Truly Affordable

These days it’s not easy to make money online. But I will talk about one of the easiest way to make money online is to start selling on eBay. eBay makes getting your new business started a snap. You can literally have your first moneymaking auction listed in the space of an hour. Absolutely ANYONE can start listing items for sale on eBay today. No initial starting costs, very low running costs and massive automatic visitors. Do you know that more than 2 Million people visit eBay every day ? eBay is — by far — the busiest and most visited e-commerce site on the entire Internet, and more than 33% of ALL Internet users in the U.S. visit eBay! People spend an average of 2 hours shopping on eBay every time they visit! And they’ve got cash to spend, since 72% of eBay users make more than $50,000 per year! eBay processes over $1,000 in sales every second! In other words, people spend a TON of money on eBay. That $1,000 per second adds up to $86,000,000 a day — every single day of the year!

So, having these numbers in mind everyone should have success selling on eBay. But do you know that many eBay sellers struggle to make a profit. I mean a REL profit. eBay fees and paypal fees are higher than ever and the competition offering the same products as you do for a fraction of the price is massive. So how do you survive in the jungle called eBay ?

Let me introduce you to a regular guy (from Fremont, Nebraska, population 25,188) who is currently making $153,846.17 each and every week… by selling “everyday” stuff on eBay. Just to save you the math, that adds up to a little over $8,000,000 a year. Or just under $22,000 a day. Can you imagine that …? $22,000 A DAY (!) ?? In other words, it’s a truckload of money — no matter how you look at it! In fact, since he first got started on eBay back in 1999, Brandon has sold more than $20,000,000 worth of goods on eBay. Yep, you read that right… more than TWENTY MILLION DOLLARS.Unlike so many of the so-called eBay “success stories” — Brandon’s income does NOT come from selling super high-priced items on eBay — like cars or satellites! (It’s EASY to say you’re making a MILLION DOLLARS if you’re selling *cars* on eBay!

Brandon has put his knowledge into one amazing course so everyone can duplicate his entire system to start their own highly profitable eBay businesses!

This story is so amazing:

* Which products are “hot sellers,” and guarantee the BIGGEST profits!

* Where to find in-demand products that you can buy for cheap and resell for massive profits!

* How to attract TONS of bids and make HUGE profits on every single auction you list!

* How to CREATE stunning ads that grab the eyeballs of eager bidders!

* How to easily rake in even MORE cash by establishing a glowing feedback rating!

* Techniques for driving 1,000s of qualified bidders to ANY auction listings!

… and much, MUCH more!

Thomas Haselhorst promotes www.auction-design-for-free.com/make-money-with-ebay/make-22000-a-day-with-ebay.html and is the webmaster of www.auction-design-for-free.com and www.monster-ebook-sale.com/html/ebay.html

As the editor of the UK Auctionline Newsletter I receive a great number of e-mails from subscribers. Frequently the question they ask is, “Please tell me an easy way to make money on eBay.” I suppose the answer to this question really revolves around how you define the term easy.

It is my belief that there is no easier way to make money on the Internet than by selling items through eBay. What could be simpler, a straight forward 5 step process.

1. Get something to sell.
2. Photograph it, and write a description.
3. Upload your listing to eBay.
4. Collect your money.
5. Dispatch the item.

What could be simpler than that?

But I suspect what people are really asking is how can I easily get products to sell. From my experience this is what both newcomers and some experienced eBayers find difficult. So in this article I just want to highlight 5 very simple ways that you can get products to sell without even leaving your computer. This I hope that will be easy enough for everyone.

1. What, no photograph?
It is my belief that there is hardly an item listed on eBay or any of the other online auctions that does not benefit from having a photograph or image included in the listing. In fact most items that are listed without a photograph that actually sell tend to fetch 20% less than those with. In some categories the figures are even higher. For instance clothing items offered without a photograph average a 78% lower selling price than those with. So it would seem to be pretty easy to browse eBay looking for these “photo less” items, buying them and then relisting with a photograph. Money for old rope really.

