May
28
Ebay- Please Don’t Believe All the Hype
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Yeah! Wow! … Make a million! Open a store on eBay and get rich! Man this is easy!!! –NOT!!!
It’s way to easy to get caught up in all the hype out there about eBay and to start thinking all you have to do is set up an eBay store and you are on your way to the life style to which you would like to become accustomed. Don’t believe it.
Before you start primping for your own segment of “Life-styles of the Rich and Famous,” there are a few things you should learn about eBay and small business start-ups in general.
The rate of survival of a traditional small business reads something like half of all new business start-ups fail in the first year and half of the survivors do not survive the second year, and eBay is probably no different. In fact, it’s not easy at all anymore (if it ever was) to carve out a fortune on what has been dubbed “the world’s largest garage sale”.
“But Floyd, take a look at all that money”, you say. Sure eBay is doing just fine, but of that three billion dollars, how much of it is actually spent on items in “your” category or product line “you” have for sale?
Everyone has to decide exactly what business he or she wants to be in. Then they have to decide if they are going to be a niche player or try to carve out significant market share. Either way you decide to go, you may find out that the pool you are swimming in is not as deep as it may first appear. Unless you are selling automobiles or real estate, not all or even a large percentage of that three billion dollars is spent in your merchandise category. Make sure you check the water before you dive in head first.
When you do decide to jump in, make sure you are ready both financially and mentally to go through a learning curve of some months. Back in the earlier days this may not have been the case, but today eBay has become extremely competitive and significantly more expensive for sellers. And don’t expect a lot of help from eBay directly. They are not the greatest company in the world at customer support. They have a lot of information available, but they also have a tendency to answer help questions with loads of boiler plate “fixes” that usually serve more to confuse then to actually help.
Speaking of fees, this is how eBay lives. They literally nickel and dime you to death (actually its more like quarter and dollar)… thirty cents for the cheapest insertion free, thirty-five cents for a gallery picture, a buck for “bolding” and on and on. And then there’s the fair value selling commission and the PayPal fees (PayPal is a must have!). All these small fees add up fast. Don’t forget, you pay the listing and insertion fees whether your item sells or not. You will quickly learn that your selling percentage becomes crucial and why it is so important you learn how to make very efficient listings at the lowest cost possible as fast as possible. If you fail to learn this, before for you know it, eBay is taking half or more of your total sales just in fees, not counting your cost of product and shipping.
eBay has been called the “world’s largest garage sale” for good reason. You know what people are looking for at garage sales, cheap prices. In the beginning, if you were the only one on eBay selling a specific product, you could demand and get higher prices. Today it’s a bit different. The competition is brutal. You are competing against people and business of all sizes, and there is always someone selling your product at very, very low prices, or worse yet, using it as a loss leader. Some of these people are huge jobbers and or the manufactures themselves, hard to compete against. Some sellers are part time or hobbyist and don’t need or care if they make much money (and they probably don’t). Unless you have a very unique product or are in a position where you can bring a new, hot product to eBay first, you must be prepared for extremely aggressive pricing competition in a market where the average buyer is looking for cheap beer prices on high quality champagne.
So, all said, you may be wondering if it’s even worth the effort. That depends on you and how well you prepare.
Before you open your eBay Store or run out and buy a bunch of product, visit Strictly Business Magazine’s “How to Sell on eBay Resource Center” and read all the “free” articles. Then buy and read a series of books about eBay, there are a number of them listed there. Start out with a book on the basics and then the more advanced volumes.
After you have read up on the basics, set up a seller’s account. Not a Store yet, that starts the meter running after the thirty day free trial. Not a lot of money, but why pay it until you have the necessary education you are going to need to be successful.
Once you have a basic education, experiment with a few items you have lying around the house you’d like to get rid of. This will give you the chance to experience the eBay process and give you an idea of what you are in for. Pick items that sell for under $10, this will give you the cheapest listing fees to experiment with. (A $9.99 item lists for half the price of a $10 item, same thing as $24.99 vs $25). Also make sure you pick items that are easy to ship. Check with the post office for shipping fees and packaging. If you use Express Mail, most of the shipping materials are free and in some cases will more then offset the higher postage fees and will get your product to your customer faster, resulting in better a Feedback Rating, something you will soon learn is very important in eBay.
As you’re reading the books you have just bought, watch for important subjects such as Feedback Rating, shipping and handling, product selection, effective listings, taking and using photos and using hmtl in your listings. Also make note of other tips and ideas on keeping your listing professional but at the same time keeping the cost down. Other topics of importance include “keywords” and how they affect eBay search engines and auctions vs fixed price listings.
