Our eBay store
My seller's profile at eBay (with all customer feedback)
To connect to the chat room, go to www.samizdat.com/chat-intro.html
Since the chat itself happens at a rapid pace, it's often difficult to note interesting facts and URLs as they appear live. Here's a place to take a more leisurely look. I've rearranged some of the pieces to try to capture the various threads of discussion (which sometimes get lost in the rush of live chat).
Please send email with your follow-on questions and comments, and suggestions for topics we should focus on in future sessions. So long as the volume of email responses is manageable, I'll post the most pertinent ones here for all to see.
These sessions are hosted by Richard Seltzer. If you would like to receive email reminders of our chat sessions, simply send a blank email message to businessonthewebchats-subscribe@yahoogroups.com or go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/businessonthewebchats and sign up there.
This is one of the longest-running chat programs on the Web. (Please let us know if you know of ones that are older.) We've been doing this since June 1996.
How can we help you? Richard Seltzer is an independent Internet writer/speaker/consultant. Click here for details.
For transcripts of previous sessions and a list of future topics, www.samizdat.com/chat.html.
For an article on how to make "business chat" work (based on this experience), www.samizdat.com/events.html.
For articles on topics related to this one, check our newsletter, Internet-on-a-Disk www.samizdat.com/ioad.html
Our online store at Yahoo
Our eBay
store
My seller's
profile at eBay (with all customer feedback)
Richard Seltzer
Today's topic is selling at online auctions.
When you connect, please
introduce yourself and let us know your interests.
11:53 - PeteVH
For introduction purposes, my partner and I
own Professional Focus, a FL corp. We design, develope, and distribute
graduate-level professional development courses
to teachers around the world. Though I've not done any auction work,
the concept has facinated me. One of the things
I'd be interested in knowing more about, besides the "how tos" is how
much more difficult it is to generate profit
now that Ebay has restructured its fee system.
11:59 - Richard Seltzer
PeteVH -- From my perspective, I don't think
the fees make much of a difference. You build the fee into your price (for
fixed price sales through "Buy It Now").
11:56 - John Watkins
I've been trying to get my disabled daughter
to start an ebase business so I hope she joins in today. I'm also interested
int
the possibility of selling some old lithographs
and some autographed first editions as well as bound volumes of some
professional journals I published in the seventies.
11:59 - John Watkins
I have a couple of other reasons. I run a non-profit
called Simple Society. Part of our need is to conduct virtual forums
with potentially large numbers of members
and invited experts. So, I want to see how the system works. In addition
Richard Seltzer is one of our directors.
12:01 - John Watkins (Re: 12:00 - Richard Seltzer 'John -- What kind of merchandise might your daughter want...')
Richard, I have no idea. I more or less recommended
that she look for people who want to sell things and serve as their
intermediary, taking a fee. There's a consignment
shop in my area who does that for something like 30% of the selling
price.
12:00 - Richard Seltzer
John -- What kind of merchandise might your daughter want to sell online? Collectibles? New goods?
12:00 - Bob Zwick
Hello everyone - I own a Texas based company
"Cottage Micro Services" that concentrates on distance teaching, global
literacy and electronic book publishing. Recently
have incorporated an interface for the blind and physically imapired.
12:01 - Richard Seltzer
mflat -- can you please introduce yourself and let us know your interests?
12:03 - mflat
an eBay seller for 4 years. sole source of income. am only going to ghost here.
12:04 - Richard Seltzer
mflat -- what kind of goods do you sell at
eBay? and do you first buy those goods from a wholesaler? or are these
things
in the attic or things you make yourself?
11:58 - Richard Seltzer
All -- it's time to start. Please introduce
yourselves. This converstaion could go in many different directions. We'd
like to
make it as helpful as possible for you. My
personal main interest derives from "Buy It Now" -- the ability to use
eBay as
a sales channel for non-collectible merchandise.
