Watch out Watchdog!
publication date: Nov 8, 2006
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- Editorial
- Online Auctions - How to Add
an Audio Clip to Your eBay
Auction by PradeepAgarwal
- How to Increase Bids on Almost
Any Auction by GaryR.Ferguson
*******
Hi,
If there's one television programme I
really hate, and hate it with a
vengeance, it's Watchdog. I've
hated it ever since AnneRobinson,
then in charge of the programme,
proved that a specific type of shoe
lets in water and certain loo rolls no
longer fit the average toilet roll
dispenser.
Oh yes, and one particular
manufacturer of loo rolls had
reduced its size by one sheet!
Oh my God, and there was I thinking
Moccasins needed holes to facilitate
their most essential feature -
stitching with thick cords - I even
believed the thicker the company
made their toilet tissue, the bigger
the roll would become and surely
somewhere along the line they'd
need to reduce the length so the roll
would fit most dispensers.
But what really put me off was Anne
Robinson actually taking six or
seven pairs of Moccasins (shoes with
holes an essential feature) and
placing them in a bath of water to see
which pair leaked first!
Not only do I think Watchdog
presenters very often exaggerate and
get their facts wrong, I also believe
they pick on one or two tiny
problems in a major industry and
label the entire membership bad.
Just as they did last night when they
discovered five items, FIVE ITEMS,
that were not quite up to scratch
from listings of millions of items on
eBay.co.uk each year.
FIVE ITEMS from four
PowerSellers, gosh, that is bad, we
should all be ashamed of ourselves.
Or not if, like most people, you
didn't produce the so-called fake
designer item and you bought it in
good faith from someone else, who
acquired it from someone else,
everyone along the line until the
original manufacturer genuinely
believing the item was and is a
genuine designer label original.
Years ago their programme would
have frightened me silly, I'd have
spent weeks checking my suppliers,
looking for tiny signs that my items
might be fake. I'd waste time and
when all the fuss died down about
the programme's fascinating
discovery I'd realise no one is really
bothered at all about five items
selling on a site carrying millions of
products each year.
Which brings me to the main point
of this article, you will be wrong
sometimes, most human beings make
mistakes now and then, that's why
they put erasers on the end of
pencils. So don't let programmes
like yesterday's worry you into an
early grave, if you take care in your
buying and selling activities surely
no one can fault you. Except
perhaps Watchdog presenters!
TIPS
* Check before buying 'designer'
items on trust. Ask sellers for proof
they are original, such as a receipt
from the original manufacturer. Get
a receipt from the supplier for
payment and ensure the item is
marked 'genuine' or 'original'. That
will present no problems for genuine
suppliers and shows you bought in
good faith even if you later find the
items are fake.
* Key your potential supplier's
name into Google or other search
engine, key in '+ scam' afterwards.
Any frequent supplier of fake items
should show up in a proliferation of
derogatory blog and web site entries,
official and unofficial. One entry
may highlight a short term problem
or the work of a belligerent buyer.
Several adverse reports indicate
something quite different: a supplier
to avoid.
Happy eBaying!
Until Next Time,
Avril
***
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***
Online Auctions - How to Add an
Audio Clip to Your eBay Auction
by PradeepAgarwal
***
The recent trend to attract a lot of
bidders online is adding an audio clip
to your eBay auctions. An audio clip
is a personal message by the website
owner to the potential bidder
explaining about your product.
Personalization is considered a very
important marketing technique
because we need to remind the
customer that he is thought of as a
valued customer not as another sale
or another sales figure. A
personalized touch in marketing
works well and is very refreshing.
In the audio clip you are using your
own voice to explain to the potential
bidder about the product, you are
communicating to them your refund
policy and giving them your contact
information. It is a means to
establish a rapport with the bidder.
Adding audio clips allows you to
market your product aggressively,
expressing emotions and excitement.
How do you add an audio clip to a
website? The simplest way would be
to download a .wav or MP3 file to a
website and establish a link to the
file. When the bidder clicks on the
link the bidder's computer will pay
the file with the audio player
automatically. However the bidder's
computer must recognize the file or
else it will not play. This is the main
drawback of this technique.
There are several software programs
and websites, which perform the
same task of adding audio to your
eBay auctions.
For instance:
Audio Maker Pro -
Sound Streamer -
Many websites charge a monthly fee
or a one-time fee for use of the
program. You could also have a trial
or a demo version to check how it
works for which they charge a
nominal amount.
Adding an audio clip to your eBay
can make it possible to get the
highest possible profits from your
eBay auctions. So go ahead and
install an audio clip to your web site
and encourage the buyer to take
advantage of your offer.
PradeepAgarwal is the creator of
Auction Spectrum -
www.auctionspectrum.com - the
online auction hub.
***
How to Increase Bids on Almost
Any Auction by GaryR.Ferguson
***
There is one little thing you can add
to any auction, which should
increase the bids on your auctions,
even if you are selling the same thing
as everyone else.
In most cases, this does not cost you
anything, but provides an additional
benefit and incentive to the bidder to
bid on your action.
So what is it?
Just include a free copy of an eBook,
report, or tip sheet related to your
listing.
For example, assume you are selling
leather goods. You can find or write
a simple eBook, report, or tips sheet
on 'How to care for leather goods',
or 'How to bring old leather back to
life', or 'How to get stains out of
leather', etc. Now include this eBook
free to the winning bidder. It is even
better if this eBook is sold elsewhere
(by you or others) on the Internet for
a certain dollar figure so you can put
a monetary value on it. Then
definitely mention this fact in your
listing.
For example:
Winning bidder will receive a free
copy of 'How to care for your new
leather goods'. This $19.97ebook
will be emailed free once payment is
received.
So why does this work? First, it
provides an added value to the
bidder. Not only do they get the item
they are bidding on, but they are
getting additional information on
how to use the item better, cheaper,
faster, etc. It's a package deal that
actually costs you nothing, but
provides a real benefit to the bidder.
Second, given the size of auction
sites, it is very hard to sell truly
unique items. There may be
hundreds of people selling the same
item. But if you provide additional
value by including one of these
informational products with your
items, you are a step ahead of the
competition.
You can even add more than one
info product if the item being listed
is a higher priced item. Just make
sure the information is really
valuable to the buyer.
Normally, these types of reports can
be converted to a PDF file and then
emailed to the winner. This is really
good for eBooks or information on
dozens of pages. But if the
information is only a few pages long,
you can go ahead and include a
printed copy in your shipping
materials for just a few extra cents.
Make sure any of these 'freebie' info
products you create are loaded with
your contact information: email
address, website, auction id, and
links to your listing or other products
you may have for sale online.
Discover how you can create
auctions that receive more bids and
higher final prices than your
competition with the free Hypnotic
Auctions Newsletter available at:
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