Entries from January 2007 ↓

People are making their plans for eBay Live! in Boston. Lots of questions involve hotels and things to see in Boston. The hotel info will be coming soon, but I have found something now that really stands out as a great deal. I was skeptical at first, but then found some reviews which convinced me I found a good deal.

What I found is called the "Go Boston Card".

What is a Go Card?
It’s a credit card sized card that you carry which includes admission to the Boston area’s most popular attractions. You do not need to pre-purchase tickets, deal with the hassle of tear-out coupons, or carry cash.

Here's how you use it.

1. Go to a participating attractions, restaurant, or shop.
2. Present your Go Boston Card.
3. You are granted general admission at the attraction (no cash changes hands) or get a discount automatically.

It's that easy.

You pay one price for the Go Boston Card. Your price is determined by whether you choose a single day, or 2, 3, 5, or 7 day increments. The card is activated the first time you use it. It’s valid for the number of consecutive calendar days you’ve purchased.

I found reviews of the card on www.boston.citysearch.com and all rated the card as "Highly Recommended".

The comments say it better than I could:

the go boston card was worth it
Posted by crystal32 on 06/15/2006

I wish I would have known about these Go Cards when my fiancee and I visited Chicago, I thought it was much easier than paying for each attraction. We ordered the card off the website and picked it up in the city. The girls helping us at the desk were extremly friendly and printed up directions from our hotel to the grayline booth so we could pick up our Trolley hop passes. We toured the entire city, got off at whatever stop we wanted--saw some attractions with the Go Boston card then got on the trolley again. We also used the card at Mike's Pastry's in the north end $5 dollars off. I liked how the guidebook told you T directions, and had colored pages of the attractions so you knew where you were going! We probably saved around 50$ each using our 5-day Go Boston Card and I liked that the card also included things to do in Salem. We went to the Salem Witch Museum and the Peabody Museum all on the card.

* Pros: free guidebook, good attractions
* Cons: duck tours sometimes sell out early but that's no
* Overall user rating: Highly Recommended

what a neat idea for travelers
Posted by acorn75 on 01/27/2006

my husband got this for our anniversary trip to new england, at first I kind of rolled my eyes because it seemed like we wouldn't be able to enjoy all those attractions on the list, but surprisingly most of the attractions were close together, we got to try new things including a whale watch which i had never been on, and it was really the best thing for us because we weren't constantly counting our money or turning to a credit card.

* Pros: easy to use, cheap, lots of attractions
* Overall user rating: Highly Recommended

Go Boston Card is great for families
Posted by mauimamma on 11/02/2005I really loved using this product, I had a wonderful experience during my recent trip to Boston this summer. The card worked just like they said it would, and it saved us time and effort worrying about paying for all the attractions. Since we'd already payed for the attractions we wanted to see, I saved lots of money plus I got to skip ahead of a few lines (which was really helpful at the aquarium--the line was really long) I think this product is great for someone new to a city--it came with a guidebook and the people at the redemption center were very friendly, too

* Cons: Great deal, Lots of Attractions, Deals on shopping
* Overall user rating: Highly Recommended

I liked the idea so much I signed up as an affiliate and if you'd like you can order the card here. The idea of saving money by planning ahead sounds great to me. I love the idea of (legally) jumping ahead in line thanks to having the Go Boston Card. I'll be getting one for my wife and myself. I knew you'd like it too. See you at the front of the line in Boston!

BEST VALUE! 61 Boston Attractions & Tours for 1 Low Price! Unlimited admission to Top Boston Attractions with the Go Boston Card.

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I love free things. Anyone on eBay likely loves things that are free too. Some of you already know about this, but for those that don't here is a tip to get 250 [tag]free business cards[/tag].

Who needs them?

Do people ever ask you what you sell on [tag]eBay[/tag]? Do people ever ask for your "card" and you don't have one to give them? Do you ever wish you could put your card in one of those fish bowls at a restaurant to win a free lunch, only to walk away with your hands in your pockets disappointed because you don't have a business card?

You need a [tag]business card[/tag] if you are:

• a seller on eBay
• an [tag]Education Specialist[/tag], training others
• going to eBay Live! in Boston

Not to mention the free lunch thing. Continue reading →

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Thousands of hungry eBay Live! attendees will be converging on Boston June 14-16. Doing some pre-convention preparation will save you some real bucks. If you will be in Boston for several days you'll need to eat. The Boston Convention & Exhibition Center has a food court, and that may be sufficient throughout the conference, but at night people want to dine out in the city.