It is a quick and easy way to bring your products to the attention of
millions of people for relatively low cost
and to experiment with pricing and messages. Evette, can you please tell
us
about your background and interests? What
aspect of online auctions interests you most today? What is the most
significant change you have seen over the
last few years?
12:12 - Richard Seltzer
Welcome, George, chd, and Eric. Please introduce yourselves. Let us know your interests, and dive in.
12:14 - Eric
Hello: Sorry I'm late. I have a little experience
with eBay, selling odds and ends periodically, and I've bought several
items and NEVER been disappointed with the
fulfillment from a variety of different sellers.
12:15 - George (Re: 12:12 - Richard Seltzer 'Welcome, George, chd, and Eric. Please introduce yourselves. Let us...')
I have a computer services business in which
I build desktop and rackmount servers and I am wondering about various
sites ebay, cnet for selling. Which are best
for selling tech items. Otherwise, just listening and trying to see how
this
works.
12:20 - Richard Seltzer
Welcome, Lynn, please introduce yourself and let us know your interests and dive in. This is a wide open conversation...
12:28 - Richard Seltzer (Re: 12:26 - YONDAR 'what's the topic......')
We're talking about selling at online auctions.
Sharing experiences and tips. Please introduce yourself and let us know
your interests.
12:35 - YONDAR
I've been thinking of selling vintage lingerie on ebay though...
12:29 - Lynn
Hi -- I've been trying to catch up on the entries...
Haven't used online auctions at all, but have been meaning to do so.
This is exciting stuff.
12:30 - Lynn
I feel at a disadvantage in asking questions, as I don't even know how it works... So I'll "listen."
12:37 - Bump (Re: 12:36 - Eric 'I sold a pair of new Birkenstock sandals that I...')
Hey Eric, it's Brent
11:58 - Evette Eleese
Since I have been selling on eBay, for over
3 years, it has changed its fees here and there, and it continues to be
affordable. The beauty selling on eBay is
that a business does not have the overhead of leasing office space, storing
inventory, etc. So, that makes for better
profits
11:59 - Evette Eleese
My experience on eBay is selling used and collectible items. But, I often use the Buy It Now feature if I am sure an item will sell for a certain price. Besides many people want the item they bid on NOW, and can get it NOW with that feature
12:30 - Richard Seltzer
FYI -- re: eBay, if you haven't tried selling
there for 2-3 years, it's now a completely different experience -- in terms
of
ease of use and the time it takes to post
and manage your auctions. A couple years ago there were sites set up simply
to
make it easier to do business through eBay
(e.g., AuctionRover, for which I wrote a regular column). But now the folks
at eBay have done a superb job of streamlining
the process. It now takes far far less time and hassle to list and relist,
and
to interact with your customers.
12:31 - Richard Seltzer
Also, you should definitely take advantage
of the opportunity to create a seller's profile/bio page. It will only
take you
about 5-10 minutes, then eBay automatically
adds summaries of and links to all your current auctions, plus all your
feedback. Helps cross-selling, where a customer
wants not just one item, but maybe several other things you have for
sale.
12:31 - Evette Eleese
And eBay's new Sell Your Item form is easy to use. I also use eBay's Mister Lister program to submit auctions
12:32 - Richard Seltzer (Re: 12:31 - Evette Eleese 'And eBay's new Sell Your Item form is easy to...')
How does Mister Lister work? Can anyone use
it or do you need to achieve a certain level of feedback points? And
when does it make sense to use it? (How many
auctions to you add at a time?)
12:33 - Evette Eleese
TO use Mister Lister, I beleive you have to
have 10 feedback rating or more, and be a registered user for 60 days or
more
12:35 - Evette Eleese
Mister Lister allows you to create "templates"
which have the fields in the listing form pre-filled it, or description
outlined,
for items that you sell over and over that
are the same or similar to each other
12:36 - Evette Eleese
Fields that can be prefilled in with a template
would be the price, category, shipping terms, payment terms, auction
duration, etc.
