eBay Selling Tips

Waiting for the John McCain Onion!

2008-05-29T09:28:00.000-07:00

Did you hear this one? Some guy sold a sweet potato that "looks like Barack Obama."

Seems said sweet potato (which sold on May 28) garnered three bids for a grand total of:

$8.49

And now, the original seller is selling a photograph of the sweet potato that sold. The photo starting bid is $4, but as of this writing, there are no bids. (Come on, people, it's a photo of the Barack Obama sweet potato for criminy sakes!)

I went into the completed auctions on eBay and took a look at the supersized image of the potato. To me the potato looks like a pair of lips with herpes sores all over it. But, I guess I just don't have that "eye" for potatoes or politics.

So, yes, I'm now going to scour the supermarket for the "John McCain Onion" or maybe the "Hillary Clinton Apple." I know they're out there.

Wigix - the New Player on the Block

2008-05-01T08:10:00.000-07:00

Are you among those eBayers who are frustrated by the cost of selling on eBay?

Wigix is hoping there are a lot of you.

What is Wigix? It's a new site which brings buyers and sellers together. Wigix stands for "Want It Got It Exchange" and is based on a different selling model than eBay. For one thing, it's not an auction site. So, how do you sell stuff? Well, as far as I can tell (and, I have to tell you, the site's a bit confusing) is that when you want to buy something you place an "order" for something. Maybe it's for sale on the site, maybe it's not. when you have something for sale, you put it in your portfolio. You and the buyer can then negotiate the price, and, if it's fine for both of you, then you can seal the deal. They feel this helps to eliminate auction scams and helps sellers be competitive.

Call me crazy, but I thought an auction was helping to set the market price for something. If there's enough desire the price goes up.

Of course Wigix is new (just started), so I'll have to see it in action.

The good part are the selling fees. They're much lower than eBay. If you sell something under $25 there are no fees. That's the great part. How many of you labored to photograph, write up a great description, list the item, package it up and send it out, only to have your profit almost wiped out by their fees? Oh, and the listing fees are free as well.

For items that sell from $25 to $100, the fee is $1.50. That's it. For items over $100, there is an additional 2%. If over $1,000 there's an additional 1% over that.

Now, here's another big difference. You can make money without actually selling something. You can be a "Homesteader." You see, Wigix has a catalog of items that are out there in the marketplace. They may not even be for sale yet on the site. You can suggest items that aren't in their catalog and, if the category expert approves it and adds it to the catalog, you'll be that item's homesteader and earn 5% of that item's revenue should that item be sold in the future.

Anyway, you can go check it out at wigix.com and see if their business model might work for you.

Ferris Wheel Sells on eBay!

2008-04-27T09:30:00.000-07:00

And you thought you had packing nightmares! How much bubble wrap do you think it will take to safely send a Ferris Wheel?

That's right, a Ferris Wheel, which has been a wonderful fixture on the Santa Monica Pier, has been sold on eBay for $132,400. What's even weirder is that the buyer, Grant Humpreys, has never bought on eBay before. This was his first purchase!

Just goes to show you that maybe you shouldn't be too picky selling to newbies (some sellers are).

Maybe this is a good time to sell any Ferris Wheel memorabilia.

Currently, there are 14 bids for a "muling of the popular HK 171 Ferris Wheel Dollar and the HK 168 Chicago Dollar."

Better eBay Pictures Mean Better Profits

2008-04-22T16:32:00.000-07:00

What often makes or breaks a sale on eBay? The picture. If it's fuzzy or dark or the item is too small many people won't bother even clicking on the item. But, take a crisp, outstanding photo and you're halfway to making a decent profit.

Here are some eBay photo tips to get you started.

1. Make sure your item looks its best before photographing it. A dusty, cobwebby item won't entice buyers to buy. Before taking the photo, wipe away any dust, wash glass items, or iron any clothing. You want the item to look its best.

2. Carefully inspect the item. If there are any flaws you can't fix, make note of them. Document any stains or tears in clothing; any chips in glass or pottery, any crazing. These are things you'll want to snap a close-up of and mention in your description. True, you're pointing out the flaws, but you have to be totally honest with the potential buyers. You don't want buyers expecting perfection and receiving flaws. That doesn't make for good feedback. And good feedback is what eBay sellers live for.