I'll have some restaurant recommendations in upcoming posts, but you may also want to start thinking now about using eBay to save you money on your evening repast. One of the biggest sellers on eBay is Restaurant.com. They sell gift certificates to (primarily) restaurants on eBay. Many times you can get a $25 gift certificate for $10 and use it for yourself. That's a savings of $15 per meal! Over four evenings that is $60 saved. Not too shabby.

Take a look at Boston gift certificates Restaurant.com is offering on eBay right now.
Continue reading →

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Blogging to Boost Your Business - Part II: Maximizing Your Blog's Potential

by Mikal Belicove, Director of Community and Education - Doba

In Part I of this article, we give you four great reasons for blogging about the products you sell. A blog won't do much good, though, unless it draws the attention of consumers who are in the market for the products you sell. Fortunately, the Web offers numerous promotional opportunities to steer prospective customers to your blog. In this part, we reveal several of these opportunities and show you how to skyrocket the visibility or your blog and, ultimately, your business.

Capitalize on opportunities to [tag]promote your blog[/tag]

The information superhighway is loaded with space where you can erect virtual billboards and road signs directing traffic to your blog. After you create your roadside attraction, start erecting signs, so passersby know how to get there:

• Spread your link far and wide. Established websites and blogs already have a steady stream of traffic that you can steer your way. Search for websites and blogs related to the items you sell, and ask the creators of those sites to link to your blog. (Steer clear of competitors, of course.) In exchange, offer to link from your blog to their site. For example, if you sell model trains, see if some of the national or regional membership associations for model train enthusiasts would be willing to provide a link to your site in exchange for one back to theirs.
• Take a detour around obstacles. eBay prohibits sellers from linking listings to an external sites that sell goods. You can, however, link to any type of site from your [tag]eBay About Me[/tag] page, without breaking the rules. Simply place a link to your blog on your About Me page, and then delicately mention your About Me page in your eBay listing.
• Use incentives to lure customers to your blog. Add a sweet morsel to entice viewers and send them rapidly clicking to your blog. Your incentive should be clear enough to be enticing but vague enough that readers will need to visit your blog to find out how to obtain the reward. For example, you might say, "Save 10% off your next purchase by visiting my blog.
• List your blog with the leading blog indexes and search engines. This part is really a cinch, as complex as it might sound. Why? Because Google does most of the work for you. As the world's leading search engine, Google is guaranteed to bring blog readers your way with its blog-specific search tool. The best part? You have to ask them not to list you, otherwise, you're automatically in the ring. Aside from Google, you have a few other fantastic opportunities for getting your blog to stand out among the abyss go to [tag]Technorati[/tag].com and register there under "Claim my blog" for free exposure. [tag]The Truth Laid Bear[/tag] Blogosphere Ecosystem does the same for you—head to Truthlaidbear.com/ecosystem.php and sign up for a free account. These sites even let you see how readers are ranking your blog.

Use your blog to shuttle readers to your store

People visit blogs because of curiosity, personal connections, and in a quest for knowledge, and they do not appreciate heavy-handed sales pitches. You can and should, however, mention your products and link to your webstore. Blogs are a perfect venue for
soft-sell sales. Here are a few tips to get you started:

• Talk about your [tag]eBay business[/tag] or eCommerce [tag]webstore[/tag]. Briefly mention your store in every other blog entry or so, and devote an entire entry every few weeks or so to your business. Relate to fellow hobbyists and aficionados on a personal level, cluing them in on the vision behind your business, your reasons for starting it, and your passion for running it.
• Post [tag]links to your store[/tag] in conspicuous places, but keep them to a reasonable minimum. Use your judgment as a consumer to determine how much is enough.
• Optimize the use of page layout to draw attention to your eBay account's presence. Post a link in a speech bubble of sorts near the top of your blog, highlight it with colors and borders, vary the font and font size from that of your
  blog, and put it where you know readers won't miss it. Let your creative juices and your intuition guide you, but try not to make it look like too much like an ad.

