be using words people would search eBay for. Your auction title would appear in searches for Vintage, Vanity Tables, Collectors Items. Therefore, allowing even more potential bidders to see your headline.
Happy Selling!
Joe Clare
About the author:
Joe Clare is an active Netpreneur and eBayer! He is the author of numerous articles on how to succeed on eBay! Check out his latest Best Selling eBook "eBay Marketing Wholesale SourcePak" Your Passport to Success! at http://www.ebooksnsoftware.com
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10. Shipping
Always state what your shipping price will be. And, Do Not try to rip off your buyers by inflating the shipping price to increase your profit. Believe it or not, people do have a fair idea of what shipping costs should be. If they feel you are inflating your shipping price they will not bid on your item and may not look at any of your other auctions either from fear of being ripped off.
9. Customer Support
You must respond to all emails regarding your auctions. Yes, responding to emails is time consuming. But, if you don't, that potential bidder will look else ware for the product and you will have lost yourself a customer.
8. Reserve Price
Do your research on the price for your item. If you must use a reserve price keep it real. If you over price your item you will not get as many bids. And, while all good marketers know there is a time and place for the Reserve Auction, you may actually get more bids using no reserve pricing at all. Do your research to help you make this decision.
7. Item Condition
You must let bidders know what condition your item is in. Is it new and in it's packaging, or used but like new condition. Does it have any imperfections they should be made aware of.. A potential bidders will want to know what condition your item is in before making any bids.
6. Terms
This could come under the heading Customer Service. If you have terms on your auction page that read something like this "Not Responsible For Item Once Shipped" or "Item Sold As Is" you will lessen the number of bidders for that auction. Be a responsible eBayer, have insurance on the item that your buyer can purchase. And be sure to have some sort of guarantee on your products.
5. Feedback
One of the most important parts of your eBay Business. Feedback is a method eBay uses to allow buyers and sellers to record their experiences with each other. Then, others can check out the feedback of any eBayer they wish to deal with, to see if there has been any negative comments left. Therefore, it is extremely important to keep your feedback rating positive.
4. Auction Start/Close Time
You must plan your auction start/close time around the bidders you wish to attract to your auction. If the product you are selling appeals to the working woman, the best time to start/end your auction would be in the evening or on the weekend. Always create a profile on your product and what group of the population you are selling to.
3. Item Description
Not enough information or too much rambling of information will discourage people from bidding. So too will to many typos. Your item description must be clean and concise. Succinctly provide all the information required to describe the item sufficiently and create buyer interest.
2. Image
You need to use an image on your auction page. Remember a picture is worth a 1000 words! Potential bidders will want to see what the item looks like before they make a bid. With digital cameras, being so affordable these days adding a image to your auction page is easier then ever. But, make sure the image is clear and well lit to show it's detail or any imperfections it may have. Also, keep the image at a reasonable pixel size so your auction page doesn't take to long to load.
1. Headlines
This is the most important issue for getting more bidders to your auction page. You must include words that people will search on eBay. And, you must make your headline enticing, so potential bidders will click it. If you are selling an antique make-up table a headline saying old vanity table would not pull in a lot of bidders. But, if you said something like "Vintage Vanity Table - Mint Condition - Collectors Item" not only would you get more potential bidders to view your auction, you would also be using words people would search eBay for. Your auction title would appear in searches for Vintage, Vanity Tables, Collectors Items. Therefore, allowing even more potential bidders to see your headline.
Happy Selling!
Joe Clare
About the author:
Joe Clare is an active Netpreneur and eBayer! He is the author of numerous articles on how to succeed on eBay! Check out his latest Best Selling eBook "eBay Marketing Wholesale SourcePak" Your Passport to Success! at http://www.ebooksnsoftware.com
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The Top Ten eBay Buyer Personalities
In my years of selling on eBay I have come across all sorts of people. For the most part these people have been very nice and easy to deal with. Having said that, there are always a small percentage, like in any business online or offline, who you'll have some degree of problem with. As explained in my book "eBay Marketing Wholesale SourcePak" you will need to be as polite as you possibly can and have a little patience when dealing with these people. Below you will find my Top Ten List of eBay Buyer Personalities and how to handle them.
10 - The Manipulator
There will be times when you have an auction end with no bids. When this happens watch out for the Manipulator. This is an individual who will email you once you auction ends wanting to purchase your item off eBay at a ridiculously low price. He/she will often try to manipulate you into believing the product will not sell but he/she will be glad to take it off your hands. Forget about them! Do Not sell the item to them. Instead relist the item for auction on eBay with a new headline. If he/she wants it bad enough, they will have to get the item through your auction. And trust me 99% of the time your item will sell.
9 - The Impatient Buyer
This is someone who has won your auction today and is wondering why it wasn't shipped yesterday. This individual wants what was purchased fast, real fast. Just have patience, be polite and explain your shipping process to him/her. Getting the product out quickly with a thank you note for purchasing will give you a happy customer.
8 - The Disappointed Buyer
There are some people you just can not please, not even if you were to stand on your head. They will be disappointed no matter what you do. Sometimes these people can be down right rude and take up a lot of your time. Learn to recognize this type of person and don't get caught up in an on slot of emails. Remember that time is money, and once you have done all you can do to rectify their problem move on. If the emails continue simply ignore them.
7 - The Invisible Buyer
This is someone who has won your auction but you never hear from them. Ever! They pay you right on time without any problems. So you send the product they won off to them. And that's it! They do not leave feedback, and do not return any emails. They just disappear into thin air. If you send a couple of follow up emails asking if they received their item and requesting positive feedback and you get no response, just forget them and move on.
6 - The Interrogator
This individual could drive you crazy. It's not their fault, they just have questions. Lots of Questions! For these people even if every question imaginable is answered in your auction description, they'll still manage to find a reason to email you a question. Be weary of this type of individual they can, and will waste a lot of your time if you let them. On your first email to them be polite answer their question then refer them back to your auction description telling them all the answers are there. Suggest they read it again. Don't get caught up in email after email. Always remember that time is money, and if you've done your auction description correctly there should be no questions left to ask. Your auction surfer should be ready to make a bid.
5 - The Late Payer
This customer has no clue about deadlines and they really don't seem to care about them either. Their attitude is you'll get paid when I am ready to pay you. You will need to set guidelines for when payment is due. If payment is not received you may choose to give your buyer one extension. Be specific giving him/her a date as to when the balance is due. Also tell them if payment is not received by that date you will have no other choice but to relist the item for auction. Sometimes a month or so down the road you'll end up getting a check in the mail from this person with a note as to why they were late. Simply return the payment with an explanation that the item was re-listed as he/she failed to meet the payment deadline and it has been sold to someone else.
4 - The Deadbeat
There is no buyer more irritating than the one who is always telling you the check is in the mail. Of course the check never arrives. Unfortunately there is not much you can do about this. Like above give them a deadline and if they don't make it relist the item for auction again.
3 - The "I'm Sooo Confused" Buyer
This customer does want to buy from you. Really, they do! If they could only figure out how! How to bid, how to pay, how to... All this high tech computer stuff is just way to confusing for them. Have patience and be polite. Explain what they should do next. If you find no matter how you explain things it just doesn't register with them, suggest they read over eBay's tutorials. Remember your time is money and you can only spend so much time with any potential customer before you must move on.
2 - The Spender
This individual can spend a lot of money with you. And often will return as a repeat buyer usually purchasing a little of everything you have up for auction. This person will also spend $100.00 in merchandise in order to save $10.00 on shipping. Bless him/her!
1 - The Perfect Customer
This individual is simply a Happy Person. He/she has won your auction and they are just ecstatic about it. The great thing about this type of buyer is if you run into a problem they are always understanding and easy to deal with. If looked after correctly, very often these people will become a customer for life. Now, don't we wish all customers were like this.
So, there you have it. The Top Ten eBay Buyer Personalities. If you already sell on eBay I'm sure you will recognize some of these personality traits in your own customers. If you're just getting started with your eBay Auction Business no doubt you'll be running into these people soon. Whatever personality your day brings you, always be patience, polite and just have fun with it.
Happy Selling!
Joe Clare
About the author:
Joe Clare is an active Netpreneur and eBayer! He is the author of numerous articles on how to make money online and be successful on eBay! Check out his latest Best Selling eBook "eBay Marketing Wholesale SourcePak" Your Passport to Success! at http://www.ebooksnsoftware.com
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10 - The Manipulator
There will be times when you have an auction end with no bids. When this happens watch out for the Manipulator. This is an individual who will email you once you auction ends wanting to purchase your item off eBay at a ridiculously low price. He/she will often try to manipulate you into believing the product will not sell but he/she will be glad to take it off your hands. Forget about them! Do Not sell the item to them. Instead relist the item for auction on eBay with a new headline. If he/she wants it bad enough, they will have to get the item through your auction. And trust me 99% of the time your item will sell.
9 - The Impatient Buyer
This is someone who has won your auction today and is wondering why it wasn't shipped yesterday. This individual wants what was purchased fast, real fast. Just have patience, be polite and explain your shipping process to him/her. Getting the product out quickly with a thank you note for purchasing will give you a happy customer.
8 - The Disappointed Buyer
There are some people you just can not please, not even if you were to stand on your head. They will be disappointed no matter what you do. Sometimes these people can be down right rude and take up a lot of your time. Learn to recognize this type of person and don't get caught up in an on slot of emails. Remember that time is money, and once you have done all you can do to rectify their problem move on. If the emails continue simply ignore them.
7 - The Invisible Buyer
This is someone who has won your auction but you never hear from them. Ever! They pay you right on time without any problems. So you send the product they won off to them. And that's it! They do not leave feedback, and do not return any emails. They just disappear into thin air. If you send a couple of follow up emails asking if they received their item and requesting positive feedback and you get no response, just forget them and move on.
