Marketing Your Merchandise on eBay
By Chris Robertson

According to a 2005 survey, close to sixty percent of Americans reported that they dreamed of starting their own business, both to increase their income and their independence. It appears that, more than ever, Americans are turning to eBay to fulfill that dream. According to the same study, almost three quarters of a million Americans are considered professional eBay sellers, using their eBay sales as their primary or secondary source of income. Another 1.5 million Americans reported that they use eBay to supplement their income. With annual eBay merchandise sales at around $20 billion, the eBay economy is a force to be reckoned with. If you haven't yet dabbled your toes in the eBay waters, it may be time to consider marketing your merchandise on eBay.

If you don't know what to sell, begin by looking around the house. If you've ever perused eBay's various sites, you know that sellers move everything from gifts and garments to cars and real estate. Selling on eBay isn't difficult once you get the hang of it, but there is a rather steep learning curve. It's best to start small, with items you have around the house that you'd normally sell at a garage sale. After that, all you need is a digital camera, a computer, and some time. eBay provides online tutorials and will walk you through the process of listing your item.

Once you get a handle on the basics, you'll be ready to sell more valuable merchandise. You can buy merchandise at store sales, from liquidators, or - if you're a weekend warrior - at garage sales. You can also sell on eBay and use a dropshipper to deliver your merchandise to your buyers.

You can spend as much or as little time as you'd like marketing your merchandise on eBay. You can opt to use only auction style listings, or open up an eBay store and sell items at fixed prices. eBay is launching eBay Express, which provides shoppers with a more traditional online buying experience, complete with shopping cart and check out.

Part of your marketing efforts can include developing an "About Me" page, which gives your buyers the chance to get to know you. You can also use eBay keyword campaigns, special listing features, advertising outside of eBay, and other marketing strategies that sellers typically use.

eBay's feedback system, where buyers rate sellers and sellers rate buyers, should be a crucial part of your marketing strategy. Your excellent customer service will garner positive feedback from your buyers, which in turn gives other buyers confidence when trading with you.

Whatever type of merchandise you decide to sell, you can be sure that your marketing efforts will be rewarded.

Chris Robertson is an author of Majon International, one of the worlds MOST popular internet marketing companies on the web.
Visit Majon's Business and Entrepreneurs directory.

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eBay Selling Secret - Discover the One Thing That Will Double Your eBay Earnings, Fast
By Ay Samuel

Do you know the one thing that you can use to double your ebay earnings at a fast rate? There are many ideas that comes to mind but I will use this article to list the one ebay selling secret that will quickly double your ebay earnings.

Build Trust In Buyers

Now, you might be wondering, "how the heck can trust double my ebay earnings, and at a fast rate for that matter?" Yes, trust is it. It is the one thing that will do the trick for you.

How do I know this? I have made deliberate effort to build trust in ebay buyers who view my auctions. The result now is that my earnings always rise quickly and get doubled, compared to when buyers didn't have much trust in me.

Sincerely, building trust in buyers who are actually interested in your auction is that ebay selling secret that will double your earnings. So how do you really build trust in ebay buyers?

Mention Every Defect That Your Item Has

This is a very effective way of building trust in your buyers. Be sincere and accurate as much as possible. These are the two secrets to building trust here.

You might be thinking, "why should I mention every defect that an item has?" By mentioning every defect, you are building credibility. Think of it this way. If you don't mention any defect you will receive the small "blow" for any slight flaw that your item has. Compare this to when you mention any defect and you then get a good increase in trust for admitting that defect.

What if your item does not have flaws? Then do not lie or exaggerate highly about your item. Say it as it is. If you are selling a laptop with 200mHz processor speed, do not say its speed is 500mHz. Accuracy and being sincere is important here.

Build trust in buyers by mentioning every defect that your item has. Make sure you are sincere and accurate because trust is the one ebay selling secret that will double your earnings, fast. Buyers will always come back when they trust you.

