• Welcome from Brian McGregor 
• Inspirational Quote of the Day
• News and Views
• Should PayPal Be Your Only eBay Payment Option?
• Ten Commandments for eBay Buyers and Sellers
• Meet Some eBay Millionaire Sellers
• A Gift from Me to You
• Someone's auctioning what? Unusual items currently available
• Back to Newsletter Archive

Hello and welcome.

A particularly warm welcome to you if you're a new subscriber. It's good to have you as part of the family taking my eBay auction newsletter.

How have you been these past couple of weeks? Good, I hope.

If you're like me, you take an interest in the news. Here in the UK, we've had so much bad news, it's difficult to keep up!

There are people losing their jobs in the NHS and the motor industry. Not to mention university lecturers refusing to mark the students' exam papers. Plus we appear to have no idea how many immigrants are in the UK, and we don't know the whereabouts of some who probably deserve deportation. We seem to be making no progress in Iraq.

It can get depressing.

If you let it.

At times like these I remember a saying, although I'm not sure who is attributed with creating it -

“Lord grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.”

I find this really helpful.

I can't do anything about the list of things I mentioned before which can depress any of us.

But I can do everything about allocating my own time and energy into what I want to do.

And this is why is eBay is such a wonderful vehicle. You can create your own eBay empire to whatever size you wish, and nobody can stop you.

Some excellent examples of what can be achieved with eBay are given in one of today's articles which introduces you to some eBay millionaires.

These are definitely people who "accept the things I cannot change" but have "the courage to change the things I can".

How about you?

I look forward to speaking with you again.

1. Interested in Dropshipping?

Dropshipping has become a very popular way of selling on eBay.

If you've always wanted to know more about dropshipping and eBay, here is a great free ebook for you.

Written by Mark Kenny, 'Dropshipping, eBay's Road to Riches?' is an excellent report outlining how to use dropshipping to make money on eBay.

Mark is UK based, so all the examples he uses are given in UK pounds sterling.

You can download 'Dropshipping, eBay's Road to Riches?' here.


2. More Free Items

While I'm on about free items, here are five software products which you can get for free.

These are full software products, without restrictions, and are:

WebPlus 6.0 - Web Site Design & Publishing
PhotoPlus 6.0 - Photo and Image Editing
PagePlus SE - Desktop Publishing
DrawPlus 4.0 - Graphic Design and Vector Drawing
3DPlus 2.0 - 3D Animation and Modeling

You can download any of these items from www.FreeSerifSoftware.com


3. One Product - One Auction - $10,000

This is a remarkable story.

John Thornhill is an eBay PowerSeller. He set himself the task of making $10,000 on eBay from selling one ebook which took him less than 48 hours to create!

At the time of writing, John's well on target to achieve his objective.

Now, you can read his special report on how he did it.

You can download 'The Secrets Behind the $10,000 Auction' here.


4. Piracy - Watch out eBay!

Two of the biggie software competitors are putting aside their differences and joining forces to take on eBay members.

The two companies involved are Symantec and McAfee.

They are suing suspected pirates who are illegally re-selling Symantec and McAfee software products on eBay.

eBay are taking their usual stance of we are merely a platform, and as soon as they are informed of problem auctions they are taken down.

This might develop into something really interesting! Watch this space....

You can read about the case here.


5. Everything You Could Want

Kristin Rice started The Seller Sourcebook in 2003 with about 25 templates.

Now, the service offers 1,000 templates with coordinating About Me page templates. Plus Kristin offers image hosting as well as eBay information resources.

If you're looking for these type of eBay resources, The Seller Sourcebook is worth a look.


6. Helping Hand

If you've ever used eBay's Help, I'm pretty certain at some point in time you've become exasperated trying to find what you're looking for.

The good news is that eBay have revamped their Site Map page.

What's that got to do with the Help service, I hear you ask?

