Using Paypal for eBay Purchases

Using Paypal for eBay Purchases

by: Terry Gibbs

Paypal is the preferred payment choice for many buyers because Paypal allows buyers to pay instantly for eBay purchases. In this article, we will review using Paypal on eBay from the buyerกs point of view.

Since eBay purchased Paypal, it has become even easier for buyers and sellers to complete auction sales. Buyers like Paypal because they can quickly and easily pay online. In fact, some bidders will only bid on items they can pay for with Paypal.

One thing that confuses buyers is some sellers accept Paypal payments through credit cards, while others only accept transfers. You see, with Paypal a buyer can fund the transaction in three ways. This can confuse buyers, and cause problems.

Hereกs the three ways to fund a Paypal transaction:

1. Transfer from a bank account tied to the userกs Paypal account.

2. Transfer from a Paypal balance.

3. Payment from a Credit Card.

The first two options cost Paypal nothing in processing fees. Credit cards cost about 2 percent to process, and Paypal passes this cost on to merchants. Some eBay sellers do not want to pay this fee for service, so they only accept payments by transfer. This confuses buyers who win auctions and assume a credit card transaction is fine.

Paypal wants users to transfer funds, and not use their credit cards. Not only is this cheaper for Paypal, but there is no risk of a chargeback.

A chargeback is when a buyer reverses the charge on a credit card by contacting his bank. Most, maybe all, banks will reverse a credit card charge with little or no investigation if the card holder contests the charge. The money is taken right out of the merchantกs bank account Paypal in this case.

Paypal makes it difficult to use a credit card to send money through Paypal. This is done making the credit card payment option difficult to find, and warning users about the กriskก because you cannot buy Paypalกs insurance.

With a credit card purchase, you do not need Paypalกs insurance. Your bank will reverse the charge free if the seller scams you.

One other way Paypal makes it hard for users to instantly send money with a credit card is by limiting the total amount you can charge.

The first time I tried to use Paypal to pay for an eBay auction, I was unable to use my credit card because the amount was above the limit. That was a $700 item. I think the single item limit is $500, but could not find confirmation of this. The lifetime limit, or total amount you can send all eBay sellers with a credit card is $2,000.

If you wish to pay for an item with a credit card through Paypal you should confirm the seller takes card transactions. This can be done reviewing the auction and looking for the credit card logos adjacent to the Paypal logo in the payment methods screen.

Whenever you pay for an eBay auction through Paypal, you should check the sellerกs Paypal status. Do not send large amounts to unverified users, and watch that the userกs address matches the auction details.

Paypal is an easy way to pay for your eBay purchases.

About The Author

Terry Gibbs is a collector/dealer of old toys and trains, and teaches others how to buy and sell antiques and collectibles. Gibbs is the author of two best selling eBay books ‘the Auction Revolution,ก and ‘the Complete Guide To eBay Consignment Sales.ก He has also written numerous other books about buying and selling antiques and collectibles. Learn more at his website: http://www.news.iwantcollectibles.com.

This article was posted on March 22

by Terry Gibbs

Is The eBay Fee Increase Actually Good For Busines

Is The eBay Fee Increase Actually Good For Business?

by: Tim Knox

Fee Increase Leaves Some Sellers Angry, Others Thrilled

Much of my email from readers this month concerned the recent announcement from eBay that it will increase many seller fees on February 18. Since many business people use eBay’s online store system as their primary ecommerce point of sale, it’s no surprise that most of the emails I received were of the angry variety.

One email in particular caught my attention because it urged me to visit a website to sign an online petition protesting the fee hike. The email directed me to http://www.petitiononline.com/ebayfee/petition.html and upon further investigation I found that 22,548 digital signatures had already been collected (as of this writing).

Thank goodness not all of them had my email address.

This will be the fifth rate hike in as many years for the auction giant and should really come as no surprise. Price hikes are a normal course of business. It was the size of the hike that has many sellers upset.

The rate hike involved the following fees:

A basic eBay Store will now cost sellers $15.95 a month, a 60% increase from the current $9.95 a month.

Closing commissions on most items sold through eBay Stores will increase by 50 percent.

Gallery photo fees will increase from 25 to 35 cents.

The Buy It Now fee will jump from a flat fee of 5 cents to 10 cents for items priced over $10 and 25 cents for items over $50.

Final value fees will rise from 5.25% to 8%.

Many of the emails I received pointed out that small sellers are making very little profit as it is so the increase in fees will only serve to drive these sellers completely out of the eBay business. Some sellers accuse eBay of purposefully trying to run them off, but I doubt that’s the case. eBay has no reason to drive away the small sellers, but that realization never occurs to those who feel they are being priced out of the market.

Not everyone is too concerned over the fee increase. Jim Cockrum, eBay Powerseller, publisher of ขCreative eBay Selling News,ข the world’s largest newsletter on creative eBay selling, and author of one of the best selling eBay books of all time ขThe Silent Sales Machines Hiding On eBayข has other opinions.

http://hop.clickbank.net/?powerpak/silentsale

ขI don’t see the eBay fee increase as a bad thing,ข Cockrum said in a phone interview. ขI actually see it as just the opposite itกs a good thing because eBay is eliminating my competition for me. Who leaves eBay when eBay increases seller fees? Itกs not the customers (or shoppers). They don’t go anywhere since they aren’t affected. Only a handful of the weaker sellers leave eBay when fees go up.ข

Cockrum recommends that sellers use eBay in nontraditional ways to build their online businesses so that future fee hikes will not have an affect on their ebusiness.

ขSelling on eBay continues to be one of the more popular ways to make money online, though very few people are getting rich with an eBay business alone,ข Cockrum said. ขMany Powersellers don’t make enough profit to cover their costs. The key to really making money with eBay is not in selling items at auction, but to use eBay to drive customers to your other online ventures. If you do that, the rate hikes do not affect your bottomline nearly as much.ข

Not everyone shares Cockrum’s enthusiasm. Many small sellers think the government or a regulatory board of some kind should get involved to help keep eBay fees in line. This probably won’t come to pass anytime soon, but who knows. I can remember when a little company called Microsoft had free rein before they killed off all comers and came to monopolize their market. eBay seems to be headed in the same direction.