Now that you have known how to earn the trust of your buyers, why not discover how you can profit massively from products that you can sell on ebay? Get full details by clicking to this ebay selling guide now.

Article Source: http://ezinearticles.com

Make Money on eBay Video

Productive EBay Income - Revealed - 5 Profitable Ways to Advance With EBay Income
By Sean R Mize

Everybody would like to be an eBay powerseller. However, with the stiff competition, everybody is having a hard time getting ahead of the pack. In this article I will show you the 5 profitable ways to advance in eBay so you can be steps closer to becoming a powerseller.

1. Use keywords on your listings. Online shoppers do not browse listings one by one; instead they use the search feature using relevant keywords to find the items they are looking for. If you want your listings to show on the result page, you have to sprinkle appropriate keywords on listing titles and item descriptions.

2. Create your about me page and drive traffic to it. EBay allows you to create your own page where you can introduce and sell yourself. In this area, you can tell your visitors your hobbies, your expertise, why they should transact with you, and you can even post your most recent pictures. To make sure that this page will impact your selling career, learn how to drive traffic to it. The best way to do that is by interacting with other eBay users through message boards where you are allowed to incorporate your About Me page URL on your every post.

3. Specialize and target a specific niche. Choose 1-2 niches that are related to the things you love the most and focus on selling items that are needed by your target market. In doing so, you can make your promotions and content publishing more targeted.

4. Offer paypal as a mode of payment. Millions of people are using paypal because it's safe, fast, and convenient. Do not lose such huge potential clients and register with paypal right away.

5. Proofread your titles and item descriptions. To make your listing easy to search, make sure that your titles and descriptions are free from spelling errors.

Do you want to learn more about how I do it? I have just completed my brand new guide to article marketing success, 'Your Article Writing and Promotion Guide'

Download it free here: Secrets of Article Promotion

Sean Mize is a full time internet marketer who has written over 1574 articles in print and 11 published ebooks.

Article Source: www.ezinearticles.com

Selling on eBay the Right Way Makes the Most Money Online
By Colin Lim

Selling items on eBay is a great way of making extra money in Australia and other parts of the world. The key to succeeding in making good money online through eBay is to sell effectively. The old 80/20 addage definitely applies here in that 20% of the sellers are making 80% of the profits.

Selling effectively versus just selling on eBay can make a lot of difference. By implementing the below tips I would constantly make at least 25-50% more than other people selling the exact same items on eBay. Sometimes I found that I would make more than 100% more!

Firstly, I'm assuming you already know how to list an item to sell on eBay. If you don't, eBay itself has a great step-by-step tutorial how to do this, just visit their main site. Now here are the must do things in order to ensure that you are getting the best price you can when selling items on eBay:

Make sure you put a very detailed item description on your auction listing. Google the model/brand name & number of the item you are selling & get all the details including technical specifications (if you are selling electronic items), or any specifications available for this item. Check as many pages as you can & if selling in Australia, make sure you check the Australian sites as a priority as the item you are selling may have slightly different specifications in other countries. If there are product reviews about the item, its a good idea to copy these as well (just make sure you reference back to the site) or you can just add the URL with the words "for a full review of this product, click here". Never just list the model/brand name & model number as the chances of getting a good final bid price is lower. Bidders like to see all the details of the item they are bidding on. Yes, its true that there are some bidders out there that will already know all about the item you are selling & thus will bid on the item regardless of whether you have the details there or not, but there is also a big group of potential bidders who are just looking for a similar item - e.g. they might just be looking for a video camera but aren't set on one particular brand or model, so they browse the different options available. If you have everything they want to know about on your auction description, then they are much more likely to bid compared to if you just had the name of the item.

Use an HTML editor like Microsoft Frontpage or Dreamweaver to create your auction listings. This way you can make the listing look professional & attractive to potential bidders. You could use the HTML editor on eBay but I always found this to be a little restrictive in its use. Its a good idea to create a template that you can use again & again for different listings. Have a look at what other sellers are doing (those that have fancy auction listings) & see if you can do something similar. Then copy the code from the HTML editor into the "Enter Your Own HTML" box on the sell page of eBay.

