Online Seller Tips

eBay 101: Selling on eBay For Part-time or Full-time Income, Beginner to PowerSeller in 90 Days [Kindle Edition]

2011-11-28T10:57:00.000-08:00

Here is the Kindle version of this top ranked book and how to sell on eBay.

Editorial Reviews From Amazon.com

Product Description

With today's rocky economy and unsteady job market, there's never been a better time to earn extra cash online. And now there's a new book that guides you each step of the way: eBay 101: Selling on eBay For Part-time or Full-time Income, Beginner to PowerSeller in 90 Days. Access the world's biggest marketplace, right from your own home.

You'll learn how to:

-- Register at eBay and PayPal
-- Start part-time and expand your income when you're ready
-- Find great inventory at low prices
-- Auction to the highest bidder or sell at fixed prices
-- Identify niche markets for big profits
-- Get tax deductions for your eBay home-based business
-- Guard against scammers and rip-off artists

Starting a business on eBay is perhaps your fastest route to the American Dream. The payoff can be high, and the barriers to entry are low.

The world's most popular online marketplace, eBay has millions of registered buyers waiting to do business with you. For less than $100 and very little risk, you can start an eBay venture with profit margins rivaling those of any business. Exactly how much money you earn depends mostly on how much effort you put into your new enterprise and how efficiently you operate it.

In this new eBay guide, you'll see:

How eBay works ... Register your business ... Sell your item ... Build your listing

Timing, planning your auction ... Make a picture worth $1,000 ... Use Pre-filled Item Information ... Price your item ... Reserve Pricing ... Multiple Item (Dutch) Auctions ... The auction alternative: fixed prices ... Best Offer listing option ... Upgrade your listings ... The best time to list

Profit with a niche ... Start with used merchandise ... Win with niche selling ... Cash in on collectibles ... Autographed items ... Trust, but authenticate ... How to recognize fake autographs

Get more great inventory ... Estate sales ... Bankruptcy sales ... Thrift shops ... Local artisans ... Close-out merchandise ... Library sales ... Overstock distributors ... Find overlooked gems at estate sales ... Live auctions ... Postal Service auctions ... Treasury Department auctions ... GSA Auctions ... Government Liquidation ... Law Enforcement Auctions ... Classified ads ... Get merchandise on eBay ... Get merchandise on consignment ... Become a trading assistant

Expand your business ... Create your `About Me' page ... Cross-promotions ... Open an eBay store ... Set up shop ... Promote your store ... eBay Express ... Using eBay's Half.com site ... Google Base ... Why many would-be PowerSellers fail

Prevent problem customers ... Set Buyer Requirements ... Be a feedback fanatic ... Completing sales ... Communicate with a packing slip ... Respond to feedback ... Mutual Feedback Withdrawal ... Feedback policies ... Handle customers right ... Unpaid item disputes ... Work with PayPal

Avoid scams and fraud ... Spot shady buyers ... Recognize predators ... Avoid phishing e-mails ... Beware of hoax e-mails ... Avoid drop-ship, wholesale scams ... Recognize crooks and middlemen ... Warning signs of bogus wholesalers ... Know a fake from the real McCoy

Ship efficiently ... Choose a shipping company ... Communicate when you ship ... Pare shipping costs to the bone ... Sell Get It Fast Items ... Handle delivery snafus ... Print online postage ... Organize your inventory ... Design your SKU system

Get efficient with fulfillment software ... TurboLister ... Selling Manager ... Software for media sellers ... Research prices wirelessly

More eBay rules ... Prohibited and restricted items ... Shill bidding ... Keyword spamming ... Fee Circumvention ... Sales taxes ... Income taxes ... Business use of your home ... Hiring employees

eBay Has Major Search Outage Over Weekend

2009-11-23T06:56:00.000-08:00

During this critical shopping period, with the economy in the doldrums and retailers of all sizes needing to make as many sales as possible eBay experienced a world wide search system failure on Friday, November 21st.

AuctionBytes.com by Ina Steiner has complete details and many comments by eBay users.

CNN.com is reporting on the incident in an article titled EBay Apologizes for Web Site Glitch

Online auction giant eBay apologized Sunday for a daylong glitch that inactivated the search function on its Web site, and said it will compensate sellers for their losses.

The Wall Street Journal.com is reporting about the problem in an article titled EBay Search Glitch Damps Sales where they state;

A search glitch at eBay Inc.'s main e-commerce sites over the weekend damped sales in the run-up to the crucial holiday shopping season.

Although auctions continued to function, sellers began noticing problems with eBay's search system Saturday morning that prevented users from finding products on the U.S. and some international eBay sites. EBay said search functions were fully restored Sunday morning.

The overall consensus is that EBay is a victim of it's on success. The number of buyers that flocked to the site over the weekend crashed the search function. This however begs the question, "Didn't EBay realize this would happen in this climate where many shoppers would be searching for bargians?"

Books About EBay @Amazon.com

QuickBooks

2009-04-03T01:11:00.000-07:00

QuickBooks Pro 2009

Product Features

Complete tasks like paying employees, invoicing, bill tracking and check-writing
Track sales and expenses, and easily share this data in Word and Excel
Stay on top of your business by seeing who owes you money or which bills are coming due
Quickly create your own professional-looking custom forms
Over 100 included templates for reporting

Spend more time making money, rather than tracking it. QuickBooks Pro 2009 makes the job of running a business easier by giving you tools to organize all your finances conveniently in one place. Easily keep track of sales and expenses so you know at a glance who owes you money and who you owe money to. Use any of more than 100 included templates to create your own professional-quality forms, including estimates, invoices and reports. Plus, you can share your data with such programs as Word and Excel, making it even easier to both make sense of and make use of your business's constantly changing financial information.

Compatible with QuickBooks Point of Sale version 4.0 and later

eBay Announces Lay Off of 10 Percent

2008-10-06T19:44:00.000-07:00

According to an article on the New York Times.com Technology page, eBay "is both tightening its belt and expanding its reach in preparation for the coming economic storm."

On Monday, eBay announced it would lay off 10 percent of its 16,000 workers, including 1,000 permanent employees, and pay $1.35 billion to acquire the Web payment firm Bill Me Later and the Danish classified advertising companies Den Bla Avis and BilBasen.

You can read the full article here, EBay Trims Its Work Force And Makes Acquisitions.

Scot Wingo's Thoughts on eBay Changes

2008-08-22T15:09:00.000-07:00

Scot Wingo the author of the blog eBay Strategies has a very interesting and informed opinion regarding the recent changes at eBay. He makes the points in an article in his blog titled eBay mega-changes day 3 - Wall St reaction and some 'deep thoughts'..., where he states;

Not all of the analysts have chimed in, but as you'd expect the bears view this as vindication the model is broken and bulls are cheering that the company is making progress on moving towards more CPA vs. listing fee model. Most analysts are concerned that here we are in September basically and the buyer experience hasn't materially improved yet. Thus eBay is looking at a potentially disadvantaged holiday season vs. other retailers (they mean Amazon when the say this IMO).

I really like how he compares eBay to Amazon.com and looks at their business models.

More Changes From eBay

2008-08-20T14:40:00.000-07:00

Various news organizations are reporting new changes in eBays pricing policies. Check out Some eBay sellers frustrated with rule changes from the Associated Press.

According to the article;

Even with the rancor, some sellers clearly have benefited from eBay's changes. Steven Holt and his wife, Crystal, who sell DVDs from Denison, Iowa, say they've seen record sales since the spring, when eBay search results began favoring vendors who, like them, have high feedback ratings.

Changes are coming in the following five areas:

Pricing, - All fixed Price listing fees will be lowered to 35-cents and the listing period will expand for 30 days, and one listing fee will cover an unlimited number of items. This will also be accompanied with an increase in final value fees by categories.

Search, - The new search will treat auction and Fixed Price listings more fairly. Fixed price listings and auction listings separately for best match and then combine them in the final listing. The new search algorithm will look at the success rate of an item. The fixed price listings that have a higher sales rate will rank above those that don’t.

Seller Standards, - One of the recent changes to the changes that eBay made was to stop counting neutrals in your feedback score. There will probably be more changes made in this area as eBay is serious about getting rid of problem sellers.

Shipping, - Soon eBay will set a maximum shipping & handling charge for items listed in the media categories (books, DVDs, CDs, etc.). They also indicated that maximum shipping charges may be set in other categories in the future. This will be accompanied by promotions for buyers that will help with your item rankings.

Electronic Payments, - eBay will go to an all-electronic payment system soon. Checks and Money Orders will not be accepted for payment. This change has been in the works for a while, and it will be interesting to see how it pans out.

As always with eBay things remain fluid. Most of these changes will be implemented in late October, if they do not change their minds between now and then.

Ten Niche Items That You Could Be Selling Online

2008-07-31T11:18:00.000-07:00

I get a lot of questions from sellers wanting to know what they should be selling. Two good places to find the best things to sell are eBay and Amazon.com.

Both of these sites are giants in the online retelling world. You can buy wholesale and in quantity on both eBay and Amazon.com.

What follows are ten niches that you could be selling right now;

1. Cellphones - Cellphones are the number one consumer electronics item out there. They are bought and sold world wide and even children own cellphones.

2. Bluetooth headsets - With the recent increase of laws making hands free driving a must, bluetooths will only continue to be popular.

3. Bike Frames - The profit margins on bikes will surprise you. Go to eBay and look at what bikes are being sold for.

4. Military Collectibles - Military collectibles is an area that has a long and interesting history. These collectibles go all the way back to the beginning of the last centry.

5. MP3 players (iPods) - Mp3 players are also one of the must haves for the average consumer of electronics. The demand for the new models ensures that this niche will be popular for years to come.

6. Autos - Autos like cellphones is an area of sells where everyone can be your customer, because almost everyone has an auto. So the ability to sell makes this an area that if you are a serious seller you will want to consider.

7. Entertainment Memorabilia - Entertainment memorabilia is an area that resist down turns in the economy and other glitches that cause other niches to loose their popularity. Even during down turns we need to escape into the world of entertainment. This makes this area of sells very attractive.

8. Sports Gear (Golf, football, basketball, soccer) - Like entertainment, sports is an area of escape. And even when we cut back in other areas we still need the escape and inspiration that sports offer. Not to mention the health benefits of using sports gear.

9. Blue ray DVDs - Blue Ray DVDs are also a new area that if you start selling you can expect that there will be years of stable sales growth. This is one of the features that all online sellers should be looking for.

10. Video Games - Video games like cellphones, blue ray dvds and other consumer electronics are growing a rate that offers a very good chance to generate a stable income into the future.

The above list contains items that will give you a good profit margin and allow you to make money. I also hope that it makes you think about what niches that you come up with yourself. The whole point of this post is to get online sellers to think about what they themselves like to sell and what items have to potential to generate the best sells for them.

Amazon.com Offers New Payment Method

2008-07-30T05:00:00.000-07:00

According to the article Amazon payment services debut in ComputerWorld.com;

Amazon.com Inc. on Tuesday launched hosted e-commerce payment services for merchants that want to outsource all or some of their online transaction processing tasks.

The two new offerings, called Checkout By Amazon and Amazon Simple Pay, are the latest services for businesses introduced by Amazon, which is best known for its massive online retailing operation.

It will be interesting to see if this new service will have an impact on eBay's PayPal system.

Don't Break Up With Your Customers

2008-07-29T10:45:00.000-07:00

This amusing video makes some points that I think the average online seller would do good to remember.

1. Communicate with your customer.
2. Understand their needs.
3. Listen when they talk to you.
4. Make sure they have good channels of access.
5. Be genuine.

The Break Up

Book for Online Sellers; The New Rules of Marketing and PR

2008-07-27T19:42:00.000-07:00

Here is a book with a long name, the full name of the book is; The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use News Releases, Blogs, Podcasting, Viral Marketing and Online Media to Reach Buyers Directly.

In this book the author argues that the old rules of marketing have changed with the new media. As can be seen with what is happening with old media like newspapers, magazines, radio, and even TV, there are new opportunities for the new media formats like blogs, online news releases, podcasting viral marketing and other online media

The book takes the position that the transition from old media to new media is a good thing for online sellers who know how to use it. The new media offers more integrity and information that helps to produce quality content for less, as opposed to to the one-sided expensive old media marketing methods.

The book provides the technical novice a thoughtful and accessible guide to cutting-edge media arenas and formats such as RSS, vodcasts and viral marketing, without neglecting the fact that technological wizardry can't substitute for a well-thought out marketing program. It emphasizes fundamentals like defining one's audience.

eBay Software Pirate Sentenced

2008-07-25T11:41:00.000-07:00

In yesterdays post I gave suggestions on how all online sellers can go about increasing the trust that buyers have for us as a whole.

Today I want to point out a recent news story that shows what not to do to foster trust in online selling.

You can read PCMag.com's coverage of the story Software Pirate Sentenced to Four Years.

The Software and Information Industry Association said this week that a key seller of fraudulent software on eBay, Jeremiah Mondello, had been sentenced to 48 months in federal prison.

Mondello pled guilty in May to counts of copyright infringement, mail fraud and aggravated identity theft. He was also sentenced to three years supervised release after the conclusion of his sentence, as well as 150 hours of community service.

Five Ways To Foster Trust From Online Customers

2008-07-24T16:33:00.000-07:00

Eairlier today I wrote a post in my blog for parents called Baby Buggy Bumper about quality shopping online in response to a comment that a reader made.

Her comment was;

"You can't guarantee the origin of car seats on ebay nor can your be assured that these are brand new car seats. You should only buy a new car seat, unless you can guarantee that your car seat has NEVER been in an accident. Car seats also have expiration dates, and you can't confirm the manufacture dates of a car seat on ebay. Buy new from a reputable dealer. It's worth the extra cash for your child's safety."

I tried to educate buyers on how to make their online shopping a more secure situation. But there is a lot of mistrust in the comment, and it got me to thinking about how online sellers are all in the same boat. When it comes to trust that is.

Many online buyers don't trust us, because we don't all do things to foster trust in our customers. And so mistrust of me, becomes mistrust of you.

The things that I do, can effect your business and vis versa. So I want to give a list of things that I think online sellers can do to build trust with their customers.

1. Identify yourself, post your picture, give your email address and a business phone number where you can be reached. This builds trust, it lets your buyer know who they are dealing with, and it gives them a way to communicate with you. Use the about page and or profile page of the selling site you use.

2. Communicate with the buyer. Acknowledge their payment, let them know when you have shipped their item. Let them know that you will answer all and any questions that they have. Answer your emails as quickly as possible.

3. Sell only the best quality goods and services that you can. This is a no brainer, but it gets to the heart of the trust matter. There are too many sellers out there selling subpar goods and giving subpar service. If you do sell used or damaged items, then describe them accurately.

4. Stand behind the items that you sell. Mistakes happen, if it is your fault, live up to it. Be responsible. Give returns, refunds and other forms of compensation to your buyers who deserve it.

5. Make it easy for your customer to understand the terms of the sale. Shipping cost, and all other fees above the price should be clearly placed in your listing. Also let your customers know all your policies, when will you give a refund, when will you allow items to be returned. Who will pay for shipping when an item has to be returned.

How to Sell Anything on Amazon...and Make a Fortune! (Paperback)

2008-07-23T05:00:00.000-07:00

From the Back Cover;

Turn your goods into gold on the world’s #1 online retail site

Amazon makes it easy for customers to find and purchase exactly what they want quickly and securely. How to Sell Anything on Amazon…And Make a Fortune! makes it easy for you to sell your merchandise to millions of buyers all over the world. Whether you want to start your own online business or extend a retail business, you’ll learn, step-by-step, how to set up shop on Amazon--and start making money--right away.

Get expert advice on determining what to sell and how to categorize your products. Find out how to sell items on Amazon Marketplace, become a Pro Merchant, set up Paid Placements, use Amazon Auctions, establish an Amazon zShop, and more. Start selling on Amazon today and include your products among “Earth’s Greatest Selection.”

Discover the selling secrets of Amazon

Develop listing and pricing strategies to beat the competition
List and sell items on Amazon Marketplace easily
Use Amazon Auctions to get the best prices for special items
Establish your own virtual storefront—an Amazon zShop
Promote your products by becoming an “Amazon Expert”
Use Paid Placements for maximum exposure
Develop targeted email marketing campaigns
Become an Amazon Pro Merchant
Distribute your own intellectual property through Amazon worldwide
Sell worldwide through Amazon’s international sites

I have been selling on Amazon for about as long as I have been blogging, which is about a little over three years now. Over that time I could have used a guide to help me avoid some of the mistakes all newbie sellers go through.