6 - The Interrogator
This individual could drive you crazy. It's not their fault, they just have questions. Lots of Questions! For these people even if every question imaginable is answered in your auction description, they'll still manage to find a reason to email you a question. Be weary of this type of individual they can, and will waste a lot of your time if you let them. On your first email to them be polite answer their question then refer them back to your auction description telling them all the answers are there. Suggest they read it again. Don't get caught up in email after email. Always remember that time is money, and if you've done your auction description correctly there should be no questions left to ask. Your auction surfer should be ready to make a bid.
5 - The Late Payer
This customer has no clue about deadlines and they really don't seem to care about them either. Their attitude is you'll get paid when I am ready to pay you. You will need to set guidelines for when payment is due. If payment is not received you may choose to give your buyer one extension. Be specific giving him/her a date as to when the balance is due. Also tell them if payment is not received by that date you will have no other choice but to relist the item for auction. Sometimes a month or so down the road you'll end up getting a check in the mail from this person with a note as to why they were late. Simply return the payment with an explanation that the item was re-listed as he/she failed to meet the payment deadline and it has been sold to someone else.
4 - The Deadbeat
There is no buyer more irritating than the one who is always telling you the check is in the mail. Of course the check never arrives. Unfortunately there is not much you can do about this. Like above give them a deadline and if they don't make it relist the item for auction again.
3 - The "I'm Sooo Confused" Buyer
This customer does want to buy from you. Really, they do! If they could only figure out how! How to bid, how to pay, how to... All this high tech computer stuff is just way to confusing for them. Have patience and be polite. Explain what they should do next. If you find no matter how you explain things it just doesn't register with them, suggest they read over eBay's tutorials. Remember your time is money and you can only spend so much time with any potential customer before you must move on.
2 - The Spender
This individual can spend a lot of money with you. And often will return as a repeat buyer usually purchasing a little of everything you have up for auction. This person will also spend $100.00 in merchandise in order to save $10.00 on shipping. Bless him/her!
1 - The Perfect Customer
This individual is simply a Happy Person. He/she has won your auction and they are just ecstatic about it. The great thing about this type of buyer is if you run into a problem they are always understanding and easy to deal with. If looked after correctly, very often these people will become a customer for life. Now, don't we wish all customers were like this.
So, there you have it. The Top Ten eBay Buyer Personalities. If you already sell on eBay I'm sure you will recognize some of these personality traits in your own customers. If you're just getting started with your eBay Auction Business no doubt you'll be running into these people soon. Whatever personality your day brings you, always be patience, polite and just have fun with it.
Happy Selling!
Joe Clare
About the author:
Joe Clare is an active Netpreneur and eBayer! He is the author of numerous articles on how to make money online and be successful on eBay! Check out his latest Best Selling eBook "eBay Marketing Wholesale SourcePak" Your Passport to Success! at http://www.ebooksnsoftware.com
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The Top Ten Antique Categories on eBay!
Knowledge is Power! And this statement could not be more true when it comes to selling on eBay. As explained in my book "eBay Marketing Wholesale SourcePak" being successful on eBay all depends on being in the right place, at the right time, with the right product. For example, did you know one of the most popular categories on eBay for buying and selling is the Antiques Category. That's right! People flock to eBay to locate treasures from the past. But what if we could know exactly what they are looking for? Just what kind of Antiques? Well I can help! Below you will find the Top Ten Picks of Antique Categories (at the time of this writing) as per eBay.
10 - Lace and Crochet Trim
9 - Medical Antiques
8 - Wood Picture Frames
7 - Knobs and Handles
6 - Linen Samplers
5 - Mixed Material: Picture Frames
4 - Roman Antiquities
3 - Silver Napkin Rings
2 - Locks and Keys
And the Number 1 Antique Category for "Hot Items" is...
Weathervanes and Lightning Rods.
There you have it! The Top Ten Picks of Antique Categories where potential bidders are surfing to find all those treasures from times gone by. If you sell Antiques on eBay, finding items that fit into one or more of the above categories will see your number of bids increase substantially. Always remember to do your research before listing any item for auction. Know what categories are "Hot!" Do a price analysis of your product. Know what the item costs you and what you can potentially sell it for. Then sit back and watch the bidding heat up!
Happy Selling!
Joe Clare
About the author:
Joe Clare is an active Netpreneur and eBayer! He is the author of numerous articles on how to succeed on eBay! Check out his latest Best Selling eBook "eBay Marketing Wholesale SourcePak" Your Passport to Success! at http://www.ebooksnsoftware.com
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10 - Lace and Crochet Trim
9 - Medical Antiques
8 - Wood Picture Frames
7 - Knobs and Handles
6 - Linen Samplers
5 - Mixed Material: Picture Frames
4 - Roman Antiquities
3 - Silver Napkin Rings
2 - Locks and Keys
And the Number 1 Antique Category for "Hot Items" is...
Weathervanes and Lightning Rods.
There you have it! The Top Ten Picks of Antique Categories where potential bidders are surfing to find all those treasures from times gone by. If you sell Antiques on eBay, finding items that fit into one or more of the above categories will see your number of bids increase substantially. Always remember to do your research before listing any item for auction. Know what categories are "Hot!" Do a price analysis of your product. Know what the item costs you and what you can potentially sell it for. Then sit back and watch the bidding heat up!
Happy Selling!
Joe Clare
About the author:
Joe Clare is an active Netpreneur and eBayer! He is the author of numerous articles on how to succeed on eBay! Check out his latest Best Selling eBook "eBay Marketing Wholesale SourcePak" Your Passport to Success! at http://www.ebooksnsoftware.com
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The Secret Power of an eBay Auction Title
I get frequent emails from my newsletter readers wondering why their eBay auctions aren't working.
You might have the most brilliant auction description page with a fantastic set of pictures offering a superb item at an incredible price. But the page counter shows after seven days of your auction that it’s only been seen by 3 people. Has that happened to any of your auctions?
If it has, I always start at the same point. The auction title.
In 99% of cases, the reason for low viewing figures is that your auction title isn't smart enough.
Here are a few facts. At the end of this small list you’ll understand the secret power of eBay auction titles:
a) 79 million times each day buyers use eBay's search box to locate items in which they are interested.
b) eBay's standard search system takes the search words keyed in, and compares them with the titles in its database of 10 million auctions. (Note it doesn’t compare them with sub-titles, nor auction descriptions)
c) If an auction title doesn't contain the words keyed into the search box, the auction won’t get returned in the search list. And that’s another of the 79 million searches you’ve missed out on!
d) If an auction isn't returned in a search list, it can’t be clicked on to have the auction description viewed.
So, the whole of eBay's default search system relies on matching keywords with auction titles. And that’s the secret power of auction titles. If your title contains words which the buyer searches upon, your auction will be returned time and again in search return lists.
Actually, that’s not quite everything. Let’s say you want to create a new auction. Your auction title has three functions:
1) To contain keywords. (Number one on this list for the reason you now know!)
2) To persuade buyers to click through to your auction description page
3) To convey what the item is
To decide on the keywords to use, you have to think like a buyer. What words would be used by a person interested in searching for an item like yours? At this stage, just list them. Don't put the words into a sentence yet. Spend as long as you like on this exercise. The more effective you are with this, the less likely you are to have one of those sleepy auctions that rarely gets a visitor.
Having listed as many keywords as you can think of, you have to decide which are the strongest. Remember, you only have 55 precious characters for your auction title.
Taking your best keywords, you now create your auction title. It's not an English exam, so it doesn't matter if it doesn't scan like a sentence.
You can add a power word or two if you've space. By this I mean words like stunning, limited edition, unique, rare, new, one-off, exclusive, distinctive, dramatic etc. These are words which can influence buyers to click through to your auction description. They won’t be searched on by buyers, so use them sparingly. For the same reason, I don’t advocate the use of "clever" words like l@@k or w0w!
Finally, do the words in your title convey what the item is? If so, that's it. You've created a powerful and compelling auction title. And your title will appear more often in search return lists. And, as you know, that’s the key!
If you can get your auction to appear more frequently in search return lists, more buyers will view your auction description page. The more people that visit your auction description page, the more likely you are to make a sale at an acceptable price.
Now you know the secret power, why not create a new title today for one of your auctions? If you do, believe me you’ll get your fair share of the 79 million eBay daily searchers.
Good luck in all your eBay selling.
About the author:
Brian McGregor is an internet entrepreneur specializing in leveraging the power of eBay. He is author of ‘The eBay Formula’ on how to sell successfully on eBay time after time, and is editor of the eBay Auction Newsletter. http://www.workwinners.comBrian is also creator of Keyword Pro, the software which enables sellers to find the top keywords by category currently on eBay http://www.keyword-pro.com
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You might have the most brilliant auction description page with a fantastic set of pictures offering a superb item at an incredible price. But the page counter shows after seven days of your auction that it’s only been seen by 3 people. Has that happened to any of your auctions?
If it has, I always start at the same point. The auction title.
In 99% of cases, the reason for low viewing figures is that your auction title isn't smart enough.
Here are a few facts. At the end of this small list you’ll understand the secret power of eBay auction titles:
a) 79 million times each day buyers use eBay's search box to locate items in which they are interested.
b) eBay's standard search system takes the search words keyed in, and compares them with the titles in its database of 10 million auctions. (Note it doesn’t compare them with sub-titles, nor auction descriptions)
c) If an auction title doesn't contain the words keyed into the search box, the auction won’t get returned in the search list. And that’s another of the 79 million searches you’ve missed out on!
d) If an auction isn't returned in a search list, it can’t be clicked on to have the auction description viewed.
So, the whole of eBay's default search system relies on matching keywords with auction titles. And that’s the secret power of auction titles. If your title contains words which the buyer searches upon, your auction will be returned time and again in search return lists.
Actually, that’s not quite everything. Let’s say you want to create a new auction. Your auction title has three functions:
1) To contain keywords. (Number one on this list for the reason you now know!)
2) To persuade buyers to click through to your auction description page
3) To convey what the item is
To decide on the keywords to use, you have to think like a buyer. What words would be used by a person interested in searching for an item like yours? At this stage, just list them. Don't put the words into a sentence yet. Spend as long as you like on this exercise. The more effective you are with this, the less likely you are to have one of those sleepy auctions that rarely gets a visitor.