3. When setting up your photo session, aim for natural light and good contrast. Take pictures near a window when the sun is shining. Avoid using a flash if you can; flash photos often turn out too bright and detract from the item’s detail.

4. If your items are light in color, photograph them on dark backgrounds, and vice versa.

5. Take pictures from two or three different angles if possible.

6. Make sure the item is displayed by itself, unless it’s a part of an entire lot for sale.

7. Take as a close a picture as you can of the item; you want it to fill the camera screen.

8. When setting up your item to be photographed, choose a surface or background which isn't reflective. Also, make sure the background isn't messy or distracting. You want the buyer's eye on the item, not on the dirty socks tossed on the floor.

9. Try to keep colors and hues of the item as close to the original as possible. If the resulting photo is not entirely representative of the item, do mention that in your description.

10. If there any manufacturer's marks (such as marks on the bottom of pottery), be sure to photograph them as well. You want the buyer to know the item is authentic.

Declaration of Independence Found at Thrift Store

2007-03-27T11:02:00.000-07:00

I'm sure by now you all have heard about the rare 1823 copy of the Declaration of Independence that a man bought at a thrift store for $2.48 and later sold at auction for $477,650. This just shows what's out there to be found at places like thrift stores and garage sales. Some people dismiss thrift stores because they're typically more expensive than garage sales, and some may assume that the good stuff never gets put on display. But, you really should include thrift stores in your search for eBay products. And, don't be discouraged if you go and come out empty handed. Products are constantly being added to thrift stores, so you have to keep going back.

Be sure to also check the shoe racks. There are almost always some used shoes or cowboy boots that can sell easily on eBay.

Business Plan for your eBay Business

2006-07-18T14:56:00.000-07:00

Ask yourself these simple questions. Are you serious about making your eBay Store or online auction business a success? Do you want to make your eBay Store or home business your full-time career? Do you have a business plan good enough to gain an SBA loan?

If you answered yes to the first two questions but no to the first question about having a business plan in place, you may be headed for serious trouble. If you want to have your eBay Store be your primary income, then you have to start treating your eBay business like a true Business. And, a true Business has to have a business plan.

To read more of this article on how a business plan can help your eBay business bottom line, go to our eBay Selling site and read more about SBA business plans.

Generating Traffic to your eBay Store

2006-07-15T12:16:00.000-07:00

Do you already have an eBay store and need more traffic? Try using a technique that website owners use: submit to free article sites.

Here's how it works. You write an article about your product. Say you sell juicers. You can write articles about juicing, what vegetables to juice, etc. These articles should be around 350 to 600 words. Then, go to some of the better article sites and submit your article. If they have a place for your bio, then tell who you are, including a link to your eBay store. Your article will be viewed by people searching for the items you sell, as well as website owners who can take your article and put it on their websites, along with the link back to your eBay store.

This is also a great way to get your page picked up by the search engines, so that people searching for your item can find you by going to the search engines.

The better article sites are GoArticles.com; EzineArticles.com; Searchwarp.com; and iSnare.com.

Privacy Policy

2006-07-10T09:45:00.000-07:00

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Selling eBooks on eBay

2006-07-09T14:29:00.000-07:00

So, your eBooks aren't selling on eBay?

Author: James Penn

We've all been there. We've all had resale rights products that you can't even seem to give away on eBay. It happens to the best sellers, the worst sellers and the average sellers. It's part of selling eBooks on eBay... or is it?

There are a few little-known and highly effective techniques that you can implement to ensure your resale rights eBooks fly off of the digital shelves and into your customers' hard drives. These techniques are unknown to the average eBay seller and even the majority of power sellers are still oblivious to the power of these strategies. Here are the techniques that I hope you implement to ensure your resale rights eBooks sell like crazy and make you greater profits.

Technique #1 - Manipulate the title of your auction

Maybe your eBook auction isn't getting the hits it deserves? This calls for a change in the title. Did you know the term 'resale rights' is a commonly searched keyword? Why not take advantage of it? If you have space to fit in that term, then fit it in! For example if your auction was for the eBook "Info Profit with eBay" then create a title like this.

"Info Profit with eBay - Master Resale Rights" - Maybe the buyer doesn't want to read the book but they may want to make money reselling it. It doesn't matter what they do with it after they buy it, as long as you get paid.

