1. Online advertising - On the Internet, a smartly organized small business may get excellent results, often competing side by side with larger corporations. Internet advertising is on an ascending trend, which shows plenty of potential for the near and distant future. As traditional media outlets struggle to keep costs down and become more attractive for potential advertisers, the virtual space offers any business the opportunity to achieve amazing results with a budget that is only a fraction of what an advertiser would pay to get the same ROI through traditional media. Using programs such as Google Adsense, placing affiliate banners on your site and making the most out of pixel advertising are all amazing ways to make some money.
2. Affiliate programs - You can choose affiliate hubs where different advertisers offer their banners and affiliate offers and you can manage them using a centralized system, or you can get a single affiliate website that will display their banners on your site. The potential profits that come from affiliate programs are strictly connected to how high your visitor counts are and how targeted those visitors are. This takes us a bit away from affiliate systems and highlights the importance of SEO in any online business. The web masters who invest money and energy into ethical SEO techniques often notice a very steady increase in traffic, which, in turn, enables them to make more profit from their online business.
3. Freelance jobs - Working as a freelancer on the Internet is one of the most popular ways of making money from home. You can try your luck at graphic design, copywriting, programming and several other dozens of ramifications and project types.
4. Electronic commerce – selling items on eBay is one of the hottest ways of making a lot of cash online. Not everyone is successful at it, of course, but those that are continue to increase their profits constantly. Auctions on eBay have a lot of potential – combine them with dropshipping and you can get a business that’s easy to run and very profitable at the same time.
5. Paid surfing and survey filling - There are a number of companies that pay you to surf the web. They display a small add on your desktop when you are connected to the Internet and give you a percentage of the advertising revenue they receive. The amount per hour is not very big, but there are ways to multiply it by referring other people. This is really the focus of all this programs. Tell everybody you know that they too, can get paid to surf, and get paid yourself for referring them. Paid surveys are also great, since they are easy to fill in and anyone can do that from the comfort of their own home.
6. Networking – while this is not actually a direct way of generating profit, you can use social networking and MLMs to generate leads and drive traffic to your online business.
7. Selling websites and domain names is becoming an extremely popular area, which still has a lot of room for development. If you bought a nice, short and relevant domain name a while ago, you can make a small fortune selling it today. If you don't believe me, check out these figures, for the top five most expensive domain sales in the last few years:
Business.com – $7.5 million
AsSeenOnTv.com – $5.1 million
Altavista.com – $3.3 million
Wine.com – $2.9 million
Autos.com – $2.2 million
8. Work at home jobs - Depending on how much time you are willing to put into a work at home opportunity, you could either do it in your spare time, or make it your main income source. Work at home jobs are suitable for everyone: from students, to retired people. You do not sign any documents or commit in writing to anything, thus you are not obliged to work if you do not feel like it. In a modern society, with parents spending more time at home raising their children and college students looking for a comfortable part time job, a work at home opportunity is the perfect answer.
9. Outsourcing – this is not a moneymaking opportunity, but a money saving one. Outsourcing is the best way to create a competitive business in countries like the United States, Canada and most of Europe.
10. Free stuff online – you will not get rich while taking advantage of all the free stuff you can get online, but it is fun and rewarding. If you are a webmaster and you wish to create a very popular website, do your best to offer lots of things for free – downloads, software, ebooks, wallpapers and so on.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
10 Ways To Use Podcasts
Podcasting has only been popular in the public eye for a little over two years, but the technology has only recently shifted from early adopters to the rest of us. People are finding a lot of ways to use these recordings, many of which should get you thinking about how you (or your company) can begin using podcasts right away for profit and promotion. This article examines some of the different methods employed by political, educational and corporate entities experimenting with the medium today:
NEWS and MEDIA: Podcasting is a way for news organizations to distribute audio or video that compliments their existing text news for a minimum additional cost. For example, Wikinews began to podcast its News Briefs in 2005. Companies are also using podcasts as a way to distribute their multimedia news to journalists and consumers. Companies can now leverage this same medium in much the same way that news organizations do, by publicizing your product or service on your company website as an additional download. Newspapers use podcasts to brodcast audio content from print interviews and drive traffic to their websites. The San Franciso Chronicle is believed to be the first major daily newspaper to start podcasting using an external website in Feb 2005. Hong Kong's South China Morning Post was the first to use its own website and the first in Asia, having launched on April 19, 2005.
EDUCATION: Schools are now using podcasts as an educational tool. Some school districts are experimenting with podcast lessons to help teach foreign languages via audio revision and homework. In 2005, a communication studies course at the University of Western Australia used student-created podcasts as the main assessment criteria. Professors are also using podcasts as part of their academic work. The Society of Critical Care Medicine has a podcast used to update clinicians with summaries of important articles, as well as interviews.
