Copyright 2010 – All Rights Reserved Terms of Use: This eBook may not be reprod !ed or re sed in any form
"itho t e#press "ritten permission of the a thor$ %o have been granted e#a!tly 1 li!ense and that li!ense is for %&UR se only$
'n!ome (is!laimer: This do! ment !ontains b siness advi!e) marketing te!hni* es and
strategies) that have prod !ed s !!essf l personal res lts$ +o"ever) ' make no g arantee that yo "ill prod !e the same s !!essf l finan!ial res lts by follo"ing the advi!e belo" be!a se there are several fa!tors and variables that affe!t any b siness$ Res lts "ill depend on yo r prod !t of !hoi!e) the marketpla!e and yo r personal e#perien!e$ Certain elements may be beyond yo r !ontrol$
,iability (is!laimer: By reading this do! ment) yo ass me all risks asso!iated "ith sing the
advi!e given belo") "ith a f ll nderstanding that yo ) solely) are responsible for anything that may o!! r as a res lt of p tting this information into a!tion in any"ay) and regardless of yo r interpretation of the advice. You further agree that I cannot be held responsible in any way for the success or failure of your business as a result of the information presented below. It is your responsibility to conduct your own due diligence
Contents
Introduction......................................................................... Setting up Your Seller Account................................................................................. Setting up a PayPal Account................................................................................. Deciding What You’ll Sell........................................................................................ Building a Reputation............................................................................ Your Auction Listings................................................................................. Shipping Your Items..................................................................................... Follo ing up With Your !ustomers.............................................................................
Introduction If you think eBay might be a good place to make some extra cash, then you’re right. With 157 million shoppers, and 1 , ne! users each day, eBay is a hot market. It is an excellent place for potential sellers of all experience le"els to #uickly and inexpensi"ely set up shop. $he user%friendly en"ironment makes it a great place for the budding entrepreneur to learn the ropes !hile taking "ery little financial risk. $his report !ill pro"ide tips and !arnings of potential pitfalls that !ill assist you in setting up your account, listing your first auctions, filling orders, and follo!ing up !ith your ne! customers so they come back and buy from you again. &ollo!ing these instructions !ill lay a solid foundation for the long%term success of your ne! eBay "enture. 'etting up (our 'eller )ccount $here are t!o important things you should consider prior to setting up your eBay seller account. $he first is !hat email address you !ill use, and the second is !hat your *ser I+ !ill be. (ou should a"oid using a free email address for your account if at all possible. $he best solution is to use an email address on your o!n domain, the second best solution is one !ith your internet ser"ice pro"ider ,I'-., and the final and lest fa"orable solution is to use a free email address such as hotmail, yahoo mail, or gmail. I recommend using separate email addresses on the same domain for your eBay and -ay-al accounts ,!e’ll talk about -ay-al later.. $his !ill help you keep your auction and payment communications separate. (ou should think carefully about your *ser I+ prior to registering !ith eBay. (ou are going to !ant to /brand0 yourself in a !ay that your customers remember and recogni1e you. (our eBay *ser I+ is an important element of the branding process. (ou are free to change your *ser I+ later, ho!e"er this is not ad"isable if you can a"oid it.