Take lots of quality pictures of the item & include them in the auction listing. Make sure you take good close ups of the item from many different angles so that bidders know exactly what they are bidding on. I have always found that my listings with good quality photos did so much better than other sellers listings with no or few or bad quality photos. Using a digital camera with 3.2Mp & up is good enough. If you can, avoid using the camera on your mobile phone as most camera phones take bad quality pictures. Take at least 6 good quality photos.

Following on from the above point, do not use the upload photo feature of eBay because not only does this add to the cost of your listing, it also resizes your photos reducing the quality & visibility of your item. Instead, go out & get a web hosting account - there are many cheap options available. You don't need a domain name, just an FTP account. Upload your photos (you may have to do some resizing of the photos using whatever photo editor you have - do not resize them to too small - I usually make the photos no more than 800 pixels wide & whatever height), & upload them to your web hosting account. Then, copy the link locations into your HTML editor. The easy way is to browse to the actual photos on your website & then right click to copy image & then paste onto your auction description in your HTML editor.

Make sure you include detailed information on the condition of the item. If its brand new, write that its brand new, unopened & make sure you put this in the title of the listing. If its used, describe the condition in as much detail as possible.

Spend some time on the title of the listing. Don't just list the name of the item, include some of its key features, as many that will fit.

Avoid using reserve prices and high starting bids. If you are really afraid that you will be forced to sell the item for much lower than what you require for it, then a higher starting bid is the better of the two evils. Reserved prices put people off as they do not know what your reserve is. They think it might be high & thus do not bother bidding. But if they know upfront what the start price is, then they are more likely to bid if they are comfortable with that start price. At least they know they have a chance of getting the item at that price versus having a reserve price. To be honest, 90% of the time I have always found that having a start price of 0.99c achieves a much higher final bid amount than having a higher start price. This is because people get involved with the auction and the innate competitiveness built in many of us, causes us to push the bid higher if we are competing with other people for the item. Also once someone bids at any price, they watch that item over & above other items listed. If they are outbid, they generally think "what's another $1 or $5. I can afford that to get this item" & so the price goes up. Make sure you do the top points though, as these will help you get informed buyers who are keen to get your product.

There are many more things that you can do to ensure that you get the best price for your listings. The ones I have described above I believe are the key ones but there are others that definitely help.

In any case, selling on eBay can generate you a great deal of extra income if you sell effectively.

For more information including reviews and special tips for Australians, on how to make money through eBay, affiliate marketing, share trading, property and other methods, visit PassiveIncomeInOz Blog.

Article Source: EzineArticles.com

Becoming an eBay Seller - The First Steps - Darren Gibson

You've been lurking around eBay for a few months now. You might have even registered and perhaps bought the odd item. Good for you - you have at least taken steps in the right direction!

So what now? You want to start selling and taking your share of the $40+ million that changes hands on eBay every day, but just don't know where to begin. You will find a lot of conflicting advice out there. Some advocate going straight into drop shipping, others say find a niche, but my advice is to take just a few steps at a time.

Although you may be itching to go straight for the high paying options like selling ipods or laptops, just think for a minute and ask yourself "Would I buy from someone with zero seller feedback?" Chances are, unless it is a super niche with limited product availability, you would answer that question with a resounding "No". Also, what if your supplier proved unreliable and your early transactions were absolute disasters. Not the best situation to put yourself in, is it.

One of the best ways to get started as a seller on eBay is also one of the easiest. How often do you go round and fill a basket or bag with unwanted items for your local charity collection - two, maybe three or more times a year. What if you put those items up on eBay as a way of getting positive seller feedback? Look at it logically - you were prepared to give it away for nothing, so even if it only sells for pennies, you are not losing out, as each sale is improving your credibility on eBay (or whichever site you choose to trade on for that matter). If your conscience is getting the better of you, you could decide to donate these initial profits to the charity who you were going to donate the items to.