2. Finding the poorly listed item.
There are many reasons why someone’s listing fails to attract any worthwhile bids. Bad title, short or poor description, wrong category, poor spelling and so on. You can find these by browsing around the auction site, but I would suggest an easier method.

Select the categories that you are interested in and look down the search feature for items finishing within the next hour. Here is where you will find the bargains that have failed to attract any bids for the reasons we have mentioned.

3. Unsocial hours
In any book about eBay you will find tips on when is the best time for auctions to finish. The most suggested times for most items are Sunday afternoon and evenings and Wednesday evenings. Some experts suggest that for business related items Monday or Tuesday during office hours are best. If you accept that there are times when you will get increased bids for your items there must also be times when if your auction ends you will not do so well. I would think if you have an auction that finishes between say 5 am and 8 am on a Monday morning you will not have too many people lurking to place last minute bids to push the price up. Again buy and relist with your auction set to finish at a more sociable time and you could easily make a 20% or more profit for very little effort.

4. Buy Collections
One of the easiest ways to make money on eBay is to cash in on other peoples laziness. If someone has say a collection of 10 china dogs, it is a fact that if they put all ten in one listing as a collection they will get less than if they had listed each item separately. But it is amazing how many sellers cannot be bothered to do this. I have in the past bought such a collection and actually made more from one of the items than I had paid for the whole collection.

5. Other online auctions.
Over 95% of all online auction sales are on eBay. They have the largest number of registered buyers and items listed for sale. For this reason items offered for sale on eBay get the best prices. So why not search around some of the smaller online auctions, because in many cases items listed with them will not attract such a good prices as could be achieved on eBay. Then all you have to do is buy from them and relist on eBay.

So there are 5 easy ideas for you to consider. Why not give some or all of them a try.

Dave Bromley runs the www.ukauctionline.co.uk web site and newsletter. This information packed web site contains hundreds of articles, hints and tips for getting the most out of eBay.To register for the newsletter and 6 part mini course visit his web site now.

How To Find Items To Sell On eBay

When it comes to eBay auctions, many people are unsure as to how to select items to sell - and where to find them. While figuring out which items sell best on eBay may be a little difficult, finding those items isn’t difficult at all! You just have to be creative in your search, and keep an open mind!

Start your search at your own home. Clean out the garage, the attic, and the closets. You will most likely be very surprised at the items that you will find.

Don’t make the mistake of throwing things out, thinking that they are useless.

What is useless to you may be very useful to someone else, and you should try to auction it off! Of course, items that are worn out to the point of not working are not useful to anyone - but if the item is old, and it still works, it can be auctioned off…in fact, it doesn’t even have to be old or valuable!

Offer to clean out the attics and garages of older people as well.

Older people tend to hang onto things for years and years, and as that time passes, those items become more valuable. Offer to buy items that you find in their attic or garage. Most people don’t realize the value of what they have, and you will probably pick up many high selling items very cheap. In fact, as a way of thanking you, the items may even be given to you at no charge!

Visit the yard sales and garage sales in your area.

People sell things for next to nothing at these sales. If it is in good shape, and you think you can sell it on eBay, buy it. Even if it turns out to be an eBay dud, you can always resell the item in your own yard sale to get your money back out of it. However, do some research before you start hitting the yard sales. Find out what items and brands are selling well on eBay.

Flea markets are also great for finding items to auction off at eBay.

Keep up with how much you pay for items at the flea markets, and when you post the items for auction at eBay, make sure that your reserve price is not less than what you originally paid for the items!

Go to storage auctions.

Most storage businesses auction off the contents of the storage units when people fail to pay their storage bills. This is a fabulous way to find items to auction off on eBay. Estate sales should also be attended to find high value antique items.

Another option is to use drop shippers for new items.

Setting up an account with a drop shipper is really quite simple. You can auction off brand new items using either the auction feature or the buy now feature at eBay. Just make sure that your reserve price for auctions is not less than what the item will cost you! Once your item is sold, the drop shipper will ship the item directly to your customer.

The most important thing about selling is that you need to make sure the items that you pick are in good shape and are saleable. This doesn’t mean that the item has to be in perfect condition - but if it is in less than perfect condition, you need to convey this information when you set up your auction.

