Some Basic Strategies

Everyone has something that they can sell on E-bat. The question is, howdo you go about doing so? Is the item you have E-bayable? Where do youlist it, and for how long? Thats what this how-to aims to explain.

1. FIND SOMETHING TO SELL
It must be an item that you enjoy selling. Of course it is always better if you seek items out that are not available widely to many people in the world. For starters you can purchase ANTIQUES, CD's, and CLOTHING at great prices, and then list them on eBay and watch the money start rolling in! If you have a tax ID number, you may even be able to purchase items wholesale and list them on eBay (we will show you a work around if you don’t have one later in this Guide.
  
2. TIMES TO LIST
You never want to list your items to end during the day, unless you end them on the weekend during the day. I have found that 7-day auctions work the best. If you are selling a very pricey item, you should list this item as a 10-day auction. You will pay a bit more $$$ but it is definitely worth it to allow as many people as possible to see your listing(s). I usually do a bit of listing everyday from 7pm until 9pm. You don't want to list your items too late.

The most exposure you will get will be during the last 4 hours of your auction. That is the busiest time for bidding on items. If you list too late in the evening, no one will be willing to stay up until the wee hours just to bid on your item! This is very important! If you start out listing on the weekends, Sunday is a good day. IF your listings end around 4pm many people will be home to watch your auctions end! This increases your chances on making much more money on your item(s). 
   
3. TOOLS
I highly recommend investing in a digital camera. Film and processing are very expensive. If you plan on selling on eBay full time, the camera will pay for itself incredibly fast. We recommend shipping items via Priority Mail. I suggest you let the buyers pay for shipping. You want to make sure you quote their shipping price correctly. The post office has a list of prices according to weight. It is a good idea to get a list.
Another suggestion: Call the number on the priority boxes, they will send you what ever you need for free! TAPE, PREPRINTED ADRESSES LABELS, BOXES etc.! This is great because you should never have to pay for these items! The profit margin will decrease as you find yourself paying for these things here and there. I suggest shipping all of your items out at once, on one particular day. If you don't want to pay priority to pick up your items, I recommend shipping a few packages everyday. Otherwise it will be a lot of work and there is a chance you can get tired of this very easily! I try to make things as easy as possible! I figure my time is more valuable, and I can be listing more items in the time it would take to go to the post office.
   
4. LISTINGI don't recommend listing items as reserve auctions. I think it scares potential buyers away. Especially if someone is bidding and bidding, and after a while of seeing reserve not met yet, they are going to get bored and leave your auction. My theory is: If an item is valuable, people will find it!!!

I also suggest starting your auction price LOW!! Even if your item is worth $600.00, for a set of golf clubs. You can start the auction at $9.99. Then in your description you can state that the clubs are worth $600.00. This will get many people interested in your item; they will think they can get a great deal. This is where bidding wars can start!

Remember the more $$$ you start your auctions for the more fees you will have to pay to eBay! Trust me, if your item is valuable people will find it!! Make sure to put as many keywords in the title as you can! For example: you are selling a CD (wrong way) ALICIA KEYS CD (right way) Alicia Keys CD SEALED songs in A minor. This is what is going to help people find your auction!! It is crucial to helping people find you! I also suggest writing out the track listing in your description. People can do searches with words in descriptions as well! I highly suggest using words like RARE (of course it should really be RARE) WOW! L@@K, BEAUTIFUL. This really and truly makes a difference!

I always recommend selling your item with photos! This is very important. No photo usually = no sale! Make sure you list your item in the proper category, so people looking for this type of item will find it automatically. If you generalize your item too much, people may not find it easily. 
   
5. A SERIOUS TRICK TO MAKING LOTS OF $$$$$
I have recently discovered the trick of listing one item in a featured auction. It is a bit pricey, and only should be done when you have many auctions listed. Also make sure you refer other people to your other auctions. If you have a popular item listed on a featured area, chances are all of your auctions will do better in the end. I have paid as much as one hundred dollars to list an item, and I even though I would normally sell that item for one hundred dollars, it made all of my other auctions shoot up to a higher selling point!

Another great trick! I recommend starting a mailing list. Keep all of your bidders and winners e-mail addresses on file and when you list other similar items; send out a mass e-mail telling them you have listed more items they might be interested in. NEVER EVER SEND SPAM e-mail. Make sure all of your potential customers want to be contacted when you have new items up for bid!