The threat of regulation may be the reason eBay is now attempting to smooth the ruffled feathers of the miffed masses. eBay announced this week that they would give a onetime $15.95 credit to eBay store owners and reduce minimum listing fees for inexpensive items from 30 cents to 25 cents, effective immediately.

Too little, too late? Could be. Many sellers believe that eBay may be writing its own obituary with such stringent price increases and such little thought for the smaller merchant. The online petition predicted the long term effects of the fee increase to be:

Smaller sellers will stop selling on eBay and try to sell somewhere else online. They will never have the chance to expand themselves on eBay.

Larger sellers may consider starting their own online store or sell elsewhere.

Prices of auctions will increase. Buyers will turn back to retail stores. The idea of eBay is that you can find things cheaper there, even when adding shipping and handling together.

Discourage new sellers, decreasing competition (which is what the eBay market thrives on for pricing).

Only time will tell if the predictions come true, but for the short term many smaller sellers are closing down their eBay stores and moving up the street to Yahoo.com.

Here’s to your success!

Small Business Q&A with Tim Knox

Copyright (c) 2005 Tim W. Knox

About The Author

Small Business Q&A is written by veteran entrepreneur and syndicated columnist, Tim Knox.

Timกs latest books include กSmall Business Success Secretsก and ‘the 30 Day Blueprint For Success!ก

Related Links:

www.smallbusinessqa.com

www.dropshipwholesale.net

http://www.30dayblueprint.com

http://www.timknox.com

This article was posted on February 15

by Tim Knox

A Beginner To Beginners

A Beginner To Beginners

by: Jim Murdoch

You may be just starting, or contemplating, your first online business. Or, just like me, you may be trying out yet another online business scheme.

No doubt you are reading about all those guys who got rich just doing what you have started to do, or contemplating to do. Many claim to be making 10s of 1000s of $$ per month! So how do you, poor, moneyless, noclue wouldbe, get to become a successful entrepreneur with your own online business?

Easy! Just do what they do! Simple, huh? Then you discover its not that simple. Its hard!

OK, you still want to succeed. If they can do it, so can I, you say. This is a good start a positive attitude. Think big! Thatกs what the guys at the top say, and that sounds good to me. Youกll not get anywhere if you don’t believe in yourself.

Right, so where do we go from there. You get a positive picture of your success, you set goals, and you get determination to reach those goals. But following that we need action! If you do nothing you will gain nothing. You will reap what you sow. On the other hand, if you put a lot of effort into it, you will reap a profitable reward.

So far so good. The top dogs tell us these things. Be positive and work hard. Then what? We are talking about online business here, and thatกs what I am doing, so letกs look at what action can be taken, and indeed, should be taken, to increase your income. Sorry, I mean start your income we are only starting out, right?

Advertise! they tell us. Wow, wait a second! I tried that and got swamped with hundreds of emails making similar offers. Thereกs a lot of offers out there, some good, some just plain crooked. Let me ask you a question. If you had apples to sell, would you go to an apple market or a banana market? How many apples do you think you would sell to a bunch of people trying to sell you apples? My guess is none!

Which market do you want to reach? the buyers or the sellers? You will say, ‘the buyers.ก But not all the sellers are selling the same product as you. The banana seller might want to buy your apples. Sellers, then, are also potential buyers.

A better question to ask is: Who do you not want to market to? Obviously you want to avoid wasting your time reaching more apple sellers. Whatever your product is, you want to sell to those who don’t have it.

Now, you might argue that you have the best opportunity on the Net, and all these poor guys who think they have the best, need to hear about my offer. This is true, in my opinion. There are a lot of people pushing opportunities like they will drop gold from heaven. In reality they are just as desperate as you, and are trying their best to make a good sale.

Letกs go back to the apple market for a moment. You look around at those apples your fellows are selling. You see many have bad apples, dirty apples, old apples, small apples, dry apples. You know that your apples are much better than these. Hey! You have just found a potential buyers group.

But how do you sell your good apples to these bad apple sellers? Give them one to taste! Once they taste how good it is they will want more. In fact they will want to disgard their old apples and want to join you selling yours. You just won an affiliate! Isn’t that what half of Network Marketing is all about?

Give things away! Have something to offer free. Be it a newsletter, advice or even a sample product, or in affiliate programs, how about prospective affiliates? Give and you will receive.

Scrooge from Christmas Carol was rich. But he was also mean. people didn’t like him, and he got a picture of how glad people would be if he died. But Scrooge had a change of heart. He became generous. And what else changed? His popularity. I guarantee you that when the new Scrooge died, he was sorely missed.

Letกs sum up. You are a beginner. It won’t stay that way.

Get a vision and set your goals.

Work hard towards your goals and don’t give up.

Sell to those who don’t have what you sell.

Give away things and prove your honesty.

Are you ready to climb that ladder of success?

Foot on the first rung, and lift!

See you at the top.

About The Author

Jim Murdoch is new to network marketing. Read what he has to say about ขWhy you need your own home businessข in his autoresponder: mailto:[email protected] His web site is at http://www.upwardpath.com?64

This article was posted on April 30, 2003

by Jim Murdoch

Buying Used Dell Laptops, PCกs and Servers on eBay

Buying Used Dell Laptops, PCกs and Servers on eBay How to be successful.