POLITICS: Both political parties and their candidates in the United States are experimenting with podcasts as a way to inform people about their perspectives on important topics. Podcasts are available for download from their websites and provide a way for candidates to deliver, in their own words, their opinions as well as to go in to more detail in describing the motivations behind some of their positions.
RELIGION: Religion. Godcasting, the word some use to describe podcasts dealing with religion, has lately been used by many religious groups as another way of spreading their message. Many churches produce podcasts of talks and sermons, which are then uploaded to their church or temple's website and available for download.
ART: Unofficial audio tours of museums are availabe for download from art enthusiasts and museum afficionados. Official cultural or historic audio tours of cities are also a new way that some cities are using to try and lure visitors. You can find these on the official web pages of cities as well as via most search engines.
ENTERTAINMENT: Producers, writers and directors for popular TV shows have embraced podcasting as a way to create more content that will hopefully help drive viewership to their programs. For exmaple, Battlestar Galactica writer and executive producer Ronald Moore creates commentary podcasts for each new episode of Battlestar Galactica. Other television shows have since followed suit, like Family Guy (FOX).
SPORTS. In 2005, unofficial podcasts for major sports teams launched, providing fans both in and outside of the teams' direct broadcast areas with on-demand commentary. Pioneers include Cubscast, the podcasters for the Chicago Cubs baseball team. The Cubscast founders also formed the first city-specific sports podcast network, hosting one podcast for each major Chicago sports team.
BUSINESS: Podcasts are an effective tool for organizing conference and meeting alerts, since podcasts can be packaged to alert attendees to agendas, hosted roundtables and daily feedback. They are also an effective tool CEOs can use to communicate with their employees or to share news about the company on the local intranet.
LIRBRARIES: Public libraries can podcast local publications free of Copyright, offering spoken word alternatives to the visually impaired. Not only are more people able to access these podcasts, but the educational value for enabling new technologies offers a whole new multimedia library that will be even easier to maintain.
LAW ENFORCEMENT: The Chicago Police Department has a free video podcast of its half-hour weekly news magazine called "CrimeWatch," which airs on local TV. It documents community policing (CAPS) success stories.
I hope these examples of popular ways people are employing podcasts have sparked some thoughts about how you, too, can use the medium to help your employees, share your passions or otherwise communicate. Please share your thoughts on how to use podcasts at: http://www.findpodcasts.net/blog.
Good luck!
By: Steven Wright
NEWS and MEDIA: Podcasting is a way for news organizations to distribute audio or video that compliments their existing text news for a minimum additional cost. For example, Wikinews began to podcast its News Briefs in 2005. Companies are also using podcasts as a way to distribute their multimedia news to journalists and consumers. Companies can now leverage this same medium in much the same way that news organizations do, by publicizing your product or service on your company website as an additional download. Newspapers use podcasts to brodcast audio content from print interviews and drive traffic to their websites. The San Franciso Chronicle is believed to be the first major daily newspaper to start podcasting using an external website in Feb 2005. Hong Kong's South China Morning Post was the first to use its own website and the first in Asia, having launched on April 19, 2005.
EDUCATION: Schools are now using podcasts as an educational tool. Some school districts are experimenting with podcast lessons to help teach foreign languages via audio revision and homework. In 2005, a communication studies course at the University of Western Australia used student-created podcasts as the main assessment criteria. Professors are also using podcasts as part of their academic work. The Society of Critical Care Medicine has a podcast used to update clinicians with summaries of important articles, as well as interviews.
POLITICS: Both political parties and their candidates in the United States are experimenting with podcasts as a way to inform people about their perspectives on important topics. Podcasts are available for download from their websites and provide a way for candidates to deliver, in their own words, their opinions as well as to go in to more detail in describing the motivations behind some of their positions.
RELIGION: Religion. Godcasting, the word some use to describe podcasts dealing with religion, has lately been used by many religious groups as another way of spreading their message. Many churches produce podcasts of talks and sermons, which are then uploaded to their church or temple's website and available for download.
ART: Unofficial audio tours of museums are availabe for download from art enthusiasts and museum afficionados. Official cultural or historic audio tours of cities are also a new way that some cities are using to try and lure visitors. You can find these on the official web pages of cities as well as via most search engines.
ENTERTAINMENT: Producers, writers and directors for popular TV shows have embraced podcasting as a way to create more content that will hopefully help drive viewership to their programs. For exmaple, Battlestar Galactica writer and executive producer Ronald Moore creates commentary podcasts for each new episode of Battlestar Galactica. Other television shows have since followed suit, like Family Guy (FOX).