Third great trick! Example: Let's say you are selling a sports memorabilia item from the New England Patriots. I would go do a search on all of the fan websites for the New England Patriots. Then I would go to the guest book and write that you have great items from this team for sale on eBay and add your link to the guest book. Then people can paste that link into their browsers and visit your auctions! You won't believe what a big difference this makes!
   
6. PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE
Everything takes time. Once you get the hang of eBay, you will find your own tricks that work for you. It is all trial and error. Make sure you list a bunch of items at once. This will make all of your items more popular. Eventually you will begin to have repeat customers and your business will begin to grow. This is NOT an easy job; it takes hard work and investing time into your future. It definitely will pay off in the end!
   
7. BALANCE
Please remember to shop on eBay as well. Support your fellow eBayers. Purchase gifts and items for yourself on the site. Rememeber balance is key! If too many people sell on eBay and no one is buying, than we are all out of luck.
   
8. NEVER SHIP OUT AN ITEM UNTIL IT IS PAID FOR
I personally only accept online forms of payment because I find the longer I wait for payment, the more of a chance there maybe for someone to flake on paying for an auction. With online payments such as C2IT and PAYPAL, odds are you will be paid right away! It is very easy to sign up with these sites www.paypal.com or www.c2it.com. If you do choose to accept personal checks, make sure the check has cleared the bank before you ship the item. Accepting money orders is usually fine as well.
   
9. KEYWORDS
Finally the last great tip I have is to submit your auction page to search engines using keywords (This should be items you regularly sell on eBay) this way you can drive even more traffic to your auctions. You can then install a counter program such as Andale www.andale.com on your page. I recommend using a hidden counter, so others don't know how many hits you are receiving. This way you can track the tips that work for you with your products.
   
10. BE CLEAR CONCISE AND HONEST ABOUT YOUR PRODUCTIf the item has a tear, hole or dent, make sure to write that in your description. This will save you a lot of headaches later.

First of all, please do not be overwhelmed with the information you will find. There are a lot of links to thousands of wholesale companies. Take your time when you look around. You will be amazed. If you have questions about a company or their products, don't be afraid to call them. They need your business more than you need theirs. They will be happy to help you.

We highly recommend you write down your questions before you call a supplier so that you do not forget to ask them what is on your mind. Take your time when talking to them and do not let anyone talk you into buying something you do not want. When you see something you think you can sell, research it on eBay and see how the completed auctions went.

Make sure to look at both the auction price AND the shipping price as many eBay sellers bury profits in the s/h portion of the auction. After the auctions have ended, see which ones had the most bids, when they started, ended, and what category they were in. If you are using this information for offline sales, look around at other vendors and see if anyone else is selling the product and see if you can sell it for less and still make a profit.

Here is a big tip. If you go to a department store like Wal-Mart and see an item you would like to sell, pick it up, check out the packaging, and write down (or record if you have a voice memo recorder) who manufactures it (you can find out how to buy direct from the manufacturer by doing this). Go to the web and see if they are online. A great reference for finding a company online is: Network Solutions WHOIS database http://www.netsol.com/cgi-bin/whois/whois

Get in contact with them and tell them you are considering them as a supplier and would like a price list. Don't be afraid to call or e-mail them. Be sure to represent yourself as a business and not just an individual. Be professional. It is really easy. Look around right now. Pick up some items in your home, just by looking at the labels, warranty information, or packaging, you can find out who manufactures & distributes it. If you can't get a phone number off a label or package, you can also try 1-800-555-1212, give the name of the company and get their phone number. When you talk to them, tell them you want a price list and would like to get set up as either a distributor, or retailer for them. If they are not in the 800 directory, you may be able to find them by looking at their warranty address information.

Just call directory assistance for the state they are located in and call them. It works like a charm. If the company only deals with "large" retailers, ask them for a list of their distributors and just keep calling their distributors until you find the one with the lowest prices. Sometimes it takes a little research but when you find what you are looking for it makes it all worth while!

HINT: If you do not have a tax id number, just enter your social security number in place of it (*big tip, you can do this with almost any wholesale company*).

