Special Topic: How to Sell on Ebay
RSS Ebay News Feed
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eBay |
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As with most phenomena of the Internet heyday it's no longer possible to
make a fortune just by selling any old thing on eBay. However, there are
still opportunities aplenty for the hard working, savvy eBay seller. In
order to have a happy ending though you need to have a good beginning
and that's what we're here to do: Start at the very beginning. Explore
eBay and decide if being an e-commerce tycoon is really the ticket for
you.
Never even visited eBay? There then is your first step. Go to eBay.com
and have a look around. eBay realizes that buyers and sellers are its
lifeblood so the eBay website is very user friendly. You don't have to
register to browse and at this point you probably shouldn't. Registering
requires choosing a user I.D. which will follow you forever. You will
want to choose it and use it carefully.
Complete Article
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Ebay Stores
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Ebay announced
that they are going to raise the cost of their eBay online store. This
could further hurt eBay in the long run as profits are tough to come by
for online auction sellers.
According to a
report in the Boston Herald, Meg Whitman has acknowledged that “things
have been off kilter.” Ebay will be raising fees of the online stores
which have been causing less revenue from eBay auctions.
The fees will be
raised an average of 6 percent on August 22nd. The fees will
vary so some may be more and some less. There is an estimated 541,000
eBay stores. Ebay auction fees will not be raised at this time.
Complete Article
eBay Adcontext –
eBay strikes back with Google by using Contextual Advertising with
Affiliate Marketers
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eBay website |
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Bloggers will
consider looking at the new affiliate program that eBay will offer
soon. It is a contextual based advertising that uses keywords to
determine the ads which closely mirrors Google Adsense advertising. The
new program by eBay is called Adcontext and gives people with websites
and blogs another opportunity to make advertising revenue.
Advertisers with
the eBay Adcontext program will have to pay a price for the chance to
advertise their goods. The good news is that bloggers can add
easily onto their site. Advertisements that relate to the context of
the post will generate interest in the eBay products for sale.
eBay Adcontext –
eBay strikes back with Google by using Contextual Advertising with
Affiliate Marketers
Online Credit Card
Processing - Google to Launch new GBuy to Compete with PayPal
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ATM |
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Google is planning
to launch Google Payments, GBuy, for all websites instead just having it
on Google Base. Google will soon become a direct competitor to Paypal
which is owned by eBay.
Google Base is a
classified ad format that you can sell your item for free. Google Base
is a free place to put your information on their website. If you have
content such as podcasts you can post them up here. You can also sell
your items as well.
Google Base pages
may be included in their Google search engine, Froogle (which is a
comparison shopping search engine), and Google Maps.
Online Credit Card
Processing - Google to Launch new GBuy to Compete with PayPal
Ebay Selling - How
to market your item on eBay
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eBay's Logo |
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Ebay selling can be a rewarding business or part time income
opportunity. You can improve your chances for selling your item for top
dollar by how you present your auction listing.
Pictures are the number one way to sell your item. Without good quality
easy to see pictures your item could be overlooked or undervalued by the
buyers. If you have a white sheet that is wrinkle free, you can use
this as a back drop to the items that you are going to sell. Make sure
that you have adequate lighting and that you take pictures that are in
focus. Every computer monitor has different brightness levels and color
tones. So it is important to have generally lighter pictures so that
all people will be able to see on their computer. If color is involved
describe the color in the text of the auction to explain the color.
Ebay Selling - How
to market your item on eBay
The Benefits of Working At Home - Options
and How to Start a Home Business - Ebay - Medical Transcriptionist -
Paralegals - Consulting
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Business |
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The Internet has made a home based business easier than ever. Some
potential business include: Selling on eBay, Medical Transcriptionist,
Writers, Paralegals and Virtual Assistants, just to name a few. Each
business has its benefits and drawbacks. Some of the businesses require
money to begin, while others are virtually free to start.
Talk
to many home business owners and they will tell you they “love it”! There
is no commute, no boss, and possibly no day care. The downside is that you
need to put money aside for your taxes, there are no 401K’s (unless you set
up your own), no health insurance (unless you set up your own) and you need
to be self motivated.