SPORTS. In 2005, unofficial podcasts for major sports teams launched, providing fans both in and outside of the teams' direct broadcast areas with on-demand commentary. Pioneers include Cubscast, the podcasters for the Chicago Cubs baseball team. The Cubscast founders also formed the first city-specific sports podcast network, hosting one podcast for each major Chicago sports team.
BUSINESS: Podcasts are an effective tool for organizing conference and meeting alerts, since podcasts can be packaged to alert attendees to agendas, hosted roundtables and daily feedback. They are also an effective tool CEOs can use to communicate with their employees or to share news about the company on the local intranet.
LIRBRARIES: Public libraries can podcast local publications free of Copyright, offering spoken word alternatives to the visually impaired. Not only are more people able to access these podcasts, but the educational value for enabling new technologies offers a whole new multimedia library that will be even easier to maintain.
LAW ENFORCEMENT: The Chicago Police Department has a free video podcast of its half-hour weekly news magazine called "CrimeWatch," which airs on local TV. It documents community policing (CAPS) success stories.
I hope these examples of popular ways people are employing podcasts have sparked some thoughts about how you, too, can use the medium to help your employees, share your passions or otherwise communicate. Please share your thoughts on how to use podcasts at: http://www.findpodcasts.net/blog.
Good luck!
By: Steven Wright
Monday, March 19, 2007
10 Ways eBay Sellers Can Avoid Negative Feedback.
Your eBay feedback is your biggest eBay selling tool bar none. If you have bad eBay feedback you will struggle to make sales and your eBay business will suffer. Therefore you must protect your eBay feedback as much as possible. Here are 10 tips that will help you maintain an excellent feedback rating.
1. Always be polite in all correspondence. This goes without saying, always treat your customers with respect and give them a pleasant buying experience. By doing so you may gain a customer for life.
2. Avoid excessive shipping charges. If you charge $10 shipping for an item and the cost is only $3 you are leaving yourself open to negative feedback.
3. Mail your items as soon as possible. Don't wait till the end of the week. Taking too long to deliver your goods means you are risking your feedback. You should always aim to have items packaged and sent within 48 hours of payment.
4. Make sure your item description is accurate. Don't say your item is as good as new if it's not. This is probably the most common reason for negative feedback.
5. Answer emails promptly. Don't wait days and days to answer any queries. This only makes your customer frustrated and this can result in a negative comment.
6. List any flaws your item has. If the item you are selling has a scratch or mark say so or you could be left a negative comment for a poor item description.
7. Don't retaliate to awkward customers. Sometimes you may get an awkward or offensive customer, that's life. Don't retaliate, just deal with their query in a polite and professional manner. This usually ends in the customer apologising and excellent feedback follows.
8. Accept returns. If a customer is not happy with your product for whatever reason allow them to return the item and refund their purchase minus shipping fees. You can then cancel the transaction through eBay and you will get your fees returned and therefore wont be out of pocket. This leaves you free to relist the item with your feedback intact.
9. Package your items carefully. If you are selling delicate items make sure they are packaged carefully with plenty of protection, the last thing you want is your customer to receive damaged goods.
10. Don't leave feedback first. If you do you are leaving yourself open to negative comments. A happy customer will always leave feedback first, if you leave feedback first you will learn the hard way, trust me.
Remember! Your customer is a real living person. I think sometimes people forget this, try to make the whole buying experience as easy and pleasant as possible. Your customers are the lifeblood of your eBay business and your number one goal should be to make them happy. This can only result in excellent feedback and in turn success for your eBay business.
By: John Thornhill
1. Always be polite in all correspondence. This goes without saying, always treat your customers with respect and give them a pleasant buying experience. By doing so you may gain a customer for life.
2. Avoid excessive shipping charges. If you charge $10 shipping for an item and the cost is only $3 you are leaving yourself open to negative feedback.
3. Mail your items as soon as possible. Don't wait till the end of the week. Taking too long to deliver your goods means you are risking your feedback. You should always aim to have items packaged and sent within 48 hours of payment.
4. Make sure your item description is accurate. Don't say your item is as good as new if it's not. This is probably the most common reason for negative feedback.
5. Answer emails promptly. Don't wait days and days to answer any queries. This only makes your customer frustrated and this can result in a negative comment.
6. List any flaws your item has. If the item you are selling has a scratch or mark say so or you could be left a negative comment for a poor item description.
7. Don't retaliate to awkward customers. Sometimes you may get an awkward or offensive customer, that's life. Don't retaliate, just deal with their query in a polite and professional manner. This usually ends in the customer apologising and excellent feedback follows.
8. Accept returns. If a customer is not happy with your product for whatever reason allow them to return the item and refund their purchase minus shipping fees. You can then cancel the transaction through eBay and you will get your fees returned and therefore wont be out of pocket. This leaves you free to relist the item with your feedback intact.