This book is just such a guide, if you are new to Amazon, then it is a good guide to get you started an will teach you the ends and outs of online selling on Amazon.com.

Auction Sniping

2008-07-22T05:00:00.000-07:00

According to Wikipedia;

Auction sniping is the process of watching a timed online auction (such as on eBay), and placing a winning bid at the last possible moment (often seconds before the end of the auction), giving the other bidders no time to outbid the sniper. Some bidders do this manually, and others use software designed for the purpose. A bid sniper is a person or software agent who performs auction sniping.

There are also online sniping services, where the software agent is run from a website rather than the sniper's own computer. This decreases the failure rate of the snipe, because the website is expected to have more reliable servers that might be quicker to react.

Auction Sniping @ Amazon.com

3 easy ways to botch your online sales

2008-07-21T05:00:00.000-07:00

Some online sellers go through the year waiting for their peak sales period. If something goes wrong during this time it could do a lot of damage to their online business if not end it all together.

There are some lessons that others have learned over the years that can help an online seller avoid some costly mistakes. Not just during their times of peak sales, but all through the year.

On of the biggest problems that online sellers can have is processing payments.

Mistake No. 1: Not knowing your limits.

Think about what will happen if you get more purchases than you planed for. Do you have credit card processing in place? Do you have enough stock? Do you have enough shipping material? What are the limits of your business? Know these, and you will be able to avoid trouble before it starts.

How long does it take you to restock items? How long does it take you to get shipments out. What is the max. number of shipments you can do in a day, a week, a month. These are limits that you need to know.

And also consider what you will do when you reach these limits. How will you limit the damage to your business. Reaching any of these limits does not have to mean the end. It just may mean that you go to plan "B". That is if you have a plan "B".

So the first lesson is to know you limits and have a back up plan. Constantly your sells so that you understand how close to you limits you are. If there is a problem you will want to know about it early so that you can put plan "B" into action.

Mistake No. 2: Not watching the home front.

It is good to have a plan "B" but to know when plan "B" is needed you have to be able to detect when there is a problem. You need to have in place some type of early warning system.

The best way to sure you have a good early warning system is to consistently monitor what is going on with your business. I can not tell you how ofter to monitor your online sales. It may be enough to do a weekly report, or in many cases you will want to look at things daily. Probably what will work best is to have a series of checks, dailies, weekly, and monthly checks that let you know when problems are popping up.

Never thing that everything is OK, check to make sure that it is. Because you have not had any problems recently does not mean that there are not some lurking just out of sight.

Keep an eye on your personnel, your hardware, and software. If your online sells operations is large enough that you have people working for you then build in a system of checks and balances. Always have people check each other, one person does a task and another one goes behind them and checks it.

Maintain your hardware systems and make sure they are being used properly and that you are maintaining them. You don't want to have hardware problems when your sales are at their highest point.

Also make sure that your software is used properly and that it is maintained current. Don't let the lack of an upgrade or patch stop you from preforming some critical function at a critical time.

Have all service contracts for repairs and support that you need, when you need it. That way your hardware, software and the home front of your business will be monitored and repaired when needed.

Mistake No. 3: Not keeping tabs on your online selling sites.

You would probably surprised how may times a site goes down or there are problems with the site and the online seller does not recognize that there is a problem until it is too late.

In this time of great change in the online selling world it kind of goes with saying that you need to monitor you site. But what I am really talking about is the working of the site. The way listings are done, how feedback is given, what are the fees for listing items, these kind of things change all the time.

You have to know how your site is operating and if some of the changes are affecting your sales, the amount of traffic and other factors that determine how successful you are.

In the case where you sell on multiple selling sites this even more important. There are times when these type of changes can make it better for you to place inventory on one site and not the other. And know the changes the various sites are going through will help you make these kinds of decisions.

This also ties into the other two items, by monitoring how your site is working you are kind of keeping your eyes on the other concerns as well. Monitoring will also allow you to catch glitches and other unexpected problems.

BloggingStocks reports: Overstock.com plummets on earnings

2008-07-20T08:18:00.000-07:00

In an article titled Overstock.com plummets on earnings BloggingStocks' Zac Bissonnette describes the latest numbers from Overstock.com.

Shares of Overstock.com (NASDAQ: OSTK) are down nearly 30% after the company reported second quarter earnings. Revenue rose 27 percent to $188.8 but the company reported yet another big money-losing quarter, with $6.5 million, or 28 cents per share, flying out the door.

Bissonnette also points out the difference in the stock performance and the press releases coming from the company.

The Onion's Take On Why Meg Resigned

2008-07-18T16:20:00.000-07:00

This is old news, but I still think it is kind of funny.

eBay CEO Resigns.

Amazon.com Introduces "Bill Me Later"

2008-07-14T23:36:00.000-07:00

Amazon.com anounced that they will now accept Bill Me Later® is a quick and easy way to pay for Amazon.com orders without using a credit card. Starting today through July 21, buy now and get $10 off purchases of $50 or more. Pay with Bill me Later® and use promo code BMLSAVES at checkout.

Join Amazon.com's affiliate program

In this Economy Online Shopping is the Way to go.

2008-07-03T17:11:00.000-07:00

In this economy where;

Gas prices are on the rise.

Housing cost are going up.

Credit is difficult to get.

Job losses are on the rise.

Shopping on line is the way to go. It will save on gas and some of the other cost of shopping at brick and mortar stores.

The real good news, is that the number of places that you can shop on line is at an all time high. The purpose of this post is to give those interested in saving money a list of options from shopping on line.

Two of my favorite places to shop online are eBay and Amazon.com. Between these two online shopping sites most of your electronics, books, video game, and other entertainment needs can be fullfilled.

Some of the most popular eBay catagories that can also save you money by allowing you to buy from the comfort of your home are;

Car, boats, vehicles and parts

Cellphones and PDAs

Collectibles

Computers & Networking

Consumer Elcectonics

DVDs and Movies

Music

Real Estate

Sporting Goods

Toys and Hobbies

Travel

Video Games

Amazon.com also sells much more than books and CDs. Below you will find various departments that can save you money by reducing your cost of shopping. One of the most interesting areas is their Grocery, Health and Beauty departments;

Books

Movies & TV

Video Games

MP3 Downloads

Computers & PC Hardware

Electronics

Home Improvement

Grocery

Toys & Game

Baby Store

Apparel & Accessories

Sports & Outdoors

Power Tools

Amazon.com is offering customers to save an extra 15% plus get automatic reorders and free shipping on items they use frequently, including coffee, shampoo, and laundry detergent, when they order through Amazon's new Subscribe & Save program. Click link to learn more about the program.

eBay Ordered to Pay Millions to High End Fashion Company

2008-07-01T10:13:00.000-07:00

A court in France on Monday ordered eBay Inc. to pay a high-end fashion company to pay $61 million due to the sale of counterfeit goods on the auction site.

Yahoo news reports in an atricle titled eBay told to pay $61M to fashion brand for fakes.

"If counterfeits appear on our site, we take them down swiftly," eBay spokeswoman Sravanthi Agrawal said. "But today's ruling is not about counterfeits. Today's ruling is about an attempt by LVMH to protect uncompetitive commercial practices at the expense of consumer choice and the livelihood of law-abiding sellers that eBay empowers every day."

A Tip for Buyers: Don't Overpay for Returns

2008-06-27T12:08:00.000-07:00

I've been spending most of my time as of late trying to manage various online stores. But one tip that I have wanted to give buyers after noticing a problem with my online stores.

The Tip is: Don't over pay when shipping an item back for a return or exchange.

In our store we offer a no questions asked full money back guarantee with most items that we sell. And that means that we get our fair share of returns. But I have noticed that some buyers are returning items back to me using premium shipping services, such as priority mail and even registered mail.

I understand that you might be a little afraid that you are not going to get your refund, return or exchange but you have to consider the extra cost you might be running up.

So here is my guidance on shipping items back for return, refund or exchange.

- Make sure you understand who is paying return postage.
- Only use as many premium postage upgrades as needed.
ie. if possible send the item first class as opposed to Priority mail.
- Always get tracking, but don't over do it. Deliver confirmation cost $0.45 at most while registered mail can cost as much as $15.00 extra if not more.
- Save the packing material that the item came in and reuse as much as you can.

If you follow these steps you will save either yourself or the seller some money. And in the case where you save the seller some money they may show their appreciation by giving you even better customer service.

There Are Many New Changes Coming to eBay

2008-05-20T21:19:00.000-07:00

Just received the below message in my eBay inbox;

Big changes to Feedback start this month

Important changes to Feedback are slated to be live in May. Since sellers can now leave only positive Feedback for buyers, we've added important new protections for good sellers:

Provisions for removing negative and neutral Feedback from
suspended members.

Credit for repeat Feedback from your loyal buyers.

New reminders to encourage buyers to communicate with
their seller before leaving negative or neutral Feedback.

Shorter window of time to leave Feedback.

7-day wait period for buyers to leave negative or neutral
Feedback for PowerSellers that have been on eBay for
at least 12 months.

Increased ability for sellers to block buyers with
non-payment history.

Some of this I like and some of it I'll just have to wait and see.

I've always thought that feedback from repeat buyers should be counted in your overall score so I like that one.

But the changes to negative feedback for buyers kind of has me steamed. And I also don't care for counting neutral feedback as negatives in your overall feedback score.

I am sure we will visit all of this again soon.

McCree's Antique Store an Example

2008-05-12T13:17:00.000-07:00

Here is another example of a blog being used in conjunction with eBay to sell items. I built this blog McCree's Antique Blog for a friend of mine to help him sell his items and to get more exposure for his eBay store; McCree's Antique Store.

Feel free to send me an email if you have any questions about how to do this or just watch along as we make more entries into his online store and update his blog.

I hope my readers get some ideas from this one. The advantages of having a blog that mirrors your eBay store are;

1. You get better search results. People who are searching for your product can find it through your blog.

2. It allows you to focus on what it is you sell. You can do extended write ups on your items and use different key words that you did not use in your eBay ad.

3. You can have as many photographs as you want. This is one of the neat things about having a blog, you can have unlimited photos for your item. There can be as many different pictures as there are post that you can think up.

4. You can also use your blog as a platform for affiliate marketing that supports the items you sell. You can join eBay's affiliate marketing program and post these links to your blog. There by having a secondary income stream for your store.

Another Example of What Sellers Have to Put Up With

2008-05-06T22:23:00.000-07:00

A person on Yahoo Answers ask;

Ebay question....?.

I bought something off ebay like 10 mins ago I have already paid for it through paypal but I don't want it anymore because I don't really trust the seller. How do I get the Money put back into my account since it was only 10 mins ago and I know it hasn't been shiped or anything. Would I have to call paypal?

-----------------

My answer;

It is always best to check the seller out very good before you buy.

When you buy an item on eBay you are entering a legal contract with the seller.

This will cause the seller problems because you have purchased the item and now decided that you no longer want it.

One of the problems you are causing them is now some of their inventory that they could have sold to some else has been taken off of eBay. Also they were charged fees to list this item, and will probably apply to eBay to get their fees back. And you will be labeled as a non-paying bidder.

If you do not trust a seller, then you should not buy from them.

What On Line Sellers Are Up Against

2008-05-03T15:33:00.000-07:00

I was over at Yahoo Answers answering questions for people that buy items online. I do this because buyers sometimes have some good questions that help me to become a better seller.

This one question showed just what sellers are up against. A person asked;

i won the bid for a cd that was 80 dollars not including shipping.
He has all positive feedback except one neutral one that says

"Sounds good, but might be a fake. Case looks dodgy. Still good :) thank you 6/10"

( thats for a different cd)

he's selling the same cd, that i won it has the same picture and description.
So i think it may be fake but im not sure.
I havent paid yet,
If the item really is fake can i get a refund?

2008 in the title even though the cd came out in 2006
but he isnt saying its new.

what should i do?
----------------------------------------
I answered;

You need to wait until you receive the item.

Then inspect it.

If there is a problem get back with the seller and let them know and give him/her a chance to either refund your money or send you what you bought.

If they do not satisfy you then you can start a dispute against them in paypal. If you win the dispute you will be given a full refund.

You can also leave negative feedback for the seller.

------------------------------------------

This shows the anxiety that some people have when buying items online. As a seller you have to do all that you can to help people understand that you are legitimate or they may start having buyers remorse prior to even receiving your item.

And as a buyer you should always do your due diligence prior to clicking the buy button. It is not very effective for you to start checking things out after you purchase the item.

Lessons Learned from an eBay Seller

2008-04-15T22:06:00.000-07:00

This article titled "How to Make Money on eBay" from the Wall Street Journal online is a good read from a journalist who tries her hand at selling on eBay.

That's ironic, because simplicity is a big reason eBay appealed to me. (Along with instant wealth, of course.) I liked the notion that the sales process would run in the background, like a computer-virus protection program, while I did other things, like my full-time job. EBay would be running things for me.

The article makes a couple of really good points about what it takes to be successful on eBay;

1. That you have to increase your average sell price.
2. That you have to constantly look for ways to keep your cost down.
3. Don't pay too much for your inventory.

Thoughts on eBay's Feedback System

2008-04-10T15:29:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to put my thoughts down about eBay's feedback system. But I have such mixed feeling about the whole system that I can't seem to get them all out at once.

A couple of articles by Washington Post.com writer Rob Pegoraro titled "On eBay, A Little Less Conversation" and "Feedback, And Pushback, On eBay's Feedback Changes" prompted me write this post. I really like the question posed at the end of the second article, and many of the comments are very thought provoking.

If you're an eBay seller, do you trust this company to police the marketplace in place of you? Would you accept such a "we'll take things from here" proposition from the management of any online community?

1. No other form of retailing has such a system. When you go to the corner seven-eleven or the nearby Wal-Mart store, you have no idea of what their feedback is. They do not have to announce to you what problems they have had with other buyers.

This is a big deal for the small online seller. And I don't think that eBay understands what a burden this is.

Can you imagine a big sign on the front of every retail establishment telling how many customers had a positive experience and how many had a negative experience?

2. The idea that sellers can not leave feedback for buyers is crazy. And I chose that word because it describes it best to me. But it also speaks to the question, how can I trust an organization that is not fundamentally fair.

Why harm sellers like this. You can see by this decision that eBay does not truly care for sellers (I suspect this is out of ignorance as opposed to being out of malice).

There are sellers who are bad and need to be removed from eBay, but this move hurts all sellers.

And this really gets to the heart of the question, "Do you trust eBay to police the market place?" When you consider the harm that this could potentially do the sellers, the answer has to be NO!

Sellers can not trust an organization that continues to hurt them.

3. The feedback system is unique and it gives eBay an interesting social network feel. But it also has too much weight in the overall eBay experience. eBay should work to put feedback in perspective.

Many of the new changes to the system do not do this. They highlight the problems with the system and make small things that are not important stand out, which causes problems for sellers.

4. It is also apparent that the new changes were done by someone who does not fully understand the buyer population. I have made this point earlier but here I want to focus on the fact that all buyers are not the same, and so a one size fits all approach does not work for them all.

Some sellers will not be hurt as much by these changes because they sell items that are in high demand, and the buyers will buy them regardless of their feedback. You have always had this situation on eBay. The changes will not change this.

As opposed to trying to regulate the interactions between buyers and sellers eBay should understand that they do not know the details of every seller and do not know what is best for all sellers either.

5. Some of the changes seem to be made with eBay's bottom line in mind. As I have mentioned before, some sellers use shipping as a cost center. eBay does not get a cut of the shipping cost. So some of the changes, i.e. Detailed Seller Ratings, seem to be made to make sellers conform to a model that works in eBay's favor as opposed to either the buyer or the seller.

And again this does not make me trust eBay more.

6. With some of these changes eBay has made the difficult job of customer service even more difficult. I don't think the decision makers at eBay understand how much time the feedback system requires. An unfair system will now take even more time and energy to make customers satisfied with what they perceive as short comings in a sellers processes.

And here is the rub on this one, eBay itself does not give very good customer service. And yet it wants to put this burden on sellers. You can seldom speak to a real person when you call and if you do get a person it is typically someone who is clueless. And yet eBay wants to allow customers to grade sellers on their communications.

I'll end this with a story about a buyer who gave us a negative because we did not email him to tell him that we had shipped his item. He got the item, it was in good condition and was exactly what he wanted, but he felt that we owed it to him to send him an email letting him know that we had shipped his item.