Well, eBay's revamped Site Map is so good, you'll be able to find answers to your questions a lot quicker than using the Help system.

Take a look and see what I mean:

eBay.co.uk site map - http://pages.ebay.co.uk/sitemap.html

eBay.com site map - http://pages.ebay.com/sitemap.html


7. Talk-Talk

If you're in the UK and you've been looking at getting broadband, you've probably heard about the TalkTalk offering from the Carphone Warehouse.

It seems to provide a really strong competitor for the other broadband companies. This is what the TalkTalk deal gives you:

- Up to 8Mb Broadband
- Unlimited UK landline calls
- Unlimited international calls to 28 countries
- Inclusive calls between all TalkTalk customers
- Guarantee that your bills will be cheaper than BT

And all of that lot only costs £20.99 per month!

The only downside(?) I can find is that you're required to commit to an 18 months arrangement.

If you want to find out about TalkTalk broadband, you'll find everything here.

Guest Article by
Dave Lovelace

If you're selling on eBay, most likely you're currently using the services of PayPal (or have used them in the past) to process your transactions for you.

After all, eBay owns PayPal, so its' services are custom tailored to make doing business on the world's largest auction site a breeze, right?

Maybe. It just depends on who you ask.

I recently received a question from a subscriber who couldn't use PayPal (because of where she lived) and wondered if there were alternatives.

Based on a lot of feedback regarding PayPal in eBay's forum, it's plain to see that a lot of sellers are searching for other solutions, but for different reasons.

Today's tip will attempt to provide a couple of options.

PayPal has its Advantages and Disadvantages. Let’s take a look at what PayPal can do for you, and what it can’t.

The Disadvantages

PayPal is very vulnerable to fraud, and it’s you as the seller who’ll be paying the price when it happens. What’s more, they do take a percentage from every transaction that you could be keeping if your buyers were paying by check.

You might also have noticed that PayPal comes from the eBay school of customer service, enjoying such pastimes as hiding their phone number and only ever sending out automated responses to emailed queries.

PayPal has an unusual number of campaigners against it, most of them people who’ve had their accounts frozen and had to chase PayPal for months for thousands of dollars. Some of these people recently filed a class action lawsuit against PayPal, claiming damages for lost business and they won. This alone should make you cautious about using PayPal.

The Advantages

PayPal is quick and easy for buyers to use, and is certainly a more secure and reassuring way to accept credit cards than signing up for your own merchant account. You’ll probably also find that it’s cheaper for you.

That’s before you even consider that eBay buyers are more eager to buy from someone who accepts PayPal, as it saves them all sorts of hassle with posting payment and then waiting around. PayPal lets you give speedier customer service.

But Should You Use It Exclusively?

It's really a matter of customer service. Some of your potential customers might not have or want a PayPal account. Not everyone loves electronic payments. Some fear them. So a good rule of "options" is a smart one. The more options a customer has available to them to pay for their item, the better the chance of meeting the demand and therefore increasing sales.

Keep in mind that some buyers come to eBay because it is one of the few places on the Internet where many sellers will accept payment by more traditional methods.

Question is.. do you want these people as customers?

You might notice that some people are aware of the issues of PayPal and refuse to use it, but still want to pay electronically.

For these rare cases, it’s worth opening an account at a well known PayPal rival that has a better reputation. A favorite seems to be NoChex (www.nochex.com), a U.K. based company, which offers free chargeback protection.

NoChex is quite a lot better than PayPal by most standards, but just doesn’t have the same market penetration or convenience of use on eBay. Still, there’s nothing stopping you from accepting both, just as long as you make it clear that you do on your auctions.

Tip: if you find that you really prefer NoChex to PayPal, then you could offer your buyers a discount for paying through NoChex.

You may also want to check out a U.S. based company called ProPay at www.propay.com. They have been approved by eBay and have been getting good reviews.