9. Package your items carefully. If you are selling delicate items make sure they are packaged carefully with plenty of protection, the last thing you want is your customer to receive damaged goods.
10. Don't leave feedback first. If you do you are leaving yourself open to negative comments. A happy customer will always leave feedback first, if you leave feedback first you will learn the hard way, trust me.
Remember! Your customer is a real living person. I think sometimes people forget this, try to make the whole buying experience as easy and pleasant as possible. Your customers are the lifeblood of your eBay business and your number one goal should be to make them happy. This can only result in excellent feedback and in turn success for your eBay business.
By: John Thornhill
Sunday, March 18, 2007
10 Analyzing Tips For Your Ebay Transactions
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.
By: Pauline Kiselbach
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.
By: Pauline Kiselbach
10 Mistakes eBay Sellers Make. (Even PowerSellers)
If you are not getting the bids you want with your eBay auctions you could be making some crucial mistakes in your listings. As a PowerSeller who makes a living on eBay I find myself browsing eBay's listings on a daily basis. While browsing I see so many eBay sellers (even PowerSellers) making crucial errors in their listings. Here are 10 simple mistakes eBay sellers make.
1. Poor title. I see this so often, the most common mistake is only using a few characters. You have 53 characters at your disposal so try and use them all. Also, imagine yourself looking for the item you are selling. What keywords would you search for? Try and include these in your title.
2. Spelling errors. If you have spelling errors in your listing you will get fewer bids. All it takes is to run your listing through a spellchecker before you list.
3. Silly terms and conditions. Do you really need payment within 24 hours? Must the buyers feedback be higher than 10? Try and avoid silly terms in your listings and you will get more bids.
4. Starting price to high. Try to start your auction with a 1 cent starting price. This gets the bidding going and starts the whole process. Remember, you only need 2 people interested in your auction to make a killing.
5. No pictures. A picture says a thousand words. Make sure you include at least one picture of the item you are selling. Also, never get your pictures from the internet as people want to see a real picture of what you are selling.
6. Poor feedback score. If you have a lot of negative feedback you will get fewer bids. Treat your customers with respect and don't lie in your listings and you will have a glowing feedback score.
7. Poor listing appearance. EBay has many tools to help your listings look attractive. Adding a simple listing design can make a huge difference. Also, if you are familiar with html it helps to design your listing with your favourite html editor.
8. Bad start time. Remember, the time you list your auction is the time it will end. You will usually find you will have more success with auctions ending between 7pm and 11pm so don't list your item before you start your 6am shift.
9. High shipping or no shipping displayed. If it only costs $2.00 to pack and ship an item don't charge $5.00. Most buyers will avoid auctions with excessive shipping charges. Also, if you don't state your shipping costs you will receive fewer bids.
10. Not replying to questions quickly. If you get a question from a potential bidder try to answer within 24 hours. Also be polite with all answers. Be sure to display these questions in your listing for others to see. It also helps to keep an eye on your auction as the item comes to an end just in case you get any last minute queries.
John Thornhill trades on eBay under the username planetsms and earns over $1000 per week on eBay on autopilot. To see how he does it visit his eBay store at stores.ebay.com/PlanetSMS
1. Poor title. I see this so often, the most common mistake is only using a few characters. You have 53 characters at your disposal so try and use them all. Also, imagine yourself looking for the item you are selling. What keywords would you search for? Try and include these in your title.
2. Spelling errors. If you have spelling errors in your listing you will get fewer bids. All it takes is to run your listing through a spellchecker before you list.
3. Silly terms and conditions. Do you really need payment within 24 hours? Must the buyers feedback be higher than 10? Try and avoid silly terms in your listings and you will get more bids.
4. Starting price to high. Try to start your auction with a 1 cent starting price. This gets the bidding going and starts the whole process. Remember, you only need 2 people interested in your auction to make a killing.
5. No pictures. A picture says a thousand words. Make sure you include at least one picture of the item you are selling. Also, never get your pictures from the internet as people want to see a real picture of what you are selling.
6. Poor feedback score. If you have a lot of negative feedback you will get fewer bids. Treat your customers with respect and don't lie in your listings and you will have a glowing feedback score.
7. Poor listing appearance. EBay has many tools to help your listings look attractive. Adding a simple listing design can make a huge difference. Also, if you are familiar with html it helps to design your listing with your favourite html editor.
8. Bad start time. Remember, the time you list your auction is the time it will end. You will usually find you will have more success with auctions ending between 7pm and 11pm so don't list your item before you start your 6am shift.
9. High shipping or no shipping displayed. If it only costs $2.00 to pack and ship an item don't charge $5.00. Most buyers will avoid auctions with excessive shipping charges. Also, if you don't state your shipping costs you will receive fewer bids.
