1,001 Deals and Steals: A Guide To Online Classifi

1,001 Deals and Steals: A Guide To Online Classifieds

by: Donald Lee

Some naysayers way back in the 1990s predicted that online shopping wouldn’t last. Sure, and they said television was a passing fad, too! As we all know, just the opposite has occurred. There’s a television in every household, and more than likely, the homeowner bought their television online—along with his books, music CDs, clothes, and maybe even his home.

Internet shopping is bigger than ever. You can find anything and everything for sale online. Many times, you can find it cheaper online than anywhere else. Internet shopping offers so much more than a discounted price tag, though.

Imagine a shopping mall where there are no lines, where there are no jammed parking garages, and no pushy sales clerks. This is no land of make believe. It is the Internet, where you can discover unprecedented selection, convenience, and opportunities. Online shopping gives you the luxury of browsing hundreds of stores from your living room, while saving on time and frustration. It provides you the chance to compare prices to your heart’s delight on a near limitless selection of brands and models.

For even more benefits, try your hand at classifieds and auction Web sites. These sites are like yard sales and flea markets rolled into one. Unlike retail shopping sites, they offer:

Access to super secondary markets. Take your pick of secondhand or brandnew wholesale goods at steeply discounted prices. The vendors at classifieds sites can get away with it because they aren’t paying high rent for a storefront or a warehouse. And in many cases, you’re not paying taxes.

Tools to locate unique and rare collectibles. Imagine a classifieds site to be like a sunken pirate boat, laden with cultural artifacts, hardtofind heirlooms, and priceless antiques. The Internet is your deepsea vessel, sonar, and oxygen tank all in one.

Reach beyond your neighborhood. Search through the inventory of a vendor from your home town, or if you don’t find what you’re looking for there, try that fellow in California, Texas or Canada for that matter.

Close relationships with vendors. You deal with real people—not big, impersonal corporations—when you buy on classifieds sites. They can provide more details about the product, which you can then use to bargain for a reasonable price.

Despite this bounty of benefits, you might still be hesitant to dive into Internet shopping. Don’t be embarrassed. You have good reason to take your time and weigh your choices. According to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, Internet fraud tops the list of the thousands of fraud cases that happen every year. In some ways, WWW could stand for the Wild West Web, in that anything goes. Vendors can be villains in disguise, and there aren’t any online Wyatt Earps to protect you from these bad guys. You’re on your own.

But give yourself some credit. You have the common sense it takes to survive the WWW. It is the same commonsense that helps you make the most of your money on your standard shopping trips. Become familiar and comfortable with an online vendor before jumping into a purchase. Ask questions and do a bit of research.

After doing your research, you’ll feel more confident in searching for your online booty. To refine your findings and whittle your list to only the exceptional sites, look for these additional qualities:

A focus on local shopping, so you can feel more confident buying from neighbors.

Free education and advice on safe purchasing.

Nocost and easy browsing through available merchandise.

Search tools that let you prioritize items by category, location, and distance.

A straightforward pricing system that avoids the haggling and risk of auction bidding.

Quick price comparisons among different vendors.

Unbelievably, a few trustworthy, practical, and exciting Web sites exist that have all of these features. To find these websites, simply browse through Yahoo’s directory under the classifieds category. The best of the online classified sites offer these services free to buyers such as you. Some of these sites can link you at no charge to your neighbor selling the antique lamp that you’ve been hunting for or that retiree looking to unload an incredible piece of real estate—or the cowboy looking to sell his bigscreen television.

Copyright 2004 Donald Lee

About The Author

Donald Lee is a public relations manager at BSCCOM Inc. BSCCOM Inc. provides free online advertisement services for Canadian and U.S. regions. For more information please visit: http://www.buysellcommunity.com.

This article was posted on November 25, 2004

by Donald Lee

Classifieds with Localized Shopping

Classifieds with Localized Shopping

by: Michael Medeiros

The Mjmls Classifieds, http://www.mjmls.com, received a modest improvement, with the utilization of a new GoLocal™ Feature. After several months of, ขBetaTesting,ข various localization models, the Mjmls staff decided to implement a feature allowing users to sort advertisements by State or browse on a National level, using a simple, ขDropdownmenuข.

IT Developer, James Park, http://www.geodesicsolutions.com, commented, ขA user can visit the site and select a State from the Dropdown. While browsing, the site will then only display Ads within the State selectedข. The new feature creates a simple and effective way to sort advertisements to a region of the country.