For this we got a negative. We were able to convince this buyer that we had not harmed him and that we would like to have the negative removed. But with the new changes this will probably be happening more often.

AP Reports Online Sales to Grow 17 Percent in '08

2008-04-09T22:11:00.000-07:00

In an article titled "Online Sales to Grow 17 Percent in '08" that can only be described as good news, Anne D'Innocenzio of The Associated Press is reporting the findings of a survey stating that online sales will grow 17% in 2008.

Retail sales online, excluding travel purchases, are set to grow to $204 billion in 2008 from $174.5 billion last year, fueled by sales of apparel, computers and autos, according to a survey conducted by Internet analysis firm Forrester Research for Shop.org, the online arm of the National Retail Federation trade group. That projection is below the 21 percent increase seen in the prior year, but industry officials attribute it to the maturing of the business, not the sluggish economy.

According to the article Scott Silverman, executive director of Shop.org said that E-commerce "is clearly the bright spot in retailing."

This good news stands in contrast to the outlook projected for the economy as a whole and for many traditional retailers in particular. Retailers have been paring down growth and having to deal with customers who are having to deal with higher prices for gas and good. To add to the worries are the housing slump and a weak job market. The only retailers doing brisk business of late are discounters and whole sale clubs, as shoppers turn to less expensive stores.

Understanding Shipping and Handling Cost for Online Sellers.

2008-03-30T14:48:00.000-07:00

One of the things that I have wanted to blog about for a long time now is shipping cost for online sellers and to provide a list of line items to consider when calculating total cost of shipping.

eBay and some other online selling sites simplify shipping cost to the detriment of sellers. And to the profit of their businesses, because they charge their fees based on the price that you sell items at and not the charges that you recover for your shipping and handling operations.

Their calculators for the most part only cover postage. And this is what they expect you to charge for shipping and handling. You actually have to be careful because some online shipping calculators (eBay, PayPal) charge you to print postage. This extra fee goes to the provider of this service and at the same time add extra cost to your total shipping cost.

I. What really goes into shipping cost.

A. Actual cost of postage. This is the fee that you are charged by the shipping handler. ie USPS, UPS, FedEx or what ever shipper that you use to ship the items that you sell. Many would have you believe that this is the only cost that you should consider when thinking about shipping cost.

In this line item there could be items like postage cost, which is the cost of stamps (if you use them), printing cost (if you print your postage).

One of the things that no one at the post office or at eBay will tell you is that there is a big cost difference in sending a package first class mail and sending it priority mail.

eBay and the post office have it in their interest for you to ship all your items using priority mail. While many sellers would save more money from using first class mail. And this is just the postage line item where you can save money.

I know some of you are thinking but they give me free shipping materials. And it is true that if you use priority mail you don't need to buy shipping material. But trust me when I say that for some buying shipping materials at WalMart and paying first class postage will be cheaper for both you and your customers.

The difference in sending an item first class mail and priority mail is realy beyound the scope of this post and will have to wait until another post, but let me give a couple of thumb rules that we use.

(1) For low profit margin items first class mail is the way to go. Even if the item gets lost in the mail, you can just send another one. You will keep more of the money paid for the item as opposed to paying it to the post office.

(2) For high profit margin items, where there is a chance that the item could get lost in the mail priority mail (with tracking) is a better option.

Postage line items;
-- stamps (stamps are cheap because the post office prints them).
-- printing postage cost (take a close look at your printing cost, it includes paper, printer ink/toner, maintance on your printer).

B. Transportation cost. This is the money you spend getting items to the shipper. It is the cost of gas, and the maintenance cost of your vehicle. Or fees that you are charged to transport your items to the shipper.

It really frustrates me when I see eBay and others trying to dictate to sellers what they should charge for shipping when it is clear that every seller may have a different transportation cost for example, if I only sell ten items a day, I can just use my family car but if I sell hundreds of items a day, I may need to use a truck.

Transportation cost line items;
-- Gasoline cost
-- maintenance cost on vehicle

C. Cost of packaging materials. Here is another area that eBay penalizes sellers. They seem to want sellers to not be able to recover these cost. Please see the discussion above in postage cost for priority mail packaging material.

packaging materials line items;
-- cost of boxes, envelops, wrapping paper, paper for letters, etc
-- labels, pens, ink/toner
-- mailers, bubble wrap

D. Cost of labor of processing shipments. eBay has the attitude that people who sell on eBay do it for the love of eBay and not to make money for themselves or their employees.

At the height of our business we were shipping thousands of items a month from several different eBay stores to various countries all over the world. It was not possible to do this without help, but eBay does not seem to want us to make enough money to cover this cost.

It is a lot of work educating buyers about this particular cost. When we explained to buyers that (1) we were a business with employees, and (2) we wanted to pay them a living wage, and that was a part of our shipping and handling fee most of them did not have a problem with it.

We also compared our selves to major retailers and found that we often beat them on both price and shipping cost. eBay would never tell its buyers to go and compare shipping and handling cost with WalMart for example. But this is exactly the kind of comparison that buyers should be making.

Now eBay seems to be trying to punish sellers, via their new detailed seller ratings system, who charge extra to cover their labor cost. Which are clearly part of shipping and handling cost.

Labor cost line items;
- cost of processing returns
- cost of opening the mail
- cost of doing paperwork associated with shipping items. (ie tracking forms, customs forms)

II. Conclusions:

Every business is different. Even though eBay tries to make it look like every seller should charge only the postage cost for their shipping and handling cost this is a very inaccurate, and possibly harmful to your business, way of looking at your shipping and handling cost. Some times I think eBay only wants hobby sellers and not true businesses to sell on eBay.

Consider the seller who sells items that can be placed in envelopes and each item weighs several ounces, this situation is totally different from another seller selling items that weigh several pounds and must be placed in a box. Even the number of items changes the shipping and handling cost that must be charged per item, consider selling one one item versus someone who sells thousands of items.

Make sure you understand your total shipping and handling cost.
Do not over charge for shipping and handling but do not undercharge either.
Be carful when competing on shipping cost, because you do not know your competitors advantage or disadvantage when it comes to shipping.

And finally the point that I am trying to make is that shipping and handling cost is a complicated part of your business. It is a part where you can make some money but lose a lot if you do not pay attention to the details.

eBay's Brian Burke Chatters About Digital Downloads

2008-03-30T01:45:00.000-07:00

In a recent anouncement eBay stated;

Digital Downloadable Goods must be listed using the Classified Ad listing format effective March 31st.

I had heard about eBay's changes in the digital download space, but it did not really appear on my radar screen because I do not sell or buy digital downloads. I am still too steeped in the media of the past to purchase digital downloads.

However the clatter on the internet from some bloggers and fans of digital downloads caused me to take a closer look at the situation.

Brian Burke the manager of eBays feedback system had a question and answer session in the Chatter Blog. Why is eBay doing this?

The reason for this change is the concern about Feedback manipulation (or artificially padding a member's feedback score). Since Classified Ad format listings are not transactional, no feedback is exchanged between buyers and sellers and no feedback manipulation can occur.

I personally find this reason hard to believe. I think that eBay knows that the quality of most of these types of products are substandard and just wanted to reduce the number of sellers who offer these types of items. And if those sellers start listing their items in the want ads that will help kick that format off.

According to the Chatter Blog a special online workshop will be given on Friday April 11 at 2pm Pacific time. Brian Burke and the host of eBay Radio, Jim "Griff" Griffith will answer questions on how to use the Classified Ad format to maximize your digital goods business. We should all stay tuned, I'm sure more details are to follow.

I'm just not too sure that this will work out the way that eBay wants it to. Here is a golden opportunity for anyone who could build an auction site just for digital downloads. Who knows that could end up being the start of a real competitor for eBay.

Trying to Get My Mind Around eBay's New Seller Dashboard

2008-03-28T11:27:00.000-07:00

I took a quick look at eBay's new seller dashboard. And so far, I don't like it. But that just might be my normal aversion to change. Especiall useless change, which eBay is famous for ramming down everybodies throught.

A more detailed review was written in over at Seeking Alpha.com website.

And the AuctionBytes blog mentions some of the problems with DSRs so far, in a post tatled eBay DSR Glitch.

I probably would have eaten it.

2008-03-22T19:53:00.000-07:00

Many national news outlets are reporting about the strange eBay auction of a Illinois shaped cornflake.

Two sisters from Virginia sold their Illinois-shaped corn flake on eBay Friday night for $1,350.

"We were biting our nails all the way up to the finish, seeing what would happen," said Melissa McIntire, 23. "There's a lot of relief involved."

You can read all about it at Google News.

I have to start taking a closer look at my breakfast cereal before I eat it. LOL.

eBay says No more confirmed addresses with PayPal

2008-03-19T16:24:00.000-07:00

According to an email that I just received, eBay is doing away with the requirements for confirmed addresses with PayPal.

From the email;

Selling is now safer and easier on eBay with PayPal

PowerSellers like you asked us to improve our seller protection measures. You told us confirmed addresses sometimes kept buyers from buying, and that annual coverage limits weren't high enough.

So we listened, and eliminated them both. Then we added coverage for buyers in 190 countries--and now you're invited to try it out. The new measures include the same coverage as the Seller Protection Policy, PLUS:
No more confirmed addresses: Makes it easier for people to buy from you
No more annual coverage limits: Don't sweat it... you're covered
Coverage in more places around the world: Take payments confidently from buyers in 190 countries

I'm not sure that I like this. I personally have had problems with buyers who did not know that their PayPal address was different from their eBay address. The confirmed addresses allowed for a check and gave the seller a chance to make sure they were shipping to the correct address.

I wonder if this is going to cause more items to be shipped to the wrong address?

eBay Announces Changes to Affiliate Program

2008-03-18T18:26:00.000-07:00

According to an email that I received yesterday eBay plans to change its Affiliate Program.

From the email;

We are excited to announce eBay’s new global affiliate platform: the eBay Partner Network.

The new platform will go live on April 1st, 2008 PST, at which point eBay will no longer be running its affiliate program through Commission Junction. Beginning April 1st, affiliates should register with eBay Partner Network and migrate their links from CJ to the new platform.

While CJ and ValueClick have been valuable partners to eBay throughout the years, we’ve decided to give our affiliate community a customized experience for eBay affiliates.

All the great tools and benefits of working with the eBay program will remain the same – access to the Editor Kit and affiliate API, the flexible destination tool, the great payout structure. In addition, the eBay partner network will provide several new features:

• Easy global registration to multiple countries simultaneously
• New, targeted banners and rich media creatives
• New landing page optimization and geo-targeting capabilities
• More detailed reporting capabilities for eBay’s programs

The eBay Partner Network and Commission Junction will run in parallel for one month through this process, so please plan to complete your migration by May 1st, 2008.

ITworld.com has the following article; EBay to take over affiliate program's management

"ValueClick's Commission Junction does a fairly good job, but the product over the years has grown a bit stagnant and hasn't been keeping up with the demands affiliates have had," said Ron Stewart, GetItNext's CEO.

For example, GetItNext routinely has to manually "dig out" data it feels is essential about its referrals, sales and commissions from the ValueClick reports, Stewart said.

eBay's new search feature.

2008-03-10T23:47:00.000-07:00

If the eBay forums are any indication, people are not happy about eBay's new search function.

I noticed it when I wanted to look at a list of my own completed auctions, which I could not figure out how to do. And that is something that was very valuable about the old search function. You could see the completed auctions for a given item, a given seller or your own items. I don't understand why eBay would remove that feature.

If you want to see the reaction of other sellers check out the search discussion board.

And if you really want to know what people think read this VOTE here if you DO NOT Like the New Search thread.

CNN Money Report on eBay Boycott Winding Down

2008-03-01T18:15:00.000-08:00

EBay boycott winds down, but anger remains

A weeklong boycott by some sellers hasn't prompted eBay to reconsider a slew of fee and policy changes. Now comes the wait to see if community anger eventually takes a toll on eBay's bottom line.

Read the full article here; EBay boycott winds down, but anger remains

EBay reaches settelment with MercExchange

2008-02-28T20:10:00.000-08:00

EBay Inc. settled a seven-year patent dispute that it had with MercExchange LLC which prompted an important intellectual-property ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court, according to an online article at Yahoo News from the Associated Press.

EBay said that it bought the three MercExchange patents that it had been accused of violating, for an undisclosed price. EBay added that the figure would not materially affect its financial results.

The Great Falls, Va. based MercExchange sued eBay back in 2001, saying that eBay's "Buy It Now" option, which lets sellers make items available at set prices, infringed on MercExchange patents.

See EBay Ends Patent Suit With MercExchange for the full article.

Mashable Blog on the Power Seller Boycott

2008-02-28T01:44:00.001-08:00

Mashable has in interesting article concerning the eBay Power Seller Boycott. According to the article written by Mark Hopkins

It was widely reported that the decrease in sales and listings reached a measurable percentage for the week - 3%. The problem with this measureable percentage was that it coincided with a week containing a national American holiday, and thus was easily explainable to be partly due to that, instead of the strikage by the top sellers. Several Mashable tipsters sent us an article the other day in the USA Today saying that the decrease in listings had reached lowered levels of 13%, or down to 13 million items.

The article questions if the effects are caused by the holiday week, or if the boycott is really making a difference. According to this article the boycott has been extended to March 9th.

An interesting question.

2008-01-03T22:09:00.000-08:00

Kim Peterson ask the question Should eBay's Meg Whitman resign? in her TopStocks Money Blog over at MSN. And it got me to thinking, is it time for Meg to go.

I think I have been hearing for calls for her to step down for a long time now.

And I think one of the key quotes from the article is

The company is undoubtedly an auction powerhouse. The problem is that it hasremained just that, despite numerous attempts to expand to new areas.

Try as it might under Meg Whitman eBay has yet to become more than just an auction house. It may be time to allow someone who has a different vision to take the helm. I mean we may see something better than the purchase of Skype or the introduction of eBay neighborhoods.

Why Baseball Cards Have Lost Their Value

2006-08-02T10:09:00.000-07:00

In an article on baseball card collecting Slate.com's Dave Jamieson gives an explanation of how the value of baseball cards have plummeted over the years. I think there are some explanations in this article of how other collectibles have also lost their values to collectors.

I also think these kinds of things are cyclic and the lower the value of Baseball cards becomes the more valuable they may become for future collectors.

Requiem for a Rookie Card: How Baseball Cards Lost Their Luster

file under;
Baseball, collecting, selling

eBay to Offer New Ad System

2006-06-12T18:11:00.000-07:00

Ebay's new Ad System may be a new revenue stream for bloggers, online sellers and eBay affiliates.

Whitman's Ebay Launches Keyword Ad System @ forbes.com

EBay's Ad System Raises Questions @ forbes.com

file under;
affiliates, online, sellers, eBay

eBay to Jump On The Blogs, Wikis and Tags Bandwagon

2006-06-03T12:48:00.000-07:00

This post by Steve Rubel in his Micro Persuasion blog explores how eBay is using social media to transform its marketing, media and public relations. They are giving sellers and buyers new tools to help sellers make more sells and to communicate with and find buyers.

eBay to Launch Blogs, Wikis and Search Tags

file under;
tags, blogs, wikis, eBay,

Great Marketing Idea From AuctionBytes

2006-05-27T12:32:00.000-07:00

AuctionBytes presents what I think is a great idea for all online sellers. I was not familiar with the web site Squidoo until I noticed that a link from that site was pointing at this blog. And I was pleased to find that the lens was created by Ina Steiner the editor of AuctionBytes newsletters.

Then I surfed over to AuctionBytes to find that Ina had written an informative piece titled Squidoo as a Marketing Tool for eBay Sellers. This is a very interesting idea and I plan on creating my own lens soon.

You can check out Ina's Squidoo Lens here. Online Auctions by Ina Steiner.

file under;
ideas, marketing, ebay, sells

Entrepreneur Magazine Highlights eBay Millionaires

2006-05-12T12:10:00.000-07:00

While surfing the aisles of my local book store I came across the latest edition of Entrepreneur Magazine. I was very surprised to read the cover story, which was about eBay Millionaires. They have put together a very nice presentation of some people who sell on eBay and how well they are doing.

I was also pleasantly surprised to find out that they have this story on their online site.

Fast Forward; Find out how 10 entrepreneurs tapped into the power of eBay and made millions.

