E bay tips : Research your own customers

Once you start selling on eBay, check to see what your customers are buying. This is simple enough to do. From the main search menu, click to search by bidder. You’ll get a screen that allows you to specify that you want to see everything a specific bidder has made bids on in both current and completed auctions. Figure 1-14 shows you a completed search for one particular bidder. Now you know absolutely everything your customer has been interested in during the last 30 days. When you gather your inventory for future sales, you’ll know exactly what your customers are shopping for. 

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Seek out marginalized niches for you product

Keep the view of the world’s marketplace in mind when you are  considering what products to sell. Once you open an eBay business, your customers are just as likely to come from across the ocean as they are to come from across town. “I look for things that aren’t so popular in the United States as they are in Japan and Germany,” saysWegotthebeats. This seller specializes in CDs, and he knows his market well enough to know what products are hot in foreign markets. Not only does this allow him to buy his inventory knowing that he’ll have customers for his items, it makes it possible for him to scoop up music that isn’t commercially successful here for pennies and sell it overseas for, sometimes, hundreds of U.S. dollars. Now, you can’t expect to have that kind of experience right out of the starting gate, but you can expect to ultimately know your product area well enough to identify niches that will be just as profitable to your business  

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E bay tips: Research what you sell

Fortunately, researching your items could not be easier. You can start by searching for your item in completed auctions. To do this, go to the Search feature on eBay’s toolbar and enter your keywords and other search options. Check the box for completed auctions. Figure 1-13 shows you what your search screen should look like. This will pull up all of the items similar to yours that have sold on eBay within the last 15 days.With this search, you will be able to see what the going price was for items similar to yours and if those items actually sold. You will also be able to  compare the condition of your item to items that have competed directly with what you want to sell. Open individual auction listings, and you can get a look at the different methods other sellers have used to describe the item you have. Look at these descriptions with an eye toward the ones that sold for the most. You’ll surely get some tips about what to include in your own descriptions! For an even fuller look at auctions similar to your , search current auctions as you’re searching completed ones. Just open each search (completed, current) in its own screen, and you can easily switch back and forth. In many ways, eBay has helped cut into the publishing market for collectible guides. Instead of having to purchase a new book every year to reflect changing values, many sellers who deal in antiques and collectibles use eBay searches as their buying guides. Not only is the market value up to date, it is also more realistic. Ultimately an item is only worth that which a buyer is willing to pay for it. What better place to see what the market will bear than the world’s largest marketplace?

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do not sell things you don't know about

now, this may seem like an obvious counterpoint to the preceding tip, but there are reasons to be  pecific in calling it to your attention.  You are not just trying to sell a few things on eBay, you are trying to create a whole new business. You must appear to be in control of your business even if you don’t feel terribly confident about what you’re doing. Your spouse, your family, and your friends can lend their support to your shaky self-image as an eBay seller, but your customers must not doubt your professionalism for a moment. If you’re dealing in items that you don’t know, you will never be able to project the self-assurance necessary to create the public image you are seeking. From a very practical viewpoint, selling items you know nothing about makes you vulnerable to taking losses on valuable items. Many sellers will tell you that items rise to their own market value on eBay. To a degree that’s true, but if you don’t know what you have, you are likely to place it in the wrong category. This may cut the amount of action you’ll get from your auction. You will also be less able to write the kind of powerful item description that brings you top dollar for your item. Don’t sacrifice an item out of a lack of  education. It’s too easy to do the research necessary to learn about what you have. Until you’re sure, hold on to it and list things you know about

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Ebay tips: Start with what you know

This is the single, most universal bit of advice PowerSellers offer to those who want to follow in their wake. It may seem obvious, but there are practical reasons to follow this piece of advice. “If you sell what you know, you’ll start your business with a knowledge base that would ultimately take years to build otherwise,” says Dan’s Train Depot. You won’t have to be learning the ins and outs of a product area at the same time that you’re learning the ins and outs of an eBay business. You give yourself an added advantage right from the beginning. If you start by selling things you know about, you also gain the added advantage of knowing that you can trust your gut. “Being able to trust yourself to take a risk early on is very important,” says Wegotthebeats. You won’t do that if you’re

dealing in a product area that is unfamiliar to you.

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Ebay tips : Do not use your e-mail address as your username

You must begin to build and safeguard your Member Profile  from the very first day you start your business. For every transaction you complete on eBay, complete a feedback report as the final step. If you have been casual in leaving feedback, vow to change your ways as of right now. PowerSellers unanimously say that they guard their Member Profiles as preciously as they guard their greatest treasure. The first thing you can do to build your feedback rating is to buy more things on eBay. Now, that may seem like odd advice to someone who wants to sell, sell, sell. But, think of your eBay purchases as part of your startup business costs. You don’t have to purchase expensive items. You can also tailor all of your purchases to things you’re going to need for your eBay business so that you can get the tax advantages of business expenses. Surprisingly, feedback you receive as a buyer is completely valid in building your Profile. Most people checking on this don’t bother to notice whether you earned praise as a buyer  r a seller. They just want to know that you legitimately completed your transactions, you were true to your word, and you conducted yourself as an honorable member of the eBay community. To ensure you receive positive feedback as a buyer is simple. Pay quickly and follow the seller’s rules for calculating your shipping and handling.