Clone your blog in other locales

Once you've created a blog, you've done most of the heavy-lifting in terms of design and content. Leverage the power of your blog by cloning it on other free blog hosting services. Here are a couple suggestions:

• eBay's My World at myworld.ebay.com enables you to harness the marketing power of eBay and direct eBay member traffic to your blog.
• MySpace at www.myspace.com offers access to a huge community of active bloggers of all ages. Through the MySpace "groups" feature, you can create your own active, loyal community and drive traffic to your [tag]eBay[/tag] account or webstore.

Tip: As much as possible, design the cloned blog to mimic your own, creating somewhat of a brand presence. Countless site-design tools offer free tips to help you customize a MySpace page, and one great tool I recently found allows you to easily fashion your [tag]eBay My World[/tag] page after your blog. Check out www.isdntek.com for lots of great guides and shortcuts.
As you've discovered in Parts I and II of this article, a blog can be a powerful marketing tool, assuming you manage it properly. Don't let the clamor of other competing retailers drown out your presence in the marketplace. Harness the power of blogging to raise yourself and your business above the rest.

--------------------------------------------
About the Author: Mikal E. [tag]Belicove[/tag] is an expert at building and supporting online communities of practice and Business-to-Business-related social networks. As Doba's Director of Community &
Education, Mikal oversees the company's efforts to educate retail business owners and connect customers with one another. Mikal is the author of 2007 Edition of the Internet Yellow Pages (Que Publishing/ Pearson, 10/06), co-authored with Joe Kraynak.
Note: You are invited to reprint this article in your own newsletter or on your blog or website, provided that all content—including this signature—is included and remains unchanged.

Popularity: 5% [?]

As February nears, there is a buzz about eBay Live! June 14-16, 2007 in Boston. Each year since 2003 eBay has held a 3-day event where its community of buyers and sellers can mix with people on the other side of the monitor. Industry experts and exhibitors get together with the eBay Community to swap stories and ideas on how to achieve greater success in their businesses. It’s also one of the best networking forums an eBayer can find. Besides all that, there are several levels of seminars, panels, and computer labs to educate attendees. Education Specialists meet and discuss techniques related to teaching others how to use eBay.

Last year it was in Las Vegas, but this year is in Boston. While lots of folks have been to Vegas, Boston is a little more of a mystery. This is especially true to many west-coast people. Boston has lots to offer in fact a couple of good items to prepare yourself is Boston for Dummies, along with Streetwise Boston which is the best-selling map of Boston. Now is the time to check these handbooks out and get ready for Live!
This year eBay Live! is in Boston from June 14-16 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center (BCEC). Keep an eye on the latest about eBay Live! at: http://www.ebay.com/ebaylive. Registration opens in February.

Click here to see a flash video of the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.

When in Boston…

Once you’ve registered, you’ll be able to log onto the eBay Live! site and read information about the classes. You’ll be able to build your own curriculum from the classes available. You’ll notice that classes are grouped according to your skill level on eBay. You should choose classes which will help you in areas where you think you need to grow, such as photography, creating an About Me page, writing good titles and descriptions, blogging, running an eBay Store, Turbo Lister, International selling, and much more. Of course you’ll want to choose with an eye on your future and consider where you want your eBay business to go.

There will once again be a large exhibition hall featuring vendors and industry experts. You’ll see sourcing companies, drop shippers, many companies offering helpful tools to help you in your business, the US Postal Service, UPS, and a booth for nearly every eBay category including eBay Motors.

Things to Bring to eBay Live! 2007

You’ll be doing a lot of walking, collecting pins, flyers, literature and possibly heavier items such as books. Being on your feet all day can be exhausting. Here are some things you should bring to make the day more comfortable:

• comfortable shoes
• fold-up cart for carrying “stuff”
• a camera
• print out your class itinerary and bring it! (It will likely not be available to print at the event.)
• bring an empty piece of luggage to carry souvenirs and the “stuff” you pick up at eBay Live!

Don’t forget that eBay Live is one of the best networking events an eBayer can find. Where else will you get to talk face to face with your favorite authors, owners of services you use, and eBay employees? You can accomplish a lot by really spending time and meeting the different people who have really come to see you! Vendors pay a pretty penny to show at eBay Live! They want to know what you think, and they want to show you what they have to offer. Besides that, you’ll meet other members of the community. SO be prepared. You’ll want to be well stocked with:

• Your business cards
• a notebook and pen

Getting Around Boston

Boston is a great city full of history and fun places to visit. It’s not difficult to navigate either. They have taxis of course, and also a great mass transit system which will take you to eBay Live.

