Entries from February 2008 ↓
February 25th, 2008 — Niche
If you've been told money doesn't grow on trees, whoever told you had not heard about pen blanks. [tag]Pen blanks[/tag] are pieces of wood, cut to about 6 inches long and 1 inch square. They are put on a small lathe, and turned to make the most beautiful [tag]wooden pens[/tag]. Most of the craftsmen are making these pens at home, some have created for themselves a nice retirement income.
The amazing thing is that cabinet makers and wood workers throw away some scraps that could be sold for pen blanks. I few years back I was contacted by a gentleman who wanted to do just that. He had a tree farm with many semi-exotic woods. He harvested the trees to create boards used as trim inside very nice homes. He saved the scraps and hired me as a [tag]Trading Assistant[/tag] to sell them for him. I regularly sold maple, hickory, red bud, box elder, and even Japanese maple blanks. I'd sell sets of 10 (which fit nicely in a USPS Priority Mail video box) for $15 - $30 depending on the wood type.
A tip for sellers: Wetting the wood before taking photos is acceptable and really brings out the grain better. It gives a better representation of what a varnished pen would look like. You may want to indicate in your description that you've sprayed the wood to bring out the grain, just to make sure everything is clear to the buyer.
What kind of wood sells?
Most of the blanks sold on eBay are hard woods, some are very exotic and bring high prices. A couple types you'll commonly find fetching higher prices are:
- Hawaiian Curly Koa from Hawaii
- Cocobolo Rosewood from Central America
- Afzelia Xylay
- African woods such as Puduak, Bloodwood, and Purple Heart
- Australian Corrugata Burl
These woods bring very good prices because they're difficult to obtain. What about more common types of wood though? It sells very well too, the hard maple you have in your back yard may make a nice pen. The quality most desired is heavy, dense wood that can be worked on a lathe. No one wants a pen made of balsa wood.
Spalting
If you look into pen blanks, you'll notice a term that pops up over and over on the higher priced items: Spalting. Spalted wood has generally developed an intense striped characteristic that makes a very exotic looking end product. Spalting is usually caused when mold develops inside the wood. Disease and insects can also create these colorful marks. Since it is a type of decay, soft or "punky" spots can develop in the wood, making it unusable for some products. Large pieces of [tag]spalted wood[/tag] can be used for things other than pens, such as turned bowls.
Below are some current examples of pen blanks being sold on [tag]eBay[/tag] right now:
Popularity: 19% [?]
February 24th, 2008 — Wholesale Product Sources
Colette: The biggest question on everyone's mind in home-based internet business is "where do I find products to sell?" Well, you find them right here on our show. Every week we interview a genuine wholesale supplier that we have fully verified and listed in OneSource at worldwidebrands.com which you can use for your own home-based internet business. Today we're speaking with Rick Simonis, Co-owner of Lifestyle Lighting. You can find them online at lifestylelighting.com.
Popularity: 5% [?]
February 24th, 2008 — Wholesale Product Sources
Colette: We're speaking with Kelby Woodard of TradeInnovations.com about current issues in importing and how they impact online sellers.
Popularity: 3% [?]
February 24th, 2008 — Wholesale Product Sources
Colette: Today we're taking a closer look at how to ensure you're complying with customs and safety regulations when you source products from overseas with Kelby Woodard, Principal of TradeInnovations.com.
Popularity: 3% [?]
February 24th, 2008 — Wholesale Product Sources
Colette: Thanks for joining us today. I'm Colette Marshall, Worldwide Brands Marketing Director, and I'm in for Robin Cowie and Chris Malta today. A few weeks ago we had a show where we talked about how to limit your importing liability and we didn't get a chance to cover all that information. So we thought it was very important for online sellers so we asked Kelby Woodard of TradeInnovations.com to come on back and finish up our conversation about steps you can take to protect your business interests and successfully implement importing into your eBiz.
Popularity: 5% [?]
February 24th, 2008 — PayPal Q&A, Popular
Last October I wrote a post describing how to create a pre-paid shipping label, through [tag]PayPal[/tag], for a [tag]non-eBay[/tag] package. That post became one of my most popular and I wanted to expand a little on ways to use this powerful tool to expand your business. A few obvious benefits come to mind, such as avoiding the line at the Post Office, or having your mail carrier pick up your packages with pre-paid labels right at your home.
Print Labels for Amazon Orders with PayPal
When I started selling through [tag]Amazon[/tag], I missed the seamless integration between my [tag]eBay[/tag] seller account and PayPal [tag]shipping[/tag] labels. Really though, it's not that hard to work around. Amazon orders are required to have a packing slip inside, so I just print all of my packing slips out, and copy the addresses into PayPal's Ship Now page. I get the option to ship packages Media Mail rates, and I get a trackable, pre-paid label for my package. The payment for the label comes out of my PayPal account. Obviously, this will work with any package. So if you're selling on a site other than eBay, you can still use this feature from PayPal.