10. Not replying to questions quickly. If you get a question from a potential bidder try to answer within 24 hours. Also be polite with all answers. Be sure to display these questions in your listing for others to see. It also helps to keep an eye on your auction as the item comes to an end just in case you get any last minute queries.
John Thornhill trades on eBay under the username planetsms and earns over $1000 per week on eBay on autopilot. To see how he does it visit his eBay store at stores.ebay.com/PlanetSMS
How to Buy on eBay. Simple tips to save a few Dollars
Get IT on eBay!!!
You have probably seen this ad everywhere.This is eBays latest and it actually rings pretty true. I have yet to not find a product or something very similar to what I was looking for on eBay. Here I will give short tutorial on how eBay works for Buyers.
I have been a powerseller on eBay for 5 years now. What that means is I do a certain amount of business dollar wise and maintain a high level of customer satisfaction. I say this not to brag, There are many who make more and do more on eBay then me. I am always learning but figure this might help some people get started.
Ok, Lets start with some simple tips and tricks for buying. Some of this may seem like common sense but remember that commone sense is relative here. As big as eBay is not everyone has been there and some are still hesitant. For every hundred good stories there is one bad and that is all it takes to keep people away.
With that said,the first thing you will need is an eBay account,get one here www.ebay.com
It's Free to join and the only way you will be able to bid and buy.
One of the most popular things to do seems to be search for mis spelled auctions. People will try to sell you these tools on ebay but you can find free one just by doing a google search. Here is an example of one site http://www.bargainchecker.com
Another way to find something at a good price is look at all items relating to what you are after. A great example would be I was looking at a Lord of the Rings Fossil watch that sold for $100.00. I stumbled across an auction simply titled Lord of the Rings memorabilia. I checked it out and found the watch packaged with the extended version of the first movie. I won the item at $55.00 and since I already had the dvd set sold that for $35.00.The $100.00 watch cost me $20.00. Got to love that.
Another great way to get a low bid price is find an auction ending at an odd hour. Sunday afternoon in the summertime,not the best time to sell something.Most people are busy with the family. If you are a night owl see what is selling just before you go to bed but do remember eBay is worldwide. someone is just getting home from work somewhere in the world so its not always a gimme.
A word of caution about bidding. It can be like gambling. You lose so you get competitive.You then bid more then you wanted to.This can get dangerous and happens all the time. Especially on something you really want and had a hard time finding. Set your max and keep to it. You will surely get another chance at a similar item later down the road. Just be patient.
Also be sure to include the cost of shipping in your max. remember an item that costs $49.99 still needs to be shipped.If it is big item shipping is expensive. If you are not sure of the shipping ask the seller a question through the auction. Be sure to give the seller time to answer but never bid if you are unsure.
Most sellers keep shipping fair but watch for the $1.99 item that ships for $20.00 . although eBay does state that a seller cannot charge overly high shipping if it is listed at that price you have no right to really complain. Again , move on to another seller or item
The last thing I will touch on is feedback. Feedback is how buyers and sellers rate each other and how you can tell if a seller is honest or not. Always chck the feedback but remember you can't make everyone happy. eBay now has a percentage next to the number. I generally will not buy from anyone less then 99%. My personal is 99.5 % . When leaving feedback if the transaction went well be sure to leave a positive. If there was a problem , and I can not stress this enough, Try to contact the seller FIRST. Many new people jump the gun and leave a bad feedback before giving the seller a chance to rectify the situation. Most sellers will work with you as they value there feedback. If a problem can't be resolved then you should by all means leave a negative.
Thats all forright now. I may add more.
so go to www.ebay.com and start saving today!!!
You have probably seen this ad everywhere.This is eBays latest and it actually rings pretty true. I have yet to not find a product or something very similar to what I was looking for on eBay. Here I will give short tutorial on how eBay works for Buyers.
I have been a powerseller on eBay for 5 years now. What that means is I do a certain amount of business dollar wise and maintain a high level of customer satisfaction. I say this not to brag, There are many who make more and do more on eBay then me. I am always learning but figure this might help some people get started.
Ok, Lets start with some simple tips and tricks for buying. Some of this may seem like common sense but remember that commone sense is relative here. As big as eBay is not everyone has been there and some are still hesitant. For every hundred good stories there is one bad and that is all it takes to keep people away.
With that said,the first thing you will need is an eBay account,get one here www.ebay.com
It's Free to join and the only way you will be able to bid and buy.
One of the most popular things to do seems to be search for mis spelled auctions. People will try to sell you these tools on ebay but you can find free one just by doing a google search. Here is an example of one site http://www.bargainchecker.com
Another way to find something at a good price is look at all items relating to what you are after. A great example would be I was looking at a Lord of the Rings Fossil watch that sold for $100.00. I stumbled across an auction simply titled Lord of the Rings memorabilia. I checked it out and found the watch packaged with the extended version of the first movie. I won the item at $55.00 and since I already had the dvd set sold that for $35.00.The $100.00 watch cost me $20.00. Got to love that.
