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Selling snow, whatever next?
publication date: Jan 24, 2007
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- Editorial
- Special Offer Tomorrow
- Giveaways Can Become Treasured
Memorabilia by Linda Hansen
- Making Money On eBay - What to do with
Unsold Product by Bob Hamilton
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Hi,
Someone is selling snow - and people are
buying it - which really does show almost
anything will sell on eBay.
It reminds me of Paul Hartunian - 'The Man
Who Sold the BrooklynBridge' - and many
other very strange items people have sold over
the years and created fortunes. Like tins of
London Smog, tins of holes from Polo mints,
the Pet Rock, and Cabbage Patch dolls. The
kind of thing most of us consider subjects of a
warped mind, which we would never even
consider selling. And that's why anyone
prepared to have their mentality questioned on
prime time TV and radio really can make
fabulous fortunes in very short time.
Paul Hartunian's idea was very clever. He
apparently visited the site of the Brooklyn
Bridge when the old wooden parts were being
torn down and replaced by metal and concrete
structures. He bought the wood, chopped it into
tiny pieces, then flogged them off at a few
dollars a time. The sheer novelty value found
Hartunian interviewed on television and radio
shows all over the world and quickly running
out of stock.
Many strange ideas become hot sellers on eBay,
as did pieces of rock from the beaches of
Plymouth from where the Pilgrim Fathers set
sail for America in September 1620.
There are many similar stories, usually of items
selling on eBay.com, the American and
worldwide site, but only rarely do such tales
emerge on country sites like ebay.co.uk, or
France, Germany, Australia.
'Only in America' really does represent your
most likely chance of making a fortune from
items most people wouldn't even give house
room, and it's worth keeping your eyes open
for likely contenders.
Americans love anything reminiscent of their
ancestral origins, including Britain. So it was
no surprise when a fellow eBayer told me he
was visiting the North East soon, not to see me,
but to visit Washington Hall, near Newcastle,
and the ancestral home of George Washington
the first President of the United States. Next bit
is my idea, not his, so I'm breaking no
confidences. I suggested he take photographs
of Washington Old Hall and the surroundings,
and pick up pieces of local memorabilia, and
try selling them on eBay.com. If he didn't, I
probably would, One Day!
Cutting to the chase, he actually did take the
photographs and picked up some ready-made
photographs and brochures from the Hall and
shops in WashingtonVillage and the nearby
new town, also called Washington. Whether
his first experience will be repeated is anyone's
guess, I'm guessing it will, but he says just one
photo postcard bought in the village for 50p
made £310 on eBay with plentiful Second
Chance buyers. I didn't find the listing to
check, so instead I listed a postcard from my
own collection, a view of Washington Old Hall
from the 1950s which fetched £325 - plus a
phone call from an American eBayer who
missed the auction and wanted a reprint of the
postcard for which he'd give me £310. I refused
the kind offer and told him how to download
the graphic for my postcard still available on
eBay without having to pay. I may seek
payment for these things on eBay, one day, by
copying my own high bid photographs and
postcards, as long as they are out of copyright.
Unless you beat me to it!
Here's something else unique which you can
copy, based on what an AmericanUniversity
Student is currently selling. Fed up with
contacting employment agencies and placing
classified ads. hoping to find part-time work
during the forthcoming Easter and Summer
vacations, Mr. Warshaver turned instead to
eBay where his time and expertise in creating
computer software is offered on a weekly basis
to the highest bidder. At the last count bidding
stands at $15,000 for the entire summer
vacation. Not bad and probably much more
than he might otherwise earn working part-time
at McDonald's.
On to something very silly, to my mind at least,
but not to the people of the SanLuisValley in
the Rocky Mountains, or their veterinary
professionals. Snippy, a long dead Appaloosa
mare is soon to be offered for sale on eBay.
The last owner of the mare (the dead mare) died
three years ago and Snippy is now the subject
of a custody battle which the SanLuisValley
Museum hopes to win. Unless anyone is
prepared to pay more than $50,000 on eBay for
the dead mare's skeleton.
As to why the skeleton of a horse that died in
1967 is in such high demand? It's because the
horse was abducted, killed and mutilated by
aliens in 1967 who also removed her brain and
heart! Beat that for unique!
So there you have it, it really does seem
anything will sell on eBay. So next time you're
stuck for something really unusual to sell on
eBay, look around your local area, consider
your own personal skills and qualifications,
check out family and friends who might also
like to exchange long boring holidays for high
paid employment.
Happy eBaying!
Until next time,
Avril
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Special Offer Tomorrow
***
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tomorrow. I'm going to tell you how you can
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sending two emails a week!
Don't miss my email tomorrow, and if you
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talking about, click here:
***
- Giveaways Can Become Treasured
Memorabilia by Linda Hansen
***
Who doesn't have a collection of coffee mugs --
you know, the free one from the mechanic who
fixed your car; the one your uncle received as a
gift for volunteering; maybe one or two you
picked up from vendors at college or even at a
trade show.
