Comic Book Sales On eBay - By Donny Lowy

Comic books are a constant strong seller on eBay. They have great appeal to buyers for a few reasons. In addition to their collectible appeal, they also bring nostalgic memories to those who remember when they were first sold on the newsstands.

Comic books also make excellent gifts, which makes them an ideal item for an eBay shopper who is looking to buy a gift for a relative or friend.

You can make money selling comic books on eBay if you keep the above reasons in mind. The eBay auction description for the comic books needs to reflect the reasons that people are buying them.

In other words, you need to stress their collectible value, nostalgic appeal, and gift potential.

Before you list the comic books for sale on eBay you need to do the following research.

Find out the year the comic book was published, the comic book value, and any special collectible value that it might have.

Most of this research can be easily done by purchasing a comic book price guide.

Comic book price guides are sold at your local comic book stores. I highly recommend the Wizard price guide since it will bring you up to date regarding which characters and comic books are currently popular.

Remember that most people are not experts on comic books. If you want to enjoy high profit comic book sales on eBay you need to use your descriptive skills.

Show eBay shoppers why they should be excited about buying the comic book you have up for auction.

Perhaps it’s drawn by a great artist, or written by a popular author.

You should also highlight any connections to the comic book has to a popular movie, or an upcoming movie or book release.

By following these steps you will be able to capitalize on the lucrative eBay comic book market.

Donny Lowy runs http://www.comicbookwholesaler.com an online wholesale and closeout comic book business that supplies eBay sellers, retailers, and flea market vendors.

He also manages http://www.wholesaleproductstosell.com and http://www.wholesaleproductsforresale.com
Donny can be reached at 718-389-5502

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eBay and How to Buy Your Stock at Offline Auctions - By Avril Harper

I have probably seen it all as far as auctions go and, though I've been buying at auction for more than thirty years, I still make mistakes, still find things to surprise me. This article is designed to help you avoid most of the problems typically encountered by newcomers and old hands alike.

* Visit as many auctions as you can to learn how individual auction companies operate. There are good, bad and downright ugly auction houses. All auction houses are bound by national and Statutory regulations, and all have their own independent rules detailing what they expect of bidders and buyers and what you can expect of them. Legally, national rules must be displayed somewhere prominent, in the auction catalogue, for example, or on a wall or notice board in the saleroom. Most companies combine national and company rules in one location. Read and make sure you understand what they mean and ask any questions before bidding.

* Remember auction companies vary and what is common practice in one is entirely unsatisfactory in another. Visit a few salerooms purely to view the proceedings and see how other visitors bid, how and where they collect their goods, whether you can pay by cheque, and so on. Some companies allow goods to be taken during the sale, others don’t. Some require payment on the day, others will wait ten days or more.

* Following on from the last point, be careful about goods left in the saleroom while payment clears. Typically, the auction company is not liable for the safety of your goods after the sale. If they get damaged, lost or stolen, that’s your problem, not theirs. Try to pay on the day where possible and certainly in smaller auction houses and others best described as ‘iffy’. Iffy, to my mind, describes many non-custom built salerooms, such as auctions held in abattoirs and farm sales offices, any where porters are shabbily dressed, lack knowledge of individual lots, or just seem disinterested. Generally speaking, the best salerooms are those attached to large estate agencies and valuation specialists or with custom built auction rooms.

* Arrive in plenty of time to get a really good look at anything you are interested in buying. Inspect everything very carefully. Make sure items with multiple and moving parts are intact and working properly.

* Be on your guard against popular cons, such as pieces from one lot being exchanged for bits from another, after you have viewed and just before the auction begins. Be especially careful of large lots of collectibles, such as postcards and cigarette cards in albums or boxes, stamps, pieces of vintage jewellery, sets of toy soldiers. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve viewed postcards one day, bid and paid for them the next, and later discovered the real gems of the collection were missing. The cards have been moved to another box or album, originally containing low value cards which have been bought for next to nothing by the ruthless perpetrator. Check content before leaving and inform auction staff about irregularities. It’s too late when you get home.

* The ‘panic button’ is a popular con, whereby, as you are bidding, probably against just one other person, someone will tap you on the shoulder and say something like: “Don’t touch those ornaments, they’re fakes’. In the time it takes you to realise what’s going on, some other person will have had the lot marked down to him. He and his friends have got what they wanted, in more ways than one!

* Watch out for bids being ‘taken off the wall’, involving non-existent bidders. This rarely happens in reputable auction houses, incidentally. Taking bids off the wall means what it says, and sometimes there is no-one bidding against you but the price keeps going up, and up. A dishonest auctioneer is reading your face to see just how far he can push you to bid. Confuse him, don’t rush to bid, try to look as if you are losing interest at every bidding stage.

* Remember that the price your lot is knocked down at can be inflated quite considerably by buyer’s commission and statutory taxes. Check before bidding and add likely extras to your maximum bidding budget.

* Remember you will have to get the things you buy to your home or business premises. Some auctions provide free transportation, many don’t. If you have to hire a vehicle, take this into account when deciding how much to bid for certain lots.

* Beware ex-demonstration goods; they could be damaged. Look for fingerprints and stains indicating heavy use. Avoid stock other people have been unable to sell, they’re not likely to sell for you either. Look especially for sticky patches where price labels have been removed. View goods from all angles and beat unscrupulous auctioneers’ attempts to hide damaged goods by standing lots close to the wall, arranging items tightly together, placing doilies over heavy stains, painting over patched-up holes in cars and household goods.

* Avoid items you can’t try before bidding or risk buying computers that don’t work, televisions and radios minus essential components, books with pages missing.

Avril Harper is a triple eBay PowerSeller and editor of eBay Confidential and webmaster of http://www.publishingcircles.com. She has produced a free guide - 103 POWERSELLER TIPS - which you can download with other freely distributable reports and ebooks at http://www.toppco.com

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eBay: Eighteen Profit-Busting Listing Tips - By Avril Harper

How you describe your goods is vitally important to your chances of making a little or a lot of money from every listing.

Your listing comprises not only words used in the title and body text; it includes layouts and colours, too, as well as fonts, size of text, even the length of sentences and paragraphs. These tips will help you list more products, create better listings and eventually make more money:

* Inside your listing, give viewers a reason to call back later if they are in a hurry now or not quite ready to bid. Ask them to visit your ‘About Me’ page for a free eBook or newsletter and be sure they give their email addresses for you to contact them later. You can also begin a mailing list for later sales outside of eBay. Remind them, too, to add you to their Favourite Sellers list.

* Choose keywords to describe your items and use them in the heading and body of your listings. People can choose to search according to heading (title) or by checking body text too, but few remember to check the box to include this second option. Most people will find your product by either going directly to category listings and clicking through to their appropriate sub-category or, most likely, by simply keying words to describe the item into eBay’s search tool. This means if your title does not include those keywords your listing will be missed. Check what keywords are most common when people search for items like those you are listing by going to http://pulse.ebay.co.uk (or .com or other) and continue through the sub-categories until your product type appears. Now check the most commonly keyed search terms at the left of the screen. Alternatively, go to ‘Advanced Search’, top right of screen and on the next page use keywords to describe your item and tick the ‘Completed Auctions’ box. From the results choose ‘Price: Highest First’ to locate similar items, check the keywords used in the heading on which to model your own. Be careful not to breach eBay’s stringent rules on ‘Keyword Spamming’.

* Avoid using too many bells and whistles in your listings. One that is guaranteed to make me move away really fast is the wizard that flits about the screen thanking me for visiting and generally getting in the way of everything I am trying to see. Music, flashing lights, moving conveyor belt pictures of other products from which to choose a selection – if you’re quick enough - have roughly the same effect, as do many other totally useless and generally hugely frustrating devices.

* Use colour, sparingly, in your listings, as well as experimenting with different fonts and font sizes. It all adds interest for the visitor while also creating a professional image for your business.

* Never write titles in full upper case – CAPITALS. IT LOOKS AWFUL, UNPROFESSIONAL, AND FAR FROM ATTRACTING ATTENTION IT MAKES YOUR TITLE MUCH HARDER TO READ. IT IS OKAY TO USE UPPER CASE ON ONE OR TWO WORDS IN YOUR TITLE.

* Try using html to create a more professional appearance especially in highly competitive product fields. For old postcards and other rare, sometimes one-off collectibles, basic text is fine. Where similar or identical items are available from numerous sellers, such as CDs, modern jewellery, make up, improving the appearance of your listing will help distinguish your business from others with hastily created listings packed with spelling mistakes, poor descriptions, and so on.

* Basic html is very easy to use and stunning auction templates can be created in Microsoft Word or FrontPage. Alternatively, choose from thousands of free and low-cost auction templates available online.

* Use templates where possible, it saves listing time later, and can create a more professional appearance. They can look especially good with subtle use of colours, different fonts, background designs; subtle meaning delicate, not garish or gaudy.

* Use light coloured backgrounds, not vivid red or dark blue with black text (Yes, I saw one like this only yesterday where the text was completely unreadable). If you must use patterns, use simple pastel patterns, not bold tartans or flashing backgrounds or dazzling stripes.