There is a slide show that gives a brief profile of each of the eBay sellers that are featured in this article. The Secrets of eBay Millionaires slideshow.

I think anyone selling on eBay will get some great ideas from taking a look at this.

file under;
eBay, online selling, selling, tips, tricks, tools, entrepreneur

AOL Offers New Tool; Online Sellers May Find Useful

2006-05-06T12:33:00.000-07:00

I have written about what I like to call the virtual marketing space. It is the totality of all the online tools that online sellers have at their disposal.

There are so many new and cool tools that it is difficult to get a good list of all the tools, let alone figure out the best ways to use them.

eBay's Skype service is a great example of this. Myspace, JournalSpace, Blogger, social networks and other new feature packed services are other examples.

A new and recent entry into the list of tools that online sellers can take advantage of is a new tool offered by AOL.

AOL Dials Up Free Phone to PC Service by Tom Spring of PC World.com.

When Will Google Start Phoning It In? by Ben Charny of eWeek.com.

file under;
AOL, Tools, Tips, Tricks, selling, online

Entrepreneur.com Agrees

2006-04-30T12:09:00.000-07:00

In a well written and concise article titled Start an E-Business Without a Website by By Derek Gehl of Entrepreneur.Com many of the same points that I have been advocating are made.

I was impressed and felt validated to see someone echo many of the ideas that I set forth Blogs for eBay Sellers.

These methods and ideas can definitely come in handy for the online seller.

file under;
selling, blogs, entrepreneur, e-business

Spring is the time for Phishing! Right?

2006-03-29T13:37:00.000-08:00

Is it spring time, then it must be time for the scammers to brush off their phishing emails and start sending them out. My inbox has been blowing up (as the young and hip like to say) with emails from scammers.

I wanted to write something about it and give the standard warnings but even though I have not gotten my thoughts totally together on that when I read this I chuckled and thought I would post it here for other online sellers to beware.

EBay Account Reseller Shut Down

"A Russian-language site had been selling stolen eBay accounts along with a few pilfered PayPal accounts until their operation was uncovered and put to an end."

file under;
scams, phishing, online sells

Nonpaying Bidders and the Online Seller

2006-03-25T16:10:00.000-08:00

One of the things that they never tell you when you start selling items online is how to deal with nonpaying bidders. Well I thought it would be interesting to take a look at the policies of the various online selling venues with regards to nonpaying bidders.

Problems cuased by nonpaying bidders

Some buyers / bidders (this is the minority of buyers) do not understand that by bidding on or selecting to buy an item in your online store they are entering into a legally binding contract.

There are several problems that arise when a bidder does not pay for something they purchased from your online store.

- Obviously you do not get paid for an item.

- You get charged selling fees and listing fees for the item that did not sell.

- The item that was sold is no longer listed in your online store. And has to be relisted.

- You may have to perform some administrative work to recover your fees. This may cost you time and money.

- With many venues there is a strict time line that you have to follow to recover fees. And in the mean time your item may or may not be able to be relisted.

Item five is one of the unintended consequences of having a nonpaying bidder. If you sell unique items or one of a kind items and you only have one sample of the item then you may not be able to relist the item during the time frame that the venue gives you to recover payment.

Because it causes some of your inventory to be unavailable for sell during the time period that you are resolving the nonpaying bidder situation. In my case nonpaying bidders cause my inventory control system to get out of sync. I hate when that happens.

Policies of the Various Venues

Because the policies of the various selling venues change often it is not really practical to list all the various policies. It is best to look up the policies when you want to know what they are so that you can get the latest and greatest version of the policy.

eBay's Unpayed Item Policy

eBay's Nonpaying Bidder Policy

Unpaid item Process @ eBay.co.uk

Notice that even the eBay sites for different countries have subtly different policies. This is why you should look up the policy for the site you are selling on.

Yahoo Auctions Nonpaying Bidder Policy

What is an NPB Report? @ Overstock.com.

Amazon Auctions Returns and Refund Policy. Because there are several different ways that payments are handled on Amazon it is necessary to read Amazons procedures for the way you sell items there. (i.e. marketplace, vs auctions or zstores).

Steps To Take When You Have a Nonpaying Bidder

Here are the general steps that you will probably have to take to recover all your fees when you have a nonpaying bidder. I have given a number of days after purchase for each step, but venues have different time frames when you can take each step;

1. Invoice the buyer for the sell. (On the day of purchase)

2. Notice that the buyer is not;
- responding to your invoice. (Three to four days after purchase)
- has replied that they no longer want to buy the item. (when it happens)

3. Look up the current nonpayer policies for the venue that you are selling the item on. (Three to four days after purchase)

4. Look up the contact information of the buyer (three to four days after purchase) after you get no response to your original invoice. Some venues do not make it easy to contact the buyer by ways other then their selling venue. For example on some venues you do not know the buyers email address. Some sites have special tools that allow you to look up contact information.

eBay has a special system to request the contact information for a non-paying bidder. This information can help you find other ways to contact your nonpaying bidder (by phone for example). You can only request contact information for a bidder that you are involved in a transaction with (as a bidder or as the winner of an auction). You cannot request this info from any bidder.

You will need the bidder's username and the eBay transaction number to request contact info for them. The bidder will also receive a notice with your contact info when you submit the request. This will help if the bidder does not know how to contact you.

When you request contact information for a bidder from eBay you will receive the bidder's name, city, state and phone number. To request the contact information of a bidder, click here.

If you wanted to find some info about me for example if you enter fitzgerald0_0 (that is fitzgerald, zero, underscore, zero) you will be taken to my eBay store profile.

5. Send the buyer a payment reminder or new invoice. With some venues this is consider a warning. Some venues will also send the bidder / buyer an email. This can be very helpful as it scares some nonpaying bidders into paying.

6. If you know for a fact, as in the case where the buyer has told you that they no longer want to buy the item, then you should relist the item immediately (or as soon as you can). Otherwise you may be losing potential buyers. If you have multiple items like this one this may not be an issue or if you have multiple listings of the same item.

7. Request a credit of your fees from the online venue. Different venues have different policies that govern this. Take some time to look up the policies of the venue you are using.

Steps you can take to reduce or limit nonpaying bidders

- Make sure that your payment policies are explained and available to the buyer in your auction listings (all selling venues).

- Select immediate payment. With this option anyone using the Buy-It-Now feature has to pay immediately otherwise the item is not sold and remains on eBay. If for some reason payment is not sent, the transaction is cancelled as if it never happened (eBay option only).

- Select Paypal payment only. This option limits bidders to those who have a Paypal account which means they are familiar with how the auction process works and less likely to be a nonpaying bidder (eBay option only).

file under;
eBay, Overstock, Amazon, nonpaying bidders, tips, tricks, policies, auctions

Graphic Design Tips for the Online Seller.

2006-03-23T15:31:00.000-08:00

If you sell online via one of the popular selling venues, i.e. eBay, Yahoo, OverStock or even iOffer. You may have a need for a graphic designer to help you build a credible store front.

Online Sellers can use graphic designers for;

Building their eBay stores.

Building their eBay about me pages.

Building their Yahoo store fronts.

Building their OverStock store fronts.

Building their auction templates.

Building their Blogs.

Building their web sites.

Specific task that designers can provide;

Create better navigation then provided by selling venue templates

Better product placement. Cross selling and linking and referring

Use of advanced image techniques
- rotating photos
- roll over enlargements
- using anchor text and alt, title, & caption HTML tags

Improve page meta tag usage and other SEO advances

Stream line the code used to create your store

As an online seller you may have a need for any and all of the above services. Well where do you start. James Maguire of eCommerce Guide.com has written a very interesting article that answers some of the questions that an online seller faces when choosing a good graphic designer. You can read his article Yahoo Storefront Design Tips - Part 1.

While this article address Yahoo store fronts I think that it provides information that can be used by any online seller looking for a graphics design company to help them give their online sells ventures a more professional look and feel.

One last idea that a graphics designer can help an online seller with is to give all of their various and fragmented sells efforts on different selling venues a common look and feel. Which will help in branding.

file under;
graphic design, online sales, selling, Yahoo, eBay, iOffer, auctions

Another Idea to Reduce Some Seller Fees

2006-03-18T13:28:00.000-08:00

I wrote about reducing your fees in a recent post. Well that, of course, is easier said than done. But here are a few ideas that just popped into my mind.

1. Post as much of your inventory at free listing sites as possible (iOffer, Amazon.com market place, Google base, etc.). There are others and I plan to track down as many of them as I can find. If you know of other sites where you can post listing for free and you have had success selling items please comment about it below.

2. Use your blog to drive traffic to your online inventory. You could do a head to head comparison, of items in your inventory. Or you could just write about the goods and service that you offer and link to your free listings.

3. Sell some of your inventory directly from your blog (no listing or final value fees). Use Paypal to do your payment processing. Right in the post about the item, just put a link that says click here to buy this item that directs your blog reader to another entry that explains your preferred payment methods (i.e. Paypal, checks, money orders, etc).

file under;

online sales, selling, marketing, eBay, Amazon, Google Base

Fee Reductions For The Online Seller

2006-02-27T20:57:00.000-08:00

One of the main hurtles to profitability for the online seller is the high cost in fees that go with selling goods and services online.

The reduction of fees should be the goal of every online seller. Less for them means more for you.

I have thought about it a lot, and here is what I have come up with as a way of reducing fees. I call it the ICE method. Identify all fees, choose fees that add value, and eliminate or reduce the unnecessary ones.

1. Identify all fees. Those who sell the services used by online sellers often say, "You get what you pay for!" Well this is a good saying (and it is often true), but there is a less often stated saying that applies, "Sometimes you pay more than the value of what you get!" Sadly this is often true too. Being successful as an online seller may depend on which of these sayings applies to your situation. So you have to watch out for hidden and not so hidden fees. Some of the many fees that you may encounter as an online seller are;

- Listing fees - The cost of putting your goods or services online.
- final value fees - The cost charged by the venue, when you sell something.
- postage / handling fees - The total cost of shipping items.
- extra services fees - This could be for any extra service that you pay for. (i.e. image hosting, order management, etc.)
- credit card fees - Fees that your credit card company charges for your online selling activities.
- educational fees - Fees that you pay for books and other educational goods and service.

2. Choose fees that actually add value. Which fees increase sales and add to your bottom line? Which fees really make it more convenient to run your operations. There are those situations where you really are getting what you are paying for. By all means if you really need or want a service then continue to pay for it. I am just saying take the time out to quantify the value of what you are getting.

- Is your mix of auctions vs. fixed prices optimized? Are you paying fees to list the same items over and over?
- Do you really need to pay to host your images? There are many good free services.
- Are you checking the postal rates you are paying closely? Do you use flat rate boxes to do shipping?
- Are you using your credit card in your business, what are the interest rates you are paying?
- Are you paying for books, training, seminars and other information that you could get off the net?

There is no easy answer to any of these questions, the answer is different for each online seller. But my point is that you need to think about and choose the fees that you really need. Examining your business for fees should be done often. Maybe as often as every month, or at least every six months.

3. Eliminate / Reduce all unnecessary fees. It is not enough to just examine and think about which fees you do not need. You must act to eliminate and reduce them.

The companies that make a lot of money when online sellers do not reduce fees depend on you to not eliminate unneeded services. In many cases they are counting on you to continue to pay the fees month after month. The sellers of services make it easy to set up fees and they make it easy for you to send them your money.

- Close down any stores that you are not selling enough items to make at least the fees on.
- Close down any accounts for storing images that you are not using but being charged for.
- Look for every opportunity to reduce the cost of shipping. The post office (and other shipping companies) has many products that vary in cost, it is possible to save just by comparison shopping.
- Look for information online (many of the online auctions sites have large and informative sources of information), only pay for information and training that you can not get for free. Have a good idea how the cost will add to the bottom line.

There are many things that the online seller has to think about. You can find articles and websites devoted to almost every part of online selling. There is not a lot of info out there about reducing fees. This is partly due to the fact that different sellers use different services and it is difficult to give general information that applies to all sellers. As an online seller you have to find the best ways to reduce the fees that you pay as you sell your goods and services.

I recommend that you use what I call the ICE method. Identify all fees, Choose the ones you need, and Eliminate the ones you don't need. And this will help you to FREEZE those fees in place.

file under;
online selling, eBay, Amazon, iOffer, fees

Every Online Seller Should Have a Blog

2006-02-21T15:31:00.000-08:00

I can hear the heavy sighs. "Yeah right! Another thing that I have to worry about," you say. I have written about using blogs as marketing tools. And outlined some of the planning needed to put a blog together. In today's post I want to tell you why I believe that every online seller should have a blog.

Blogs can become powerful marketing tools for online sellers who are willing to learn the ins and outs of blogging. First let me say that the names of the tools and the jargon that comes with blogging is different, but for the most part a blog can be just like a flyer, or a brochure. And the techniques for putting one together can be the same.

It is true that creating a blog is a little more labor intensive than producing a flyer or brochure, but the reach of a blog is world wide. Blogs are cheap too! And right now blogs or exploding. Don't believe me read this; State of the Blogosphere, February 2006 - Beyond Search.

And not only can you use your blog to promote your online selling efforts you can at some point monitize your blog. I will explore this idea in future post, but suffice it to say that unlike many other bloggers, online sellers actually know how to make money online. And I believe that this gives them a leg up when it comes to monitizing their blogs.

Many online researchers have reported the positive emotional aspect of blogs. They create bonds between the buyer and online seller, and this is good for customer service. There are some negatives to blogging as well, for example the amount of time blogging takes. The opportunity is to harness the customer relationship and to make it a positive one. That is why blogs can be more powerful and accomplish different goals than other promotional material.

Why Should an Online Seller Utilize a Blog?

To Build your relationships with your customers : A blogs primary goal should be enhancing the relationship you have with your current customers and potential customers. But you can give your customers another reason to subscribe to your blog, to add you to their link list. Once you are on a readers link list, they may visit your online store when they are surfing the web not just when they are shopping for something. When someone subscribes to your blog they have opted in, and now you have a link to make the relationship stronger.

To Give Your Customers Unique Value via the Blog : The various online selling services (eBay, Amazon, Overstock, etc.) all market your online auctions / sales in some way. But you also have the responsibility to market and give you customers unique value that sets you apart from all the other sellers out there. A blog can do this.

With a blog you can give specials, coupons, shipping discounts. Your blog can remind your customers that there is significance in being a reader of your blog.

Another thing that your blog can do is offer product or service usage insight, industry and product news and tips, surveys and general lifestyle contextual content will help keep them on the list.

Soft Sell : This is a hard point to make, but I will try. No one wants to be continually hammered at with heavy handed sales pitches. And you don't want to do this to your customers either. A blog allows just that approach. You can communicate various messages without being overly promotional. You can still promote your services or products but move it to the back burner sometimes and not hammer your customers with the hard sell.

Cross Promotions : I truly believe that this is one of the strongest features of a blog for online sellers. Many online sellers sell on different selling venues (iOffer, eBay, UBid, Overstock, Amazon, etc.), having a blog allows you to cross promote your selling activities across venues.

A blog when designed properly can provide a platform for cross promoting, upselling and marketing your additional capabilities and product as well as sister brands and partners. Your blog can be a place that you reuse the images, and text from your online auction post. If you use the right layout and tools you can achieve your cross promotional goals using a blog.

Search Engine Optimization : A feature that blogs offer the online seller is that a blog can increase the ability of the search engines to find the goods and services that you sell. If you create a blog that is a destination on the world wide web in and of itself, it will have page rank and the other qualities that make things easy to find on the web. This page rank can be shared with your online store. Google, MSN Search, Yahoo Search and all the other search engines will be able to find you easier. You can use many more descriptive words and many more reasons for the search engines to find you.

Blogs also have completely different search tools than other types of web pages. Blogs have social tools like Delicious, bloglines, Technorati, Furl, etc. which make it easy for those who read blogs to find your blog. This can be viewed as a separate channel of contact.

As I continue to develop my ideas about this I will share them with you here on OnLine Sellers Tips.

file under:
eBay, Overstock, Amazon, iOffer, selling, blogging

Podcast & Videos in Online Sells

2006-02-20T20:02:00.000-08:00

Technology keeps propelling us forward. At least that is the idea. Podcasting and the use of videos are changing the way online sellers present their goods and services as well as get answers to their questions.

Here are some of the latest high tech ways that technology is changing online selling.

If you like Pod Cast check these out; eBay Pod Cast.

And I have to tell you I was blown away when I found this; YouTube.com Auction Video channel.