Don’t be misled into believing that the buyers are clamoring all over themselves to bid up every item you offer up for sale. Go browse the listings in the category that you will be listing in. You may be surprised to see that most items don’t have a single bid and will not sell at all and others have only a single bid. You may also want to find out what are the best days and time frames most successful auctions close.
The price you pay for a few books and the time it takes to read them and do a little research may be returned ten fold or more in just the first few months after opening your eBay store.
By: Jackson Bleu
About the Author:
Jackson has been online since the late 80’s and designs web sites and offers free article advice for interested parties online any time from his website at: Seldom Rest Ebooks and Articles
May
27
Get the Best Out of your Ebay Auctions
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So if your just going to throw something up and not put the time and research it takes to making your eBay listing as successful as possible then you might as well go flush a $20 bill down your toilet. There are simple steps that you should follow every single time you start up an eBay listing. It should be a routine thing you do, other wise your wasting your eBay products! These steps are as followed:
The first thing you should do before you even think about listing your eBay product is RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH. Google your eBay product. Look to see what your local store, or other websites are selling your eBay product for. You NEED to know what you SHOULD be making for your product. After your general research is over the next thing you need to do, is to do your research on eBay. Find out what price other eBay sellers are selling your eBay product for. Make sure you look at the eBay sellers that seem to be doing the best. What sets them apart from other eBay sellers? You are going to be doing a lot of copying when your on eBay. Sam Walton (the founder of Wal-Mart) once said, “Most everything I have done has been copied off of someone else.”
Find out how much it is going to cost to ship your eBay product out.
Take great, not good, pictures of your item. Sometimes taking pictures with you yourself in the picture can help. Why? - Because people like to know that they’re buying from actual people on eBay.
Use good colors. Orange, green, blue, and red seem to work really well (there is a reason that the eBay logo has all of those colors in it).
You want your listings to last as long as possible, which would mean selecting the ten day listing, even though it costs ten cents. Three day listings and seven day listings are good for some things but the longer the amount of time you have your eBay auctions listed for, the more the people will see it - and even if they don’t bid right away (remember that most bidding occurs within the last couple hours, or sometimes minutes, of your eBay auction) they might mark your eBay product for watching and bid on it later.
Timing is very important. When are the most amount of people online? I’d say from experience, that the best time to have your auction end is on a Sunday evening, preferably between 5-10 p.m. So if you live on the East Coast and your listing something on eBay, then you should list it at 5 right? - Wrong, keep in mind that the west coast is 3 or more hours behind!! Listing at 9 o’clock p.m. would probably be better. If your buyers are from other countries, keep in mind the time zones that they in as well.
Keep in mind these few easy tips and your eBay auctions will be successful. For any other information that you may need please visit us at our website eBayMysteries.com
By: PrimoRudy10
About the Author:
If you want to know vital information about how to sell or buy on eBay please visit www.eBayMysteries.com.
May
22
How to Pay Taxes on Ebay Income
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– Norman L.
A: Last week’s column on whether you were required to report income earned from eBay sales to the IRS sparked a number of additional questions and comments from eBay sellers who were hoping that I could somehow validate that their eBay activities were mere hobbies instead of actual businesses and therefore not susceptible to IRS taxation.
Several folks argued that just because their little eBay hobby generated a little cash, that didn’t make it a full blown business. It seems they consider the income from their little hobby to be financial manna from Heaven and thereby not taxable by earthly tax collectors. I’ve always been amused by folks who try to impress me with talk about their “little side business” but when the subject turns to taxes they suddenly refer to it as “my little hobby.”
All kidding aside, the conclusion that I came to after reading each email was always the same: while you may think selling on eBay is just a fun pastime and the money you’re making is not reportable as income, depending on the circumstances, the IRS would probably disagree with you.
It seems that everyone likes making money, but hates carving off a piece for good old Uncle Sam. Welcome to free enterprise, folks. If you’re going to come to the dance you have to pay the fiddler.
The IRS rules are clear: you must pay taxes on all personal and business income and that includes money you make selling on Ebay.
In its most basic sense, the IRS rules can be interpreted to mean that if you buy an old vase at a garage sale for $10 and sell it on eBay (or elsewhere) for $20 you made a $10 profit and therefore must report it as income and pay Uncle Sam his fair share.
In reality, if you are a casual seller who only sells a few items on eBay every now and then it’s doubtful the IRS is going to let loose an army of agents to collect taxes on the few bucks you make. However, if you consistently sell on eBay the IRS may deem your activities to be business oriented and you will be required to file a Schedule C and claim the income.