Having listed as many keywords as you can think of, you have to decide which are the strongest. Remember, you only have 55 precious characters for your auction title.
Taking your best keywords, you now create your auction title. It's not an English exam, so it doesn't matter if it doesn't scan like a sentence.
You can add a power word or two if you've space. By this I mean words like stunning, limited edition, unique, rare, new, one-off, exclusive, distinctive, dramatic etc. These are words which can influence buyers to click through to your auction description. They won’t be searched on by buyers, so use them sparingly. For the same reason, I don’t advocate the use of "clever" words like l@@k or w0w!
Finally, do the words in your title convey what the item is? If so, that's it. You've created a powerful and compelling auction title. And your title will appear more often in search return lists. And, as you know, that’s the key!
If you can get your auction to appear more frequently in search return lists, more buyers will view your auction description page. The more people that visit your auction description page, the more likely you are to make a sale at an acceptable price.
Now you know the secret power, why not create a new title today for one of your auctions? If you do, believe me you’ll get your fair share of the 79 million eBay daily searchers.
Good luck in all your eBay selling.
About the author:
Brian McGregor is an internet entrepreneur specializing in leveraging the power of eBay. He is author of ‘The eBay Formula’ on how to sell successfully on eBay time after time, and is editor of the eBay Auction Newsletter. http://www.workwinners.comBrian is also creator of Keyword Pro, the software which enables sellers to find the top keywords by category currently on eBay http://www.keyword-pro.com
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The RSS Promise for Internet Users
The RSS promise for end-users is simple:
--> a unified one-stop-shop to consume online content, without having to visit dozens of sites every day to see what’s new and without having their online subscriptions interfere with their personal and business e-mail communications;
--> complete control over their content consumption, including a quick, easy and reliable mechanism to unsubscribe from content they do not wish to receive;
--> the ability to receive breaking news as it becomes available, without having to wait for a monthly, weekly or daily recap sent to their e-mail addresses;
--> the certainty of actually receiving the content they want, without the fear of it being stopped by spam filters on the way;
--> the ability to receive rich-media content directly to their desktops, including audio and video content;
--> the promise of providing the tools to make their lives easier, including receiving critical content updates as soon as they become available.
These points are not simple enhancements, but important advancements that can fundamentally change how internet content is consumed. Furthermore, these points themselves prove why marketers need to start implementing RSS now!
To bring the point home, let us inspect some of the content services already powered by RSS.
LIBRARY ELF: MAKING THE LIBRARY EXPERIENCE EASIER (http://libraryelf.com/)
Library Elf helps you keep track of your library accounts in one place and received reminders, such as what library material is due, overdue and ready for pickup. Library Elf uses the power of RSS to help you forget about your library accounts and instead be directly notified of the changes you’re waiting for, directly to your desktop.
INDEED: HELPING YOUR FIND THE RIGHT JOB (http://www.indeed.com/)
Indeed.com provides its visitors with job seeking results from hundreds of sites and then makes the search results accessible via RSS feeds. Users can subscribe to individual search results, pertaining directly to their search keywords to be notified immediately new jobs are available.
FLICKR: SHARING YOUR LIFE IN PICTURE (http://www.flickr.com/)
Flickr is the most popular photography management and sharing service on the web, enabling end-users to upload their photos and then make them available to their friends, associates and family through a wide assortment of content delivery channels, including RSS. By subscribing to individual Flickr feeds from their users, everyone can have direct access to the latest life experiences from their friends.
RSSCALENDAR: SHARING YOUR EVENTS (http://www.rsscalendar.com/)
rssCalendar.com allows individuals and companies to share their personal or group calendars with the rest of the world, letting everyone that matters know of where and what they are doing next, delivering this information via individual RSS feeds.
COUPONS.COM: SAVINGS TO YOUR DESKTOP (http://www.coupons.com/)
Coupons.com brings the best deals and coupons to internet end-users, helping them save money by discounted shopping. As of late, they also started delivering coupons through RSS feeds, giving their subscribers direct access to their latest offerings.
PUBSUB.COM: TRACKING THE WORLD (http://www.pubsub.com)
PubSub.com is an amazing service that allows you to track practically everything going on around the world by matching your keywords with tens of thousands of online content sources, and enabling you to subscribe to your customized search results through customized RSS feeds.
RSSAUCTION.COM: TRACKING YOUR PURCHASE INTERESTS (http://rssauction.com/)
If you’re a regular eBay user, you certainly want to keep track of new products available, which precisely match your interests. rssAuction.com helps users keep better track of eBay by giving them a tool to first create a comprehensive list of product requirements and then delivering the search result through an RSS feed. As soon as new products matching individual interests appear, the user is notified of that through his RSS aggregator, giving him the ability to start bidding immediately and without having to visit eBay every day to find the right products.
UPCOMING.ORG: KEEPING TRACK OF LOCAL AND SOCIAL EVENTS (http://upcoming.org/)
From the Upcoming.org website: “Upcoming.org is a collaborative event calendar, completely driven by people like you. Enter in the events you're attending, comment on events entered by others, and syndicate event listings to your own weblog. As Upcoming.org learns more about the events you enjoy, it will suggest new events you never would have heard about.”
FEEDBEEP: THE ULTIMATE “TIME-TO-INFORMATION” TOOL (http://www.feedbeep.com/)
Depending on who you are and your current life situation, many content alerts are critical for you. If you’re looking for a job, you want to know immediately when a new one matching your precise interests is available, and so on. While RSS brings this information to your desktop, that might not be fast enough. Feedbeep.com takes internet content delivery one step further, by empowering users to have their critical content updates delivered from an RSS feed directly to their mobile phones via SMS.
RSS EMPOWERS CONSUMERS
The one thing all of these RSS-based or RSS-empowered services have in common is that they empower consumers.
They empower them by getting the content that matters to them delivered directly to their desktops or online content aggregators, but still giving them the power to unsubscribe within moments of not being satisfied with the content they are receiving.
Even more so, these services empower consumers to create social networks and easily share their information with their friends, family and associates on a large scale.
About the author:
Rok Hrastnik is the author of »Unleash the Marketing & Publishing Power of RSS«, acclaimed as the best and most comprehensive guide to RSS for marketers by leading RSS experts. The complete guide on RSS for marketers: http://rss.marketingstudies.net/index.html?src=sa11
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--> a unified one-stop-shop to consume online content, without having to visit dozens of sites every day to see what’s new and without having their online subscriptions interfere with their personal and business e-mail communications;
--> complete control over their content consumption, including a quick, easy and reliable mechanism to unsubscribe from content they do not wish to receive;
--> the ability to receive breaking news as it becomes available, without having to wait for a monthly, weekly or daily recap sent to their e-mail addresses;
--> the certainty of actually receiving the content they want, without the fear of it being stopped by spam filters on the way;
--> the ability to receive rich-media content directly to their desktops, including audio and video content;
--> the promise of providing the tools to make their lives easier, including receiving critical content updates as soon as they become available.
These points are not simple enhancements, but important advancements that can fundamentally change how internet content is consumed. Furthermore, these points themselves prove why marketers need to start implementing RSS now!
To bring the point home, let us inspect some of the content services already powered by RSS.
LIBRARY ELF: MAKING THE LIBRARY EXPERIENCE EASIER (http://libraryelf.com/)
Library Elf helps you keep track of your library accounts in one place and received reminders, such as what library material is due, overdue and ready for pickup. Library Elf uses the power of RSS to help you forget about your library accounts and instead be directly notified of the changes you’re waiting for, directly to your desktop.
INDEED: HELPING YOUR FIND THE RIGHT JOB (http://www.indeed.com/)
Indeed.com provides its visitors with job seeking results from hundreds of sites and then makes the search results accessible via RSS feeds. Users can subscribe to individual search results, pertaining directly to their search keywords to be notified immediately new jobs are available.
FLICKR: SHARING YOUR LIFE IN PICTURE (http://www.flickr.com/)
Flickr is the most popular photography management and sharing service on the web, enabling end-users to upload their photos and then make them available to their friends, associates and family through a wide assortment of content delivery channels, including RSS. By subscribing to individual Flickr feeds from their users, everyone can have direct access to the latest life experiences from their friends.
RSSCALENDAR: SHARING YOUR EVENTS (http://www.rsscalendar.com/)
rssCalendar.com allows individuals and companies to share their personal or group calendars with the rest of the world, letting everyone that matters know of where and what they are doing next, delivering this information via individual RSS feeds.
COUPONS.COM: SAVINGS TO YOUR DESKTOP (http://www.coupons.com/)
Coupons.com brings the best deals and coupons to internet end-users, helping them save money by discounted shopping. As of late, they also started delivering coupons through RSS feeds, giving their subscribers direct access to their latest offerings.
PUBSUB.COM: TRACKING THE WORLD (http://www.pubsub.com)
PubSub.com is an amazing service that allows you to track practically everything going on around the world by matching your keywords with tens of thousands of online content sources, and enabling you to subscribe to your customized search results through customized RSS feeds.
RSSAUCTION.COM: TRACKING YOUR PURCHASE INTERESTS (http://rssauction.com/)
If you’re a regular eBay user, you certainly want to keep track of new products available, which precisely match your interests. rssAuction.com helps users keep better track of eBay by giving them a tool to first create a comprehensive list of product requirements and then delivering the search result through an RSS feed. As soon as new products matching individual interests appear, the user is notified of that through his RSS aggregator, giving him the ability to start bidding immediately and without having to visit eBay every day to find the right products.
UPCOMING.ORG: KEEPING TRACK OF LOCAL AND SOCIAL EVENTS (http://upcoming.org/)
From the Upcoming.org website: “Upcoming.org is a collaborative event calendar, completely driven by people like you. Enter in the events you're attending, comment on events entered by others, and syndicate event listings to your own weblog. As Upcoming.org learns more about the events you enjoy, it will suggest new events you never would have heard about.”