2hanging your *ser I+ may result in your customers not being able to find your auctions later. When selecting your brand or *ser I+, you should consider !hat you !ill be selling and !hat image you !ant to present to your customers. If you already ha"e another business that your eBay business !ill tie into, then you !ill !ant your eBay *ser I+ to reflect that. In that case your I+ should probably be your existing business name, or an abbre"iated "ersion of it. If you !ill be selling primarily collectibles, then your eBay *ser I+ should reflect that in some !ay. If your focus is cheap items in general, then your I+ should emphasi1e cheap ,my first eBay *ser I+ !as 334cent4guy, and all of my auctions started at 33 cents.. If you’re going to speciali1e in college textbooks, then your I+ should indicate that in some !ay. 5nsuring that your *ser I+ reflects !hat you sell !ill assist greatly in ensuring that existing and potential customers are able to find you !hen they !ant to purchase !hat you are selling. $he use of !ebsite addresses ,*67s. and email addresses in eBay *ser I+s is prohibited. I ha"e personally found a !ay around this by using an asterisk before and after the *67 ,8!!!.yourgreatestyear.com8., ho!e"er doing this could result in eBay re#uiring a change to the *ser I+. 'etting up a -ay-al )ccount $he more payment options you offer potential customers, the more sales you !ill make. -ay-al is the standard method of electronic payment on eBay, and many eBay’ers use -ay-al accounts as their /mad money0 accounts. If you don’t offer -ay-al as a payment option, you !ill ne"er make a sale to these people. -ay-al is also the easiest !ay for you to accept credit cards and electronic checks as payment for your auctions. -ay-al and eBay ha"e tracking mechanisms that interact !ith each other in a !ay that makes managing sales, payments, and shipping a bree1e.
(ou should set up a -ay-al account as soon as possible, because the "erification process may take a fe! days. )t a minimum you should offer check, money order, and -ay-al as payment options on all of your auctions. ,9o!e"er, you shouldn’t accept checks from foreign bidders.. (ou can set up a -ay-al account at !!!.-ay-al.com. +eciding What (ou’ll 'ell While the online garage sale approach can be profitable, you are likely to ha"e more success on eBay if you speciali1e in a particular type of product. (our customers !ill learn to associate your specialty !ith your *ser I+, and !ill remember you !hen they are shopping for those types of products again. (ou should start by exploring your areas of personal interest. What are you an expert at, and !hat do you en:oy doing in your spare time; 'imply ans!ering those t!o #uestions is often enough to identify a niche that could be a goldmine for you. )fter ans!ering those #uestions, conduct a search of both acti"e and completed auctions to see !hat related products are in demand and bringing a price that !ill ade#uately pay for your time. It is important to note that if a lot of products in your chosen specialty are going unsold, or are selling at !ell belo! their "alue, then you need to find a different specialty. 'pend as much time on this as necessary. +i"ing into a market blind could result in a big in"estment !ith little return and a lot of unsold items collecting dust in your garage. If you’re ha"ing trouble identifying a niche, :ust take a look around your house. +o you ha"e lots of old books or record albums; 7ook them up on eBay and see !hat they’re selling for. <o ahead and auction some to test the !aters. +o you ha"e old collectibles, 2hristmas ornaments, or china boxed up and in storage; +ig it out and research it on eBay. (ou may ha"e thousands of dollars in your attic and not e"en kno! it. )nd exploring !hat you ha"e in your house could re"eal a hot product that you might other!ise not ha"e thought of.
)re there products manufactured in your area that you can buy !holesale and pick up locally; By not ha"ing to pay freight, you may be able to undercut competing sellers. 5xplore e"erything you can think of and research it fully against !hat is selling and !hat it’s selling for before di"ing in head first. $his !ill sa"e you a lot of money and frustration later. Building a 6eputation (our biggest obstacle to selling at the outset is going to be that you ha"e no transaction history on eBay. Buyers ha"e no reason to trust you. )nd the best indicator of !hether or not they should trust you to deli"er !hat you promise is your feedback rating. $his is ho! eBay describes feedback ratings= &eedback ratings are used to determine each member>s feedback score. ) positi"e rating adds 1 to the score, a negati"e rating decreases it by 1, and a neutral rating has no impact. $he higher the feedback score, the more positi"e ratings they>"e recei"ed from members. 