by: John Gall

Two years ago I needed a way to refresh more PCกs and Laptops at my company without spending more. New Dell laptops were great but expensive and over the years we had accumulated many Latitude C series parts. The C series ran from the CPX C600 C610 C400 and C640 models before their new D line of Latitude laptops were released. The docks, drives and many other parts are usable in any of these models so we decided to take advantage of this and purchase used Dell laptops. eBay was where we sourced these. Over the years Iกve learned some valuable things about buying these expensive items. Here are some tips and some recommendations of sellers Iกve found to be very reliable.
Know what you are buying.
Don’t just go by the model and specs of the machine. Iกm seeing two types of units out there. Those that are complete PCกs sold as used units. Also refurbished units that have no serial number on the bottom or in the bios. These units can be had at very good prices and so far Iกve found them all to be in great condition. The problem is that without the serial you can’t even get tech support from Dell and obviously there isn’t a warranty. If you don’t mind this from the right seller these are great. For my use at my company it just isn’t worth the appearance of a model with no serial number. Iกm passing on these for now.
Always pay using Pay Pal or some other service that lets you use a credit card.
Even when you use a credit card on Paypal your covered by the dispute and charge back protection provided by your credit card company. Iกve had two instances where the seller did not ship my laptop and I had to dispute the charge with my credit card company. In both cases I received a credit back from my company and had no trouble from Paypal. Before disputing open a formal case with Paypal as they require that before you do a charge back. Iกm not sure what the consequences would be but better to appear as if you are trying to use their system.
Buying regularly? Try to form a relationship with a couple reputable sellers.
After doing business with a handful of sellers I trust I now completely bypass eBay. The sellers love the money they save on fees and I can often have them hunt down mint condition Latitude laptops. Some will even customize the laptop to your specs.
Check the sellers feedback.
Look to see that the seller regularly sells Dell equipment. This tells you two things. One that they are a reputable seller and have a history of people who bought the exact same item and were happy. The other thing is that if you see positive feedback regarding nonsimilar equipment you can assume that they will have no spare parts or service ability. If you see many sales of similar Dell equipment you can be sure that if you have a problem and notify them right away they will probably be able to fix your laptop.
Ask about warranty or warranty transfer assistance.
If you are lucky the unit you purchase will come with some warranty left from Dell. However Dell will not transfer the warranty into your name unless you have the original owners name and address. If you can find a seller willing to provide this you just struck gold! Note, this is not common at all. You can still get Dell to service an in warranty unit but they won’t transfer the ownership to your name.
Buying Servers? Look for Dell refurbished units with a warranty.
I don’t know how it works but there are many resellers of Dell Servers that are new or refurbished from Dell. These come with the Dell warranty and are transferable. When the server arrives its in the original Dell box still sealed up. The price can’t be beat and Iกve never had a problem. My suspicion is that for those with the right connections, Dell will sell you volumes of over production and refurbished units far below pricing youกd see in their Dell Outlet site. http://www.scsistuff.com is a great vendor for this type of buy.

About The Author

John Gall is a full time IT Manager and self employed IT Consultant in Minnesota. He runs several hobby web sites related to technology and travel from http://www.gallconsulting.com

This article was posted on May 13, 2004

by John Gall

USP on eBay

USP on eBay

by: Greg Hayes

If you have dabbled at all in the world of Internet marketing, you may have heard the term กunique selling propositionก or USP. USP is a technique that Internet marketers use to set themselves apart from the competition. Internet marketing is highly competitive and highly saturated. In order to be successful, it is vital that the Internet marketer present himself as being unique and different from his competitors especially when many of them are selling the same products.
It is also just as vital to have a unique selling proposition on Ebay. I am amazed at the number of Ebay sellers that are either unaware or just don’t care about the importance of having a unique selling proposition. A case in point: A while back, I was researching some products on Ebay from a wholesale company called B&F System. B&F System is a wholesale only company that carries a variety of brand name products. One of the brands they carry is called Maxam. I came across several Maxam leather jackets on Ebay while searching ended auctions. Now hereกs the kicker. About a dozen or so of these leather jacket auctions were exactly the same. They all used the same image of a guy modeling the jacket that was captured from the B&F website. They even used the exact ad copy used by B&F!
What was the result? Only one of the sellers was able sell any jackets. The top bid was only $26. And since he purchased the jackets from B&F for $20, he made about $5.00 profit after Ebay fees. Thatกs a slim profit for an item that normally retails for $95.
Always keep in mind that the amount of effort you put fourth on you auctions will be in direct proportion to the amount of return you get from your auctions. The sellers who put up the jacket auctions put fourth little effort by using stock photos and ad copy from the B&F website, and therefore received little or no sales from their auctions. The sellers in this case might think that using stock photos makes their auctions look more professional. Itกs just the opposite. These auctions look very amateurish. Using a picture of someone modeling a garment will not entice people to bid on your auction. Using three or four high quality pictures of the actual item along with a detailed description will entice people to bid. Remember that buying apparel off the internet is not like buying music CDกs or software. You don’t need to worry if a CD will fit. You don’t need to see multiple pictures of a box of software to know what youกll be getting. However, when selling apparel, good quality pictures and a detailed description are vital. You should use a good quality digital camera to take pictures of the item from different angles. If you’re selling jackets or coats, include a picture of the lining as well. In your description, don’t just say itกs a large size. Give measurements of the garment including overall length, sleeve length and chest size. If you’re going to specialize in apparel, it would be a good idea to purchase a form or clothing dummy to model your apparel. Doing these things will go a long way in setting you apart from the competition and establishing a กunique selling proposition.ก
What ever you’re thinking about selling, always look at your competition and think about how to set yourself apart. Remember that unless you’re selling antiques on Ebay, thereกs always someone else whoกs trying to sell the same thing you’re selling. Establishing your USP will put you on the road to Ebay success.

About The Author

Are You Tired of the scams and the getrichquick schemes? Greg Hayes is founding editor of http://www.mammothprofits.com/. Mammothprofits is the website devoted to helping others filter out the scams and become successful in a home based business.

[email protected]

This article was posted on July 11, 2004

by Greg Hayes

Beat The Phenomenon Of Awful Sale Statistics

Beat The Phenomenon Of Awful Sale Statistics

by: Michael Keenan

It is a purely shocking statistic, that only 4 in every 100 affiliates, actually turn over more than a few dollars. This is an truly awful statistic, but one that can be easily changed. The reasons as to why this phenomenon of awful sales occurs are numerous. In this article, I will be dealing with resell rights ebook packages, as the sales example item. However overall this article, can be applied, to any sales product.

The number one reason why sellers fail online, is caused by a lack of knowledge, as how to advertise their products. FFAกs are a good example of this. Visit any ffa page on the net and you will see people struggling. Thousands of affiliates and other sellers use these methods as their sales vehicle. It is certain you will fail if you use these type of methods. The only people who will ever see these type of sites will be other sellers. And it would have to be one brilliant product, to be able to make a successful sale, to another seller via this method.