Michael Medeiros, the founder of Mjmls.com, believes, ขThe Dropdown is user friendly, as shoppers do not need to know the distance radius of a Zip Code. Once a State is Selected, Individual Towns can be sorted on the Ad Display tables with a simple mouse clickข. Although a Zip radius feature is available, Mr. Medeiros feels the Dropdown is simple and fast for endusers, ขIt uses simple selection. No page needs to load for the enduser to select a location or radiusข.

For various reasons, most online Marketplaces are realizing a need to provide localized shopping. Mjmls believes this enhancement will provide significant savings to shoppers by reducing shipping cost. In addition, it reduces the possibilities of fraudulent activity.

Internet advertisers are experiencing a rise in online fraud. Although Mjmls attempts to keep their users informed of possible frauds and scams, this new feature will reduce the overall risks. Michael feels, ขLocalization enables a buyer and seller to meet and physically review the items or service that is available. There is no hiding behind Usernames and Free Email accounts, at the closing of a local transactionข.

Although Mjmls is a relatively new marketplace, it is gaining traction by offering valuable features, such as GoLocal. While Business Advertising seems to be the fastest growing market, they are determined to incorporate a valuable Real Estate marketing solution. The new localization model is a big step toward future development of a Real Estate Marketing Solution.

Mjmls.com continues to offer a free Marketplace for buyers and sellers to interact. They rely on the utilization of optional enhanced features, for support of the domain. No fees are attached to the sale of items or use of site features, such as GoLocal. Advertising is relatively simple, requiring a brief registration.

To use the Mjmls GoLocal feature, simply select the state of choice from the Dropdown menu on any Classifieds Directory.

About The Author

Michael Medeiros

http://www.mjmls.com/

This article was posted on January 04

by Michael Medeiros

Mjmls.com Offers a New Advertising Venue

Mjmls.com Offers a New Advertising Venue

by: Michael Medeiros

After conducting months of research towards developing an online Marketplace, Mjmls.com initiated betarelease of a new Classified Advertising Venue (http://www.mjmls.com). With several modifications to the Mjmls Website, users will now see the Classifieds as the main page at Mjmls.com. The original Web Directory, has been moved to a Subdomain on the server, but is still available for Webmasters to promote their Site through a, ขLinkExchangeข.

Michael Medeiros, the founder of Mjmls.com, obtained services through Geodesic Solutions, A Limited Liability Company in Software Development (http://www.geodesicsolutions.com), for the release of the Classifieds segment. The Classified application utilizes the PHP Language, enabling an easy to use interface. James Park, Geodesic Enterprise Developer, stated, ขThe benchmarks of the PHP/MySql application are comparable to any other scripting language and data storage, especially when compared to the expense of hosting the applicationข. Mr. Medeiros believes that the PHP/MySql application will deliver convenient features, while the reduced operating expense will allow Mjmls.com to remain competitive among its competitors, as it progresses into the future.

Geodesic Solutions, is providing continued support of the Database application, as the Classifieds are being developed. The Mjmls Classifieds are currently open for advertisers, as the staff released Beta Development. While there are no fees for advertising, or attached to the sale of an item, Mjmls.com is relying on utilization of enhanced features for continued support of the domain. These optional features include Better Placement of ads, Featured Ads, Attentiongetter Graphics, and Bold Text. Arrangements have been made with 2checkout.com and PayPal.com, to accept secure online payments for these optional features.

Previous users of Mjmls.com can find the Web Directory in its new location, http://links.mjmls.com. The directory has only one modification, but Mr. Medeiros stated, ขA new facelift is in orderข. The original Directory served as a place for Webmasters to list their Website, through a linkexchange, and for endusers to locate businesses and information on the Internet. Mr. Medeiros went on to say, ขWith the Betarelease of the New Classifieds, the directory will now be displaying one featured advertisement. The Ad Display is a summary of the actual advertisement. It is relatively smaller than most common bannersข. Mr. Medeiros still intends for the directory to serve as a free portal for users to find a variety of valuable Internet Sites.

The Mjmls Classifieds currently offer a variety Marketing Venues, but they intend to keep Website promotion within the Directory. Businesses and individuals may advertise items for sale in a variety of categories. These categories include Automobiles, Real Estate, Electronics, Boats, Motorcycles, and Recreational Vehicles. In addition, there is a category for Businesses to advertise their, ขStorefront,ข in the Classifieds (Business). The Mjmls Staff intends to update the Category structure through user comments and suggestions.