9o!e"er, a member can increase or decrease another member>s score by only 1 no matter ho! many transactions they share. $here are t!o !ays to #uickly build feedback !hile you are establishing your ne! eBay business. ?ne is to make purchases, and the other is to sell inexpensi"e things that bidders are !illing to risk a couple of dollars on. (ou should achie"e a feedback rating of no less than @5 before listing items in your specialty ,unless you can sell some cheap items in that niche.. +oing so !ill bring more bids and higher selling prices !hen you list those items. When exploring eBay for bargains to build your feedback, you might think about picking up some business or success books. $hese are tax deductible for you as a business o!ner. ?ne book that e"ery business o!ner should read at least once a year is /$hink and <ro! 6ich0 by Aapoleon 9ill. (ou should be able to pick it up for fi"e or six dollars, including shipping. Be !ary of shipping costs !hile bidding, by the !ay. )l!ays decide the most you are !illing to pay for an item prior
to bidding, subtract the shipping cost, and bid no higher than the difference bet!een those t!o figures. (ou might also look for some books about selling on eBay, or a recent edition of /$axes for +ummies.0 If you ha"en’t recei"ed feedback by the time you recei"e your item in the mail, first lea"e feedback for the seller, then send them an email informing them that you recei"ed the item, posted feedback for them, and ask them to post feedback for you as !ell. )nother #uick !ay to build feedback is by bidding on penny auctions that ha"e no shipping fees associated !ith them. $hese are usually placed by sellers trying to recruit bidders into a business opportunity. 7isting these types of auctions is against eBay’s policies, and many !ill be closed before the auction ends. 9o!e"er you should be able to gain at least a couple of feedbacks a !eek by bidding on them. *se the ad"ance search feature to ferret them out. 'earch for the terms /no shipping,0 /free shipping,0 /free auction0 or something similar in the auction description, and only search auctions that are bet!een one and three cents. 'ort the results to display the auctions ending soonest, and bid on the ones ending in the next couple of days. Bake sure you don’t !in more than one from the same seller, as only the first feedback from each member !ill count in your rating. We also mentioned selling some cheap items that bidders !ill be !illing to risk a couple of bucks on. 'mall paperback books or other items around your house that are inexpensi"e to ship !ork !ell for this. Bark the shipping up by about a dollar more than it !ill actually cost to ship your item, and start the bidding at a penny. 5"en if the item only sells for a penny, you !ill probably break e"en on the auction after you pay your eBay and -ay-al fees. 6emember, this is about building feedback, and not about making money ,yet.. (our )uction 7istings $he best !ay to learn about the best !ay to list your auctions is by analy1ing auction listings for items that are the same or similar to !hat you are selling. $ry searching eBay for completed auctions of exactly the same item you are selling, sort the list by price ,descending., and study the listings for the items that sold for the highest price. ?bser"e the similarities bet!een the !ords in the
auction title, similarities in the auction descriptions, !hat categories the auctions !ere listed in, ho! pictures !ere used, !hether or not there !ere gallery pictures, the shipping costs, and !hat day of the !eek and times the auctions !ere listed and closed. )naly1ing this information !ill gi"e you the best information on ho! to get the highest price for your item. When listing an item, you should try to put yourself in the mind of your customer. $hink about !hat search terms your customer !ould use !hen looking for your product. $hose terms should be used in your auction title and description. )uctions for items such as collectibles, clothing, and :e!elry should al!ays include pictures. )gain, obser"e completed actions for similar items to see ho! pictures !ere used in the most successful auctions. Items such as office supplies or paperback no"els do not necessarily need an accompanying picture, though it certainly !ouldn’t hurt. 5nsure you are charging an appropriate amount for shipping. (ou !ill lose money by undercharging, and you !ill lose bidders by o"ercharging. &or expensi"e items, you should re#uire insurance, and include that cost in your shipping price. Barking your shipping up by a dollar or a dollar fifty !ill help defray the cost of your shipping supplies and auction fees. -ricing your items can be tricky. (ou don’t !ant an item to sell for less than you paid for it, but by starting the bid too high the item may end up actually selling for less than if you had started the bidding lo!er. If you are selling an item that has resulted in a sale in nearly all of the completed auctions for that item, then you are safe in starting the bidding lo!. +emand is high, so you item is "ery likely to sell. 