Entries from December 2007 ↓

[tag]eBay[/tag] is offering auction-style and fixed-price listings at $.10 each tomorrow, Thursday, December 27. This is a one day promotion.

How can you take advantage of this [tag]promotion[/tag]?

One [tag]strategy[/tag] I've used in the past is to use multiple [tag]duration[/tag]s for items. This only works if you have multiples of your items for sale. For example, if I carry 20 different items in my [tag]product line[/tag], I would list items 1-20 as three-day auctions, I would also list the same items as five-day auctions, and then list them as seven day items. That way I take advantage of the promo as many times as possible. They all start the same, but end on different days. Since many of my items are impulse buys anyway, the extra exposure at the top of search results is usually a real boost.

Visit eBay's Promotion page to see more details...

Popularity: 5% [?]

The online holiday selling season isn't over quite yet, but close. I'm rushing to fill [tag]eBay[/tag] and [tag]Amazon [/tag]orders and ship in time for bare walls to be covered with bright shiny posters, bookshelves to be a little fuller, and curio cabinets a little more interesting.

So far, so good.

I have had the best [tag]selling[/tag] season ever this year due to a few things I chose to do right after Labor Day:

• getting plenty of inventory, and making sure it's listed - in years past I procrastinated and didn't get things listed till November
• [tag]garage sale[/tag] hunting - I have increased my traffic (and my bottom line) by having unusual and interesting items found at garage sales and thrift shops
• expanding my sales beyond eBay to Amazon - this is a whole new area for me, one that I'll definitely be talking more about in future posts

Yes, somehow I've made [tag]money[/tag] the past couple of months even though:

• eBay charges fees
• [tag]Meg Whitman[/tag] is still running the place
• Stores aren't included in search results
• eBay owns PayPal,

(let's see, have I left anything out?...
...Oh yes, I made money selling on eBay because I didn't spend my time griping about not [tag]making money[/tag]. How 'bout that? [tags]eBay Stores,eBay fees,Bill Cobb,ecommerce[/tags]

Popularity: 7% [?]

The first [tag]eBay class[/tag] in the beautiful new [tag]Atascadero Community Center[/tag] on [tag]Traffic Way[/tag] will be held January 26, 2008. If you’ve never sold on eBay and would like to get started, you’ll learn all the basics at this class. It’s a little over 4 hours of instruction and during the class you’ll learn how to:

• Open a Seller Account
• [tag]Research Tips[/tag] and Create Listings
• Improve Your Listings with Better [tag]Descriptions[/tag] and [tag]Photography[/tag]
• Pricing Strategies
• Open and Use a PayPal account
• Monitor Your Listings
• Complete Transactions and Ship Your Items

If you have a basic knowledge of [tag]eBay selling[/tag] and you’d like to use eBay for additional income as a business -or- you have an existing [tag]business [/tag]and would like to develop an additional sales channel for your business, I’d recommend the Beyond the Basics class.

Class details & Registration
The fee is $72 dollars. You may register through the city at (805) 461-5000 or through their website at www.atascadero.org. Walk-ins are okay, I'll have forms available for you to sign up and pay at the class. Hope to see you there! [tags]atascadero,paso robles,morro bay,templeton,learn ebay,ebay university[/tags]

Popularity: 5% [?]

Have you ever wondered:

• How do I get started selling on [tag]eBay[/tag]?
• Is eBay safe?
• What should I sell?
• How do I set prices?
• When should I ship the items I've sold?

I've known lots of my students to make their class fees back within their first week of selling. You could be one of the next success stories.

The first class of the new year will be at [tag]Cal Poly[/tag] in [tag]San Luis Obispo[/tag] on Saturday, January 12th. The class starts at 9AM and should run till approximately 1:30PM. The fee for the class is $65 through Cal Poly's [tag]Continuing Education[/tag] Department. You can reach them by phone to register for the class at: 866-CAL-POLY or visit their website at: www.continuing-ed.calpoly.edu/. I also offer free support via phone and internet for those who've taken my classes. Sign up today!

[tags]eBay class,eBay classes,learn eBay[/tags]

Popularity: 5% [?]

With the success of my Diana Vreeland ALLURE book, I went to the Friends of the Library sale here in my town last weekend. I bought about 25 books for $16.25. None were earth-shattering when I checked them out on Amazon and [tag]eBay[/tag]. Some were worth $20-$30 which is nice, but I wanted a bell ringer. The last one I pulled from the bag was this book. It was in a silver box when I pulled it off the shelf, and my son was losing his patience so I never looked at it. It was heavy and big and $1 - so I stuck it in my pile.

Turns out this book was brand new and flawless in the box. It's from 2001 and covers in extraordinary detail and quality, the [tag]24 Hours of Le Mans[/tag] race, including all the participants.