FEEDBEEP: THE ULTIMATE “TIME-TO-INFORMATION” TOOL (http://www.feedbeep.com/)
Depending on who you are and your current life situation, many content alerts are critical for you. If you’re looking for a job, you want to know immediately when a new one matching your precise interests is available, and so on. While RSS brings this information to your desktop, that might not be fast enough. Feedbeep.com takes internet content delivery one step further, by empowering users to have their critical content updates delivered from an RSS feed directly to their mobile phones via SMS.
RSS EMPOWERS CONSUMERS
The one thing all of these RSS-based or RSS-empowered services have in common is that they empower consumers.
They empower them by getting the content that matters to them delivered directly to their desktops or online content aggregators, but still giving them the power to unsubscribe within moments of not being satisfied with the content they are receiving.
Even more so, these services empower consumers to create social networks and easily share their information with their friends, family and associates on a large scale.
About the author:
Rok Hrastnik is the author of »Unleash the Marketing & Publishing Power of RSS«, acclaimed as the best and most comprehensive guide to RSS for marketers by leading RSS experts. The complete guide on RSS for marketers: http://rss.marketingstudies.net/index.html?src=sa11
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The Real Secret To Finding Hot Niche Markets!
Finding a niche market is simple. Finding a PROFITABLE niche market is a little harder, but it's still easy once you know what you are doing. Otherwise, you will end up like 90% of the other niche marketers out there who spend weeks or months on a niche market only to find out there is no money to be made there.
Luckily I will reveal the secrets to finding a profitable niche market later in this article.
There are literally hundreds of ways to find niche markets. You can spend your time searching for popular keywords using tools such as Wordtracker, or you can walk around your local bookstore looking for common book topics. I've tried both of
these options when I first got started in niche marketing, and let me tell you, I lost the most money when I picked a topic that way. Why? Well, it's simple. Just because people are searching for a keyword or phrase online or because there are a bunch of hard copy books on a topic, it doesn't mean those markets will buy your products online.
Have you ever heard the advice "Target a niche market you are passionate about"? What a bunch of garbage that piece of advice is. It doesn't matter how passionate you are about a topic, if
people in that market don't buy products online, YOU WILL FAIL and fail miserably.
Here are 2 ways to find cash generating, starving niche markets that you have probably never seen before...
1) Ebay - the unlimited supply of niches. Everyone has heard of ebay, but few people think to go to ebay to find a niche
market. You would have to be crazy NOT to use ebay to find a market. This is one of the only places you can go and see exactly
what people are buying in real time. Here is how you do it.
First, go to ebay's main page at www.ebay.com. At the bottom of the left column of links, click on the link that says "All Categories". When you get to the next page, click on the link at
the bottom right of the categories that says "See All Categories".
What you have just done is list every product currently for sale on ebay, but even more importantly, you can see HOW
MANY products are for sale in each category. There are literally thousands of categories of niche topics right in front of your eyes, and you can see how popular each one is in just a couple clicks.
I just clicked "See all Antiques categories..." and I uncovered several hundred niche markets within the antiques category.
This is what niche marketing is all about. The category "Antiques" alone is too broad. If you go after this one, you will
fail, however if you go after a sub niche such as "Asian antique bowls" or "Antique sterling silver flatware", you greatly
increase your success rate.
Then, go to http://pages.ebay.com/sellercentral/whatshot.html and see just how flaming hot they are.
2) The next way to find a popular niche market is by going to the website www.meetup.com. From the homepage, there
is a link that says "Browse All Interests". The website will then
list hundreds of topics in which people signed up to be a part of a group. It also lists how many people joined each group,
or "niche market" if you will. Who would have thought there would be a group of over a thousand people crazy about
scooters? I found this niche market under the automotive category.
Using these two methods, you should be able to uncover hundreds of niche topics to begin targeting immediately. Once
you find a niche market you want to build your business around, the next step would be to learn how to develop products
these markets will knock each other over trying to buy.
About the author:
Mark Kessler offers a FREE 34 page report where you'll "Discover The Most Simple, But Extremely Powerful System that reveals the 4 secret steps you need to achieve maximum niche profits!" your copy is at http://www.profitattractor.com
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Luckily I will reveal the secrets to finding a profitable niche market later in this article.
There are literally hundreds of ways to find niche markets. You can spend your time searching for popular keywords using tools such as Wordtracker, or you can walk around your local bookstore looking for common book topics. I've tried both of
these options when I first got started in niche marketing, and let me tell you, I lost the most money when I picked a topic that way. Why? Well, it's simple. Just because people are searching for a keyword or phrase online or because there are a bunch of hard copy books on a topic, it doesn't mean those markets will buy your products online.
Have you ever heard the advice "Target a niche market you are passionate about"? What a bunch of garbage that piece of advice is. It doesn't matter how passionate you are about a topic, if
people in that market don't buy products online, YOU WILL FAIL and fail miserably.
Here are 2 ways to find cash generating, starving niche markets that you have probably never seen before...
1) Ebay - the unlimited supply of niches. Everyone has heard of ebay, but few people think to go to ebay to find a niche
market. You would have to be crazy NOT to use ebay to find a market. This is one of the only places you can go and see exactly
what people are buying in real time. Here is how you do it.
First, go to ebay's main page at www.ebay.com. At the bottom of the left column of links, click on the link that says "All Categories". When you get to the next page, click on the link at
the bottom right of the categories that says "See All Categories".
What you have just done is list every product currently for sale on ebay, but even more importantly, you can see HOW
MANY products are for sale in each category. There are literally thousands of categories of niche topics right in front of your eyes, and you can see how popular each one is in just a couple clicks.
I just clicked "See all Antiques categories..." and I uncovered several hundred niche markets within the antiques category.
This is what niche marketing is all about. The category "Antiques" alone is too broad. If you go after this one, you will
fail, however if you go after a sub niche such as "Asian antique bowls" or "Antique sterling silver flatware", you greatly
increase your success rate.
Then, go to http://pages.ebay.com/sellercentral/whatshot.html and see just how flaming hot they are.
2) The next way to find a popular niche market is by going to the website www.meetup.com. From the homepage, there
is a link that says "Browse All Interests". The website will then
list hundreds of topics in which people signed up to be a part of a group. It also lists how many people joined each group,
or "niche market" if you will. Who would have thought there would be a group of over a thousand people crazy about
scooters? I found this niche market under the automotive category.
Using these two methods, you should be able to uncover hundreds of niche topics to begin targeting immediately. Once
you find a niche market you want to build your business around, the next step would be to learn how to develop products
these markets will knock each other over trying to buy.
About the author:
Mark Kessler offers a FREE 34 page report where you'll "Discover The Most Simple, But Extremely Powerful System that reveals the 4 secret steps you need to achieve maximum niche profits!" your copy is at http://www.profitattractor.com
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The power of dogs
Well first of all I was always a cat owner, till my husband bought our first Chihuahua (Stitch) in 2002, Stitch was about 6 weeks old and was generally purchased for our children and it stud that was till he was about 5 months or so. Then I started to notice that he was starting to favor me and follow me around more and more everyday, one day I hid from him and watched him run up and down the hallway from the crack in the bedroom door, until he found me and it just melted my heart, my cats never did that and after that he became ALL MINE Stitch stole my heart. Around a month later my mother handed down her old sewing machine to me, I tried making everything that came to mind but nothing ever turned out perfect, but I kept sewing anyways.
Shortly after I got my sewing machine my sister in-law gave me a little dog shirt that she had found on clearance at Walmart and I looked at this little thing and said “ this would be a piece of cake to make” and that very night I began working on little shirts for Stitch. It was a very exciting challenge and the results were outstanding! Stitch always had a new shirt for every occasion, then one day that same sister in-law told me that I should try selling my dog shirts on eBay. So about a month later I did as a matter of fact it I listed my first item on my birthday, at that time dog clothes on eBay was only about 3 pages long so no matter what I listed, it always sold. Stitch became my right hand man, and tested and modeled all of my creations and never complained. We had such a close bond that I understood him and knew what he wanted by just looking at him and he always understood what I told him and sometimes it would just blow me away.
None of my items would sell for over about $10 but that was a lot for me and I was proud, eventually I started making dog dresses, it took some fine tuning but I finally got the pattern right. So as the months passed Stitch became my best friend, my companion and a very close member of my family, we were inseparable and I never left him home. Meanwhile had found success on eBay but the dog clothes section was starting to grow more every week, competition was getting rough and some of my listings were ending without bids. I started to be more creative and put more effort into my clothes and do a lot of research on what kind of dog clothes people were looking for so I started to study websites that sold small dog clothes and found out that dog clothes like mine were selling for twice as much without the haste of re-listing and fees.
I started thinking about opening up my own website and started out with the free 2 page ones and I did get a purchase or two from my eBay customers but at that time I was also selling my shirts for a frugal $6. I did get tired of only having 2 pages for my clothes, I wanted to be more professional, since I was making extra money from eBay so I invested it into a real website, It did take a lot of work to build and even now I’m still spending many hours a week on my current site but it’s worth it.
I finally had my first real website and shortly realized that traffic doesn’t come automatically so here I go again, doing hours of research on website promotion till I found and hired a company to submit my site to a certain number of search engines for about $40 a month, I thought that’s all I would need but I was so wrong. I finally found Overture, signed up and before I new it, I was doubling the income that I was making on eBay WITHOUT THE FEES, I canceled the monthly submissions. In 2004 I learned of Adwords, signed up and started to triple and sometimes quadruple my income in a day and haven’t sold on eBay since.
I owe it all to Stitch without him, none of this would have ever materialized, he played so many vital roles in this business and ultimately changed my life, without Stitch there would be no Princess Petwear.
Stitch passed away on 12-23-04 at 3 years old and I have yet to stop crying over his memories.