PayPal MultiOrder Shipping
When you want to create more than one label, PayPal's [tag]MultiOrder Shipping[/tag] is a good tool. PayPal had some serious problems with the program last year, but I gave it another try and it works just great now for me. To find MultiOrder Shipping, login to your PayPal account. In the left column near the top under the heading "Tools" you'll find the link to MultiOrder Shipping. It will import your eBay listings, but can also be used to create your own labels one at a time. To do so click "File" > "Create New Orders" and fill out the info. You can create package presets so you don't have to enter the information for each package. This is especially helpful with Amazon orders, since most books ship via [tag]Media Mail[/tag] and fall into the same price category. I created a preset called "Amazon Book" that covers most books I sell. I simply select the preset, and then type in the customer's name. Then I click "Create Another" and it's saved to the queue and I'm on to my next label. Once they are all created, I can print them all out at once.
Label Printers and Supplies
A common question is: "Do I need a special printer to [tag]print labels[/tag] through PayPal?" The answer is no. Although you can print your labels on plain paper with your printer, you may want to get a label printer. I use one for the posters I sell on eBay. It prints a long narrow label that is just right for shipping tubes. There are a number of models available, each configured for different labels. See all PayPal compatible label printers on eBay right now.
System Requirements for Creating Labels with PayPal
You can find the system requirements for using PayPal to create your labels here.
The requirements for creating a single label as well as using PayPal MultiOrder Shipping are all listed.
photo credit: SC Fiasco
Popularity: 67% [?]
February 24th, 2008 — Blogging
In an effort to improve my writing ability I've been reading a book entitled "Woe is I - The Grammarphobe's Guide to Better English in Plain English" by Patricia T. O'Conner. She presents the subject in a humorous way and takes a lot of the stuffiness out of learning proper grammar.
In the chapter "Plurals Before Swine" she discusses the difficulty encountered when writing certain words in the plural form. I wanted to share a little poem from that page because it made me laugh.
WORDS TO THE WHYS
Ups and downs and ins and outs,
Forevers and nevers and whys.
Befores and afters, dos and don'ts.
Farewells and hellos and good-byes.
Life is a string of perhapses,
A medley of whens and so whats.
We rise on our yeses and maybes,
Then fall on our nos and our buts.
photo credit: waffler
Popularity: 5% [?]
February 17th, 2008 — eBay News and Talk
The annual eBay Strike is in full swing with the usual results. Serious sellers ignore it, negative sellers get a little louder. eBay stays the same. TameBay has it right.
Last time I checked a "strike" was usually carried out with the backing of a union. The union collects dues and helps the strikers out a bit during the strike. Maybe the intended recipient of the strikers wrath gets hurt a little. In this case, it seems the only people getting hurt by this strike are the people on the "picket lines."
Look folks. Lots of you entered the business world via eBay. Maybe you haven't run a business with all its associated expenses outside eBay. The fact is, it is hard. It costs money to have a shop. It costs money for inventory. It costs money to take credit card payments. People return things. There is competition.
Imagine the donut shop on the corner going on "strike" because the flour company raised their prices, or the rent was raised a little. Imagine they threw a fit every time the credit card company raised their rates a little or someone returned a donut. Who is hurt? I would just go to the next shop and get my donut. In the case of eBay, I wouldn't stop shopping on eBay - just move to the next item on the list.
As I've said before, buyers don't care what your seller fees are. They will continue to buy on eBay. You're only hurting yourselves, and helping the sellers who stay on.
I don't totally agree with all the new changes. But things change. Having your own business is not free. Learn to deal with it already.
photo credit: jonrawlinson
Popularity: 4% [?]
February 15th, 2008 — Selling on eBay, Worth
Selling next to millions of other [tag]eBay[/tag] and [tag]Amazon[/tag] sellers can get you lost in the crowd. Buyers ignore the mundane, same old thing, which requires constant reinvention to keep their attention.
In this [tag]video[/tag], over 200 people freeze in place on cue in [tag]Grand Central Station[/tag] in New York. The "soon to be [tag]frozen[/tag]" people were not even noticed when they moved along like everyone else. But when they did something different, the "moving" people closely examined them - even poking them. The amazing thing is that they got all this attention without intruding on anyone else. No yelling, or crazy outfits, they just stopped doing what everyone else was doing. Amazing. Could you do something different that would get the attention of shoppers?
It's funny that people are snapping photos. What will a still picture show?
This is one of over 70 different missions [tag]Improv Everywhere[/tag] has executed over the past six years in New York City. Others include the [tag]No Pants Subway Ride[/tag], the [tag]Best Buy uniform prank[/tag], and the famous [tag]U2 Rooftop[/tag] Hoax.
Popularity: 13% [?]
February 14th, 2008 — Popular, eBay Questions and Answers
L@@K!!! I'm the best waster of space on eBay!!! WOW!!!!
Look familiar? You've seen them. Sellers who just cannot think of anything interesting to say about their item. So they try to grab your attention with useless words and lots of exclamation points.
Rather than waste any of the valuable 55 characters you're given, do some research on [tag]eBay[/tag] for the item you're going to list and see which keywords show up in successful listings. Shoppers do not type "L@@K!!" in the search box. Consequently, they won't see your wonderful photos, read your wonderful description, or buy your item.