As mentioned last week, the IRS uses a number of factors to determine if an eBay hobby that generates sales revenue is actually a business.
These factors include: - Do you carry on the hobby in a business-like manner? - Do you spend considerable time working on the hobby? - Do you depend on income from your hobby for your livelihood?
If the answer to any or all of these question is yes, you’re running a business, not carrying on a hobby, and you are responsible for paying taxes on your income.
What’s eBay’s take on all this? Naturally eBay is vehemently opposed to anything that might rock the eBay boat. eBay does not does not issue 1099 tax forms to sellers, nor does it report seller’s sales figures to the IRS.
Ebay considers itself merely to be a facilitator, meaning that they provide a marketplace in which buyers and sellers come together to do business.
Furthermore, under it’s current system it would be impossible for eBay to issue accurate 1099s to sellers. eBay does not track if a seller actually gets paid by the buyer, so eBay has no idea how much money - if any - actually changes hands at the end of each transaction.
On the bright side, if you do sell on eBay as a business you can deduct a number of business expenses, including the cost of inventory, listing fees, shipping, envelopes, packing materials, etc.
You might also be able to deduct things like the purchase of a computer for business use, office space (even if it’s a home office), office supplies, and more.
Talk to your accountant if there’s any doubt as to whether you should or should not be paying taxes on your eBay earnings.
By: optica00002
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May
21
Benefits of Buying on Ebay
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Perhaps, the greatest benefit of shopping on eBay is all of the products that you have to choose from. eBay isn’t like a traditional retailer. They are actually an online auction website. eBay has other internet users sell products that they have to consumers, just like you. With this type of set up, eBay has an unlimited number of products to choose from. For instance, you can buy real estate, cars, clothing, toys, pet supplies, home décor, entertainment items, and much more on eBay. Basically, anything you are looking for, within reason of course, you should be able to find on eBay.
Another one of the many benefits to shopping on eBay is that you have a number of sellers to do business with. As it was previously mentioned, eBay allows all internet users to sell items that they no longer need or want to own. Over the past few years, the popularity of eBay has reached an all time high. This is what has lead to an unlimited number of eBay sellers. Since many sellers are selling the same products or similar products, you should have the option to choose who you want to do business with. When buying a product online, particularly one that is offered for sale by a number of different sellers, you are advised to examine product costs, shipping and handling costs, as well as each seller’s feedback. Doing so will make shopping on eBay a positive experience for you.
It is also important to note that eBay is easy to use. In fact, ease of use is one of the many other reasons why eBay has become so popular in recent years. As an eBay buyer, you need to create a free eBay account. That account will allow you to buy on eBay. Once you are a registered eBay member, you can easily start searching for products that you are looking for. For instance, if you are looking for a particular music CD, you can just type the artist name and album name into eBay’s search box and you should be presented with a number of auctions which have your CD available for sale. If you are only looking to spend a certain amount of money or purchase a CD that is located in the United States, you can perform an advanced search. An advanced search makes it easier to find what you need.
The above mentioned benefits, to doing your online shopping through eBay, are just a few of the many that exist. In fact, even if you are unsure as to whether or not you want to start shopping on eBay, you are advised to at least examine it. eBay guests can navigate the site to get a taste of what items can commonly be found for sale on eBay. With a large selection of products, a number of sellers to choose from, and ease of use, there is a good chance that you may find yourself doing the bulk of your online shopping on eBay. And, if you end up doing so, you will definitely not be alone.
By: Nicholas Tan
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May
18
19 Secret Strategies of eBay Powersellers, Part 3
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So, what are the secrets, tips and tricks that will cause you to become a Powerseller as well?
Well, I’ll be completely honest with you… I may be well on my way but I’m not a Powerseller yet. However, one thing that I know from creating several successful businesses is that if you want to become the best at something, you need to copy those that are already successful, ask them to mentor you and ask questions and take notes. And now I am going to take what they taught me and pass it on to you.
This is part three of a four part article series. You will find links to the other parts of this article series at the end of this article.
SECRET STRATEGY #12 - DO ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING TO MAKE YOUR CUSTOMER HAPPY… EVEN IF IT MEANS LOSING MONEY ON A DEAL!
Of course, we’ve all heard “the customer’s always right!” On eBay it’s even more true. Here’s something odd that you probably don’t know: when a customer tells other people that a company or product sucked, the people they told are 5 times more likely than the person that told them to not do business with that company or buy that product. Five times more likely than the person that actually bought the thing!