Its 2005 now and the dog clothes selection on eBay is now up to 50 pages long, I now work for my business 40+ a week and consider myself a work-at-home-mom with 4 kids, ages 13, 11, 7, 2. I still miss my Stitch, I always catch myself daydreaming of him remembering how soft his fur was and how I loved to rub my check against his face, I also find myself reminiscing on how would baby talk him and shower him with kisses and hugs, then I wipe the tears from my face and get back to work.
About the author:
Author Eva Sanchez founder of PrincessPetear.com, online seller of small dog clothes for boy and girl dogs, which includes, pet sweaters, formal dresses, doggie swimsuits and more. Let your dog feel special every day in our affordable casual collection. http://www.princesspetwear.com
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Shortly after I got my sewing machine my sister in-law gave me a little dog shirt that she had found on clearance at Walmart and I looked at this little thing and said “ this would be a piece of cake to make” and that very night I began working on little shirts for Stitch. It was a very exciting challenge and the results were outstanding! Stitch always had a new shirt for every occasion, then one day that same sister in-law told me that I should try selling my dog shirts on eBay. So about a month later I did as a matter of fact it I listed my first item on my birthday, at that time dog clothes on eBay was only about 3 pages long so no matter what I listed, it always sold. Stitch became my right hand man, and tested and modeled all of my creations and never complained. We had such a close bond that I understood him and knew what he wanted by just looking at him and he always understood what I told him and sometimes it would just blow me away.
None of my items would sell for over about $10 but that was a lot for me and I was proud, eventually I started making dog dresses, it took some fine tuning but I finally got the pattern right. So as the months passed Stitch became my best friend, my companion and a very close member of my family, we were inseparable and I never left him home. Meanwhile had found success on eBay but the dog clothes section was starting to grow more every week, competition was getting rough and some of my listings were ending without bids. I started to be more creative and put more effort into my clothes and do a lot of research on what kind of dog clothes people were looking for so I started to study websites that sold small dog clothes and found out that dog clothes like mine were selling for twice as much without the haste of re-listing and fees.
I started thinking about opening up my own website and started out with the free 2 page ones and I did get a purchase or two from my eBay customers but at that time I was also selling my shirts for a frugal $6. I did get tired of only having 2 pages for my clothes, I wanted to be more professional, since I was making extra money from eBay so I invested it into a real website, It did take a lot of work to build and even now I’m still spending many hours a week on my current site but it’s worth it.
I finally had my first real website and shortly realized that traffic doesn’t come automatically so here I go again, doing hours of research on website promotion till I found and hired a company to submit my site to a certain number of search engines for about $40 a month, I thought that’s all I would need but I was so wrong. I finally found Overture, signed up and before I new it, I was doubling the income that I was making on eBay WITHOUT THE FEES, I canceled the monthly submissions. In 2004 I learned of Adwords, signed up and started to triple and sometimes quadruple my income in a day and haven’t sold on eBay since.
I owe it all to Stitch without him, none of this would have ever materialized, he played so many vital roles in this business and ultimately changed my life, without Stitch there would be no Princess Petwear.
Stitch passed away on 12-23-04 at 3 years old and I have yet to stop crying over his memories.
Its 2005 now and the dog clothes selection on eBay is now up to 50 pages long, I now work for my business 40+ a week and consider myself a work-at-home-mom with 4 kids, ages 13, 11, 7, 2. I still miss my Stitch, I always catch myself daydreaming of him remembering how soft his fur was and how I loved to rub my check against his face, I also find myself reminiscing on how would baby talk him and shower him with kisses and hugs, then I wipe the tears from my face and get back to work.
About the author:
Author Eva Sanchez founder of PrincessPetear.com, online seller of small dog clothes for boy and girl dogs, which includes, pet sweaters, formal dresses, doggie swimsuits and more. Let your dog feel special every day in our affordable casual collection. http://www.princesspetwear.com
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The Perfect Home Business For Moms!
The important role that women play as a wife and mother at home can not be overemphasized. They organize home life to ensure things run smoothly. From cleaning the home, making the meals, taking care of the children, and running a host of other important errands and tasks. For a wife and mother who works outside the home these tasks can take on the organization skills of Super Woman. And, while some women are content to take on the daunting challenges of career woman, wife and mother, others would prefer to work at home.
Looking for a work at home business can be a task in itself. We often need to search through several opportunities before we settle on one that has possibilities and appeals to us. One Work at Home Business that has worked out very well for me is eBay. eBay recently reported $14.87 billion in annual merchandise sales with over 100 million members. 400,000 of these are making their living from eBay. Why? Because a Work at Home Business using eBay is so easy to operate and maintain.
Since technology has become much simpler over recent years, learning curves have become less severe than they once were This has made operating a computer easier than ever. With this, people have been flocking to the Internet and eBay to create a Business of their own. The main draw of working online is that you can Work at Home. No long commutes to work. No 9 to 5 either, your hours can be flexible so you can still enjoy time with your family.
eBay lends it self perfectly as a Work At Home Business. There are no special skills required other than the confidence that you can be successful with an online business regardless of your business, computer or Internet experience and skills. What skills? you ask. Well, just very basic skills. The ability to surf the web, read and send emails, create auction pages (webpages) and upload them. And most importantly and ability to learn and the want to succeed.
The easiest way to start your Online Auction Business would be to use Dropshippers. The great thing about Dropshipping, as outlined in my book "eBay Marketing Wholesale SourcePak", is that it will allow you to operate a Home Based Business as an Internet Marketer with out ever worrying about storage of inventory, packaging of inventory, or even shipping of that inventory. The Dropship supplier will look after all of that for you. And even greater still is the fact that your auction business will cost you very little to get started The fact is, most Dropshippers charge you nothing to become a member to sell their products. While others may charge just a nominal administration fee. Plus, you
can list your item on eBay for approximately .35 cents. So, as you can see your eBay Auction Business will cost you very little to get started. With such a low financial risk the only thing you have to lose is a bit of your time.
How does one put together eBay and Dropshipping? It's really very simple. First, browse eBay to see what kind of product(s) you would like to sell. Then sign up as a member with eBay. Once you have decided on a product(s),locate a Dropshipper for that product(s). Sign up with that Dropshipper and then place an auction on eBay for the item.. Once your auction is over and you have a buyer for the product email your Dropshipper the required information. The Dropshipper will ship the product directly to your customer as though it came from you. Then the Dropshipper will charge your account the wholesale price for that product. The difference between the wholesale price and your retail price is pure profit!
To run a successful eBay Business you will need to sell what the public wants to buy. Always research any product before you decide to sell it. Make sure it is popular and you can get it at a great price. If you have something worth selling, you are bound to find someone on eBay who wants to buy it..
Happy Selling!
Joe Clare
About the author:
Joe Clare is an active Netpreneur and eBayer! He is the author of numerous articles on how to make money online and be successful on eBay! Check out his latest Best Selling eBook "eBay Marketing Wholesale SourcePak" Your Passport to Success! at http://www.ebooksnsoftware.com
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Looking for a work at home business can be a task in itself. We often need to search through several opportunities before we settle on one that has possibilities and appeals to us. One Work at Home Business that has worked out very well for me is eBay. eBay recently reported $14.87 billion in annual merchandise sales with over 100 million members. 400,000 of these are making their living from eBay. Why? Because a Work at Home Business using eBay is so easy to operate and maintain.
Since technology has become much simpler over recent years, learning curves have become less severe than they once were This has made operating a computer easier than ever. With this, people have been flocking to the Internet and eBay to create a Business of their own. The main draw of working online is that you can Work at Home. No long commutes to work. No 9 to 5 either, your hours can be flexible so you can still enjoy time with your family.
eBay lends it self perfectly as a Work At Home Business. There are no special skills required other than the confidence that you can be successful with an online business regardless of your business, computer or Internet experience and skills. What skills? you ask. Well, just very basic skills. The ability to surf the web, read and send emails, create auction pages (webpages) and upload them. And most importantly and ability to learn and the want to succeed.
The easiest way to start your Online Auction Business would be to use Dropshippers. The great thing about Dropshipping, as outlined in my book "eBay Marketing Wholesale SourcePak", is that it will allow you to operate a Home Based Business as an Internet Marketer with out ever worrying about storage of inventory, packaging of inventory, or even shipping of that inventory. The Dropship supplier will look after all of that for you. And even greater still is the fact that your auction business will cost you very little to get started The fact is, most Dropshippers charge you nothing to become a member to sell their products. While others may charge just a nominal administration fee. Plus, you
can list your item on eBay for approximately .35 cents. So, as you can see your eBay Auction Business will cost you very little to get started. With such a low financial risk the only thing you have to lose is a bit of your time.
How does one put together eBay and Dropshipping? It's really very simple. First, browse eBay to see what kind of product(s) you would like to sell. Then sign up as a member with eBay. Once you have decided on a product(s),locate a Dropshipper for that product(s). Sign up with that Dropshipper and then place an auction on eBay for the item.. Once your auction is over and you have a buyer for the product email your Dropshipper the required information. The Dropshipper will ship the product directly to your customer as though it came from you. Then the Dropshipper will charge your account the wholesale price for that product. The difference between the wholesale price and your retail price is pure profit!
To run a successful eBay Business you will need to sell what the public wants to buy. Always research any product before you decide to sell it. Make sure it is popular and you can get it at a great price. If you have something worth selling, you are bound to find someone on eBay who wants to buy it..
Happy Selling!
Joe Clare
About the author:
Joe Clare is an active Netpreneur and eBayer! He is the author of numerous articles on how to make money online and be successful on eBay! Check out his latest Best Selling eBook "eBay Marketing Wholesale SourcePak" Your Passport to Success! at http://www.ebooksnsoftware.com
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The Perfect Home Based Business!
Are you looking for a Business you can Work at Home? Did you know that a Work at Home Business is the dream of millions of Americans, and millions more world wide? It is estimated that by 2010, over 68% of us will have some kind of Home Business to help supplement our income. Plus, numerous surveys show that a Business of your own is still the #1 way for the average person to achieve financial freedom and independence.
According to Meg Whitman, CEO of eBay, 400,000 people are making a living from eBay. And, recently eBay reported $14.87 billion in annual merchandise sales with over 100 million members. With numbers like these shouldn't you be looking at eBay as your Home Based Business?