Jordan McCollum, in an article on Best Syndication, said Medical
Transcriptionists can choose their own hours, enjoy excellent pay, job
security and satisfaction. According to McCollum, there is a quick entry
process and more and more transcriptionists are working from home.
The Benefits of Working At Home - Options and How to Start a Home Business -
Ebay - Medical Transcriptionist - Paralegals - Consulting
Alternatives to Selling on eBay - Free
Services From Google May Dominate Small Business Online Sales Market
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Google Base |
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Google is beginning to cut into eBay profits by offering free services.
Any business owner will tell you that it takes money to make money, but
because of eBay’s high cost per sale, sellers are trying new options
including Google’s Froogle Service and Google Base. By the time you add
up the costs associated with listing fees, final valuation fees, gallery
fees and other promotional fees, sellers can end up losing money selling
on eBay. If your item does not sell the first time or second time out,
you are still out their listing fees.
Mary
Crane writes in Forbes Magazine that while the new Google Base service has
not become a significant driver of sales for e-commerce companies as of yet,
50% of the conference attendees said they have started to list products on
the database. These eBay users include people that make 75% of their income
from eBay and are considered power sellers.
Alternatives to Selling on eBay - Free Services From Google May Dominate
Small Business Online Sales Market
eBay Express
website launched Fixed Price Traditional Storefront Format
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eBay Express
Website |
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Ebay with a patent
infringement lawsuit looming has more than likely created the spin off
of this new website called eBay Express. It offers “Get it Now” instead
of “Buy it Now” slogan. It is designed as a traditional shopping
website similar to Amazon.com.
The other pull for
eBay to offer the website has been a long desired request from ebay
sellers that sell primarily new items versus the garage sale person
selling their dusty items. Ebay Express says on their website that
eBay Express sells only new
items. It still offers the opportunity for both new and used items
to intermingle on the eBay auction site, however since most items of a
retailer are sold at a “buy it now” fixed price while a garage sale
dusty used item will wait for 7 – 10 days to see how much it can be bid
up for a more traditional auction format.
It will eventually
make it easier for people to buy their items on eBay. Many new eBay
buyers will email and ask is it new or used, even though it is well
described in the advertisement. The businesses selling on eBay are
bombarded with non-sense questions because they are among the garage
sale sellers making it a long winded sale at times. EBay Express will
help in the separation between the two auction sites but maintains a
unity with eBay Auctions.
eBay Express
website launched Fixed Price Traditional Storefront Format
eBay Competition – Will Google be the next big Online
Selling Company?
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eBay Keywords |
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Google has continually added more services that look more like eBay
every day. Ebay one of the long standing online auction site, might be
shrinking in size with the potential of Google Base, currently a free to
list service and Google Wallet to help in the sale transactions.
Ebay more than likely is very frustrated that they spent $400 million in
advertising dollars for Google Adwords. They are looking at ways to not
fund the competition to potential slow the growth of their impending
competitor.
A report in the Wall Street Journal said that eBay is looking for
technology partners such as Yahoo! and Microsoft to slow down the growth
of Google. There are rumors milling about whether eBay wants to merge
with another giant or just work along with another company as a method
to maintain their business.
eBay Competition – Will Google be the next big Online
Selling Company?
EBay Selling - Google Base and others may be the
new competitors to eBay
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eBay website |
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Google Base is in
development by Google at this time. It is relatively new service that
Google has added at this time. Google is starting to put together a
payment system similar to eBay’s Paypal. There are a few different ways
to sell your stuff online and eBay may be just another one of those
options.
At this time
Google Base is free to list your items for sale. There is a goal to
have a link from a Google Ad to link to the Google Base and if the sale
is completed there will be a commission paid to Google.
The cost for
marketing with Google is planned to undercut the eBay listing fees and
final fees. If you are not using the complete service I believe it
could still be free. While there are other auction sites out there
like, Yahoo Auctions and Overstock.com Google has a good chance of
getting people to use the service because the service at this time is
free.
