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Five tips to make your life easier

publication date: Aug 23, 2006
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********
 - Editorial
 
 - Making the Most of Your eBay
'About Me' Page by JamesPenn
 
 - Need Products to Sell on eBay?
Get a Steady Supply by Learning
Arbitrage as a Comprehensive
System by DonHoppeJr.
********
 
***
Editorial
***
 
Hello,
 
I'm getting much more organised as
time goes by and it's working so
well for me, and even better for you,
my readers!
 
That's because I used to write this
eLetter all in one sitting, both
dreaming up ideas to write about, as
well as keying in the details and
finally pressing the 'send' button to
my publisher.
 
Then, last week, faced with a blank
screen for much longer than I care to
remember, I determined to take notes
through the week and relay the best
ideas to you the following
Wednesday.
 
How well it worked because today,
rather than one rambling editorial, I
have five great tips for you, to make
your life easier and help increase
your eBay profits, all based on my
own personal experiences. Here you
go:
 
* Be guarded against anyone at
offline auction who approaches you
and asks to buy a certain item from a
big bundle you've just won. It
happened to me last Saturday, it
concerned a big package of
ephemera I bought purely for one
item I required for my own
collection. Okay, you've guessed it
already, but I hadn't. 'Can I have
xxx from you?', he said. It meant
nothing to me so without thinking I
said 'Yes'. The room was packed,
everyone was paying for and picking
up their goods and there was a long
queue behind me which I was
holding up. I have since realised this
is intentional, people often wait until
you are confused to make requests
you would otherwise consider very
carefully before answering. Still at
the front of the queue I dipped into
the box containing the item he
wanted, he handed over £315 and took
it, way before I could say: 'But it has
an elephant on the cover, I collect
elephant things, I only bought this
for the elephant stuff'. My
conscience was pricking too, I felt
obligated to let him have the book,
which I did. MORAL of this story:
expect this sort of thing to happen
often and always say something like
'Meet me in the cafe later and I'll see
what I can do'.
 
* At the same auction I was bidding
on a great many things, most with
people bidding against me, bidding
was swift, and without thinking I
accepted the auctioneer's opening
bid suggestion. That opening
suggestion was high and no one bid
so I paid £3500 on something I might
otherwise have got for £350. I am not
bothered this time, these were
stereoviews I really wanted to have
and they were worth much more than
£3500. But the fact remains: with few
interested bidders many items
actually go at a pittance at local
auction. MORAL: don't ever accept
the auctioneer's opening bid, wait for
his or her first suggestion to be
halved, then quartered, preferably
wait for someone else to bid first
and, jump in only if you are the only
potential bidder and pay the lowest
price possible.
 
* In every eBay listing I say my
items are subject to money back
guarantee if the buyer is not
absolutely delighted with the
product. So it really annoys me
when someone says: 'Got the
product, hate the product, give me
my money back before I leave
negative feedback'. I always answer
'Return the product, I will refund'.
But it really truly absolutely
maddens me when the person emails
again: 'Don't forget, if you don't
refund me I am leaving negative
feedback'. It happened again just
last night but instead of being polite
with the person concerned I
reminded him that threats about
leaving negative feedback unless his
needs are met is tantamount to
blackmail. Such threats are viewed
by eBay as 'feedback extortion', I
told him, and if he didn't behave
himself I would report him to eBay.
That shut him up. MORAL: you
don't have to take such crap from
anyone and even the threat of
negative feedback should not deter
you from standing up to hotheads
like this - even if only to get them
expelled from eBay and avoid other
people suffering the hassle you've
just faced.
 
* I've just bought a book about the
theatre packed with autographs from
VivienLeigh, LaurenceOlivier,
RalphRichardson and dozens more
early theatre stars. The item is
hugely collectable and potentially
very profitable, or rather it was,
because while I was checking out the
signature, book perched on my lap
while I keyed them into my
computer, it sort of fell onto the
floor. Any crease or damage could
reduce value considerably but on this
occasion I was safe, the book
actually closed as it fell and no
damage was caused. MORAL: if
something is valuable, treat is as
such, and place it somewhere safe
while you describe it. It's also a
good idea to keep books in padded
envelopes between listing and
fulfilling orders which protects them
from accidents and mishandling.
 
* Don't expect the Post Office to
always be right. The other day,
when the postal rates changed, I
tested my packages against the
template the Post Office sent to
check package sizes and whether
they would be considered letters or
large letters. It worked like a charm,
the package slotted through the
smallest hole, I added my stamps and
took them to the Post Office...
where the Postmaster tested them
again and they failed to go through
the smallest hole! No mistake at my
end, or the Postmaster's, it just
happened that the template the Post
Office sent me was nothing like the
template they'd sent to Post Offices.
MORAL: I am not sure, I'm still
getting over the shock!
 
Happy eBaying!
 