Other keyword phrases you could include are: "Info Profit with eBay - Make Money on eBay" "Info Profit with eBay - Home Based Business Opportunity" "Info Profit with eBay - Make money with eBooks on eBay"

Using keyword phrases like above will increase auction hits considerably. Having said that, only use phrases like above if they are relevant to the eBook you are selling.

However, on the other hand, you could create a title that's so ambiguous it just forces viewers to click your link and open your auction. Something like this would suffice:

"I can't believe I'm selling this so low..."

Technique #2 - Manipulate your sales letter to convert better

Maybe your auction is getting the hits but just not getting the sales?

In this instance, it's the sales letter that needs to be altered. A change in the headline may be necessary. Call the potential buyer to action. Explain the benefits of buying yourproduct and create an image of the benefits in their head.

Technique #3 - Manipulate the graphics

Your resale rights product came with an eCover graphic but it just isn't up to scratch. It's ugly and turns prospects away instantly - it needs to be changed!

You can find hundreds of graphic designers around the place however the most popular seems to be http://www.ecoverfrog.com/ Get a new eBook design to suit the mood of the product and add it to your auction.

Technique #4 - Add Bonuses!

Maybe your resale rights product isn't value for money and you need a little something to sweeten the deal. Find a few relevant eBooks that would accompany your product perfectly. For example,the eBook "Info Profit with eBay" explains how you can make money with eBooks on eBay but the buyer may also want to learn how to create info products and how to write sales letters. Add two products that suit this need.

If you've read through this article (rather than just skipped to this bit) then you will have now learned four techniques to help your resale rights eBooks fly off the proverbial digital shelves resulting in more sales for you and more money in your paypal account. I hope you implement these techniques and I hope you experience the same results that I do. Good luck!

About the author:

James Penn is owner of http://www.auction-enterprise.com/ explaining how you can launch your eBay business. To get the eBook "Info Profit with eBay" FREE go here:http://www.auction-enterprise.com/free-ebay-ebooks.html

More misspelled Basball Cards on eBay

2006-06-18T09:30:00.000-07:00

There are quite a number of misspelled baseball cards for sale on eBay today. Just type "basball" or "basebal" card and you will find quite a number, many with no bids.

Also, check out a popular misspelling for "Louis Vuitton". Type in "Louis Vuiton" and you'll get a few items. But, by far the best misspelling of "Louis Vuitton" is "Louis Vitton" which, at the moment of this post, will bring you 30 items.

If you have an item you'd like to check a misspelling for, be sure to go to www.searchspell.com to see the various ways the item can be misspelled, then type those misspellings into the eBay search box and see what comes up.

Weird Things Sold on eBay

2006-06-01T21:39:00.000-07:00

If you haven't checked out the "Everything Else" category on eBay, you really must. Not only for the entertainment, but for ideas on what to sell.

You can find anything in this category, from people selling advertising space on their bodies (heads, butts, etc) to women selling items from their ex-husbands, boyfriends, etc. The key, it seems to me, is to tell a good story with your item.

What are some of the weirdest items ever sold?

How about one's virginity? There have been about a dozen of auctions that put one's virginity on the limelight. There was even one auction that sold for $10,000,000 with 17 bidders at the most. Have no idea if the virginity in question was actually paid for, however.

Next, there were cases of auctioned letters from a serial killer being sold at 1500 pounds each.
Then, there was one auction about a man who is selling his "fully functioning" kidneys. The reported bid amount was $5.7 million. There was no way to verify the truth, but reports said that the sale did not push through. (Big surprise)

There is much other weird stuff like one night stand with someone's wife, ghost in a jar, ghost cane, and air guitar, which were all sold, just for the heck of getting a sale on E-bay.

But among all, the report about a 10-year old Virgin Mary grilled cheese sandwich that sold for $28,000 was the most sensationalized and the weirdest stuff ever sold on E-bay. The seller was an old woman from Miami, Florida.

According to MSNBC, eBay had deliberately post back the auction in November 2004 after it inadvertently pulled the auction out from the list, thinking it was just a hoax.

The GoldenPalace.com, an online casino, had won the auction. Executives of the company said that $28,000 was nothing compared to the privilege of getting to own this 10-year old half-bitten sandwich bearing the face of Virgin Mary.