12:37 - Evette Eleese
Then you can submit collection of items to
sell at one time - which stays in a cue for up to two weeks at Ebay until
you
submit them, and the auctions in that collection
will start all at the same time
12:37 - Richard Seltzer
Another improvement at eBay -- you used to
have to post your photos to a Web site and provide the URL. Now (it's
probably been in effect for a few years now),
you just upload your photos to eBay -- quick and easy. NB -- photos are
very very important, especially for collectibles,
because they 1) inspire confidence in the buyer and 2) make the buyer
salivate.
12:37 - Richard Seltzer (Re: 12:36 - Evette Eleese 'Fields that can be prefilled in with a template would...')
Yes, there "list similar" and "relist" options make it very quick and easy to post new items.
12:38 - Evette Eleese
Yes, even the Buy It Now feature can be filled in with a template in Mister Lister
12:00 - Richard Seltzer
Evette -- looks like we have a good group assembled.
For starters, why don't you try to field the questions about
collectibles, and meanwhile I'll say a few
things about "Buy It Now" as a sales channel.
12:02 - Evette Eleese
Ebay just started the fixed price format [Buy It Now] - which allows a business with a large inventory of similar items to offer them at one price, versus bidding
12:03 - Richard Seltzer
Quick definition -- if you select "Buy It Now"
as you way of selling at eBay you pay a listing fee of 55 cents for up
to 7
days, add 10 cents more for 10 days. You can
sell just about anything. You set the price. If someone wants to buy, they
can do the deal right away. There is no need
to wait for people to bid and for the auction to end. It is simply an online
store visited by millions of people where
you can sell your merchandise. If the merchandise sells, you pay a piece
of the
sales price to eBay as well -- about 5% I
believe (sliding scale depending on price).
12:06 - Richard Seltzer
Evette -- you don't need to have a large inventory
of similar items to use Buy It Now. All you need is one. And, in fact,
even if you have many, it may work better
for you to list them one at a time. (Relisting when the first item sells).
If you list
that you have 100 copies, then your initial
listing fee is based on 100.
12:07 - Evette Eleese
Richard, I realize that, I was trying to address Pete's question while keeping to the topic
12:07 - Evette Eleese
I use the buy it now feature when I relist
an auction item that did not sell the first time around, and it seems to
work as a
tool to sell the item better the second time
around
12:10 - Richard Seltzer (Re: 12:07 - Evette Eleese 'I use the buy it now feature when I relist...')
Interesting point, I'll have to try that. Thanks.
12:19 - Richard Seltzer
To put this Buy It Now feature in context --
I have a store at yahoo http://store.yahoo.com/samizdat where I sell books
on CD ROM. I get about 50 visitors a day.
When I post the same book CDs as Buy It Now items at eBay, according
to my Andale counters, over 250 people look
at my messages. If I could just turn those window shoppers into buyers,
I'd be very very happy. But at least with
eBay I'm reaching a wider audience -- and encouraging them to check out
my
store and other stuff. (eBay lets you put
links of all kinds in your listings so you can tie your special introductory
offers at
eBay into your normal selling mode).
12:04 - Bob Zwick
Evette - what is the arrangement at eBay for PayPal use ? I heard they bought PayPal.
12:06 - Evette Eleese
Bob, eBay has not bought Paypal yet. You can go to Paypal and get the particulars. Right now, Paypal has not changed
12:08 - Richard Seltzer
Bob -- Yes, at PayPal's site you see that eBay
bought them. But they have not yet integrated PayPal into their payment
system. If you choose to use "eBay payments"
that's billpoint. On the other hand, it is very very easy for people to
use
PayPal. In the last month, more than 90% of
the people buying from me at eBay paid with PayPal. If the customer says
he wants to pay that way, I just email him
my PayPal ID. And within a couple days the money ends up in my bank
account. Handy. And no need for a merchant
credit card account.