EBay Selling - Google Base and others may be the
new competitors to eBay
Selling on
eBay – Drop Shipping to help grow your eBay Business
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Shipping Box |
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One way you can
grow your eBay business without a big investment and a large shipping
warehouse is using companies that offer drop shipping services. While
some companies promote that they are drop shipping company, others are
regular wholesalers that will do this service. Sometimes you may pay a
couple extra dollars for handling costs for the drop shipping services
but it can be well worth it if you are limited in space and don’t want
to invest in a large inventory.
If you do
participate with one of the drop ship companies make sure to do your
homework. They charge a membership fee. They offer large inventory of
products, however are you going to be able to make a profit from the
inventory that they have listed. A benefit to participating with one of
these companies is that they often have a website that you can create
and make it your own website.
Selling on
eBay – Drop Shipping to help grow your eBay Business
Microsoft Lawsuit Filed Against Eight eBay
Seller - Alleges Pirated Software Sold on Online Auction Site
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Ebay Website |
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Microsoft (MS) is suing eight sellers on eBay for distributing
counterfeit computer software. According to Microsoft, all but one
seller was targeted when customers used the Microsoft online
verification program called Windows Genuine Advantage.
This
legal action is meant to “protect its legitimate business partners and
customers from dishonest business practices and the risks associated with
pirated and counterfeit software”, according to MS. The company hopes to
educate buyers that the low priced software offers are not always what they
appear to be.
The
eight defendants are located in Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii,
Massachusetts, Nebraska, New York and Washington. Microsoft routinely
monitors auction sites and offline locations for pirated software sales.
They also promote a hotline for those that suspect piracy - 1-800-RU-LEGIT
(785-3448).
Microsoft Lawsuit Filed Against Eight eBay Seller - Alleges Pirated Software
Sold on Online Auction Site
EBay’s “Buy It Now” feature
might be closed down because of Patent Infringement
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Ebay's Buy It Now |
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EBay was found guilty by the federal
government against a patent infringement dispute with MercExchange LLC
over the “Buy It Now” feature. The “Buy It Now” feature lets a person
complete an auction instantly at a fixed price instead of waiting of an
auction to complete at a later time.
It is estimated that about one-third
of eBay sales are completed with the “Buy It Now” feature. It is often
a selling point to items that are new and a person wants a fast turn
around.
EBay at this point did not have an
injunction to stop using the features yet. The district court made the
decision to deny an injunction. However, an appellate court reversed
that decision.
EBay’s “Buy It Now” feature
might be closed down because of Patent Infringement
Selling on eBay -
Researchers find the most profitable Auctions depends of the Price of
Item and Shipping Costs
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Sort By Price on
eBay |
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A recent study that economics
professors at the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business and Hong Kong
University of Science and Technology found that you can boost your
profits by starting with a low opening bid price and charge higher
shipping charges. They study was first reported in the current edition
of Advances in Economic Analysis & Policy.
According to eBay rules you are not
supposed to raise shipping cost to avoid eBay fees, but those that do
this which are many, are usually making more sales on eBay. You may be
faced with account suspension, but it seems like these sellers open new
accounts regularly to compensate to get these profits.
Selling on eBay -
Researchers find the most profitable Auctions depends of the Price of
Item and Shipping Costs
Ebay Selling -
How to determine what to sell on Ebay
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Ebay Search
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If you have started to sell on eBay and want to add more items to sell
on your eBay auctions, you might want to consider a couple things before
you making investment in inventory.
Find out if the item you want to sell is a popular item. This can be a
good and bad thing. A good thing about a popular selling item is that
it will often sell quickly if the price is right. The bad thing about
popular selling items is that the market can be over flooded with the
same item. The profits may be very low and there are other sellers that
tend to sell low and charge high shipping rates to make up the profit.
It is against eBay selling rules to over charge on shipping to make up
profits; however it seems like this is a common practice on eBay.
Ebay Selling -
How to determine what to sell on Ebay
Google Serves Most Search Result and Ads - Nielsen Ratings Reports
eBay Number One Advertiser
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Google Leads Pack |
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Nielsen//NetRatings Media company compared Yahoo and Google paid search
results and found that Google is still leading in the contextual
advertising business, although Yahoo has gained ground since August
after launching their publisher network. December is a big month for
paid search advertising because the “things” people are searching for
pay better. For instance: an ad with the relevant keyword “iPod” will
likely pay better than an ad for “politics”.