The second main reason, are products which are sold with prebuilt sales pages. This whole process promotes a system, by which sellers think they can promote and provide websites, builtup totally with single web sales pages, and make easy money as a result. The resell products, themselves, mostly are initially purchased by sellers, because of a main sales pitch of กYou Will Make Easy Moneyก. The product itself becomes second best. Potential income becomes the sellers main driving point and this simply misses the mark totally. This is a real online marketing trap. All this provides is a one page sales pitch without the backing of any real substance. This substance can only be given by the backing of a real website, with your resale products built in, as part of it. And the products you sell should always be a necessary part of the topics covered by your website. Remember always, never sell items with standalone sales pages, without a reference point. And this reference point should always initially be found exactly, in the beating heart of the presale, that can be found on your own website. We will get to this point in more detail further below shortly.

As a further proof of another form of this lack of substance. I have recently received feedback from other sellers who have not even read the actual content of the product they are reselling. This just does not make any business sense at all. I myself sell a lot of resell rights ebook products. But they are only the products I have researched and want my own name and my company name attached to. I even recently had an affiliate send me a resell rights ebook package he purchased which consisted of an amazing sales package, it simply took my breath away. But the actually ebook product it promoted consisted of 9 pages. If I was the customer who purchased this package. I would be pretty overwhelmed, by the feeling of being ripped off, if I paid $49.95 for a 9 page ebook. And needless to say, the information that it contained, was useless to say the least. Any customer who may purchase this product, it would be safe to say, would be very cautious before they ever purchased a product online ever again. And it would be certain to say they would never purchase a product from that seller ever again either. Honesty is a word that needs to be applied totally in online sales. Forget the potential profit line for a moment. You need to be totally committed to the product you are selling. And you need to be totally committed to the principle of getting information of real value out there and into the hands of others.

So how do you succeed online with real success. Firstly if you want to make money online consistently you need, as stated earlier, a real website. It just amazes me how many sellers just don’t even have a real website of there own. You need to show potential buyers what motivates you in what you do. If you have a website system of single web sales pages. You are never going to achieve any success online. Design a website around what motivates and excites you. Build information that you have written yourself, and quality information written by others, that has real information value. Provide a website of substance that aligns itself to great informational links. Always Align your website, with other websites that have the same commitment, with exactly the ideas you hold most valuable. Show a potential buyer or even just that website visitor cruising the net. That you know exactly what you are talking about, and promote your products around this knowledge.

Secondly learn exactly how to promote your website successfully. Seek out the knowledge of others who are successful online and take in all the information that they offer. The reason why in the previous paragraph, I mentioned the need for a real website before this topic of advertising, has other benefits as well. If you have a real website you will get indexed well in the search engines. Getting indexed well, will gain you quality targeted traffic, that costs nothing. So build a good website, submit it to the engines, and simply let time take its course. For example to get into google it is going to take about 7 months, there is no way around this except just waiting. Just submit and focus on adding real value content to your website. And focus on other methods of advertising. The perfect method is to build an email list of your own. There are thousands of real valid methods on how to achieve this. The best being, by simply starting your own ezine, built around exactly the same topics which your website covers.

I hope that this article may help to guide you too success. I myself make a living off the internet. I make around 40,000 dollars per year after tax. It is not a great deal of money. I must say that I made more in my previous fulltime job. But the internet has given me the freedom, to do what I want to do, when I want to do it. Being your own boss has huge freedom based benefits. But to achieve these benefits requires ongoing plain simple hard work. There is no easy way to make money online other than hard work, that is a guaranteed fact, and covers any part of life. Everyone has the potential to make money on the internet. But to achieve this requires a real commitment to the absolute requirements of knowledge, quality, honesty, and hard work. Remember always value what you do, and how you do it, and others will value you for it. That is certain.

About The Author

Michael J. Keenan (CEO SitePromotionNow) Worked in online sales for over 5 years. email: [email protected] website: http://www.sitepromotionnow.org Also visit my new online marketing blog at http://sitepromotionnow.blogspot.com/.

[email protected]

This article was posted on September 12

by Michael Keenan

8 Dolls That Sell Well on eBay

8 Dolls That Sell Well on eBay

by: Sydney Johnston

From the beginning, eBayกs primary growth came from the collectibles market. There are two basic models for eBay sales:

1. Currently available consumers goods. This is a price driven model, and although smart sellers can earn above average prices, buyers are there looking for a bargain and price is the #1 consideration.

2. Other buyers are collectors, looking for oneofakind unique items that they can’t locate elsewhere. Here, price isn’t as important as it is with consumer goods. The power of this market is obvious because, before eBay and the Internet, most collectors were confined to a local market.

Dolls have always been big sellers as eBay collectibles and eight of them are especially strong sellers:

1. The Cabbage Patch Kids began in 1978 and are never กsoldก. They are กbornก at Babyland General Hospital in Cleveland, Georgia and proud parents pay an กadoption feeก. The Cabbage Patch Kids were one of the greatest toy phenomenons of the later 20th century. At one time, it was a common sight to see grown women shopping and lunching with their babies in hand. In restaurants, the Kids had their own chairs and were always appropriately dressed for the weather.

2. Precious Moments began in the early 1970s when creator Sam Butcher began drawing the endearing teardropeye children as gifts for family and friends. Today Samกs Precious Moments artwork is among the most recognized in the world, and eBay prices reflect this popularity.

3. Madame Alexander dolls were created in 1923. These beloved dolls range from Charlie Brown to babies and children to elegant dressed women to glamorous and famous women like Greta Garbo and Judy Garland. With all the varieties of costumes, a single doll can be a 1920s flapper as easily as a member of the court of Louis XIV.

4. Lee Middleton dolls, according to legend, are so real in appearance that grown men sent for a rescue squad to save ‘the babyก from a locked car! Mistaken identity is supposedly a frequent occurrence and the dolls have been counted as กpassengersก on airplanes and rescued from store countertops to prevent the กbabyก from falling. As one happy owner says, ‘these dolls are so lifelike itกs uncanny.ก

5. American Girl dolls are loved by millions of little girls (and grown ups, too!) They are not only from different times and places, but are ethnically diverse: Felicity from colonial Virginia; Josephina from the 1830กs in New Mexico; Kirsten is กa pioneer girl of strength and spirit growing up in Minnesota in 1854ก; Addy is alive in the 186oกs, having escaped from slavery with her mother; Samantha is กa bright Victorian girl living with her wealthy grandmother in 1904ก; Kit is growing up in 193os, during Americaกs Great Depression; Molly lives in the 1940กs while her dad is away at war; Kaya is a Nez Perce Indian living in the northwest.

