eBay Business - Dropship Wholesale Directories - By Daniel Westfield

Every dropshipper runs into the problem of finding reliable sellers with good, wholesale prices. After all, having good suppliers is the key to being successful in any eBay business. Thankfully, dropship directories can make this process a lot less painful, and they can make your eBay business more profitable.

Dropship directories compile lists of suppliers and wholesale products to make the dropship process easier. By having hundreds of suppliers in one place, it is easy to compare prices to ensure the greatest profit. In addition, with dropship wholesale directories, support forums give dropshippers the ability to communicate with others in the industry, and customer service can produce hand made dropship lists for whatever niche that is being targeted.

Dropship wholesale directories are usually very good for providing access to the suppliers of knock off or no-name branded goods. While some dropshippers are skeptical of selling these products, they are usually more profitable to dropship than the name brand. In fact, many buyers on eBay are looking for less expensive, alternative options to name brand goods. No name brands of clothing, mp3 players, and fitness supplies all sell very well on eBay due to the increase of interest in cheaper options. However, if one’s desire is to sell only name brand goods, there are dropship directories that provide access to suppliers of such products.

There are plenty of work at homers who make good incomes dropshipping without using dropship directories. However, most find that when they start using the directories as a resource, they are able to find a greater variety of products at better prices. As a result, dropshippers can spend less time finding items at the best price and more time listing the items or writing better item descriptions. Because directories give the user the ability to compare prices, the user can easily find the best price to ensure the greatest profit. Some even have access to imported goods that are far below their eBay selling prices. These directories can also be excellent learning tools for those who have a new eBay business.

Dropship wholesale directories should not be confused with dropshipping services that list products on eBay for the user. These “services” are usually shams in the fact that they inflate the costs of their “wholesale” products and charge ridiculous amounts of money for their services. Instead, dropship wholesale directories link up dropshippers to the suppliers so that a relationship can be established. Forming relationships with the suppliers can, in the long run, lead to better service, lower prices, and higher dropship profits.

In order to truly maximize profits in one’s eBay business it is important to have a large list of suppliers and an even larger supply of products. Thankfully, dropship wholesale directories make access to these resources much easier, and they are a very inexpensive way to increase your dropship profits.

Daniel Westfield is an internet entrepreneur who has used eBay to quit his job and work full time from home. He teaches others his eBay strategies via his website, href="http://www.dropshipprofits.org" alt="How to Make Money Selling on eBay">How to Make Money Selling on eBay.

Click Here To Read This Article

Ebay Buying Guide - 7 Tips for Bidding Success - By Adrienne Petersen

For the past four years I've been buying and selling on ebay on a daily basis. This guide shares my tips for buying on Ebay
successfully. Just about anything you want to find, can be found on Ebay. I've come to believe that if you can't find it on Ebay, it either hasn't been invented yet, or it's so rare that if you do find "it", you'd better hang on to that precious item!

Ebay Membership

First of all, are you a member of the Ebay community yet? If not, visit the web site listed at the end of this article to get that taken care of right away! It's free and very easy to sign up. Just fill in some basic information like your name, address and phone number, pick out a username and password and you're good to go. Don't worry about giving Ebay your phone number. Ebay does call me on occasion, but just to let me know about special promotions and never to try to sell me anything. Use an email address that you check regularly, as you will receive emails from ebay about your purchases there as well as in your Ebay messages.

7 Tips for Bidding Success

Now that you are a registered member of the Ebay community, here are 7 easy tips that I find helpful for a successful buying experience on Ebay:

1. Read the listing thoroughly...every word!

2. Make a note of when the listing ends (especially if it is an auction listing). If you are very interested in the item but are not ready to purchase or bid on it at the moment, click on the "watch this item" link and then you can keep an eye on it from the "My Ebay" page in your account.

3. Do you have any questions about the condition, size, or any other information about the item? Look at the upper right area of the listing page under where it says "Meet the seller" and click on the link that says "Ask seller a question". It's always a good idea to email a seller that you haven't bought from before to ask them a question. This helps to give you an idea of their customer service. Give the seller a day or so to respond, many people sell on ebay part-time, and have jobs they have to go to every day.

4. IMPORTANT: Find out what the shipping method and cost is before you bid or buy! If it isn't stated in the listing, ask the seller, as explained in Tip #3.

5. Look at the sellers feedback rating, again in the area below "Meet the seller". Personally, I won't deal with a seller that has less than a 98% feedback and much prefer to buy from sellers with 100% feedback. If a seller has less than 100% feedback, I will always read their feedback comments to find out why they received negative comments. Often, they are from customers that just didn't understand the ebay process and so left a negative before working things out with the seller. I also like to read the positive comments. If there are a lot of comments that note "fast shipping" and/or "great service or item", then I would feel more comfortable buying from that seller.

6. Check and see what types of payment a seller accepts and how long you have to pay. This will come in handy when you find an item that you'd like to buy. Sometimes the seller only accepts forms of payment that you do not want to use. For example: you want to pay via PayPal, but the seller only accepts money orders, or vice versa. Make sure you pay the seller within their time specified on the listing.