Some other weird items of note: haunted dolls (lots of those), a stubby pencil which was used by one woman's 3rd grader his entire year of 3rd grade, and a jar of air which was held near Brad Pitt as he walked the red carpet.

If you're going to try to sell anything weird, research the other weird items that have sold. Good stories really help. Sometimes you can even find items in the "Everything Else" category which are not being "marketed" properly, buy it for pennies, and resell for a profit. It happened to one man who saw an auction for a green apple shaped like a butt. It was a so-so picture, with a so-so write-up. He bought the apple for a penny and resold it (with a great story and pictures of the apple wearing little pants, exposing a "butt crack") for a couple hundred dollars.

eBay Selling During the Holidays

2006-05-28T08:28:00.000-07:00

First, an update to the previous post (scross down), "eBay Selling - Or Not." Still no bids on the non-descript vintage shirt from the 70s.

A word about listing during the holidays. In my experience listing an auction to end during a holiday weekend is not a good idea. Why? Because many people who would be browsing the eBay auctions are in transit to holiday destinations or visiting with friends and relatives. I have found bidding to be light during these times, with my auctions ending lower than what I had expected. I spoke to a friend about this who sells jewelry on eBay and she agreed that she sits out the holidays.

Again, just my experience and the experience of my friend.

Thrift Store Shopping - Resell on eBay

2006-05-17T16:26:00.000-07:00

Well, the weekend's quickly approaching, and you know what that means for some eBay sellers. Garage Sales! But, you don't have to wait for the weekend to go bargain hunting for stuff to sell on eBay. Don't overlook your local thrift store. Sure, you may not get the rock bottom prices you would at a garage sale or yard sale, but you can still buy stuff to resell at a profit on eBay.

What kinds of things can you find at thrift stores to resell on eBay? Let's start with shoes. Yes, believe it or not, some sellers have a brisk business selling used shoes on eBay. It creeps me out to wear someone's old shoes, but, it seems there are a lot of people out there who aren't creeped out by it and will pay to wear someone's old shoes. The same goes for boots, especially cowboy boots. Some old cowboy boots go for a nice price.

For example, if you’re interested in buying and selling used men’s shirts, go to eBay and perform searches for “used men’s shirt,” “nearly new shirt,” “gently worn” and all the other synonyms you can find for “used.” Go through the “vintage” category and the “collectibles – cultures, ethnicities” for Hawaiian shirts. Research the labels. Note any patterns and colors. Do some sizes sell better than others? (I always found I had a harder time selling men’s shirts in size small).

Do the same type of research with all the used items you may find at a thrift store: clothing, shoes, boots, purses, books (don’t ignore cookbooks – they can sometimes sell very well, especially the Betty Crocker Pie Cover cookbook).

When you find a thrift store or two (or, hopefully, more) that offers good quality used products go back often as new items are added every day. I've found the best items are at thrift stores (usually Goodwill) that border affluent neighborhoods. Even though Goodwill has an auction site of their own, you can still find good things to sell at the Goodwill, especially clothing. Clothing doesn't have to be vintage to sell on eBay.

A Word About eBay University

2006-05-13T09:30:00.000-07:00

Just a quick little post here about eBay University.

When you're just starting out on eBay it's good to get some hands-on training. That's where eBay University comes in, which was established by eBay to help people become successful sellers.

The classes are held in many locations throughout the United States, and may also be completed from home, using your computer. While it's true that all of the information you'll learn through the classes can be found on the website for free, sometimes understanding all that information isn’t always easy. eBay University will teach you how to open a seller’s account, how to conduct research and create listings, how to improve listings for greater success, how to integrate Paypal with eBay, how to monitor your auctions, and how to complete transactions.

Once you’ve finished the Selling Basics course, you are ready for the ‘Beyond the Basics’ course. This advanced course will teach you how to start and grow an eBay business, how to choose and create listing formats that sell, how to use all of the eBay resources, how to market your business, how to pack and ship your items, and much more. Both courses are reasonably priced, and well worth the short amount of time that it takes to complete each course.

Make Money with Misspelled Words

2006-05-12T17:04:00.000-07:00

Anybody looking for a 1958 Willie Mays basball card? How about a pair of stirling silver demitasse spoons in your grandmother’s pattern?