Ken
Cassar, chief analyst for Nielsen//NetRatings said while consumers' use of
search engines also grew last year, the growth in paid search ads doesn't
necessarily correlate with the growth in volume of searches, reports Wendy
Davis of Media Post Productions. Not all ad searches pay the same either.
Google Serves Most Search Result and Ads - Nielsen Ratings Reports Yahoo and
MSN Show Gains As Well
How to Make Money Selling on Ebay - Full Time or in Your
Spare Time - Power Selling Tools
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eBay Sellers |
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Gas prices are on the rise and many people are looking for new sources
of income. EBay may be a great way to add to your income and possibly a
method of becoming self employed. This year Google has been called the
fastest growing company in the history of the world, but back in 2004,
eBay had that honor.
At
that time, the Auction Sellers Resource said that there were 430,000 people
who earned most or all of their income selling on eBay. If you were to
consider these sellers employees, eBay would be the second largest employer
behind Wal-Mart.
So
how can you get started selling on eBay? First you might want to start
selling stuff around the house that you don’t want anymore. Your ad
presentation is very important. Place your item on a white-board and
background before taking the picture (or just scan it). This will give you
the professional look and get you more money for whatever you are selling.
How to Make Money Selling on Ebay - Full Time or in Your Spare Time - Power
Selling Tools
Selling on eBay to
make Extra Income
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Ebay has
storefronts and auctions |
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Ebay announced recently that they are lowering the lowest listing fee
from .25 cents to .20 cents. It comes at a time when people are looking
to earn a couple extra dollars to pay higher double minimum credit card
payments.
If you have a shortage of funds coming in from the new credit card
crunch and you are short of time, you should consider selling part-time
on Ebay. You can search around the house for things that you don’t need
any longer and see how much you can get for the items.
Selling on eBay to
make Extra Income
U.S.
Postal Service mailing rate increase starts January 8th
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39 cent Lady
Liberty Stamp |
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The new mailing
rate increase will be raised from 37 cents up to 39 cents for first
class mail and postcards will go up from 23 cents to 24 cents. The
rates were approved back on November 14th for
approximately a 5.4 percent increase.
If your mail is
over 1 ounce the rate was 60 cents and now is 63 cents. Priority
mail has increased as well with 1 pound that was $3.85 is now going
to be $4.05. The Priority mail flat rate box was $7.70 and will be
$8.10. Many other rates have increased included delivery
confirmation services, as well as the cost to purchase a Postal
money order.
The U.S. Postal
Service is not the only rate raise. Fedex has increased their
ground shipping rates starting on January 1st; UPS will
likely increase their rates soon too. One potential cause to the
price increase may be related to higher fuel costs.
U.S.
Postal Service mailing rate increase starts January 8th
I-Sold It stores will sell your stuff for you on
Ebay
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I Sold It store |
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Have you ever thought about
selling some of your items on ebay, but found that you just don’t
have the time to do it? You might want to consider selling them
through a drop off store and have them list, sell, and ship your
items for you on Ebay. One franchise called I-Sold-It offers these
services. There are currently 164 stores open across the country
with 600 more signed contracts to open soon.
You drop of the items you want
to sell at the local I-Sold It store, and then you wait for them to
list and sell your item. They get a commission on the sale of the
item. You need to have an auction that is valued at least $30 and
has to weigh less than 150 pounds, and the Length + the Girth of the
item does not exceed 130 inches.
I-Sold It stores will sell your stuff for you on
Ebay
How to Buy Online with
Credit Cards or Paypal on Ebay or other Online Sellers
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Optional Check
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Ebay is a great resource for buying tools, toys, kitchenware and very
hard to find items. On a recent cooking talk show a caller asked the
host where she could buy a hard to find appliance. The host said eBay
of course. She told the caller that the regular brick and mortar stores
did not stock it, but eBay would have a dozen of them for sale.
Many people have concerns about buying on eBay. Some purchasers are
afraid of buying anything online. For the most part the fears are not
warranted. There are some things you need to be watchful of before you
agree to buy an item.