12:09 - Bob Zwick
I look forward to when I can also pay eBay fees using PayPal - keeping more transactions in one system.
12:12 - mflat (Re: 12:09 - Bob Zwick 'I loookforward to when I can also pay eBay fees...')
This feature has been available for over year
now, link on PayPal allows you to do this. The sweet irony is, one receives
1.5% cash back bonus.
12:09 - Evette Eleese
and with Paypal, you can also insert the Pay
Instantly logo on the auction page, so the winning bidder can click on
that
and go directly to Paypal to pay for the item
12:11 - Richard Seltzer (Re: 12:09 - Evette Eleese 'and with Paypal, you can also insert the Pay Instantly...')
I didn't realize that. How does one insert
that logo? Does that appear as a choice in the listing process? Or are
you
adding the HTML for that in your item description?
12:12 - Evette Eleese
Paypal has a feature that will automatically
insert the logo for you - or you can manually insert a logo code into the
item
description box when listing the item in auction
12:12 - Richard Seltzer (Re: 12:12 - Evette Eleese 'Paypal has a feature that will automatically insert the logo...')
Evette -- how do you do that? where do you go at the PayPal site? (sounds very useful).
12:13 - Evette Eleese
Log in to your Paypal account, and click on
the Sell tab, and you will get a page with all the auction seller tools
- the logo
insertion options will be there
12:13 - Evette Eleese
If you get confused looking at html code, I recommend the automatic Paypal logo insertion feature
12:17 - Evette Eleese
Also, at Paypal, with the logo insertions,
I believe there are logos for sellers with store fronts, and even logos
for
businesses with web sites that use Paypal
12:06 - John Watkins
I'm concerned about the question of reliable
payment for goods you sell and the process of shipping mid-sized items.
How can one be certain that one gets paid
for items you've shipped?
12:09 - Richard Seltzer
John -- Most people only ship after receipt
of payment. I, on the other hand, ship as soon as I know where to ship
it to.
I've never had a problem collecting. And the
customer loves the fast delivery, and often gives good feedback and comes
back for more. It's all about building relationships.
The best way to get people to trust you is to trust them.
12:10 - Evette Eleese
I have a Paypal debit card, so get the money
from my account with any atm, instead of waiting for the transfer time
to my
bank account
12:16 - Evette Eleese
Yes, I use my Paypal debit card - which works
like a Mastercard to buy gas, groceries, etc., and get a cash back
bonus, - it almost pays back the fees for
auction payments
12:11 - Richard Seltzer (Re: 12:10 - Evette Eleese 'I have a Paypal debit card, so get the money...')
Interesting. Is there a fee associated with that card? And is there a minimal balance you have to maintain?
12:11 - Bob Zwick
I like PayPal because it interfaces with QuickBooks - my accounting software.
12:11 - John Watkins
With PayPal, is there a delay in transfer of funds? What's their basic fee? By transaction? As a percentage? Both?
12:13 - Bob Zwick
John - with PayPal your payments are immediate
placed into your PayPal holding area which can receive interest.
Transfers can then be requested to your bank
account. The automatically deduct there small percentage from the
payment that people make.
12:14 - Richard Seltzer (Re: 12:11 - John Watkins 'With PayPal, is there a delay in transfer of funds?...')
With Paypal, on a sale of $20, Paypal gets
about 82 cents. Your funds accumulate at PayPal until you choose to
withdraw. (You can get a tiny bit of interest
on the balance if you choose their "moneymarket" account). There is no
fee
to withdraw for automatic deposit in your
checking account. It typically takes 2-3 days for the money to move.
12:18 - Bob Zwick
Evette - can you explain how the "moneyback
guarantee" that PayPal offers buyers works ? How does it affect the seller
? Can a buyer wait til they receive an item
and request their money back from eBay ?
12:18 - John Watkins
Because I have an interest in selling autographed
first editions, I looked at the Amazon site a few months ago. They
didn'd seem to have many offerings. Are there
better places than eBay, Does it make a difference what you're selling?