* Use fonts that make reading easy. Never make it too hard for visitors to read your listing or they will do the most intelligent thing. Click out and look somewhere else to buy! Most popular fonts are Times, Times Roman, Arial, New York, Verdana.

* When you find a font you like, stick with it, don’t change fonts between templates. It isn’t worth it and time wasted would be better spent on listing new items. Avoid using too much italic or other embellishing device such as embossing or shadowing in your listings.

* Do not use large fonts in your listings, except for headings and sub-headings, and even those do not need to be more than two or three sizes bigger than body text. Size 12 or 14 is adequate for body text, 18 for main headings, 16 for sub-headings.

* Very large text is a big put-off and is also difficult to read, while also absorbing more memory and taking longer to upload and download.

* Use a maximum two or three different colour fonts (including basic black or navy or other appropriate choice) and never use different colours within the same word. I know major companies like eBay do it but they are well-known, their logos are professionally created, anything less would look trashy and cheap. Not to mention hugely unprofessional.

* Keep text aligned to the left, sometimes to the right where the graphic is placed extreme left. Don’t center or justify a column of text without good reason. And there are few if any goods reasons for doing so. Centre text is difficult to read and creates odd lengths that create a totally amateurish appearance. Justified text is even worse with lengthy gaps between words which themselves are longer than average.

* Keep listings fairly narrow especially when using html. Wide listings are okay on wide screen computers, but on narrow screen computers the entire right side will be missing and few people will scroll left and right every few seconds to get the gist of your listing. eBay’s own listing boxes, that is where you type directly into eBay, and those created in Turbo Lister, are just the right size, never too long, never too short. When using html or creating your own designer template, practice using eBay’s systems first to get the desired length.

* Keep paragraphs short and always with a gap between them. And actually USE PARAGRAPHS where text extends beyond two or three lines. Notice how some listings containing hundreds, sometimes thousands of words, are created in one L – O - N - G chunk which no one in their right mind would read. Others with long, long descriptions actually use paragraphs though the effect is hardly noticeable.

* Try to stagger listings even if you list just once a week. This helps people who are bidding on several of your items and might want to check last minute bidding against them on those items. Too many of their chosen items ending within seconds of each other is confusing and frustrating for them, and means you lose out on last minute impulse bids. Using Turbo Lister you can choose how many already listed items to upload at any time, say in units of 20, and you can also alter the order of items to hopefully prevent ‘same item’ products selling within seconds of each other.

Avril Harper is a triple eBay PowerSeller and editor of eBay Confidential and webmaster of http://www.publishingcircles.com. She has produced a free guide - 103 POWERSELLER TIPS - which you can download with other freely distributable reports and ebooks at http://www.toppco.com

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eBay: Nine Phenomenal Ways to Ask for Money and Generate Orders Now! - By Avril Harper

A call to action is a device used by top copywriters to create a sense of urgency for potential customers to request more information about a product or to buy right away.

Although most sellers shy from asking for money or an immediate order, it remains the best way to maximise profits in the shortest possible time.

Asking doesn’t have to be rude, or intrusive, and can be accomplished with a single phrase in your listing or its title or sub-title, such as:

* Buy Now While the Discount Lasts.

* Buy Now While Stocks Last.

* Buy Today and Get Another One Free.

* Bid Now, Before Someone Beats You To It.

* Only Two Left – Buy Now While Stocks Last.

* Buy Now and Get (XXXX) Free – Lasts This Week Only! (Try to make that freebie something people might buy in its own right but can’t because it’s only available as a freebie).

* Put your product on auction for ten days at the same price the product is available from your eBay shop. Inside the listing, before you even mention the product say: ‘Click HERE to visit my shop and buy at the same price right now without having to wait for the auction to end and without losing out to higher bidders’.

* Sell BUY IT NOW but only for products you’ve tested and know their optimum price (the price most commonly achieved at previous auction listings for the item). Buy It Now is a great way to generate impulse buys and can be offered independently or alongside the auction option. When I had trouble selling my cufflinks at auction, starting price £9.99, I uploaded them BUY IT NOW for £9.99. They quickly sold and meant I could relist several times each week instead of waiting for seven day auctions to end.

* A visitor who finds your product isn’t quite what he wants right now might be interested in other items you already have or might source later. How do you stop that person moving away and looking elsewhere to buy? Simple: add something like: ‘If this isn’t what you are looking for, email me with your requirements and I’ll see if we have suitable items in stock. Contact me through my About Me page’. The About Me page incidentally, is the only place you are allowed to provide out of eBay contact details.

Avril Harper is a triple eBay PowerSeller and editor of eBay Confidential and webmaster of http://www.publishingcircles.com. She has produced a free guide - 103 POWERSELLER TIPS - which you can download with other freely distributable reports and ebooks at http://www.toppco.com

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Selling Antiques & Collectibles Online: What You Need to Know to Get Started - By Martin Swinton

You want to sell your antiques or collectibles online but before you get started there are a few basics that you need to know. Online auctions from Ebay to uBid.com to Yahoo! Auctions are becoming a more common venue for sellers of everything from teddy bear collectibles to antique armoires.

Research

Before you list any item on an online auction, search for your item or similar items. Watch some of these auctions until they close. Do this over the course of several weeks. This will give you a good indication of how many similar items there are currently up for auction, how many auctions are successfully completed and, the prices commanded for the item. If there are many similar items to yours listed that are not selling or selling for a low price, price your item accordingly. Conversely, if there are only a few similar items that are selling for a high price, you’ll be able to price your item appropriately.

Understand the Listing Procedures

Take some time to do an online tutorial for new sellers. Ebay offers a very thorough tutorial. You’ll learn how to set up a listing, the importance of good photos and how to include them on your listing. This is the time consuming part for new sellers and takes some time to get up to speed. Good photos and clear description are key to ensuring a successful auction because your listing is all that that potential bidders have at their disposal to make their buying decision.

Accuracy

Online auctions simply post your merchandise as described. They do not verify the accuracy of the item, that the merchandise actually exists or even guarantee that you will follow through with the sale. As a seller, you want to be as accurate in describing the condition of your item, both the good and the bad points. If there is damage, mention it in the description and show photos. The more upfront and accurate the description, the more likely the buyer will be a satisfied customer who doesn’t demand his/her money back. Buyers will call you on any unmentioned flaws and cause you justifiable grief.

It’s A Buyers Market Online

Online auctions are more of a gold mine for collectible buyers, rather than for sellers. Buyers can search for the manufacturer, colour and/or style number. The old days when the world seemed larger and items seemed scarce are gone. Online auctions have reduced the perception that an item is rare. Before online auctions, antique hunters would have to scour high and low for their favourite item and often end up paying a high price. Now, with online auctions, the scarcity of collectibles is reduced when you can search, for example, a Coca-Cola picnic cooler and see that there are currently 78 available for auction on eBay. It brings the price down of these items - not so good for sellers.

Fees For Seller

Online auctions are set up so that there are no fees charged to buyers. All fees associated with an online auction are the responsibility of the seller. Keep in mind that listing fees, reserve fees, final auction fees and display fees are how the online auctions make their money. You’ll need to factor these costs when you are determining your selling price. Buyers generally pay for shipping and handling in addition to the final selling price. However, you can factor shipping into your price and indicate so on your auction. This is attractive to bidders because they know the final cost including shipping and handling and can help to draw bids to your auction.

Ebay offers a “Buy It Now” feature where sellers can list items at a fixed price rather than through an auction. The advantage to a seller is that you may sell an item quickly if a buyer is willing to meet your price. The disadvantage is that you’ll never know if an auction might have given you a higher price.

Determining Your Selling Price

The lower the starting price the more attractive the auction is to bidders. Don’t start your auction so high that bidders are turned off. You want to start a bidding frenzy, not scare off bidders. Avoid putting a reserve on an item unless it is of great value. You pay an additional fee and it doesn’t make sense for a low priced item.

Check Buyer’s Feedback

Feedback sections are common feature on online auction. This is the place on the auction website where buyers and sellers can check the reputation of the seller or buyer. Moreover, previous buyers and sellers can post their comments on their experience with an individual. It’s a good indicator as to whether the seller or buyer is an individual you would feel comfortable doing business with, but even a spotless record doesn’t mean that your experience will go as smoothly. After the auction is completed, check the buyer’s feedback immediately for any warning signs of non-payment or multiple returns. This information may help you to proceed carefully to complete a smooth transaction.

Post Your Return Policy

Let bidders know if you will accept returns or if all sales are final. However, a flexible return policy will make your auction more attractive to bidders.

Payment Methods

Avoid cash payments because if there is a dispute, there is no paper trail to document how much you paid. Credit card payments through PayPal, a secure third party company, are a very common payment method. Credit card payments protect both the buyer and seller if there is a dispute.

Insurance & Escrow

Insurance protects the buyer and the seller. It protects up to a preset amount but there are limitations with any insurance. Escrow services are widespread and a good idea for more expensive items.

Unhappy With Your Selling Experience

There are a few avenues of recourse if you are an unhappy seller. First, contact the buyer immediately by email and/or phone to clarify the problem if they are unhappy with him or her. If this doesn’t happen or is unsuccessful, you can leave negative feedback or contact the online auction house as they will likely have a dispute resolution process or contact the police if you feel fraud is involved.