Another great way to get a low bid price is find an auction ending at an odd hour. Sunday afternoon in the summertime,not the best time to sell something.Most people are busy with the family. If you are a night owl see what is selling just before you go to bed but do remember eBay is worldwide. someone is just getting home from work somewhere in the world so its not always a gimme.
A word of caution about bidding. It can be like gambling. You lose so you get competitive.You then bid more then you wanted to.This can get dangerous and happens all the time. Especially on something you really want and had a hard time finding. Set your max and keep to it. You will surely get another chance at a similar item later down the road. Just be patient.
Also be sure to include the cost of shipping in your max. remember an item that costs $49.99 still needs to be shipped.If it is big item shipping is expensive. If you are not sure of the shipping ask the seller a question through the auction. Be sure to give the seller time to answer but never bid if you are unsure.
Most sellers keep shipping fair but watch for the $1.99 item that ships for $20.00 . although eBay does state that a seller cannot charge overly high shipping if it is listed at that price you have no right to really complain. Again , move on to another seller or item
The last thing I will touch on is feedback. Feedback is how buyers and sellers rate each other and how you can tell if a seller is honest or not. Always chck the feedback but remember you can't make everyone happy. eBay now has a percentage next to the number. I generally will not buy from anyone less then 99%. My personal is 99.5 % . When leaving feedback if the transaction went well be sure to leave a positive. If there was a problem , and I can not stress this enough, Try to contact the seller FIRST. Many new people jump the gun and leave a bad feedback before giving the seller a chance to rectify the situation. Most sellers will work with you as they value there feedback. If a problem can't be resolved then you should by all means leave a negative.
Thats all forright now. I may add more.
so go to www.ebay.com and start saving today!!!
Friday, March 16, 2007
Ebay Buying Guide - 7 Tips for Bidding Success
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.
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.
14 Ways To Reduce Your Ebay & Paypal Fees
One of the top complaints against eBay is the level of fees. It is therefore surprising that many large eBay sellers make unnecessary and easily avoidable payments to eBay. This article lists 14 easy-to-implement ways to reduce eBay fees and improve the profitability of your eBay business. Strategies for all eBay Sellers
These fee-saving strategies can be implemented by all eBay sellers, no matter what items they sell or their listing strategy.
1. PayPal Merchant Discount
If you are a volume seller on eBay, then you are probably eligible for a merchant discount on PayPal fees. The merchant fee structure is as follows:
UK PayPal Fees
£0.00 to £1,500.00 - 3.4% + £0.20
£1,500.01 to £6,000.00 - 2.9% + £0.20
£6,000.01 to £15,000.00 - 2.4% + £0.20
£15,000.01 to £55,000.00 - 1.9% + £0.20
above £55,000.00 - 1.4% + £0.20
US PayPal fees
$0.00 to $3,000 - 2.9% + $0.30
$3,000.01 to $10,000 - 2.5% + $0.30
$10,000.01 USD-$100,000 - 2.2% + $0.30
above $100,000 - 1.9% + $0.30
To receive discounted fees you must log onto your PayPal account and apply. This can be done from PayPal’s fees page.
Potential saving - up to 2% (1% on PayPal.com) on all PayPal transactions.
2. Relisting Credits
Insertion Fees are generally non-refundable. However, eBay will automatically credit the Insertion Fee for an unsuccessful auction if:
You relist the item by clicking the "relist your item" button on the item page for the ended listing (or any other relist feature on the website) and the relisted item is sold the first time you relist it.
Potential saving: Up to £2 ($4.80 on eBay.com) per relisted item.
3. Reclaiming Non Paying Bidder Fees
If a buyer does not pay for their item, you can claim back the eBay fees via eBay’s unpaid item process. An unpaid item can be reported up to 45 days after an item closes.
See http://pages.ebay.com/help/tp/unpaid-item-process.html for more details.
Potential saving: Listing and final value fees on unpaid items.
4. Host Your Own Photos
If you need to use more than one photo to describe your item, eBay will charge per additional picture. However, it is simple to host your own photos, and avoid this extra cost.
If you have an eBay shop, eBay provides 1MB of free picture storage. In addition, there are many free photo hosting services such as http://www.theimagehosting.com or http://www.pictiger.com/
Potential saving: £0.12 ($0.15 on eBay.com) per additional picture.
5. Tweak your Starting Prices
Be careful when you choose your starting price, as a very small difference in price can lead to a large increase in insertion fee, especially if you are selling multiple items. For example, an item with a starting price of £29.99 incurs an insertion fee of £0.75, whereas a starting price of £30 would cost £1.50.