The last time I checked, you can find them on eBay, along with a number of basball caps and other misspelled items. Believe it or not, some people still don’t know how to spell check. But, bless their little misspelled harts, because you can use their errors to profit on eBay.

Every day items go up for auction with typos and misspells in the titles. The problem is that a large number of people search for items to buy using the search box, not browsing through the category listings. Therefore, the misspelled items are the ones that usually don’t fetch the bids they deserve because they’re not getting traffic. Sometimes you can pick these items up for a song. And, once you’re done singing what can you do? Resell the item on eBay, properly spelled of course, for quite a nice profit.

Some sellers have even begun to capitalize on eBay misspells by selling programs designed to find misspelled auctions. However, just typing in some of the most common typos and misspells into the search box will often times yield great results. (If the correct spelling automatically pops up, that means there were no items with that particular misspell.)

How do you know what a common typo or misspell is? One way to find them is to go to misspell sites such as http://www.searchspell.com/, where you will find typo and misspell suggestions for any word you type in. Some common typos are often caused by leaving out a letter, such as in basball. You could also type in baseall and see several other items for sale. Transposing letters is another common typo, such as baesball, where, once again, you may find some items for sale.

Another way to utilize misspells on eBay is to include the most popular misspell in your title along with the correct spelling. The reason being that some people mistype or misspell the item they’re searching into the search box. For example, a Jack Lalanne Juicer is often typed in as Jack Lalane Juicer. That is a very common misspell, and numerous people type that into the search box when searching for a Jack Lalanne Juicer. If you type in Lalanne and Lalane into the title you are able to grab both sets of people, those who are spelling it correctly, and those who are not. Therefore, you’ve just increased traffic to your auction.

eBay Selling - Don't L@@K!

2006-05-11T17:46:00.000-07:00

"L @ @ K !!! "

Okay, maybe it did make you look. But, if you're using it in your eBay titles, you're wasting precious eBay real estate.

The purpose of this blog is to share eBay selling tips that will help you learn how to make money on eBay. We'll take a look at current eBay auctions and see which ones are a success, and which ones could do better ("failure" is not a word I like).

The first tip is the use of the word "L @ @ K" in your title. Don't use it.

Why, you ask? Isn’t "L @ @ K" a good eye catcher? Won’t people scrolling through the categories on eBay notice it and click through to the description, bid on your item and make you gobs of money? Well, maybe, but people have learned to tune out the little gimmick. The reality is, most people find items on eBay using the search function, and I don’t know of many people who search for “L @ @ K".

eBay only allows you 55 characters in your title to bring people to your auction, so you have to use those characters wisely. You have to include words in your title that people are typing into the search box. Words like “WOW,” “rare,” “beautiful,” “cool,” or “unusual” are a big waste of space.

What makes a good title? Well, that, of course, depends on the item you have up for auction. You have to anticipate what people will type into the search box. Many people make the mistake of thinking it’s redundant to include the category name (such as “men’s shirt”) because they placed their item in the “men’s shirt” category and they figure it’s obvious. However, since a majority of people search through the search box, if they were looking for a “Men’s large Hawaiian shirt” that’s probably what they’d type in the search box. It doesn’t matter if you placed your item in “men’s shirts – casual” or “Collectibles – Cultures – Ethnicities – Hawaiiana.,” If your title shouts “WOW – Cool Vintage Kahala Shirt – L @ @ K” and the person typed in “Men’s large Hawaiian shirt,” the both of you will never make contact and you will lose a potential sale.

Make sure you also anticipate different words for the same item. An example is “cowboy boots.” To some people they’re “cowboy boots” and to some they’re “western boots.”

If there’s a popular misspelling you might see if you can squeeze that in your title as well. For example, a Jack Lalanne Juicer to many people is a Jack Lalane Juicer.

It’s always good to check out similar items as yours to see what others have put in their titles. See if there’s a difference between very successful auctions and those that didn’t sell. Many times it boils down to the title. Great titles bring the most people to their auctions. Flashy titles which waste precious characters are seen by no one – as in “Don’t L @ @ K now, but you have no bids.”

In future posts we'll take a look at current eBay auctions to see what works and what doesn't when it comes to making money selling on eBay.