After the "charity bags" have been sold, why not do a spring clean and identify more items to list. The stack of vinyl LPs you have long since abandoned in favour of compact discs, the VHS tapes you no longer watch - even the pair of jeans you know you will never squeeze into again that you are hanging on to for posterity! These will all contribute to you getting a positive reputation as a seller prior to you starting selling items for the big bucks.

Taking this approach also eases you into the selling process with minimal risk. Look on it as a trial run for the long term - you can get practice and experience writing your listings and you get to see the whole selling process a few times before it "really matters"

For more free eBay seller resources, visit thousands-of-bargains.com or visit the Gibson family web pages.

Article Source: EzineArticles.com

Buy at Wholesale and Drop Ship to Customers Without a Warehouse - Alan Kirchain

If you've thought about opening a business for yourself, and want to take advantage of that lifestyle so many people strive for, you'll see that as you read through this article you can start you own endeavor and do it without even having products of your own to sell and only a small amount of money up front.

Honestly, who hasn't dreamed about owning there own mail order business. You know the one where you just go out to the mail box and pick up the checks. Until recently, that was really just a pipe dream and a great marketing pitch for many biz-op companies. But today that opportunity is real and probably as easy as it's ever going to get. It has become particularly easy with the advent of the internet and the ability to auction merchandise from your home.

What I'm talking about is purchasing wholesale and then drop shipping to customers without storing inventory. This can provide an easy way for people to quit their regular day job, if they work at it systematically. You can do it without having to put up a lot of money in upfront capital and basically do it from your home computer and desk area.

Drop shippers can send products and merchandise to your customers without you ever having to touch the products. This allows you to offer real products to customers and not have to worry about warehousing and inventory.

There are many different ways you can set up a great drop shipping business. The simplest way is to start an auction on one of the big auction web sites. You can sell products via the auction and ship them to your customers and it will appear as if they came direclty from your distribution warehouse.

This works by you providing the drop shipper with the customer information. They then take care of the fulfillment and follow through with the shipping process. The best part is that they will affix your company information to the package including logos and slogans if you request, and then provide them the material to do so.

When your customer gets there merchandise it appears that your warehouse sent them the products and they have no clue that it came from a drop ship resource.

Besides the obvious benefits this allows you to spend more time on setting up new promotions via auction or regular website, rather than focusing on packaging, and shipping chores. Way more productive and profitable to your bottom line.

Establishing a rapport with several wholesale drop shipping companies will be a key to your success. At first most companies will want you to pre pay in some fashion for products that get shipped. This usually can be done using a credit or debit card.

Getting your merchandise to your customers in a timely fashion should be a primary goal. Ultimately, you should be able to establish a credit line with your suppliers and be billed on terms. This way you will be able to add a new dimension to your business providing even quicker service, thus allowing you to reap more profits.

One central component to a profitable drop shipping business is finding real wholesale suppliers. It’s important to remember that lots of companies claim to be wholesalers and promote themselves as being such. Unfortunately many are not. They are actually middlemen and profit by selling you merchandise above the true wholesale cost.

Finding true wholesalers can be a tedious and painstaking task. Be sure and take your time when researching wholesalers so that you are dealing with the closest point to the manufacturer.

Getting started in a wholesale business and then drop shipping the merchandise can be profitable without a huge financial risk. Do your homework and find out what the best margins are for your particular products. The beauty of this is that you can sell your product without actually purchasing it and then warehousing it tying up precious funds that can be used in different ways.

The wholesale drop shipping business is fun and exciting. It allows you to profit in many cases prior to actually having any capital expenditures of the wholesale merchandise. If your thinking of starting a home based business a wholesale and drop shipping is a good business model to cut your teeth with.

If you would like to discover how smart people locate real drop shippers and manufactures with just the click of a
mouse, visit http://www.wholesaleanddropshipdirect.com You can also get additional info on Drop Shipping Wholesale Company

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