You will need to sign up with eBay before you can actually buy
anything. It is free to sign up. Just go to eBay.com and pick a user
name and password. You can use eBay’s search function without signing
up. It operates just like a regular search-engine search, except it
searches eBay for the products.
How to
Buy Online with Credit Cards or Paypal on Ebay or other Online Sellers
New Survey shows 17% Americans sells their Used
stuff Online
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Google Base Beta
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A survey conducted by The Pew
Internet and American Life Project discovered that 17% of Americans
have sold something online. That is about one in six American
adults that have sold online. At any given time there are 25
million people or 2% are selling something online.
Ebay and online classified ads
have become a way of life for many people. It has brought the yard
sale to a new level when people can bring their used items for the
world to buy. Everything from used children's clothes, to used books and DVD
movies. If you can’t use it why not sell it online?
Ebay is one of the more known
auction sites, but there is also Yahoo Auctions, Overstock Auctions
and Ubid. There is also traditional classified papers online as well, such as The Recycler, The Penny Saver.
There are a
lot of ways to sell your used stuff online.
New Survey shows 17% Americans sells their Used
stuff Online
How to Decide
What to Sell on eBay
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What to sell on
eBay |
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There are many important decisions
to make before you sell on eBay, and determining the right products to
sell on eBay is crucial. Some may think the smallest, most expensive
item is the best thing to sell. Maybe, but maybe not.
It is been our experience that the
small expensive items are the most competitive. Let’s face it, most
people don’t want to lift heavy boxes. They typically would prefer a
small shelf to pull product from not pallets of large boxes.
We sold a small expensive wind meter
for a while on eBay. In fact we locked ourselves into a one year
contract to purchase a certain quantity at a certain price.
How to Decide
What to Sell on eBay
Avoid Chargebacks with
Paypal by following Rules for Seller’s Protection
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Visa and
Mastercard (above) and Amex are supported through Paypal |
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Paypal is a quick method to
accepting online payments, however there are certain rules that you must
follow in order to comply with there seller’s protection rules.
You can send money for free, however
to receive money but you will get a fee charged a lot like a merchant
credit card processing service. If you are a small business that does
not have credit card services, or would like to sell online without
getting a merchant card service account, this is the easiest method to
receiving money on the internet and Paypal is greatly recognized and
used by many. Paypal is also owned by Ebay.
There are pitfalls with any
business, but when you accept credit cards and Paypal you should process
the order and ship it within 48 hours from receipt of payment.
Avoid Chargebacks with Paypal by following Rules for Seller’s Protection
UPS and FedEx
Shipping Can Be Dangerous to your eBay Business
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Small - Large
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It can cost you dearly if your package gets damaged even if you paid for
insurance. We have had both UPS and FedEx decline insurance claims
because they argue we did not pack the item sufficiently. This usually
occurs on the larger – heavier items.
It is impossible to ship some items. If the item weighs over 150 pounds
neither UPS nor FedEx Ground will ship it. There is also a size
limitation. UPS will not ship a package if it is over 108 inches in
length. They also have a cubic measurement limit. Measure the length
of the package and add the girth of the package. If the sum of these
measurements exceeds 165 inches they will not deliver it. They will
also charge you an oversize fee.
UPS and FedEx
Shipping Can Be Dangerous to your eBay Business
Ebay
Sellers: How to handle Ebay Customer Service Emails
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Email helps sales
on Ebay |
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Selling on Ebay offers a fast pace
sales opportunity for anyone that wants to sell online. Turning Ebay
selling from a hobby into a full time business is a big task. One
aspect of the work that must be completed in an Ebay business is the
customer service. Most of the customer service is handled through the
email.
Ebay
Sellers: How to handle Ebay Customer Service Emails
Comparing Email
Programs for the Small Business
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Email comparisons |
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We have hundreds of emails generated
every week with customer pre and post sale questions. In order to
manage the volumes of email the right email software for the job will
make a big difference on your productivity. We have tried Micorosoft’s
Outlook, Poco System’s PocoMail, and Qualcomm’s Eudora email programs.