7. Buy It Now or Place Your Bid! If you are purchasing a "Buy It Now" item, click on the Buy It Now button follow the instructions to pay. If you are mailing payment, use check-out to let the seller know. You may also use check-out to request an invoice from the seller. Bidding on an auction? To avoid a bidding war and getting caught up in the heat of the moment (and paying too much), place a bid for the highest amount you would be happy with paying and then let it go. Ebay will only bid for you as much as is needed to out-bid the next highest bidder, up to the amount you entered. Make sure you consider the shipping cost when calculating your bidding amount.

Ebay can be a very rewarding experience! Using these tips will help you in purchasing that hard to find and one of a kind item that can be found on Ebay!.

Adrienne Petersen has been buying and selling on Ebay since 2003 and currently owns several Ebay Stores. Anyone over the age of 18 may register on Ebay by visiting one of the author's stores such as Steve's Skateboards.

Click Here To Read This Article

Dealing With eBay Store Price Rises - By Ian Mcintosh

Price rises are as inevitable as taxes, everything goes up in price eventually. It’s just the way it is. Ebay recently increased the prices for their eBay Stores – in both listing fees and final value fees - to a considerable amount of uproar from store owners.

While it is perfectly understandable that people don’t want to see their livelihood being threatened or their standard of living disrupted in any way, the only real decision is whether to deal with the rises or give up on the eBay Store. For anyone who is making a profit with their store, the second one is not an option.

Hardest hit were sellers of low value items who depend on a large number of listings for their profits. Their eBay Stores are operated on the basis of a “numbers game” philosophy, post a large number of listings and make a small profit on them. Result: – small profit x large numbers of listings = big profit.

But the relatively high cost of listing compared to the final value fees makes it more difficult to keep making a profit at this end of the scale. Perhaps it is a deliberate move by eBay to try and force store owners away from 50 cent and dollar listings and more into higher value items, maybe they feel that such low value items belong only in regular auction listings.

Ebay Store owners who deal in bigger ticket items such as expensive collectibles, art or jewelry will feel much less financial pain on two fronts; firstly they are making much more money per item on average, but more importantly the percentage eBay takes in its final value fees at the top end of the scale is low compared to cheaper items.

So what should you do if you are feeling the pinch from the rise in your eBay Store fees? In a way it could be a blessing in disguise for Storekeepers who deal in large quantities of listings as they will need to take serious stock of the situation and give their business a good old fashioned spring-clean.

See this as an opportunity to get rid of under performing inventory and replace it with new items that sell quickly. Many store owners get lazy due to the extremely low cost of listing an item and don’t really bother tracking and testing to see what is working and what should be up for review. Go through all your store items and find out what is working and what isn’t.

The bottom line is that eBay Stores are still a very cheap way to get an item for sale on it’s own web page on one of the busiest, most trafficked sites in the world. Prune away the deadwood and let your business bloom.

For some top secret techniques on how to make the most from your eBay Store, as well as a FREE book on the easiest way you’ll ever find to make money from Powersellers, visit http://www.AuctionStoreProfits.com

Click Here To Read This Article

Avoid Disappointment When Buying Jewelery On Ebay - By Irina Lubom

Ebay can be a great place to buy jewelery at below retail price, but you have to be careful to avoid being burnt. Fortunately, taking a few simple precautions is all that is necessary to ensure a great shopping experience.

1. Know what you are buying

If you don’t know enough about what you are buying, you are more likely to fall victim to one of the misleading sales tactics described below or you may not understand enough of the description to choose exactly what you are after. You don’t need to become a jewellery expert, but some basic knowledge is essential. For example, if you are buying gemstone jewellery, you should know a bit about the gemstones you are looking for. If you are buying diamond items, you should understand what the various diamond colors and qualities mean. This information is easily accessible on the internet. Many jewelery retailers put guides or other information on their sites. It is also helpful to know the approximate retail prices of the sorts of items you are looking for so that you don’t overpay for your purchase.

2. The devil is in the details

This may sound trite, but be sure you read the description carefully. You cannot physically examine the jewelery if you are shopping on Ebay, so those written details become all the more important. Read the entire description, not just the title and if you don’t think you have enough information, email the seller. If the description is particularly woolly (for example a long, waffling boast about how great the seller’s jewelery is, with no details about the particular item), you may want to give it a miss altogether.

3. Beware of misleading sales tactics

Most sellers on Ebay are honest people. However, just as in the off-line retail world, there is a minority who will use misleading tactics to peddle inferior products. One of the most common tactics utilized by sellers of “junk” jewelery (ie non-precious, fashion jewelery) is to use misleading titles and to list their offerings in categories for real gemstone and diamond jewelery.

If you take a quick browse through fine jewelery listed on Ebay, you will no doubt see many item titles screaming about platinum, diamond and fancy gemstone items at very, very low prices. A closer look at the descriptions will reveal that the “platinum” is really brass plated in rhodium, the “diamond” is nothing more than crystal or glass and the “gemstone” is colored CZ. Sometimes this information is carefully hidden in the fine text of the description, or even worse, is missing altogether.

It is disappointing that such misleading conduct has been allowed to flourish on Ebay, but there is no reason why anyone should fall for it. Remember, no one in their right mind will offer you a real precious metal, gemstone or diamond item for the buy-it-now price of $1. If you are after some cheap imitation jewelery, such items may be for you. Otherwise, it may be wise to give such sellers a wide berth.

