How to Recognize Collectible Sewing Patterns - By Jackie McCutcheon

Selling vintage sewing patterns on eBay is a potentially profitable venture. Sewing patterns, most especially vintage sewing patterns of elegant dresses from the 1940’s, 50’s and 60’s, are typical of the current trend of what sells and sells well on eBay auctions.

So how does one go about recognizing what is valuable and what is not? The first and foremost action to take is to do research within the eBay completed auctions in the category: vintage sewing - patterns. Make a list each week of what sewing patterns sold and for how much.

The best places to buy vintage sewing patterns are estate sales and garage sales. Being prepared can save valuable time when trying to determine what is a good pattern or not. Completeness is important. Make sure the pattern includes the envelope, all of the pattern pieces and the instructions. Another factor is the condition of the pattern. Can any person attempting to sew this pattern use it or is the pattern too damaged?

Storage is the number one way to increase the life of a sewing pattern, especially one dating back five decades. Using sealable plastic containers that fit properly is the best way to insure lasting patterns. One can also use an acid free mat board to avoid degradation of the pattern for long time storage.

Dating your collection can increase the value for sale. A buyer desires to know the time period of when the dress was worn. For movie producers this is an deniable attraction to buying a pattern. Movies thrive on being historically accurate and knowing exactly what time period the patterns come from aids in the sale. Dating your pieces will give them a higher asking price on any auction.

Learn the fashion trends of the time period the pattern comes from. Some patterns come with a stamp that dates the piece already but doing research on the decade trends will help to ensure accuracy.

Just using a few of these hints can save time and money and increase the amount gleaned from selling these wonderful patterns.

Jackie McCutcheon is an eBay Seller in North Central Wisconsin with nearly a decade of experience and owner of Jackie's Attic: http://www.jackiemccutcheon.com/catalog

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Selling on EBay - By David G. Baker

Selling on E-Bay is fun. Most people who own computers or who know someone who owns a computer know about selling or buying goods on E-Bay. E-Bay was one of the first online auction sites, but the concept caught on and soon there were dozens of sites for selling goods online. The software makes it easy to list items, to bid on items and to pay for successful bids.

No matter what the business model is—customers understand they can purchase the item on eBay. Because of its widespread name recognition and vast choice of products, information, and services, selling on EBay makes a good choice when determining a way to get in business for yourself. You don’t even have to own the item to be able to list and sell on EBay. There are many people who choose to use the concept of drop-shipping. The seller finds an item which he believes will be a good choice for selling on EBay. He can arrange to do the listing and sales management for another person or company who will be responsible for the packaging and shipping from another location. A prospective seller with no goods available can also work on a commission basis for a friend or neighbor who has the items for sale, but doesn’t have the time or the understanding of computers to actually begin selling on E-Bay.

Another way to begin selling of E-Bay is to obtain resale rights for an e-book and market the book. Of course, you will want to choose an e-book on a subject which bidders will be interested in.

Even if you want to only sell your own products, E-Bay makes it easy to start small and build your business with gradual steps. Within the informational part of E-Bay’s web pages is a wealth of instructional, informational and helpful information about ways to select, promote and sell your product. The software makes it possible to easily add one or more pictures to help describe and promote what you are selling. You have the capability to access descriptive information to assist in preparing the listing. Links to such things as full book descriptions based on the entry of the book’s ISBN are helpful to ensure accuracy in descriptions and to save data entry time as well.

When selling on E-Bay, it’s important to remember to conduct yourself with a professional attitude. Be honest about the items you are listing for sale, describe them completely, blemishes and all. Let bidders know how you expect to ship the item and who pays for extras such as insurance and delivery confirmation. Finally, treat the item with respect for the shipping process. You want it to arrive in as good a condition as it was when the bid was placed.

Creator of http://www.auctions-here.com, the ebay alternative to matching auction buyers with auction sellers.

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E-Bay Auctions – Make them Count - By David G. Baker

Most people in the world today have heard about or used E-Bay Auctions, yet, not all people understand the powerful selling tool which is available through the use of E-Bay. The site reaches literally millions of people who access it daily. People are looking for all types of goods and services, not just antiques, or trade goods, but information and day-to-day living type items. It seems as if almost any product or service you could imagine has at one time or another been listed on E-Bay.

But just because it is so widely recognized and used, doesn’t mean every seller will be able to use it to full advantage. It’s easy just to write a few words and send them off via the internet and hope something happens than it is to actively plan and prepare for your sale. If your intent is to sell a single item or to create an entire business you need to ask yourself “How do I use E-Bay auctions and make them count?”

While using E-Bay can seem quite confusing and complicated to begin with, if you take it one step at a time and follow the instructions carefully, you will be well on your way to earning good income with E-Bay auctions. Even if you only are trying to get rid of one item, it’s important to act in a responsible, trustworthy and professional manner. This will help the entire selling community be perceived as honest and trustworthy. If you want to make a business of selling on E-Bay, it’s even more important to make each auction count. One of the key things to remember is that feedback is important—it can be the single most important factor in receiving repeat sales. You will want to be proactive in every step of the sales and delivery procedure that your feedback record remains untarnished.

The important things to remember when using E-Bay auctions is to:

1. Describe your items fully and accurately. Defects should not be ignored or minimized. If the item has a flaw, describe it. Photographs help potential bidders understand what they’re bidding on.

2. Establish terms and conditions for shipping and payment. If you won’t ship internationally, or if the bidder is responsible for insuring the item, that needs to be stated up front. If you accept PayPal—the payment method of choice for most E-Bay buyers and sellers—say so.

3. Communicate with your buyer promptly and courteously. The successful bidder is notified automatically by E-Bay, but you should also communicate with the buyer to let them know who you are and that you appreciate their purchase from you.

4. Ship promptly with items packaged securely to avoid shipment damage. Show that you care about the item enough to have it arrive in the same condition it was in the description which induced the bidder to purchase it.

Creator of http://www.auctions-here.com, the ebay alternative to matching auction buyers with auction sellers.

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Online Auto Auctions - By David G. Baker

Internet auto auction web pages are a wonderful method to find an automobile bargain without leaving your computer desk. Every day thousands of car deals are completed by using online auto auction sites. So, if you want to purchase a new car, try an internet auto auction. Plus, an online auto auction site can be a great method of selling your automobile.

Your first task is to find a good and reputable auto auction site online. If you will use the search engine you use most and type in the words “online car auction” you will undoubtedly see many thousands of search results pop up. You will need to be cautious about which online auto auction site you will be using. You can narrow your selection to just a few sites that look promising, or you can check with one of the auction rating sites that you can find through an internet search. It is wise to check rankings on more than one ranking site, as some of them are associated with the auction sites they recommend and get a commission for steering potential customers there.

Selling your car on an online auto auction

Once you have selected the online auto auction site you want to use, determine what services are offered on the site. You will want to learn how many photos of the automobile you may submit, the allowable information which can be submitted and the fee schedule. Some sites offer free advertising, but will require a percentage of the final selling price. Other online auto auction sites will assess advertising fees based on the car’s value or on the length of time the advertisement will be featured.

Some online auto auction companies are willing to purchase your car and sell it later. This method may very well provide less profit that if you had sold the car yourself, but may be worth the money in terms of reduced hassle. If you choose to go this route, the sale is over for you once the auction company has purchased the car.

If you are a car buyer – the rules are pretty much the same. Try to pick up a site that looks respectable enough. Than set a budget and find, the best car within your money frame. Once you have found a few cars, negotiate with the buyer. The fact that this is an online car auction venue does not mean that you have to agree on the first price asked.

With money matters handled it is best to see and test-drive the car before signing up the papers. If this is not possible, than ask for all information that you need to make sure you are really buying a good quality car. It is a good idea to perform a car check as well. Just for additional piece of mind – to make sure that there are no unpaid bills, insurance problems or the car being reported as stolen. The good news is that all these checks can be done online as well.

Creator of www.auctions-here.com, the ebay alternative to matching auction buyers with auction sellers.

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Selling on EBay - By David G. Baker

Selling on E-Bay is fun. Most people who own computers or who know someone who owns a computer know about selling or buying goods on E-Bay. E-Bay was one of the first online auction sites, but the concept caught on and soon there were dozens of sites for selling goods online. The software makes it easy to list items, to bid on items and to pay for successful bids.

No matter what the business model is—customers understand they can purchase the item on eBay. Because of its widespread name recognition and vast choice of products, information, and services, selling on EBay makes a good choice when determining a way to get in business for yourself. You don’t even have to own the item to be able to list and sell on EBay. There are many people who choose to use the concept of drop-shipping. The seller finds an item which he believes will be a good choice for selling on EBay. He can arrange to do the listing and sales management for another person or company who will be responsible for the packaging and shipping from another location. A prospective seller with no goods available can also work on a commission basis for a friend or neighbor who has the items for sale, but doesn’t have the time or the understanding of computers to actually begin selling on E-Bay.

Another way to begin selling of E-Bay is to obtain resale rights for an e-book and market the book. Of course, you will want to choose an e-book on a subject which bidders will be interested in.