To begin advertising, a user is required to create an advertiser account by registering. Once registered, users can place multiple advertisements. Endusers can contact advertisers through the ads, get directions to their business or items for sale (Utilizes MapQuest.com), forward ads to friends or family, and save advertisements for later comparison. In addition, the site offers an account manager. Advertisers can easily monitor advertisements in the classifieds. The account manager will reveal the number of views, replies, and times an enduser forwarded the ad to a friend or family member. Mr. Medeiros commented, ขGeodesic Solutions has provided many useful tools for our Endusers and Advertisers. We plan to be implementing different options as the Website progresses. This will help ensure that Classifieds remain fully functional when development is completeข.

About The Author

Michael Medeiros

Mjmls.com

1032 Bradford Dr

Williamstown, N.J. 08094

6099221800

This article was posted on December 23, 2004

by Michael Medeiros

Launch Your HomeBased Retail Business Through The

Launch Your HomeBased Retail Business Through The Roof!

by: Donald Lee

You had a great idea when you decided to open a homebased Internet retail business. You became a กpower sellerก as people in the online retail business world call you. Your goal is to move tons of merchandise through Web auction sites and classifieds services without ever leaving the comfort of your home office. Drop shipping gives you the opportunity to accomplish your dreams and more. The sky is the limit if you know how to get your business off the ground.

Drop shipping can launch your business into successful orbit, but it isn’t rocket science. With this unique way of doing business, you enlist the services of a wholesale merchandise company. The wholesale company takes care of the stockpiling and storing of your product. It even covers the shipping and handling charges when one of your customers orders an item.

This means you don’t have to rent thousands of square feet to warehouse your inventory, and you’re free from the liability that comes with direct delivery to your customers. Your only expenses are the membership fee of your particular wholesaler, along with the fees and percentages you lose to advertising and auctioning online. If you play your cards right with these fees, you can build yourself a very costeffective and most importantly, profitablehomebased business.

Experienced online retailers have learned the tricks of the trade to do just that. Here are the key secrets that they, your competitors, don’t want you to know. These three tips will stack the deck in your favor, helping you to grow your clientele while avoiding the pitfalls of doing ecommerce.

Get sold on your wholesaler. Nowadays, wholesalers are a dime a dozen, so don’t settle on the first one that comes your way. Let wholesalers compete for your business, instead of the other way around. Many companies may offer specials to new prospective retailers. They may waive the minimum order requirements, credit check, and prepayments if you sign up with them. Topnotch wholesalers could also offer international delivery or special net payment options. Avoid high expenses at the getgo by taking advantage of such specials, and turn a profit a lot quicker.

Sniff out wholescammers. For every honest wholesaler looking to build a successful relationship with you, thereกs a crook out there looking to do nothing but build his bank account at your expense. Avoid any wholesaler, for instance, who demands you pay an advance fee before you sign up with them. Be wary of wholesalers who claim to have thousands of items in their selection. These might not be wholesalers at all, but middlemen who are trying to bluff you. Instead of actually stocking these thousands of products, they actually buy them from a wholesaler, or another middleman, and resell them to you at a jacked up price, thereby cutting into your profits.

Get wired to the Web wisely. You now have a trusted Wholesaler and outstanding products to move, but so do thousands of other Internet retailers. How can you stand out to attract customers and save money doing so? One way to make a mark online is to design and write your own ads for your products. Many wholesalers provide complimentary stock product photos and descriptions that you can use in your online ads and classifieds. Then again, they provide the same thing to all their retailers. Most retailers use them. So you shouldn’t.

Another effective way to sell on the Web is to find new and innovative sites to sell on. The main auction sites are often crowded with retailers who are eager to undercut your prices. Plus, these auctioning sites tend to have high fees and shorter listing durations. Avoid competition and high prices by trying the next generation of premiere selling sites, such as free online classified sites.

Free online classifieds services work as powerful avenues to sell your goods. They offer attractive features your business needs to take off, such as:

No signup, registration, or transaction fees.

Free listing (text description and image upload).

Up to 60day ad listing. This listing duration is light years longer than most other sites and renewals are free as well.

Distance calculator. This function comes in handy if you’re concerned with locality.

These free online classified sites can be the ace up your sleeve, whether you’re just launching your homebased Internet retail operation or trying to shoot for the stars with an established business. Strap yourself into your chair and count down to ignition.

About The Author

Donald Lee is the public relationship manager for Buysellcommunity.com.

Buysellcommunity provides free classified listing services for individuals and businesses to market their products and services online.

For global and localized classifieds, please visit http://www.buysellcommunity.com Free Buy & Sell Classifieds

This article was posted on December 28, 2004

by Donald Lee