January 13, 2008
Product Sourcing for eBay or any Online Retail Business
Product sourcing is one of the most important topics for eBay entrepreneurs, along with customer service. The basic idea, of course is to buy low, sell high. Most people start on eBay by selling whatever they have in their attic or basement. This is a great way to begin, because they will get used to selling on eBay and they will become familiarizes them with the shipping and customer service.
After a while though, they've sold off everything they have in the attic, and need to find more items to sell. So they begin going to every garage sale and flea market they can to find more products to sell. They quickly find that they are spending a lot of time (and money) doing this and begin looking at new ways to find new items to sell. This means finding products from wholesale suppliers.
One of the most common mistakes people make is to go to a search engine and search for wholesale suppliers online. Unfortunately, search engines are NOT a good way to find legitimate wholesaler suppliers. Real wholesalers will most likely not be going to be found via a search engine. What they will find is that 99% of the time the if you found a wholesaler supplier though a search engine, it will be a scam artist.
They set themselves up with a real wholesale supplier and then promote themselves as a supplier. They raise the prices of the goods and simply pass on any orders they get to the real wholesaler. The prices are so high that is will be impossible to make any money with them. Some, if not most, will charge a monthly fee to use their service and they will tell you that you do not need a reseller's license to set up an account with them.
A real wholesaler will require that you provide proof that you are a legitimate business. This generally includes a business license and a sales tax permit. The actual name of the needed documents vary by state. These documents are absolutely vital in order to deal with real wholesalers. Don't let this detail scare you! These are really not that hard to get and unless you incorporate, will not require a lawyer. These can be obtained at your county courthouse and they will guide you in any other documents you need.
To summarize, a real wholesaler will:
1. Not be found on the internet with a search engine.
2. Require some form of proof that you are a real business.
3. Will not charge a set-up fee or a monthly access fee.
If you find a wholesaler that does not fit these criteria, then you may have found a scam artist posing as a wholesaler.
Posted by auction at 10:22 PM | Comments (0)
February 13, 2006
The Very Basics of Ebay - Getting Started
So you want to sell stuff on eBay, but you have two minor problems: you don't know how and you don't have stuff. Not a problem. Keep reading for some tips to get you pointed in the right direction.
Before you begin you’ll need some basic equipment: Computer, Internet access, digital camera, and some space to put your stuff. That’s really all you’ll need to get started. You’ll also need shipping and packing supplies but that is addressed later.
Next you’ll need to learn how to list auctions. Go to the eBay sellers overview: http://pages.ebay.com/education/sellingtips/index.html. This will be your lifeline. There is a plethora of information there on everything you always wanted to know and more. Don’t be overwhelmed; just take it one step at a time. You’ll see there is information on listings, on bidding, on photos, on feedback – it’s all there.
Next you’ll need to figure out what to sell. Before you zero in on a particular niche you need some experience and some feedback. Buyers are generally leery of buying from someone who is brand new and has a feedback rating of less than 10 evaluations. While you are getting your feet wet, look around your own house first. You’d be amazed at what people buy. You could list outgrown clothing, magazines, candle holders, CD, books, flannel sheets, recipes, the ugly old lamp that was Aunt Mildred’s, all those goofy Christmas gifts sitting in your basement, that old baby gate with a stain on it. Get the idea? You never know what someone will want.
Although you need experience, you don’t want to list something that isn’t likely to sell. Do your research first before you invest the time in putting together a listing. An easy method to use is do a “search” on eBay, then look up COMPLETED ITEMS, then sort by HIGHEST price. Then you’ll see if your Tommy Bahama shirt is really worth anything. Or you’ll see that your old baseball cards had 23 listings and not one of them sold.
Pricing is another challenge. Again, you’ll need to do your research. See what they’re going for. Don’t have overly high expectations. You know how you feel when you go to a garage sale and you see a pair of jeans for $15 or books for $4 each. Many people come to eBay to look for a bargain. Consider how much you have into the item. If you have an item from around the house, you may consider that something is better than nothing, so you may be inclined to start the bidding quite low. If you bought it with the specific intention to resell, you will, at the very minimum, want to break even, so take the price you paid for it and consider other costs, i.e. listing fees, final value fees (all explained in your lifeline – eBay seller overview above). People are much more apt to bid if the bidding starts LOW. Sometimes though, you will have collectibles that are worth a chunk of money. Don’t give away that vintage postcard that is worth $56! Do your homework.
The next big question is how do you get paid? You determine what you would accept. Online payments such as PayPal (paypal.com) are very convenient. You can also decide that you’ll accept money orders or personal checks. The more options you leave your buyers, the more likelihood you’ll get more bids.
You also need to decide how you want to ship your items to the winners. Many sellers use USPS, others prefer UPS. If you use USPS and ship via Priority Mail, you can get your envelopes and boxes free from USPS. If you ship First Class or Parcel Post or UPS, you’ll have to shop around for deals on boxes or envelopes and bubble wrap or packing peanuts.
Overwhelmed yet? Yes there is a lot to learn, but it’s not nuclear science. Just take it one step at a time. It’s a learning process. Some yahoo groups (or MSN or AOL, or whatever your preference) are great sources for support and camaraderie with others who are doing the same.
So in summary, if you want to just “start pushing buttons” and learn on your own, YOU CAN DO IT. If you do better chatting with others, those resources are available too. Use what is available.
Posted by auction at 02:35 PM | Comments (0)
January 05, 2006
Is a Home Business Right For You?