Even if you want to only sell your own products, E-Bay makes it easy to start small and build your business with gradual steps. Within the informational part of E-Bay’s web pages is a wealth of instructional, informational and helpful information about ways to select, promote and sell your product. The software makes it possible to easily add one or more pictures to help describe and promote what you are selling. You have the capability to access descriptive information to assist in preparing the listing. Links to such things as full book descriptions based on the entry of the book’s ISBN are helpful to ensure accuracy in descriptions and to save data entry time as well.

When selling on E-Bay, it’s important to remember to conduct yourself with a professional attitude. Be honest about the items you are listing for sale, describe them completely, blemishes and all. Let bidders know how you expect to ship the item and who pays for extras such as insurance and delivery confirmation. Finally, treat the item with respect for the shipping process. You want it to arrive in as good a condition as it was when the bid was placed.

Creator of http://www.auctions-here.com, the ebay alternative to matching auction buyers with auction sellers.

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How to Value Items at Live Auctions for Resale on eBay -

So you’re going to an auction to buy some great stuff to sell on eBay?

Great!

But how do you know how much you can afford to pay for items? At most auctions, the items you buy aren’t guaranteed to work, and since you’re only buying one of whatever it is, there’s a lot of work that goes into selling each individual item. You need to be sure there’s enough of a profit margin for you to be profitable.

So what’s a guy to do?

Well, I’ve attended hundreds of auctions where my sole reason for attending was to buy items I could sell on eBay. My specialty was in surplus equipment – phones, networking equipment, fax machines, etc. – but I bought plenty of items that didn’t fall into such neat categories as well. I learned a lot about how much I could actually afford to pay, and did it profitably for several years. Now I only go to auctions for entertainment and to buy the occasional item for personal use, so revealing the methods I used to you is no big deal to me, but it could be a great help to you.

First, check to see if the auction has a preview. If you see an ad and it doesn’t say, call up the auctioneer and ask if there’s anytime you can go to preview the items on sale at the auction. Most auctions have a bill of sale but I’ve found it’s much better to be able to actually go see the items in person. You can get a good idea for the condition of the item and are able to note details about the items.

When you’re previewing the items, make sure you have a pad of paper and a pen with you. You’re going to need to take a lot of notes. Your job is to identify anything you think you could sell on eBay for more than $20 – less than $20 and it’s probably not worth it. If you’re not sure, write it down just in case. Take specific notes of model numbers and the condition the item appears to be in.

Once you’ve noted everything you think is worth more than $20, you can return to your home or office. Now it’s time to hop on eBay and do some research. Start typing in the items and find out how much other sellers are getting for their items – use the completed items search. Find what a middle of the road price is for the item and right it down next to the item. Now you know how much the items are worth.

If an item sells for $80, then you can afford to pay up to $70, right?

Well, if you sell on eBay for entertainment purposes, sure. If you actually want to make some of that green stuff commonly called money, then no.

My goal was always to buy the item for 50% of what I could sell it for. Does that seem low? Well, most auctions aren’t willing to guarantee that anything will work, and a lot of times you don’t even know for sure if the item was working last time it was used. I’ve bought plenty of items that looked like they’d work and got them home only to find they were junk. So just know that some items will not work, and you’ll have to take a loss on them. Since you want to make money, you’ll find that 50% is a good number to have in mind. Now the 50% is a guideline, not a rule, so if you find an item and want to go higher, that’s fine, just keep in mind 50% as your goal.

What if preview is immediately before auction or there’s no preview available? Well, this is where you’re going to need to take advantage of technology or a friend if you’re new at this. When you get there, find out what items the auctioneer will start with and write down the first few items that you think would meet your requirements and write them down on your pad. Now either pickup the phone and call your friend who can look these items up for you or use your phone as a modem for your laptop and look them up yourself. If you have a web enabled phone, you can use that as well.

Now don’t be disappointed if you don’t get most of the stuff you want. Some auctions, that’ll happen. Other auctions, you’ll get most of the items you wanted. There are ups and downs like any business, but over time it all evens out.

Happy Bidding.

Gary Ruplinger is a retired eBay Powerseller who now reveals his secrets to getting higher bid prices on eBay in his free report - eBay Conversion Secrets. His report is a must read for anyone who sells regularly on eBay or someone who is considering starting an eBay business. He is also an avid proponent of making Internet infomercials.

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Mission Impossible - Not eBay - By Pauline Kiselbach

Many people have become successful on eBay. Here you are, maybe just starting out and you ask yourself, how did they do it and can I really make it? Yes you can and if you read on you will see for yourself.

The strategy I am talking about has been used over and over and over again, and is still making people rich. In fact, eBay reports that 750,000 people are doing this already!

Could you be one of them? Look it, if this many people are already doing it, why can't you? You can, but even better, you can learn from those who have gone before you and you can take their success steps and ditch their disasters. Do not look at other vendors in distaste, but learn from them, become friends with them, talk to them, watch how you will grow.

Your mission is simple. It should look something like this;

Sell as many highly profitable items as you can. That is it. You will sell a lot of stuff, making good profit, and becoming more successful.

It sounds simple because it is simple, but at the same time this is a great way to make a living. Be open minded.

Of course you should probably start by selling all the stuff in your closet. Have fun scouring through your "junk", and watch how other people price your "junk".

Look in your attic for merchandise, you have probably forgotten you had most of that stuff right? And now that stuff can bring in income, great.

Have any family? Do they have closets and attics, go ahead and sell their stuff too. Friends? Attics or closets? Yes you are right, sell their stuff too! Oh yes, lest I forget, neighbours? Okay you are getting the picture right?

This is not rocket science. It works. As you are selling all this "junk" you are learning more and more about eBay. How to better list each item, what draws buyers to your auctions, all kinds of valuable lessons.

Do not necessarily rule out larger items. If you can sell them for a good price, the hassle will not seem as bad.

Think about the popularity of your merchandise. If it is really popular you may notice it is harder to sell, if it is a hard to find item, easier to sell.

So now you have pretty much cleared out your house and your Mom's house, your Grandmother's house and every other house you can get your hands on, you are ready to move on. Here is the big question, where do I get more items to sell and what should I be considering?

The answer, RESEARCH. You can never under estimate the power of research. There are many research tools to tell you about, and you will find them in my other articles. eBay has many, but it may seem rather daunting to begin searching them out.

In general, you should first find a product that will sell on eBay, then a source of where to get it.

Keep these 3 points in mind before you decide on any given merchandise.

1. Is the item scarce? If you can find this on the shelf at Wal-Mart, it is probably a bad choice. People are searching on eBay for bargains, but also for things they cannot find anywhere else.

2. Is it an item that people really want? Is it desirable to them? An example would be a DVD player. Everyone wants one, but perhaps a vintage cup, not everyone wants it, but collectors of this type really want it. So both are desirable. If the item is hard to find, and people are looking for that, this is a good choice. You see, the item is rare, there is lots of desire, it sells quicker thus making the item rarer. You see how this works.

3. What is the demand for this item? If lots of people desire it the item is in demand. If you only have scarcity plus desire but no demand, you will not sell much. If a valuable item is rare, it is desirable, and lots of people want it, that is the product you want to launch.

Let's compare new items to this formula. Take DVD's for example. When they were first released and marketed they were very desirable. They sold out quickly and became scarce, but only when they were first released. Do you see my point?

Antiques, vintage and other collectables on the other hand, are always in demand by individual collectors and by nature are rare, making them more desirable.

The rarer and more desirable an item is, the higher it will sell for, versus an easy to find item. Maybe at some point this rare item will increase in demand, which increases the competition, which makes it even rarer, and you now have a bidding frenzy.

Now you too are making serious money.

Pauline Kiselbach is a single mom of two who started with nothing and built a wildly profitable eBay business. She has put together a free multi-part mini-course to teach you how to generate quick and easy profits on eBay. Get it now at: www.auctionmoolah.com

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2 Gems For Finding Amazing Products to Sell On eBay - By Pauline Kiselbach

Are you at the point of your eBay venture that you may be feeling tapped out? Did you sell everything in everyone's attic that you could think of and now you're wondering, what next?

Don't wonder any more. Believe me, there is so much product out there it is mind- boggling. The supply is unlimited.

Think of this: how about going to local garage sales and getting some deals, or going into your neighbourhood? Good ideas, yes? But there is more. What about your local retail stores? You could perhaps find deals or maybe even inquire about overstock. Maybe your family or friends work for companies who have product.

All of these can be great places to find product. There are also many, many wholesalers who are dying for you to buy from them. Sometimes you could get in too deep, so go slow and do your homework first.

Homework you say? Well, yes it sounds awful, at least to our children, but this kind of homework is fun and easy. You will not be up all night tearing out your hair, at least I hope not!

The key to finding great products is to build great relationships with people. If companies have a lot of product, and they like the way you do business, well that makes it easy for you to continue purchasing product from them.

