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Most Recent Posts January 20th: eBay Tip of the Day! Manage Your TimePosted Jan-21-07 11:15:35 PST Manage Your Time Wisely! by Stephanie Inge Treat your eBay business like a regular job. Set up a daily schedule and follow it to a tee! Don't forget to include marketing and research, as those are integral parts of your eBay job. It is very easy to get distracted when you're working from home, so make sure that you create a schedule and stick to it. DAILY TO-DO LIST Schedule a time to follow up on phone calls, order fulfillment, unfinished auctions, etc. USE MY EBAY Use My eBay to monitor your listings and auction activity, which will also help to keep track and make certain that nothing falls through the crackse. Check the Summary page first to view pending transactions and check payments. SCHEDULE Assign tasks to certain times, and try not to get distracted by non-business-related tasks. For example, answer email from potential buyers between 9 and 10 a.m. Packing and shipping 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. USE EBAY’S LISTING TOOLS eBay provides us with seller tools to help run our businesses more efficiently, such as Turbo Lister and Selling Manager. The eBay Tools Wizard (http://pages.ebay.com/sell/toolrecommendations.html) recommends solutions based on your needs. I really like to use the eBay scheduler, since I create most of my auctions in the wee hours of the morning. January 21st: eBay Tip of the Day! Product SourcingPosted Jan-21-07 11:04:38 PST Sourcing Product to Sell on eBay -- by Stephanie Inge (stephintexas) As the eBay instructor for Dallas County Community Colleges, the question I get most often is "Where is the best place to find product to sell?" Most eBayer's guard that secret with their life, but there are many different ways to source product and the most popular methods are listed below. To really be successful, you may need to think outside the box and look for a source that has unlimited product that you can reorder as needed. GARAGE SALES There are garage sales in your neighborhood most every weekend, except during the colder monthls. That old saying, "The early bird catches the worm" has never been more true than when it comes to garage sale success. Get there early to get the best selection. Another great strategy is to go late in the afternoon right before closing, to get the best bargains, as most people are sick of being outside and ready to give stuff away by day's end. ESTATE SALES A great place to find unique and valuable items, but stick with what you know, or you may end up paying too much, as estate sales are usually run by professionals and they price most of their items, according to eBay. Sunday is the best day to get a bargain, as most items will be marked 50-75% off. CRAIGSLIST This is one of my all-time favorite ways to source product! Just log on to www.craigslist.org and select your city from the alphabetical list on the right side of the page. You can search locally, or worldwide and most people don't mind shipping to you! LOCAL NEWSPAPER Don't forget to check the classified ads in your local newspaper and look for Moving Sales, or Divorce sales, which are usually a great way to get some bargains. AUCTIONSStorage units have monthly auctions, but you cannot go in and cherry pick. You can get a large quantity of items for very little investment and they usually give you two to three days to pick up. Do a Google search for storage unit companies in your area and sign up for their free auction notifications. Auctioneers usually have weekly auctions and many of them even have lists and photographs of the items that they will be auctioning off that week, so it's very easy to research everything before you even go. Government auctions are another great way to source product and incredible prices. THRIFT STORES Browse thrift shops with a careful eye for great deals and look for items that will sell for more than a few dollars. The best day to go for a great selection is usually on a Tuesday morning, as most of them get deliveries on Monday afternoons. INDUSTRY TRADE SHOWS Not only will you get to preview product trends, this is a great way for you to connect with manufacturers and discuss the opportunity of selling their products on eBay. Make sure to bring plenty of business cards and all of your business credentials. WHOLESALERS Buy items in bulk at a significant savings. Type “wholesale” into your favorite search engine such as Google or Yahoo, or check out eBay’s wholesale category. You need check out the company to make sure they are a legitimate wholesaler. You will also need to have your business license and business checking account in order to purchase from a wholesale company. MANUFACTURERS Search for the manufacturer using your favorite search engine and contact them about being their eBay reseller. It might be difficult to connect with big brands until you’re a successful PowerSeller, so start with local or small manufacturers. PowerSellers can also find products available in bulk directly from manufacturers at Reseller.com. * * My personal recommendation for serious eBayers is OneSource and they are one of eBay's Certified Solution Providers and I've been a member for 5 years and they are a wonderful company to work with. Click the link above to watch a FREE video on product sourcing! Stephintexas' October 30, 2006: eBay TipPosted Oct-30-06 07:03:00 PST Build up your feedback quickly, easily and inexpensively Purchase inexpensive items that can be sent to you electronically (by email). Some examples are: recipes, e-books, coupons, reports, funny photos, etc. There are two VERY important things to check out prior to bidding on one of these auctions. 1. Double check the auction carefully to make sure that the shipping really is free! I had a lady charge me $3.69 for shipping insurance on a one cent recipe that she sent by email! 2. Check out the seller's feedback and notice the total number received and then click on the tab "Left for Others" and make sure that they have posted as much, or more than they have received. If not, then there is a pretty good chance that they won't post feedback for you. 3. Don't buy more than one item from the same seller, as the feedback number represents unique feedback and you only get credit for one from each seller. Pay promptly using PayPal and then post feedback, immediately, for the seller as soon as you receive the item. Don't be shy about asking for feedback from the seller if you haven't received it within a short time. Stephintexas' October 29, 2006: eBay TipPosted Oct-29-06 07:08:48 PST Updated Oct-30-06 06:33:05 PST Here are a few tips to promote your eBay store that you may not have thought of yet? Join a local eBay MeetUp group and if you don't have one in your town, why not start one? EBAYBES & EMALES are looking to start new chapters all across the United States and offer mentoring to anyone interested in starting one in your city! Send us an email today if you're interested.
Advertise your store outside of eBay Why not join a FREE online mall? Submit to Froogle for free and it's very simple! Check back tomorrow for your NEW eBay tip. Join a Webring
Stephanie Inge More FREE Auction Tools for eBay Sellers! Stephintexas' October 28, 2006: eBay TipPosted Oct-29-06 06:22:46 PST Updated Oct-30-06 06:43:58 PST Need a logo for your eBay store? Here are a few really good websites where you can create your FREE logo
Check back tomorrow for your NEW eBay tip. Stephanie Inge More FREE Auction Tools for eBay Sellers! |
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