Use your imagination, and keep your eyes open constantly for items that you can auction off on eBay. Again, do your research and find out which items and brands do well on eBay. Make a list, and carry it with you wherever you go!

CopyRight Ian D. Major 2005

Ian D. Major makes it easy to understand and use eBay, quickly and
easily. Learn all you need to know by visiting

www.ebay-articles.com

an entirely FREE source of information about eBay.

It’s surprisingly easy to kill your eBay business, if you’re not careful - sure, you can start over from scratch without it costing you anything, but do you really want to? Still, if you want your business to end up dead in the water, here are some simple ways to do it.

Lie about an item: Say it works fine when it sometimes doesn’t work. Say it’s in perfect condition when it has a scratch. Your customers will hate you!

Post whenever you feel like it: Make sure to leave your customers hanging around, wondering when their item is going to turn up. This makes sure they buy from someone else next time.

Let items end anytime: Few people will be around to care about your auction if it ends in the middle of the night. Why go to the trouble of working out whether auctions will end at a good time?

Don’t bother with email: Customers are just timewasters anyway. eBay businesses are supposed to run themselves! Never give informed responses to questions about your item.

Sell rubbish: Really, it’s just eBay. You can just sell any old tat from the market for a 200% profit. Let quality be someone else’s concern - I mean, really, what do they expect for that price?

Refuse to give discounts: You know what your items cost, you know what your profit margin is going to be, and you’re not going to negotiate. Remember that giving customers special deals might make them feel good and come back to you again.

Make your listings ugly: As many colours, flashing lights and animations as possible will really give those customers a headache. Write as much in CAPITALS!!!! as you can. Preferably big, red capitals. Be sure to use the fonts Impact and Comic Sans. For an extra special touch, see if you can figure out a way to add some music.

Don’t take photos: It’s such trouble, after all. If buyers are picky enough to actually want to see items before they bid on them, then screw ‘em, that’s what I say.

Write short descriptions: Be as brief as possible, and use lots of mysterious abbreviations. This obviously makes you look very cool. You can even just write the title again in the description box. Think of the effort you’ll save!

Use reserve auctions: Now, this is a fairly controversial final choice, but it really is one of the best ways to scare away your customers. They’ll see ‘reserve not yet met’, and click that ‘back’ button before you know it. Luckily, they can always bid in a normal auction for the item somewhere else.

Now that you know the ten ways to kill your eBay business, how about we explore what to do if you want to do the opposite, and make a success of it? The next email will give you ten steps to successful selling on eBay.

Mario Giordani writes about different topics of interest. You can see additional information at adsensebible.com/web-design/ or adsensebible.com if you’re interested in learning more about AdSense profits. This article can be distributed if all links and information is left intact.

Most people do far more shopping in the holiday season than they do for the rest of the year - and now you know how to use eBay, why not do it there? If you know what kind of thing your friends and family like then eBay’s categories are ideal places to get ideas. Plus, you won’t have to fight your way through the holiday rush when you’re getting everything posted to you at home!

Buying Presents for People.

Here’s how I do it: think of the last thing the person you’re buying a present for bought for themselves. Type it into eBay’s search engine. Now take a look at which category it’s in, and click the link to look at everything in the category. Straight away, you have a huge list of things that they’re probably be happy to receive - and if you know them well, you should have no trouble picking through to find something really special.

Look at Their eBay Histories.

If the people you’re buying presents for use eBay, and you know their eBay usernames, then you can take a look at what they’ve been buying to see what they might want. To look at a user’s history, just click ‘Advanced Search’ on the main page, then Find a Member on the left-hand menu. Type in their username and you should reach their user page, complete with all the item numbers of things they have bought. Just paste any item number into the eBay search box to see what the item was. That should give you a few ideas!

Shop in Advance.

It’s a bad idea to use eBay for your holiday shopping at the very last minute - prices will be high, and items might not turn up in time. Every year there’s a present that children want so much that all the shops sell out, and it starts appearing on eBay at a premium. Parents then pay hundreds of dollars and still don’t get one in time for the big day. Don’t fall into this trap.