Another common tactic is calling CZ “created gemstones” or “created diamonds”. A real created gemstone or created diamond is grown in a laboratory to make it chemically identical to a natural gemstone or diamond. It may be less expensive than the natural gemstone, but it is still a valuable stone. colored CZ, glass or crystal is not a created gemstone or diamond. It may have a similar color and look good, but it is not as valuable. There is of course nothing wrong with CZ or crystal stones if that is what you are looking for, but you should not be misled into buying something more expensive.

A rarer, but even more dishonest tactic is to use abbreviations or acronyms designed to mislead the buyer. Sellers of jewelery items often use abbreviations, not all of which may be readily comprehensible. Most of these abbreviations are entirely legitimate and necessary – for example the symbols for diamond clarity and color. But you should beware of abbreviations designed to mislead. For example, some less scrupulous sellers may talk about “real gold GP jewelery” – what they mean by GP is “gold plated,” but someone who is not familiar with the abbreviation may think it is solid gold (which is, of course, the point of using it). Generally, if you don’t understand an abbreviation, it is a good idea to ask the seller.

4. Take into account shipping costs

There is a number of sellers who list their items at very low prices, but with extremely high postage/shipping costs. Some of the worst offenders have been known to have shipping costs as high as $500 for jewelery items. This practice serves the dual purpose of attracting potential buyers with the low starting price and avoiding Ebay fees. While such conduct is against Ebay policies, many sellers continue to use this tactic. It is best to avoid such sellers altogether. However, even legitimate postage costs should be taken into account when buying. Overseas postage in particular can be expensive, so you should not forget it when calculating the total cost of the item.

5. It is all a matter of trust

Unless you have dealt with the seller before, buying on Ebay is really a matter of trust. The best way to make sure you can really trust the seller is to go through their feedback. Don’t just look at the number – high volume sellers can have high feedback score even if their merchandise and service are of a low standard. In fact, a few sellers who engage in misleading tactics described above have feedback scores of more than a thousand. Check out the percentage of negatives and the comments. A few negatives or neutrals are OK, but if a seller has a high percentage of negative feedback or consistent comments about fake, low quality or non-delivered items, chances are you will be disappointed with your purchase.

Irina Lubom is an Ebay Powerseller (user name irina3131) and runs two jewelery websites - www.jewellery-galore.com and hwww.iljewelrygalore.com.

Click Here To Read This Article

Sellers with Higher eBay Feedback Earn More Money - By Doug Feiring

According to economics researchers at the Universities of Bonn and Aachen, an eBay seller’s feedback level positively correlates to higher final sales prices. Professors Oliver Gunter and Christian Grund concluded that a one percentage point increase in eBay feedback translates into an average final bid price increase of four percent.

Feedback ratings are public comments that buyers and sellers provide on each other regarding completed auctions. A positive comment adds one point to an eBay user's feedback score, while a negative comment deducts one point from the score. Feedback provides fellow auction users an insight into an eBay member's reputation as a buyer and/or seller.

VNU Network reports that the two professors analyzed DVD sales of six popular films last fall, including Madagascar, Star Wars, and War of the Worlds.

This is something most of us have suspected, however, now we have the data to back up the hunch. Interestingly, the study also found something that contradicts one of my personal maxims about selling on eBay -- which is to always close your auctions in the evening.

The study suggests that evenings are no longer the best time to close an auction. The researchers hypothesize that although bidding activity is highest at that time period, the sheer volume of auctions closing at this time period (as sellers attempt to cash in on the bidding frenzy) exceeds the demand. According to Gurtler, “Our study shows that the returns in the evenings are ... lower than normal.”

Building Your Feedback

As the study shows above, feedback has a tangible effect on your sales. Therefore, it pays to build your feedback as rapidly as possible.

If you are new to online auctions, consider bidding on numerous auctions first in order to build up positive feedback ratings. It is important to remember that some sellers don't bother to leave feedback. When I am considering bidding on an item, I will check the timeliness and quantity of feedback that seller has left for others. If the seller shows a trend of not leaving feedback, I’ll often move on to another seller who does.

When someone doesn’t leave feedback in a timely manner, basically all you can do send a reminder, respectfully requesting them to leave feedback. If they can’t be burdened with it, let it go. If you pester them, you might just get the kind of feedback you don’t want!

When selling, it pays to be proactive. Enclose a handwritten thank you note with the items you ship. In the note, request that the bidder leave a positive feedback for you if they were satisfied with the auction. I've discovered that these notes result in a significant increase feedback I've received as a seller.

Take a moment today and consider if there's something you can do to increase your eBay feedback. Doing so just might have a tangibile effect on your bottom line.

Doug Feiring is the creator of http://www.Template-O-Matic.com. Create professional looking eBay templates and great looking auction listings with this FREE automated Ad Generator. Read more articles like this at his blog -- http://www.auctioninsights.info.