6. Hasbro dolls are one of the products of the gigantic Hasbro company, who claim to have been making toys for eight generations, including famous games like Monopoly, Scrabble and Clue.

7. Bratz dolls, unlike older dolls like Madame Alexander and Cabbage Patch Kids, have no long history as favorite toys or collectibles. Nevertheless, their price has astonished eBay sellers and the Bratz collection was one of the กsuper hitsก of the 2003 holiday season and sales have been strong ever since.

8. And, no surprise, Barbie is the bestselling doll on eBay. Since Mattel has recently announced that Ken and Barbie will no longer be an กitemก, dolls from the กgood old daysก when the name กBarbieก was rarely heard without กKenก, will inevitably become more valuable.

Anyone who loves and understands the doll market, can do very well selling dolls on eBay. Theyกve been strong sellers for the 10 years eBay has been in existence and are almost certain to remain popular for years to come.

About The Author

Sydney Johnston

Learn how to sell on eBay with 16 hours of online instruction taught by a 10 year eBay veteran. Own an eBay business instead of an eBay hobby.

http://www.auctiongeniuscourse.com

This article was posted on August 27

by Sydney Johnston

Online Auction Sellers Seize Control Of Your Bus

Online Auction Sellers Seize Control Of Your Business!

by: David Espino

As the online auction model of business continues to evolve toward a more commoditized, corporate marketplace, it is time for online auction sellers to seize control of their business, before it’s too late.

In this article we will highlight some effective steps you can take to shift control back to your own business.

Why is it so important to seize control?

There are three Megatrends that have the potential to hurt online auction sellers:

Increased expenses across all services that cater to online auction sellers. eBay recently increased their fees, Yahoo Auctions recently began charging fees for listing auctions with them. The U.S. Postal Service recently raised their postage rates. Auction Management services are increasing their fees. Free photohosting services now charge fees to host photos on their sites. Payment processing services have also increased their fees. It is a post dotcombust reality that most services that used to be free, aren’t anymore. Everywhere you look, expenses are going up. Taken cumulatively, they can eat away profits that used to be there. This fact alone is reason enough to consider developing your own online presence apart from the online auctions.

Restrictive policies by eBay. The online auction community is in an uproar over eBay’s recent strengthening of their linking policies. These rules essentially eliminate a seller’s ability to advertise their site and / or develop clickthrough traffic from eBay. The links rules were only a precursor to the new กeBay Storesก, eBay’s way of providing idealistic havens of ecommerce for their community. The new eBay Stores allow eBay sellers to set up online storefronts, which of course, have their own fee schedule! These storefronts have opened to mixed reviews. There really is no comparison between having an eBay Store and having your own online storefront. An eBay Store is like having a shop open inside of a gated community. The only traffic you’re likely to get is from other eBay members. Having your own website with an online store is like opening up shop on Main Street. You have all the traffic you are able to create and more important, you have freedom to decide exactly how you run your business. You see, in the gated community there are a lot of rules, rules designed to benefit the community at large.

Corporate and institutional involvement in online auctions. This is a growing trend. Many large corporations are taking advantage of the eBay auction concept to liquidate unwanted or overrun merchandise to the masses. Even the U.S. Postal Service is involved in eBay auctions! They use eBay to liquidate items that were undeliverable or lost in the mail. Police departments are selling off seized goods on eBay. Corporations are getting on the eBay bandwagon and creating a hypercompetitive environment for some of the กsmaller sellersก. Basic economics dictates that the greater the supply of goods, the lower the price of those goods.

This triple whammy of higher expenses, a restrictive selling environment and increased competition will have the effect of squeezing sellers out, unless they take action to prevent their demise.

What are some steps you can take to avoid being an Online auction casualty?

Begin today to ‘think outside the auction boxก. That is, develop an attitude that the online auction goldmine might end tomorrow, so you are going to take the right steps TODAY to secure your future. This is especially important for those sellers who depend 100% on their online auction income!

Begin today to make plans for developing your online presence, away from the online auctions. Developing your own website is only the first step towards online success. Getting traffic to your site is really the key that many people ignore, to their dismay. Developing traffic takes time and knowledge.

Build, manage and maintain a customer list. Every marketing expert worth his or her salt will tell you that your customer list is EVERYTHING. Maintaining your customer list and staying in contact with your customers is one way to explode your sales. (even if you are selling items not related to what your customer initially purchased!) So much of selling has to do with breaking down that trust barrier. Once you’ve established a successful relationship with a customer, most of your battle is won. The worst thing to do would be to drop the ball and not recontact that customer in careful, but constant ways, always affirming the original purchase and informing them of new opportunities.

Find the tools necessary to take your business to the next level. This step will take some research, but it will be well worth it. Today, you can find software that will dramatically simplify your life, from autoresponders (automated email response) to bulk email programs (that help you do a mass email to your customer list) to search engine submission programs. (that help you increase your positioning on the search engines) If you are in any type of business that requires continuous education of your customers, a Newsletter program (which not only mails out your Newsletter, but handles unsubscribes automatically) would be a great benefit. Having a Newsletter is one of the best ways to stay in constant contact with your customers and keep them informed about new trends in your industry and new products that have debuted.

Learn. learn and learn some more! When I first got online a few years ago, I was intimidated by everything Internet. I knew I wanted to bring my collectible toys business to eBay and I had some theoretical knowledge about it, but had never done it before. As I threw myself into books and websites related to what I needed to know, I came to a very profound discovery. It’s all there! Everything you could ever want to know about making your business successful on the Internet is available all over the Internet! Some of the information was free, some of the information cost money and some of it was downright expensive! But one thing was always true it was all there. Even more important, I found out that there are all kinds of people that are willing to help you with any type of problem or roadblock you may face, you’ll find them in the appropriate Message Boards. Everything you need to know to become successful is there, waiting to be discovered!