Remember You’re in Silly Season.

The holiday season is peak time at eBay - loads of people are there, and they’re often inexperienced, bidding things up far higher than they should. Try not to end up paying far too much for an item just because it’s the last one that would turn up in time, or because everyone else is bidding too high. You should always know when to cut your losses, stop bidding and just go get something from the shop instead.

Have Fun!

Don’t take eBay too seriously - treat it like a game, and don’t be too disappointed if you lose. It can sometimes feel like gambling, but when you get that really rare and special thing in the post, it’s all worth it.

That’s it for our series of emails about buying on eBay: I hope you learned something, and good luck in your eBay future. By now, though, you might have started to think it would be interesting to try selling a few things on eBay yourself. Well, you’re not alone. Go ahead and sign up now for our emails about selling things on eBay. See you there!

Kirsten Hawkins is an Ebay and internet auction enthusiast from Nashville, TN. Visit www.auctionseller411.com/ for more great tips on how to make the most from Ebay and other online auctions.

Italy is famous as one of the leading artistic countries in the world. Its importance in the metallurgic arts is no exception. Fine Italian silver products ranging from jewelry to housewares to decorative items are both interesting and collectible.

Silversmithing in Italy has occurred for hundreds of years; however, regulation of the industry (and therefore hallmarks) has been spotty at best until modern times. As of 1872, purity hallmarking was optional. Most pieces have a simple “800″ mark which varies in size. In 1934, new standards required a regulation sized purity mark, a number for the silversmith, a note for the region, and the fascist symbol. In 1944, this fascist symbol was removed. 1968 brought the currently used system that includes a star, smith number, province identification, and purity mark.

Some traits of Italian silversmiths’ work include hand-hammering, the use of a “bubble” and/or ball detail, and wirework. These smiths have produced the customary range of silverwork, from tableware to jewelry to decorative and utilitarian household items. The styles of these works also follows the customary range of styles one would expect to see from each period of history in which they were produced: art deco, baroque, modern, etc. These items are collectible, appreciated for their artistry and quality despite the lack of clear markings.

Italian silver jewelry is also widely appreciated. Since Italy both attracts and produces some of the top fashion designers in the world, it is no surprise that the jewelry produced in Italy is popular. The prized antique Italian mosaic jewelry is often set in silver, and worn on silver chains. This jewelry is also available through antique sellers worldwide.

The Case For.

Whatever you want to buy, whether it’s large or small, cheap or expensive, everyday or just plain weird, the chances are you can find it on eBay. It’s the largest auction site in the world, and when it comes to the variety of what’s on sale, size is vital. When was the last time you heard of someone getting a great deal on a weird and wonderful item at uBid or Yahoo Auctions?

People who’ve got used to eBay don’t often stop to think how amazing it is - an online marketplace where you can buy things from all over the world, without leaving your home. You can get things that you would never think anyone would bother to sell, and you can get them cheaply. The powerful search engine means that you can find things you’ll like without even knowing exactly what you’re looking for.

Not only that, but you can send money quickly and electronically to almost all of these sellers, without worrying about currency conversion or exchange rates or anything else.

If you’re looking for rarities or bargains, eBay is an ideal place to buy.

The Case Against.

However much you might dream of a truly international marketplace, international postage costs will always bring you back down to reality with a thud. Do you have any idea how much it costs to send even the smallest thing to the other side of the world?

Then there’s the fact that eBay is packed with fraudsters and scammers, preying on the innocent users who’ve heard that eBay is a great place to buy stuff but don’t know the risks. People can lose thousands of dollars, and eBay do nothing. Is that fair? It is hard to even leave negative feedback for the very worst sellers, for fear that they will retaliate and leave a black mark against your own account.

eBay is unfair to buyers when other buyers don’t play fair, and unfair to sellers who end up selling things for a very low price, only to have eBay’s fees take away the last part of their profit margin.

The Verdict.