Which made me wonder what would I find if I did a search for the term Auctions on Google Video.

And to my surprised I found the video below, which is AuctionBytes News in Review - September 12, 2005.

file under;
auctions, buying, selling, online, tips, tricks, tools

Security for the online seller.

2006-02-16T12:45:00.000-08:00

Selling goods and products online for the most part is a very rewarding activity. The beginning seller can get a lot of joy out of finding sources for their hobbies, making some extra money, and meeting people who have common interest online. These are all benefits that can come from selling goods and services online.

But there are some difficulties as well. Like most things in life you have to take the good with the bad.

I'll cut to the chase and run down some of the problems that you will probably face as an online seller and briefly describe some best practices to deal with these problems.

1. It may be difficult to find information for solving problems. So I recommend that you read the security area of the web site that you sell your items on. All major auction sites have online documentation of the various security problems that sellers face and ways to solve these problems. Read these to become knowledgeable of problems and to help solve problems before they happen. If you are aware of the problems and you have an idea of a solution when the problem occurs, you will be ahead of the game.

2. On a similar note, some problems can be headed off before they become problems.

a. Writing a good description of your items is vital way to build buyer confidence. A confidant buyer will be less likely to cause you problems and will give you the benefit of the doubt when problems occur as they sometimes will.

b. Defining your policies also helps to avoid problems. And when problems do occur, you can point to your posted policy. This will dissipate many problems that you might encounter. Policy information can include information on your shipping policy. How do you ship items? What carrier do you use to make shipments? Do you have a return policy, this can help reassure hesitant shoppers.

c. Know the various buyer protection programs that are out there. Buyers have certain protections that are built into the method of payment that they use. Paypal and some credit cards allow charge backs and some of these options can be used by unscrupulous buyers to defraud sellers. Know the rules so that if you encounter a problem you will be in a better position to solve the problem.

3. Be aware of the online scams that are out there waiting to trip up the online seller. Phishers (those who send out fake emails with the intent to defraud), are targeting small online sellers. Because they know that small seller want as many buyers as possible, and unlike the larger retailers you will go to more extreme measures to make a sell.

The typical scam involves a phisher sending you an email that request that they buy a large quantity of your stock. Everyone wants more sells, right. But oh wait, they also need these items to be sent immediately. Why? Because they are buying for their sister, or brother who is getting married soon. And they want the gift they are sending to be a surprise. And did they mention that they also would like to include some cash. So would you include a money order, or travelers check or some other nonrefundable payment with the shipment.

Well you are a seller who wants to please the customer, right? And you give great customer service, right? Well at this point you want to stop and think.

Be leery of any buyer that;

a. request any of your personal information.
b. demands that you rush through their order. (this stops you from thinking it through)
c. ask that you include some other form of payment.
d. states that they are buying for someone else.
e. has any out of the normal request that requires you to jump through a lot of hoops.

I am not saying that all customers that have a special request are scammers, but stop and think about each one and think about what will happen if the deal goes bad. Will you loose any money or some of your products in the deal.

A few suggested books

Computer Security Basics by G.T. Gangemi & Deborah Russell

Computer Security: Art and Science by Matthew Bishop

Computer Security by Dieter Gollmann

Have You Locked the Castle Gate? : Home and Small Business
Computer Security by Brian Shea

Computer Security; Privacy for Dummiesby Dewberry & Davis

Tip of the Day - Arm yourself with knowledge. Read as much as you can about security to protect your online selling activities.

file under;
selling, online, security, scams, tips, tricks, tools

eBay Selling Advice From USATODAY

2006-02-10T15:41:00.000-08:00

Kim Komando outlines the basics of selling on eBay in her column in USATODAY.Com. You can read her article here; Retired? Use eBay for extra cash

Don't Do This...

2006-02-01T02:47:00.000-08:00

Don't Do This.....

Here is how not to create a blog on a free blog service. The poster of this blog entry called spammers "Cockroaches". She is frustrated that someone is using this blogging platform to do advertising. They are using scripts and other tricks to redirect visitors to these blogs.

I recommend that online sellers use the free blogging platforms to promote their online stores. I do this myself, it is a low cost effective way to market your online selling activities. But you also have to remember that the others who use these services are not there to promote commercial activities, and they can be offended by a heavy-handed marketing approach.

Some online sellers and affiliate marketers think that it is OK to spam the free blogging sites. Some sellers put their marketing blogs on these sites in an attempt to trick and defraud users. Be very careful when creating a blog to market your online sales. It is a fine line between good marketing and spamming.

More to come on this.

Online Seller Tips - Images / Photography

2006-01-15T23:21:00.000-08:00

One of the basic skills that every online seller needs is the ability to deal with the images of the items that you sell. A part of good customer service is communicating to your customers with photographs and images that accurately reflect the quality, quantity and other characteristics of what you sell.

Often the seller who has the best presentation, that answers most of the buyers questions, will get the sell. So in an attempt to collect links to tips, tricks and tools for taking pictures, manipulating images, and the policies of the various auction sites the following links are offered.

I have been collecting these links for a while and wanted to share them with you all. I keep this list updated and will from time to time repost this.

The various auction sites have different policies when it comes to putting your images online.

--------------
eBay - eBay has many links that give some great tips for the online seller for taking photos. It does not matter which site you sell your items on, you can probably learn something by taking a look at the links below.

eBay Community Help Boards Photos/HTML

Camera Jim's Me Page. Workshops And Many Tips

Jim's Photo Help

Camera To Your Auction

Photographing People

Using a Light Tent

The Slave Flash Unit

Controlling Reflections with a Filter

Using Portrait Techniques for Auction Pictures

Strategies for Photographing Large Items

Photographing Larger Items(2)

Fine-Tuning Your Lighting

Assembling Your Photography Space

Clear Backgrounds and Foregrounds

Basic Equipment

Lighting Your Items

Practical eBay Photography: Part I

Practical eBay Photography: Part II

eBay Picture Manager

Photo Hosting & Management

eBay Picture Tutorial

---------------
Auction Bytes

Auction Bytes Photo Tips

------------------
Amazon.com

Amazon.com Image Guide Lines

Amazon.com Using Images in Auctions Guide Lines

-----------------------
Yahoo

Yahoo Auction Photo Tips

--------------------------
iOffer

Help and Support Board
Get help from our friendly community members and get the most out of iOffer. (html, images, item descriptions, site features)

-----------------------

file under;
tips, tricks, tools, photography, selling

Online Seller Tips - Shipping

2006-01-11T13:15:00.000-08:00

The recent increase in postal rates gives the online seller a chance to review his or her shipping policies. You can see the rates here, New USPS Domestic Rates.

Keeping up with the latest and greatest tips and tricks of shipping is hard work, due to the changes in the many options offered by shipping companies. Over the years I have collected resources to answer most of my questions and to solve my shipping problems. In today's post I want to share my updated collection of tips, tricks and resources for shipping.

Online Sites About Shipping.

There is so much information online about Shipping that you really do need to go to the specific services web site to learn their latest and greatest policies. The United States Postal Service (USPS), for example, has many policies that change from year to year. So anyone who uses their services needs to be familiar with their web site and the information they can find there. The same is true for other Online Shipping sites.

USPS,
UPS
FedEx
DHL

Blogs that address shipping;

Fast Pack Blog - Regularly update blog of a shipping materials supplier.

Article How to Ship Anything - Very interesting article that addresses shipping issues.

Auction Site Shipping Centers;

Auction Bytes News Letter Shipping Resources.

Auction Bytes Shipping Forum - Forum devoted to Shipping issues.

eBay Shipping Center - Many links to various shipping resources.

Amazon.com's Shipping Center - Amazon.com's Shipping Center help section.

Shipping Calculators

eBay Shipping Calculator

USPS Postage Rate Calculator

UPS Rate Calculator

Tracking Your Packages

PackageMapper.Com - Package Mapper shows you a map of your FedEx, UPS, USPS package routes. Enter a carrier and a tracking number to see your package's progress plotted on the map. Sign in to enter a list of packages and see their current locations on a table or map.

UPS.Com's Tracking Center - Enter the tracking numbers of your packages and get tracking information. Phone: 1-800-742-5877

US Postal Service Priority Mail Tracking - Track the shipments to your customers or provide them with this link so they can track their own shipments.

DHL Worldwide Express Tracking - Phone: 1-800-225-5345 (U.S. customers only)

Fedex Tracking Info

Google's Tracking Numbers Info - Parcel tracking IDs and other specialized numbers can be entered into Google's search box for quick access to information about them. For example, typing a FedEx, UPS, or USPS tracking number will return the latest information on your package. See the below examples:

UPS tracking numbers example search: "1Z9999W99999999999"
FedEx tracking numbers example search: "999999999999"
USPS tracking numbers example search: "9999 9999 9999 9999 9999 99"

Amazon.com Tracking Info Page. - A list of tracking resources for various shipping organizations.

Finding Shipping Supplies Online

Uline.com Shipping Material Suppliers.

USPS Online Store.

UPS Packaging Materials

InterNetRetailer.com Fulfillment Resource Guide. - A directory of fulfillment businesses.

file under;
shipping, tips, tricks, tools, sells, selling, online

Seller Intelligence

2006-01-08T16:07:00.000-08:00

I woke up recently to a report on the radio about the use of intelligence data for security after 911. It got me to thinking about intelligence data that online sellers need to use, for security and for other reasons.

1. What types of data do you use as a seller?

Well I like to know something about my customers. And because I am also an online buyer, I like to know about the people who I buy from. I need to know how much to sell my collectibles for and how much others are selling theirs for. Those are the initially questions that came to mind.

2. What types of data, or intelligence, does the online seller need.

As I thought about it more, I thought I should think about this a little more formally.

a. Customer data. - Customer data is important because if you do not have it correct you can not provide good customer service. You need to know the correct spelling of your customers names and addresses, as well as their
email addresses. And it may seem odd to say that you need to have a source for this data, but you do need to be able to verify it.

You also want to know about the buying habits of your customers, do they pay on time? Do they have questions that need to be answered? Do they need any kind of special services? What are their preferences with regards to shipping?

b. Pricing data. - All of business is really about pricing. The potential to make a profit is based on your ability to select a price that is greater then what you pay for the items. A good source of data to price items is a requirement for success for any online seller.

c. Popularity of items to be sold. - Another good piece of information to have is the popularity of the items that you sell. Or put another way, what sells? What is hot or what is not? For some sellers this is a very important consideration. Knowing the latest trends in buying can add to your success as a seller.

3. What are the sources of data?

a. Buyer & seller feedback. - Most if not all of the online selling venues have methods of leaving feedback. As a seller feedback can give you a great deal of data. Some of the questions in section 2 above can be answered by
viewing feedback.

Buy reviewing the feedback of your customers you can find out what they are buying. You can also see what they pay for the things that they buy. And you will get to know your customers better as well.

Reviewing the feedback of fellow sellers and those you buy from will tell you what items sell. And give you some insight into issues that other sellers have when selling certain items. This kind of intelligence allows you to make better decisions when it comes to figuring out what to buy and sell.

b. Other seller postings. - Reviewing the postings of other sellers, who sell similar or the same items that you sell will again answer many questions for you. You can learn the latest methods of presentation. You can get ideas about what information to include in your listings.

c. Selling sites other than the one that you sell on. - For example, I use Amazon.com as a source of data about most of the books I sell. Rather I sell them on Amazon or not. Before I list an item I like to go to eBay, Amazon, and Yahoo at a minimum and take a look at the item to be listed. From this I get intelligence on how to present the item, what price point to use, and an idea of if the item is selling.

4. A list of data that I frequently use;

a. eBays feedback. - I recently used eBays feedback to insure a purchase that I was making was a valid one. I noted that a certain online seller had been selling a certain item at a very good price and wondered about his source. So I called the seller and inquired. He was kind enough to give me some very valuable information about the item as well as where I could purchase it for resell.

eBay feedback give you information about sellers as well as buyers. You can tell how long a seller or buyer has been on eBay. You can look at their past transactions and glean information about their habits online and make a decision as to rather they would be a good business partner or customer.

b. Amazon.com gives some very interesting intelligence data to the online seller. One very valuable piece of seller intelligence that Amazon gives the sells ranking of their items. Some sellers use this data to determine if a book is worth trying to sell.

Amazon also gives some great pricing data. And when you combine pricing data with sells ranking you really get a good idea if your items will sell or not.

So to recap online sellers need to understand that sources of data that are out there to assist them in selling. Make a list of the most important info that you need to know. Look at the venue you sell on as well as other selling venues to see what data you can collect from these sources. And remember that knowledge is power.

file under;

selling, information, Amazon, eBay, Yahoo,

Santa Didn't Bring You What You Want? Try This!

2005-12-27T18:47:00.000-08:00

A couple of articles caught my eye as I surfed the net today. Both suggest that you just might be able to use eBay, or any auction site for that matter, as a return counter.

As I thought about this it occurred to me that it might actually be easier and you could actually get something that you want for that item that did not quite fit your lifestyle. And what is more, the person that buys it probably really wants it.

Check these articles out;

Skip the return counter; try EBay By Mark Kellner in the Technology section of the Washington Times online.

eBay Survey Shows Americans Re-Gift During the Holidays By Ina Steiner at AuctionBytes.Com

File under;
Gifts
eBay
iOffer
Yahoo
Amazon
Returns
Auctions
Overstock

A Xmas Gift From Paypal

2005-12-24T15:43:00.000-08:00

Here is a great tip about Paypal coupon codes. I was not aware of this. Make sure you read the comments, there are several codes listed there. If you buy items and use Paypal, this could save you some money.

The famous C11-GIFTGUIDE paypal coupon code @ the eBay Strategies Blogs.

file under;
Strategies
Auctions
Paypal
Tricks
Gift
Tip

Columnist Makes Helpful Suggestions for Online Sellers.

2005-12-19T13:15:00.000-08:00

Text message: Save. By shopping online, students can get deep discounts on books By Columnist Steve Rosen @ Kansas City Star.Com

Columnist Steve Rosen presents an interesting argument for why you should shop online to buy books instead of going to your campus books store.

I thought this column was well written and that it offers some great ideas for online sellers to use to promote their online stores and auctions.

He gives pointers for how to get the best out of shopping online, and these pointers are guides for the online seller. By knowing what it is your customers will be looking for you can offer better customer service.

file under;
sales
books
auctions
customer service

One in Six Americans are Online Sellers! Who knew?

2005-11-29T10:57:00.000-08:00

Carlos Bergfeld a staff writer for The Daily Toreador (an online Texas Tech Newspaper) states some interesting facts and bits of information regarding online sells in his article "Study Shows Nearly One in Six Americans are Online Sellers." Information from a recent study by the Pew Internext and American Life project is presented in this informative article.

"A study released Sunday by the Pew Internet and American Life Project revealed about one in six, or 25 million, of online American adults sell goods or services online."

file under;
online sales
auctions
selling

Using Flickr to Sell Online

2005-10-10T19:12:00.000-07:00

A very interesting article from AuctionBytes titled "Using Flickr to Host Your eBay and Online-Auction Photos" by Mark O'Neill makes some points about using Flickr as an auction photo service.

The article prompted me to write about my ideas on how Flickr can be used by the online seller.

The first point I want to make is from the Flickr Terms of Use;

Flickr is intended for personal use and is not a generic image hosting service. Professional or corporate uses of Flickr are prohibited.

I have used Flickr for a while now and will tell you that some of the regulars at Flickr will give you a hard time if they think you are using the service in a way that is not according to the Terms of Use. If you are an eBay user you may be familiar with this attitude, the regular users of a service police it. Just like eBay users police eBay or Overstock users police Overstock, well Flickr users also police Flickr.

The hardcore Flickr community seems to be mostly professional photographers, who are more artistic than entrepreneurial. And they are on the watch for anything they consider Spam.

Mr. O'Neill states in his article;

you can't directly link to individual images in Flickr.

This is not totally true, images in Flicker behave just like all web based images. You can right click on any of your images in Flickr and get the URL for that image and then use HTML to display the image.

This is an example of a Flickr photo that could be used in an auction

So if you can't use Flickr for commercial use, can you use it for auctions? The answer to this question is that you can do it. Which leads to the next question, should you do it? I'm not sure? I don't fully understand what the Flickr's TOU means by "professional or commercial" use. The community is policed by other members for the most part. And if you do something that other users do not like they will let you know.