Most buyers on eBay search for items using keywords. These searchers type exactly what they want to find. Not vague or overused terms that mean nothing. Unfortunately, the terms "Rare", "Antique", (and "Vintage" is close) are so subjective that they are nearly meaningless.
To take advantage of [tag]Best Match[/tag] sorting, make sure your title is "keyword rich" using very specific, solid keywords that buyers will use.
Here are a few words to avoid, click the links to see eBay [tag]search results[/tag] for yourself:
And is this maybe the grandaddy of them all?
You get the idea. Do you have any to add to the list?
[tags]ecommerce,learn ebay[/tags]
Popularity: 6% [?]
February 12th, 2008 — eBay Motors
[tag]General Motors[/tag] Corp. reported a $38.7 billion loss for 2007 on Tuesday, the largest annual loss ever for an automotive company. It's astounding, but reasons given are restructuring and a write-off of tax credits. GM's previous record loss, in 1992, was $23.4 billion because of a change in health care accounting.
[tag]GM Dealers[/tag] to Sell on [tag]eBay Motors[/tag]
The bigger news for eBayers is that GM has struck a deal for 3,900 dealers to list on eBay Motors. The announcement, made last Friday in Automotive News, said dealers would list their entire inventory on eBay Motors. The article says the dealers may list for free, but you can bet eBay will be paid for successful transactions. GM’s brands include used Buick, Chevrolet, GMC, Pontiac, Cadillac, Hummer, Saab and Saturn. Dealers will be listing all inventory including certified used cars starting sometime in the second quarter of 2008.
The [tag]Opportunity[/tag] for eBayers
Just in time, my book "[tag]Showroom Secrets[/tag]" is a guide to working with car dealers. It tells how to approach, who to talk to, and mistakes to avoid when listing vehicles for dealers. There is going to be some serious business for people who want to make some money.
See the entire press release from last week here... Continue reading →
Popularity: 6% [?]
February 10th, 2008 — Popular, eBay Motors Book
I am proud to announce my book entitled "Showroom Secrets - Making Money on eBay Motors without selling a thing"
The material is designed for people who know how to use eBay, but cannot afford to lay out hundreds or thousands of dollars for inventory to resell. After reading the book a person with solid eBay skills could approach vehicle dealerships in their area and begin a service business with no money upfront. Without the information in the book, there's a good chance of getting shot down right out of the gate.
Over the past several years I've traveled back and forth across the country teaching eBay University. In addition to eBay U, I was invited to teach eBay University for Motors beginning early in 2004. Part of the reason I was chosen was the fact that I managed the internet sales at a local Ford Lincoln Mercury dealership and taught for eBay. I personally sold over 100 cars on eBay Motors during that time.
Eventually I found a way to combine my knowledge of eBay Motors with nearly three years of experience within dealerships. As a result I began providing a service to assist many dealerships in my local area with their online sales efforts. During that time I personally listed several hundred cars on eBay Motors. This is a business opportunity for a person with a knowledge of how to sell on eBay, some drive, and good people skills. It's an opportunity that exists in nearly every community in which there is a car dealership.
Why haven't more people tried working with dealerships? Many have. But just because you know eBay doesn't mean you can list cars for a dealership.
- At what point do dealers feel inventory is getting "stale"? 30 days? 90 days?
- Where should a dealer set their Reserve price? Hint: Your research on eBay is useless here.
- Why is duration much more important with a vehicle listing?
- What should the dealer do if you have an auction running, and the vehicle sells on the lot?
- How do you charge for your services? Can you charge a percentage of the sale?
- Is it legal for you to answer emails or phone calls for your dealers?
Dealership Dynamics
As I taught eBay University, people would regularly approach me with the question, "How can I get in with dealers on eBay Motors?" They were interested in listing cars for dealers, but didn't know where to begin. Dealers are intimidating - in part, that's why eBay Motors exists - people want to avoid talking to car salesmen. In fact though, they are great people. But they do not like to deal with the internet.
Showroom Secrets contains many of the lessons I learned when working with auto dealers. Things such as:
- How to approach a dealer without looking like an idiot
- Convincing dealers to work with you
- Five mistakes dealers make on eBay - how you can help
- How to stay clear of the law (People who are selling cars as Trading Assistants, and taking a commission - are probably breaking the law)
- Educating the salespeople
- Getting paid
The information contained in this book cannot be found anywhere else - it's 100% original from my own experience.
[tags]ebay auto,ebay motors,ebay,trading assistant,showroom secrets[/tags]
Popularity: 10% [?]
February 10th, 2008 — Wholesale Product Sources
Colette: The biggest question on everyone's mind in home-based internet business is "where do I find products to sell?" Well, you find them right here on our show. Every week we interview a genuine wholesale supplier that we have fully verified and listed in OneSource at worldwidebrands.com which you can use for your own home-based internet business. Today we're speaking with Alan Zohott, Owner and President of ATCO Systems Inc. You can find them online at ATCOlapelpins.com.
Popularity: 3% [?]
February 10th, 2008 — Wholesale Product Sources
Colette: We're speaking with Chad Maslak of Surplus2Profits.com about what you need to know to safely and profitably source surplus goods.
Popularity: 2% [?]