Those are the arguments for and against. So is eBay good, or bad? I’ll leave it up to you to decide. For me, though, the answer is this: as long as you’re aware of the downsides, and you know how to protect yourself from scammers and fraudsters and how to get ahead of the competition, eBay is one of the best places in the world to shop. Having followed us this far, of course, you now know all these things, which means that for you, eBay is a great place!

Now that you know so much about eBay, in fact, why not use it to do your holiday shopping? Millions of smart shoppers from around the world already flock to eBay every holiday season to save on their presents and other holiday stuff - the next email will show you how to become one of those people.

Kirsten Hawkins is an Ebay and internet auction enthusiast from Nashville, TN. Visit www.auctionseller411.com/ for more great tips on how to make the most from Ebay and other online auctions.

Remember the student in school who complained (or even cried) because they only got a ninety-nine percent mark on an assignment or test. Meanwhile, some of us were relieved (if not ecstatic) to have merely passed.

I actually witnessed one case where the math student insisted that he was not wrong. On rechecking the test, the teacher realized the answer sheet was wrong and not the student. The student got one hundred percent correct.

Realistically, however, most of us lesser mortals can’t expect to get a perfect mark or score every time.

First of all, none of us are perfect. We all make mistakes.

Secondly, unlike math, some subjects are more subjective in nature. In certain subjects, the answer to a question may not be simply right or wrong. The teacher may have more latitude in how your grades are calculated. The teacher may even (consciously or subconsciously) increase or decrease your grade based on whether they like you (or your attitude) or not.

Similarly, in business, you can’t please everybody all of the time.

In eBay or other Internet auctions, you will not be able to satisfy everyone. Even if you have one hundred percent positive feedback on eBay now, eventually it must fall.

Not all of your customers will be happy with you all of the time. You might make a mistake resulting in an unhappy customer. Sometimes factors beyond your control (such as a lost shipment) may result in a negative feedback.

Occasionally, you might even get a customer who is unreasonable. If he leaves you negative feedback, sometimes all you can do is leave a negative feedback in return. This is not so much as an act of retaliation; it is more a matter of presenting your side of the story.

Sometimes, a customer has a legitimate complaint. Other times the customer has jumped the gun and hasn’t given you a fair chance to resolve matters. It is even possible that your customer is a sadist who takes delight in tormenting others.

Regardless, you can make the offer to mutually agree to withdraw negative feedback from each other.

If you both agree and follow eBay’s procedure, the negative feedback will be removed from both of your total scores (thus improving both feedback ratings). The negative comments themselves won’t be removed by eBay but neither will your response to defend yourself.

Even if this tactic to remove negative feedback is not successful, at least you tried. Don’t let your pride stand in the way of trying to make peace with the customer and reversing any negative feedback.

If the customer won’t agree, at least you’ve told your side of the story. Let your prospective customers decide if they want to do business with you or not.

I personally like it when I see an eBay seller with a perfect feedback rating. Realistically, however, I realize that you simply can’t please everyone. Even if you did everything perfectly, there are still people who are just not reasonable.

Thus, even if a seller has some negative feedback, if the overwwhelming majority are pleased with him, I tend to discount the few dissidents. I suggest you do the same in evaluating others as well as yourself.

J. Stephen Pope, President of Pope Consulting Inc., has been helping clients to earn maximum business profits for over twenty-five years. To learn more about Internet auctions and other profitable Work at Home Small Business Ideas, visit www.yenommarketinginc.com/auctions.html

Ask most people what Aida is and they will tell you it is an opera set in Egypt. Ask a marketing person and they will tell you that it is the sales formula that all advertising must incorporate if it is to succeed.The letters stand for:

A Attention

I Interest

D Desire

A Action

It is a formula that can also help you write better ebay auction listings.

It does not matter how well your description is written, how good your product is or what terrific value it represents if no one knows about it. So how do you grab people’s attention
and get them to read your listing?