Again, a great place to start is to check into the employers of family and friends. Because you already know their employees, it makes it a bit easier to get your foot in the door. Get to know them; you will be surprised how easy it is to build a great business around this one idea.

Whether you choose this route or buying from wholesalers, or whichever avenue you decide to go, there is a magic recipe you need to be successful. Do you want me to tell you what it is?

RESEARCH

I have mentioned this before, but I will go into it a little deeper this time. Research, research, research.

Research before you buy.

Here are 2 important ways to go about this research.

1. Think of these points. How much can you get this product for? How much can you sell it for? How long will it take for you to go through the whole process and get the product listed on eBay, and how much money will you have in your pocket when it is all over?

Are you a good shopper? Can you spot deals? Give me a break! Any mother today who cannot spot deals is either really doing without or is completely broke! So you can spot a deal can you? Good! Use that skill to find your products to sell on eBay.

It would be a good idea for you to begin your search for products in an arena you are familiar with. Try to start with something you already know a lot about. You understand this product. You know the little quirky things about this that make it so great.

You love to research this arena; you might even have a passion for this kind of stuff. You know where to find it and you know how to spot the deals.

Now you have a huge advantage over the next guy. You know what you're looking at and right away you could make a yes or no decision as to whether or not you should buy it or not.

2 . Now let us look at overstock items. Or maybe a retailer just simply lost their mind for a moment and bought way too much of the same thing. That has never happened to us mothers, right? If a retailer has a load of stuff in their back room just sitting, and you come along and express lots of interest in buying it, do you not think maybe they would be interested? Who wouldn't? You are offering to pay them a good amount, and they in turn not only make money, but clear out their space for newer merchandise.

And guess what? EBay is not new any more, and most people have heard of eBay and know the value of getting involved with it. It is not hard to convince people to start something here.

So now you approach these retailers. They see you face to face, they like what they see, let's hope, and they are interested in this venture. Your relationship has begun.

Because they are local, you do not have any inbound shipping costs to think about. You can see the merchandise yourself and you know if it is of good quality or crap.

You know what you are buying and you have more confidence and trust in this whole endeavor. You like them, they like you, you like the product, they like the price, you can sell it easily on eBay with a profit, and it is all good.

Pauline Kiselbach is a single mom of two who started with nothing and built
a wildly profitable eBay business. She has put together a free multi-part mini-course to teach you how to generate quick and easy profits on eBay. Get it now at: http://www.auctionmoolah.com

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Dropshipping - Proceed with Caution - By R Heavner

Dropshipping is a method of reselling in which one can offer merchandise for sale without actually maintaining a physical inventory. Through agreement with a wholesale distributor a product is offered for sale in either a fixed price or auction format. If the item sells, the wholesale cost of the item plus shipping is forwarded to the distributor and the distributor then ships the item to the buyer. The difference between the wholesale price and the selling price is your "profit". You essentially become the middle man between your customer and your distributor.

It is a very attractive arrangement on paper as you neither have to purchase, store, or ship merchandise. Unfortunately for many the reality can be much different. Your product availability is completely in the hands of your distributor. Items that are out of stock or not shipped in a timely manner will quickly skyrocket your negative feedback and severely damage your reputation as a seller. In this situation there is very little you can do beyond damage control.

While this is probably the primary issue with using dropshippers there are several other caveats that also must be considered.

It is absolutely essential that you know the true wholesale cost of merchandise before you commit to selling it. Many dropshippers do a great business selling items to naive ebayers who then find they are unable to resell them at anything near profit. Research your market thoroughly with a tool such as Terapeak to get a feel for how well an item sells and the average selling price. Market saturation is also a factor, as the market can quickly become saturated with similar items when hundreds of Ebay sellers are all using the same distributor network. Yet another issue that must be factored is the "fee" that many distributors charge for making their service available to you.

Do the math very carefully. Your profit per item sold will be based on the winning bid (or BIN) minus your cost for the item, listing fee, final value fee, any extras such as gallery fees, Paypal or CC fees, and any (pro-rated) distributor fees. It can get very tight.

So is it actually possible to make money with dropshipping? The answer is yes. What separates the successful sellers from the unsuccessful is extreme attention to detail. The ideal situation is a distributor that is personally known to you or with which you have a previous or ongoing business relationship. Barring that, it is vitally important that you fully read and understand the policies of a prospective distributor. Do not be swayed by promises of fantastic profits. Research your market and do a thorough cost analysis. Move slowly and honestly assess whether a particular arrangement will be profitable.

If all looks well, the wise move is to then slowly integrate dropshipping into an existing Ebay business and carefully evaluate the results. If you have done your homework, you should be able to profitably increase your dependence on dropshipping. If things do not work as planned, you can move along with a minimal amount of damage to your business.

The author is webmaster of http://www.auction-lynx.com Internet Auction Resource Directory, a directory of hundreds of alternative auction sites, buyer/seller resources, and online auction information. An excellent tool to conduct intensive Ebay market research may be found at:
http://www.rh-trading.com/terapeak.html Terapeak Market Research.

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Ebay - A Gentle Giant? - By Phil De Fontenay

Today, eBay is a $4 billion company with a $60 billion market cap. Ebay is a huge market place and the possibilities are limitless. That`s why eBay is an addiction so hard to get rid of. However, it is important to remember that eBay is not the 'be all and end all'. There is a much bigger online world out there.

For a growing number of entrepreneurs, though, eBay is their sole storefront. Believe it or not, eBay is the best opportunity you can use right now to make money online in the drop shipping business from the comfort of your own home. Selling items on eBay is simple and fun.

To begin selling on eBay, you will need to register and then create a seller`s account. When selling on eBay, your listing title can make or break the success of your auction. When I started selling on eBay, I would have loved to sit down with somebody and have that person teach me everything.

For me, selling online is a popular way to make money. The reality is that buying and selling on eBay is not that difficult, but it does demand a savvy "buyer beware" attitude, and a forthright attitude of honesty. It is very important to know that there are some items that sellers are prohibited from selling on ebay. You can check eBay`s terms for details of exactly what you can and can`t sell.

Online Auctions are going through a new phase. With literally millions of auctions taking place on ebay, good tools are essential. Where is the magic system that works, and shows how to make money on online auctions like ebay? There are a huge array of tools for searching online auctions, auction news and eBay auctions. Just do a search on Google and you will see what I mean.

In recent years, a significant number of individuals, small and medium companies, and Fortune 500 business have used eBay to build or complement their businesses. The business side of developing a compelling business around eBay can be overwhelming. There are many reasons why you should join the millions of Americans who have already discovered the freedom, flexibility, and potential fortune of doing business on eBay.

The first step for buying and selling on eBay is to register as an eBay member. Registering to sell on eBay is pretty straightforward. I have long held the position that eBay is two things, an online auction, and a potential addiction. Keep in mind, though, that the purpose of eBay is to sell merchandise to buyers. I have to warn you though that selling on eBay can become an addiction.
Ebay is definitely MY new addiction.

Phil de Fontenay is an entrepreneur who makes a living from his online businesses.
Ebay is just one of the many ways of making money online.
You can find out more about ebay from Ebay-Mastery.com.

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Raising Extra Money for Christmas Using eBay - By James Penn

EBay and Christmas time goes together like a hand and a glove. EBay is perfect for finding great gift ideas for your family and for your friends and it’s even better for selling that knitted sweatshirt your auntie bought for you. The truth is you can buy and sell anything you want on eBay and you could potentially do all of your Christmas shopping and “post Christmas” selling using only the world’s greatest online auction site.

What many people don’t know however is that you can also use eBay to raise a tidy sum to fund your Christmas spending extravaganza. Christmas is a fantastic time of year, and while money does not make or break Christmas, it sure can help reduce stress in the run-up. This article plans to provide you with as many ways as possible to raise some extra Christmas money so you can buy that great gift for your son, your daughter or your wife.

Raising money for Christmas using eBay – Method #1

This is perhaps the easiest and most obvious way, yet many people forget to use this method when they need a little extra cash to see them through a stressful time. All it involves is selling your unwanted items that you have at home. It’s a method I have personally used on many occasions. It is estimated that each homeowner has at least $1000 worth of unwanted items at home that they could sell, but I’m sure if you dig a little deeper then you could find thousands of dollars worth of items. You could sell that TV that no one uses, that PlayStation 2 that your son got bored of after just a week, all those PlayStation games that are never used, those antiques that simply sit in a cupboard being no good to anyone and just collecting dust, those DVD’s that you’ve seen 1000 times before and are sick to death of. If you walk around your house now and took stock of everything you could potentially sell, I’m sure you could easily do without at least $1000 worth of items.

Find those items, sell them on eBay and spend the profits on your loved ones.

Raising money for Christmas using eBay – Method #2

The above method is probably the easiest method of money raising for Christmas, however this one comes close. It’s a method I am currently using to great effect. All it involves is selling other people’s stuff and keeping a per cent of the profits. To do this you need to team up with a friend or family member, or you could pursue this on a wider scale by teaming up with a local business.