This could be the nicest copy of this book there is. It was evidently never opened since it sounded brand new when I took the photos. This is a great book. The printing is stunning, it's a nice heavy 230 pages, hardbound, and it is a little time capsule. It's a must for a [tag]Le Mans[/tag] fan.

Inside are teams like [tag]Saleen[/tag], [tag]Corvette[/tag], [tag]Bentley[/tag], [tag]Audi[/tag], [tag]Porsche[/tag], [tag]Callaway[/tag], [tag]Ascari[/tag], [tag]MG Sport[/tag] and Racing, and many more associated with what is known as the "Grand Prix of Endurance" - 24 Hours of Le Mans. There are copies on Amazon, and other places but none as nice as this one. They all indicate some shelf wear, but this one has never been on a shelf.

Let's see where this one ends up. [tags]grand prix,racing,formula one,F1[/tags]

Popularity: 5% [?]

Have you purchased your calendar for 2008? Expensive huh? What will you do with your 2007 calendar? Let me share a tip with you that worked for me. A couple of years ago I turned about $20 into $360 on eBay within a couple of months and anyone can do it.

Time is your friend

While wandering in a mall in the middle of the week in late January 2004, I walked past the kiosk selling calendars. The kiosk appeared for a few months every year, sold calendars till the new year started, then disappeared. On the day I was there, everything was 75% off since they were about to close. Good thing about calendars, they get cheaper as the new year slips by. There were a number of calendars there featuring transportation such as [tag]Harley Davidson[/tag], muscle cars, Corvettes, trains, and exotic cars. At 75% off they were about $3 each. Each one had nice printing with clear pictures (no ads, month names, or any other stuff unrelated to the actual photos). Each one had at least 12 nice photos - one for each month.

I got home, and carefully trimmed each calendar down to individual pages. Photographed each one, and listed it on eBay for $6.95 per photo page. After fees, I would wind up with about $5 per page if they sold. Know what? They did.

All of them.

My $3 investment for each calendar had turned into at least $60 once I sold them piece by piece. I was very clear in my description that the print was from a calendar and contained a calendar page on the back. No secrets. Since the pages were relatively thin, I used a small diameter shipping tube to save on shipping (and offer a low shipping price - USPS First Class).

Six calendars at $3 each = $18
72 photo pages at $5 profit = $360

Many sellers on eBay are trying this, but they aren't doing it right. They're trying to sell stuff my grandma would put on the walls. Sell what people get passionate about! Ferraris, Harleys, Corvettes, and Dodge Chargers, not pictures of scenery and puppies. This is basic stuff.
The nice thing about this is it doesn't matter how old the calendars are. The dates don't matter anymore - just the photos. Take a look at what I found.

Comments are welcomed.[tags]niche selling,ebay,calendars,selling ideas,ecommerce,calendar,posters,prints,corvette,ferrari,dodge charger[/tags]

Popularity: 4% [?]

[tag]Ron Paul[/tag] supporters have pushed their man to new heights over the past month by selling over $100,000 worth of goods in his name. Much goes to directly support the campaign, and other items lend support through signs, and bumper stickers. In any case, these people are virtually blowing away the competition - and it seems no one in major media is noticing.

Throughout the summer, I've followed the presidential candidates on [tag]eBay[/tag] - or should I say, interest in the [tag]candidates [/tag]- as indicated by sales on the site. There have been some minor ups and downs, but candidate Ron Paul has consistently maintained a substantial lead over the other contenders. His supporters have used eBay as a fund raising platform as well as a way to simply draw attention to their man.

Part of the reason Ron Paul is so high on this chart is an interesting [tag]gold coin[/tag] on eBay. This coin vaulted Ron Paul to the top of the charts and many of the sellers are explicitly listing them as a way to directly support Senator Paul. It's the Ron Paul [tag]Liberty Dollar[/tag] and it is available in gold, silver, and copper. You won't be able to buy them through the Liberty Dollar people however, since the [tag]FBI[/tag] raided their offices on November 29, 2007. Evidently, it's not okay with the [tag]federal government[/tag] to make dollars. So the price just keeps going up on eBay.

For all the hubbub over [tag]Huckabee[/tag], [tag]Hillary[/tag], [tag]Romney[/tag] and [tag]Obama[/tag] - they stink when it comes to eBay sales. Okay sure, maybe their supporters aren't eBay people. But which demographic is that? eBay sellers can be found across the board. So how can the difference be explained? I'm not going to make this a political blog, but any readers are invited to comment below.

By the way, the [tag]Hillary nutcracker[/tag] came in ahead of all the candidates except Hillary and Ron Paul. Seriously...wow.

Popularity: 4% [?]