Martin Swinton owns Take-A-Boo Emporium, an antique shop located in Toronto, Canada. He does furniture restoration, caning and rushing repairs, custom reproductions, upholstery, teaches courses on antiques and does appraisals for estates and community events. He can be reached at 416-785-4555 or by visiting http://www.takeaboo.com

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How to Drive Tons of Traffic to Your Site via eBay - By C.Y. Lai

Ebay is one of the most visited sites on the net. When you hear about ebay, you might think that it is just an auction site. Do you know that, with little creativity, you can actually drive traffic to your website via eBay? Sure ebay has certain rules and regulations on external links. However, when done properly, you can utilize this heavy trafficked site to drive in targeted visitors to your websites. Personally I’ve used ebay to drive tons of traffic to my site. Here’s how:
1. Sell your e-report on eBay: E-books continue to be one of the hottest products selling at eBay. People love and want infoproducts, especially those that:

Make them feel better;

Make them more money;

Solve their problems;

As a site owner, you are already quite knowledge in your niche. Create a short report related to your niche, then sells it cheaply on eBay. In your e-report DO NOT forget to drop in the URL of your website. Invite the reader to find out more information on the relevant topic by clicking the link to your website.

Another way to make your e-report goes viral is by offering resale rights of the e-reports that you are selling. When a customer buys your e-report he can resells it later. If you look around eBay you can see that lots of sellers are selling the same ebooks which they have obtained the resale rights from the author. Now imagine each of these ebooks contain the links back to your website, don’t you agree it is a good viral strategy?

Here are some tips to produce quality reports that people want to buy:

What are the common problems of the people in your niche? Look around the forums of your related niche, what are the questions that are being asked? Create a report that offers the answers and solution.

Visit marketplace like Clickbank and Amazon. Check out the top sellers of your chosen niche and create a report of the similar topics.

Some of the hot topics I knew are:

how to cure premature ejaculation;

how to remove cellulite;

how to stop a break up;

2. Utilize “About me” page: You can create a short description about yourself from the “about me” page. Note that ebay prohibits you to link the “about me” page to your sales page. However, you can do a little self introduction and include the URL to your website. Give them good reason to click the URL. For example, tell them you have a free report which will benefit them on your website. Few examples are:

"Click here to lose 5 kg in one month!"

"If you really want to know how I make money I have a report for you.">

C.Y.Lai is a veteran internet marketer. You can learn how to earn $5000/month via eBay with no product, click here http://www.musicamall.com/ebay.htm

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eBay "Want it Now" and Reverse Auctions: Alike But Oh So Different! - By Avril Harper

eBay's 'Want It Now' format has one feature in common with genuine Reverse Auctions, namely that potential buyers post details of items they'd like to buy and wait for sellers to respond with suitable offers.

But that's where the similarity ends because genuine reverse auctions have additional features:

* In a reverse auction prices keep on going down, not up.

* Suppliers compete against one another by reducing their prices until no one is prepared to go lower. That person is usually the winner and gets to sell his stock to the person who placed the ad.

* Reverse auctions work much like items sold on tender where companies requiring goods or services invite offers from suppliers. All things being equal the lowest bidder wins the contract. But unlike the tender system, with bids normally left in sealed envelopes until the offer deadline expires and each supplier can bid just once, in reverse auctions all bids are visible and suppliers can continue bidding against one another until the lowest price is achieved.

There is a downside to reverse auctions in that suppliers might get caught in a bidding frenzy in the same way buyers do in traditional auctions, and end up pricing themselves too low and actually losing money. The same could apply using eBay's 'Want It Now' feature, where it's common to see several seller responses and some sellers making regular repeat offers at lower prices to eventually win the sale.

Want It Now is a great way to find customers fast but like reverse auctions there are problems to contemplate.

Take your time with this new concept, study people placing and responding to posts, learn from their experience and incorporate this new medium slowly into your business

Avril Harper is a triple eBay PowerSeller and editor of eBay Confidential and webmaster of http://www.publishingcircles.com. She has produced a free guide - 103 POWERSELLER TIPS - which you can download with other freely distributable reports and ebooks at http://www.toppco.com

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How to Buy and Sell Using EBay - By Khieng Chho

Buying and selling alike is not that easy especially when you are doing it on your own. You will need a lot of advertisements in order to sell or even buy a product. There are also many considerations that you should not take for granted.

For example, when buying a product you will need to have a ceiling price at a given quality of a preferred product. The ceiling price is the maximum amount that you can afford for a certain product with the highest quality assumed. This is also true when selling a product using an auction site. You have to set a bottom price before letting the product be sold. The bottom price is the minimum price that you want to sell your product.

One of the famous buy and sell portal is the EBay. There are many EBay sites around the globe. Mostly the sites are according to the place. This was done to avoid custom and shipping laws from every country.

Here are some steps on how to buy and sell using EBay auction site:

1. Monitor the product that you want to buy or the product that you are selling. Take note of the rates for it. Look for similar products at the archives of the auction site and compare it with your product.

2. In buying, it is advised to check the history of the seller, this to know the positive and negative comments for the seller. EBay auction site are self-policing. Buyers and sellers may give feedbacks for each other. In EBay, the seller and the buyer uses a username and does not directly give their real full name. However, it can be given to you to complete the transaction. Keeping the full names of both parties is done to protect the identity of the seller and the buyer.

3. Do not be ashamed of giving feedbacks to other sellers. This will help them know what is going on with their selling strategies. Doing this also may encourage other seller to make feedbacks to their fellow ebayers.

4. Do not be afraid of asking questions about the product or the seller’s business techniques and information. If there is anything that you doubt about the seller, resist from bidding.

5. When bidding on an auctioned product, be sure to add pennies to your bidding price. For example, the last bid is $25.00, add another $.05. You may beat the other bidders with a penny if in case.

6. Do not bid, buy or sell a product without knowing how much the shipping cost is. When buying, you must know the shipping cost beforehand to avoid overpricing.

7. EBay auction site honors the use of debit and credit cards. This is the fastest, easiest and safest way to pay for a product on an online auction site.

Khieng 'Ken' Chho is author and owner of Online eBay Resources. For related articles and other resources, visit Ken's website: http://ebay.onew3b.net

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Bidding on eBay - HOME::Internet-and-Businesses-Online/Auctions

eBay is a fun experience. You can find practically any item you want – even if it hasn’t been stocked in the shops for the last twenty years! There are some real bargains to be found, and bidding against other people all adds to the fun.

Here’s how to find and then bid on an item on eBay.

Obviously the first thing to do is find an auction that you wish to place a bid on. You can either select a suitable category and just browse what’s available, or you can perform a search using the eBay search function. This is certainly the easiest way to locate what you’re looking for. Remember to search for multiple terms – not every auction for the same thing will contain the same keywords in the title!

So once you’ve found an eBay item, you need to carefully check over the details. For a start, how much postage is the seller charging? Something that’s listed for $1 may not seem like such a bargain if you discover that you’ll have to pay $15 postage and packing on top of that!

You must make sure you check the sellers feedback. If they appear shady then don’t even think about bidding.

When you’re ready to place your bid, enter the maximum amount that you’re prepared to pay for the item, and click on the button to confirm. The eBay page will then either tell you that you’re the current high bidder, or that you need to go back and enter a higher amount. If you see the latter then you need to consider whether you’re willing or not to raise your bid. If you see the former then congratulations - as long as nobody else places a bid that is higher than your maximum bid then the item is yours!

Top Bidding Tip – A lot of people choose to leave it until the last seconds of the auction before they place their bid. While some people question the fairness of doing this, it’s a great way of ensuring nobody outbids you. The drawback of course is that you won’t have time to amend your bid should you need to. There is even software available that will do this for you! If you’re interested just go to Google and type in the keywords “bid sniper” to get more information.

So you’ve won the item and you’re ready to pay for it…

If you’re paying for your eBay purchase by PayPal, it’s simply a matter of clicking the link in the eBay end-of-auction invoice and paying the seller the correct amount.

If you are intending to pay by check or postal order for example, you’ll need to email the seller and find out their address. You can usually find this information in the details section once you’ve won your item. Remember, it’s always good to maintain great communication throughout the process with the seller, this ensures everyone is happy! Don’t hesitate to email or even call the seller if you’re confused or have questions.

Now it’s just a case of waiting for your purchase to arrive.

When it does, the last stage in the transaction process is to let the seller know you’ve received the goods, and then to leave the seller feedback. If it was a positive experience, let other people know. One of the great things about the eBay community is that you can check an eBayers past performance. Make sure you improve the eBay community by always leaving feedback on ALL of your transactions.

Chris Vendilli is the owner, founder, and CEO of The 3 Rivers Auctions Company. Be sure to visit his website at http://www.3riversauctions.com to get eBay tools, tips, strategies, info, and secrets! While you’re there sign up for the information packed weekly newsletter and the discussion forums. You can network with other members, advertise your own auctions or website, ask questions, and get answers!

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Create Winning Auction Descriptions - By Chris Vendilli

You’ve managed to get people to click onto your auction, now you must convince them to buy your product. eBay is a highly competitive environment. People that don’t do the ‘right’ things will fail. It’s harsh, but true.