We know that the majority of potential bidders will start by going to eBay’s search engine.
So the important thing is to get as many key words or phrases that they might use into your title. If I am looking for a Rolex Oyster wristwatch I might type in Rolex, Oyster or wristwatch
into the search engine. If you have a Rolex Oyster Wrist Watch for sale at £25 I will not even find it if your listing title is something like “Amazing Value Top of the Range Quality Watch”

The secret is to think like a buyer. EBay offer you some tools to help you gain attention. If you cannot get everything in your title that you want you could pay an extra 50p and add a sub title or go for one of the other enhancements that eBay offer. Only testing will tell you whether these are worth it for your products.

Having gained attention and got people to read your listing you have to get and maintain their interest. The very best way to do this is to answer the question that we all have in the back of our mind when we read any advertising, “What’s in it for me?” If you description starts by outlining what the item is and then details the benefits it offers you will draw the reader onto the next stage which is to create the desire to own the item. One of the best tools to create desire is visualization. Phrases like “Just imagine how you will feel wearing a top of the range watch” or “Just think as a Rolex owner you will standout from the crowd”.

So far you have done really well in attracting potential bidders attention, getting their interest and arousing their desire but unless you can get them to take some action it will all have been a waste of time. So how do you get them to take action? It is quite simple really you just ask them. “If you don’t want to miss this wonderful watch bid now.”

This has been a brief introduction to the AIDA formula but I am sure if you keep it in mind while you are writing your listings you will see an increase in bidders.is to be successful.

Dave Bromley is a writer and eBay fan who runs one of the UKs biggest online auction information sites. He also publishes a monthly newsletter and has a 6 part mini course for people who are new to eBay auctions. For more information visit www.ukauctionline.co.uk

How To Find Items To Sell On eBay

When it comes to eBay auctions, many people are unsure as to how to select items to sell - and where to find them. While figuring out which items sell best on eBay may be a little difficult, finding those items isn’t difficult at all! You just have to be creative in your search, and keep an open mind!

Start your search at your own home. Clean out the garage, the attic, and the closets. You will most likely be very surprised at the items that you will find.

Don’t make the mistake of throwing things out, thinking that they are useless.

What is useless to you may be very useful to someone else, and you should try to auction it off! Of course, items that are worn out to the point of not working are not useful to anyone - but if the item is old, and it still works, it can be auctioned off…in fact, it doesn’t even have to be old or valuable!

Offer to clean out the attics and garages of older people as well.

Older people tend to hang onto things for years and years, and as that time passes, those items become more valuable. Offer to buy items that you find in their attic or garage. Most people don’t realize the value of what they have, and you will probably pick up many high selling items very cheap. In fact, as a way of thanking you, the items may even be given to you at no charge!

Visit the yard sales and garage sales in your area.

People sell things for next to nothing at these sales. If it is in good shape, and you think you can sell it on eBay, buy it. Even if it turns out to be an eBay dud, you can always resell the item in your own yard sale to get your money back out of it. However, do some research before you start hitting the yard sales. Find out what items and brands are selling well on eBay.

Flea markets are also great for finding items to auction off at eBay.

Keep up with how much you pay for items at the flea markets, and when you post the items for auction at eBay, make sure that your reserve price is not less than what you originally paid for the items!

Go to storage auctions.

Most storage businesses auction off the contents of the storage units when people fail to pay their storage bills. This is a fabulous way to find items to auction off on eBay. Estate sales should also be attended to find high value antique items.

Another option is to use drop shippers for new items.

Setting up an account with a drop shipper is really quite simple. You can auction off brand new items using either the auction feature or the buy now feature at eBay. Just make sure that your reserve price for auctions is not less than what the item will cost you! Once your item is sold, the drop shipper will ship the item directly to your customer.

The most important thing about selling is that you need to make sure the items that you pick are in good shape and are saleable. This doesn’t mean that the item has to be in perfect condition - but if it is in less than perfect condition, you need to convey this information when you set up your auction.

Use your imagination, and keep your eyes open constantly for items that you can auction off on eBay. Again, do your research and find out which items and brands do well on eBay. Make a list, and carry it with you wherever you go!

CopyRight Ian D. Major 2005

Ian D. Major makes it easy to understand and use eBay, quickly and
easily. Learn all you need to know by visiting

www.ebay-articles.com

an entirely FREE source of information about eBay.