An Interesting Use of Flickr for Collectible Sellers

This may only work for those who sell collectibles and other items that do not seem so commercial. The photography of collectible items can be done for purposes of inventorying them or as art. And because of this Flickr is a great place to host photos of collectibles.

I use Flickr for a blog where I write about and catalog mugs that I collect. My mugs blog is called Fitz's Mugs. Some of these mugs are also in my eBay and iOffer stores. Is this professional use? I don't know if collecting and selling mugs would be considered professional use or personal use. But I have not received much input from the Flickr police.

One thing that I like to do with Flickr that I think other online sellers can try, is I like to put a URL for my auctions of a mug in the comments of my Flickr photo. This allows someone who is looking at my photos to also see my store items.

Please click here for an example of a Flickr photo with a link to an auction or store item.
US Navy USS McKee (AS 41) Mug / Coffee Cup

This is the real advantage of Flickr for the online seller, you can attract buyers from Flickr as well. This way, people looking for photos could possibly become your customers.

Here is an example of my Flickr mug photo set; Fitzgerald's Mug Collection Set

For other tips and tricks on using Flickr check out; Flickr Tricks, Tips & Tools.

file under;
tips
Flickr
tricks
selling
how-to
auction
collectables

Online Book Selling World Abuzz About Amazon Decision

2005-10-05T11:33:00.000-07:00

Several prominent book selling sites and forums are abuzz about Amazon's decision to no longer support the ABE and Alibris used book selling sites.

My understanding of this event is that Amazon will no longer allow ABE or Alibris sellers listings to be posted on their site anymore as of the middle of the month. Amazon's relationship with Alibris is not fully understood at this time because Alibris seems to want to continue the relationship.

Alibris - Amazon Response Posted on Discussion Board

Amazon Cuts The Cord: Now What For Abe and Alibris?

file under;
books
selling
marketing

Introduction to Guide for Online Book Sellers

2005-09-30T11:25:00.000-07:00

One of the things that I have had on my list of things to do is to write a guide for online book selling. I have to tell you that I love selling books online. My love of books has taken me down the road of selling books and it is one of the coolest things that I get to do.

But I have to admit that selling books, while it is easy for me now (relatively so). When I first started there were some things that I did not understand fully. And it also needs to be stressed that the market place is in a state of constant change and therefore you have to keep looking for new ways to sell books online.

One of the first things that I believe that anyone who is new to book selling should do is figure out what kind of book seller they want to be. In my case I have thousands of books. I read constantly and write about book selling and books are a major part of my life. But most people will not dive head long into book selling as I have done.

So what I will be doing with this series of post is;

Providing the latest relevant links on the internet. This in itself is a full time job and might be very ambitious of me. But there are some great resources on the net that I would like to share.

Providing information about how to price your books. There is a lot of confusion about what price to charge for your used books. I will try to provide some tools that will hopefully make this easier for the beginning book seller.

Discuss the online venues for selling books. In the last few years many different venues for selling books online have started. It is not always clear which is the best venue to use. I am of the opinion that different venues are better suited for different kinds and styles of booksellers.

So anyway, consider this post as the introduction to a new series that I will be posting to here on OnLineSellersTips.

file under;

book
sale
selling
tips
eBay
auction

Blogging Hurricane Katrina

2005-09-02T06:43:00.000-07:00

If you read any of my blogs you may know that my home town is Shreveport Louisiana. And I can not tell you how sad I am as I hear more and more bad news from my home state and the Gulf Coast as a whole.

The information flow is spotty and slow. Major News organizations are having a hard time getting out the news from this rural area of the country. The New Orleans Times-Picayune did not have a print edition for three days, they and other papers and TV stations are operating on the web.

A reader of one of my other blogs from anoter country said, "Thanks for the links - the info I get here is very general." So I thought a country boy like me might be able to help to gather some helpful links to inform and help the people of the area.

PHOTOS

Before and after pics of the flood from flickr.

flickr photos for the neworleans tag.

flickr photos for the katrina tag.

NEWS

The Times-Picayune

WDSU Blog

WWLTV News

COMMUNITY BOARDS @ FORUMS

New Orleans Craigslist Community Board

Times-Picayune Missing Persons Forum

Red Cross-Salvation Army

CNN Reported Safe List

Full Circle Katrina flood Victims and familys board

Katrina: Family-Friends Forum

Vieux Carre (French Quarter) Life Forum

BLOGS

Polimom Says

New Orleans Metro Blogs

Looka at Gumbo Pages

Ernie the Attorney

MAKE A DONATION

Red Cross.org

FEMA: Where to Donate

Net Work For Good

File under;

storm
gulf coast
hurricane
Katrina

Where Do You Get Books To Sell?

2005-08-31T13:57:00.000-07:00

One of the basic question that online book sellers face is, "Where do you get your books from?" There are many places to get books. Some of the best places to get used books are thrift stores, friends of the library sales, church book sells, garage sales, yard sales, fleamarkets are all great places to find good quality used books.

But into today's post, which is a part of a continuing series that I am working on here at Online seller tips, I want to focus on online places to buy books.

You can not only save time, but you can search through many more books online then you would ever be able to do other wise.

------------------
Scholastic Online Book Store

The Scholastic Store online is a one-stop shop for everything kids! There you will find the best children's toys and games, award-winning books and software, plus classic characters you loved as kid. Shop there at one of the most trusted names in learning and children's books that you can find today!

-----------------------
Overstock.com - Books
Books at Overstock.com Auctions!

Overstock.com prides itself as being one of the safest places to buy and sell books and other items on the internet. They have a trusted merchant program that assures that you won't have problems when you buy books on their site.

They have sections for audiobooks, bargain books, children's books and other sections.

-------------------------
Abebooks.com

Abebooks is the world's largest online marketplace for books. Whether it's new, used, rare, or out-of-print, it can be found here, through their community of over 13,000 independent booksellers from around the globe.

In Abebooks inventory of over 70 million books, readers find bestsellers, collectors find rare books, students find textbooks, and bargain hunters find books discounted up to 90%.

-------------------------
Bookbyte.com is serving students with discounted textbooks nationwide.

Bookbyte.com is an on-line college bookstore. They specialize in used college textbooks with discounts of 25% to 45%. In addition to college textbooks, they carry trade, and K-12 textbooks.

They currently have in stock approximately 300,000 books. Others types of inventory are supplied through drop ship relationships. They offer customers fast same day (within 24 hrs) shipping. They have a 14 day from the date of delivery (no-question) return policy, plus they provide industry trained, live in-house customer service representatives.

-------------------------
BookCloseouts.com

Visit BookCloseouts.com's Clearinghouse Sale for the biggest discounts on quality books.

BookCloseouts is the bestseller of bargain books on the internet. All of their product is offered at 50-90% off the list price. A wide range of quality books at low prices is an easy sell for affiliates. BookCloseouts.com has been in operation for over 10 years selling books all over the world.

They have been doing E-Commerce successfully since March of 1997 and continue to be a leader in our specialized market. They customer service both by phone and e-mail, and have a 100% product guarantee. With over 5 million books, and new inventory received every day, BookCloseouts always has something new for book buyers.

Their long list of book categories include Sports, Children's, Computer, Craft, Gardening, Cooking, Health, Parenting, General Fiction, just to name a few. No matter what your interest are, BookCloseouts.com is sure to have title after title that will might like.

------------------------
BOOKSAMILLION.COM

Books-A-Million is the third largest book retailer in the nation and offers deep discounts online at BOOKSAMILLION.COM.

------------------------
Half.com
Find great deals on books at Half.com.

Half.com has unmatched value and selection for textbooks, books, movies, music & electronics. It is a great place to buy books for resell.

----------------------------
eBay.com
www.ebay.com

eBay is one of the best-known venues for selling any thing on line, but it is also a great bookselling venue. It has a great selection and you would do well, as both a buyer or sellers of books, to give eBay a good look when considering where to sell and buy books online.

file under;

book
sale
selling
tips
eBay
auction

On Line Advertising Tip - Use Craig's List for low cost advertising.

2005-08-17T15:10:00.000-07:00

In today's post I want to share an idea that I have been working on since I started selling collectibles online. I want to share a cheap (free) way to advertise your auctions or online web site.

I create Craig's List ads for items that I am also selling in my on line stores. Craig's List is an online site that offers forums, want ads, and some other features. You can place ads in most major American markets. Craig's List defines itself as a local community classifieds and forums - a place to find jobs, housing, goods & services, social activities, a girlfriend or boyfriend, advice, community information, and just about anything else -- all for free, and in a relatively non-commercial environment.

Click here to see a list of cities that host Craig's List sites.

Click here to read the Craig's List fact sheet.

It can be used to supplement your online selling activities.

With a minimum of HTML you can create some very effective ads. And if you fulfill the needs of customers who find you through Craig's List, you may be able to keep them as customers or have them visit your other online stores.

You can direct buyers to your Yahoo auctions, eBay, iOffer or any other online items that you are selling.

Here are a couple of examples of ads that I have recently created.

Craig's List ad for USS Forrestal (CVA 59) Plankowners 1956 Diary Calendar Book - This ad is for a book that is from the military collectibles that I sell.

Craig's List ad for a Grand Theft Auto Video Game Strategy Guide - This is an ad for a video game guide that I sell.

I hope you find these examples that show how to use Craig's List to post ads for your online selling activities helpful.

Yet Another Idea to Get Information For the Online Seller.

2005-08-05T13:13:00.000-07:00

Then there are the search directories. Not only are these good for bringing traffic to your blog or web site, but they can also be used to find content. Because many other bloggers and web sites use these directories you can use them to find the latest and best sources of content also.

Technorati.com - This site will allow you to add and track your blog. Check who is linking to you and by adding your blog when others search for tags that are the same as yours your blog will be listed. This is one technique to get traffic.

Technorati is the authority on what's going on in the world of weblogs. And as an online seller you could do well to learn how to use this tool.

Bloglines - Bloglines is another online service for searching, subscribing, creating and sharing news feeds, blogs and rich web content. With Bloglines, there is no software to download or install. You simply register as a new user and you can instantly begin accessing your account any time, from any computer or mobile device.

Del.icio.us - del.icio.us is a social bookmarks manager. It allows you to easily add sites you like to your personal collection of links, to categorize those sites with keywords, and to share your collection not only between your own browsers and machines, but also with others.

And finally it is the sharing that is the power of these networks. As an online seller you can add your stores to your on personal list there by sharing them with other potential buyers.

Examples of this;

My del.icio.us links for eBay

My del.icio.us links on iOffer

Information Sources for the Online Seller

2005-07-27T15:41:00.000-07:00

One of the difficulties of selling online is gathering good information. In today's post I want to suggest a couple of online and free resources that may help you gather information that can make you a more successful seller.

What kind of information might you need. As a seller you might need to know the following;

1. Breaking news regarding your suppliers or other business partners.
2. Breaking news about your competition.
3. News about ecommerce sites. Such as eBay, Amazon.com, iOffer, and other auction sites.
4. News regarding the products that you sell. As in news about military collectibles, or books, jewelry.
5. There really are no limits to the information that you may find useful and that you can collect on the web.

One way to help gather news and information is to automate the information collection process.

You can automate the search process by using the alert feature of most of the popular search engines. The search engines can bring you news and information from web sites as well.

Google alerts

You may not have considered that as an online seller there are quite a few tools to help you gather information no matter what your interest are, or what it is that you sell. What ever it is that you sell, you can set up a Google alert to bring information about that topic right to your inbox.

You can read all about Google Alerts here in the Google Alerts FAQ.

MSN alerts

MSN Alerts is a another free service that notifies you of time-sensitive events and information from sources within MSN such as MSNBC, MSN Autos, Weather.com, and MSN Money. You can receive alerts on your computer via MSN Messenger or Windows Messenger, your e-mail inbox, your mobile device, or all three. It's up to you.

Click here to go to the MSN alerts home page.

So I reccomend that you give automated data collection a try by using search engine alerts.

As I was typing this up it occurred to me that you could possible create a special email account just to keep all you alerts in if you wanted to be more organized about it.

Introducing another blog to promote my selling activities.

2005-07-26T12:20:00.000-07:00

I have been working on an interesting project. In my last post I gave some examples of how I high light items in my online iOffer store by linking to these items in my collectibles blog.

In today's post I want to show you a new blog that I started (FitzMugs) just to showcase a particular group of items that I sell. I started a new blog called FitzMugs. Because I sell mugs I thought that it would be nice to see if I could use a blog to sell these particular items.

My idea is that I will use the blog as a place to document some of the research that I do on collectible mugs a cups. I also will use this blog to do some affiliate marketing. I not only sell mugs on eBay, but I am also an eBay affiliate and so I will also link to other mugs and cups that other eBay sellers have.

The blog will also allow me to market my online stores as well and it is a place on line that people who are searching for mugs will be able to find. My idea is that because I will also leave the information about the mugs that I have sold in the blog, some will find the blog through those items as well.

My plan is to create a blog for each category of item that I sell in my eBay store. You may want to give this a try and if you do let me know how it works out for you.

How to use blogs to help sell items online.

2005-07-15T14:26:00.000-07:00

One of the questions that I get asked a lot by online sellers is how do you use your blogs to sell stuff? This is a great question.

It is difficult to give a definitive answer because blogs are very flexible and you can use them in so many different ways. I recently did a post in my blog for collectibles, Fitzgerald's Online Journal that I think can serve as an example to give some answers to this question. You can check that post out here; The Cruise Book Series: USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) 1967-68 & 1975 Editions.

Blogs can help you target customers.

I created Fitzgerald's Journal to promote my online selling activities on eBay and iOffer which are two online selling venues that I use. My idea was that I would keep a log of my activities and also I wanted to connect to new pools of customers. I noticed by reading blogs that they attract a certain type of person, and further each blogging platform attracts a type of reader. So blogs can help you target customers.

Another observation I had from reading various forums was that there are many different communities online. Online sellers tend to spend time talking to each other. I wanted to break out of this world of talking to my fellow online sellers and speak more to people who could be my customers and not just fellow online sellers. I found blogs to be an excellet way to do this.

Blogs allow you get information about what you are selling.

Here is an experiment for you to try. Go to Google and enter the name of what you sell plus the word blog. You will get a list of blogs that mention your item. You can then go to these blogs and read what others are saying about the item that you are selling. This is very valuable information. You do have to be careful, because you really need to read several blogs prior to making an informed opinion. But blogs are a great way to do market research for the items that you sell.

My example.

What I did. I started a series of post about collectible Navy Cruise Books that I sell online. Every couple of weeks or so, I write a new post about one of the books and post links to it in my journal. I think this can work for many other online sellers.

Other cruise books that I have linked to in my collectibles blog have been;

USS Ranger (CV 61) 1982 Cruise Book
USS Nimitz 1982 Cruise Book
USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) 1982 Cruise Book
USS USS Forrestal (CVA 59) 1956 Cruise Book

Blogs help with SEO.

By building links like examples I show above you will be increasing the incoming links to that item in your online store. Depending on how much page rank your blog has, you could be increasing the chances that your item will be
picked up by a search engine.

Also, while it may be dificult to get someone to link to the items that you are selling online. It is relatively easy to get people to link to your blog. One of the eaisest ways is to just link to blogs that are related to your blog. In my case by linking to others who have blogs on Journal Space I am getting some very high quality incoming links. And this helps with SEO.

So here are the ways that I think blogs can be used to help you sell items online.
Blogs Can Help Target Customers.
You can do market research by by reading blogs.
Blogs can be used to promote your products.
Blogs help with SEO (Search Engine Optimization).

Using Amazon.com for research.

2005-07-13T14:11:00.000-07:00

I am often amazed when I think about how Amazon.com is such a great site to do research. One of the ways that Amazon was able to create a useful site was by llowing its users to write reviews. And then they went further by allowing other users to rank the reviews so that the good ones bubble up to the top.

I find many of the reviews at Amazon very helpful.

I notice that school teachers even assign there students to write reviews on amazon. Can you see the brand loyalty being created by students doing this. Kids who have reviewed a book will probably come back to Amazon to update their review or point it out to others to read. All the time creating more traffic for Amazon and possible more sells.

I often find myself on Amazon looking for one piece of information and the next thing you know I find another totally unrelated piece of information. This has got to be by design. And much of this great info provided by Amazons users. For free, at no cost to the company. I find this amazing, and wonder if a small online seller like myself can use this idea presented by Amazon to my own advantage.

Well as I stated I was doing research on Amazon, I was not there to buy anything. But Amazon probably does not care about that because sooner or later, I will buy something. If they can just keep me on their site for long enough. By giving interesting and useful data.