This brief article shows you how to create listings that produce sales. I won’t pretend that this is a ‘secret’ winning formula, but I do say that to be successful you should be doing as many of the things below as possible.

Be descriptive.

eBay buyers absolutely hate vague descriptions. It creates a lack of trust between you and the buyer. If you think about it, it’s easy to see why. ebay doesn’t involve any face-to-face selling. Buyers don’t have the item right in front of them like they do in a shop. They must rely on the seller to provide them with an accurate description of the goods. Would you spend $100 on an item you knew very little about? I know I wouldn’t.

So be descriptive. How?

Include every point people might want to know.

If I were selling a pair of trousers for example, I’d at least include the waist size, leg length, material type, and condition of the trousers.

Point out any blemishes.

It’s easy to leave out from the description a minor mark on the item, or a slight blemish in the quality, but you absolutely MUST point out any defects. Buyers would much prefer that you were honest with them.

Include photographs of the item.

People feel much more comfortable buying something that they can actually see. It helps to decrease the ‘barrier’ between you and the buyer. You’ll find it increases sales, and it’s extremely easy to do nowadays. If you don’t presently have a digital camera, you MUST get one now. You really don’t have to buy a professional one – a cheap camera from eBay will probably do the job just fine.

Use the HTML editor when listing.

When listing an item, eBay includes a little editor that allows you to create enhanced descriptions. For example, you can change the text colour, font size, or change the layout of your advert. Make sure you use it! It looks so much more appealing and professional to buyers than a mass of plain text.

Include postage and packing charges

It sounds quite obvious, but many people forget to inform people how much it’ll cost them on top of the auction price to get the item shipped. As a buyer, if I can’t find this information then it sets the old alarm bells ringing. For all I know, you could be about to rip me off on postage. I wouldn’t be the first!

Be persuasive.

You’re trying to sell something to people here so make sure you do so! Why should I buy your item? Why shouldn’t I instead go to a rival eBay seller? What makes your item so special that I must place a bid right now?

Chris Vendilli is the owner, founder, and CEO of The 3 Rivers Auctions Company. Be sure to visit his website at http://www.3riversauctions.com to get eBay tools, tips, strategies, info, and secrets! While you’re there sign up for the information packed weekly newsletter and the discussion forums. You can network with other members, advertise your own auctions or website, ask questions, and get answers!

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How to Spot Fake Deals On eBay - By Chris Yarbrough

With millions of auctions running at any hour of the day, there is no doubt good deals abound on eBay. From flea treatments for your dog, to a mini-van for hauling your family around, the selection runs the gambit. With everything under the sun for sale, the only thing an auction surfer needs to know is whether or not to actually put in a bid.

Recently I was auction surfing for a new 20.1 inch flatscreen LCD monitor. Like anyone else working from home, my equipment costs fall on my shoulders, and I must undergo a delicate balancing act between, do I really need it, and can I get a good deal. Having already perused a few dozen price and spec comparison websites, I had a good idea of which model I wanted and the average price I could expect to pay. A simple search for 20 inch LCD monitor brought up a few hundred to choose from. Prices ranged from absurdly high, to “you know it’s a scam” low. There were however, dozens of monitors priced at reasonable, yet believable prices. Too good to be true?

The model I had focused in one was from Dell. It had gotten good reviews, and the discount from dozens of eBay sellers was tempting enough to almost make me click the “buy it now” button. The shipping was indicated as “calculate,” so I clicked it and input my zip code. Almost $100 to ship an LCD monitor. High? Seemed that way, but I’ve never had one shipped, and anything is possible.

Hopping over to Dell’s site, I pulled up the same monitor. The price was much better on eBay, but the shipping from Dell was free. After some basic math, the cheap eBay price with shipping turned out to actually be one of the worse deals on that particular LCD I could get. Checking around, I soon found the stock photos and specs the sellers on eBay were using in their auctions, and putting two and two together, I figured out what they were doing.

The eBay sellers were using a rudimentary low price tactic. They mark down the price, and count on the buyer not checking the shipping until the auction has been purchased. Even with the high shipping, a buyer may still equate the price paid for the monitor as being a good deal, and just assume the shipping price from everyone is in the same ballpark.

What the eBay sellers were actually doing, was acting as their own dropshippers. They created an auction using Dell’s stock photo’s, claimed they had the items in stock, and used terms like “special purchase,” or “largest seller on eBay.” In actuality, they were selling the LCD to buyers, and then purchasing one from Dell after they had received the buyers payment. They then have Dell send it to the buyers address, and pocket the massive markup in shipping; in this case, $75.

The same tactic was used for desktop systems, laptops, flatscreen TVs, and several other items I looked at. While the “buy it now” price was substantially lower than anyone else was offering, the price plus shipping actually exceeded the final cost of everyone out there.

In this case, a little homework and price checking saved me $75. Unfortunately, after looking at the various sellers completed auction results (see my previous article for how to do this), I found there were a lot of people who had not bothered to check. Hopefully, after reading this article, you won’t fall into their ranks.

Chris Yarbrough writes for Ebay Guides, a free resource site with hundreds of articles and guides. You can view his guides at http://www.ebay-guides.com.

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Sourcing For Cars To Sell In Ebay Car Auctions - By Ricky Lim

Selling high-priced items such as ebay car auctions is getting more and more popular these days. In fact, according to ebay motors, a vehicle is sold very 10 seconds, a car part or accessories is sold every second. Over 10 million shoppers visit ebay motors every month looking to buy cars or car parts.

The reason why ebay car auctions are popular among ebay sellers is pretty obvious since the profits per sale are high. You only need to sell 1 to 2 cars on ebay motors each month to make a handsome profit.

So how do you find cars to sell on ebay motors? Basically I have used 2 ways.

Car Dealers

Believe it or not, there are still a lot of car dealers who are still advertising offline via the usual marketing methods such as advertising in car magazines, posters, tv and radio.

From my personal experience, the main reason why these car dealers do not sell on ebay motors is not because they do not know about ebay. It is because they do not have technical knowledge of uploading photos, putting auction description and such. One car dealer I know of have not touched a computer in his life!

So this is where you can come in and offer your services and in return if the car is sold successfully on ebay motors, you get a commission. I don’t need to tell you even if it is a just 2 percent commission, you could still get a few hundred dollars easily.

Classified Ads

If you flip through your daily newspapers, you can probably find a lot of people trying to sell their cars in the classified ads section. Some of these people have been advertising for quite a while which could mean they did not manage to sell their cars.

You could contact them and offer to sell their car. Since they could not sell their car, it should not be too difficult to convince them to give you a shot at selling it. In return, you arrange with the car owner to receive a small commission for your work.

The above 2 methods have worked well for me. The good thing about both methods is you get to pick which cars you want to sell particularly for classified ads. If you have been on ebay motors for a while, you will realize certain types of cars sell better and more easily than others. Examples are classic or vintage cars. Basically cars that are rare or unusual.

One thing you have to note is most car dealers will probably not give you a exclusive time period to sell the car. Therefore in your auction, always state the car is on sale on other sites or other ways and that you reserve the right to end the auction early.

Ricky Lim is a ebay seller who has been quietly earning a comfortable living online. Visit his site for more ebay selling secrets and ebay car auctions tips.

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Posh Up Your eBay Listings and Pack More Money Into Your Bank Account - By Avril Harper

Some words just sound better than others meaning much the same thing and can create an air of mystery and excitement for your products. 'Gold Plated' for example, sounds cheap; 'Vermeil' and 'Gold Overlay' sound just that little bit more expensive! Here are some more ideas to help you make ordinary things sound very impressive.

* 'Reprint' means a copy of something else, often an old item in the public domain, and most people know what it means. 'Second strike' is a term I've seen applied to reproduction postcards which has generated double figure bidding for something worth pennies which can be printed millions of times from the owner's computer. That term 'second strike' was confusing even to me and I've been in the postcard business for years; it's a term best avoided. It's dishonest to use words just to confuse bidders into thinking your product is something it isn't, so exercise caution choosing words to dress up your listings. That 'Second Strike' example is acceptable where a definition is provided alongside so bidders know exactly what it means.

Let these ideas be your guide:

- 'Vintage' sounds better than 'Old'.

- 'Pristine' beats 'Perfect'.

* Descriptions are subjective. My idea of 'good condition' may be different from yours. Today, a postcard I listed as 'good condition' fetched a complaint from the buyer that the card was a little faded. That was true, but the card was 104 years old and a little fading on a real photographic postcard, to my mind, is not a major problem. I explained this, offered a refund, the card is now on its way back. Face it, your opinion will not always match the buyer's and it's better to offer a money back guarantee in all of your listings, as long as the product is returned in 'as posted' condition. For argumentative buyers, explain that descriptions are subjective, you stand by your original wording, and offer a refund where second chance buyers exist or just relist the item.

This is the wording I use in my listings which you are free to copy. 'All items are listed to the best of my abilities and reflect my own experienced opinion. However, all items are subject to money back guarantee in the event they are inadvertently mis-described, as long as items are returned within ten days of auction ending. All returns must be by insured post. Refund only applies to items returned in 'as posted' condition.' I'm quite certain this simple paragraph has saved some unscrupulous buyers lodging an 'Item not as described' notice to eBay. You are not obliged to return original or return postage but it's worthwhile doing so on low price items just to rid yourself of problem customers.