Click Here To Read This Article

eBay: Discover New System To Unleash The Power - By Karen Cook

eBay...It would be interesting to know how many people have NOT heard of this company. From its introduction in 1995 to the present, it's a force to behold. Never mind any economic downturns or bleak forecasts. eBay is oblivious to such doom and gloom. While other retail businesses are cutting corners to survive, eBay just keeps getting bigger and bigger.

How could it not? Millions of consumers have made this company a staple in their lives. Why? Because it offers the customer exactly what they want. A solution to their every need. At a fair price. So it's the preferred destination of buyers wanting information, services and goods.

Planning a wedding? Decorating your home? Outfitting your dental office? Needing university textbooks?
No problem. Folks know if they shop at eBay, they will find what they need at tremendous savings.

This is why eBay is able to hold its own with what is often a fickle marketplace. And, what economists think of as a world unto itself.

Naturally, with all this value to the buying public, another sector have hailed eBay's existence as the opportunity of our age. The entrepreneur. It's the choice platform for easy entry into the small-business world. Where else can you start small and grow into a multi-national company? Many times, right from
your own home.

As we move into 2007, the profit potential is massive and ready to be tapped. With the only limits being your imagination. If you compare the costs with starting any other venture, eBay again, wins hands down.

There's no need to be afraid of jumping in. With all the books and online help, you are guided on your way in this new-world economy.

Perhaps you are now running a business you dote on and can't see starting up another one. You can still unleash the eBay wealth by affiliating with this powerhouse to improve market potential.

Whether your business is on or offline, there's a tool you can utilize to bring eBay right to your doorstep. Your bricks and mortar enterprise will benefit if you already have an online presence.

If you have an internet marketing business, this newly-developed, easily installed script will optimize your website or blog like no other system.

By employing new tools to keep up with eBay and giving your customers unlimited choices, you will make 2007 your most rewarding year.

(c) 2006 Karen Cook

Working in a Public Library, Karen Cook enjoys researching marketing information for her patrons.
To read more and pick up your free report, drop by http://addebay.blogspot.com

Click Here To Read This Article

The Value Of Niches On Ebay - By Philip Weslow

So why are niches so important? REASON ONE, less competition! Let’s say that you are selling the latest and greatest MP3 player on eBay. Let’s also say that there are 200 other auctions for some variation of the model of MP3 player you are selling. How do you know that even if a given person is searching for the particular model that you are selling that your auction listing will get seen?

Let me start by asking you this, how many of this item are you selling at once? I will give you an oversimplified example. Let’s say that there are only two sellers selling your particular item. You yourself have one auction listing posted on eBay and your competition has 15 listings posted. As I understand eBay’s current polices, eBay limits you to 15 identical listings at once. So I would say that the chances are 15 out of 16 that any given potential buyer will find your competition’s listing before yours.

So what’s the answer? Should you go out and buy 15 MP3 players and list them all at once so that you can compete? Unless you already have experience selling that model and have a listing written up which you know works, and based on your experience, you feel comfortable that you will make a profit with that listing given the current supply and demand for the particular product, then I would suggest you might want to shy away from being in a hurry to do 15 listings at once.

If you are testing the waters and are not sure how much profit, if any, you will be able to get selling XYZ model of MP3 player, then why would you hurry to sell 15 at once? If none of your listings sell you might be facing having to pay for 15 listing fees and no sales. That would mean you would take a loss on each and every listing. I would suggest that you test the waters and find an item and listing description combination that you know earns you a profit.

Should I pay for listing upgrades so that my auction gets featured? Once again if you are going to experiment with listing upgrades then I would start small. I would suggest you try experiment slowly with each possible factor. I would not suggest that you “go all out” and get a bunch of upgrades and sell 15 items at once if you are just starting out. If you do pay for extra upgrades and none of your items sell then you will be stuck paying the listing fees on 15 separate items, only this time your cost per listing will be higher then the previous example because of the extra cost involved with the upgrades.

Don’t get my wrong, you may well find out that you sell more units if you opt for a certain combination of upgrades. What I am saying is that you should carefully examine the cost and return of each and every upgrade that you decide to invest in. You should conduct your own “cost benefit analysis” and treat the fees that you might pay as “investments.” This is your business we are talking about so you are the one who is ultimately responsible for its success or failure.

This is one of the great things about niches, if you can find an item that people want (has demand) and that has very few other people selling your item (competition) then you might well have a money maker on your hands. Why, you might ask? Because if people want your item then you should not have too much problems finding interested buyers, and if you are one of the few people who are able to get your hands on this item in order to turn around and sell it on eBay, then you have found a way to limit competition. You would have found a “barrier to entry,” and that’s a good thing.

Clearly there are a lot of ways to profit on eBay. That much is clear since there are a great many people who make their full time living using eBay. What I am saying is that you should start small, analyze cost and benefit, and grow a business that works for you.

Best Wishes for your success on eBay.

-Philip Weslow

For more information about doing business on eBay let me show for all your auctions how to build your eBay feedback.

Click Here To Read This Article

How to Buy and Sell in Online Auction Sites - By Marks Kinds

Internet auction sites, such as eBay and others have provided a great platform for literally millions of users to buy or sell virtually anything from unwanted household goods to high value items at the click of a button.