Here is what we liked and didn’t like about each one. Comparing Email
Programs for the Small Business
Google Base may
offer Content including Classified Ads
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Google Base |
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There is a multitude of services
that Google offers including translating documents, news searches, a
photo sharing service, Blogs and oh yah, Internet searches. Now it
appears Google will offer classified ads.
Isn’t that similar to what eBay
does? Yes, but how will Google compete against the well established
auction site? According to Google they will not be competing. Ebay
is a major advertiser on Google.
Most believe the new Google
Base, as it appears to be called, will allow various types of
content, not just classified ads. It appears that Google will likely
offer the service for free, but insert their advertisements in the
margin. Google Base may
offer Content including Classified Ads
How to Ship Packages with FedEx, UPS Ground and
the Postal Service
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Choose a Shipping
Co. |
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There are some tricks you need to know for selling on eBay, but there
are also some practical things you need to know, one of them being how
to ship packages. What shipping company should you use? Should you use
UPS, FedEx, DHL or the old Postal Service?
Typically, if an item weighs less than 2 pounds then it is better to
ship it UPSP Priority Mail. The postal service will give you the boxes
saving you between 50 cents and a buck on each package. Take advantage
of that.
Several years ago we shipped everything that weighed under 5 pounds
Priority Mail. Then the Postal Service raised their rates. They also
created zones for anything over two pounds similar to FedEx and UPS. So
if you are in California and want to ship a package to New York it costs
more than if you were shipping it to Las Vegas. We calculated that it
most cases it was cheaper to ship UPS or FedEx Ground for anything over
two pounds.
How to Ship Packages with FedEx, UPS Ground and
the Postal Service
How to Make Money and
not Lose Money Selling on Ebay
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First Rule:
Don't lose money |
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One important aspect to be
considered in any business is the losses. eBay is no different. There
could be shipping loses, losses due to fraud and losses due to
mistakes. If you do enough business you are bound to make all of these
mistakes.
In an article I wrote on identity
theft I mentioned that the person that took my identity bought $300 of
merchandise from Walmart.com. Wal-Mart took the hit for that. If you
sell expensive items (over $100) you can become a target for fraud. Few
crooks want to waste their time on small-time capers. They also know
that if the item is too expensive the purchase will be closely
scrutinized.
How to Make Money and
not Lose Money Selling on Ebay
How to Sell on Ebay
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Popular eBay site |
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Ebay
has become one of the most popular internet destinations. This could be
a testament to America’s love for shopping. Shopping has become one of
our favorite pastimes.
Vendors have set up their own permanent stores, making eBay much more
than a big online swap meet. Companies like Home Depot, Sharper Image
and IBM have jumped into the fray.
The
marketplace has an abundance of unscrupulous sellers, and there are even
more unscrupulous buyers. Some sellers require a minimum feedback
rating before they will allow a member to buy from them. This helps
minimize the risk of fraud.
How to Sell on Ebay
Ebay selling Tools and sales
Automation
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eBay Sales
Automation |
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In this article we will describe the
some of the tools used by eBay sellers to maximize their time and
profits. Of course, eBay sellers can individually list every item by
hand. This may be the best approach when you are selling just one
unique item. But what if you have many items to list over and over
again?
There are some great selling tools
available online. Ebay offers their Sellers Assistant. Many sellers
use this product, even some high volume sellers. The drawback is the
seller still needs to manually launch queued items. It is better to
have a system that does this automatically. The advantage to eBay’s
Sellers Assistant is that it is a downloadable program. The program
will reside on your computer.
The biggest advantage to Sellers
Assistant is the cost. It is free to use. If you want more
functionality they offer the Pro version for the very reasonable price
of $25 a month. The Pro version offers post sale functionality. You
will need to send out payment reminders and actually produce an
invoice. Since the program resides on your computer you will still need
to manually launch actions. This can be done in bulk though.
Ebay Selling Tools and Automation
eBay Special Topics
Best Syndication
eBay Books
Keywords and misspellings: business bussiness
home busines seling on e-bay which items sell best on ebay proffitting
on Ebay how-to make and income on online auctions secrets secrits
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