They are the granddaddy of wholesale suppliers & you have seen their products all over eBay. We are giving you special access to their pricing website! Follow the link below. The login button is in the upper right-hand corner of the home page.

http://www.bnfusa.com
Username is: web
Password is: user

Want to save big money & buy at or below wholesale? Go to http://www.storepower.com. This is where you can get many of the same items you find in major department stores. Not off the wall junk items, but name brand quality products.

After you browse there a while & check them out, go to http://www.sumcomm.com . This site has a built in search engine you can use. They have direct links with over 45,000 products at wholesale pricing. Be sure to sign up for their free monthly catalog. It is full of suppliers, and if you do not find what you need there, it is probably not online. If your search pulls up more than 1 supplier of the same item, be sure to shop each company, they are flexible, and will normally go out of their way to keep from being undersold.

Another one to use is http://www.merchantsnews.com . Again, be sure to sign up for their free catalog as well.

One of my favorite sites for name brand electronics (but not the only one) is http://www.hotbuy4u.com. The name of the company is Premier Products.

Once you get your feet wet, and want to make some international contacts, go to http://www.allproducts.com . This site will put you into contact with contacts from all over the world.

Looking for government repos, bankruptcy liquidations, US Marshals items, etc, go to http://www.bid4assets.com . They have all kinds of different items you can get dirt cheap!

These sources are fantastic!! They are going to be very helpful to you. We have never had any complaints on this guide and have had many customers thank us over and over for helping them get their online, or retail business started. We love to help whenever we are able.

Best wishes, and have fun!!

DISCLAIMER: The content provided in this article is not warranted or guaranteed by My Ebay Secrets, Inc. The content provided is intended for entertainment and/or educational purposes in order to introduce to the reader key ideas, concepts, and/or product reviews. As such it is incumbent upon the reader to employ real-world tactics for security and implementation of best practices. We are not liable for any negative consequences that may result from implementing any information covered in our articles or tutorials. If this is a hardware review, it is not recommended to open and/or modify your hardware.

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When is the Best Time to List Your Items on eBay?

You may think that you should list your items on Ebay on Saturday mornings because that is when you have the most free time or on Monday nights after 10:00 because the family is in bed and you finally have total concentration. You need to ask yourself just how many possible buyers will be at their computers at closing time. Especially when 10:00 p.m. on the West Coast is 1:00 a.m. on the East Coast. There are lots of possible buyers shopping at lunchtime during the week. But, because of the enormous amount of traffic at that time, you really cut down on the possibility of last-minute bidding if the bids are all in an internet traffic jam and can't get through at all.

The amount of bidders available at closing time is of utmost importance to your auction. Most of the bidding on any auction  will occur in the first 24 hours (when it is listed as new) and on the last day (when is listed as ending today), with most people only looking at one of these two times. And, the bulk of the serious bidding will be in the last 5 minutes! An auction is truly at its best when two or more people fight over your item, and they may not be awake to do so at 1:00 in the morning.

When to list your items is best decided on actual sales histories of your particular items. Hardware and tools may get more male bidders who are looking on Saturday afternoon, and pokemon cards may get more attention from kids right after school. Etc. So, check the sales of completed items. You should be able to see a definite pattern for each type of item you plan to list. This is the first step.

If your item sells best on a weekday evening, now you need to see if there is also a second pattern. It sold best on Tuesday one week and Thursday the next week. Why? One big factor in evening sales now is "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" There are almost no bidders at their computers when this show is on television. This show happens to be moved around from week to week. On top of that, if it is on at 8:00 p.m., that means 8:00 p.m. on both coasts so West Coast seller has to work around 5:00 p.m. through 8:00 p.m., and the East Coast seller has to work around 8:00 p.m. through 11:00 p.m.

 

There are many more factors that come into play. Watch the weather forecasts for all parts of the country. If the East Coast is due for heavy rains, more possible bidders will be available at their computers instead of outside enjoying the spring or summer weather - and vice versa. If an area is in the middle of a terrible heat wave, they may be hiding inside at their computer instead of doing anything outside. Great weather is bad for sales. You may not want to have items close on Thanksgiving afternoon when most of the country is sitting down to a great meal - or in the evening on the day of a Presidential election. Contrary to this logic, Christmas morning may be a good time to have items close because many people don't have family with whom to share their day or they are not of a Christian faith. Those people would see this as a great time to sneak in a few bids. Other people may go shopping on Christmas afternoon to try to buy what they didn't receive for a gift!