You will only lose at your online business if you fail to take the steps of

learning

testing

implementing and

improving

As the three Megatrends of increasing costs, restrictive policies and corporate involvement in online auctions continue to invade the oncesafe world of the online auction seller, the people that take the steps outlined above will be the winners in the online business world.

About The Author

David Espino is the author of กBeyond eBay How to build a Home Based Internet business and make more money, working from homeก

To receive a FREE sample from this breakthrough book, click here: www.HomeBasedBusinessowner.com

Email: [email protected]

This article was posted on February 1, 2002

by David Espino

Beat The Phenomenon Of Awful Sale Statistics

Beat The Phenomenon Of Awful Sale Statistics

by: Michael Keenan

It is a purely shocking statistic, that only 4 in every 100 affiliates, actually turn over more than a few dollars. This is an truly awful statistic, but one that can be easily changed. The reasons as to why this phenomenon of awful sales occurs are numerous. In this article, I will be dealing with resell rights ebook packages, as the sales example item. However overall this article, can be applied, to any sales product.

The number one reason why sellers fail online, is caused by a lack of knowledge, as how to advertise their products. FFAกs are a good example of this. Visit any ffa page on the net and you will see people struggling. Thousands of affiliates and other sellers use these methods as their sales vehicle. It is certain you will fail if you use these type of methods. The only people who will ever see these type of sites will be other sellers. And it would have to be one brilliant product, to be able to make a successful sale, to another seller via this method.

The second main reason, are products which are sold with prebuilt sales pages. This whole process promotes a system, by which sellers think they can promote and provide websites, builtup totally with single web sales pages, and make easy money as a result. The resell products, themselves, mostly are initially purchased by sellers, because of a main sales pitch of กYou Will Make Easy Moneyก. The product itself becomes second best. Potential income becomes the sellers main driving point and this simply misses the mark totally. This is a real online marketing trap. All this provides is a one page sales pitch without the backing of any real substance. This substance can only be given by the backing of a real website, with your resale products built in, as part of it. And the products you sell should always be a necessary part of the topics covered by your website. Remember always, never sell items with standalone sales pages, without a reference point. And this reference point should always initially be found exactly, in the beating heart of the presale, that can be found on your own website. We will get to this point in more detail further below shortly.

As a further proof of another form of this lack of substance. I have recently received feedback from other sellers who have not even read the actual content of the product they are reselling. This just does not make any business sense at all. I myself sell a lot of resell rights ebook products. But they are only the products I have researched and want my own name and my company name attached to. I even recently had an affiliate send me a resell rights ebook package he purchased which consisted of an amazing sales package, it simply took my breath away. But the actually ebook product it promoted consisted of 9 pages. If I was the customer who purchased this package. I would be pretty overwhelmed, by the feeling of being ripped off, if I paid $49.95 for a 9 page ebook. And needless to say, the information that it contained, was useless to say the least. Any customer who may purchase this product, it would be safe to say, would be very cautious before they ever purchased a product online ever again. And it would be certain to say they would never purchase a product from that seller ever again either. Honesty is a word that needs to be applied totally in online sales. Forget the potential profit line for a moment. You need to be totally committed to the product you are selling. And you need to be totally committed to the principle of getting information of real value out there and into the hands of others.

So how do you succeed online with real success. Firstly if you want to make money online consistently you need, as stated earlier, a real website. It just amazes me how many sellers just don’t even have a real website of there own. You need to show potential buyers what motivates you in what you do. If you have a website system of single web sales pages. You are never going to achieve any success online. Design a website around what motivates and excites you. Build information that you have written yourself, and quality information written by others, that has real information value. Provide a website of substance that aligns itself to great informational links. Always Align your website, with other websites that have the same commitment, with exactly the ideas you hold most valuable. Show a potential buyer or even just that website visitor cruising the net. That you know exactly what you are talking about, and promote your products around this knowledge.

Secondly learn exactly how to promote your website successfully. Seek out the knowledge of others who are successful online and take in all the information that they offer. The reason why in the previous paragraph, I mentioned the need for a real website before this topic of advertising, has other benefits as well. If you have a real website you will get indexed well in the search engines. Getting indexed well, will gain you quality targeted traffic, that costs nothing. So build a good website, submit it to the engines, and simply let time take its course. For example to get into google it is going to take about 7 months, there is no way around this except just waiting. Just submit and focus on adding real value content to your website. And focus on other methods of advertising. The perfect method is to build an email list of your own. There are thousands of real valid methods on how to achieve this. The best being, by simply starting your own ezine, built around exactly the same topics which your website covers.

I hope that this article may help to guide you too success. I myself make a living off the internet. I make around 40,000 dollars per year after tax. It is not a great deal of money. I must say that I made more in my previous fulltime job. But the internet has given me the freedom, to do what I want to do, when I want to do it. Being your own boss has huge freedom based benefits. But to achieve these benefits requires ongoing plain simple hard work. There is no easy way to make money online other than hard work, that is a guaranteed fact, and covers any part of life. Everyone has the potential to make money on the internet. But to achieve this requires a real commitment to the absolute requirements of knowledge, quality, honesty, and hard work. Remember always value what you do, and how you do it, and others will value you for it. That is certain.

About The Author

Michael J. Keenan (CEO SitePromotionNow) Worked in online sales for over 5 years. email: [email protected] website: http://www.sitepromotionnow.org Also visit my new online marketing blog at http://sitepromotionnow.blogspot.com/.

[email protected]

This article was posted on September 02

by Michael Keenan

My Top Ten Tips For Selling Travel on eBay

My Top Ten Tips For Selling Travel on eBay

by: ellen mc nulty

Becoming a seller on ebay can be daunting. Becoming a travel seller can be impossible, unless you know the secrets. My tips on selling on eBay can apply to all categories of items, but some steps are unique to selling travel.

The travel industry is highly regulated on EBay, as it should be. High standards keep out disreputable sellers and scam artists, and adds to your own company’s trustworthiness when you are approved by eBay..

1. Before you are even thinking about selling travel on eBay, it is important to get a username and email address just for eBay. Registration is free and only takes a few minutes. Register as a seller and you can use the same username to buy as well. Choose a name that reflects what you sell i.e., ขBermudaboundข rather than ขsexyblueeyesข. Other eBay members will come to recognize you by your User ID, so itกs a good idea to choose one youกll want to use for the long term.