As outlined in my book "eBay Marketing Wholesale SourcePak" eBay has some staggering statistics. A Corvette is sold every 3 hours! A Diamond Ring is sold every 6 minutes! A Digital Camera is sold every 90 seconds! An Article of clothing is sold every 3 seconds! That eBay is the 4th most visited website on the Internet, and at the time of this writing has auction sites in 26 countries world wide. Pretty impressive for what started off as a small site in 1995 for collectors of Pez Dispensers.
Since then eBay has flourished into an auction site that lends itself perfectly to the Home Based Business. Why? Mainly because you can sell just about anything on eBay. Plus, operating an eBay Auction Business does not require you to have any extensive business knowledge or any elaborate computer skills. Finding items to sell on your auctions is easy as well. You can start by selling all of those unwanted items you have just lying around the house. From there some people cruise flea markets, swap meets, and second hand stores for more items to sell on eBay. And even more use Dropshippers. Using Dropshippers is a smart way to get your eBay Home Business up and running because you don't have to invest in costly inventory, store the inventory, or package and ship that inventory. Your Dropship supplier will do all of that for you. It doesn't get any easier then that!
So if you're looking for a Home Based Business, have a look at eBay. It is the largest and most exciting auction service on the Internet enabling trades on a local, national and international bases. With more than 3 million auctions running at any given time, and many millions of users, if you have something to sell you'll probably find a buyer for it on eBay.
Happy Selling!
Joe Clare.
About the author:
Joe Clare is an active Netpreneur and eBayer! He is the author of numerous articles on how to succeed on eBay! Check out his latest Best Selling eBook "eBay Marketing Wholesale SourcePak" Your Passport to Success! at http://www.ebooksnsoftware.com
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According to Meg Whitman, CEO of eBay, 400,000 people are making a living from eBay. And, recently eBay reported $14.87 billion in annual merchandise sales with over 100 million members. With numbers like these shouldn't you be looking at eBay as your Home Based Business?
As outlined in my book "eBay Marketing Wholesale SourcePak" eBay has some staggering statistics. A Corvette is sold every 3 hours! A Diamond Ring is sold every 6 minutes! A Digital Camera is sold every 90 seconds! An Article of clothing is sold every 3 seconds! That eBay is the 4th most visited website on the Internet, and at the time of this writing has auction sites in 26 countries world wide. Pretty impressive for what started off as a small site in 1995 for collectors of Pez Dispensers.
Since then eBay has flourished into an auction site that lends itself perfectly to the Home Based Business. Why? Mainly because you can sell just about anything on eBay. Plus, operating an eBay Auction Business does not require you to have any extensive business knowledge or any elaborate computer skills. Finding items to sell on your auctions is easy as well. You can start by selling all of those unwanted items you have just lying around the house. From there some people cruise flea markets, swap meets, and second hand stores for more items to sell on eBay. And even more use Dropshippers. Using Dropshippers is a smart way to get your eBay Home Business up and running because you don't have to invest in costly inventory, store the inventory, or package and ship that inventory. Your Dropship supplier will do all of that for you. It doesn't get any easier then that!
So if you're looking for a Home Based Business, have a look at eBay. It is the largest and most exciting auction service on the Internet enabling trades on a local, national and international bases. With more than 3 million auctions running at any given time, and many millions of users, if you have something to sell you'll probably find a buyer for it on eBay.
Happy Selling!
Joe Clare.
About the author:
Joe Clare is an active Netpreneur and eBayer! He is the author of numerous articles on how to succeed on eBay! Check out his latest Best Selling eBook "eBay Marketing Wholesale SourcePak" Your Passport to Success! at http://www.ebooksnsoftware.com
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The New eBay Money Making Secret...EXPOSED!!
The eBay Affiliate Program ( http://affiliates.ebay.com/) strives to make success of its members inevitable. The eBay Affiliate program has outlined some effective strategies and designed some effective tools to ensure you make money and have success. eBay’s Affiliate program, is already a success for so many people, and has the benefit of experience to pass on to you. Once you become a member of the Affiliate Program you can be making money in no time flat.
The Program has recognized four models that their most successful affiliates utilize. These models increase traffic or maximize potential in a variety of ways:
The first, the natural search, occurs when people go to search engines with a query in hopes of receiving relevant search information. Search engines such as Google, Yahoo!, MSN, and AOL return listings from web sites that ranked the highest during the search process. Affiliate Program members who optimize this strategy incorporate eBay’s helpful hints for natural searches. Indexed web sites with title pages and other rank-earning components earn more exposure, and increase their earnings with eBay.
The second model, the paid search model, increases hits with search engines because this model pays for placement. This model includes results that would appear in the “sponsored links” section. While these cost money, they are a cost-effective way to target interested leads.
The third model is Content websites. They place eBay adds on their website, and find added success when they choose to advertise for eBay in ways that also relate to their own content and aims.
The fourth model is opt-in newsletters. This option allows websites to broadcast additional information about their eBay Affiliate Program status to potential customers, and increase their customer base.
To make the most of eBay, many websites choose to emulate one of the aforementioned models. These models are tried and true, and repeatedly spell success for eBay Affiliate Program members. These models are highly cost and time effective.
Cost and time effectiveness are highly important, as they ensure you are earning the maximum dollar for the effort you invest in your affiliate member status. The eBay Affiliate Program takes your time and effort seriously, and provides you with the necessary tools to maximize your success. Items such as the Keyword Tool, allow you to ensure your keywords are drawing the most attention.
eBay also provides you with options to track the hits your site inspired, statistics for the products and models that are performing best, and additional guidelines for best business practices.
All of these options are free with the eBay Affiliate Program, and all of them will increase your earning potential with the programme.
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About the author:
Anthony Samuel is a successful entrepreneur with over 15 years home based business experience in, Internet Information Marketing, Real Estate, & Stocks. Visit his website http://www.sanjen.comfor the internet's top money making opportunities.
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The Program has recognized four models that their most successful affiliates utilize. These models increase traffic or maximize potential in a variety of ways:
The first, the natural search, occurs when people go to search engines with a query in hopes of receiving relevant search information. Search engines such as Google, Yahoo!, MSN, and AOL return listings from web sites that ranked the highest during the search process. Affiliate Program members who optimize this strategy incorporate eBay’s helpful hints for natural searches. Indexed web sites with title pages and other rank-earning components earn more exposure, and increase their earnings with eBay.
The second model, the paid search model, increases hits with search engines because this model pays for placement. This model includes results that would appear in the “sponsored links” section. While these cost money, they are a cost-effective way to target interested leads.
The third model is Content websites. They place eBay adds on their website, and find added success when they choose to advertise for eBay in ways that also relate to their own content and aims.
The fourth model is opt-in newsletters. This option allows websites to broadcast additional information about their eBay Affiliate Program status to potential customers, and increase their customer base.
To make the most of eBay, many websites choose to emulate one of the aforementioned models. These models are tried and true, and repeatedly spell success for eBay Affiliate Program members. These models are highly cost and time effective.
Cost and time effectiveness are highly important, as they ensure you are earning the maximum dollar for the effort you invest in your affiliate member status. The eBay Affiliate Program takes your time and effort seriously, and provides you with the necessary tools to maximize your success. Items such as the Keyword Tool, allow you to ensure your keywords are drawing the most attention.
eBay also provides you with options to track the hits your site inspired, statistics for the products and models that are performing best, and additional guidelines for best business practices.
All of these options are free with the eBay Affiliate Program, and all of them will increase your earning potential with the programme.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
About the author:
Anthony Samuel is a successful entrepreneur with over 15 years home based business experience in, Internet Information Marketing, Real Estate, & Stocks. Visit his website http://www.sanjen.comfor the internet's top money making opportunities.
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The Ebay Revolution - A Beginners Guide
With E bay being one of the most searched for terms on the internet today,[ approx 24 million people last month], it is hardly suprising that more and more everyday people are turning away from the 9-5 job scene, and looking at the income opportunities that this hugely popular forum has to offer.
So just what are the benefits of starting your own E bay business, as opposed to the more traditional self employment options, such as buying a business, or becoming a franchisee?
Well the first and most obvious benefit is the financial one, you can start an E bay business on a shoestring, whereas buying a franchise or setting up on your own will in all probability cost you 10s of thousands of dollars.
Secondly, the element of risk is fairly negligible with an E bay business [ as long as you don’t invest hugely in stock before you have properly researched the market]
Thirdly you can start up in your spare time, without having to “give up your day job”. This allows you to test the water, and see if you actually enjoy running your own business, before you actually take the plunge.For many people Ebay is simply a profitable and fun sideline or hobby, and that’s fine, but you need to make the choice if it’s a hobby you want or a business.If you make the decision that its to be a business,then you need to keep professional records, pay tax etc.
Another beauty of running an online business is that you can do your business activities when it suits you.You can organise your auctions at 2 am if you so choose, and people will still be looking at what you have to offer!
A final benefit,[ and this list is by no means exhaustive ] is that unlike a traditional business, your marketplace is unlimited, you can sell your product anywhere in the world, you have a potential marketplace of millions upon millions of buyers
The most common question for many people is “ how do I get started ?”. The first step if you haven’t already done it, is to get on Ebay and have a look around. Ebay itself offers great informative resources and tours for the uninitiated. Have a look at some auctions in progress, see how people list and display their products, bid for something you would like [you have to join first, but Ebay makes this a very user friendly process] Have a look round your home for unwanted items, run some auctions of your own, its fun, and you’ve nothing to loose but your junk. This is a great way of dipping your toes in the auction pond.
So, after having done this you decide that you would like to get serious about building an E bay business, what should you do first? Here is a shortlist of some basic first steps.