I am putting together some info on lodging, transportation, restaurants, and sight-seeing which will appear on these pages very soon. Please come back for a visit for the latest.

To begin, take a look at hotels surrounding the BCEC. eBay Live! dates are June 14-16.

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If you're an eBay seller, or you teach people to sell on [tag]eBay[/tag], there is an excellent lesson coming up for your students (and you as a seller if you're smart.) You have 15 days to take advantage of an online phenomena - the [tag]Super Bowl[/tag].

It's no secret that the commercials on [tag]Super Bowl Sunday[/tag] carry about as much weight as the game itself. But do you really know how much weight? Last year Yahoo reported the phrase "Super Bowl XL [tag]Commercials[/tag]" jumped 800% the day after the game. Other game-related [tag]search phrases[/tag] that saw increases included:

• "Appetizer Recipes" (+336%),
• "Chicken Wings" (+97%)
• "Salsa Recipes" (+76%)
• "Mick Jagger" and "Tim Hasselback" spiked during the game.

Searches for Pepsi on Yahoo increased by about 60% post-game, and there were thousands of searches on the term "brownandbubbly.com" after their Super Bowl ad aired.
Searches for ABC TV show (then new) "Grey's Anatomy" increased roughly 400% on Yahoo post-game. The phrase "code black," which referred to a mysterious event in the show, jumped over 1000% percent on Yahoo. The Warner Bros.' term "V for Vendetta" saw an increase of over 400% in traffic. People are searching for obvious things such as the recipes before the game, but during the game there are lots of real-time searches for info on whatever is being shown or discussed. After the game the obvious searches are the commercials as people discuss them at work on Monday.

"Coach - Put Me In"

So how can you get in the game? First if you are teaching eBay classes that they should watch pop culture events for spikes in eBay selling activity, you're a good teacher. If you're just a seller, the question remains:
"How does one know what people will be searching for on eBay?"

Well, Billy Joel, and Prince are playing during the halftime show. Break out the 'vintage' Purple Rain stuff! You can find more details about the game and the venue in South Florida at the official host website (lots of music and stuff going on.) And team details at the Official NFL Super Bowl site.

eBay is a giant 'reflector' of whatever is going on in the world. Sellers can list things related to the death of a famous person before the body has gone cold. And they do. Certain things related to the Super Bowl though are predictable, we know ahead of time which teams are playing, we know where, we know the player's names, we also know that millions of people will be having super bowl parties, featuring food & drink. Walk through a typical Super Bowl Sunday in your mind, and think of all the things you'd need. Now - sell some of those things on eBay.

The other big opportunity is what the big commercials will be discussing. If you can align yourself with these big ads, you will get some overflow business on eBay. For example:

• you may not have a new Toyota Tundra for sale, but if you have a used one you may want it to be ending Sunday night after the game or Monday at lunchtime.
• if you're a seller of sports memorabilia, you will certainly want to have items available before, during, and after the game.
• Garmin GPS has a spot, tens of millions of people will see that ad and go to the Garmin site. They'll see the prices and then go to eBay to look for a deal. I'm using Doba as a last-minute source, and I don't even have to ship them. (In fact, this is a great time to sign up for their free trial for that very reason - and yes I use them in my own business).
• Take a look at who purchased what for 2007.

Take a Play from Their Book
Or in some cases, do just the opposite of the big boys. You can also see how last year's ads were scored by looking at
Super Bowl Search Engine Marketing Scorecard. It shows what marketers did right and what they missed on. (Can you believe anyone nowadays would not put a URL on a [tag]superbowl ad[/tag]?)

Obviously I can't say exactly what products to sell. But hopefully this article will give you some good food for thought. Call it a recipe for food for thought I guess. You can bet I'll be eating, drinking and watching my Garmin GPS listings on eBay.