2. Your eBay name has sunglasses (i.e., read ขshady characterข) for the first 30 days, so don’t try to sell anything while you are wearing shades. Use this time to buy on eBay and learn good practices from other sellers.

3. Set up a PayPal account. EBay buyers feel more confident purchasing something from a seller who accepts PayPal. According to PayPal, ขListings that offer PayPal are 6% more likely to sell and experience a 5% average increase in final price.ข Go to www.Paypal.com. Get a business account. Registration is free.

4. In the first 30 days, buy small items on EBay, pay for them promptly. I have always found eBay sellers to offer good values, provided that you check their feedback listing first.

5. Pay your seller promptly, because then you will always get positive feedback from your seller. Your feedback profile is the most important aspect of your reputation at eBay. Feedback is extremely important on eBay, as your future buyers can evaluate you at a glance. Even one strike against you counts heavily. Your feedback score also helps later with qualifying to run banner ads on eBay, and to have eBay pay some of your advertising costs.

6. Create your ขAbout Meข page on eBay. Use this page to tell other eBay users about yourself and your interests, your experience and your products.

7. While you are waiting the 30 days, also become a) ID verified and b)square trade approved.

a) Get ID Verified through eBay as an extra sign of security for buyers. When a member gets ID Verified, a thirdparty company working with eBay confirms the memberกs identity by cross checking their contact information across consumer and business databases. Youกll see the ID Verify icon in verified membersก profiles.

b) The Square Trade Seal is one way for sellers to show bidders that they are committed to high selling standards and have had their identity verified by a third party. You will need a credit card and your IATA, ARC, or seller of travel number. Both are requirements for selling travel, and you must place these numbers as the first lines of your ads on EBay. All members listing airline tickets, cruises, vacation packages, or lodging must be participants in the Seller Verify by SquareTrade Program. This program combines verification of sellers with ongoing monitoring. For instructions on this, go to eBay.com.

8. When you are ready to list your items at auction, sell small stuff first, building customers and credibility. Sell all items with no reserve, at the lowest price you can afford to accept, and fill all orders promptly.

9. Choose carefully what you will sell. You cannot sell some travel certificates, and all listing must list the exceptions, blackout dates, and extra taxes and shipping charges. Travel agents, and other businesses selling travel services are regulated in eBay. According to the eBay rules for selling travel, ขBusinesses and individuals who sell and/or arrange air or sea travel or accommodations (but do not directly provide the travel service themselves) may list air and ship related travel items (i.e. airplane tickets and cruise trips), along with accommodations, on eBay only if they are licensed as sellers of travel lawfully able to do business in all 50 states and they themselves will be booking the travel for the winning bidder. Their listings should clearly set out their California seller of travel license number as well as any other license information required in other states. It is against eBay policy for travel clearinghouse affiliates, that are not actual agents booking the travel themselves, to list travel auctions on the site. Sellers are required to include the following disclaimer in all listings for travel exactly as it appears below and in a text size and color that can easily be seen and read by all bidders:

กBy listing this auction I verify that I am the actual travel agent or travel provider and not a third party affiliate. The travel/accommodations in this auction will be booked directly through me and not an outside agency. I also verify that, other than the government taxes and related government fees stated within the listing description itself, there will be absolutely no additional fees, charges or after auction purchases associated with booking the travel within this listing.ก

For travel services other than air or sea travel, businesses and individuals may offer gift certificates or coupons that are issued by a specific provider of travel, such as a gift certificate to a particular hotel. They may not, however, offer travel club memberships or กchoice travelก certificates.ข

10. Build a store. EBay stores are free for the first 30 days. Afterwards, they are $9.95 a month. According to eBay, Store sellers see on average a 25% incremental increase in sales the 3 months after opening their Store.ข Here is where you can list all those other items that are higher priced, but good value at a low listing fee at about 02 cents, rather than $4.80 for an item over $500. Auction and Fixed Price listings appear in your eBay Store as well as in eBay Search and Listings. The store allows your buyers to peruse your other items in addition to your auction items. Go to: http://pages.eBay.com/storefronts/openbenefits.html

For examples of travel stores on eBay, take a look at: http://stores.eBay.com/TravelIrelandandBritain_W0QQsspagenameZMEQ3aFQ3aSTQQtZkm

http://stores.eBay.com/HimalayanInternationalTours_W0QQsspagenameZMEQ3aFQ3aSTQQtZkm

About The Author

Mc Nulty is President of Lynott Tours, specialists in travel to Ireland and Britain. Ellen assists retail travel agents in listing their wares on EBay. Lynott Tours has been selling travel for 35 years, and can be found on the Internet at www.lynotttours.com.

[email protected]

This article was posted on December 10, 2004

by ellen mc nulty

12 Items You CAN’t Sell On eBay

12 Items You CAN’t Sell On eBay

by: Sydney Johnston

Millions of wouldbe entrepreneurs want to sell things on ebay. eBay is the #1 homebusiness opportunity in the world right now, so itกs natural that many are eager to find highly profitable items for resale on eBay. However, itกs important to know that there are certain items that can’t be sold. Here are a dozen of them …

Some items are copyright infringement and can actually land a seller in federal prison:

1. Knock offs of music, TV shows or movies. The กbootlegก movies, for example, are often made by guys who sneak a movie camera into a newlyreleased movie where presumably, they crouch behind a seat and make a crummy copy. There is a large production of these counterfeit items in Asia where US laws have no power.

2. Software and computer games can likewise be copied and their sale is illegal by all US laws.

Naturally, the items above may be sold if you have a copy that you purchased legitimately and no longer want.

3, The socalled ‘replicaก market for handbags, designer sunglasses and clothing is definitely forbidden although these items are often sold in physical stores around the US. Ironically, when attending eBay Live In New Orleans in 2004, we found a store in one of their famous markets selling replica purses that were not allowed on eBay.

4. Lazy and lessthanhonest sellers often steal copyrighted material from other sellers. This has happened to me many times and eBay has a program called VERO (Verified Rights Owner) that will remove offending auctions, although there seems to be no penalty attached to the seller, which is unfortunate.

5. Alcoholic beverage sales are not allowed although a beverage กcontainerก, especially those of wine, may be sold for its value.

6. Cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco or coupons for such items are not permitted on eBay.com.

The Ebay rules for collectible tobacco and alcohol containers are the same:

* The value of the item is in the collectible packaging, not in the wine/tobacco itself.

* The listing description should state that the package has not been opened, but that the twine/tobacco within is not for consumption.

* The collectible tobacco packaging must not be available at any retail outlet, and packaging must have a value that substantially exceeds the current retail price of that wine/tobacco product in the package.

* Sellers must take steps to ensure that the buyer of these collectibles is at least 18 years of age

7. Firearms are strictly regulated by US law and may not be sold on eBay.

8. Satellite and cable TV descramblers are forbidden by the Federal Trade Commission.

9. Animals and wildlife products may not be sold, which includes stuffed birds and pelts from endangered species. There are limited sales of ivory, tortoise shell, marine products and other items relating to animals. This area is quite complex and any wouldbe seller needs to thoroughly understand the various laws before getting involved in these sales.

10. Event tickets have statebystate laws that make their sale complex. Some states, for instance, forbid anyone to make more than a few dollars in profit (or no profit at all) on the resale of tickets. For instance, Florida law states that tickets can be resold at no more than face value plus $1. In such states, these regulations apply only to buyers and sellers located in the same state as the actual event, meaning if a seller lives in Florida, he can’t profit from ticket sales to Florida events. However, if he lives in any of the other 39 states, this restriction doesn’t apply.

11. Listing a catalog of items that a seller offers for sale is forbidden. The only catalogs legally sold on eBay are collectible kinds, such as an old Sears Roebuck or Montgomery Wards catalog that is memorabilia and doesn’t offer current merchandise for sale.

12. Raffles and prizes are 100% prohibited. According to eBay, such promotions are highly regulated and may be unlawful in many states.

There are other kinds of merchandise that a seller may not sell on eBay, so carefully check eBay rules before listing anything. Itกs much better to know the rules in advance of spending money that can’t be recouped.

About The Author

Sydney Johnston

Learn how to sell on eBay with 16 hours of online instruction taught by a 10 year eBay veteran. Own an eBay business instead of an eBay hobby.

http://www.auctiongeniuscourse.com

This article was posted on September 11

by Sydney Johnston

What Successful Sellers Know Others Don’t … Th

What Successful Sellers Know Others Don’t … The Subtle Art of Closing

by: Paul Shearstone

Ask any salesperson, กAt what point in the selling process does the กCloseก take place?ก Eight out of ten will answer, ขat the Endข. To be fair, they are not totally incorrect but they are, nevertheless, more wrong than right proving in principle and in practice, Peradoกs Law: Twenty percent of the sales force make eighty percent of the sales and profitability.

The questions that should then be asked are, กWhy it is so many professional sellers have it wrong?ก and, กWhat is right?ก

For decades salespeople were [and still are] taught certain accepted selling fundamentals; the best being Dale Carnegieกs 5Steps to a Sale: Attention, Interest, Conviction, Desire and Close. Perhaps a little ahead of his peers, Carnegieกs formula has certainly stood the test of time and continues to work. On the other hand, selling, like so many other disciplines, has many subtle layers that color the process, especially as it relates to the Close and like the 1/100th of a second that can separate a Gold Metal winner from Silver, the outcome in sales is equally dramatic.

The กNo Closeก KnowNots!

The last couple of decades spawned some major changes regarding how sellers were to sell and redefined some of the rules of engagement. It also produced new selling gurus convinced in theory that the กArt of Closingก was no longer in fashion. Things like their new Funnel approach all but eliminated the need to understand and hone closing techniques of any kind. History demonstrates that convincing though they were, in practice, they were dead wrong.

Regardless of whether one is selling pens, mufflers, computers or airplanes, customers still possess an innate psychological need to have what is often a new direction [the decision to buy] validated. Asking for the order and reaffirming the decisiontobuy a good one, does this and yes, it takes place at the end of the selling encounter. Not surprisingly, however, what transpires at the กFrontEndก of the sale the point successful sellers know the art of the close actually takes place is what allows this process to transpire.

From another perspective, we can draw parallels of closingstrategies to that of the last war in Iraq. Long before the firing of the first bullet or cruse missile launch, specially trained soldiers [Special Ops] had already been in Iraq for months covertly uncovering strategic information to send back to the invasion architects.

War experts agree and it’s been well documented, the job the US and British Special Ops did was so exceptional it all but captured victory before the war in the Middle East ever took place. Interestingly, those who have read Tzu Sunกs book The Art of War, would understand the uncanny parallels of the Iraqi campaign to his conflict strategies conscious too of how he [Tzu Sun] would have certainly been impressed.

What, though, should we glean from this example? An overview of the battle strategy for the Iraq war clearly demonstrates the success of the campaign was frontend loaded: first understand the enemy. Learn its strengths, weaknesses. Uncover ahead of time what challenges may be faced. Then and only then, develop กPracticed Strategiesก expressly designed to overcome any such resistance. Simply put, the Iraq war was won in the quality of its Preparation in keeping with Tzu Sunกs mantra: The war is already over before the enemy believes it has even begun.

Drawing our parallels from this to selling, customers, although not our enemy, nevertheless put forward unique challenges [real or otherwise] requiring first, an intimate and compassionate understanding of their needs BEFORE the implementation of a strategy/process using proven/practiced skills designed to garner customer Trust, Rapport and Satisfaction [the Close] ever takes place.

The Bottom Line:

Successful sellers continue to hone their closing skills ever mindful of the importance closing and the ‘Ability to Close’ has to the success of the sale. The difference for them, however, is they see the art of closing from a point most others can only see through their rearview mirror.

About The Author

Paul Shearstone aka The ‘Pragmatic Persuasionist’ is one of North America’s foremost experts on Sales and Persuasion. An International Keynote Speaker, Author, Writer, Motivation, Corporate Ethics, / Time & Stress Management Specialist, Paul enlightens and challenges audiences as he informs, motivates and entertains. To comment on this article or to book the Pragmatic Persuasionist for your next successful event we invite to contact Paul Shearstone directly @ 4167285556 or 18668554590.

www.success150.com or [email protected].

This article was posted on November 08, 2003

by Paul Shearstone