I've read some comments at the eBay forum where Google may be introducing it's own merchant system called "googlebase". The "jury" is still out on this, but look for more info coming soon.

Finally.. if you've been looking for a more traditional merchant account, without many of the fees associated with them, I came across an alternative solution over at www.free-merchant.com. They claim their cart-system "integrates easily with your e-Bay auction!"

There you have it, a few alternative solutions to PayPal. Keep your options open as a seller and your buyer may thank you with a winning bid!

---------------

Dave Lovelace is the author of eBay Platinum Profits, a step by step beginner's training guide to making money on eBay "the right way the first time".

Subscribe to Dave's FREE 9-day mini-course, "eBay Success Tips: Quick-Start Guide To Winning The Auction Game (for Newbies)" and discover everything you need to know to get started right away! Get lesson 1 within 2 minutes when you click here now www.auctionplatinum.com/ebay-course

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR EBAY SELLERS

* Thou shalt clearly state item's condition and thy Terms Of Service within all auctions.

* Thou shalt treat all potential buyers with dignity, even when said buyers ask questions that are already answered within thy auction.

* Thou shalt answer all questions asked, and in a timely fashion.

* Thou shalt invoice quickly and not leave buyer waiting nor wondering what shipping charges to pay.

* Thou shalt not feed thy greed by levelling against buyer ridiculously high handling fees that were not mentioned in auction.

* Thou shalt thank buyer when payment is made quickly, and as a courtesy, thou shalt endeavor to contact buyer when item is shipped.

* Thou shalt endeavor to box, wrap, and package item well and according to its fragility, and ship as quickly as possible.

* Thou shalt not leave retaliatory feedback, unless negative feedback was truly merited.

* Thou shalt be humble in atoning for thy admitted mistakes when buyer is dissatisfied or complains.

* Thou shalt be grateful to the business of Ebay for the opportunities afforded thou. Therefore, thou shalt pay seller fees on time, be pleasant to its employees, and treat the community as a whole with kindness.


THE TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR EBAY BUYERS

* Thou shalt not bid unless thou art ready, willing, and able to pay, and thou shalt pay quickly.

* Thou shalt read all of seller's Terms of Service in their entirety before placing thy bid.

* Thou shalt email seller for answers to thine questions prior to placing thy bid, and thou shalt not place bid unless answer is satisfactory.

* Thou shalt not blame seller, try to back out of sale, or otherwise act like (the jawbone of) an arse should thou bid too highly in a last minute bidding frenzy.

* Thou shalt pay shipping and handling charges stated in auction and/or invoiced by seller and not simply pay whatever thou believest to be a fair amount, nor try to back out of transaction because thou believest seller's stated shipping and handling charges to be exorbitant.

* Thou shalt be patient, and not blame or nag seller about lousy postal service delivery time delays, especially if item comes from another country.

* Thou shalt contact seller if dissatisfied with item before leaving negative feedback, thus allowing seller an opportunity to atone for mistakes to please thou.

* Thou shalt not complain nor leave negative feedback if item smells or has pet hair when auction clearly states item comes from smoking home with pets.

* Thou shalt not leave negative feedback when thou forgetest to pay on time, forcing seller to file an Unpaid Item Dispute against thou.

* Thou shalt be courteous and gracious by leaving positive feedback for seller if thou art satisfied with item.

I wish I could claim to be the author of these wonderful commandments. Unfortunately they're not from me.

These commandments are the work of eBay member midlife*mom

Greg Holden is the author of several books about eBay, including 'How to Do Everything with Your eBay Business', and 'The Collector's Guide to eBay'.

He also recently met several eBay millionaires, hoping to find common threads in their stories which would be of help to us mortal eBay sellers.

The eBay millionaires Greg interviewed were all aged 30 or less. And each of them grossed a million dollars or more on eBay in 2005.

Two women who run Express Drop, the drop-off store, just sqeezed in with gross sales of $1.02 million. Since their eBay revenue is shared with their consignment clients, and they have premises overheads, it's fair to say that their profits were a little less than $1 million.