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You may have seen it on Seinfeld. And he owns the real thing. This is a very rare poster unavailable anywhere but here on [tag]eBay[/tag]. It features a [tag]Porsche Carrera GT[/tag] which were produced 2004-2006. The poster is much more affordable than the original MSRP of $440,000 USD.Production topped out at approximately 1250 units, with only 340 of these cars sold in the U.S. Famous owners include [tag]Jay Leno[/tag], [tag]Jerry Seinfeld[/tag], [tag]Tiger Woods[/tag], [tag]Ralph Lauren[/tag], and [tag]Thierry Henry[/tag].

Porsche began developing the Carrera GT in 1999 as a successor to the 911 GT1 car they had discontinued in late 1998. In addition, Porsche needed to free up capital and manpower for development work on the Cayenne, and dropping development of the race car made this possible.

Porsche did however produce one car, and showed it at the 2000 Geneva Motor Show to draw attention to their display. Due to the intense interest in the car, and cash now flowing in from the Cayenne, a decision was made to produce a limited number of road-legal cars in Leipzig. Porsche started a production run of Carrera GTs in 2004, shipping the units with an MSRP of $440,000 USD and a dealer invoice price of approximately $414,800 USD. In addition, the delivery charge could be as much as $15,000 USD. The first Carrera GT went on sale in the US in Jan 2004.

At first, a production run of 1,500 cars was scheduled. But Porsche announced in August, 2005 that it would not continue production of the Carrera GT throughout 2006. According to Porsche, this was because of changing airbag rules in the U.S. But word on the street was that the dealers simply couldn't move the cars, and many reportedly sold GTs for below MSRP. Even though production ended early, sales of the Carrera GT were a huge success, with worldwide sales volumes surpassing the combined totals of Ferrari's Enzo Ferrari, Mercedes' SLR McLaren, and Pagani's Zonda models.
As of May 6, 2006, 1,270 GT's had been sold, with 604 being sold in the United States.

Some Famous Carrera GT Owners:

• Jay Leno - Television Comedian / Entertainer
• Ralph Lauren - Fashion Designer
• Robbie Williams - Singer / Songwriter / Entertainer
• Jerry Seinfeld - Comedian / Actor
• Tiger Woods - Professional American Golfer
• Thierry Henry - Professional French soccer player of French team and Arsenal F.C.
• Michael Higgs - Comedian
• Dr. Hitesh Bodani - Chairman, Matrix Holdings, Dubai
• Thomas Muster - Former World No. 1 tennis player, Austria
• Mohammed Ben Sulayem - Famous Arab rally car champion and car collector, from Dubai, U.A.E.
• Tim Allen - Entertainer / Comedian
• Niki Lauda - Former Formula 1 driver and World Champion
• Ken Goins - Profesional Lacrosse Player

I've added a Seinfeld clip below so you can see the poster people keep asking about.

Popularity: 6% [?]

By Mikal E. Belicove, Director of Community & Education - Doba

To the average online shopper, you're just another small retailer trying to earn a buck on the Internet. If you sell on eBay, all a buyer knows about you is right there in your product listing and perhaps your seller rating, and that isn't much. If you operate an eCommerce-enabled website, maybe you have an "About" page that says a little something about you and your company. At the end of the day, though, that isn't much, either!

Sound brutal? It is. But so is the retail business. In the global marketplace, anyone can attempt to sell anything. To succeed, you have to prove why you're special, and one of the best ways to do that is to publish a blog.

A blog is an online soapbox of sorts, a stage upon which you can demonstrate your passion and knowledge for your product line, individual products, and commitment to your customers. It's a virtual community that encourages visitors to interact and talk back. It's a marketing tool that gives you a daily opportunity to earn credibility and trust,the two most valuable assets that money can't buy.

Technically speaking, a blog is an easily, instantly, and frequently updated website, created and maintained by using free and easy-to-use software designed for people who don't want to learn how to design a website or use HTML.

In Part I of this article, I show you how [tag]blogging [/tag]can help grow your online business. Essentially, our point is this: If you design a blog that attracts readers and earn their loyalty (thanks to your fount of knowledge, charming wit, or stellar writing skills), you should be able to capitalize on the intrigue and convert these viewers into paying customers. With minimal efforts, your customer base can literally multiply.

In Part II, you gather strategies and tips to take full advantage of your blog and maximize its potential for supporting the sale of your products and building an active community of loyal customers.