How do you find them? How do you decide?
12:20 - Evette Eleese
When I first started selling on Ebay, it was
mostly used books, but there is a lot of competition and most books only
sell
for under $10 these days
12:51 - Richard Seltzer
FYI -- if you are trying to sell books at eBay,
you have three choices: normal auction, Buy It Now, and half.com With
half.com, you just enter the ISBN of the book
-- they already have the description in their database. You can sell new
or
used. Probably not the volume of traffic that
you see at normal eBay. Don't expect quick sales. List two dozen books
today (mass market paperbacks etc.) and expect
to sell half a dozen of them over the course of 2-3 months. A good
way to unload (gradually) old text books.
No charge for listing. No time limit and hence no need to relist. Your
item
stays up until it sells or until you decide
to remove it. Interesting niche.
12:52 - Eric (Re: 12:51 - Richard Seltzer 'FYI -- if you are trying to sell books at...')
Richard: Does the ISBN thing work with eBay
as well as Half.com??
12:52 - Evette Eleese
Richard, a trick I use - when selling a book
on Ebay is to go to www.bookfinder.com see how the book dealers
describe a similar book
12:53 - Richard Seltzer
With regular eBay you have to write your own
description. With half.com and Amazon's marketplace the ISBN gets tied
directly into a database that has the complete
description (and, in most cases, a photo of the book cover). Handy.
12:54 - Evette Eleese
Richard, I guess I like to describe the specific condition of the book I am selling
12:58 - Richard Seltzer (Re: 12:54 - Evette Eleese 'Richard, I guess I like to describe the specific condition...')
Both half.com and Amazon Marketplace let you
describe the condition in detail. But the description of the content of
the
book and the photo come out of the database.
(Of course, for a collectible book, a photo showing the exact condition
is
essential. But for a mass market paperback
that isn't necessary, and isn't worth the time and trouble).
12:59 - Eric
I have a coffee table book which retails for
$60. "The Art of William S. Phillips: The Glory of Flight". I paid $2.00
at a
garage sale but it is in new condition. What
could I expect to sell it for?
13:01 - mflat (Re: 12:59 - Eric 'I have a coffee table book which retails for $60....')
go http://www.bookfinder.com and type in the
author and title. you will see the listings for that dealers have..is an
orginization of world wide dealers
13:05 - Eric
Bookfinder tells me my $2.00 purchase should sell for $34.11
13:00 - Bump
I typically list books for what profit I want
(minimum) and I've been lucky to get a few bidders to fight most of them
out.
I'd list it for $10 USD and see where it goes
from there. You won't lose anything and likely it'll sell in the $20 USD
area
if there are some users interested.
13:01 - Bump
Historically, when I bought books my ability
to sell them depended on the niche (e.g. books on collecting sell red hot
on
eBay, books on targetted subjects too [snowglobes,
lord of the rings, etc.]) Depending the book and the interest of the
eBay users you might get $5 USD or maybe even
$35 USD.
13:05 - Richard Seltzer
FYI -- while talking about selling at eBay,
I just received an email that I just sold a book CD through eBay. It does
work.
Evette, have you just sold collectibles? If so, what kinds of things? And what kind of success have you had?
12:18 - Evette Eleese
Richard, to answer your question, right now I sell mostly used designer purses, clothing and shoes
12:19 - Evette Eleese
Just this week, I sold 3 Kate Spade handbags (used), bought for approx $5.00 each, and sold for over $50 each
12:36 - Eric (Re: 12:32 - YONDAR 'I tried to sell my flute on ebay and didn't...')
I sold a pair of new Birkenstock sandals that
I had sitting around for a couple of years and got twice as much as I
expected to get. Got $50; expected no more
than $25.
12:37 - Evette Eleese
Yondar, I have sold some vintage corsets and stockings on Ebay
Evette -- how do you get the merchandise that
you then sell? (That's going to be our related topic next week; you might
want to join us then, too.)