So here are a few ideas that I came up with after thinking about this for a little while;

a. Ask your customers what they think. They will give you some good info and add value to your site. You can edit what they input or do more research to verify some facts (who knows you may learn form this too). This may be done to ensure that you are getting good data, but ask and you will receive.

b. Get new customers when they are young. If you have not done it yet, figure out a way to get young customers to your site. Let them interact and possible leave feed back. You could create some life long customers by doing that.

c. Provide related information, this will be valued added to your customers / readers.

Because I want to practice what I preach, feel free to let me know what you think about this. Do you think any of these methods could be implemented by a small online seller? If so how?

Interesting Idea for Online Sellers

2005-07-07T15:30:00.000-07:00

Local company aids eBay entrepreneurs

This article outlines a very interesting Columbia-based Auction Safari business that helps entrepreneurs that sell online.

The company helps "clients devise strategies to best move products through the tricky world of online auctions", they provide storage, and consult on pricing guide lines as well as which auction sites to use.

Auction Safari is creating jobs and also secured a loan to help finance their start up. This is an example of what entrepreneurs can do when they put their minds to it.

Amazon Sellers Best Practices

2005-07-06T12:21:00.000-07:00

As a student of "OnLine Selling" or to be more technical about it eCommerce, I am always on the look out for sources of information that I can write about and also learn from.

In past post I have stated that I think it is a good idea to look at the information that is provided on the various sites that are out there. I think that much of the information that is provided on some sites can be applied to all the sites that you sell on.

So I'd like to provide you with a link that I think you can use no matter what "online selling site" you use. Amazon Marketplace Seller Best Practices is a great resource for any online seller.

It covers;

Finding Answers Quickly

Listing Items and Inventory Management

Order Management

Fulfillment

Customer Service

Security

Community

While the information is aimed at the Amazon seller. Most of it can be applied to any selling site. And with a little imagination you can get some great ideas about how to make all your online selling activities run smoother.

The Latest Phishing Scam to Hit my In Box

2005-07-01T16:24:00.000-07:00

The latest email phishing (identity theft) scam to hit my in box is aimed at PayPal. The scammer is using the PayPal name in the from line, but it is PayPal.Inc (which is the first indication that something is wrong with the email). The way the scam works is that the email states that a new email address has been added to my PayPal account. The scammer is hoping that I will react in anger and click on a links provided in their email. And that I will unwittingly provide them with my account information as I try to straighten out the nonexistent problem that they claim I have.

Several things that I want to point out to online sellers and others who have PayPal accounts is do not click on any of the links in the email. Even the fictitious email address is actually a link to a login to the scammers servers. I point this out because I have read of some sellers who want to get back it the scammers by clicking on the links and sending them a piece of their minds. Do not do this, because some of the scammers are smart enough to use this against you.

I have also seen scam emails that are actually a jpeg image and if you click on any part of the image it will send you to site that request account information or it will try to upload malicious software to your computer.

So what do you do?

Forward all scam PayPal emails to spoof@paypal.com. This is very important because PayPal will do the research to figure out who is doing this. PayPal has a vested interest in stopping scammers from stealing from you.

Never enter any information in any email that ask you to act now. If the tone of an email is that you must act now, stop and think. Do some verification.

Always, ALWAYS, log into your accounts from your links or favorites list. NOT from the links in any email. One of the main reasons that scammers are able to steal from people is because they click on links in the scammers emails.

These helpful hints also apply to other accounts that you have and that scammers might send to you.

How much do I sell my items for.

2005-06-29T14:53:00.000-07:00

This is one of the most difficult questions for any business to answer. Get it wrong and you could be out of business or your sells lag. Get it right and buyers will beat a path to your door. In today's post I want to give online sellers some ideas to help answer this question.

There is no one correct answer, but there are some considerations that will help you command a better price.

General rules of pricing.

Supply and demand. In order to set the best price for an item you need to know how much demand there is for the item. The more demand the higher the price that you can ask for the item. A function of demand is how big your market is.

For example there may be little demand in your city for an item and at the same time there maybe a large demand for the same item in your state or country.

Time is money. There is an old saying that time is money. Well in the world of sells this is very true. Most online sellers want to have a very quick turn over of their items. And in general this is a good rule.

There is however a price for fast turnovers. The faster you need to sell an item means probably the fewer buyers there will be that see the item. The fewer buyers that see your item, the lower the price that you will be able to command.

It is a matter of selling to the first buyer that comes along, or waiting until the buyer that is willing to pay you a higher price comes along.

Some items will sell for a higher price if you have a longer time window for selling. This is why online stores offer some some advantages over online auctions.

Pricing Methods.

Cost Plus. This is a simple method of taking your cost and adding a desired profit margin. Becasue it is the simplist, many sellers use this method. And though this is a simple method it may not give you the best margins that you could get.

Meet Competition. Sellers often just decide to match or beat competitors' prices to gain or retain market share in a competitive market. This is also a simple method and is used by many sellers. It requires a little more research to do properly, because you have to know the prices of your competitors. And you have to keep your prices up to date with other prices in the market.

Perceived Value to the Consumer. You can charge the customer the value provided, regardless of its cost. Consider automobile repacement part cost, very high prices can be commanded for cheap parts that are crucial to maintain some autos. And the owners of the cars perceive that the value of these parts is very high. If the price charged for an item is commensurate with the benefits provided, then it will be considered a good value in the mind of the buyer. There are limits to how high the price can be set, but if you understand perceived value you can set prices that give you good margins.

Skimming. This method of pricing is the charging a high prices for new or noval items. If what you sell is on the leading edge of the types of products compared to your compatition, then you may be able to command a higher price.

Penetration. This pricing method is used to gain market share by starting at a low price and as it becomes a more popular item, or gains penetration, that the price is increased. Examples of this can be seen in car Japanese car industry. Initially many Japanese cars were low priced, but now that command some of the highest prices in the industry.

The Price/Quality Relationship. Becasue consumer perceptions are not necessarily based on just the physical attributes of a product, the "perceived" quality is often influenced by its price. Apparel, perfume, antiques, collectible books and jewelry are examples where the price itself affects characteristics of style and workmanship to a product just because of the high price charged.

No matter which pricing method you choose, you will need to gether information to make good decisions.

Where to get pricing information.

Online. With the popularity of the internet there are quite a few places online to get prices.

Buy looking up the items that you want to sell you can get an idea of what other online sellers are charging. This information can help you set prices. One thing to be aware of is that you may not be seeing the prices that items have sold at, but the price that is being asked for. This distinction is a very important one, becasue with some items the prices that are being asked for are prices that the item will not sell at.

PLACES ON THE INTERNET TO GET PRICING INFO

Auction Sites (that can be used as price guides) - Just click on any of the links below and go to the auction sites and enter your item to see prices that your item is being auctioned for.

www.eBay.com
books@Half.com.
Liquidation.com
uBid
Overstock.com Auctions!

Book pricing sites - Click on any of the links below to go to sites dedicated to pricing books.

Booksamillion.Com
www.Amazon.com
Audio Book rental club. www.jiggerbug.com
www.abebooks.com
www.alibris.com
www.addall.com
www.bookfinder.com

Other Online Sites.

To price almost anything you can go to Google and enter the item name followed by price guide and you will get many sites devoted to pricing your item.

Books. There are some items where the internet still does not offer the kind of infromation that will allow you to make the best dicisions. This is where books come into the picture.

A FEW BOOKS TO CONSIDER

Collectibles Price Guide 2005

The Official Price Guide to Records

Beckett Baseball Card Price Guide

The Official Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide

Antique Trader Ceramics: Pottery & Porcelain Price Guide

Latest News from the On Line Sellers World

2005-06-23T14:39:00.000-07:00

EBay bids for harmony Big convention hopes to win over exasperated ...

Some news form eBays convention.

OverstockArt.com to Undergo a Customer Focused Redesign

OverstockArt.com will listen to customers’ wants and needs by implementing a customer survey and usability study. The results of this study will be analyzed and implemented in a total redesign effort to improve usability and online conversion of visitors into customers.

Overstock Auctions to use Sellathon as its Default Hit Counter ...

Overstock.com today announced an integration partnership with Sellathon to provide sellers on Overstock Auctions with free access to ViewTracker, Sellathon's ...

More Online Sellers Go It Alone

This article is a must read for ever online seller.

Setting up an online store is so easy these days that sellers needn't rely on eBay as a source of customers. Advertising is simple and inexpensive, thanks to new technology from companies such as Google Inc. And multiple competitors, including Amazon and Yahoo, are pulling once-loyal eBay sellers into their orbit.

Some recommended reading; The Flyte Blog

2005-05-22T23:17:00.000-07:00

I recently surfed onto a blog devoted to what works online that I think will make an interesting addition to your list of blogs to read daily. I plan on adding it to mine. Online sellers can benefit from knowing how to use blogs to help their small business and the blog that I want to recommend today can do that.

Please add the Flyte: What works online blog to your list of blogs to read. It is maintained by Richard Brooks the president of Flyte.

According to them "Flyte New Media is a crew of entrepreneurial missionaries posing as Web site designers." While I'll let you be the judge of that, one reason that I wanted to introduce them to the readers to Online Seller Tips is because I think that in the Online Seller world we listen to our selves talk a lot about what works online, but we don't always get any fresh outside perspective.

As I read the Flyte: What works online blog. I read much information that is revenant and timely, not unlike a lot of what online sellers say, but with a fresher and newer approach. They also ask some of the questions that we need to be asking ourselves to make our small businesses better.

Read it, I think you will enjoy it.

Amazon.com in the news

2005-05-06T14:41:00.000-07:00

Amazon.com is one of the larger online selling sites out there. But they have a more understated position in the online selling world and many online sellers are not aware that Amazon even offers auctions.

To help keep online sellers informed I offer some of the latest news about Amazon

Amazon.com opens wedding registry, planning site

Chicago Tribune (subscription) - Chicago,IL,USA

Amazon.com Inc., the world's largest Internet retailer, has opened a wedding registry and planning service on its Web site to compete with online wedding ...

Confused about Amazon.com? Don't be

MSN Money - USA

As is often the case with Amazon.com, its most recent quarterly earnings report generated almost as many questions as it did answers. ...

Amazon.com leaks PalmOne LifeDrive info

Register - London,England,UK

... surrounding PalmOne's much-rumoured LifeDrive aka Tungsten X aka LifeDrive (again) has achieved a level of legitimacy: the product as appeared on Amazon.com. ...

Amazon.com to Partner With Wine Retailer

Associated Press via MSN.com

Wine.com @ Amazon.com

SEATTLE (AP) - Amazon.com Inc. has launched a partnership with Internet wine retailer Wine.com, hoping to move more wine shoppers online and capitalize on one of the last major retail markets that hasn't yet made a big splash on the Internet

Intersting article about student entrepreneurs

2005-05-04T17:37:00.000-07:00

Here is an interesting article from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch online. In this article some ideas that student entrepreneurs are using to maintain their businesses while going to school. It motivates me to work harder as an online seller, and hopefully it will have the same effecto on you.

Student entrepreneurs can dream, but they also have to study, graduate

A wee bit of boosterism, in new book.

2005-05-01T14:42:00.000-07:00

Break out the pom-poms, because this article in the online version of the Boston Globe titled A skeptic's transformation to an eBay fanatic is some of the most pro eBay writing that I have read in a while. Not that there is any thing wrong with that, but ... what happened to objectivity?

Time, I guess, will tell if the assertion made by the author, Adam Ginsberg in his book How to Buy, Sell, and Profit on Ebay: Kick-Start Your Million-Dollar Business in Less Than 30 Days, which is quoted in the article.

According to Ginsberg,

"eBay will continue to grow at a fantastic rate for years to come."

So what do you think, is eBay's star still rising, or are the other smaller online selling sites catching up?

Popular items for the Online Seller Pt. 1.

2005-04-29T18:12:00.000-07:00

One of the most difficult decisions to make when selling online is to figure out just what is popular and what you should be selling. There are several variables that will determine what are the best items for you to sell.

Popularity is one of them. By popularity I mean that a large number of buyers want to to purchase an item. As an online seller it is a good idea to know how to determine what is popular at the various online auction web sites.

So this post is written with the thought of giving the begining seller some ideas about how to find the most popular items to sell.

One good place to find out what items are popular is the auction sites themselves. Most of the popular auction sites have a page or two devoted to telling you what are the most popular or best selling items on that site. This information is invaluable.

1. Amazon.com has an updated list of their most popular items. Which is updated hourly.

2. eBay.com has a link to their hot items on their home page.

By following that link you will find their down loadable Hot items by catagory pdf.

And a link to the eBay Pulse, a daily snapshot of the eBay marketplace. You can use this link to gleen what items sell well on eBay. It allows you to track trends, and make hot picks, including: top searches, most watched items, and little known eBay facts.

Another feature that eBay has is that you can look at completed auctions. The information that can be obtained from completed auctions is not only how poplular an item was but you get to see the price that the item sold for which is an indication of how valuable the item is. If you note a lot of completed auctions for a paricular item with no bids, it is a good bet that the item is not very popular, on the other hand if you note during your search that a particular item gets many multiple bids, it is a good bet that this item is popular.

One other way to find out what's popular to sell on line is to ask other sellers. Most online auction sites have a community forum or some other way for members to communicate with each other. These forums are a wealth of knowledge and can provide you with lots of information.

Affiliate Programs and the Online Seller

2005-04-26T15:37:00.000-07:00

I have been trying to bring together a couple of the worlds that I operate in. I am an online seller and that is why I started this blog. I enjoy selling stuff online, it is just that easy. I am also an affiliate marketer, that is why you see various banner ads on this blog. They help pay some of my expenses and allow me to put in more time researching topics that I think will be helpful to other online sellers.

Many online sellers may not know about affiliate programs or how to use them. I want to start by giving some basic difinitions and then presenting some ideas of how an online seller can use affiliate programs and finishing up by letting you know where you can go online to get more information.

Basic Definitions

Affiliate programs are one of the ways that merchants (more and more all the time) use to increase the number of people that visit their web sites. The more visitors they get the more sales they can make. They increase visits by placing links and banners on other sites (your site for example) and by paying you a commission when someone cliks on the link or banner.

The commissions may be paid per click, per lead, or most commonly, per sale.

Merchants use affiliate network providers or they administer the programs in-house. Affiliate Networks run these associate programs and provide the tracking software needed to make the program work.

A good reason for an online seller to use these programs is that no matter what you sell you can find a merchant to match your site.

To use affiliate programs you have to be accepted into the program. This is easy for many programs and difficult for others. It depends on how pickey the merchant is. Once you are accepted into a program you than gain access to software that tracks and calculates the commissions that you earn. The web sites for the program administrator (called the affiliate network) will also provide the text links, banners (of different sizes and colors). Banners may even be included for different promotions or areas of merchindise that the merchant sales.

Simply put, you send people to the merchants site, they buy something, and then you get paid a commision. You can look at affiliate marketing as you running a small store for a larger mall.

If you incorperate affiliate marketing into your online sales you may be able to increase your income from your online selling activities.

You can read more about the basics of affiliate marketing here.

And I also put together this link to help with the Key words and tricky phrases - Affiliate Dictionary.

Ideas of how Online Sellers can use affiliate programs

As an online seller you can complement your selling activities by including affiliate marketing. You can be an affiliate for merchants that sell items that go with what you sell.

For example if you sold mp3 players you could be an affiliate for napster.com or Musicmatch Jukebox Plus. In this example you are selling the hardware and your affiliate merchants are selling song files and software that can be used with the the hardware that you sell.

If you have a web site that mirrors your auctions for books, you may use posters.com to offer posters of characters from the books. Or you might want to be an Amazon.com affiliate and offer many more books than you could ever stock for you customers. Other book merchants that have an affiliate program are, Booksamillion.com, or Half.com just to name a few.

If you sell books on your site you may also want to offer your customers audio books by being an affiliate for Jiggerbug.com.

If you sell baby or children's clothes you could be an affiliate for Minitots.com.

You can probably be an affiliate for the auction site that you use to sell your items on. See online resources below.

Online resources

Books on Affiliate Marketing

Auction Site Affiliate Programs

ABestWeb Affiliate Marketing Forum

eBay Affiliate Marketing Forum

RSS Feeds and the Online Seller

2005-04-24T18:41:00.000-07:00

As an online seller there is a new and recent tool that may be very helpful for you. It is called RSS Feeds. This is a technical topic and it will take some explaining to describe what it is and how it works. It is not that hard to understand, it is that like many things that fascinate technical people (geeks) it can make you yawn. But if used by an online seller it can be helpful.