The vast majority of sales are concluded promptly and to the satisfaction of both parties. However problems can occur with the end result being the buyer left out of pocket or at the very least left feeling digruntled and cheated. You can limit the likelehood of this happening by following these five saftey tips.

-> Check The Seller's Feedback

Feedback is a way for previous customers to rate the seller and this is worth checking prior to purchasing an item. Most online auction sites have a feedback system and it's a great way to see if your seller has a good trading history.

-> Check The Item(s)

Review the description, pictures, model and the normal retail price of the goods. Ensure you know what you are buying prior to placing a bid. The old adage "if the price is too good to be true, it usually is" applies especially on high value/desirable items. If you are unsure about any aspect of the item you are purchasing then contact the seller. Good sellers will always be happy to answer reasonable questions.

-> Check The Small Print

How will the item be delivered and what is the cost? A common ploy by some unscrupulous sellers is to offer items at a cheap price but inflate the shipping costs. This practice seems more prevalent with overseas sellers but it certainly isn't restricted to them. Will the item be insured in transit? Where is it being shipped from and how long will delivery take? By answering the above questions prior to bidding then you can ensure you won't be worried later on.

-> Check How To Pay

You need to check what form of payment the seller will accept and whether there will be any associated costs. Never Pay With Cash!! The best methods of payment from the viewpoint of the customer are via Credit Card direct or through companies such as WorldPay. Alternatively an online payment service such as Paypal or NOCHEX is another secure way of making payment. Using the companies above will also ensure that the seller will not see your credit card number and details. By paying via Credit Card you will be entitled to additional protection subject to your card issuers Terms & Conditions.

-> Check Your Bid

How much are you willing to pay? Consider any additional costs such as delivery etc and then if you are still happy with it place your bid. Remembering that if the bid is accepted then you will be expected to complete your side of the deal and pay.

Use free online auction to save money and promote your products. Some sites are free to use such as gbuysell.com, ubuysell.ca, ubuysell.co.uk, clickbuysell.com

Marks Kinds

Click Here To Read This Article

How to Sell Items on ebay: Quick Guide to Starting ebay Business - By Ryan Buel

How to sell stuff on ebay, It is actually quite simple, and I believe anybody that has a computer with internet access or a library card can do it. Of course I will not only tell you how to sell stuff on ebay I will be giving a guide on how to make money becoming a power seller, finding inventory to sell and making a profit.

Becoming an ebay power seller isn't difficult, nor is it hard to make a profit with ebay. You will learn how to advertise the item correctly, find items to sell, and most importantly find a niche. The first thing you must do in order to sell things on e-bay is get an account which is quite simple, laid out by the step by step process of entering personal data prompted by the ebay website, you must also sign up for a sellers account, which is basically the same process. Now that you have successfully created an account you can begin selling.

First you must decide what to sell. Deciding what to sell is a matter of preference that should be based entirely on three things. The first being what you like, the second being things you know about, and the third being items that are affordable for your business budget. Next you must find places to buy the items you will be selling. This is mostly just your choice but there are more than a couple of options to choose.

The first option that you can choose is to buy it from ebay, you may be thinking what? How can I buy something and then turn around and resell it for profit? This isn't as bad is it sounds, you can buy stuff on ebay wholesale, AND most importantly you can profit off of the mistakes of inexperienced ebayer’s. What you do, is you search on ebay and look for misspelled items. They are everywhere, and people always miss them! They will sell very cheap because hardly anyone even see's them. Also don't forget about slow weeks when looking for inventory. The week after Christmas is a perfect week to go inventory shopping. The second option is online resources such as government surplus and wholesale stores, you can also go to places like overstock.com and check the bargain bins for deals. The last option and one of the best options is neighborhood resources, don't forget one mans trash is another's treasure. Look for opportunities such as estate sales, flea markets, garage sales, thrift stores and pawn shops. One thing not to forget about is finding your own niche. Something that you specialize in, and can become acquainted with. I would suggest to sell some stuff you own first and find out what you really like selling and then concentrate on selling that.

Now that you have an inventory you can begin creating item listings. The item listing is obviously by far the most important thing to consider when selling an item. I have seen people sell complete crap just because their listing was very good. There are 2 major important parts to a listing.

The first and one of the most important things to consider will be the heading. The heading is such a crucial part of great selling because it is what matches up with keywords a user types to find your listing. Remember you can't get any sales if no one sees your listing, that is why you can by inventory cheap from misspellings. When considering a heading make sure you use as many keywords as possible. I believe you may use up to 45 characters. Don't waste characters on filler words such as THE and also don't use too many adjectives, remember when a user is searching he isn't going to type fabulous watch. The user will most likely type the brand of the product and the type of product and not much else.

The second part which is equally important is the actual listing remember to be descriptive but not too wordy, too many words will be unattractive to potential buyers. You should also remember to write a draft and revise the listing. It is a very wise idea to make a rough draft as if you were writing a paper. The last thing I will talk about are the add-ons. Add-ons don't necessarily guarantee more potential buyers each add-on costs money that takes away from your profit. The only add-on necessity are the multiple pictures, remember pictures are worth a thousand words so make sure you take good pictures in good lighting.