1. Choose your product- Everything from baseball cards to luxury homes is for sale on Ebay.Research possible product choices by looking at what your competition is doing.If you have a particular area of expertise, or a passion which others share, choose your product accordingly. TIP- A great research tool is available at www.overture.com . Its called the keyword selector tool, and it enables you to check how many times a certain word or phrase has been searched for on the internet in the previous month ie rolex watch. If few people have been looking for what you want to sell, chances are it will be a non starter on Ebay.[ at the time of writing this tool can be used by anyone free of charge, though this may well change] On the other hand if your product is frequently searched for, you may be onto a winner.
2. Don’t sell poor quality products.There is nothing more disappointing than receiving a purchase only to find it is inferior quality junk. Ebay has an excellent feedback system, which it uses to rate traders.This feedback is available to both buyers and sellers, so if you get negative feedback, this can seriously jeopardise your Ebay reputation permanently
3. Start small. Unless you are utterly confident in your product, and in a very secure position financially, start things off on a small scale, and increase your spending only as your results justify this.
4. Test, Test, Test- Try different products and combinations of products to see what works best, and always use photos,as many people buy what they see not what they read.
5. Commit from the start to offering exceptional service. Treat others as you would like to be treated, and you will soon get a reputation as a trader to be trusted, and from whom you can buy with confidence.
6. Don’t always try to make a large profit. Many of the powersellers on Ebay make small but consistent profits,and run a lot of auctions! Always ensure that you cover shipping costs, and any costs incurred in running your auction.
7. Many of E bays top sellers sell other peoples products which they neither stock or in most cases even see, through a process called ‘dropshipping’. A dropshipper is a wholesaler, who also takes care of all the product shipping details on your behalf.There are many dropship companies who tailor their services around the Ebay auction scene, and who can provide you with quality products, at very competitive prices shipped directly to your buyers [ if you plan to be in Ebay for the long haul, it is well worth giving this option serious consideration, as you really need to have a steady reliable source of cheap quality products.
About the author:
Adrian Ryder is a University Honours graduate, internet entrepreneur and researcher. For some detailed E bay success resources, dropshipping & wholesale directories, and work at home opportunities, check out his affiliate site at
http://www2268.dropshipwholesale.net
Adrian regrets that due to time constraints he is unable to enter into personal discussion/queries regarding his article.
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So just what are the benefits of starting your own E bay business, as opposed to the more traditional self employment options, such as buying a business, or becoming a franchisee?
Well the first and most obvious benefit is the financial one, you can start an E bay business on a shoestring, whereas buying a franchise or setting up on your own will in all probability cost you 10s of thousands of dollars.
Secondly, the element of risk is fairly negligible with an E bay business [ as long as you don’t invest hugely in stock before you have properly researched the market]
Thirdly you can start up in your spare time, without having to “give up your day job”. This allows you to test the water, and see if you actually enjoy running your own business, before you actually take the plunge.For many people Ebay is simply a profitable and fun sideline or hobby, and that’s fine, but you need to make the choice if it’s a hobby you want or a business.If you make the decision that its to be a business,then you need to keep professional records, pay tax etc.
Another beauty of running an online business is that you can do your business activities when it suits you.You can organise your auctions at 2 am if you so choose, and people will still be looking at what you have to offer!
A final benefit,[ and this list is by no means exhaustive ] is that unlike a traditional business, your marketplace is unlimited, you can sell your product anywhere in the world, you have a potential marketplace of millions upon millions of buyers
The most common question for many people is “ how do I get started ?”. The first step if you haven’t already done it, is to get on Ebay and have a look around. Ebay itself offers great informative resources and tours for the uninitiated. Have a look at some auctions in progress, see how people list and display their products, bid for something you would like [you have to join first, but Ebay makes this a very user friendly process] Have a look round your home for unwanted items, run some auctions of your own, its fun, and you’ve nothing to loose but your junk. This is a great way of dipping your toes in the auction pond.
So, after having done this you decide that you would like to get serious about building an E bay business, what should you do first? Here is a shortlist of some basic first steps.
1. Choose your product- Everything from baseball cards to luxury homes is for sale on Ebay.Research possible product choices by looking at what your competition is doing.If you have a particular area of expertise, or a passion which others share, choose your product accordingly. TIP- A great research tool is available at www.overture.com . Its called the keyword selector tool, and it enables you to check how many times a certain word or phrase has been searched for on the internet in the previous month ie rolex watch. If few people have been looking for what you want to sell, chances are it will be a non starter on Ebay.[ at the time of writing this tool can be used by anyone free of charge, though this may well change] On the other hand if your product is frequently searched for, you may be onto a winner.
2. Don’t sell poor quality products.There is nothing more disappointing than receiving a purchase only to find it is inferior quality junk. Ebay has an excellent feedback system, which it uses to rate traders.This feedback is available to both buyers and sellers, so if you get negative feedback, this can seriously jeopardise your Ebay reputation permanently
3. Start small. Unless you are utterly confident in your product, and in a very secure position financially, start things off on a small scale, and increase your spending only as your results justify this.
4. Test, Test, Test- Try different products and combinations of products to see what works best, and always use photos,as many people buy what they see not what they read.
5. Commit from the start to offering exceptional service. Treat others as you would like to be treated, and you will soon get a reputation as a trader to be trusted, and from whom you can buy with confidence.
6. Don’t always try to make a large profit. Many of the powersellers on Ebay make small but consistent profits,and run a lot of auctions! Always ensure that you cover shipping costs, and any costs incurred in running your auction.
7. Many of E bays top sellers sell other peoples products which they neither stock or in most cases even see, through a process called ‘dropshipping’. A dropshipper is a wholesaler, who also takes care of all the product shipping details on your behalf.There are many dropship companies who tailor their services around the Ebay auction scene, and who can provide you with quality products, at very competitive prices shipped directly to your buyers [ if you plan to be in Ebay for the long haul, it is well worth giving this option serious consideration, as you really need to have a steady reliable source of cheap quality products.
About the author:
Adrian Ryder is a University Honours graduate, internet entrepreneur and researcher. For some detailed E bay success resources, dropshipping & wholesale directories, and work at home opportunities, check out his affiliate site at
http://www2268.dropshipwholesale.net
Adrian regrets that due to time constraints he is unable to enter into personal discussion/queries regarding his article.
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The eBay Community - Both the solvent and the glue: The re-defining of the online industry
Why the anarchy on eBay? Why the apparent contradiction between the merchandising as a community and the escalating tension that is creating an exodus to independent platforms, a slow down in growth on eBay, and reduction in users on the platform?
The empowered eBay business person
EBay empowered the small user to compete in the business world on an equal footing with the brick and mortar stores without the overhead due to facilities costs and labor costs. They campaigned the ideal by marketing eBay as a community, albeit virtual, enjoining the User thru mutual goals regardless of geographical location thus mitigating the virtual isolation. Access to the community at eBay , akin to a global village, is won by acceptance of the notion that there are mutual goals. The goals, presented as a team effort, depend on driven self interest both on eBay’s part and the part of the user - a driving desire for both to succeed with spiraling success and escalating sales.
The empowered User feels betrayal when the team concept breaks down due to lack of any meaningful discussion on application and interpretation of the Terms Of Service (TOS) and fees. Enforcement of TOS is final, arbitrary and capricious with little opportunity for discussion or appeal. The reporting mechanism is the community itself which defers policing costs away from Corporate. The mechanism is driven by self reporting by other members who usually have a self benefit as the reported target is often a competitor or personal rival.
Dispelling the enthusiasism
The individualism and team effort that is encouraged by eBay, during the initiation period, is smothered by over zealous nameless members of a community work pool in a brick and mortar establishment often far removed from Corporate offices. The TOS violation decisions are delivered by faceless email that offer little explanation excepting multiple reference to nebulous complicated passages in the TOS that may, or may not apply, to the infraction with notices that the auction is cancelled, the user is suspended, or the Pay Pal account frozen. The User is left floundering with the ability to do little but email an unknown eBay employee whose name will change as the shifts change - this resulting pool of participants add further interpretation , conflicting opinions, and no promise of a hearing or any tangible recourse.
Protesting, picketing and boycotts
And so the User retreats to Forums and Boards to process the events, in virtual communities, giving a biased version of a problem presenting it as a threat that tends to inflame moral panic. Further debate of the moral panic escalates the alarm that is then spread to similar boards with similar stated goals to undermine the credibility of eBay. The negative identity of eBay is created, escalated, and maintained by the conflict. The problems are further compounded by trolls that bait the user groups and then stand back to enjoy the conflict. The search engines spider the comments further spreading the negativity that not only impacts the eBay community but the credibility of the online auction marketplace as a whole.
A system fed by the anonymous Buyer and Seller
The online marketplace auction community is based on annominity encouraged by eBay and now moved out onto the independent platform as they emulate the eBay image. The usernames are the basis for all business transactions and real names are discouraged with the argument that the security of the ‘User’ is jeopardized by such familiarity. Further compounding this are the users who have multiple usernames.
This argument for annominity is negated as the identity of any User can be found after one transaction down to full name, address, phone, and email address. So if the username is so easily ‘found’ - why the challenge to continue to hide the real identity? The practice of anonymous usernames continues to be encouraged even on the eBay forums themselves further compounding the problem.
Driven by annominity and compounded by the allowed use of multiple usernames for individual posters - posts are more antagonistic in the online environment than it would be in a real face to face confrontation. Attitudinal negativism is ramped and driven by biased inflammatory responses meant to bolster the injured parties position. Those not contributing to the popular position on the board are treated to group hazing rituals that isolate the target and drive the non compliant poster off the board or forum. The hazing on eBay forums themselves varies from board to board and is dependent on the tolerance of the eBay appointed Moderator, who may not work for eBay itself, but a subcontractor brought in to run the forums. As the anarchy escalates so does the number of forums forming to campaign the anti eBay sentiment and sponsors independent auction platform growth.
A nationally mandated solution?
Coming soon maybe a solution in that all online Sellers will have to be Nationally registered as mandated by the Streamlined Tax Act. The current practice of the multiple anonymous usernames policy maybe looking at a radical overhaul in the near future. The lack of annominity may change current business practices as they need to protect that National License and also temper the tone on the boards as personal integrity is at stake - and there maybe a trickle down effect on the negativity.