Avril Harper offers Internet Marketing Articles to help new and experienced marketers and also offers a range of downloadable free reports including 103 EBAY POWERSELLER TIPS at http://www.toppco.com

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Sell Corkscrews on eBay - By Avril Harper

I knew I'd found something special when a colleague who normally sells vintage postcards turned to listing corkscrews instead. She's someone I check out often, use as a role model, she regularly achieves high prices for her postcards, I've learned a lot from her. But I stood to learn - and earn - a great deal more from this new-found interest of hers: vintage corkscrews.

The very first of her offerings, a corkscrew with handle shaped like a mermaid, made over £1,000. Others, also with novelty and ornate handles, have fetched double figures and, from my experience, they're commonly found at offline auctions and flea markets where price tags of two or three pounds are common.

Marvel at these recent eBay finishing prices: a rare 'flip out' (misspelled, should have been flip out) made from brass and resembling a flick knife made £2,051.61; an Italian stirrup shaped corkscrew went for £2750.00; a ratchet corkscrew from 1869 fetched $1812.77, not one of which were well described or blatantly unusual.

Tips to Help You Buy and Sell Corkscrews for Profit

* Corkscrews have been around since the mid-1600s but it's those from 1850 onwards that fetch the highest prices at auction. Before this, most household objects were made to be used, not looked at, so they were plain, functional, not ornate and grandiose such as some appearing in the late 1800s which now fetch fabulous prices on eBay. So, generally speaking, the more ornate and elaborate the corkscrew the higher its price is likely to be.

* That said, I've seen very plain corkscrews priced about £1 a time at flea market fetching a fiver or more on eBay so it's worth buying anything that's genuinely old and very cheap. 'Dirty' usually indicates old and because few plain corkscrews become auction best sellers you'll rarely find them faked or made to look older than they really are. They're always worth buying!

* The earliest designs comprised a steel spiral fixed to a wooden handle. Subsequently handles became precious works of art, made from silver or gold, encrusted with diamonds or inlaid with ivory or mother of pearl. In time the simple spiral was replaced by mechanical devices to make opening bottles easier still, some even had a small brush attached for cleaning dust from bottles removed after years of maturing in dusty cellars. More desirable and consequently more valuable are specimens with unusual attachments such as brush or bell cap (a metal piece to fit over the bottle neck), containing precious jewels or painstaking artwork.

* The Victorians' love of all things new-fangled, somewhat risqué, and heavily ornate, spawned some of the most beautiful and highly prized items. They include a multitude of corkscrews just sold on eBay, with 'Victorian' in the title, that fetched forty to eighty pounds each, and all looking rather ordinary, with simple wooden handles and commonplace screw. Similar vintage items not labelled 'Victorian' reached lower prices. That word 'Victorian' could double your corkscrew's value, as long as it's true!

* My research revealed antique French creations fetching two to three times their corresponding English manufactures.

* Add something a little unusual or with separate use and corkscrew prices rise, such as a folding antique corkscrew that fetched £158.00, a French creation depicting a champagne bottle with pocket knife in the handle that made £159.99, and a UK corkscrew shaped like ladies' legs that went for £185.00.

* The screw is sometimes called a 'worm' or 'helix' and was made from twisted wire or cast into shape. Because corkscrews were constantly used and in regular contact with water and alcohol, the worm on older corkscrews is frequently found broken, damaged or heavily rusted. Rust can be cleared or reduced with oil which also keeps moving parts in working order. Serious damage or sloppy repairs to screw or handle can render a common corkscrew almost worthless and will seriously reduce value of most highly prized specimens.

* The most collectible corkscrews are those with ornate handles, unusual mechanisms, popular maker's name. Precious metals add significantly to resale value. Popular makers include Merritt, Gaskell and Chambers, Lund Lever, Samuel Pemberton.

* A past famous owner increases value significantly, and there are collectors specializing solely in items once owned by the likes of Al Capone and other gangsters alongside more respected citizens such as U.S. Presidents, well known entertainers, writers, and so on. Study the long list of corkscrews with past famous owners at the Virtual Corkscrew Museum: http://www.bullworks.net/virtual/signat.htm

* As for virtually any collectible, the addition of a popular theme or subject, for instance a dog or frog depiction, a sport or hobby, leads to multiple bidders from several eBay categories and can fetch unexpectedly high prices. By far the best corkscrew-related web site I studied values a corkscrew with rare Swedish penknife attached at £150 and another with a boy's head made from a golf ball at £170. (http://www.corkscrewcentre.com - based in Brackley, Northants, UK).

USEFUL SITES

http://www.corkscrew.com

http://www.corkscrewcentre.com

http://www.bullworks.net/virtual/signat.htm (Virtual Corkscrew Museum)

Avril Harper offers Internet Marketing Articles to help new and experienced marketers and also offers a range of downloadable free reports including 103 EBAY POWERSELLER TIPS at http://www.toppco.com

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Setting Realistic Goals for Your eBay Business - By Kenny King

Setting goals sometimes seems like a useless task. It would seem if you want to do something, you just get to it and finish. Though that sounds easy enough, I think there is more to it than that.

Having something to work towards is important. If everyone’s business plan, or goal, were simply, “Make More Money” most businesses would not succeed. Though you can’t practically say, “My eBay business is just like Microsoft”, I believe it is a mentality that gets us where we want to be.

Success is measured subjectively, relative to each person. For some, hitting the million dollar mark is success, while for others it is the simple fact of being able to quit their job to stay at home and have that freedom. It’s important to establish what it means to be successful for you. Don’t just think about it, write it down. Know what you want, and don’t forget it. Ideas in our head almost always seem to drift away if we don’t manifest them somehow and sometimes immediate action isn’t possible… so simply write it down.

The practical thing to do, however, when it comes to eBay, is to measure your current business, or, if you’re just starting, to know how to measure it. This means taking into account your total sales and everything that goes along with that, such as your eBay fees, Paypal fees, what percentage of auctions ended successful compared to how many items were listed and the average price each item sold for.

If this sounds overwhelming, take a step bank and look at the whole picture. If you’re an established business, it’s as simple as measuring each statistic above within any given time period. Take auctions listed each week, month, and depending on how old or young your business is, each year. If you’ve just started, each week you list, measure these statistics after each of your listings end. This way, you’ll know which items are selling well, where you can change certain aspects of your business, and, most importantly, how much profit you’re making.

One of the most important parts of measuring your business statistics is to know eBay fees. I sometimes get excited about how much I’ve sold and looking at the price on My eBay, think that I did well. Then I pay my eBay fees and realize I did not do quite as well as I had thought. If you have an accurate knowledge of eBay fees, this will increase your potential for profit.

Of course, you’re wondering what all this has to do with setting a goal for your eBay business. Pretty much everything. If you know your business inside out, you can set realistic goals that you’ll know which areas of your business to improve. Making more money as a goal, then not knowing how to get to that goal, leaves you stagnant, and, worst of all, making the same amount of money.

So, define what success is to you and write it down. Then measure every aspect of your business, whether you just finished your very first week of listings ever, or you’ve been in business for a few years, or ten years. Then use that knowledge to meet realist financial goals in accordance with your own definition of success.

Visit Kenny's Site Here: ebay selling. Also, the ebay selling blog

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How to Fix Negative eBay Feedback - By Chris Yarbrough

As the editor of ebay-guides, one of the largest article requests I get is for fixing damaged feedback. Now don’t read anything nefarious into this request; there are hundreds of reasons why someone may receive bad feedback. There is little doubt feedback is very important for both buyers and sellers. A rating in the high 80’s or low 90’s and you can almost forget about doing anything on ebay. While most negative feedback is well deserved, there are those out there who will use it to make threats or demand concessions. The “give me what I want or else,” scenario seems to be the most prevalent. Should someone be able to hold your rating hostage? Certainly not, and the purpose of this article is to show you how to overcome a malicious feedback.

An unfortunate problem when you have a global marketplace like ebay, is the guaranteed number of bad apples. Ebay does their best to weed these individuals out, but they can’t get everyone. Every once and a while someone will order an item and it will arrive in the mail damaged, or worse, not even close to what was paid for. Contacting the seller to resolve the issue then results in the threat of negative feedback, and an all caps attack on an otherwise perfect feedback rating. Basically, the seller is employing a method I like to call "mutually assured destruction." In the same way it has prevented nuclear war, it will often allow sellers to get away with things they should not be getting away with. You say “bad seller” he says “you never even paid for the product, or, AVOID AT ALL COSTS.” It is a no win situation. Or is it?

The fear of receiving negative feedback not only sours users on ebay, but it also helps that bad seller stay in business. Instead of avoiding the bad feedback experience, embrace it. Turn on the flamethrower and blast the seller, and when you get hit with retaliatory feedback, bury it. How? Simple. Buy positive feedback. While ebay would prefer you don’t, and they take enormous steps to stop people selling it, there are really no fallouts to buying it. So how much does it cost? About .01 cent. Surprised? Many people are. Yet day in and day out millions of positive feedback are purchased for one penny each.