Selling at the busiest time of the day will make your photos load slower. At any time, using a dial-up connection puts your auctions at risk since they will take longer to load. And, since most dial-up connections get lost often, there is always the chance that your photos will not load at all. When either happens, you will lose buyers. Some could bookmark your auction to try again later, but last-minute shoppers don't have time to come back. Cable modem or DSL will make everything you do on the internet at least 10 times faster - without disconnects. You only need to be have your photos not load during the last half hour of an auction once to know how important your internet connection is.

The real answer to when to list your items is it is totally relative….relative to as many factors as you can think of. You will need to do research on the past and try to foresee the future. Good luck on the latter.

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Titanium eBay, 2nd Edition: A Tactical Guide to Becoming a Millionaire Powerseller 

How to Buy, Sell, and Profit on eBay: Kick-Start Your Home-Based Business in Just Thirty Days 

Ebay Listing Fees On Sale 50% Off

For the third time this month, eBay has announced a one-day, 50% Off,  listing fee sale.  

On March 16th 2010, sellers who list Auction-style item(s), and have a 12 month Detailed Seller Rating of 4.5 or higher on all criteria, will receive 50% off the standard Insertion Fee per item listed. New sellers who don’t yet have DSR ratings are also eligible. DSR rating criteria for this promotion will be based on the previous 12 months. To see your DSR ratings, go to your Seller Dashboard within My eBay. For more information on DSRs, visit the eBay  Seller Information Center.

During the Promotional Period, Insertion Fees for Auction-style listings will be 50% off on the U.S. site www.eBay.com, www.eBayMotors.com (Parts & Accessories only) and eBay Canada www.eBay.ca. Listings created prior to March 16, 2010 which are scheduled to start during the Promotional Period will be eligible to receive the Promotional Rate.

When listing items using the Sell Your Item form, the promotional rate will apply after you have exhausted your 5 free listings.

If you list with any tool (Vendio, Auctiva, etc.) other than the latest version of the Sell Your Item form (SYI 3.0) the Promotional Rate will not be shown during the listing process. Instead the discount will be reflected in the “View Account Status” section in My eBay, as well as in your next invoice.

The Top 10 Selling Tips

Follow these simple and effective tips to attract more buyers and get the most cash for your items.

1. Find out What It's Worth: If you know what you want to sell, you can get information about the item such as the recent sales activity and price, appropriate listing category and key words, and examples of good descriptions. Simply do an Advanced Search on your item and click Completed Listings. If you want to find out what is selling on eBay, check out the eBay Pulse.

2. Determine Pricing and Listing Format: Many sellers that sell in an action-style listing format, find that setting a low opening bid with no reserve jumpstarts bidding and increases their final selling price. However, demand for the item must be high to generate multiple bids. Your research in step one will help you with this information. If you know the value of your item or have multiples of the same item, set a fixed price for a quick sale. Learn about how eBay displays items in search results.

3. Sign up for PayPal: PayPal enables you to accept online payments for your eBay items. Sellers must offer safe electronic payments to buyers on eBay, so sign up today - it's fast and free to sign up.

4. Maximize Your Item Title: Be sure to include key words that buyers will search for, unique or descriptive attributes, and always check your spelling. Your item title is critical in helping users find your items, so use each character wisely using descriptive key words.

5. Describe Your Item in Detail: A good description is concise, well organized, and easy to read. Create bold section headlines, bulleted lists, and be sure to include item style/type, brand, condition, and other attributes. When available in your category, use item specifics to help buyers find your item. Depending on category, item specifics include the condition of the item (new, used), size, color, brand, etc. Make sure to include your return policy and handling time, which is now required in every listing.

6. Include Photos: A picture really is worth a thousand words and your first one is free! Use clear, well-lit photos from a variety of angles to accurately showcase your item. Use good lighting and an uncluttered background to get the most out of your photo. Add additional photos to showcase details and unique features of your item. Upgrade to Picture Pack to take advantage of the zoom feature on item listings. Many categories and Premium and Anchor eBay Store subscribers get multiple free photos.

7. Include Reasonable Shipping Costs: Specifying reasonable shipping and handling costs in your listing is essential for smart selling. eBay's free Shipping Calculator provides real-time shipping costs to buyers all over the world, so you can increase your chances of success. Providing free shipping can give you an extra boost in search results ranking and sales.