Establish your credibility as an expert in consumers' eyes

Clearly, if you have enough to say about a topic that you can fill pages about it, you know much more than a thing or two about that topic. Odds are you've done your homework and have gone above and beyond, after all, what passionate person is satisfied with just the need-to-know info about the object of his affection? By exploring and explaining various aspects of a hobby or item and sharing your two cents for thought or discussion, you gain credibility with others as an authority in that field.

Anyone with a degree in Business Administration will recognize this concept as [tag]thought leadership[/tag]. But we know you don't need a business degree to run a successful business, what you really need to know is how to actually achieve this kind of success-building leadership. The key: Know as much as you can about your products, and spread the word like wildfire. Encourage others to participate in the dialogue, and they'll eagerly jump on board your blog. Of course, professional presentation and verbal skill is essential to garnering this kind of respect. By continually investigating your topic and sharing your knowledge with others, in addition to adding your own commentary, you can establish a reputation with consumers as the guru that you are. And who better to buy from than a guru!

Note: Be aware that you can easily create a poor reputation if you don't maintain professionalism in your blog. So, be sure to decide first how you want to present yourself and then consistently follow through with that vision. This is not to say that you should write in a way that readers need a dictionary on hand to decipher your guru-speak. See Part II of this article for tips on setting and maintaining the right tenor.

Enhance visibility and [tag]widen your customer base[/tag]

In everyday life you have numerous ways of communicating about your interests: face to face, on the phone, via e-mail, and so on. You're limited, though, to those people near you or those you manage to meet. Blogging, however, expands your influence; it's essentially your own public monologue that buyers can find and respond to as they wish. With a blog, your potential audience is virtually limitless.

In addition, not everyone who's interested in a particular product or topic is seeking to shop—Cyberspace has window shoppers, too. Your eBay account or online store, then, may be unlikely to reach that audience, but a blog offers a way to attract surfers who may not otherwise see your products. Engage them, direct them to your store, and watch as your sales increase.

Blogs have a number of ways to rise among the infinite sea of Web pages, the most common being via search engines. As long as you establish your privacy settings as completely public, a search engine will pull up your blog among other results when it locates a requested keyword. See Part II of this article for more strategies on [tag]boosting your blog's visibility[/tag].

Establish an emotional connection with your readers

More often than not, common interests attract. A connection is made, a lasting friendship is born, and the story continues. Nowadays, people are taking advantage of the wide expanse of the Internet as a prime locale for building relationships. It encourages interaction simply by virtue of the mandatory mouse-click. Click, read, connect, engage.

Suppose, for example, you blog about your passion for low-brow art (which you also happen to sell). Other lovers of low-brow art are likely to find you, look around your blog, jump in on the discussions, and take a look at the items you're selling on eBay or another eCommerce-enabled site that you conspicuously link out to. They'll see what you're all about, and if they like it, they'll come back for more.

Blog readers don't fool around when it comes to blogs they enjoy; they quickly become regulars, akin to the cohorts at Cheers. Passion meets passion, and sparks fly. The result: a growing relationship based on an emotional connection, initiated thanks to your enthusiasm for the thing you love and sell.

Boost enthusiasm for your products

When you write a blog that relates to your online business, not only does it create a common place for you to connect with readers, but it also builds enthusiasm for your products. The saying "Enthusiasm is contagious" is an age-old adage that still holds some truth. Consider for a moment school pep rallies, pre-game tailgating, reality television, political rallies, and religious gatherings. The same holds true for anything you and others value.

Put yourself in the Web surfer's sandals: Suppose you've taken a liking to model cars. You happen upon a fellow model-car-devotee's blog and are introduced to cars you've never seen and aspects of model-car collecting that you've never considered. Gradually, you're drawn in as you survey the glory of the model car, and thanks to the efficiency of Web browsers, you're able to easily bookmark your new favorite page. Your initial reaction to the site was likely one of excitement, and as you continue to revisit the blog, your gusto grows, sparked by one person's passion for your common love. Sooner or later, you recognize a deep need to act on your quickly escalating hobby. So, you put your money where your heart is, and voila! The blog aficionado has just earned your business, which likely won't be a one-time investment, thanks to the fervor welling up within you (and the goose pimples you got when you clicked "Confirm purchase").

Now that you're aware of blogging's many potential benefits, hopefully you're a little closer to taking the leap and creating one of your own. In Part II of this article, you discover a host of strategies and tips for maximizing the effectiveness of this powerful online marketing tool.