If you have any technophobes in your family who can’t even find the “On” button on their PC, then they are the perfect people to team up with. (It also helps if they have a lot of great stuff to sell as well.) All you have to do is ask them if they have anything they could do without or would like to sell and if they do, would they like you to sell the items for them in exchange for a commission. If they agree, then negotiate the commission, sell their items, send their items to the winning buyers, give them their money and take your commission.

Teaming up with local businesses is also a great way to profit from consignment selling on eBay. I’m sure there are plenty of local businesses struggling to sell their stock and would love to be able to sell it online but just don’t know how to. Contact these business owners and offer them the perfect solution: you sell all the stock they would be unable to sell without your help, they take the majority of the money, still make a profit on their items and do absolutely no work!

Raising money for Christmas using eBay – Method #3

Despite what many say, selling eBooks on eBay still can be a profitable business if it’s done in a creative away. This method involves you selling a package of eBooks at a high price or small and cheap reports for a small price but for backend profits.

To sell a package of eBooks at a high price, you first need to locate high quality eBooks and software. If you are like me then you probably have hundreds of megabytes of eProducts on your computer somewhere. What you need to do is find a number of products in the same “niche” that are of a high quality, bundle them together and write a sales letter.

For example, you could create a package about adsense. For this you could add a few eBooks about making money with adsense, include some software to make adsense websites, include some private label articles to use as adsense content, include some website templates to add the content to and you could also include some ready made adsense websites. Once all of that is done, create a sales page outlining exactly what the customer will receive and how it will benefit them and list it on eBay. Sell it for $10 to $50 depending on the quality and if you just sell five or six a week, then you have created a nice bit of extra money to fund your Christmas adventures :)

The second method of making money using eBooks and eBay is to create a short 8-12 page mini-eBook which you sell on eBay for $0.01 to $1 and then follow up with your buyer about a related affiliate product.

All you have to do is find a niche affiliate product you would like to promote, write a short report related to that affiliate product, include affiliate links in the report and sell it on eBay very cheaply. This way there is a chance that a customer who buys the report for $1, then goes onto buy the affiliate product and you take a commission, usually around $30. You could easily sell 50-250 reports per week on eBay (depending on the price) and if only 2% of people buy the affiliate product, that is 1-5 affiliate sales.

Raising money for Christmas using eBay – Method #4

This method probably involves the most work and you really only need to do it if you are desperate for cash. It involves selling your skills. You list an eBay auction saying something like “I will write a unique 500 word article for the winning buyer for $X”

You could also write eBooks for customers, create graphics for customers, design websites and there are many more services you can sell. You will need to work hard for this method but it is excellent if you are severely strapped for cash.

Raising money for Christmas using eBay – Method #5

This is certainly the most creative idea and the only one I have not yet done. For this method you need to use your imagination and not everyone will be able to perform this activity. It involves taking advantage of the Christmas season and is perfect for our objective and I imagine really good fun in the process.

You could do one of two things (or both).

You could create a mystery auction where you wrap up something of value into a gift and then list it on eBay, not revealing what is wrapped up inside. These types of auctions create great interest and the bidding usually soars, you could easily take advantage of that.

Method two involves writing custom Santa letters. You simply list an item on eBay explaining that you will write a custom letter from Santa and send it to the buyer. You could sell this for $20 a time and you would probably be flooded with buyers at this stage in the year. All you have to do is create a well designed letter, fill it with the winning buyers chosen words and send it to their chosen address. It’s an excellent gift for their kids and many people would be prepared to pay for this service.

That’s about it for this article. I hope I gave you a few ideas to help you raise some much needed cash this Christmas and you could also use the majority of these methods during the remainder of the year. Have a good Christmas!

James Penn has helped many eBay sellers since launching his website which details the many methods available to make money on eBay. James also prides himself on over-delivering and to prove this he is giving away eBay eBooks for free. You can read many more eBay articles

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Auctions: Sales Solutions with Marketing Potential - By Scott Lindsay

You have evaluated your stock and have discovered you have more of a certain product line than you feel you are able to sell. Upon further evaluation you discover you have a line of products you will be discontinuing.

This is a moment of decision. A moment when you decide how to dispose of the items you don’t feel you can reasonable sell in your normal online store.

Certainly you can offer the merchandise at a savings to existing customers, however there may be more marketing value in placing the items for sale at an online auction site.

Many online consumers will utilize an online auction site to seek out bargains. They will wade through page after page of similar items searching for something that connects with their pocketbook. Many times an online auction site is used because it has the greatest potential of housing the greatest number of items a consumer may be looking for.

As you begin to place items in an online auction directory you are tapping into a largely ignored and misunderstood marketing tool for your existing business.

If you sell your items on your site to existing customers with a reduced price tag, you will likely have some satisfied ‘existing’ customers. However if you take those same items and make them available for a bargain price on an online auction site those interested in the product have the ability to click through to your online store and take a look at other products you have available.

You may wind up with more income than you thought you could get from the product or you might wind up with less, but the chances are pretty strong that you will sell the item and you may find new customers frequenting your online store.

Some netrepreneurs may even provide a link to their auctioned items so their current customers can take advantage of a potential bargain – or point someone else to the link.

Many may consider online auction sites to be damaging to online retail stores, however a savvy netrepreneur can turn what may seem like a potential problem into a sales solution AND a marketing tool.

As with any service there will be fees or commissions associated with the sale of any item through an auction site, but when you consider the number of individuals who may be drawn to your site because of your auctioned items it may be a small price to pay for the marketing potential it can provide.

Scott Lindsay is a web developer and entrepreneur. He is the founder of HighPowerSites and many other web projects. HighPowerSites is the easiest do-it-yourself website builder on the web. No programming or design skill required. Get your own website online in just 5 minutes with HighPowerSites.com at: www.highpowersites.com

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Starting Your Own eBay Business - By Edward Kukiela

Have you ever thought about setting up your own home business on eBay, but you have been too scared, or you would like to know more about it? Well, luckily for you, it really couldn't be easier these days to set up your own business on eBay. It's keeping it running that is the hard part!

Something to Think About

People are looking to make money every day on eBay. It does not matter if you want to sell products or services. eBay is great to get your feet wet, and it can bring you great success.

If you do the right amount of research, and you have the right know how, you will find eBay to be a great place to make a living. It has a relaxed atmosphere with hundreds of thousands of people visiting eBay all the time. It is almost like a garage sale, but with style, charisma, and a chance to make lots of money at the same time. Unfortunately, it will not be completely easy, though. It will depend on your drive and willingness to succeed. But eBay will start you off and give you the push in the right direction that you need.

What You Cannot Sell on eBay

Although eBay is very flexible, and it is a great place to buy and trade, there are certain restrictions as to what can and cannot be done and sold. Here are some of the things that cannot be sold on eBay.

- No wildlife or pets

- No fake or counterfeit money or currencies

- No pirated or copied material, including CDs, DVDs, etc.

- No school-related material is allowed to be sold on eBay

- No weapons

If you decide to go against the rules of eBay, you risk having your item removed, as well as the possibility of being kicked off the site for good.

Tips and Secrets of the Trade

To set you up, and help you get your feet off the ground, having the know-how will be a great help to you, and you will easily reach PowerSeller status in no time.

So when it comes to registering a user name on eBay, it may be a wise idea to have a name that represents the product or item you will be selling. This will help to give the product more coverage, and it may even attract more people because of it.

Also, if you decide to sell many different products, you may want to use different seller IDs for each of the categories you are selling under. It may seem silly, but in fact, it will give you a professional look that will be good for future customers.

If you have not already, it may be wise to sign up with PayPal and other premium payment accounts. This is good, because it will give more variety in payment options for your customers. For example, adding PayPal may attract new customers who will only pay through PayPal, due to the convenience of it. It is important to think of all the ways that you can improve your services to your customers, otherwise, they will not come back.

You will need to do your research on certain things, including products with a low supply, but with high demand. This way, there will not be as much competition, and it will be easier to make money. If you do this, and give a professional and smooth transaction to customers, they will come flocking back, and maybe even bring more attention to your products.

One of the many other things that can be done to help give you more coverage are the description and the pages that you list your items done. This can be everything from the title, the layout, format, the price, good quality photos, and a good, solid description of the product. The more effort you put into each individual page, the more people will be interested in your product, as it is all down to selling the product rather than just listing it and hoping for the best. If you grab a potential customer's attention, it may be enough to make them part with their money.

So if you are starting up your own eBay business, try to bear in mind some of the above tips, and you will probably be running a successful eBay business in no time at all!

Edward Kukiela is the owner of WealthInstantly.com, a site dedicated to helping people like you earn an income from the comfort of their own home. If you are interested in earning a living from the comfort of your own home, and SUCCEEDING, go to WealthInstantly.com. If you are NOT interested in succeeding, please do not go there.

Copyright (c) 2006 Edward Kukiela. All rights reserved.