8. Communicate: Always respond quickly to any buyer questions. Include extras or a handwritten note in the box to really surprise and delight your customers. Make sure to leave feedback for your buyer so they'll do the same for you.

9. Use My eBay to Track Sales: Your My eBay page is your own personal dashboard to track all your activity on eBay. Simply click My eBay on top of any eBay page to reveal the items you are selling, items that are sold, shipping addresses of your customers, messages from your prospective buyers and to manage your personal information and communication preferences.

10. Save a trip to the Post Office: The United States Postal Service® offers a variety of free shipping supplies, delivered directly to you within a few days. After the sale you can pay for and print shipping labels for UPS and USPS directly from My eBay. Pay for the shipping using PayPal and print the labels on your home printer. You can also schedule free carrier pick-up online and at no additional charge.

How To Become A Computer Reseller on eBay

How To Become A Computer Reseller on eBay

First you have to choose a business name. Think of something that is easy to remember, something that sounds good and something that will make sense as a .com name (if selling on the web, which you probably SHOULD do).

Call your town hall and ask them where you can get a business certificate, they should inform you on which local county office to go to, to fill out the paperwork. When you get to the office you will talk to a representative who can assist you in the aperwork (minimal) and they should ask you to look in the records to make sure the business name you take has not been taken (locally). They may do this with a computer system in their office. Once you get the paper work done they should notarize it and you will be on your way.

So far you have registered with your county office as a business doing business as whomever. Now you need to be legally allowed to sell products or services and collect sales tax. This will require you to obtain a resale certificate.

You will need to register with your state as a reseller (to obtain a resale certificate, anyone who owns some sort of business has to do this). In New York the Department of Taxation and Finance handles all of this (they are in the phone book). Call the town hall to obtain the name of the agency if you are outside of New york or New jersey. Another way to do this is to simply go to a store and look at any resellers License posted in a local business and see what Department issued it, EVERY business is required by law to post these in a visible area, if you can not find it at your local grocery store as someone, they have to show you it.

The total cost for a startup sole proprietorship in New York State (all the paperwork and filings) was $25 in 1998. Each state varies but the fee is usually minimal (< $100)

You Can Become a Business Entity in Several Ways

1. PROPRIETORSHIP: A proprietorship is the simplest business entity to start and usually requires nothing more than a D.B.A. (doing business as) name and a Tax ID number (your Social Security number).

This type of ownership allows you to have the maximum control over the operations of the business, but also creates maximum liability. You will be personally liable for all debts by your business. This is a popular choice for a one-person operation.

2. PARTNERSHIPS: If you need a business partner, either for financial or expertise reasons, the best way to outline your business relationship from a legal standpoint, is to form your business as a partnership.

Maybe you have one or two partners wanting to join with you in your decision to sell computer hardware. You may be the outgoing salesman, and your other two partners love to just be working in the back room configuring client's systems. Maybe you have someone with more accounting abilities. Let them take care of ordering or helping wherever needed. These roles should be worked out between all involved before you get started.

3. CORPORATION: A corporation is the most formal form of business that one may consider. You can have a corporation even if you're the only one in your business or even have partners involved This is the more expensive way to go, but offers the least liability.

The best way to become a corporation is to start off using one of the above forms of business and then later on after the business is prospering file to become a corporation.

Business Checking Account

You will also need to open a BUSINESS checking account. Make sure you bring in the original copy of your resellers permit, they will need that before you even try to open an account. There might be other things, like a copy of the DBA statement receipt. Call ahead and ask.

Pick a bank dedicated to serving the business community. This way if you plan on doing business outside the U.S., they will be more inclined to accept checks from foreign companies.

Information Before You Begin Reselling or Distributing!

When contacting a manufacturer and distributor of hardware, these companies will mail or fax you forms to fill out on your business. They will need the name of your bank, a copy of your resellers permit in order for you to buy wholesale.

Ordering from a computer wholesale company requires you to have a "resellers permit". When you buy from a distributor or wholesaler with a resellers permit they do not charge you sales tax because it is a business to business transaction, YOU or your corporation are expected to collect and pay sales tax to your state government institution. Some states don't charge sales tax, and every state has it's own rules which you will have to learn once you talk to the states Taxation and Finance department (or otherwise known)