About the Author: Mikal E. Belicove is an expert at building and supporting online communities of practice and Business-to-Business-related social networks. As Doba's Director of Community & Education, Mikal oversees the company's efforts to educate retail business owners and connect customers with one another. Mikal is the author of 2007 Edition of the Internet Yellow Pages (Que Publishing/ Pearson, 10/06), co-authored with Joe Kraynak.

Note: You are invited to reprint this article in your own newsletter or on your blog or website, provided that all content, including this signature is included and remains unchanged.
[tags]blogging to increase business,ebay[/tags]

Popularity: 5% [?]

I will be presenting a webinar for Doba at 10AM Pacific / 1PM Eastern on Tuesday, January 16 entitled:
"Decisions, Decisions, Exploring the SYI (Sell Your Item) Form"

If you are a new seller, you've probably wondered:

• How do I price my item?
• Should I use a Reserve Price?
• Which duration is best?
• How can I set shipping charges?

You have to be a Doba member to listen in, but you can sign up for a free 7-day trial at Doba and then register for the webinar. Once you sign up for the free trial, the cost for the class is $25. Continue reading →

Popularity: 4% [?]

I just ran across this post on Naked eBay and thought it was pretty funny. Sarcastic but funny, and full of good lessons for new sellers.

In our eBay classes, it's common to find new sellers who are terribly afraid of 'losing' in some way. So they make their descriptions short, with a long list of rules about how to be paid, when to be paid, feedback must be positive or else, no returns or else, I've even heard no emails or else. This is a good example of things new (and old) sellers should consider. Then don't do them.

Here's the link: http://naked-ebay.blogspot.com/2006/09/how-to-be-miserable-failure-at-ebay.html

Popularity: 4% [?]

I can't believe I'm actually going to write about the eBay fee increases. This will be a longer than usual post for me - because I want to vent a little.

First let me say, I hate fees. I pay them just like everyone else. eBay is not going to lower the fees because people gripe.
That said, let's proceed...

If you have time to whine and complain about something
then you have the time to do something about it.
~Anthony J. D'Angelo, The College Blue Book

It's interesting to me that most of the articles written about the fee increases are focused on the way they will affect the seller. Common views include:

• "I'm not going to list on eBay anymore, I can't afford it!"
• "eBay is going under, we sellers are just going to sell somewhere else and then they'll appreciate us!"
• "eBay is greedy, they're just interested in making money?"
• "Lets boycott! - Don't list anything on (fill in a date) and send eBay a message"

People. Please.

Please note that if you want to be discouraged - you should read those types of articles. If you want to get negative, down in the dumps, and watch your sales slide - believe everything those writers say.

But you don't have to. eBay is going to be in business a year from now. And years after that. Note a few things about people who write the ranting, threatening articles and posts:

• They often have under 100 feedback.
• They often have zero items currently for sale.
• They often offer no positive solution to their problem.

Here are a few things to keep in mind if you're a seller and you feel discouraged about the negative talk.

• Buyers don't care much about fees.

• eBay is a business. They exist to make money. Get over it.

• You can make a profit on eBay. Nearly a million people make their living there.

Popularity: 3% [?]

I have changed my [tag]eBay user ID[/tag] to genuineseller to better reflect what I'm doing here on this site, my [tag]Education Specialist[/tag] classes, etc. A lot of people are scared to change their ID, or they cannot get the one they want. That was the case with this ID, but I patiently worked around that problem and I'll tell you how.

Choosing an eBay ID

I always tell my students to be careful about choosing their ID. It can have a real effect on how a person is perceived on eBay. Any wonder these (real) eBay user IDs don't have a lot of feedback? Here's a few samples:

• ihateyou
• istink
• youstink
• villageidiot

In fact it's a good idea to tell your students to create a user ID people can remember and one that says something about them. (Like the ones above?) So that is why I like genuineseller, I can sell just about anything without people asking why. For example, I usually sell car posters, but last year I sold a toilet seat for large people. It didn't fit the user ID motorprints, and people thought it was weird. Well, they may have thought that anyhow about the toilet seat, but that's my business.