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Beyond AdSense: Make Money with eBay by Adding Niche Stores to Your Sites and Blogs - By Eric Giguere

We all know that Google's AdSense program is a simple and effective way to monetize content-rich websites and blogs, especially those that focus on a specific, narrow niche that a lot of advertisers target. But even high-earning AdSense sites can benefit from fresh, relevant content, and one of the easiest ways to do so is by adding eBay mini-stores to the sites to make money with eBay's affiliate program. An automatically updated niche eBay store gives your visitors, including the search engines, another reason to revisit your site on a regular basis. And by basing those stores on eBay's huge list of product categories you're assured that only listings that fit with your niche ever get shown on your site.

Grabbing eBay Data

Now, if you're a programmer you could use eBay web services to add a mini-store to your site, but that requires a lot of work. An easier way to do it is via eBay's RSS feed generator, which lets you create custom searches whose results are returned as an RSS feed, which you can then transform into HTML for inclusion on your site.

That's pretty powerful stuff, but not everyone's a programmer. And even programmers don't necessarily want to spend their time wrestling with feeds in order to get the right eBay data into the right format and onto the right pages of their site. That's what makes Build A Niche Store so exciting.

Automatic eBay Listings

Build A Niche Store is a script you install on your web server. Don't worry, installation is dead easy and you don't need to know anything about PHP (the programming language used to develop the script) to use it on your site. (You don't even need to know anything about eBay to use it.) Most websites and blogs today support PHP, including the popular WordPress blogging software, so Build A Niche Store (BANS) will work almost anywhere. (Complete installation instructions are provided in the manual that comes with the script.)

After you install BANS, you activate your niche eBay store by loading the setup page into your web browser and filling in a few simple details, including the name of your store and the number of the eBay category you want your listings to come from. For example, if you wanted to feature electric guitar listings on your site you would set the store name to something like "Cool Guitars" and category number 33034. Plug in your eBay affiliate ID and a few other details and you're done.

Once activated, the script continually grabs the latest listings for that category from eBay and formats them for display on the page as a niche store. Visitors can click the listings in your mini-store to see the full details on eBay's site. Meanwhile, you have a page whose content changes frequently and is always extremely relevant to the niche you've chosen.

Build A Niche Store is very customizable. You can modify the look and feel of your store by changing the predefined store template. This makes it easy to integrate the niche store right into your existing site or blog. You can even link to custom keyword-driven listing pages from the other parts of your site, so if you had an article that mentioned a Fender electric guitar you could easily insert a link in the article that displayed all the Fender guitars currently available on eBay.

Oh, and you can have more than one store on the same site. And you can use Build A Niche Store across all your sites without paying anything extra.

Money, Money, Money

But the eBay listings aren't just there for search engine optimization purposes, or to create content that draws visitors back to your site -- although those are great benefits in and of themselves. They're also there to earn you money, just like the AdSense ads.

You see, by directing traffic to eBay's site, eBay will pay you part of the money they get from any winning bid you referred to them via your eBay store. And they'll pay you for referring new customers, too. It can be quite lucrative, especially in hot and high-priced product categories.

Even better, you can even integrate AdSense ads directly into the eBay product listings. Those ads will be super-targeted because of all the relevant content that surrounds them, giving you yet another way to make money from your eBay store. The positions and formats of the AdSense ads are completely customizable, of course.

Think Narrow, But Think Big

It's hard to compete against the big companies that dominate the Web, but you don't need a large site to make money with eBay and AdSense. All you need is super-focused content that attracts very targeted traffic, and a way to monetize that traffic. Build A Niche Store and AdSense are both great (and complementary) ways to do this.

Eric Giguere is the AdSense expert who recommends Build A Niche Store to anyone trying to make more money with their website or blog. Be sure to visit Eric's highly-rated AdSense blog for more AdSense tips and tricks.

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How to Experience EBay Selling Success and Make a Living on EBay - By Ben Ehinger

Have you always thought that you could really make an income selling on eBay? Do you wan to be independent and make a lot of money at the same time? Keep on reading as I reveal a few of the many secrets to eBay selling success.

The first thing you need to be successful on eBay is an eBay account. This is kind of obvious, but there is a little more to it. Open your account and become a seller, but what is next?

Now you need some feedback. It is very difficult to sell without some type of reputation or feedback. STOP!!! Make sure that you do everything possible to avoid negative feedback. This can make it very hard for you in the long and short run of things.

How do you get quick feedback? Easy, do a search for the following free shipping, e books, no shipping, and "fs". These will bring up a ton of results that go for $0.01 - $0.99. Most of these will be e books. This is what you want because they are automatic feedback. Pick out about 30-40 or more e books and buy them. You should not have to spend over $25 to do this.

Then, pay for them and as they arrive e-mail all the sellers asking for feedback to be left. Also leave them feedback. Most of them are set up to automatically leave you positive feedback once your positive feedback is received. This will build your feedback fast.

The next thing you need to experience eBay selling success is the correct research. Use the completed listings advanced search option when looking for product pricing. This will show you a list of everything that sold and didn’t sell in the past 30 day for whatever you search for.

Last, you must have strong listings that draw top profit. Your listings need to be honest and extremely descriptive. Look for sellers with high feedback ratings and check out their listings to get an idea of what they need to look like. You can also search for eBay listing templates and buy some on eBay for a cheap price.

So now you need to open an eBay account and get to it. Don’t be fooled by all the so called guru’s that are trying to sell you a book on how to sell on eBay. There are only about 3-4 of them out there that actually know what they are talking about.

Ready to sell successfully on eBay? Sick of making a meager living at a job that is less than fulfilling? Go to the following website for more eBay selling tips and information.

http://www.ready-repair-my-credit.com/silentsales.htm

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eBay Selling Tips Guide 101 - By Chris Faux

For many years people have often talked of the possibilities of being able to get rich by selling items on ebay. However to start of with you never believe such rumours but as time has passed the stories of people making money on ebay has grown you may finally thinks it's time to pay attention to this business opportunity. This is easier said that done, the reason being that to have a successful ebay business you will need to know exactly how the site functions. For a complete beginner the thought of selling items through an online auction and then having the strangers pay you through an online service can seem rather daunting. The questions you may ask is how exactly does ebay work?

To start of with, eBay requires all users to register. When an ebay seller start selling their items, the buyer of that item will leave feedback. If you have provided a satisfactory service which you should then you will receive positive feedback from the buyer. This will then help you to become verified and you will gain a certain amount of trust with other buyers in the future. Before a eBay buyer makes a purchase they are able to view a members feedback and see the percentage of satisfied customers before deciding to engage in a transaction.

Basically, eBay allows people wishing to dispense with items or sell merchandise to reap the greatest possible benefit by offering the entire nation (and even many in international locations) to bid on the item for sale, just as they would at a physical auction. At the same time, buyers can review an item and decide themselves how much they are willing to pay to purchase the item. A buyer will set their own price (which must at least meet the minimum request set by the seller), and the highest bidder wins the item.

There are a number of payments options available, money orders are accepted by the majority of ebay sellers, some will accept cashier and personal cheques. Though the preferred method of payment will nearly always be eBay's paypal service. This will allow buyers to pay with either their debit or credit card and by electronic cheque. Once payment is made the money is instantly deposited into the sellers account and it can then be used in the future to pay for eBay fees and other items online or can be withdrawn to the persons bank account to spend as they wish.

Unquestionably the eBay auction site is a great place where people are able to interact, that is as long as purchases are happy enough waiting on items to ship to them. eBay is a sellers and buyers paradise. For the ebay sellers it provides to ability to sell vast quantity of items from the comfort of their own home. For buyers it is a great place to find discounts on many hard to find items such as collectibles for a great price. Selling items on ebay can provide an added sources of income that will supplement there regular job or can even become a full time job in itself. Many people are making a full time living selling on ebay. Getting used to ebay may take some time but once you do there are great opportunities to make an extra bit of money and to become an expert ebay seller yourself.

Get your hands on 5 Free lessons on the secrets to selling on ebay. Go now to ebay selling . If you want to get a tutorial course that will help you to make money online then visit dominating clickbank

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Great Bargain Sources for Profitable Resale on Ebay - By David Maillie

We all have seen the ads and infomercials on TV from the like of Dave Espinosa and others, hawking their Ebay reseller kits and proclaiming how many people make substantial incomes off of Ebay. Is it possible? Yes, there are quite a few people out there that their entire income source is derived from auctions like Ebay and Yahoo auctions. Is it easy and where do they get their items cheap enough to resell on Ebay for a big profit? Well, that takes a little delving into.

First you have to identify a product or item that has an immediate demand. It does not matter how good the price you get on something is if no one wants to buy it, right? Scour Ebay and you can easily find some hot selling items like Ralph Lauren polo shirts, Dolce & Gabana jeans, almost anything Versace, etc. Jot down these hot items. Do not be like some sellers that sell knock offs incorrectly listed as originals, you may make a quick buck, but will soon be found out and labeled as a scammer and your sales and feedback scores will plummet. Its not worth it. A good feedback score and reputation will make you or break you on Ebay.