Now, on eBay it is even more important as a seller to make sure that you maintain a highly positive rating because every single potential customer can see the negative ratings left for you. In addition, for every 1% (for sellers that have a rating under 1000) you’re your feedback is lowered, you will lose 11% in bids. That’s why every Powerseller says that their rating is more important than money that they lose off one deal. Personally, I can tell you that I know that several bidders have purchased my information products and then asked for their money back even though I know that they are still using the product (FYI, there are certain tricks that you can use to make money off even those that rip you off.)
I also highly recommend that you subscribe to SquareTrade and register for the Better Business Bureau Online if you qualify. I’m sure that you are familiar with the BBB so let’s talk about SquareTrade. SquareTrade has been working with eBay pretty much since eBay began and they are a certified eBay partner.
Basically, what they do is mediate disagreements with customers but, even more beneficial, they immediately investigate negative feedback is soon as a customer leaves it for you and they work with eBay to remove negative feedback that is malicious (i.e. your competition buys a product just to leave a negative feedback.) If they determine that the negative feedback was indeed caused by the seller, they attempt work out a resolution with the buyer so that the negative feedback can be removed.
Many Powersellers have been subscribed to SquareTrade for years and they also told me that it pretty much pays for itself right away because when buyers see the SquareTrade logo on the listing that the seller is making every attempt to make sure that their customers are fully satisfied. Check out SquareTrade:
http;//www.a-to-z-web.com/links/squaretrade.html
Next, I believe, as do all the Powersellers that I spoke with, that you should always offer a powerful guarantee. I, for one, offer a 180-day, no-hassle, satisfaction, money-back guarantee on any information product that I wrote and at least a 30-day guarantee on everything else. One thing that I do not do is offer a “100% Money Back” guarantee although if a customer asks for all of their money back, I give them exactly what they ask for. What I do is always send them an email telling them that they will get to keep the product since there is no way me to make sure that they don’t use it. Most of the time they ask for 25-75% of their money back but very rarely do they ask 100% of their money back.
Also, for physical products most Powersellers require that items be returned in their original condition. And they charge a restocking fee for all returned items. But remember that their customer’s satisfaction always supersedes these policies. Just keep this in mind: your feedback rating is your best advertisement but can also be your largest downfall. Never let your emotions get in the way and always make 200% sure that your customer walks away happy… even if you have to bribe them with extra gifts.
SECRET STRATEGY #13 - BUILD YOUR OWN WEBSITE
While you don’t need your own website from the very beginning, every Powerseller I spoke with has their own website. Why? One, they do not want to be at the mercy of eBay. Certainly, eBay doesn’t make it a goal of theirs to hurt businesses that sell on eBay but on occasion they do. For example, a few years ago, many people realized the power of selling their cars on eBay. At that time, it cost around $60-80 to place an ad in the newspaper or AutoTrader but only a couple of dollars to put an ad on eBay.
So, many auto traders started creating businesses where they would sell their cars on eBay. Well, eBay soon realized this new popularity and then created eBay Motors. Now, it costs $40 to list a car and $40 at the close of the sale. This is still a pretty good deal but definitely more risky than it was before. However, Powersellers realize two things: 1) that it is not good to be at the mercy of others and 2) that they can make more money selling through their own web site.
That’s why it’s very important to set up your own web site as soon as possible. Furthermore, when you have people buying through your own web site, you don’t have to pay eBay fees which can save tons of money. Finally, many Powersellers have developed ways to use eBay as a traffic generator rather than really try to make money off eBay. For example, they might have an informational product that they are selling like “The Most Spectacular Fishing Trips In The World” and to promote this product, they sell various fishing items such as lures and rods.
Of course, they want to make a profit off these items but the big money is in the back end product. In this case, one could sell the fishing guide as well as have affiliate tie-ins to companies that selling fishing tours in the areas that were talked about in the guide. On top of that, if you get the customer’s email address then you can contact them in the future about new products or services. Even if you cannot set up your own website right away, at the very least, make sure that you get their email address for use in the future.
SECRET STRATEGY #14 - ACCEPT EVERY FORM OF PAYMENT THAT YOU POSSIBLE CAN!
Powersellers make it as easy as possible for their customers to pay for an item and give them as many options as possible. Many sellers are opposed to accepting credit cards because of the fees that credit card companies charge. This is the most ridiculous belief when it comes to business for several reasons. One, the average credit card purchase is 30% higher than purchases made by cash or check. So, do the math. Do you make more money by offering credit card payments or less? Sure you have to pay 2-3% to the credit card company but you will make 30% more on the sale.