On eBay.com a staring price of $49.99 incurs a fee of $1.20 where as a starting price of $50.00 would cost $2.40.
Potential saving: Up to £0.75 ($1.20 on eBay.com) per listing.
6. Pay for Your eBay Fees Using a Cash Back Credit Card
Several credit cards give cash back on money spent. By using an American express credit card to pay your eBay fees, you can receive a small rebate for your eBay fees. Bear in mind that this only works if you pay your credit card bill in full each month.
Potential saving: Up to 1.5% cash back on eBay fees.
7. Teach Yourself HTML
Many sellers use eBay’s listing designer service to improve the look of their listing. If you are listing multiple items, this cost will soon add up. By learning some simple HTML or employing a designer, you can develop your own template and save on the extra listing fee.
Potential saving: £0.07 ($0.10 on eBay.com) per listing.
8. Open an Ecommerce Store
Potentially the best strategy of all is to expand your business beyond eBay. By setting up your own ecommerce store you can upsell to customers you have acquired through eBay, and pay no fees at all. Channel Management software such as eSellerPro, Marketworks and ChannelAdvisor enable eBay sellers to run an ecommerce store off the same inventory as their eBay sales.
Potential saving: You pay no eBay fees on items sold off eBay! Savings Fees on Listings
The following fee-saving tactics involve changes to your eBay listing strategy and should therefore be considered in the light of your business objectives. For each of these tactics, run a limited trial and compare the conversion rates (% of listings that sell), average sales price (sales total/number of items that sold), take rate (% of sales that eBay takes as fees) and margin against your current listing strategy.
9. eBay Shop Listings
Despite the recent rise in shop listing fees, eBay shop fees are still on the whole cheaper than core listings. The best use of shop listings is for upselling commodity items and for unusual items that require a longer listing period.
10. Sell More Expensive Items
eBay has a sliding scale of fees, taking a higher percentage of the sale price (take rate) of less expensive items. By selling more expensive items you can reduce your take rate. For example, the take rate of a £5 item is 9.25%, whilst for £200 item it is 4.55%.
11. Reassess Your Use of Listing Upgrades
Listing upgrades are expensive, and should not be used unless they are improving sell-through rates and average selling prices. eBay research products like eSellerStreet (http://www.esellerstreet.com), Hammertap (http://www.hammertap.com ) and Terapeak (http://www.terapeak.com/ ) will allow you to investigate the effectiveness of listing upgrades for products in your categories. You should also conduct your own trials.
12. Second Chance Offers
eBay’s Second Chance Offer feature allows more than one item to be sold from a single listing, saving on the listing fee for each additional sale. When using second chance offers, you should be aware that you are making a trade-off between price and sales volume, as second chance offers are inevitably lower than the item’s final price.
Potential saving: Up to £2 ($4.80 on eBay.com) per sale.
13. Lower Your Starting Prices
eBay’s insertion fees are linked to the starting price of an auction, by lowering your starting price you will encourage bidding and lower your listing fees.
Potential saving: up to £1.85 ($4.60 on eBay.com) per listing.
14. Dutch Auctions
Dutch auctions, like the Second Chance Offer, allow you to sell multiple items off a single listing, saving on multiple listing fees.
Potential saving: Up to £2 ($4.80 on eBay.com) per item.
Trevor Ginn is Head of Consulting at Auctioning4u eBay Drop Off Shop (http://www.auctioning4u.co.uk) the UK's leading eBay service provider. Just Bring us your Stuff and we'll sell it on eBay, No sale No fee.
These fee-saving strategies can be implemented by all eBay sellers, no matter what items they sell or their listing strategy.
1. PayPal Merchant Discount
If you are a volume seller on eBay, then you are probably eligible for a merchant discount on PayPal fees. The merchant fee structure is as follows:
UK PayPal Fees
£0.00 to £1,500.00 - 3.4% + £0.20
£1,500.01 to £6,000.00 - 2.9% + £0.20
£6,000.01 to £15,000.00 - 2.4% + £0.20
£15,000.01 to £55,000.00 - 1.9% + £0.20
above £55,000.00 - 1.4% + £0.20
US PayPal fees
$0.00 to $3,000 - 2.9% + $0.30
$3,000.01 to $10,000 - 2.5% + $0.30
$10,000.01 USD-$100,000 - 2.2% + $0.30
above $100,000 - 1.9% + $0.30
To receive discounted fees you must log onto your PayPal account and apply. This can be done from PayPal’s fees page.
Potential saving - up to 2% (1% on PayPal.com) on all PayPal transactions.
2. Relisting Credits
Insertion Fees are generally non-refundable. However, eBay will automatically credit the Insertion Fee for an unsuccessful auction if:
You relist the item by clicking the "relist your item" button on the item page for the ended listing (or any other relist feature on the website) and the relisted item is sold the first time you relist it.