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Attend eBay University and stop by eBay’s learning center

eBay University is a college that comes to you. Its instructors travel from city to city to bring their wisdom to eBay buyers and sellers across the country. Courses are available for both buyers and sellers. There are two course levels, for beginning and advanced students. The advanced course for sellers (“Beyond the Basics”) is perfect for readers of this book. It’s designed to help sellers build their businesses and move up the success ladder. The cost for attending eBay University is $39 for a full one-day seminar. You can also attend online courses or buy the course on CD-ROM. Each is available for $19.95. eBay University’s Welcome screen is shown in Figure 1-7.  eBay University is only a small part of the eBay Learning Center. You will find the center at http://pages.ebay.com/education/. In addition to the eBay University courses, you can come here to listen to or view brief tutorials on basic and more advanced  eBay buying and selling topics. The Learning Center also includes links to other resources, such as Sellers Central and information about eBay fees and PayPal.

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Sign up for eBay’s Seller Newsflash

eBay makes it easy for you to get the news sellers need to stay competitive. Go to Seller Central and click News & Updates. You’ll be able to sign up for e-mail notification of upcoming eBay specials and features. You’ll learn when eBay is planning to have free listing days and feature discounts, and you’ll learn about upcoming educational events from eBay University. It’s easy to get registered for these e-mail updates, and eBay assures

all users that the company will not rent or sell their personal  information to third parties for marketing purposes. If you miss out on the news flash, your competitors might just scoop you.

Ebay Tips: A Sample Article from AuctionBytes Newsletter

eBay Elite Sellers to Hold Summit in New York May 1–2
By Ina Steiner
AuctionBytes.com
April 7, 2004

A group of high-revenue, high-volume eBay sellers will gather in New York on May 1 and 2 with the goal of creating an ongoing problem-solving mechanism between eBay and its top performers. The group, calling itself the “eBay Elite,” will discuss issues they feel are critical to their continued business success. Topics on the agenda include Fraud, eBay’s Feedback Mechanism, Non-Paying Bidders, Buyer/Seller initiatives, Fees and PayPal Policies. PayPal and SquareTrade representatives and analysts from Merrill Lynch and Prudential

will speak at the Summit as well as eBay Elite sellers Joe Cortese (Noblespirit); Jonathan Garriss (Gothamcityonline); Alexander Zacke; and John Kincaid (Jayhawkks). eBay declined to send a representative to the Summit. Members of the eBay Elite currently hold discussions online on eBay Groups, a place eBay has set up on its site for members to create public or private meeting areas. eBay Platinum PowerSeller Joe Cortese is a wholesale supplier of coins, stamps and paper money and also operates Meridian auction management service for eBay sellers. “The ultimate goal is to support and insure eBay’s continued global success,” Cortese wrote on the welcome page of the eBay Elite discussion group. The group is private and is limited to top sellers and specially invited guests. There are 525 eBay Elite members,

including the Automotive Elite, and Cortese said he expects 125 members from as far away as California and Germany to attend the Summit in New York. Cortese said the group felt an offline summit was important to help members reach resolutions regarding the group going forward. “We will explore opportunities that are both open to us and those that we will identify as worth pursuing,” he said. “Once the group has consolidated

its mission statement and outlined a course of action, it will take steps to act upon those convictions.” When asked about the eBay Elite Summit, eBay spokesperson Hani Durzy said, “We are always happy to see people get together to share best practices, to talk about what works and what doesn’t.” Durzy stressed that the group is no different from any other group of eBay members. “We believe in a level playing field,” he said. “eBay welcomes feedback, but changes must benefit the community as a whole.” As for the name of eBay Elite, Cortese said the following: It conveys a commitment to being part of a like-minded group of top sellers dedicated to improving business practices on eBay. eBay Elite members are professionals who are concerned with growing their businesses and maximizing their profits. “eBay Elite” conveys a desire to engage in meaningful dialogue to increase knowledge and learn from each other.We recognize that the unique concerns, problems and challenges of full time sellers are areas best understood by other veterans like ourselves. Cortese said that the eBay Elite is in the process of arranging a significant presence at eBay Live!, the auction site’s third user conference that will take place in June in New Orleans.

