Entries Tagged 'Recommended' ↓
August 19th, 2008 — Recommended
Why not take advantage of the low sell-through rate on eBay? I'm using phpBay Pro to show auctions for new products, ending soon, for $1 or less, with no bids -
Popularity: 34% [?]
July 3rd, 2008 — Recommended
Last month's eBay Live! in Chicago was the first I've attended where I was not part of the hired staff. eBay always provided the "Staff" shirts for us, but this year I had to buy my own.
I wanted to advertise my humble blog, but I didn't want to spend a fortune. Then I remembered CafePress. In case you haven't used CafePress, it's a site where you can create designs and slogans, have them placed on shirts, mugs, clocks, hats, aprons, and offer them to the public. If anyone buys an item with your design, you get a commission. They even offer a store to feature your stuff. It's free to create the designs and list your items.
In any case, I created a logo for my shirts. I ordered two polos for eBay Live! with plenty of time to spare. I received confirmation of the order and shipment and eagerly awaited my shirts. By the time I was leaving for Chicago, it was obvious there was a problem with delivery. I was leaving and still no shirts.
Needless to say, I was a bit ticked-off. I email Customer Service and asked them to fix the problem, at least give me a refund since I would not be able to use my shirts (unless of course I'm still a XXL in 2010).
To my surprise, within about 30 minutes I received a reply. I expected the canned "We've received your email and we'll get to it when we can." message. But no. It was from a real human. Support Associate, Santana J. apologized and said a refund was definitely in order and they'd remake the shirts at no extra charge.
I wrote back explaining that there wasn't time for all that - unless they could ship them directly to my hotel. Then I left for the mid-west. When I arrived at my hotel in Chicago after a three-day visit with family - my shirts were there. It isn't often nowadays things go so smoothly - but CafePress pulled it off without any hitches.
It's nice to see that even though I'm a small first-time buyer I was treated as an important customer. I will never forget that service and I will be back.
PS - For Sellers...
In February when I was playing around with CafePress, I created this mug:
I was really just trying to figure out how it all worked, and basically forgot about it. At the time I purchased my shirts, my account had over $40 in it from sales of that mug. I KNOWWW!! Surely you could think up something way funnier than that. It is definitely a proposition any seller with creativity should look into. Shop or Create What's On Your Mind at CafePress
Popularity: 58% [?]
June 3rd, 2008 — Recommended
I met Rob Cowie, President of Worldwide Brands, at eBay Live! in San Jose a few years ago. I moderated a product sourcing panel and met three really nice people. Rob, Lisa Suttora of WhatDoISell.com, and Jeremy Hanks of Doba. I have since been impressed at the integrity of all three of these people, and I recommend all three of these companies as great sources of information for product sourcing.
How I Used Worldwide Brands
After meeting Rob, and eventually WWB founder, Chris Malta as well, I got an account with Worldwide Brands. I have sold posters on eBay for years. I wanted to expand though, and I used Worldwide Brands to do it...
First, let me correct some misconceptions I have seen regarding their product. They are not a middleman type company providing a catalog of products. In that situation, sellers find themselves competing with other members selling from the exact same catalog. It's a terrible feeling.
Worldwide Brands helps people interested in sourcing product by approaching the right people, and qualifying them to work with small sellers. Many large companies will not work with small eBay or Amazon sellers, which makes it difficult to get product to sell. Worldwide Brands builds relationships with these companies, collects them into a directory, and makes that directory available to members. They charge a one-time payment for this access. When I've called any one of the companies in the directory, they have been willing to work with me. I've set up my own deal with them, my own prices, and then I deal with them on my own. No middle man.
...now back to my story. I wanted to find a poster company that would drop ship. I searched on the Worldwide Brands directory and found a few. The one I finally chose was Barewalls.com. We spoke on the phone, and came up with a deal of 40% commission for any products I sold. Some of these posters sold for $100 on eBay, so we're talking a decent profit for never touching the merchandise.
I sold hundreds of posters through Barewalls. I just don't have the time to do it any more. They are just one of the great companies in Worldwide Brands directory. The possibilities are endless.
What about Amazon sellers?
Worldwide Brands puts you in touch with thousands of suppliers offering millions of items. You can work with those suppliers to sell on Amazon as well. Just remember Amazon requires items to ship within two business days of the sale. If you can either stock the product, or find a drop shipper that will agree to those terms, you have an entirely different set of buyers that hasn't been sold to yet.
Is this a good time to start selling online? What about the economy?
The job market is shaky. The mortgage meltdown is causing thousands of people to lose their homes. Gas prices are insane and continue to creep up.
Turn on the news and you'll hear about it all day.
But hidden in all of the ' doom and gloom ' is something that few people are talking about. Even though we're in the middle of a recession, a lot of savvy eBiz owners have not only survived this economic downturn, they have thrived in it.
How did they do it?
Well, that's exactly what you're going to find in a series of FREE videos, audio interviews and special reports in the upcoming weeks. (I'm even in the videos!)
Click here to watch the first video and
sign up for their in-depth video series.
Popularity: 31% [?]
March 18th, 2008 — Recommended
There are lots of people writing, and selling ebooks these days. There is also a lot of advice about what to write and how to write. If you want to know how to create an ebook and sell it, I have found a great resource.
Think: Embarrassing Problems and Pain
People will pay money to have a problem solved. They will pay to have that problem solved privately, quickly, or without much work. If you have ever solved a problem for yourself or someone else, you may have a perfect subject for an ebook.
People will pay you for your knowledge on:
- making money
- curing an embarrassing itch or rash
- solving an urgent financial situation
The sky is really the limit.
If you haven't had experience in any of the above areas, this book also tells you how to do research on a topic of your choice. It is really amazing, and I've already made money by applying the things I've learned.
Desperate Buyers Only
I bought Desperate Buyers Only last month and read it in a day or two. The author is Alexis Dawes, and she lays out a simple system for choosing a topic that will sell, writing your content, and creating a "sales letter" webpage. Her system is very easy to follow. This is a solid product.
I used what she said and created my ebook "Showroom Secrets." Granted, it was a bit of a niche product, but I have recovered the purchase price of Alexis' book many, many times over. And that's after just one month! Visit Desperate Buyers Only and get started on your ebook today.
Popularity: 21% [?]