If you find yourself in need of fixing a negative feedback left by another vindictive ebayer, simply do a search for ".01 cent ebook or .01 recipe." This should bring up several thousand auctions; more than enough for you to bury that negative feedback.

Don’t abuse the system, as buying too much feedback can be just as bad as selling it. Buying 25-50 positive feedbacks over a day or two should cause no problem for you as a buyer. I’ve employed this method in the past, testing it as both a buyer and a seller with no problems. As a final note, I suggest buying from sellers who have marked their auctions as private. There is no point in fixing your feedback if anyone can click on the most recent received and see they are all .01 cent buys.

Chris Yarbrough writes for Ebay Guides, a free resource site with hundreds of articles and guides. For more guides like this visit, http://www.ebay-guides.com

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Protect Yourself from eBay Scams - By Khieng Chho

While eBay may be heaven for eager buyers and sellers, it can also be trap for those who don't know any better. If you're not cautious enough, you could end up sending your hard-earned cash to somebody only to find out later that the item you ordered has a gazillion defects or, worse, will never, ever, reach your doorstep.

So to spare yourself the hassle, since most professional eBay scammers are hard to track down, here are some tips to protect yourself from the onset.

1) Ask for photos

Only buy goods that have clear, well-lighted images attached. This will give an assurance that the seller actually has the item with him and is not just making something up. Check the image posted on eBay against the photos on accredited web sites and catalogs. Who knows? You might even discover that getting it brand new from another, more trusted site, is cheaper.

If the Ebay seller cannot produce photos, the offer could be a hoax.

2) Check the eBay seller's background and reviews

You can always click on the seller's user history to know what he has sold and bought over eBay before and if he has participated in other auctions. Check the feedback other buyers and sellers wrote about him and ask questions from people who have already closed transactions with him. Also, look at his "Member Since" profile. Based on previous cases, those who have been eBay members for a long time but were not active and those who are new members are the ones most likely to commit fraud.

Find out if the seller's registered address is the same as the address he told you to send money to. If these do not match, the deal might be a scam. If a phone number is given, give the seller a call. But, to do this, you will first have to place a bid on the item. When in doubt, call.

3) Know what you're buying

Nothing beats educating yourself about the product you're buying. If the eBay seller claims the item is antique, have it checked out. If you have a friend who lives in the area where your seller is located, have your friend go over and have a look at the item. Or you can search for more information online. You might even be able to find a more reliable store that offers the same product as a lower price.

4) Investigate the seller's payment options

Wire transfers are a dubious trade. If the eBay seller accepts only that or money orders, you could be putting yourself up for a hoax. It would be better if he has credit card payment options, so you can easily call your bank to reverse the transaction when you find out you'd been duped.

5) Ask about the seller's return policy

If your seller is not willing to give you a refund or is not willing to acknowledge any responsibility for the item you bought after it was sent to you, start getting cautious. You see, if the seller declares a "hands-off" approach to post-selling issues, you will have a hard time pressing claims against him. And because eBay is a free market, you will not be able to demand too much help from the eBay administration either.

The Internet can contain both real-deal sellers and scammers. When you really think about it, the only way you can definitely be sure about the credibility of your seller is to ask a lot of questions and to be always vigilant. The tips above are not set in stone, so they are not always right for every occasion. It is really all up to you (and your instincts and research skills).

Khieng 'Ken' Chho is author and owner of Online eBay Resources. For related articles and other resources, visit Ken's website: http://ebay.onew3b.net

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eBay's Powerseller Spyware - A Guide to Spying on Powersellers and High Volume Sellers - By Chris Yarbrough

For anyone who’s ever wondered just how much money a powerseller can make on eBay, there is good news; eBay has a built in spy program. This brief guide will show you how to access the proper pages on eBay to start the spy software, and further, how to use it to identify hot products and price points.

To start with head over to eBay and pick a product you are interested in researching. If you are drawing a blank, type in the following: Gateway. This will pull up several thousand listings. You’ll want to narrow that down a bit. On the left-hand side of the screen is a menu called “matching categories”. Click on the top category which is “Computers and Networking.”

After you have pulled up this category move over to the right-hand side of eth screen and click the button “sort by.” Highlight the option “Price: Highest First.” This will rearrange the listings by price. After the screen has refreshed, scroll down to the page until the vast majority of the listings are laptop and desktop systems. Most of these will be priced from $600 to $1000. Take a close look at the pictures. Ignore any listings that look like they were photographed on a kitchen table, and chose one that looks like a stock photo. Click the auction.

Check the seller’s feedback; the higher the better. You are looking for someone who sells, or at least lists, a lot of items. A powerseller with a high feedback number would be ideal. Under the sellers name is a small menu. Click the button marked “View seller’s other items.” If there is only one item listed, find another seller. Once you’ve found a seller whom you would like to spy on scroll down the menus on the right-hand side until you find one called “Search Options.” The fifth box down in this menu is called “Completed Listings.” Check the box and click the button marked “Show Items” located a little further down.

The next screen that comes up shows completed listings from this seller. The listings with green prices are completed listings, and the red are listings that expired unsold. Take a look at what the seller has had success selling, and the price points. In addition, pay attention to the shipping and handling charges. Once you have finished looking over this sellers sales, chose a few more sellers and do the same thing.

Using this simple guide is the easiest way to determine exactly who is selling what, and for how much. This is one of the most detailed looks at eBay selling, and the best part about it is, it’s free. There is no need to pay a company a monthly fee to tell you what’s hot, and what’s not. You can determine this for yourself using eBay’s tools. While it is unlikely this was eBay’s intended use for this feature, it would be foolish not to take advantage of it.

Chris Yarbrough writes for Ebay Guides, a free resource site with hundreds of articles and guides. You can view his guides at http://www.ebay-guides.com.

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Avoid The eBay Snipers! - By Lionel Estridge

Sniping always occurs when a bid is about to end. Sniping is against the rules at eBay, but in most cases, even if you report it, the sniper will get away with it. In order to avoid losing the items you want to snipers at eBay, you have to take on the sniper way of thinking. You also need to snipe in a way that will not violate eBay's rules.

Snipping can be done in one of two ways. The first way is the safest, but not necessarily the easiest. Simply keep up with the item you are bidding on. And make certain that you are in front of your computer and logged into the auction well before that exact time. The idea is to either bid higher than the highest bid during the last few seconds - which is what snipers do - or to just make sure that you are not outbid by a sniper.

Keep in mind that sniping is against the rules, so you should log in about thirty or forty five minutes before the bidding ends, and get your bid up until it is the highest bid. If you've been logged in for a while, this cannot be considered sniping.

Unfortunately it is very hard to bid against people who use bidding software. So here is the second method.

Snipping services are easy to find online, and they are fairly cheap. You can also buy your own snipping software. If you want to become a sniper, purchasing your own software is usually the best way to go if you bid on a lot of items.

But remember that it is against the rules, and while eBay hardly ever enforces this rule, you will be running the risk of getting banned from eBay.

Outbidding somebody is one thing, sniping is something altogether different.

Get eBay tips, and tricks directly into your mailbox: ebay1@aweber.com or more at: http://www.lionel1.com/ebay1.htm

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How eBay Took Over The World - By Seb Fernando

On September 4th 1995, San Jose resident Pierre Omidyar created the foundation to what would soon become one of the most prominent figures on the Internet. The site was originally intended to be an online marketplace where individuals could sell goods or services, though was to become so much more in the decade that was to follow.

Omidyar’s creation was originally known as Auctionweb, and formed a small part of his personal site. The first item to be successfully sold was a broken laser pointer, which eventually sold for around $14 following a small bidding war. Astonished by the interest generated by this item, Omidyar realised that if he could sell a broken laser pointer, then it was quite possible he could sell anything.

In 1996, Pierre Omidyar hired Jeff Skoll as the company’s first president, who is now also attributed as the cofounder of eBay.

Two years after the creation of Auctionweb, the company officially changed its title to eBay. Originally, the site was owned by Omidyar’s consulting firm, Echo Bay Technology Group, and as such, Omidyar wished to use the name EchoBay.com. However, this domain was already taken by Echo Bay Mines, which led to the shortened version, eBay.com.

Already the site had over 200,000 members, and had also reached 1 million auctions earlier in the year. This was already phenomenal success, far beyond the early expectations of Omidyar, but unknown to him, the best was yet to come.

In May 1998, Meg Whitman joined eBay as CEO. Having studied at Harvard Business School, it was her role to maintain the success and growth eBay had so far experienced. Using her experience and business connections, Meg brought together a skilled management team, which went on to create a strong vision for the future of eBay. Later on in the same year, eBay enlisted on the stock market, giving investors the opportunity to share in eBay’s success.

Although eBay was already an established and reputable online business, their position was further enhanced by the acquisition of multiple companies over the following years. Since 1999, eBay has purchased and invested in several online auction websites and auction houses in order to gain a greater share of the market outside of the US. These included auction house Alando in 1999, Dutch competitor Marktplaats.nl in 2004 and Swedish online marketplace Tradera.com in 2006.

Other notable acquisitions included online payment system PayPal in July 2002 for $1.5 billion in stock and Voice Over IP
company Skype in September 2005 for $2.6 billion in stock and cash. Not only have these purchases extended their reach outside of the online auction market, but have also illustrated the financial power held by eBay.