'tarting the bidding lo! !ill dra! more bidders. Bore people bidding against each other on your auction !ill ultimately dri"e the price higher. If you !ant to make a #uick sale, you can often use the Buy It Ao! feature, and price Buy It Ao! at a couple of dollars less than the a"erage completed auction price of like items. +on’t buy features such as bold, highlight, or border. $he extra cost of these items is generally more than the feature !ill increase the selling price of your item. )fter you are more experience, you may
!ant to try featured auctions, but it is expensi"e so use it !ith caution. )fter you gain some experience you !ill also !ant to try using html in your auctions, the free listing soft!are $urbo 7ister, or a third party auction manager. 'hipping (our Items (ou should al!ays use #uality packing materials to ensure the item reaches your customer undamaged, and you should also ship the item promptly to ensure the customer is satisfied and !ill purchase from you again. )l!ays charge for insurance on items you think !ill sell for more than C5 . +on’t gi"e the bidder the choice of !hether they !ant to insure. Dust charge for it in the shipping and make it a re#uirement. If you are shipping "ia *-', your item is automatically insured for C1 at no additional cost. Become intimately familiar !ith different methods of shipping, the associated costs, and the speed at !hich the shipping method !ill get the item to your customer. Becoming an expert in shipping methods !ill sa"e you a lot of money, time and grief. It !ill also result in happy customers. Include some kind of promotional material !ith e"ery shipment. $his can be a flyer for your eBay business !ith your *ser I+ displayed prominently, it can be a brochure and order form for items related to !hat you shipped, or it can be promotional material for another related business you may o!n. (ou can e"en include promotional material for someone else’s business, and charge them to include it the packages you ship. $here is no need to ship daily. 'et a schedule of t!o or three shipping days a !eek, and stick to that. 'hipping e"ery day !ill !asted "aluable time that can be used for other tasks.
&ollo!ing up With (our 2ustomers )t a minimum, you should send three emails to e"ery customer. $he first is to congratulate them on !inning the auction, and instructing them on ho! to make payment. $he second communication is to let them kno! their item has been shipped, ho! it !as shipped ,*'-', *-', &ed%5x., and to remind them to look at your other auctions. $he third email should be sent se"eral days after you expect they should ha"e recei"ed their item. $hank them for purchasing from you, tell them you !ant to ensure they recei"ed their item, tell them you ha"e left them positi"e feedback, re#uest that they lea"e feedback for you, and remind them again to look at your other auctions. (ou should also capture the contact information of e"ery customer and use it for further follo!%ups. 2apture e"ery piece of information you ha"e access to= name, email, physical address, and phone number. 'end all of your customers an occasional email reminding them that they purchased from you before, and that you ha"e more items up for auction. (ou can e"en include links to your current auctions in the email. ?nce or t!ice a year, send them a postcard. $his !ill put you !ell ahead of your competition. (ou are no! armed !ith the information you need to get started on eBay. (ou !ill learn much more by actually doing this than by simply reading about it, so go ahead and get started. (ou ha"e all the information you need to successfully sell on eBay.
http"##auctionpro$itsee%ers.com#
&thers Are 'a%ing A (idy Pro$it From &nline Auctions) Part And Full (ime* Why Aren+t You,
Loo%ing to ma%e some -uic% cash, 'ay.e you+re loo%ing to .ecome more $inancially secure so you can $ree up more o$ your time. We thin% you ould li%e to spend more time doing the things you really lo/e) such as.... Spending more time (ra/eling more. Fi0ing those neglected tas%s around the house. 'ay.e you 1ust ant to .e a.le to go out to a nice restaurant ithout ha/ing to ro. Peter to pay Paul. We !on>t lie to you, We can>t promise you that you !ill become a billionaire. 9o!e"er, !e can sho! you ho! to set up and benefit from online auctions and do it successfully. We !ill help you get started and gi"e you the solid foundation you need to be successful. <etting started is usually the hardest part of all. ith your $amily and $riends.