Copyright © 2003, Stone Evans, The Home Biz Guy
Is a Home Business Right For You?
Every morning as people wake up and make the commute to work, many dream of the day when they will finally work for themselves. Every time the boss lets someone know that they must give up their weekend plans for the good of the company, people contemplate the benefits of being the owner of their own business.
Are you one of these people?
If you are, it is important to ask yourself some very important questions before you make the uncertain leap into self-employment.
Many dream of the benefits of home business ownership, but few take into account the sacrifices that must be made to bring the dream to fruition. Please don't make this mistake yourself.
You must approach home business ownership with your eyes wide open. Ask yourself the important questions, and more importantly, answer your own questions openly and honestly.
An Important Consideration
Are you the type of person who relishes every chance to gather around the water cooler for social interaction?
If so, then home business ownership may not be the right decision for you.
Instead, if you feel that you can be quite content sitting alone at your desk; speaking only to clients and really minding your own home business, then you might have what it takes to succeed as a home business entrepreneur.
If you feel at ease with your own company and don't need a dozen coworkers milling around your desk, then you, too, could savor the freedoms that will allow you and your family, to live the lifestyle you know you want and deserve.
The Key To Home Business Success
Self-motivation is the key to success when you start a home-based business. You need to possess the ability to push yourself ahead. Your drive and determination will be reinforced with every new sale.
The level of success that you will achieve greatly depends on the time and effort you are willing to plow into your new home business. Your organization, planning and marketing skills, will all be put into practice when you embark on your liberating journey from employee, to being your own boss. In fact, you will be the wearer of many hats and gain a wealth of business experience along the way, when you finally make that commitment to work at home.
Your Success Rests Entirely On Your Shoulders
You will now be the boss. Are you truly able to work independently? Do you have the drive; the tenacity, to persevere with your home based business? Will you be able to invest the necessary time to nurture it, to watch it grow and see it through, from germination to full, glorious bloom? When you're the boss, you are responsible for the success of your home business, from A to Z, from disappointments to victory.
When you work at home, it will empower you to achieve many things you were unable to do when you were stuck working for that tyrant boss. Remember him? He's the guy that wouldn't let you take time off when your baby was sick...the same guy that called you in to work on Thanksgiving Day.
A home business means that you can take good care of your family and make money from home, simultaneously. You will have the best of both worlds! Just think--no more dirty laundry piling up--you can do it while you work. No more scurrying around at the last minute searching for a babysitter either. And no more worrying about getting fired; you'll be the boss!
In Conclusion...
Stay positive and focused on your home based business, even if, when sales aren't up to par, you get occasional negative remarks or derogatory comments from people with stuffy, dead-end jobs. Ignore their cutting words and bear in mind that success is the best revenge! Keep your admirable, positive attitude at the forefront and show them what you're made of!
P.S. I can help you launch your very own money making website today that's 100% ready to take orders and pull in massive profits for you right now ... guaranteed! Start Working At Home NOW!
Posted by auction at 10:40 AM | Comments (0)
December 06, 2005
Selling Real Estate on eBay
Selling real estate over the internet may sound like an awkward idea. However, the exposure the real estate receives over such a widespread media like the internet is every realtor’s dream.
Can eBay be used to market real estate? The answer is a resounding ‘yes!’
eBay provides functionality that is clearly adaptable to the needs of most realtors. It provides a widespread medium of advertisement for the real estate. It is also a relatively inexpensive method of advertising.
One of the best things about selling real estate on eBay is that it "markets" to many areas around the world, not just a local area. Advertising on eBay makes the property available to more than 100 million potential buyers, including those from other countries. Visitors can browse through the property details 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – all without the realtor having to explain the details about the property to every single prospect wanting information.
Advertising Your Real Estate on eBay
When one has a house or other real estate to sell, he or she may list it for auction on the eBay Real Estate site. This is found at http://www.pages.ebay.com/realestate.
There are many different ways to present the property for sale on eBay. If the realtor seeks to sell the estate at a fixed price instead of having the property go through an auction, he may request eBay to display a real estate listing in a format much like a local paper.
eBay’s Real Estate page has three selling formats. These are the auction, fixed price selling, and the traditional real estate listing.
For each of these selling formats, the "user" furnishes additional information regarding his or her property. Details may include lot size, number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, type of property, year built, and other information. The auction listing period must also be specified, where the choices range from 1-, 3-, 5-, 7-, 10-, or 30-days, or a 30- or 90-day non-auction listing.
The eBay Real Estate website charges two types of fees for listing a property. There is a simple fee for listing the property and also a fee is based on the final amount of the property sale. The charge for a 1-, 3-, 5-, 7-, or 10-day auction listing is typically around $100. A 30-day auction listings cost about $150. A non-auction listing costs $150 for 30-day listing, and about $300 for a 90-day listing.
Fees for Timeshare property and land are usually slightly lower. The final fee amount for Timeshares and land is generally about $35.
Selling real estate on eBay is growing in popularity as the internet stretches it's outreach to more countries. Although nothing beats direct and personal inspection of property, the convenience of having eBay connect seller and potential buyer is definitely appreciated.
Bill Enross can help YOU start your own profitable business
on the Internet within the next 24 hours! Learn more...
Posted by auction at 04:44 PM | Comments (0)
November 17, 2005
The Million Dollar Mentor
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Read the rest of the story here
Posted by auction at 09:20 PM | Comments (0)