The final step to the process is packing and payment, the hard part is over. The payment options are very simple especially with paypal. All you have to do is set up a paypal account and you're ready to go. 90% of transactions will be done with paypal, and if you like you can make that number 100%, if you decide to accept only paypal payments. Shipping isn't hard either, all you have to do is make sure that when you listed the item you listed shipping charges that won't put you in the red. Don't forget it is the buyer that pays shipping costs. So now all you have to do is pack it in a box and send it to the winning bidders property and you're done.

I am an avid ebayer. If you are still curious about ebay selling I urge you to visit my blog it has helpful hints and tips ebaysellingguide.wordpress.com Good luck!

Click Here To Read This Article

Top 3 Mistakes Internet Sellers Make With Their Photos - By Rebecca Minew

If you supplement your income with Ebay or another internet source like so many do these days, you are probably aware of the importance of good photographs. At any given time you can browse listings that feature out of focus, dark or distant objects. It is frustrating for the buyer and a potential lost sale for the seller. A picture is definitely worth a thousand words when money is involved, and a description can only do so much. In the end, the photo sells the product. Of course, we can't all have a professional studio in our home, but we can reserve a corner of a spare room for taking pictures.

One mistake many sellers make is a good professional background. So many harbor a busy background that distracts, or worse they include carpets, dirty counter tops, or even a hand in the way. I have found that for a couple of dollars, white poster board is an incredibly valuable tool. Place a stand in a corner where you can leave it set up for quick access. Tack a white board on the wall and lay another on the stand. Even a white sheet will work well. Just make sure it's clean. Most items look their best with white behind them, but you can experiment with colored construction paper as well. Even adding a prop can catch the buyer's eye just long enough to encourage a bid. A vase or cut flower can draw traffic. Try it! I've had customers asking to purchase the prop. I have also found that china pieces look exceptional on a lace doily or tablecloth. Leaf through a catalog for some great ideas from the pros but definitely keep it simple.

Another mistake commonly overlooked, is proper lighting. Too many blurred or darkly shadowed products are circulating. How can you possibly make a sale! A well-lit room is a must, even with a flash on your camera. A second lamp nearby is also helpful. Just make sure it isn't throwing shadow. You can lighten a photo afterwards on the computer if you need to, but that only helps to an extent. Take photos from different angles so you have number to choose from.
Lastly, and probably most important, get to know your camera. A digital is almost a must in the business. Understand the settings that allow you to take close-ups and features that tell when more light is needed. I went nearly two months not understanding the Macro function and how important it was for clarity. When photos download into your computer program there is an array of features that help crop and resize them. They are indispensable so try them out.
Photos don't need to mirror perfect catalog spreads, in fact, that also deters buyers who may think they are catalog stock. They do, however, want to see close up, clear and clean items.
With a little practice your photographs will put you at the top of the game. Let the bidding wars begin!

Click Here To Read This Article

How To Be Successful With A Home Based eBay Business - By Gray Rollins

eBay, the Internet auction site, is hot. Anyone with a computer and Internet access can buy nearly anything they want on eBay. Want a new dress? Get it on eBay. Want an antique lamp? You can get that on eBay, too. How about a new house or property? You got it. You know that you can spend a fortune on eBay, but did you also know that you could make a fortune, too?

When you register for an eBay account, you can sell anything that you have on eBay. EBay is the perfect way to sell your goods and make money. In fact, you can sell clothes when the kids outgrow them or make your eBay selling into a full-blown business. There are many people that have left the comfort zone of working a 9 to 5 job and turned to eBay for their livelihood.

How do home based eBay businesses work? If you have never sold an item on eBay, you may feel intimidated at first. However, once you get the hang of selling, it is easy. Some even describe selling on eBay almost like an addiction. You have thirty minutes left on your auction, so you want to watch every minute to know that you are getting the top bids for your products!

The first thing you will need to do when you have a home based eBay business is to set up an account. This is fairly easy, as all you will really need to do is to set up a user name. Most people go with names that reflect what they sell such as “granniesquilts” or “babyscloset.” You will also need to set up a PayPal account. A PayPal account is connected to your bank account. When someone makes a payment to you, it can go directly to your PayPal account, where you can then transfer it into your bank account. You also have the option of allowing your buyers the option to pay by credit card, personal check or money order.

Now you will need to decide what you want to sell. This can be virtually anything. You can sell secondhand clothing that you find at garage sales. Perhaps you love to haunt the thrift stores for quirky little treasures. Books and movies also sell well on eBay, too. Whatever you want to sell will be up to you. Many people find that they can make good money selling items that they find on clearance at department stores. If you like to shop, then you can sell your finds on eBay.

When you get ready to sell your product, you will need to write your product description. This is where you must be as accurate as possible. Nothing will give you bad or negative feedback faster than inaccurately describing your products. Never list used items as new and if you have stains or tears in a shirt, make sure you note that. Also, take good digital pictures. When you sell on eBay, you can list one picture with your item description. Additional pictures cost you a small fee, but you will soon find that pictures are worth a thousand words. Buyers want to know exactly what they are buying.

Now that you know the basics of running a home based eBay business, you can start thinking about all the things you can sell. It is time to clean out the closest and dig through the attic. You never know what kind of money you might make off of “junk” you have sitting around.

