Fancy winning a tenner?

publication date: Jan 9, 2008

eBay Confidential eZine
9th January 2008

***
 - Editorial

 - The Holidays are over - What Should I Sell Now?

 - Finding Local Sources of Inventory to Sell
***

Hi,

It's a sure sign of Christmas being well and truly over
when you get to the gym and find someone's stolen
'your' rowing machine or the walking thingy you always
use because it's close enough to the street to see what
other people are doing while you do all this boring
walking on conveyor belt stuff.

But it's watching what other people are doing that
creates the biggest opportunities for your eBay business.
And you can do it any time, any place, and come up with
new product ideas every day.

*  At the gym, for instance, they're all moaning about
being fat and sharing ideas for losing all the extra weight
gained over Christmas.  That signals a big opportunity
for anyone with contacts in the exercise business, be it
personally or via affiliate schemes.  You could promote
exercise equipment, or gym and health club
memberships, for example, using eBay Classified Ads.
which, unlike other eBay selling formats, actually allow
you to link to sites outside of eBay where you earn
affiliate commissions or you sell a great new diet book
you've just created from the public domain.

eBay Classifieds let you sell really high price items,
thousands of dollars each is common, and you'll pay
less than a dollar a day (about 50p) for your promotion to
run worldwide for as long as you like.  And although
eBay Classifieds run mainly in America there's nothing
to stop you listing on ebay.com and selling all manner of
affiliate products to eBay members all over the world.  It
won't be long before the UK gets more closely involved
with Classified Ads, so go check the listings on
eBay.com, look for ideas to copy before someone beats
you to it on ebay.co.uk.


*  Look in the local papers, study the 'For Sale'
advertisements, look for repeat advertisements for
unusual items being sold locally which should sell in
much higher quantities on eBay.  Repeat advertisements
usually mean the product is selling, probably just locally,
and this usually indicates a large untapped market
outside the local catchment area.  Go buy one of these
products, list it for sale on eBay, if it makes a good profit,
buy more, sell more.  Or arrange with the seller to
market his items exclusively on eBay.  Alternatively, look
for another supplier for your best selling products and
keep all the profits for yourself.  Your local main
reference library and all business libraries in major towns
and cities is the place to go for catalogues and trade
magazines to help you locate suppliers.

*  Go on then, I've given you  my ideas, now I'd like
yours.  The best suggestion wins a tenner and all I want
you to do is give me an unusual idea for sourcing new
products.  Just one condition: your product source must
be achieved by studying other people, what they are
doing, what they are selling.

Send your idea to avril@clippingsfactory.com with
PRODUCT IDEA in the subject line and I'll announce the
winner next week.

Happy eBaying!

Until next time,

Avril


*************************************
EARN CASH FROM YOUR CAMERA

Got a digital camera, an Internet connection and an eye
for a profit? Then you'll LOVE this...

"SNAP! How cats, rubbish and ice cream could pour
over £600 a week into your bank account!"

Click on the link below and see how a total "oops-I-cut-
his-head-off" amateur snapper can make a sizable side-
income - by sending 'boring' pictures to secret industry
websites:

http://www.on2url.com/app/adtrack.asp?MerchantID=47457&AdID=356435

******************************************


***
The Holidays Are Over - What Should I Sell Now?
by Danny Gard
***

Hopefully your eBay sales were strong over the holidays,
and now that they are over you may be wondering what
to sell.  Traditionally this is a slow time for eBayers for
the next few months, but there still is some time to make
some good money.  If you know what to sell and when
you can still make a great return on your investments.
These tips will help you get started:

*  You have a small window to go to the after-Christmas
sales.  This can be a great time to get everything you
need to sell later on eBay.  These items I would not post
on the site for probably another 3 or 4 months, but the
wait will be worth it.  Spring clothing should just be going
on sale as well as the overstocked winter gear.  Your
larger department stores have to clear out inventory now
to meet fourth quarter margins.  If you are an outlet mall
shopper this is the time to go.  Virtually every outlet mall
will have large sales to clear space for the new inventory
coming.

*   What is still hot?  Guitar Hero 3 on the Nintendo Wii.
Keep looking the demand is still very high on this item.

*  Swimsuits.  Many places are putting these out, and the
prices are low.  You should stockpile now on these and
wait for spring to come.  In particular male surfer board
shorts.  More board shorts are bought on eBay than any
other online site.  The bikinis don't do as well as sizing
can be a problem.

This is the time to think ahead.  A majority of the items
you buy now, should not be placed on the site yet, but
the Christmas savings can't be passed up.  Plan out
your eBay sales for the year now, and budget your
second and third quarter sales and purchases with these
sales in mind.

For more tips, great items to sell, and resources for eBay
visit the all new http://www.ebangels.com

It has everything you need to become an elite seller on
eBay.

Danny Gard is an eBay PowerSeller and employee of
eBay. He is also the owner of the GardianGroup which
specializes in auctions, and homes for the mentally
handicapped. At eBay, he specializes in teaching eBay's
biggest sellers on how to increase revenue and traffic.
His personal website, which sales the nets best tee-
shirts, can be found at http://www.shibbyshirts.com

***
Finding Local Sources of Inventory to Sell
by Jim Cockrum
***

Do you have any of these types of stores in your local
area?
- Office and business equipment stores
- Antique stores
- Car or motorcycle parts stores
- Junkyards with vintage parts
- Musical instrument stores
- Jewelry stores
- Computer or computer parts and accessories stores
- Bookstores
- Farm equipment
- Tool suppliers
- Electronics stores
- Craft stores
If you do (and if they are locally owned - not a big chain)
you could be sitting on a gold mine. A colleague, Lisa
Suttora, recently shared this idea with me and I'm
passing it along to you.

Visit Lisa's website here:

http://www.silentsalesmachine.com/whattosell.html

The idea is to approach these stores and ask them what
they do with their excess inventory, or if they like help
setting up an eBay business.

You've probably heard about being a 'consignment'
seller which can involve some investment, but Lisa's
approach virtually guarantees a steady stream of
business for you and many great items to sell on eBay -
without ANY investment on your part in most cases!

The three ways to approach local businesses (like the
one's listed above) that Lisa suggests are:

- ONE -

Position yourself as the person who can take the excess
inventory off their hands.

Many small companies save their excess inventory for a
once a year 'blow out sale' or 'sidewalk sale' - you can
help them manage this inventory.
Think of the benefit to them (and to you!) if you worked
with them on a regular basis to either sell on
consignment or buy overstock merchandise from them at
greatly discounted prices to sell on eBay!

- TWO -

The 2nd model is to contract with them to be their 'eBay
person'. You would be the person who sets up their
eBay presence and then handle all the selling of their
product lines on eBay for a commission on everything
you sell (not just excess inventory).

- THREE -

The 3rd method is to charge a flat fee to teach a
company how to set up an eBay ID and store and teach
their employees how to sell the company's products on
eBay. Become the local eBay expert.

Hope these creative ideas help you find a local niche!

Jim Cockrum is one of the world's best know Internet
marketers and the founder of the leading coaching site
for new and experienced marketers -
www.mysilentteam.com