Now, many people then say “Well, why should I accept personal checks or money orders then?” Because, even though credit card payments are the safest way to pay on the Internet, many people believe that they’re just not safe. I try to tell people that using their credit card on the Internet is actually safer online than offline as the credit card companies attest but, most of the time, they simply don’t believe me. And you know what?
I hate having to go to the bank to deposit a check and wait until it clears but the funny thing is that even though I accept checks and money orders, the winning bidder rarely wants to pay via check or money order. This goes back to the first reason why you should accept credit cards… because people that pay via credit card are willing to pay more usually making them the highest bidder. Finally, when you accept more forms of payments, you’ll receive more bids and the interesting thing is that this can often times create a bidding frenzy.
SECRET STRATEGY #15 - START WITH THE LOWEST BID POSSIBLE AND AVOID RESERVE BIDS
Many sellers are terrified of starting their auctions at $.01 and not having a reserve price. They are afraid that if they do this then the item that they’re selling will sell for less than its worth. First of all, an auction is capitalism at it’s best. Whoever is willing to pay the most gets the item. Basically, whatever the highest bid ends up being IS what the item is worth.
Of course, if you have read the rest of this article then you’d know that there are many things that you can do to receive higher bids on your auction like adding photos and writing a great description. However, the Powersellers that I spoke with all told me that they begin 99% of their auctions at $.01 with no reserve; the rare exception being extremely expensive items that they have never sold before.
You see, one Powerseller that I interviewed told me about a little experiment that he conducted on several occasions. Basically, what he did was place identical items up for auction which he knew that he normally had sold for $300 (with a starting bid of $9.99) in the past, placed them in the same categories and began and ended them at the exact same times. The only difference between the two auctions was that one auction he began at $.01 and the other he began at $25. In fact, if one searched for the particular item that he was selling, these two auctions would show up right next to each other.
At the end of the auction, the one that began at $.01 had received 63 bids and ended with a winning bid of $343. That’s $43 more than he had ever made off a previous sale. The auction that began at $25 ended with only 43 bids and a final price of $287 for a difference of $56! Remember that everything was exactly the same except for the starting bid price.
Why does this happen? It’s pretty simple really. First of all, you’ll receive bids from a larger number of unique bidders and remember that every time someone is outbid, they receive a notice that they have been outbid. In affect, eBay is promoting your item for you even more.
Second, more bids draw more bidders. Ask yourself this: when you are scrolling through eBay listings, what catches your eye more: an auction with 3-4 bids or an auction with 20. Some people claim that it doesn’t make a difference but the numbers prove otherwise. Bids beget more bids.
Finally, people always want to “win!” You know, when you go to Wal-Mart and buy something, they don’t say “You Won!” do they? Of course not! But on eBay, you’re the “winning bidder!” The more people that you draw into your auction then the more people you will have wanting to win.
Don’t be scared! Always start your auction at $.01 and “no reserve.” This option always makes more money. But there is one exception to this rule: don’t do it when you are just beginning to sell an extremely expensive item that you have to put a lot of your money on the line. For example, when I first started selling sporting tickets on eBay, I really had no idea what I was doing or how to effectively list an item. But once I figured that out, it really didn’t matter how much I bought the tickets for because when I listed them at $.01 and no reserve, I made about 18% more per sale!
Special note: if you have no reserve on your auction, always put “no reserve” (minus the quotes) in your auction title or, if you don’t have enough space for that, then put “nr” in the title. Do this because many people are opposed to auction with reserves and so they will always search for their keyword plus “no reserve” or “nr” and if your title doesn’t have these keywords then they won’t see it.
Well, that’s it! Armed with these secret eBay strategies, you too should be well on your way to making a very substantial income on eBay. However, should you wish to obtain even more information about how to make money on eBay and the rest of the Internet, please visit our eBay store for some fabulous informational products.
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http://www.a-to-z-web.com/links/ulsc-ebay-store.html
And be sure to check out the extremely powerful A2Z Web Building & Internet Marketing Platinum Package. It’s over $1,500 worth of the best web building and Internet marketing books and programs in the world for less than $50. Check out our eBay rating and you will see that people love this package!
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Finally, if you missed any of the four parts of this article, you can read the other three at the following addresses:
http://www.a-to-z-web.com/ebays-secrets-1.html
http://www.a-to-z-web.com/ebays-secrets-2.html
http://www.a-to-z-web.com/ebays-secrets-3.html
http://www.a-to-z-web.com/ebays-secrets-4.html
By: Ed Brancheau
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Discover several extremely powerful web building and internet marketing packages that uncover all of the secrets to making money with eBay, Google AdSense, affiliate programs and much more! We offer a 180-day, no hassle, satisfaction guarantee!