Gray Rollins is a writer for AuctionConversionSecrets.com, a site dedicated to helping eBay sellers sell their items for premium prices. If you want to learn how to make money on eBay, then be sure to visit the site. If you're interested in learning where you can buy your items for wholesale prices, then be sure to take a look at Salehoo. It's a massive wholesale directory that has wholesale prices on just about everything under the sun. Learn more at SalehooReview.com.

Click Here To Read This Article

Mr. Omidyar - What A Great Thing You Have Created - The History Of eBay - By Frederick Musser

eBay - Around For 11 Years And Still Going Strong!

Yes, you read that correctly - Eleven years - It seems like just yesterday I was looking at this kind of plain thing called AuctionWeb - where has the time gone?

eBay was created in September 1995, in he living room of San Jose resident Pierre Omidyar - Jeff Skoll was co-founder. Mr.Omidyar wanted his unique site to be an online marketplace so he sat down and wrote all of the code in a weekend. He decided to call his new site "AuctionWeb" - It was one of the first websites of its kind in the world.

The name "eBay"came from the name Mr. Omidyar used for his original business, Echo Bay Technology Group, the "eBay AuctionWeb"was originally just one part of the Echo Bay Technology Group. When Mr. Omidyar went to register the domain name echobay.com it was already registered so he did the next best thing - Shortened it to eBay.com and the rest is pretty much history.

Do you know what the first thing that sold on eBay was?

The first thing to ever be sold on the eBay was Mr. Omidyar's broken laser pointer, which he got $14 for - He even knew how to make money before eBay got popular -14 bucks for a broken laser pointer? :-}

The site quickly became very popular, as sellers came to list all sorts of odd things and buyers came and actually bought them. Relying on trust seemed to work remarkably well, and meant that the site could almost be left alone to run itself. The site had been designed from the start to collect a small fee on each sale, and it was this money that Mr. Omidyar used to pay for AuctionWeb's expansion. The fees quickly added up to more than his current salary, and so he decided to quit his job and work on the site full-time.

1996 - The feedback facilities were added to "AutionWeb", to let buyers and sellers rate each other and make buying and selling safer. This was an increadible idea as the buyers and sellers basically police themselves to all activities.

1997 - Mr. Omidyar changed both AuctionWeb - and Echo Bay Technology Group's name to "eBay", which is what people had been calling the site for a long time. He began to spend a lot of money on advertising, and had the eBay logo designed. The one-millionth item was sold (it was a toy version of Big Bird from Sesame Street) in 1997, what a milestone for eBay.

1998 - Harvard Business School graduate Meg Whitman joins the eBay team after having some reserves.

This year was the start of the dotcom boom - eBay became big business, and the investment in Internet businesses at the time allowed it to bring in senior managers and business strategists, who took in public on the stock market. It started to encourage people to sell more than just collectibles, and quickly became a massive site where you could sell anything, large or small. Unlike many other sites of the dotcom boom, eBay survived and is still going strong today, very strong.

1999 - eBay goes worldwide, launching sites in the UK, Australia and Germany.

eBay buys the auction house Butterfield and Butterfield for an astounding price of 260 million dollars.

June of 1999 say eBay.com shut down for hours making both buyers and sellers very unhappy. eBay's 400 employees personally called individual sellers who were affected by this crash and apologized for the downtime and the inconvenience to them.

2000 - eBay bought Half.com, an Amazon-like online retailer to broaden their online market share.

2002 - eBay buys PayPal for 1.5 billion dollars - PayPal is perhaps the Internet's oldest payment processor. It is estimated that over 90% of eBay sellers use PayPal as their payment processor. The other 10% are just plain crazy for not using Paypal.

eBay Stores open up for e-commerce giving eBay buyers and sellers a way to access to over 200 million shoppers and sellers worldwide.

2006 - eBay introduces MyWorld and eBay Blogs to get a piece of the social networking pie.

eBay opens its new eBay Express site, which is designed to work like a standard Internet shopping site with fixed priced items.

- eBay has 135 million users world wide.

Pierre Omidyar has now earned over an estimated $3 billion from eBay, and still serves as Chairman of the Board. Oddly enough, rumor has it that he keeps a personal weblog at TypePad.

There are now literally millions of items bought and sold on eBay every single day 24-7, all over the world. It is estimated that for every $100 spent online worldwide, $14 is spent on eBay - now that is a whole bunch of laser pointers.

Frederick Musser is the owner/developer of many websites on the net today and an avid eBay seller with many auctions under his belt.

Please visit the Real Easy Auctions Blog for more great eBay Info

Click Here To Read This Article

Tips for New Ebay Buyers - By Randy Heavner

Ebay is a huge marketplace comprised of thousands of different sellers. The vast majority are perfectly honest sellers operating a legitimate business. And as with any selling venue of this size, there are some also a few that are less than honest . For the new Ebayer, telling the difference and learning to negotiate the Ebay site can be a time consuming process.

The first order of business, if you have not done so already, is to sign up for an account with Ebay. This is a relatively straightforward process of entering information and obtaining a screen name and password.

After registering, you will be directed to a few pages for new members. These pages will explain the different buying formats and give a general idea of how Ebay works. Taking the time to read these pages will make purchasing a lot easier.