Currently, eBay has over 181 million registered users worldwide, and over $1,511 in goods are traded via eBay every second worldwide. These are impressive figures, especially when you look back 11 years to 1995 where it all started with one auction and few more than a handful of users.

However, eBay has had more than its fair share of controversies over the years, including several court cases that were highly publicised. eBay has also come under scrutiny over several of its auction practises, and a recent example is the process of ‘Bid sniping’, whereby buyers submit a high bid seconds before the close of an auction, thus giving other interested parties little or no time to counter the bid. Whilst eBay allow this practice, other auction sites such as Yahoo! extend the auction time should a last minute bid be placed.

A more common problem encountered by eBay, and more often its subsidiary PayPal, is fraud. In recent years, the number of Emails claiming to be from eBay and Paypal requesting personal information has increased dramatically. Whilst most Internet
users are aware that these are fake, many still fall into the trap and give away personal details such as usernames and passwords, allowing those behind the scam to make purchases and steal money from PayPal and bank accounts.

It cannot be denied that eBay is one of the most successful ventures in the history of the Internet, and that its success is down to hard work, innovation and a highly motivated management team. The fact that eBay has not remained content with its status as the number one online auction site worldwide is credit to the hunger for success of those behind it.

With revenue topping $4 billion in 2005, it is clear that eBay continues to grow at an impressive rate. The growth from previous years is largely attributed to a massive increase in auctions, as the majority of revenue is generated from auction fees. This would suggest that the site will continue to grow and remain highly profitable for the foreseeable future.

Although it is hard to imagine what the future holds, there is no doubt that eBay is here to stay. From humble beginnings in Pierre Omidyar’s living room, eBay has risen become one of the largest and most successful websites in the history of the Internet.

http://www.auctionstyles.com

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Having A Backup Plan For The Serious eBay Seller - By Mark Kenny

Not a day goes past when I here of some seller frustrated that eBay have pulled their auction listing. It is very easy to violate an eBay listing guideline without knowing, the first you’ll learn about it is when you receive an email from eBay.

If it’s a serious violation or a number of smaller repeated violated eBay can & will close down or suspend your account. Don’t be fooled into thinking they need your revenue as a seller, I know of one eBay power seller who paid close to £25,000 per year to eBay in sellers fees & had his account closed overnight.

Firstly and most importantly familiarize yourself with all the selling guidelines on eBay. By doing things right first time, you’ll be less likely to have your auctions cancelled by eBay’s safe harbour team.

But let’s image the worse case scenario, you’re an eBay trading assistant or a professional seller dependant on eBay and overnight eBay close your account, pulling all your listings in the process. Overnight your business will disappear.

Don’t fool yourself that by sticking strictly to eBay guidelines you’ll avoid the hassle. You’ll have many competitors on eBay who will try and report you at some point, even if their accusation is false your listing may be pulled by an overzealous eBay employee.

Leaving eBay listing violations alone there are still potential hazards that may jeopardize your account or account status. Negative feedback, your account being hi-jacked, even forgetting your account password could cause massive delays to your business. If you get too much negative feedback, you may want to abandon the account altogether and start afresh.

eBay does allow you to have more than one registered account as long as it using another email address, so it is essential to have at least one backup account for emergency use. Keep one registered for a spare account and also remember to consider that eBay does not use allow certain selling features (Buy-It-Now, Featured Plus) to be used until your feedback is at a certain level - normally 10 for the most widely used features. It may be worth buying a few low priced items to get your feedback to the required level.

If you are suspended from selling eBay guidelines states the following:

“Members who are suspended are prohibited from registering new accounts with eBay, or bidding or selling on eBay using any existing accounts. eBay reserves the right to suspend existing accounts as well as new accounts opened by anyone in the same household of a suspended user or by any other associates of a suspended user.”

Now I’m sure that 99% of eBay sellers, especially serious sellers (like yourself) reading this would not violate rules to a degree where your account was suspended. And I’m not recommending you to continue selling on eBay even though your were suspended.

BUT, what I will say is in the unlikely event this did happen what would you do?

You have an obligation to your clients, yourself and your business to get things back on track as soon as possible. Having an eBay account registered in the name of a distantly located friend which you can use discreetly may allow you to keep your business long enough to sort out your original problem with eBay.

Some situations can be sorted out within hours, while others carry an automatic suspension for 30 days. Now, no business can afford to stop trading for 30 days & expect to carry on when the suspension is lifted as if nothing has happened. You’ll lose credibility, you’ll lose money and most importantly you will have lost a lot of clients.

Mark Kenny, runs the AuctionCUT forum. The forum is for any eBay or related auction subject. You can also read a number of Marks other articles about Turnkey Website Opportunities here.

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Misspelled Items for Sale on eBay - By Mikel Beck

The method of selling and auctioning off old items was radically transformed with the introduction of eBay just a few years ago. eBay has grown to become the most popular form of buying and selling goods online and has spread to countries all around the world. You can find whatever you are looking for in just minutes using eBay’s search tool. Hundreds of new items for sale are being put up on eBay every day. However, every now and then, a few items are placed incorrectly or not spelled correct and thus get placed in the wrong categories. These items are known as “lost items” on eBay and do not display in search results. Hence, to find names on eBay with misspellings, one has to hunt for them. As a result of this, these listings get fewer visits and thus fewer bids. You can purchase items on eBay that have misspellings for far less than you could a regular item, as you will have less competition when bidding on misspelled items.


Now, although misspelled items may be great for buyers who can save money when they make a purchase, they hurt sellers greatly as prices can decrease significantly for a misspelled product. Hence, it is very important that when filling out the “Product Title” and “Product Description” categories, all information is entered correctly. It is surprising how many people do not take the time to double check and edit their listings and enter incorrect information. With the enormous number of items that are being put up for sale on eBay each day however, there is bound to be hundreds of products which are incorrectly placed and categorized each day.


Now, for the eBay shopper, finding these gems can be very difficult as they do not display in regular search listings and searching all possible spelling variations of a product, or manually searching through all of the categories on eBay until you find the product you are looking for or come up empty handed. This processes it tiresome and can take very long to complete. Hence, we have developed a free toll that solves this problem. Just type a product into our search bar and we will scan all the products listed on eBay that are relevant to your search query, and then display the results of incorrectly categorized products that match your search query. This toll makes the process of finding misspelled and miscategorized products on eBay much quicker and easier.


There are thousands of misplaced names on eBay right now, and finding these items can save you tens, even hundreds or thousands of dollars. Search for the exact product you are looking for, or the general category of the item at our home page and we will show you which products that may not display properly in the eBay searches, match your query. There are hundreds of gems listed on eBay so do not delay and find the exact item you are looking for now.

Mikel Beck is the owner of ListedWrong.com, which is a search engine that allows you to search eBay for listings that have misspellings. He can be reached by e-mailing mikel.beck@elite-computing.net or webmaster@listedwrong.com.

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Online Auctions - 10 Secrets You Should Know Before Bidding - By Pradeep Agarwal

Online Auctions are the best thing that has happened with the advent of Internet. It makes business online that much more easier and simple. Before you jump into the bandwagon, it is very important to know the facts about online auctions.

And the next time you decide to bid for a product or a service, do remember these vital online auctions secrets and tips.

1. Important to know the value of the product you plan to bid. Product is new? Check the price retailers are charging for it. It helps in two ways, you'll know the original cost and helps you to pay way less than the retail value, if it is old or re-conditioned.

2. To ensure that you get a good product, get the complete information and picture of the product from merchant, if the details are incomplete on the site.

3. Decide your maximum paying limit and stick to it lest you may end up caught in the 'bid war' and end up paying more than the actual cost.

4. It is always good to check a few auction sites for you may find the same product at a much lesser price in some unpopular sites simple because of the fewer number of buyers in those sites.

5. Make a note of the auction begin and end time. And the shipping time as well. This helps you to calculate the time when you want the product at a certain date.

6. Payments: Check the various payment modes the merchant offers. If checks and money orders are accepted, the delay in delivery will invariably be delayed for the payment has to clear. If the credit cards are accepted, ensure they have secure server.

7. Find out if the merchant offers a warranty or money back guarantee before the bid. Surely you don't want to be bogged down with a defective or unsatisfactory product.

8. Always good to check the track record of the merchant, if offered one. See if you can bump into any complaints from the past customers.

9. Start your auction early to convey a message to other that you're interested in the product. If someone outbid you, you do the same. Always remember your maximum bid limit.

10. The reason to know the bid time - it helps you place a last minute bid, assuming that other bidders may not have kept track of the bid time

Pradeep Aggarwal is the creator of Auction Spectrum the online auction hub. This site is dedicated to helping people start and run a successful online auction business by providing Internet Marketing Tools to build profit making websites.

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Ebay Powerseller Secrets Revealed - Exploring Ebay's Certified Provider Program - By Chris Yarbrough

As the admin of Ebay-Guides, I frequently get emails from readers asking me for what has become the Holy Grail of eBay selling; where are powersellers getting their merchandise. Surprisingly, even I had to spend several hours researching sellers and merchandise before I was able to track down a definitive answer.