12:20 - Evette Eleese
I find these items mostly at yard sales and estate sales
12:21 - Evette Eleese
John, are you still here? this is good for
your daughter, I have also sold items for other people, and take a cut
of the
sales, 30% - 50%
12:22 - Evette Eleese
I have helped musician friends sell music equipment and instruments, helped my aunt sell some of her antiques
12:23 - John Watkins (Re: 12:21 - Evette Eleese 'John, are you still here? this is good for your...')
Evette--yes, I'm still here. Sent my daughter
email about this session yesterday but there's a chance she hasn't looked.
I'll tell her about the transcript though.
Richard, you said the tgranscript is available "afterward." Immediately
afterward?
How?
12:38 - Bump
I was selling through SMC [Service Merchandise Corp.] but the problem is I'm Canadian and I have a disadvantage to American sellers becaues I pay customs and my prices are not as low. There are hundreds of sellers that sell for SMC on eBay and it's too hard to compete.
12:39 - Bump (Re: 12:37 - Richard Seltzer 'Yes, there 'list similar' and 'relist' options make it very...')
I think it's key to find wholesale suppliers
via traditional means, the ones advertised on the Internet with prices
that allow
for profit are overused by eBayers and makes
too tough a market for profit. Would you agree?
12:45 - Evette Eleese
I helped a friend sell a bunch of Airline collectibles
on eBay. He did not have a computer, or wish to learn about the
internet and online auctions, and was getting
to old to sell at the swap meets
12:42 - Bump (Re: 12:41 - Evette Eleese 'I agree Richard, that is why I think selling used...')
What is your source for these items (if you
don't mind sharing)? I find it challenging to locate sources for collectibles
for
sale at a low price that I can profit on.
12:43 - Bump (Re: 12:41 - Richard Seltzer 'Pardon my ignorance -- what is SMC?...')
SMC is located at http://www.smcorp.com
but I find their shipments to be slow to Canadians and I definately find
their
items are too populated on eBay and thus not
a great market to invest in.
12:43 - Evette Eleese
I buy the items I sell at yard sales, estate sales, thrift stores, mostly
12:45 - Bump (Re: 12:43 - Eric 'Brent/Bump: What is 'SMC'??????...')
Eric: See my comment above, SMC is a US wholesaler
but as I said if you want to sell their products successfully, eBay
may not be the best marketplace since hundreds
of sellers are selling their products. Also they have an up front
investment of ~$500 CAD ($40.95 USD first
month; then 10 months of $24.95 USD)
2:46 - mflat
Indicative of what can be done on eBay. Paid no more
than 3.00 for anything in this link.
http://cgi6.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?MfcISAPICommand=ViewListedItems&userid=mflat&include=0&since=14&sort=3&rows=200
naturally, spend more time searching for inventory than actually listing.
12:47 - Bump
Richard: I tried unsuccessfully to use their
wholesale services on eBay, they have 3000 items all of which are porcelain,
sandstone and collectible items that people
buy from time to time but not in large quantities (e.g. statues, collector
plates,
etc.) and they sell but many sellers are selling
for $1-2 profit per item etc. and after shipping (gas, packaging, etc.)
there
isn't much room for profit. Sometimes I was
lucky and sold items for $10 profit but that happened once a week or two,
wasn't worth my while.
12:55 - Bump
If you look in 'Large lots' on eBay you can
find items that require investment but can sell for good prices on eBay
(e.g.
3000 silver rings for $3,000.00 USD but they
historically sell for $5 to $15 a piece on eBay with good photos)
12:56 - Bump
A good method for return in the area of 5 times
or more but it does take a year to get this return (selling 3000 rings
takes
time). It's a matter of if a profit of $12,000.00
is worth sporadic time throughout the year to get that profit (assuming
selling them for $5 each less the cost of
$1 each)!