Many businesses create campaigns with free
give-aways without really thinking too much
about the long-term uses of their products. But
customized coffee mugs, pens and other items
can linger for years. Some may even end up on
eBay, like 'The Brown Pen' by UPS which was
recently up for auction for $4.95, or an antique
Haines Food Service stein selling for $8.50.
Even eBay has memorabilia on its site: the
'First feedback star' mousepad was recently up
for bid for $6.50.
Customers often save things that are useful for
all kinds of reasons. I've kept the coffee mugs
and fleece jacket from one of my first
internships and actually wish that I had some
kind of coffee mug or something from my very
first out-of-town, on-my-own internship as
well! I've even kept a few things that I don't
really use, because you never know when you'll
need a 'white elephant' gift to exchange.
Taking the long view can lead to some fun
ideas for a promotional campaign. Coffee
mugs, stadium cups and other drinkware are
proven to be useful and are likely to be kept for
years. An umbrella personalized with a quirky
logo can send your message every time it rains.
Stress balls and other toys will be used around
the office until they wear out. People will carry
your message all over the place for years if you
put it on the right kind of duffel bag or
briefcase.
Once you have an idea in mind, take a moment
to think about the impression you would like to
create well after your campaign ends. You may
put your business name on a pen, for instance;
the question is, do you want it to be a high-
quality pen that people will use until the ink
runs out? Some promotional items may seem to
cost a lot up-front, but are well worth it if they
are still used next year or even next decade.
When a business is trying to generate publicity,
it can be hard to think beyond the current
campaign and the daily issues that bog any
business owner down. However, taking the time
to plan a campaign carefully -- whether it's a
national campaign or drumming up business in
your local area -- can lead to results years down
the line.
Linda Hansen has over six years of journalism
experience and currently markets promotional
products at http://www.absorbentprinting.com
***
Making Money On eBay - What to do with Unsold
Product by Bob Hamilton
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One of the challenges that we all face as we
grow our eBay business is what to do with
products that don't sell. Making money on eBay
includes no-sale auctions from time to time.
There are some specific steps to take when this
happens to you.
eBay is a great marketplace. We have found
that almost anything and everything will sell. If
an item doesn't sell, examine the basics first.
These include picture quality, the auction title,
the description, pricing. Double check to see if
you missed something about competing
products.
If all of the above have been competed, then
there are some decisions to make. Do you want
to re-list the item after correcting anything you
found? Auction costs add up, regardless of
whether you make a sale or not. If re-listing is
the right step, go ahead and move forward. If
you have an eBay store, should you move the
product to your store? Should the product be
bundled with other products and sold together?
Making money on eBay will occasionally drive
a seller to take a gamble and try to sell an item
that wasn't adequately investigated. Possibly it
was a buying opportunity that required an
immediate decision. Maybe the product that
didn't sell was part of a bigger lot of
merchandise. No matter what the reason, action
needs to be taken. Carrying merchandise in
your inventory costs money, it takes space, and
no-sale auctions are expensive.
In our case, we periodically receive
merchandise that does not meet our quality
standards. While we could go ahead and make
money on eBay by selling these items, we don't
feel they would meet with complete buyer
approval. Since we value our customers, we
prefer to use other methods to dispose of them.
We decided to find another way to sell this
merchandise without compromising the quality
of what we sell on eBay. We made contact with
a few businesses in our local area. These were
all deep discount and/or closeout retailers who
look for low-cost products. One of those
contacts has resulted in a business agreement
where a retailer. The retailer has agreed to
accept 100% of the sub-standard products that
we send to them. They are responsible for
transportation, and we are responsible for
boxing and palletizing the products.
This relationship has resulted in thousands of
poorer quality items being sold. In all cases, we
did actually sell for slightly less than we paid.
On the other end of the transaction, we
maintained our happy customers, high eBay
feedback ratings, and higher average eBay sales
price for those items that we did sell. Basically,
everyone wins. The retailer has low-cost
products that would not otherwise be available
to them. Our customers only get the best of the
products. We receive a higher overall price for
the products.
There are other ways to dispose of products that
you either do not wish to sell, or that will not
sell.
* Donate to charity
* Create larger lots and sell by the lot on eBay
* Create larger lots and sell on other auction
sites
* Create larger lots and sell via other means
(Craigslist is one example)
* Trade with other vendors for products that
you can sell
* Sell 'As Is' with full disclosure on eBay
* For smaller quantities, consider making gifts
of the items
Making money on eBay at times requires
creativity. While no-one likes to mention the
product that did not sell, it does happen. If the
problem isn't associated with the auction listing
itself, then it is likely the product. Rather than
losing money with multiple listings, consider
other creative methods for removing the
product from your inventory.
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