Avril
 
P.S. If you are not already profiting on
eBay, why not?! Learn from my tips and
tricks - just click here
 
***
Making the Most of Your eBay
'About Me' Page by JamesPenn
***
 
Every eBay buyer or seller knows
what it is, but they very rarely make
the most of this powerful profit
generating free resource. There are
some things that must be included in
your page if you're really going to
profit from it. This article outlines
the features that must be included
and how to make the most of them.
Firstly, and most importantly, you
need to include a sign up form for
your newsletter or eZine. Many
marketers say that each and every
newsletter subscriber is worth
approximately $1 per month. If you
can accumulate a subscriber base of
100, then that is an easy $100 per
month. Your 'About Me' page
should first include a reason why
they should sign up to your
newsletter; this could be because you
reveal secret tips or techniques or
because you will give them free
eBooks. After describing the
benefits, include your sign up page.
After the sign up page you should
link to a product you sell in your
eBay shop or on your website. You
should like to the higher valued
items to achieve greater profits.
Using this method should result in a
few extra sales per month if you
manage to attract the traffic to your
'About Me' page. We'll discuss
traffic generation tips later on in this
article.
 
Finally on your 'About Me' page
you should link to an affiliate
product, usually some type of eBook.
You should choose a product which
is related to the eBay items you sell.
For example, if you sell fitness
equipment, then you could link to an
eBook called '101 Ways to Get Fit
and Stay Fit' or something similar. If
you make a sale then you earn a
commission (normally 50%) for
doing virtually nothing.
 
All of the above is worthless
however if no one can get to your
page. Many sellers expect eBay
buyers to click on the small 'Me'
icon by your eBay user ID. I'll tell
you know that very few actually do.
You need to let them know the
benefits of going to your page and
you can do this by inserting a link
and a short description at the top and
the bottom of your eBay listing.
Explain that they can get free eBooks
or the hottest tips just by visiting
your page. Who can resist free
eBooks or the hottest tips?
 
Using the methods outlined above
should result in many more
subscribers, more website and eBay
sales and affiliate commissions and
for just an hour's work. It's one of
the easiest silent sales machines that
you can set up and it runs completely
on auto-pilot for as long as you leave
it.
 
JamesPenn is an experienced eBay
seller and is currently giving away
some of his best selling eBay eBooks
for free! You can grab them from the
following link, http://www.auction-
 
***
Need Products To Sell On Ebay?
Get a Steady Supply By Learning
Arbitrage As A Comprehensive
System
***
 
Arbitrage, in its simplest form, is to
'Buy Low and (re)sell High'.
One of the biggest hassles of selling
on eBay is product sourcing. Finding
a constant supply of profitable items
to sell on eBay has to be one of the
most talked about challenges most
sellers have to deal with - ask any of
them, or just read about anything
that's been written about selling on
eBay. Being skilled and prolific at
ebay Arbitrage alleviates this
problem - Permanently. Not only
does the 'lack of supply' problem
disappear but substantial income can
also be made this way. In addition,
it's a rather enjoyable endeavor!
Arbitrage aside, below is a brief
review of some typical ways (and
associated problems) of acquiring
inventory while moving up the eBay
volume ladder:
 
* Items around the house - This is a
great way to get started and learn
about selling through ebay as one
goes, but supply eventually runs dry.
 
* Garage sales - Finding the right
items that will sell for enough money
is a skill in itself. It can be very time
consuming, and not reliable for a
steady flow of goods. Garage sales
should not be ignored as a
supplement though - great finds can
sometimes be found nowhere else as
easily.
 
* Dropshipping - A great concept
but certain hurdles include low profit
margins, handling fees, supplier
reliability, and heavy competition.
 
* Liquidation/Surplus - Some hefty
profit potential exists here but so do
some unwelcome obstacles such as
logistics, storage, inventory control,
shipping, manifests, disposal,
repairs, etc.
 
A large number of eBay sellers
swear by these methods and do very
well, especially if they are in
positions to easily take advantage of
them. For the majority of others who
are in a state of supply acquisition
flux, Arbitrage is the solution.
A prolific arbitrageur can find
auctions that have many
characteristics which prevent them
from being bid on by others. By
purchasing these items and then re-
selling them the proper way, there
exists a significant difference
between initial purchase price and
the eventual resale price.
 
Many people have already tried eBay
Arbitrage by guessing, misspellings,
misplacements, or random, aimless
searches but simply get lost in all the
thousands of listings or just got too
overwhelmed to know what to do
next. A chronological step-by-step
education from start to finish is
what's required to turn anyone
familiar with the eBay basics into a
knowledgeable and prolific
arbitrageur, in a rather short period
of time.
 
Arbitrage is best achieved though bid
sniping and is the most
recommended way to bid in order to
guarantee a win. Among other
reasons, sniping is bidding on an
auction within the last few seconds
of it's close with the goal of beating
other bidders to the punch before the
auction closes. Many free and low
cost 3rd party services are available
to automate sniping so additional
auctions can be found and targeted
without having to babysit existing
ones.
 
Through knowledge and practice,
instincts become sharper and more
accurate, and better deals are spotted
more often with higher profit
potential. This comes without even
having to be an expert in any
particular item category.
 
What becomes an addicting and
exciting treasure hunt eventually
causes one to reluctantly force
themselves away from eBay and the
dread of missing out on more great
finds! Inventory starts growing faster
than it can be resold and shipped
back out - dry spells are history. It's
easy to see that Arbitrage can easily
become a full time occupation.
Most of the original work, like
packing, is already done. In fact,
there's really no obligation to have to
leave to go anywhere. Most shippers
provide supplies and the means to
produce and print labels. In addition,
packages sold are picked up at the
same time sniped arbitrages arrive.
How else can one work at their own
pace, answer to nobody, and have
complete control over what's going
to be sold, how much it cost, and
how much profit can be made?
 
 
 
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