Know all of eBay’s rules and follow them

There are five tiers of PowerSellers, distinguished by the level of monthly sales they must achieve:
■ Bronze $1,000
■ Silver $3,000
■ Gold $5,000
■ Platinum $10,000
■ Titanium $150,000

If you’re going to earn your living selling on eBay, you want to become a PowerSeller—not only because it means you’re making a fair amount of money, but also because buyers are more comfortable doing business with PowerSellers. Their  status means they are successful, and they’ve achieved that success in large measure by delivering good products and great customer service. eBay rewards its PowerSellers with perks, with the specific perks tied to the PowerSeller level achieved: Tier eSupport Toll-Free Access Account Manager

Bronze X
Silver X X
Gold X X X
Platinum X X X
Titanium X X X

Ebay tips : Know What You’re Aiming For

What exactly is a PowerSeller? If you spend any time on eBay, you quickly learn about the elite group of successful sellers called “PowerSellers.” eBay designates a PowerSeller as a seller who generates at least $1,000 per month in revenue (some generate up to $150,000!) and has at least a 98 percent positive feedback rating. To make it easy for buyers and

others to recognize PowerSellers, eBay allows them to include the PowerSeller symbol (shown here) as part of their eBay IDs. They  are also eligible for health insurance through eBay, co-op advertising dollars, their personal eBay contact, and other eBay perks. For more information about the entire PowerSeller program,  go to  http://pages.ebay.com/services/buyandsell/welcome.html.    

Specifically, here are eBay’s criteria for becoming a Power Seller:

■ Be an active seller on the eBay site for a minimum of 90 days.

■ Maintain a minimum of four average monthly listings for the past three months.

■ Maintain a minimum feedback number of 100 with a 98 percent positive rating.

■ Keep your eBay account current—no outstanding balances.

■ Comply with eBay listing policies.

■ Uphold the eBay community values, including honesty, timeliness, and mutual respect.

■ Maintain a minimum of $1,000 for three months of average gross monthly sales.

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Know eBay by eBay Power Seller Secret

The business you are planning now will exist in a virtual world. This virtual world is inhabited by millions of other people, including thousands of others who are earning their livings   exclusively on eBay. You can’t expect to enter this virtual world and thrive without knowing your way around. No doubt, you already know a good deal about the world of eBay, which is  why you are hoping to become a PowerSeller. But, there is still a lot to learn as you cross the line between eBay hobbyist and  eBay PowerSeller.

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Selling on eBay Is As Much a Way to Live As It Is a Way to Earn a Living

power Sellers live a life that is different in many ways from the  lives other workers know. They work very long hours, but they choose which hours they work. They work hard to find and list the products they sell, but they get to immerse themselves every day in items they know and care about. There is no such thing as a Power Seller who is lukewarm about his business. There are many people who sell on eBay as a hobby or to bring in a little money, but if your goal is to become a Power Seller, accept that you will live, breathe, eat, and sleep eBay every day. Power Sellers often report that they have no vacation days. They can’t interrupt the flow of their operations long enough to have a stretch of time away from home and work. Sure, they have the flexibility to take the morning off to see their kids participate in the assembly at the elementary school, but you can be sure they’ll work later that night to make up the time they missed. E-mail must be answered every day. Products must be packaged and shipped.

Listings must be posted. Any day that is missing these activities is a day that cuts into the profits of a Power Seller’s business. You can be sure Power Sellers don’t miss too many days! On the other hand, this is a business that can still operate when you don’t feel well enough to go into an office among  other people. You can work in your pajamas if you choose. You can catch up on work during a patch of insomnia. Your freedom is as real as your responsibility and commitment are. That’s part  of the joy of owning your own business, especially on eBay.

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e B a y P o w e r S e l l e r S e c r e t s: Be a good time manager

Be honest with yourself. If left alone, will you devote the time you need to your eBay business, or will you find yourself tempted  to get out into the garden on a nice day, play catch with the kids, or take the dog for a walk? Once you become your own boss, it’s up to you to determine your work schedule. Only self-motivated  people work successfully from home, and answering this question for yourself is vital to your future success. On the other hand, do you have a tendency to work way too hard? Will you know when it’s time to stop and go spend time with your family and friends? Your eBay store never closes, but you have to be able to shut the door on your time there. TraderNick decided he had to have a storefront in addition to his eBay business for just this reason. He said it became obvious to him that he wasn’t being a good dad or husband, because he was so focused on his eBay business. Now he has a distinct time each day that work ends and family time begins. That’s not to say you have to go to the extrame of taking on a storefront in  addition to your eBay business, but you do have to be able to close up shop for the day and get back to the rest of your life.

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Before start ebay business Know Yourself

Before you can begin to know your business, take some time to be sure you know yourself. Running an eBay business is not  right for everyone, and even if you want to give it a try, you may find out that your personality is not really suited to the realities of life as an eBay PowerSeller. Operating your own business

requires enormous energy and commitment. There are certainly easier ways to earn a paycheck, and you  must be sure you are being realistic about the challenges that lie ahead.

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