Potential saving: Up to £2 ($4.80 on eBay.com) per relisted item.
3. Reclaiming Non Paying Bidder Fees
If a buyer does not pay for their item, you can claim back the eBay fees via eBay’s unpaid item process. An unpaid item can be reported up to 45 days after an item closes.
See http://pages.ebay.com/help/tp/unpaid-item-process.html for more details.
Potential saving: Listing and final value fees on unpaid items.
4. Host Your Own Photos
If you need to use more than one photo to describe your item, eBay will charge per additional picture. However, it is simple to host your own photos, and avoid this extra cost.
If you have an eBay shop, eBay provides 1MB of free picture storage. In addition, there are many free photo hosting services such as http://www.theimagehosting.com or http://www.pictiger.com/
Potential saving: £0.12 ($0.15 on eBay.com) per additional picture.
5. Tweak your Starting Prices
Be careful when you choose your starting price, as a very small difference in price can lead to a large increase in insertion fee, especially if you are selling multiple items. For example, an item with a starting price of £29.99 incurs an insertion fee of £0.75, whereas a starting price of £30 would cost £1.50.
On eBay.com a staring price of $49.99 incurs a fee of $1.20 where as a starting price of $50.00 would cost $2.40.
Potential saving: Up to £0.75 ($1.20 on eBay.com) per listing.
6. Pay for Your eBay Fees Using a Cash Back Credit Card
Several credit cards give cash back on money spent. By using an American express credit card to pay your eBay fees, you can receive a small rebate for your eBay fees. Bear in mind that this only works if you pay your credit card bill in full each month.
Potential saving: Up to 1.5% cash back on eBay fees.
7. Teach Yourself HTML
Many sellers use eBay’s listing designer service to improve the look of their listing. If you are listing multiple items, this cost will soon add up. By learning some simple HTML or employing a designer, you can develop your own template and save on the extra listing fee.
Potential saving: £0.07 ($0.10 on eBay.com) per listing.
8. Open an Ecommerce Store
Potentially the best strategy of all is to expand your business beyond eBay. By setting up your own ecommerce store you can upsell to customers you have acquired through eBay, and pay no fees at all. Channel Management software such as eSellerPro, Marketworks and ChannelAdvisor enable eBay sellers to run an ecommerce store off the same inventory as their eBay sales.
Potential saving: You pay no eBay fees on items sold off eBay! Savings Fees on Listings
The following fee-saving tactics involve changes to your eBay listing strategy and should therefore be considered in the light of your business objectives. For each of these tactics, run a limited trial and compare the conversion rates (% of listings that sell), average sales price (sales total/number of items that sold), take rate (% of sales that eBay takes as fees) and margin against your current listing strategy.
9. eBay Shop Listings
Despite the recent rise in shop listing fees, eBay shop fees are still on the whole cheaper than core listings. The best use of shop listings is for upselling commodity items and for unusual items that require a longer listing period.
10. Sell More Expensive Items
eBay has a sliding scale of fees, taking a higher percentage of the sale price (take rate) of less expensive items. By selling more expensive items you can reduce your take rate. For example, the take rate of a £5 item is 9.25%, whilst for £200 item it is 4.55%.
11. Reassess Your Use of Listing Upgrades
Listing upgrades are expensive, and should not be used unless they are improving sell-through rates and average selling prices. eBay research products like eSellerStreet (http://www.esellerstreet.com), Hammertap (http://www.hammertap.com ) and Terapeak (http://www.terapeak.com/ ) will allow you to investigate the effectiveness of listing upgrades for products in your categories. You should also conduct your own trials.
12. Second Chance Offers
eBay’s Second Chance Offer feature allows more than one item to be sold from a single listing, saving on the listing fee for each additional sale. When using second chance offers, you should be aware that you are making a trade-off between price and sales volume, as second chance offers are inevitably lower than the item’s final price.
Potential saving: Up to £2 ($4.80 on eBay.com) per sale.
13. Lower Your Starting Prices
eBay’s insertion fees are linked to the starting price of an auction, by lowering your starting price you will encourage bidding and lower your listing fees.
Potential saving: up to £1.85 ($4.60 on eBay.com) per listing.
14. Dutch Auctions
Dutch auctions, like the Second Chance Offer, allow you to sell multiple items off a single listing, saving on multiple listing fees.
Potential saving: Up to £2 ($4.80 on eBay.com) per item.
Trevor Ginn is Head of Consulting at Auctioning4u eBay Drop Off Shop (http://www.auctioning4u.co.uk) the UK's leading eBay service provider. Just Bring us your Stuff and we'll sell it on eBay, No sale No fee.
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