I will cover this over a series of post and also present various resources that online sellers can use to help sell their goods and services. Or even to purchase goods to resell.

What is RSS Feed?

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication and is written in XML (a specification). That is all it is. It allows content to be distributed that includes headlines, summaries and links. Feeds are like channels. And these channels are viewed by an RSS reader (there are many of them).

What is an RSS reader?

A News Reader is software that allows you to have the latest news headlines, in RSS format, delivered straight to your desktop. You can find one here Google Link.

I don't won't to spend too many words on the geek side of RSS. Because I can and do often go on and on about it. It is really cool and I love learning about it. To start with you can read these articles that explain it very well.

Answers.com: RSS Feed

WebReference.com's Introduction to RSS

I want to spend this post telling you why you should use RSS as an online seller.

RSS will increase your selling activity's reach. By creating an RSS feed of the items that you sell you can increase readership and distribution.

Most online sellers have a small audiences / customer base, but with time and regular updates audiences and customer bases grow. Online sellers may never have more than a few hundred customers, but the people who return regularly are generally interested in what you have to sell.

As a seller, you can also increase your reach as a buyer. The items that you buy can be researched, and even bought using RSS Feeds.

RSS allows users to opt-in, so it saves you time because you do not have to search for information. It is pulled to you, by you. As opposed to being pushed by a publisher or content provider.

How do I find the RSS feed(s) I am interested in?

Feeds are available wherever you see the orange XML logo on the site. <--This for example is the RSS Feed for this blog.

Here are a couple of links to some feed generators for a few selling sites. Note the XML logos.

eBay feed generator

Amazon feed generator

I will end here and give some time to digest this info. If you have any suggestions of ways that you have found as an online seller to use RSS Feeds I would love to here about it.

Also please note that I added a new news feed from Google to the blog, it can be found on the side bar to the right at the bottom.

Google has a neat way to track your shipments.

2005-04-21T19:30:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Google Online Sellers have a new and easy tool to use to track packages they have sent and more importantly, an easy way to assure their customers.

Google Search By Number feature allows you to use Google to access package tracking information, US patents, and a variety of online databases.

Parcel tracking IDs, patents and other specialized numbers can be entered into Google's search box for quick access to information about them. For example, typing a FedEx tracking number will return the latest information
on your package. Other special search by number types include :

UPS tracking numbers example search: "1Z9999W99999999999"

FedEx tracking numbers example search: "999999999999"

USPS tracking numbers example search:
"9999 9999 9999 9999 9999 99"

Vehicle ID (VIN) numbers example search:
"AAAAA999A9AA99999"

UPC codes example search: "073333531084"

Telephone area codes example search: "650"

Patent numbers example search: "patent 5123123"
Remember to put the word "patent" before your patent number.

FAA airplane registration numbers example search: "n199ua"
An airplane's FAA registration number is typically printed on its tail.

FCC equipment IDs example search:
"fcc B4Z-34009-PIR"
Remember to put the word "fcc" before the equipment ID.

I plan on adding this information to each of my out going confirmation emails.

--------------------------

And in other Online Seller News;

OshKosh B'Gosh to launch new site with Amazon Services.

The Latest News about Auction Sites

2005-04-20T21:40:00.000-07:00

Here is a round up of some of the latest news for various auction sites.

Overstock.com, Inc. Selects Teradata for Enterprise Data Warehouse

Net Stocks All eyes on eBay

Sony creates auction site for game artifacts

Amazon.com, Marks & Spencer team up

Back to Basics, it is about the margins.

2005-04-19T20:56:00.000-07:00

Some times as an online seller it gets hard to remember the fundamentals of business due to all the confusion in the market place and the continual "fog of change" that sometimes obscures the vision of those trying to make a living by doing online sells.

Or it maybe the case that you never learned the basics in the first place. Well one idea that the online version of the magazine Internet Retailer presented in an article titled "Follow that margin" can go a long way in serving as a reminder or as a primer in some of the basics of online selling.

Hip Hop star Nelly to Auction Cars for Leukaemia

2005-04-18T14:27:00.000-07:00

Rap musician Nelly is auctioning off two Pimp Juice promotional vehicles to support the fight against leukaemia.

The Hip-hop star named an energy drink after his hit track Pimp Juice, has joined with a Jeep dealer in his home town of St. Louis, Missouri to put the vehicles up for sale on auction website eBay, according to AllHipHop.com.

Revenue raised by the sale of the vehicles will go to supporting the Jes Us 4 Jackie organisation, which Nelly founded with his late sister, Jackie.

The winning bidder will also pick up 20 cases of Pimp Juice, a plaque of authenticity and an autographed picture of Nelly with the vehicle.

Nelly's sister who passed away on 24 March 2005 from leukaemia, founded Jes Us 4 Jackie with Nelly to promote the participation of African-Americans in donor registration programs.

Online Auction Resources

2005-04-15T13:12:00.000-07:00

The below links are helpful to the online seller. Feel free to leave a comment and let me know of any other good resources that you use. Or that you think would be helpful to other members.

Learn to Sell on eBay: Seller Central Best Practices

eBay Software for Sellers

Learn to Sell on eBay Advanced Selling Guide

eBay Education New to eBay?

Watch that Auction Fever

Add Auction Software

Charity Auction Software

Free Auction Ad Creator

Yahoo! Auction Manager

Internet Auctions: A Guide for Buyers & Sellers

Drop Shipping - Pros and Cons

2005-04-05T13:08:00.000-07:00

As an online seller you may enjoy developing and even making your own products, or you may really like to purchase products. You may love to track your inventory, keeping and maintaining space to keep your products, and operating a shipping center. You also may enjoy taking photos and doing write ups, creating and posting listings to online auction sites.

On the other hand, you may not want to do any of these things, but still be an online seller. And if that is the case then drop shipping may be for you. With today's post I just want to go over some of the pros and cons of drop shipping.

What is drop shipping?

Drop shipping is you selling items for a manufacturer or distributor. The manufacturer or distributor does all the product developing, inventory tracking, maintaining inventory and shipping. This allows you to sell high quality, brand-name products on your Web site for a profit.

It is touted as a very good deal. And it can be. As with all kinds of business there are advantages and disadvantages. And as with everything you want to be armed with knowledge. Knowledge is what will help you avoid the scam artists and other unsavory characters that populate the "get rich quick" landscape that we all live in today.

To make drop shipping work you will need to choose a good drop shipper that ships high quality brand-name products that can help you generate sales. This drop shipper must also provide excellent customer service.

Pros to drop shipping

Saves on inventory cost - With dropshipping you do not need to have capital to buy start up inventory. Unlike other businesses you do not need to go out and purchase a lot of inventory to start.
No leftovers - Another part of saving on inventory cost is the savings you get by not having leftover inventory. Because you do not have inventory to start with, there will be no leftovers. If an item goes out of style then you are not left with the losses form not being able to sell it.
Quick selling of new items - Because you do not have inventory, you can change what you sell instantly. If an item is hot you can start selling it very quickly.
No need for storage space - You also save on inventory cost because you do not have storage space. For some online sellers a large cost of selling is the cost of storing their inventory.
Less physical and administrative work - You do not have to wrap and ship anything. You may not have to even do very many write ups or listings. Because you do not have an inventory, you will not have to track it. Or do any of the other administrative work that comes with maintaining an inventory.
Access to a large and varying inventory of items - Just as there is no left over, and you can change items quicker with drop shipping, you also can have access to hundreds if not thousands of different items.
Access to professional quality marketing resources - Many dropshippers provide their sellers with professional quality photos and other marketing materials for the items that they sell.

Cons to drop shipping

Customer service - You are dependent on the manufacturer or distributor to get the customer service correct. If there are problems with shipping (such as items damaged during shipping), your business may be hurt.
Quality Control - You do not have control over the quality of the items being shipped. You are selling items that you may not even see prior to them being shipped to your customers.
Unlimited choices - It can be difficult to decide which items to sell and which drop shippers to use. Also the details of each drop shippers needs to be compared, to accurately figure out the fee structures and other characteristics of the program.
Complicated Fee Structures - There are various fees associated with drop shipping. Many of the promoters of drop shipping will not tell you up front about the fees or they will down play them. So you have to be on the look out for this.

Fees range from postage cost, required mark ups, access fees, fees for use of online photos and other resources.
Difficult in finding reputable drop shipper - Some drop shipping companies are fronts for manufacturers who are trying to liquidate stock that they could not sell by other methods. And because there is a boom in online selling, they can find online sellers who do not know any better to sell these items for them, and charge them fees to do it.
Lots of Competition in successful programs - When you use drop shipping there is a lot of competition. The most popular drop shippers sign up many online sellers to sell for them. The more online sellers selling any one item, the more competition there will be.

A few Dos and Don'ts when looking for drop shippers

Dos

- Do your home work. Before you get involved with any drop shipping company understand all fees involved.

- Do sell what you know and are interested in. You will do a better job at it.

- Do take a look at how competitive the items that you want to sell are. If you chose the most popular item you may have difficulties in selling it.

- Do look at items that you want to sell and contact the manufactures directly. The fewer middlemen the better for you as a seller. You will keep more of the profit.

- Do put as much time and energy into marketing as you can. One of the biggest advantages to drop shipping is that you do not have to worry about inventory, this frees you to concentrate on marketing and getting the product to the customer.

Don'ts

- Don't buy a list of drop ship companies. You can and should develop you own list of products that you want to sell based on your interest and knowledge. You will sell best the things that you know the best.

- Don't pay anyone a monthly fee to sell for them. If a company is charging you a monthly to sell for them, they are probably just trying to get rid of their extra inventory and charging you a fee to do it.

- Don't purchase a turn key solution to drop shipping. Companies that do this are buying stock at whole sale prices and turning around and selling it to you at a mark up. You will save money if you contact manufacturers directly yourself.

- Don't believe all the hype. Drop shipping is not a one size fits all quick way to get rich. Like all forms of business it requires that you do your homework and are disciplined.

News for the Online Retailer

2005-04-01T18:23:00.000-08:00

U.S. online retailers hope their e-commerce expertise translates into overseas sales

ChannelAdvisor and Truition acquire German eBay services providers

Follow that margin; eBay`s the big dog--but with retail seller opportunities elsewhere, competition nips at its heels

Beware The "Account Manager" Scam!

2005-03-30T16:50:00.000-08:00

Because online sellers get and receive a lot of email, we can and are the target of many scams.

The newest scam to hit your email and the Web offers to let you become an "Account Manager" or "Transfer Agent" for a third party, usually someone in an ex-Soviet bloc country.

Here's how it works: The scammers try to solicit you through an email or an advertisement on the Web, offering to let you "work from home" and be an Account Manager or "Money Transfer Agent" for them, thus letting you "earn" commissions for your trouble.

They then transfer money OUT of an unsuspecting person's account and into yours. Once the money's in your account, they ask you to send the money to them via Western Union. The lure is that they allow you to keep a percentage of the money they've deposited into your account (usually 5%). They sweeten the pot by saying that your fee will grow to 6% and possibly more as you do more money transfers for them.

This scam harms many people, especially consumers whose accounts have money taken from them. If you agree to become an Account Manager for these thieves, you have no idea where the money is coming from or where it's going. It could be used for a variety of purposes, including terrorism. If you're caught, you could face possible legal action. Don't believe any emails or Web advertisements offering to let you earn money by transferring cash.

About Me Pages and other ways to market yourself

2005-03-26T23:08:00.000-08:00

Many sellers do not make full use of their About Me Pages. This page is a very useful page for marketing the items that you sell and giving the seller information about you and the items that you sell.

Use this page to;

1. Show case what you sell.
2. To highlight what makes you a better online seller.
3. Let the buying community know who you are.
4. Show off your fabulous finds.
5. Display your items up for sell / auction.
6. Describe your favorite hobby.

Many of the online selling venues offer space to create their own personal webpage using the "About Me" or "Profile" feature. I will refer to them as "About Me Pages" in the rest of this post. They are an excellent opportunity for online sellers to share something about themselves and the way they do business. For many sellers their About Me page takes the place of a brick-and-mortar store where they can showcase their expertise and help build confidence for their trading partners.

For collectors, About Me pages give you the opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge of your specialty and to show others the jewels of your collections. Still other members utilize the space as an educational tool by providing links to offsite resources. For example if you sell on eBay and also have a web site you can link to your website here.

Tip of the Day - Build an About Me Page to showcase what you sell and to let your customers know about you.

Resources for the Online Seller who is a Webmaster

2005-03-18T22:30:00.000-08:00

Not all Online Sellers use the many auction sites and other online selling venues. Some brave souls have their own web site and do e-commerce by the seat of their pants.

If you are one of those types or if you have always wanted to be one of those types then this post is just for you. I want to provide you with a list of tools and resources that can help you maintain your own web site. So put your Webmaster hat on and check these out.

Website Design

Website Design for Beginners

Webmaster Reference Library

How to Make Pop Ups

Free Animations and More

Free Graphics and Fonts

HTML Tutorials and Examples

HTML Goodies.com

HTML at Webmonkey

Learning HTML

HTML Tutorials and Examples

Lissa Explains: Basic HTML tutorial

HTML Practice Boards

HTML Practice board

Draac's HTML and Java Tester

CSS Tutorials and Information

W3School's CSS Tutorial CSS Layout Techniques

Javascript Information

Internet.com Java Scripts

These few tools should be more than enough to get the begining Webmaster started. And there may be a few here that will even help out those who have more experience.

Enjoy.

Google Mimics Amazon And EBay In Courting Software Developers

2005-03-18T21:30:00.000-08:00

In a move that imates Amazon.com and eBay.com Google offers APIs and open-source code in hopes programmers will write software that adds to the search-engine's appeal Google offers APIs and open-source code in hopes programmers will write software that adds to the search-engine's appeal.

News form around the Online Sellers World.

2005-03-17T13:46:00.000-08:00

eBay Holds Sale on Fixed-Price Format, Spurning Wednesday's Patent Ruling (auctionbytes.com)

Rise in Online-Advertising Prices At Search Sites May Be Overdone (WallStreetJournal.com)

Overstock.com Says Received FTC Inquiry (Reuters.com)

Tip of the Day - You do not have to be a know it all. You can refer your buyers to places on the net and to resources that will help them make better decisions and this will be value added to your customers.

Holiday Marketing Ideas

2005-03-12T11:48:00.000-08:00

The upcoming holidays give the online seller a chances to connect with your customers on a different levels. Buy creating promotions that link to the holidays you are (1) providing your customers with a topic that they may be interested in. (2) providing another search topic for your merchandise or services to be found through.

If you do some kind of tie in for St. Pactrics day, or the upcoming Easter Holidays you may attract customers who start out searching for info on those holidays. But are lead to your online selling site and they may buy some of your goods.

On thing that you may want to consider is how much of a Holiday presence you want to make. You could keep it as simple as changing the colors on your web site to reflect the holiday colors or you could actualy offer seasonal and holiday products. There are few limits and the only thing holding you back are your ideas.

So what I want to do in this post is give you all some places that you go to to get some great ideas.

Books that will help you put together a winning Holiday Marketing Campaigns.

Marketing Leadership in Hospitality : Foundations and Practices by Robert C. Lewis, Richard E. Chambers.

Marketing Handbook for the Design & Construction Professional: Society for Marketing Professional Services by Society for Marketing Professional Services.

Permission Marketing : Turning Strangers Into Friends And Friends Into Customers by Seth Godin.

Guerrilla Marketing Weapons: 100 Affordable Marketing Methods for Maximizing Profits from Your Small Business by Jay Conrad Levinson.

Low-Budget Online Marketing by Holly Berkley.

Interesting Articles on Holiday Marketing from MSN Small Business Center

5 Mistakes that Could Ruin your Holiday Sales

8 Tips for Getting your Biz in the Holiday Spirit

Make it a Politically Correct Holiday Season 7 Tips

Give a Business Gift get a Write Off

How to use Search Engines to Lure Holiday Shoppers

Some other reading

Preparing Your Web Site for Holiday Sales and Marketing Success

Holiday Marketing

The Earth Calendar is a daybook of holidays and celebrations around the world.

2005-03-12T06:58:00.000-08:00

Feel free to enter a search term for holiday marketing in search box below.