The best sources may even be local to you. Many Ebayers buy items from Marshalls, TJ Maxx, and even their local dollar stores and resell them on Ebay. Ebay is a huge market place and the possibilities are limitless. The better the pictures and the more detailed your listings and product descriptions the higher the price you will fetch. You can then grow into bulk. Many companies will sell bulk lots of overruns and extra out of season stuff from clothes to outmoded electronics gear. This is easy, just Google wholesale or bulk lots. Be prepared to buy a lot of 2000 or so items. You will get a great price break, but so you do not get stuck with 2000 or more items that no one wants, do your research first.

Proper research is the key to making it big on Ebay. If you do not do it, you will not make it. It is that simple. Ebay and the internet can make you and they can also break you. Go to advanced search on the upper right hand corner of any Ebay web page. On the resulting page look up items that are selling and only look at items that have bids. You can also click on sellers and see what other items they are selling. This will give you an idea of what is hot and what is not. Also look up completed auctions. This will tell you what specific items are selling for on average and why one sellers listing brings a higher value than anothers. Once you have done your research and determined that there is a high demand and good profit potential for an item or two, find a good source for it.

The easiest way to find your sources is to Google the keywords of wholesale, bulk, lots, and their variants along with what you are looking for. You will be surprised at what you find. Yes, you will have to weed through a lot of sites that are incorrectly listed and junk sites, but that is the nature of the internet. If it were too easy, everyone would be doing it. There is a little work and risk involved like the best prices and highest profits involve huge bulk orders and if you do not do your research correctly you could be left with a huge order and no sales.

I cannot say this enough research it thoroughly. If you do not believe me on this, just look up wholesale or bulk lots on Ebay. Most of the listings you will find are from people that bought bulk without proper research and are just trying to unload their bad buy or investment and cut their losses. Sometimes these listings can turn out to be gold also as they may not have properly listed or displayed their items and that in itself can be the difference between a big powerseller and a wanna be. Take it from me, I am one of the original Ebay powersellers since 1996 and research and properly displayed listings with high feedback ratings are the key to making it big on Ebay, regardless what items or category you select.

This article is provided courtesy of Bestbraindrain.com. For the best in free articles, how to tips and more please visit Bestbraindrain.com. You will be glad you did.

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Do Penny Auctions Really Make Cents? - By Gary R. Ferguson

We have all seen them. Those auctions that have a Buy It Now price of a penny for an eBook, wallpaper, screen saver, or some other digital product. So what’s the deal? Why would anyone waste their time, money, and energy creating auction listings for a penny?

Heck they are losing money (even if they do the “click here to get automatically pre-approved” button trick) on every sale. You can’t even make a profit by increasing the volume. It a losing deal right?

Well, maybe not…

If you look at just the price versus cost, yes, it’s a loser.

But there could be more to it.

I won’t talk about the feedback aspect that can be gained from these cheap auctions, as in many cases this is a violation of eBay’s policies. So, if you are only planning penny auctions for feedback, I wouldn’t waste my time. But there are a couple of real good reasons to list these items.

First is the product itself. You can make additional money from the product you are selling in your auction.

Like what?

Well, you can include affiliate links for other products, you can include links back to your website(s) for other higher priced products or services. You can even sell the “resell” rights to the product they just purchase in that very product.

So if you sell a penny book, lose twenty or thirty cents on the fees, but then make $20 or $30 selling a product referenced in the book, you come out way a head.

This is not the only benefit.

You can also use them to increase your mailing list. You can capture their email address when they download your product, or you can give them an opportunity to join your list from within the product they just purchased. Once they are added to your list you can notify of your other non-penny listings or other non-eBay offers you may have.

Just be sure you give them the option to opt-out and honor any requests to do so.

So in some cases you can see losing money on an auction can be a winning idea.

Discover how you can create auctions that receive more bids and higher final prices than your competiton with the free Hypnotic Auctions Newsletter available at http://www.hypnoticauctions.com
Gary R. Ferguson is an author, publisher, and on-line marketer who can be reached at me@garyrferguson.com

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Bad Spellings of Words and Misspelled Products on eBay - By Allen Roberts

Bad Spellings of Words/Products on eBay

Easily the world's largest internet marketplace, eBay offers a huge selection of items to choose from from a wide variety of categories. Whether you want antiques, clothing, handbags, kitchen gadgets or anything in between, you're sure to find something you love each time you return to eBay. However, how do you score the bargains that eBay is famous for? If you're relatively new to eBay, you may be unclear how to search for certain items you're currently coveting. One trick is not to search for what you're looking for, but look for a bad spelling of the auction listing.

Why does this work? If an item is misspelled, people are more than likely not going to be able to find those bargain deals, because they'll be searching for the product/brand name spelled correctly. As a matter of fact, hundreds of items on eBay are misspelled on a daily basis, meaning less people are going to run into that item. What's more, these items usually get sold for next to nothing! You can snap up a great deal on eBay searching for misspelled products you're interested in, or you can take the easy way out and rely on certain internet searches to do the work for you.

For example, the popular eBay search engine BargainChecker offers eBay buyers the chance to type in the correct spelling of the product they're searching for and BargainChecker will return product matches for various misspellings of the search term you entered. It's definitely a lot easier than tediously coming up with all the possible misspellings people could have used for that hot Gucci handbag you've wanted, just to name an example. This handy tool does all the legwork for you, and allows you to search misspelled listings for any item you desire. It's quite invaluable to the eBay buyer always looking for a bargain, and works great.

From shoes to clothing and everything in between, you would be surprised at how many items are misspelled on eBay each day. You can find awesome antiques and designer clothing at fractions of the price you would pay normally if you search for common misspellings of your favorite items. This type of bargain hunting will prove especially useful this holiday season when you're searching for the perfect gift for somebody but you want a good deal on whatever you buy. Regardless of what you're looking for, you're almost guaranteed to find it at a bargain price if you search for misspelled terms.

eBay is definitely the world's largest internet marketplace, and offers a huge assortment of items you would be hard pressed to find anywhere else. Bargain hunting is always a great way to snatch up deals on popular items, and eBay is a prime web site to bargain hunt. Whether you want a designer dress for your next big event or a gift item for a friend or family member, search for misspellings of these items and you may be surprised at the great deals you manage to snag!

http://www.bargainchecker.com

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Treasure Hunting: Making Money From Auctions, Estates And Yard Sales- By Carrie Copenhaver

We’ve all heard the saying “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” Spend some time hitting the yard sale and estate sale circuit and you will find out just how true this statement is.

We live in an area that has a lot of these types of sales. It is a fun and exciting treasure hunt every weekend. You would be amazed at the types of wonderful deals we get at the events. Here is how you can make the most of your money and earn some extra cash as well.

Check your local newspaper classified for the weekend’s events. We use this information to get started but find my yard sales aren’t advertised. You never know what you are going to find so it’s best to go every weekend you can. Keep an eye out for yard sale, estate and auction signs. Most of the ones you go to you’ll find just by driving around.

Auctions and Estate sales are often advertised in the classifieds. You can also find out which companies in your local area have the most auctions and look at their websites. They will usually post their upcoming auctions.

I find the best bargains at both the yard sales and the auctions. Estate sales can be tricky. Some of the estate sales I’ve been to have items that are relatively expensive compared to the yard sales and auctions. Auctions that have low attendance are the best. There is less competition in bidding when there are only a few people in attendance.

When you go to an auction, arrive early and register. You will need to show an ID to get a bidding number. Before you open a bid on an item, wait until the auctioneer has gone down as low as possible. Be patient and don’t get roped into bidding too much. Know in advance what your budget is for each item you bid on. A good auctioneer will try his best to have you bid more. Be objective, not emotional.

Carry plenty of cash. Cash speaks the loudest. If you are interested in an item, don’t hesitate to offer lower than the asking price but it works best if you have cash on hand to complete the transaction.

Often items are being sold by third parties who may not know the value of the item being sold. It’s a great way to find those hidden treasures that you can profit from especially collectibles, pottery, art work, etc.

Find a niche and focus on it. You will make the most money on items that you know the value of. The best research is done by buying and selling. If you feel something is overpriced, don’t buy it. Offer less or leave it there. Profit is made when you buy an item and realized when it’s sold.

Some items which are generally sold far below value at an auction include old dishes, dolls, stationary, old magazines and books, vintage clothing as well as a lot of other items viewed by some as treasures and others as junk. When you go to an auction you generally have to get into your mind what you want to pay and then never go over the amount you decide to pay. You still have to think about the marketability and the profitability from the products you buy at auction

For the craft show vendor who promotes their own hand-crafted works of art, a yard sale or garage sale can provide things such as yarn, needlework, scrap wood, tools, plaques, picture frames, paints, and other materials which can be used in the workshop of the talented vendor. As a vendor looking for deals, one of the best places to find one happens to be in the yards and garages of others.

Once you have purchased your items, you can sell them at several different venues. EBay is the easiest and most global marketplace. Getting an account and selling is very simple. To get top dollar, you will need to research the value of your product, take a good digital photo and come up with a creative story. EBay bidders love a great story.

Another venue to sell at is your local crafter mall or antique auction facility. Know what your market is looking for, find it for them and you will be paid handsomely for your efforts.