However, David Wirtenberg of Outrageous Diamonds grossed $4 million eBay sales in 2004, and he projects 2006 sales as being $8 to $10 million. And Chris Rush of HiFi Sound Connection grossed $5 million eBay sales in 2005. The chances are pretty good that each of these gentlemen made more than $1 million in profits.

Although PowerSellers who are at the Gold or Titanium level have achieved a high level of success, that doesn't mean they are out of the ordinary. Greg found them to be just regular folks who are not really so different from you or me. Most of them started out with little or nothing and made the best of the same opportunities we all have on eBay.

So, what is that sets these young millionaires apart from the rest of us eBayers? Here are some of the things Greg I learned:

Choose your relatives wisely

Yes, Greg knows you can't really do this, but he suggests you look to see if money really is growing on your family tree. Many of the eBay millionaires he met had relatives who were themselves entrepreneurs or had some experience in business. They called on those relatives for a helping hand when they were starting out. David Wirtenberg got some pointers from his father-in-law, who was in sales and marketing. Chris Rush started with a $10,000 loan from his grandfather to purchase his initial inventory.

Mentoring isn't just for college internships

Even if your family can't help in your eBay business, perhaps someone else can. Dan Glasure of Dan's Train Depot started out in the cleaning business. His father helped get him started selling trains and other collectibles on eBay. After his father passed away, Dan called on two of his best customers for help - one a billionaire, the other a business professor - who helped him draw up some formal business plans.

Don't imitate the Lone Ranger

Greg found that one of the biggest differences between the eBay millionaires and the rest of us, is volume. They deal in hundreds of sales a week, thousands per month. Marat Denenberg of Narro Corp. sells as many as 80 pieces of computer equipment each day. Some hire employees; and they rent or purchase warehouses. Many of them also do something that's within the reach of most of us: they sign up with one of the auction service providers that helps them sell. Mordy Eisenberg of GSM Cellular works with ChannelAdvisor. Eran Dekel deals in such high volume that he was able to set up a discounted shipping arrangement with UPS. Other sellers Greg interviewed work with providers like Zoovy, Infopia, and Marketworks to help them build volume.

Be open to selling on consignment

Greg found that several of the eBay millionaires specialize in selling items on eBay for others. Adam Hersh, 27, is one of eBay's most successful Trading Assistants. Tiffany Tanaka, Ellen Navarro, and Amy Mayer run eBay drop-off stores. If you're just starting out and don't have a lot of your own inventory to sell or can't find a wholesale distributor, selling for other people can help you build up positive feedback and become a PowerSeller quickly.

Many of the millionaire sellers Greg met agreed that eBay is a great place to start your first business, no matter what your age and level of experience. So, although those selected for Greg's interviews were relatively young, don't think you've somehow "missed the boat" if you're on the upside of 30 - I'm double that, and still like to think that I have a kick! So my advice is to think positive, learn from the success of these young entrepreneurs and you can become a more effective seller.

The gift this time is for anyone who supplies a service. Or who would like to supply a service.

It doesn't matter what kind of service it is - consultancy, web design, marketing, plumbing, legal, financial, eBay Trading Assistant - here is a superb ebook which shows you how to earn more from promoting service on the internet.

Called 'The Service Sellers Master Course', this 203 page ebook contains everything you need to know about online marketing of any service.

You can download 'The Service Sellers Master Course' here.

Nothing surprises me when it comes to internet auctions. Amuse yourself with some of these beauties.

Thanks to Richard for this one:

Wonder how he did in his theory test?

Now, a few more I've spotted:

Talk about floating an idea!

I presume this involves SuperGlue somewhere?

Fancy yourself as a driver? Try this - if you dare!

I think I'd agree with everything this guy tells me!

Disclaimer - I have no association with any of the sellers of the above items.