Consider how you will pay for your purchases. Most Ebay sellers accept Paypal. This is also the safest method for buyers, as Paypal provides buyer protection for items not received, a system for mediating disputes, and will accept major credit cards through their system. The sign up process is quite simple.

The easiest way to find what you are looking for is through the search bar on the main page. This works like any other search engine, in that you need to use specific terms to

locate an item. For example, MP3 player brings up about 20,000 items. Adding IPOD to the search narrows it down to 5,000 or so. Experiment with different search terms to find a good combination. When you have reached a page with what you are looking for, you can then narrow down your search using the Search Options box in the lower left corner. This will allow you to view only the items which fall under certain categories you chose, such as buy it now only, listing country, free shipping only. You can also narrow your search to specific price ranges and item ending times.

When considering an item for purchase, it is very important to carefully read the sellers terms. Shipping charges and return policy should be clearly spelled out. Be careful to read ALL of the sales copy. Make sure you understand whether an item is new or used, what condition it is in, and what exactly is included with your purchase. For questions about a listing you can email the seller through the ask seller a question link at upper right of page.

The one other thing that must be done before committing to buy is to check the sellers reputation on Ebay. The feedback link at upper right will give an indication of how many positive feedbacks the seller has received, what percentage of the sellers transactions resulted in positive feedback, and how long they have been an Ebay member. You can also read comments from other buyers. To go a step beyond, you may also want to take a look at the sellers About Me page.

There are literally millions of transactions on Ebay each day, and the vast majority are problem free. While nothing is perfect, the built in safeguards of Ebay / Paypal make Ebay as safe as any internet venue for the prudent shopper.

For more information on both buying and seling at internet auctions, please vist www.auction-lynx.com Internet Auction Directory

Click Here To Read This Article

Niche eBay Products - The Hidden Goldmine of Children's Books - By Rachel Annarve

Everyone realises that selling on eBay requires good products. What everyone does not realise, is that many everyday articles are actually excellent sellers.

In the second of this series of articles, I will go through a niche product category that most would never give a second thought, children's books.

Almost everyone has gone to a garage sale or second-hand store and checked the books. Usually you throw aside the children's books in case there is something valuable underneath!
Most people will know about the first edition Harry potter books that sold for high amounts of money, but how many of those are just lying at sales?

The real goldmine is in more obscure titles.
Here is a small sample of sold items on eBay in November;

* Lang (Andrew) The Blue Fairy Book Hardcover first Ed 1889 $1,420.20

* Nesbit (Edith) Miss Mischief, Boards 1880 $568.08

* Hardy Boys HIDDEN GOLD RED COVER 1930 Hardcover with dust Jacket $2184 !

Now obviously, these 3 examples are the top sellers at this time period and you’re probably thinking that you’ll never come across these books.
Actually there are so many children's books that you can pick up for 20c or less than $1 which will sell for between $25 -$300

1. If it is a hardcover book and has the paper dust-jacket, that is a good start.

2. Now check the edition. Does it only have "printed in (any year)," does it have 2nd impression (or any impression) or this edition printed in (any year).

3. A very general rule would be the earlier the impression, the better. There is however always exclusions to this rule, which is why you should spend an hour or two simply writing down the authors that consistently achieve good prices.

I have made a small list here which only took 5 minutes to compile, so you can see how easy it is to do!

* L. Frank Baum (author of The Wizard of Oz) -This author regularly gets prices Between $30-$200

* Enid Blyton (Author of Famous 5) -regular sales between $10-$50

* Dr Seuss (Author of Cat in the Hat ect...) - often up to $200 for first editions

The best way to research this on eBay is to do a search that shows completed auctions on children's books from the highest price.

There are also many popular children's figures that often appeal not only to book collectors, but pop culture and other collectors.
A great example of this is Mickey Mouse and many of the Disney Characters.
Star Wars books are also an interesting market as even the newer books seem to have a wide collector base.
When looking at older children's books, the ones with large clear well drawn illustrations and novelty books are a good bet.
Things such as older pop-up books also appeal to a wide range of collectors.

A growing number of people are also looking for pop culture icons such as Gerry Anderson. Some have sold annuals related to Gerry Anderson TV series for over $50!
Another thing to think about is, even when you don’t see anything promising, collections of the same author can go for substantially more than single books.
People like to purchase a collection already put together rather than having to pay for shipping on each one.

Some recent good sellers have been;

- The Hardy Boys Series

- Lemony Snickets Series

- Judy Blume Books

- Roald Dahl books

- The Nancy drew series

And finally, there has been an interesting amount of older Little Golden Books selling for considerably high prices. This is an interesting trend considering how cheap these were when released. Some of the earlier ones are constantly reaching over $100!

This really is a fascinating niche market on eBay and it does pay to do a little research first. Again, this is something you can pick up at garage sales and goodwill stores for next to nothing.

Thanks for reading and Good Luck!

Rachel Annarve

The author of this article has been selling on eBay for over 6 years and currently makes a full-time living selling in online auctions.

For the unabridged article and more in this series, please visit
http://auctionresource.co.nz

Click Here To Read This Article