I wanted to switch to genuineseller and it was taken. It was about seven years old and the person who had it had never used it. There are a lot of IDs out there that people have created and then for some reason walked away and never used them. Some people forgot how to login so they just created another ID. In any case I wanted to get that ID.

The first step is to get in touch with customer service - I know, it's a pain but if you start with Live Help from the home page you can get to a real human. It helps to know [tag]eBay's phone number[/tag] (which I do) and while I'm not giving it out here, you can Google it and find the 1-800 number.

If an eBay user ID hasn't been touched in two years, they can release it. I mean, why keep a good ID down? Especially if it has no feedback and no reputation. What they do is change the ID to some random ID like: user982374, then release the previous ID. eBay emails the user and they have 30 days to reclaim it. At the end of exactly 30 days, the ID becomes available again to the general public. You have to mark it on your calendar and start trying to grab it as soon as it becomes available and voila! you can get the ID you really want.

A good thing to keep in mind is that your ID should reflect your business and should be positive in tone. So even though the ID "idiot" is "No longer a registered user." I don't expect any of you to go after that one. (Unless you are the author of the "Complete Idiot's Guide" to anything.)
As you may know you can change your ID by going to your My eBay page, looking down the left column and under My Account, click Personal Information. It's easy.

Other Questions
A lot of students will ask if your [tag]feedback [/tag]goes with you, which you may know - it does.
Another ID question I get a lot is: can you merge two IDs? The answer is yes, you can. There are considerations and requirements which you can find here.
http://pages.ebay.com/help/account/merge-accounts.html
[tags]choosing ebay username[/tags]

Popularity: 3% [?]

When I worked at eBay, I actually scheduled those banner ads at the top of the pages. Most of us ignore them nowadays, but they created quite a stir when we first added them to the pages of the eBay site. At that time the internet was a new world for advertising, compared to television advertising in the early 1950s. Advertisers wondered what the real value was to them, how could we really figure out if they were working?

Well now we know there are cookies, pop-ups, pop-unders, spyware, and lots of other ways to get 'targeted' advertising in front of us. Which brings me to the [tag]annoying[/tag] dancing people on [tag]eBay's latest ads[/tag]. I cannot ignore them any longer. I hate them. So I found a simple way to stop them. Here are the steps for anyone running Windows:

• From your Start menu, click "My Computer"
• Click on the drive where you can access "Windows" (usually the C: drive)
• Double-click "Windows" then "System32"
• Double-click "drivers" then "etc"
• Look for a file called "hosts" and double-click the file. A window may open which asks you to choose a program to open this file - you can use Notepad to open it.
• Once open, you'll see several lines of text with # signs in front of them. Those don't really do anything...
• ...at the bottom of the text you'll see something like: 127.0.0.1 localhost
• Under that paste this line: 127.0.0.1 ad.doubleclick.net
• SAVE the file, and close your way out of any windows you opened.
• THE DANCE IS OVER.

I hope you find this helpful. I found the information at: http://www.cadenhead.org/workbench/news/3085/cant-stop-dance-edit-your-hosts-file

I think my instructions are a little clearer for the novice. I also hope you'll now enjoy eBay again...

Popularity: 3% [?]

I'm very happy to report that PowerU has added my blog to the [tag]PowerU[/tag] site under Resources > Marketing Tools and Templates. My purpose in writing here has been to help others who are teaching [tag]eBay classes[/tag] by sharing experiences and techniques that have worked for me as a national [tag]eBay University[/tag] instructor over the past five years.

There are many things that are unique to [tag]eBay Education Specialists[/tag] though, such as booking events, dealing with individual students in one-on-one settings, dealing with Chambers of Commerce, etc. I would love your comments or questions on how you handle these situations. I think this will be a great repository of information.

"Am I Helping My Competition?"

I've heard a few Education Specialists (ES's) say, "I'd rather not share how I get jobs, or charge my clients. I'd just be helping the competition." I understand that. In most cases though, there is enough work to go around - and let's be frank - only a few will really do what it takes to get the good jobs. It's hard work and an investment of your time. My point is, since we're spread all over the country - let's help each other out.

If you don't like what you find here, let me know - after looking at the [tag]Education Specialist[/tag] discussion board though, I see most are extremely helpful and kind. I look forward to your comments and hope we'll have some nice interchanges here. [tags]GenuineSeller.com,eBay[/tags]

Popularity: 3% [?]