While there are literally thousands of wholesalers and dropshippers doing business on the internet, I was very surprised to find that the vast majority of auction goods were being funneled through a single company. Delving further into the mystery of why, with all the choices out there, this mystery company had developed such a lock on the auction supply market, I finally found my answer. Buried on a developer page on eBay’s site was a listing of a select few companies that eBay had chosen to partner up with. Ebay calls this program, the “Certified Provider Program” and imposes strict rules for all participants. Getting into the program is a long, involved process, and the list of companies that have successfully applied to, and been accepted into the program is a short one.

According to eBay: “The eBay Certified Provider Program was established to recognize the best-of-breed eBay Platform innovators who are helping eBay users grow their businesses through services, including technology or data licensing services.”

In retrospect it should have been no surprise that the company with the lion’s share of the dropshipping market would be an eBay partner. Corporate America has always been about one company scratching the back of another.

After learning just who this company was, I took a stroll through their website. Not surprisingly, I found somewhere in the neighborhood of 500,000 products available for dropshipping; anything from a toaster to a 60 inch flatscreen TV. Prices and selection were good, but this hardly explained the overwhelming share of business the company was getting, even with eBay’s help.

A few more minutes of scanning their site, and I found my answer; integrated software. Reading over the companies service FAQ, I noticed that they were in the unique position of having authored software in conjunction with eBay. What does it do? Quite a bit really. With a few clicks of a button completed auctions could be created and uploaded directly into eBay’s auction platform. Mystery solved.

No wonder the major eBay powersellers don’t want this information getting out. With a 2-3 hour per day time investment, someone with even limited computer skills could create several thousand auctions offering just about any product under the sun, and place them on eBay for sale.

If you’ve read my prior articles on how dropshipping works, you would know exactly why this is a major money maker. Assuming everyone is a first time reader however, I will briefly explain the business model.

Dropshipping works very simply; you as the seller offer goods for sale which you do not own, and only pay for once you have received payment. This means you have zero inventory costs, zero warehousing costs, and no shipping hassles. You are quite literally just an advertiser.

I’ve written several free guides about how to effectively make use of dropshippers, and how to limit costs when listing auctions on eBay which can be found on various sites across the web, or on my own.

So who is this mystery company eBay has partnered up with? The powersellers certainly do not want you to know, and thus far they’ve been successful in keeping people misinformed. Will they continue to succeed? Quite possibly.

If you’d like to get more information on just who these companies are, simply visit Ebay Guides for the complete list and links, or try a search on eBay’s site for “Certified Provider Program”.

The simple fact is, the easiest way to make money on a site like eBay, is to work with the same companies they are. While there is no doubt that eBay is making money in some form from these companies, there is little doubt that they are receiving “special” treatment. In my experience, the easiest way to make money is to take the path of least resistance. In this case, eBay is basically telling powersellers who they want them to do business with. Unfortunately, unless you are a major powerseller, they don’t seem to be volunteering that information.

Chris Yarbrough writes for Ebay Guides, a free resource site with hundreds of articles and guides. You can view his guides at http://www.ebay-guides.com.

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How To Start a Super Efficient eBay Business - By Kenny King

Starting an online business sounds like a daunting task. You start to think things like; I don’t know anything about internet marketing, e-commerce, search engine optimization… I can’t even create a website!

All of these, beyond the lack of knowledge of them, cost money. Something most of us don’t have enough of.

There is an online solution that bypasses the majority of what you need to start. It’s called eBay. Rarely unheard of, this enormous online marketplace is the perfect solution to starting a low cost, low risk online business.

The question is how exactly do you start an eBay business, or even start selling a few items? You would think the answer would be to go out to a Barnes & Noble or search through Amazon.com for a $20.00 how-to book for selling on eBay. However, what makes eBay even more efficient is that it is its own how-to book. In fact, the features and support provided by eBay are sufficient enough to start selling and making consistent supplemental income.

So your first step is to head on over to eBay.com, surf through the site and learn all you can and the best thing is that it is all free. Check out the Community section and you will find a wealth of information from other sellers.

After eBay has your business up and running, your next step is to search out the information that will improve your current entrepreneurial endeavor. This is where you might have to spend some money. Of course, you can use the money you made on eBay to buy a book that will improve your eBay business.

You’re in the business of making your market super efficient. eBay, as an enormous community of honest buyers and sellers, is itself a super efficient market, where sellers sell below retail and buyers get the best deal. The goal of your business should be to mimic eBay on a smaller scale.

With that in mind, finding a book that enhances your business should entail a strategic framework for your business. This includes taking a look at your business as a whole. The old adage, “You can’t see the forest for the trees” should apply. If you focus too much on certain details, you may just find your business going under fast.

In summary, browse through the eBay website, learn the most you can for free, begin to put auctions up and make some extra money. When you get used to that, use some of that extra money to buy a book to enhance your eBay business. This book should have foundational, strategic advice that will cause your business to evolve into a mini super efficient market. Then get ready to profit from you lowest cost, lowest risk, online business endeavor you have ever attempted.

K.J. King's site helps people sell effectively on eBay for maximum profit. Visit his site here: make money on ebay

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Become an eBay Trading Assistant - By D Jones

So you have run out of items in your house to sell on eBay? You need a new way to get items to sell on eBay – luckily eBay have an approved method for getting potential sellers to come to you! You can become an eBay Trading Assistant.

There are countless programs on television these days showing people how much money they can make just by selling the ‘junk’ in their attic on eBay. Many people though do not have the time to sell items on eBay and this is where the Trading Assistants come in. An eBay trading assistant is an experienced eBay seller in good standing who has registered as someone who is willing to sell other people’s items. As a Trading Assistant you charge a small fee for your time. What does a Trading Assistant do?

•Collects or takes delivery of items from other potential eBayers

•Takes photographs of the item and writes descriptions of the item

•Lists these items on eBay under their own User ID

•Handles all delivery and payments

•Gives payment to the owner of the item, minus the fee.

Unsold items are either returned to the owner or donated to charity. For the owner the pain of the selling process is removed. Admittedly they get less money but there is no effort on their part.

A standard fee to charge is your eBay/Paypal fees (not refundable) plus 10-20% of the final selling price. This will give you a very good profit when you become a Trading Assistant on eBay! eBay will list you as a Trading Assistant is their directory but you will probably need to do a bit of extra promotion in your local area.

There are lots of ways to make money on the web, they all just require a bit of work. Get more great tips to make money now on the internet.

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How To Create Automatic Delivery For Your Ebay Items - By Matthew Hansen

So you want to sell ebooks and/or digital products on eBay and you want your customers to have instant access and for this to be done automatically?
Up until recently automatic delivery has never been so easy!

Now you can sell hundreds of digital products every day and never have to send an email.

Where is my eBay digital delivery?

Some customers may ask you where is my product,
or that they have checked their email and there is no delivery.
If you are selling digital products and a customer asks you where their product is, please feel free to provide a link to this article.

As per eBay's new policy on digital products the download page is displayed after your purchase by eBay.
To find this page

1. Log in to the eBay account under which the item was purchased.

2. Go to "My eBay."

3. View the "Items I've Won."

4. You will find the view digital delivery hyperlink next to the item you purchased.

Please note, you may have to click the arrow to see the drop down menu to access the hyperlink.

Also, you can find the digital download hyperlink by going back to the ad of the item you purchased.

Digital delivery seller requirements

Here are some of the requirements to sell digital items.

1. Use fixed price or store inventory (you can't sell digital items by auction).

2. Offer only immediate PayPal payment.

3. You must use a PayPal Verified Premier or Verified Business account. (From experience I find the most trusted sellers are verified)

4. No pornographic material.

5. Seller must be the intellectual property owner, or an authorised reseller.

6. Sellers item must not include any software/scripts that harm the buyers computer or privacy.

For more information try reading eBays FAQ on digital items

Step one

Please note you can only sell digital items as fixed price, or store item (no auctions allowed).
After selecting your category you will then arrive at the "Title & Description" page.

If you don't see the "List as a digital file or information" then you may have used the wrong category. For example, you can't sell digital products in the motor vehicle category. Also, you could try lisiting the item from ebay.com to see if that makes a difference (sometimes does).

Please note, you may have to start a new listing to enable the digital delivery option.

Step two

After clicking the "List as a digital file or information" link, type some information about the product for sale. For example, is it mac compatible? Windows XP SP2 compatible? pdf, .exe, or zip files? Will the file be downloaded or emailed?

Make sure you click the legal agreement box and that you are an authorised seller.

Step three

After you have setup the "Title & Description", the "Pictures & Details" you now will have to setup the "Payment & Delivery".

This is the page where you specify how the buyer will receive the item. The buyer will only be shown this after payment has been made.

Here you can give the buyer details, for example:

"You can download your purchase from here...."

"Please message me (my email address) and let me know which email address you would like me to send your purchase to ..."

"If you have any questions or problems, please email me here..."

I recommend you supply people with a download page, or a link to download the file. That makes the whole process more automatic, and your customer receives the product immediately after purchase.

Final word

I hope this article answers all of your questions about ebay digital delivery, and thank you for your time.

Matt D. Hansen has become an expert veteran in the subjects of Internet Marketing and Home Business. He is the creator of 10 ways to make money online - his site and blog are dedicated to helping people make a living on the internet.

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