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Strange Goings on at eBay

publication date: Nov 15, 2006
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*******
 - Editorial
 
 - Auctions: Sales Solutions
With Marketing Potential
by ScottLindsay
 
 - Selling on eBay UK by
JustinBrown
 
*******
 
Hi,
 
Something very strange is
happening on eBay and it has me
more than a little concerned. It all
started Monday last when one of
our subscribers said she had
received two alerts from eBay
warning her against arranging
transactions with other eBay
members outside the official eBay
system.
 
She was adamant she had done no
such thing, so she wrote to eBay.
They said 'these things happen', it
could be a glitch in their system,
and 'Don't let it happen again',
meaning in effect they considered
our subscriber still at fault.
 
Yesterday several more subscribers
wrote, all with alerts in their email
boxes warning about infringements
that could find them being expelled
from eBay. All swear they did not
break the rules in any way and
certainly not as suggested by eBay.
 
Still thinking these subscribers may
have innocently broken the rules,
this morning I awoke to two alerts
in my email box. Both saying I am
wrongly categorising my eBooks
and must take better care next time.
Or else! I have not changed the
categories for my eBooks, not in
several years, but it seems eBay
have changed their categories which
could lead to my listings being
'miscategorised' in official eBay
jargon! Surely their problem, not
mine, and more to do with the fact I
use their TurboLister programme
which they have not updated with
new categories, than my having
chosen the wrong category for my
listings!
 
I wrote, complained, had a good old
rant, then decided to email another
of our subscribers who has sold on
eBay much longer than I have.
 
Would you believe it?   He also had
three alerts warning against things
he had not done!
 
The upshot, from my long
established friend, is these things
seem to happen quite often, they are
often due to hackers or glitches in
eBay's own system.
 
Fair enough, but that doesn't help
people like us who may worry our
accounts will be suspended if we
receive more than our fair share of
these random reports from eBay.
 
I'm standing my ground, I've asked
eBay for an explanation, and I am
not going to list at all until I get
one. That's an easy £3300 a week
they are losing if they don't find a
solution pdq (pretty d--- quick).
 
Which brings me to the point of this
editorial in that I will look for
reasons for this problem and report
back next week. If you have
received alerts yourself, don't
worry, you are not alone and there's
little chance of anything adverse
happening while eBay sorts out
their communications problems. If
you need help, email me:
mailto:ebooks@meanderpress.com
and I'll try to help.
 
Happy eBaying!
 
Until next time,
 
Avril
 
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***
Auctions: Sales Solutions
With Marketing Potential
by ScottLindsay
***
 
You have evaluated your stock and
have discovered you have more of a
certain product line than you feel
you are able to sell. Upon further
evaluation you discover you have a
line of products you will be
discontinuing.
 
This is a moment of decision. A
moment when you decide how to
dispose of the items you don't feel
you can reasonably sell in your
normal online store.
 
Certainly you can offer the
merchandise at a savings to existing
customers, however there may be
more marketing value in placing the
items for sale at an online auction
site.
 
Many online consumers will utilize
an online auction site to seek out
bargains. They will wade through
page after page of similar items
searching for something that
connects with their pocketbook.
Many times an online auction site is
used because it has the greatest
potential of housing the greatest
number of items a consumer may be
looking for.
 
As you begin to place items in an
online auction directory you are
tapping into a largely ignored and
misunderstood marketing tool for
your existing business.
 
If you sell your items on your site to
existing customers with a reduced
price tag, you will likely have some
satisfied 'existing' customers.
However if you take those same
items and make them available for a
bargain price on an online auction
site those interested in the product
have the ability to click through to
your online store and take a look at
other products you have available.
You may wind up with more
income than you thought you could
get from the product or you might
wind up with less, but the chances
are pretty strong that you will sell
the item and you may find new
customers frequenting your online
store.
 
Some netrepreneurs may even
provide a link to their auctioned
items so their current customers can
take advantage of a potential
bargain or point someone else to the
link.
 
Many may consider online auction
sites to be damaging to online retail
stores, however a savvy
netrepreneur can turn what may
seem like a potential problem into a
sales solution AND a marketing
tool.
 
As with any service there will be
fees or commissions associated with
the sale of any item through an
auction site, but when you consider
the number of individuals who may
be drawn to your site because of
your auctioned items it may be a
small price to pay for the marketing
potential it can provide.
 
ScottLindsay is a web developer
and entrepreneur. He is the founder
of HighPowerSites and many other
web projects. Get your own website
online in just 5 minutes with
HighPowerSites.com at:
 
 
***
Selling on eBay UK by
JustinBrown
***
 
eBay is a great way for anyone
looking to delve into online
business, and there are many people
who have recognized this
opportunity and as a consequence
spend a great deal of time figuring
out which items sell the best on
eBay. Many of these people have
systems in place that determine top
selling products and others purchase
courses that teach them how to find
this information as well. However,
one of the best resources for finding
out about products that are popular
is on eBay itself!
 
One of the ways in which eBay
helps me find a product that could
potentially do very well, is by
simply browsing through categories
that I'm interested in. Whilst doing
this I can then uncover items that
are attracting a lot of bids. But how
do I know this? Simple. Next to
any item that has received over 30
bids is a label saying 'hot'. This
suggests that the item is widely
sought after. Spend some time
searching around eBay and you can
soon find some real gems and some
great niches.
 
Many PowerSellers however will
agree that it is not as simple as
solely doing this. Also, search for
items by researching auctions that
have been successful previously.
This can be done on eBay at
way to determine best selling items
is by using the 'eBay Marketplace
Research'. This allows you to view
important statistical information on
eBay buying trends, and contains a
huge amount of information to help
you discover whether an item will
perform well or poor at auction.
The eBay Marketplace Research
does require a small fee to use
though.
 
One of the most obvious tools that
can be used to find popular items is
by viewing the listings of popular
eBay search terms at
into categories, this list shows how
popular an item you are considering
selling might be.
 
It is important to do your research
before going ahead with your
auctions. You could be surprised in
what you find may sell well. Some
of the most unlikely items are
sometimes the most popular, yet
items that you would think would
sell like hot cakes sometimes fail to
realize a single bid.
 
Learn more about selling on eBay
 
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