Treasures are a bound at yard sales, estate sales and auctions. All you have to do is use your creative mind to determine where you will profit the most!

Carrie Copenhaver is an entrepreneur, home based business expert, long time treasure hunter and veteran of the fair, festival, craft show industry. Learn how to make tons of extra income at http://www.weekendcashgenerator.com

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10 Analyzing Tips for Your eBay Transactions - By Pauline Kiselbach

Analyzing your eBay transactions can be one of the best learning tools you can gain from your eBay listings.

After you have taken the plunge and bought and sold some items on eBay, give yourself a BIG pat on the back. You did it! But did you notice how some steps in your listing went really well, and perhaps others did not?

This is absolutely normal for a newbie! Don’t you love that term, newbie! It is the one time in your life that you can make all the mistakes you want, ask all the silly questions you need to, and nobody cares because you are a newbie!

So you goofed up in a couple of aspects. Who cares? This is a learning experience for you, and the start of something big. Some patience is required here.

You cannot become an auction pro right away. It takes some time to develop the required skills needed to boost your listings and your sales. It also takes experience and knowledge and every time you list something on eBay, you gain more or each.

Listed below are 10 questions to ask yourself after each of your auctions in order to improve on future listings.

1. Did my auction flow nicely?

2. Did I have any problems?

3. Was I receiving a ton of questions?

4. Did I describe my item in enough detail?

5. Did I receive any feedback, negative or positive?

6. Did many people see my auction?

7. How many bid on my listing?

8. Were my pictures complete and clear enough?

9. Did I try any sales techniques that did or did not work?

10. Could I make some changes to improve my next auction?

The answers to these questions can help your next auction immensely. eBay allows you to analyze your transactions and this analysis can give you tips on how to improve your next listing.

Once you have posted your item you can receive e-mailed questions from potential bidders. These questions may be about finding out more details on your item, about postage fees or length of time, or about the colour of the item, or something else.

You should listen carefully to these questions and keep a note of them in a file. They can be your guide to improving your next listing.

If you notice the same questions are being asked over and over again, then you know for next time to include more information about the item. You cannot be too specific on eBay.

This can save you a lot of time, as well as increase your sales. E-mailing each response can be very time consuming, and especially when you begin listing many more items.

Spend less time e-mailing and more time listing, bringing in more money.

Did you get many bids on your item? Do you know eBay keeps track of this and you can easily find out by clicking on your listing or going to your My eBay page.

How many potential buyers have looked at your auction? This is important to know. You can include a “hit counter” that eBay provides at the bottom of your auction that will track this. It is a very good idea to use this feature.

If you received very few visitors then perhaps your title may need some tweaking. If you only had a few bids maybe you did not describe your item clearly enough.

Are you getting the idea that by taking note of what is happening or has happened to each of your auctions, you are gaining experience and expertise to use in your next listing. What you did right, you can continue doing and what you did not so right, you can improve on.

The value of analyzing your auctions is great. You should not be afraid to forge ahead. Once you begin to see your sales soar you will be so happy you did.

Pauline Kiselbach is a single mom of two who started with nothing and built a wildly profitable eBay business. She has put together a free multi-part mini-course to teach you how to generate quick and easy profits on eBay. Get it now at: www.auctionmoolah.com

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The Success Factor: Finding Your Niche on eBay - By Charles Hammer

You’ve spent a day or maybe two or three cruising around eBay. You even registered and bought that iPod skin your niece wants for her birthday. Now it’s time to get down to business; that is, your business. Just exactly what is it that you are going to sell on eBay? The right choice of product is one of the most important decisions you will make when you become an eBay seller. If you are already successfully selling products in a different environment, it is still important to select that perfect product from among your wares that is best suited to your eBay audience.

It is true that many people clean out their closets and turn a tidy penny auctioning off their loot on eBay. However, the day is long past when any moldy old pair of shoes from the back of the closet would be snapped up by an eager eBay buyer. Even if you did make a killing with last year’s snow boots, the detritus from your storage unit doesn’t make for much of a business plan. There are many people though who have built eBay businesses selling the contents of other people’s closets for them so that is one area at which you might want to look.

When considering your product, think along these lines:

Do you want to sell an item which reflects a personal passion? Hobbies are the basis for many eBay success stories as are personal interests such as a specific period in history or a style in fashion.

Do you want to serve as a conduit for other people to sell their products on eBay? Stores to which individuals consign their items are mushrooming throughout the country. This sort of eBay store, however, can be both labor and capital intensive. You will also need to have a solid knowledge base of eBay expertise or employ someone who has the know how.

Do you want to expand your current bricks and mortar customer base by establishing an eBay presence? eBay is an excellent way to quickly implement an online strategy.

Do you want to purchase items and resell them on eBay? You can accomplish this goal by purchasing single pieces that you scout out or by being a drop ship merchant. Picking up wholesale lots is another way of being a reseller.

Now you are well on your way to discovering your route to eBay success. Once you have narrowed down possibilities for the kind of eBay merchant you want to be, it is time to do more online research. It may seem to you that a lot of time is being spent just looking around and getting a feel for the terrain. You will find though that tomorrow’s eBay success is founded on today’s eBay research.

If you want to learn more about buying and selling on eBay you need to come over to http://www.AuctionBullet.com. We provide many tips, tactics, articles and more to help with eBay. Learn how to make money using eBay.

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eBay Powerseller Secrets for Online Auction Success - By Jennifer Carter

Would you like to discover the Powerseller secrets? Do you dream of making a success of your eBay online business? These tips can set your eBay online auctions on fire and will help you reach and keep Powerseller status:-

• Register an eBay user name that identifies what you are selling. So, if you’re selling books, have books in the title, if it’s cameras, use cameras.
• If you’re selling very different products, use a different seller ID for each of the categories. This gives you a distinctive online presence and makes you look professional to your buyers.
• Ensure that you sign up for a Paypal account and upgrade to a Premier account so that you can take as many forms of payment as possible.

There’s a simple formula for high profit eBay sales. You need to discover products that have a low supply and high demand and couple that with a smooth and professional sales process. If you can find all three of these, you’ve got the potential for a very successful online business.

You can find the latest hot categories report at http://pages.ebay.com/sellercentral/whatshot.html

and the latest searched for keywords at http://buy.ebay.com

With this hot information, you can find products that people are ready and willing to buy within minutes. You've also got a list of the words that people are actually typing into eBay, so make sure that you use them in your listings.

Twelve steps to Powerseller status:-

1. Write a great title!
   
   This will be the one thing that determines whether people find what you are selling and choose to watch or buy it. Add as many words into your description as you can, using short words or abbreviations where possible. Put your main words e.g. Tablecloth at the beginning of your listing, with other words like “French, 90 cm round, red with gold edging” following on. Check your spelling, you don’t want to loose out because you’ve misspelled some words!



2. Write great sales copy!
   
   Don’t miss this step – many people can’t be bothered to spend the time on this.
   Consider offering free shipping – this will put you ahead of many sellers immediately. Don’t forget to ask them to buy when you finish.



3. Take a great photo!
   
   Don’t you just have blurry photos or photos of boxes, light reflecting etc? Get a good digital camera and take several shots of the item. Make sure that there is something that shows it’s size, whether that’s a coin or book.



4. Decide on a price
   
   You may wish to add additional items to increase the perceived value of the item. Again, this puts you ahead of dozens of other sellers who just sell the item on it’s own. Don’t start your bidding too high. Only start bidding high when demand is likely to be low so that a bidding frenzy is unlikely.



5. Choose your format
   
   Choose a standard auction listing, fixed price or buy it now format. You may wish to mix and match depending on what you find works.



6. Choose the length of auction
   
   If you’re in a hurry or it’s a very popular item, a 3 day listing may be OK. The most popular listing is a 7 day listing giving opportunity for people to shop on the days which they prefer.



7. Add a picture
   
   If the price warrants it, use a gallery picture.



8. Describe your Product
   
   Don’t just list features, but list benefits. For example, if the item is “light”, write that it can be taken anywhere. Often a good sales page will establish your credibility as a seller. Describe your item in detail, being honest about any damage or wear and tear. Have clear terms and conditions, use your different pictures, ensure that the text is scannable to someone browsing your page.



9. Accept multiple payment forms
   
   Don’t just accept Paypal, accepting cheques and money orders will increase the number of customers who are able to buy from you.



10. Postage & Shipping
    
    Create a simple system or add a shipping calculator so your customers will know the exact cost of any item.



11. Keep Going
    
    Send an invoice shortly after the sale is completed using the automated invoicing system. Make sure you pack well, send promptly and leave feedback. Don’t leave negative feedback.



12. The final Powerseller secret is using the second chance offer to sell multiple items, but pay only one insertion fee. Once the auction is closed, you can offer off your stock to the remaining bidders at their highest bids.

Remember, being and acting professional will count for your business in the long term - treat eBay right and it will reward you and your business.

For the latest eBay auction tips, visit eBay Powerseller books at the One Dollar bookstore. You can also find free books on building your online business.