The brick and mortar standard - a solution.
Currently the community is both the solvent and the glue driven there by a company that has become so aloof it will not communicate directly with its own team , the Buyers and Sellers, except in press releases, limited notices on the announcement board, faceless extended email campaigns, and the promise of token access to phone service if the user ‘pays‘ for the extra service - excepting stores where it will be provided as one of the benefits. So much for the team effort - that would take discussion and that is non existent. Thousands of new online auction platforms are springing up to compete as the exodus continues but the new platforms do not escape unscathed. The fall out - the entire online auction community as it struggles to gain credibility in the eyes of the public with all the bad publicity spread so efficiently with the search engine spiders.
It is time for a change in the online industry and maybe conforming to brick and mortar business standards is what it will take.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
About the author:
Kathleen Johnson founded the Yahoo Group Appraisals and Expert Help. The group is for assisting people with their antique appraisals and merchandising questions several years ago, and she still offers those services today. Kathleen is also under contract to Primedia Inc to Moderate the Allexperts Board at About.inc. For many years she worked as a registered expert on Yahoo Experts, Keen, AskMe and Allexperts. Kathleen continues to write articles on online facilitation but is currently working full time on the iCell.biz platform as it goes thru Beta testing.
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The empowered eBay business person
EBay empowered the small user to compete in the business world on an equal footing with the brick and mortar stores without the overhead due to facilities costs and labor costs. They campaigned the ideal by marketing eBay as a community, albeit virtual, enjoining the User thru mutual goals regardless of geographical location thus mitigating the virtual isolation. Access to the community at eBay , akin to a global village, is won by acceptance of the notion that there are mutual goals. The goals, presented as a team effort, depend on driven self interest both on eBay’s part and the part of the user - a driving desire for both to succeed with spiraling success and escalating sales.
The empowered User feels betrayal when the team concept breaks down due to lack of any meaningful discussion on application and interpretation of the Terms Of Service (TOS) and fees. Enforcement of TOS is final, arbitrary and capricious with little opportunity for discussion or appeal. The reporting mechanism is the community itself which defers policing costs away from Corporate. The mechanism is driven by self reporting by other members who usually have a self benefit as the reported target is often a competitor or personal rival.
Dispelling the enthusiasism
The individualism and team effort that is encouraged by eBay, during the initiation period, is smothered by over zealous nameless members of a community work pool in a brick and mortar establishment often far removed from Corporate offices. The TOS violation decisions are delivered by faceless email that offer little explanation excepting multiple reference to nebulous complicated passages in the TOS that may, or may not apply, to the infraction with notices that the auction is cancelled, the user is suspended, or the Pay Pal account frozen. The User is left floundering with the ability to do little but email an unknown eBay employee whose name will change as the shifts change - this resulting pool of participants add further interpretation , conflicting opinions, and no promise of a hearing or any tangible recourse.
Protesting, picketing and boycotts
And so the User retreats to Forums and Boards to process the events, in virtual communities, giving a biased version of a problem presenting it as a threat that tends to inflame moral panic. Further debate of the moral panic escalates the alarm that is then spread to similar boards with similar stated goals to undermine the credibility of eBay. The negative identity of eBay is created, escalated, and maintained by the conflict. The problems are further compounded by trolls that bait the user groups and then stand back to enjoy the conflict. The search engines spider the comments further spreading the negativity that not only impacts the eBay community but the credibility of the online auction marketplace as a whole.
A system fed by the anonymous Buyer and Seller
The online marketplace auction community is based on annominity encouraged by eBay and now moved out onto the independent platform as they emulate the eBay image. The usernames are the basis for all business transactions and real names are discouraged with the argument that the security of the ‘User’ is jeopardized by such familiarity. Further compounding this are the users who have multiple usernames.
This argument for annominity is negated as the identity of any User can be found after one transaction down to full name, address, phone, and email address. So if the username is so easily ‘found’ - why the challenge to continue to hide the real identity? The practice of anonymous usernames continues to be encouraged even on the eBay forums themselves further compounding the problem.
Driven by annominity and compounded by the allowed use of multiple usernames for individual posters - posts are more antagonistic in the online environment than it would be in a real face to face confrontation. Attitudinal negativism is ramped and driven by biased inflammatory responses meant to bolster the injured parties position. Those not contributing to the popular position on the board are treated to group hazing rituals that isolate the target and drive the non compliant poster off the board or forum. The hazing on eBay forums themselves varies from board to board and is dependent on the tolerance of the eBay appointed Moderator, who may not work for eBay itself, but a subcontractor brought in to run the forums. As the anarchy escalates so does the number of forums forming to campaign the anti eBay sentiment and sponsors independent auction platform growth.
A nationally mandated solution?
Coming soon maybe a solution in that all online Sellers will have to be Nationally registered as mandated by the Streamlined Tax Act. The current practice of the multiple anonymous usernames policy maybe looking at a radical overhaul in the near future. The lack of annominity may change current business practices as they need to protect that National License and also temper the tone on the boards as personal integrity is at stake - and there maybe a trickle down effect on the negativity.
The brick and mortar standard - a solution.
Currently the community is both the solvent and the glue driven there by a company that has become so aloof it will not communicate directly with its own team , the Buyers and Sellers, except in press releases, limited notices on the announcement board, faceless extended email campaigns, and the promise of token access to phone service if the user ‘pays‘ for the extra service - excepting stores where it will be provided as one of the benefits. So much for the team effort - that would take discussion and that is non existent. Thousands of new online auction platforms are springing up to compete as the exodus continues but the new platforms do not escape unscathed. The fall out - the entire online auction community as it struggles to gain credibility in the eyes of the public with all the bad publicity spread so efficiently with the search engine spiders.
It is time for a change in the online industry and maybe conforming to brick and mortar business standards is what it will take.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
About the author:
Kathleen Johnson founded the Yahoo Group Appraisals and Expert Help. The group is for assisting people with their antique appraisals and merchandising questions several years ago, and she still offers those services today. Kathleen is also under contract to Primedia Inc to Moderate the Allexperts Board at About.inc. For many years she worked as a registered expert on Yahoo Experts, Keen, AskMe and Allexperts. Kathleen continues to write articles on online facilitation but is currently working full time on the iCell.biz platform as it goes thru Beta testing.
Circulated by Article Emporium
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
eBay presents a great opportunity for small businesses to become very successful, but putting all your eggs in one basket has never been a good idea,
eBay presents a great opportunity for small businesses to become very successful, but putting all your eggs in one basket has never been a good idea, even when the basket is eBay.
If you are currently making a living on eBay it may be wise to consider opening up other avenues of income for several good reasons.
One reason is that eBay has the right to cancel all your listings at any time at their discretion. This is not unfair in the sense that eBay has to keep an eye on infringing listings to keep the marketplace safer for all. Only thing is that if you have no other source of income and for some reason you are suspended, your money stops right there.
Another factor to consider is the rise in eBay fees. With many other platforms now offering cheaper ways of getting your product seen it is good to get involved with as many as your time allows. Look towards companies like Yahoo Auctions, Froogle, Overstock and uBid to broaden your exposure and presence online.
It is also essential to consider paying for some web-hosting to setup your own website to sell your products from. The advantages to having your own website are numerous but the main thing is that you have complete control over what you can publish and sell and obviously there are no eBay fees involved.
The grand idea should be a multi-domain business that is inter-connected and sends traffic from your eBay AboutMe page straight to your various websites. There is a wonderful technique taught by Jim Cockrum in his eBook "The Silent Sales Machine Hiding on eBay" to funnel the millions on eBay users to your own website. To learn more about this technique visit http://www.auction-buying-tips.com/ebay-auction-business.html
Use eBay in the right way to make sure you do not lose out on valuable prospects and leads that could be generated from the hundreds or even thousands of visitors that visit your eBay listings but do not bid or buy. This is using eBay the smart way, as part of your business, not your only business. Consider eBay as simply one more (very good) channel of income.
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About the author:
Marius-Henk van Dyk is a successful eBay Powerseller and editor in chief of http://www.auction-buying-tips.com, a site dedicated to all those interested in getting the most out of eBay. Visit http://www.auction-buying-tips.com/auction-for-income.htmlfor free eBay Buying and Selling eBooks.
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If you are currently making a living on eBay it may be wise to consider opening up other avenues of income for several good reasons.
One reason is that eBay has the right to cancel all your listings at any time at their discretion. This is not unfair in the sense that eBay has to keep an eye on infringing listings to keep the marketplace safer for all. Only thing is that if you have no other source of income and for some reason you are suspended, your money stops right there.
Another factor to consider is the rise in eBay fees. With many other platforms now offering cheaper ways of getting your product seen it is good to get involved with as many as your time allows. Look towards companies like Yahoo Auctions, Froogle, Overstock and uBid to broaden your exposure and presence online.
It is also essential to consider paying for some web-hosting to setup your own website to sell your products from. The advantages to having your own website are numerous but the main thing is that you have complete control over what you can publish and sell and obviously there are no eBay fees involved.
The grand idea should be a multi-domain business that is inter-connected and sends traffic from your eBay AboutMe page straight to your various websites. There is a wonderful technique taught by Jim Cockrum in his eBook "The Silent Sales Machine Hiding on eBay" to funnel the millions on eBay users to your own website. To learn more about this technique visit http://www.auction-buying-tips.com/ebay-auction-business.html
Use eBay in the right way to make sure you do not lose out on valuable prospects and leads that could be generated from the hundreds or even thousands of visitors that visit your eBay listings but do not bid or buy. This is using eBay the smart way, as part of your business, not your only business. Consider eBay as simply one more (very good) channel of income.
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About the author:
Marius-Henk van Dyk is a successful eBay Powerseller and editor in chief of http://www.auction-buying-tips.com, a site dedicated to all those interested in getting the most out of eBay. Visit http://www.auction-buying-tips.com/auction-for-income.htmlfor free eBay Buying and Selling eBooks.
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