This article was submitted by Jennifer Carter, whose own site Adsense business opportunities shares her own story to financial freedom.

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Making Money on Ebay: Research, Plan and Strategize - By Ross Storey

So, you have established your enterprise, you’ve picked your catchy business name; signed on the dotted line and you are properly registered. Now, you are thinking, what else do I need to do to start making cash on Ebay?

Your first step is to decide which product you want to sell. Do your research. Choose one specific product type that you can study. If you learn enough to become an ‘expert’ with them, you’ll be able to advertise and sell them much more effectively. As you become a more effective online marketer, you can then expand your product line. Experiment with different selling and advertising strategies until you discover what works best for your particular product line.

Remember to limit the number of items you put on auctions. The absolute goal for making money on Ebay is to sell products for the maximum possible price. If you are selling too many of the same things simultaneously, you will make it much more difficult for yourself to achieve get a high price.

As Ebay becomes more popular, finding unique, quality items to sell can be a problem. ‘Outside the box’ examples of possible product sources include estate attorneys. They always get requests from families to help dispose of items from deceased relatives.

Placing an ad in the local press offering to accept consignments to sell could also be another good strategy. To make it worthwhile, consider charging a low upfront fee or talking a small percentage of the sale. If using these tactics, remember to research your state and local laws to ensure that an auctioneers’ licence is not necessary.

You may also find items from other Ebay sellers. Some buy items in bulk or by the job lot. There may be products they decide against selling. You can let other sellers know that you could possibly be interested in buying excess items of a certain product. This could be another solid source of unique, quality items.

As with most things, there are rules to follow when you are working to make money on Ebay. If you break them you risk having your account cancelled. Always sell only legitimate items. If you are marketing illegal or counterfeit products, you risk losing your business. You will inevitably be reported by the real manufacturer or another aggrieved Ebay seller or buyer, and Ebay will cancel all your auctions, so play by the rules. The practice of getting friends, relatives, or even bidding yourself against other bidders to boost the price, is called ‘shilling’ and is strictly banned. Ebay’s fraud investigators will likely shut you down and you could even face criminal charges in some US states.

You need to promote your auctions to generate cashflow through Ebay. Check Ebay’s rules, which are clearly outlined on the site. Establishing a personal web page with the sole purpose of promoting your Ebay sales, is one accepted method. Another alternative, is to manage your own online store, linking back to your specific auctions. Having your own online store gives you a better professional look on the Web and lets your customers know more about you, building trust. Building an opt-in mailing list is another very effective strategy to help your efforts to make money on Ebay. Regularly circulate useful email messages to your subscribers and use the opt-in list to promote your auctions.

More than 430,000 users are now earning money on Ebay. Many are making a full-time living. Why? Because this massive auction site is a very efficient and cost effective method to reach 45 million potential buyers.

There are as many ways of making money on Ebay as your imagination can come up with. Be warned, Ebay is not some get rich overnight sensation; it requires work, strategic thinking and planning. Don’t be conned into purchasing any of the thousands of guide books that promise instant success. Too many of these are just rehashed or re-circulated text. Some are even copyright protected articles, possibly plagiarized without the original author’s permission.

As with any business, online or offline, to be successful Ebay requires you to do you research, incur some cash outlay first, establish a business plan, then stick to it. This way will set you on your way to making money on Ebay.

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Ross Storey, CEO of StoreyWorks International – http://www.StoreyWorks.net (click here for a GRATIS Book on 'eBay Selling Explained') - is an experienced public relations consultant, communications strategist, publisher, editor and writer who has had a career-long fascination with eBay and online marketing.

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Why You Should Always Include Images In Your eBay Auction Listings - By Mike Paolieri

When you put a item up on sale on eBay don't forget to include some product images in your listing. By not doing so you will lose a lot of bids.

Even if you write a detailed description of your item, product images are still essential.

Despite your past history as eBay seller and even if you have a very positive feedback score, people are always somewhat reluctant to buy online due to the lack of a personal contact with the seller.

And I couldn't honestly say that this attitude is injustified because unfortunately eBay frauds do exist!

Images will help you demonstrate that you aren't hiding anything with regards to the quality of the product you sell.

Depending by the nature of the item you sell, several pictures from different angles can be the optimal choice.

eBay sellers often offer slightly defective items at a greatly discounted price. If this happens to you and even if you have well documented the item conditions in your listing, try to include a detailed picture of the flaw. You will show to a potential buyer that you are completely honest about the nature of the item you sell.

Selling tutorials available on eBay site will give you some tips on the best way to take picture of your eBay items with a digital camera or a scanner. They are very basic advices, but still useful if you are completely inexperienced with digital photography.

- Optimize your images

Images have also some drawbacks. You should always try to find a good compromise between details and image size as biggest images can considerably slow down your eBay listing page and make you lose some bids. Buyers are impatient and not everyone has a fast Internet connection.

Usually digital cameras or scanners are sold with a photo retouching software that allows you to convert images in a file format suitable for the Web (JPEG) and reduce the file size by reducing image dimensions or the number of colors.

- No broken images please

Nothing will drive potential buyers away from your eBay listing page more quickly than a broken image.

When you create your listing you are allowed to load images from your hard disk and store it on eBay server. This is the safest choice because your images will be surely available when people visit your listing.

But you can also include externally hosted images by using the HTML img tag in your listing.

If you choose to do so, be sure to host your image files with a reliable service. If the host where your images reside becomes inaccessible for any reason, eBay users visiting your listing will see a broken image.

If you run your own website you can save the images in a directory on your hosting account. Be aware that some web hosting services don't allow remote linking of images, i.e. using your host web space as a storage area for images you use on other sites, in this case eBay. This is usually true for free hosting services, so if you have a paid hosting account you should not have problems.

Alternatively you can utilize one of the many image hosting services.
You can find many of these services with a simple search on Google. Usually every site offers clear instructions that will make the entire procedure really simple even for the most inexperienced users.

Whatever is the service you use to store images for your eBay auctions always preview the listing page to be sure that images are displayed correctly.

An image is worth a thousand words. This is true also when you sell on eBay. Make good use of images in your auction listings and you will always receive more bids.

Mike Paolieri helps managing Arakne Links Directory ( www.arakne-links.com ) a human edited web directory listing quality websites categorized by topic including shopping and auction sites. All site submissions are reviewed, a reciprocal link is not needed to get listed.
www.arakne-links.com

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Seven Ways To Streamline Your eBay Business - By Mark Kenny

Building an work from home business on ebay can be fun, profitable, stress free and easy. It's little wonder that more and more people are turning to the internet and specifically ebay to build a new future for themselves. However, things can get a little overwhelming so it's essential to organise your business correctly from the start. Fortunately, there are many solutions & tips to cut down on the amount of eBay hours that you have to put in.

1) Clearly Specify Payment Terms

One of the most popular questions I receive is "How Can I Pay?", especially off newly registered members. Make it easy for buyers to pay you, by offering a large option of payment processors - not just Paypal. Also, make it policy or not whether you will be accepting cheques as payment, some sellers decide this is more hassle than it's worth. If your selling hundreds of items daily tracking cheques can be quite time consuming.

2) Organise Your Products

If your selling physical products on eBay, and you carry them in stock make sure they are already to be dispatched as you list your item. This will ensure there's no delay while you find suitable packaging materials, and you don't risk losing the item amongst the rest of your stock. When the auctions complete, all you need to do is attach the shipping label and the sale is as good as completed.

3) Use A Mass Lister

Advanced seller programs such as Marketworks can completely cut down the amount of work needed & the amount of hours your spend on eBay. Automatically listing & relisting, email notification to yourself and your buyers, payment notification and automatic feedback are just a few of the features that are offered to sellers. Almost all powersellers use a service such as Marketworks to manage their ebay businesses.

4) Keep Upto Date With Your Accounting

Make it a habit to print our your Paypal and ebay statements monthly, they'll be needed for any end of year accounting you need to do. File them somewhere safe, as Paypal statements are normally only available for upto three months.

5) Delivery Turnaround

Clarify, when any orders will be sent out. The last thing you want to be doing is running to the post office every time a sale is completed, so make it an established practice to send out your products as the last task of the day, or even only 2-3 times a week.

6) Automatic Delivery On ebooks & Special Reports

If your in the select group of sellers who offers digital goods for sale, then there's absolutely no reason to spend hours on ebay each day. Programs such as payloadz exist so you can automatically send out your products as soon as the winning bidders completes the transaction. This reduces the need for you to check your email religiously every hour to complete any new orders.

7) Automatic Feedback

Even if you choose not to use a mass listing program, others exist to automatically leave feedback as soon as the buyer pays. Ebays selling manager pro, or other third party products can do this for you with predetermined comments. This is one less job to worry about, allowing you to concentrate on the marketing of your eBay business.

Mark Kenny is an eBay expert who specialises in launching eBay related online businesses. You can see his blog at http://www.Trading-Web-Solutions.com/blog or join in Marks Auction & eBay Forum at http://www.AuctionCUT.com

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