12:50 - Eric (Re: 12:46 - mflat 'Indicative
of what can be done on eBay. Paid no...')
Hey mflat! You've been at this a while with
2934 feedbacks to your credit! And that is a HUGE number of articles to
be
managing. You must spend all your time running
to the post office? Or how do you ship?????
12:52 - mflat
Fortunately, post office is less than a mile
away and you may have noticed, all my items are small and do encourage
my
buyers to avail themselves to the USPS priority
service, their boxes and envelopes and tape are free. I mail daily. So
about 1/2 hour packaging and 1/2 hour at the
post office.
12:56 - Richard Seltzer (Re: 12:52 - mflat 'Fortunately, post office is less than a mile away and...')
FYI -- the post office really blew it. That
had a terrific service with flat-rate priority mail -- one price for whatever
you
could fit in the envelope that they provided,
regardless of destination (in the US) and regardless of weight. That was
terrific for online sales, making your shipping
cost very predictable. Now they charge different amounts for different
destinations and for different weights and
it's impossible to guess the cost -- forcing you to wait in line at the
post office
(terrible waste). They had an enormous advantage
over FedEx and UPS for online sales, and they simply threw it away.
If they had cost problems they could have
simply doubled the price or picked any price at all. For online sales,
where the
customer pays for the shipping, I wouldn't
care so long as I could know for sure in advance exactly what the shipping
would cost. Incredible stupidity.
12:58 - Evette Eleese
Yes, the post office blew it, and since the postage rates increase in June, I hardly have ANY international buyers now
13:01 - Richard Seltzer
RE: postal rates -- in many case now book rate
(now media rate) is more than first class. Totally crazy. Worst though
is
the unpredictability.
Evette: Do you spend "full" time doing this? And can you earn a decent living this way?
12:27 - Evette Eleese
And many people have success selling in Yahoo
auctions too, but eBay is still the biggest. But there is no reason one
could not sell on Ebay, Amazon, and Yahoo
12:28 - Evette Eleese
Eric, yes, I sell full time, and make a decent
living doing it. About $300-$500 net per week
That is not big bucks, but realistic for ANYBODY to make, and
it beats driving in traffic or flipping burgers
12:30 - Evette Eleese
Some of the collectible type items I am currently selling on eBay are vintage postcards, vintage Hotel/Restaurant ashtrays
12:34 - Eric
One comforting thing about eBay is that they
are doing extremely well. I read an article yesterday talking about the
top
100 performing tech companies. eBay is near
the top!!
http://www.business2.com/b2100/0,,1-1,00.html
Does anyone here use Amazon Marketplace?
12:24 - Richard Seltzer
Amazon has a variety of ways to let you sell
-- separate from their auction business. With Marketplace, you -- for no
listing fee -- can list your used or new item
which is the same as something that Amazon normally sells, and when
someone searches for such an item, your discounted
alternative appears with Amazon's new/retail priced version. If the
item sells, Amazon gets a piece of the transaction,
a shipping fee is automatically added, and the goods get paid for
through Amazon's credit card processing system
(you don't need a merchant credit card account). It's quick to list (just
enter an ISBM or UPC code), describe the condition
of the goods, and set the price. No risk, and another possible
sales channel.
Where would you send people who were new to
eBay and auctions in general to get training on how to start and run an
auction e-business. Like a live online class
or newsgroup, etc.
12:26 - John Watkins
Someone recommended the following book highly
because it deals with how to set up a business selling on eBay.
Starting an Ebay Business for Dummies by Marsha
Collier.
12:27 - Richard Seltzer (Re: 12:26 - John Watkins 'Someone recommended the following book highly because it deals with...')
I haven't heard of it, but in general, I have
a very low opinion of the Dummies series. I guess it's a matter of personality
--
I have a hard time reading books of that kind
(like reading a computer manual...)
12:26 - Richard Seltzer (Re: 12:23 - Bob Zwick 'Where would you send people who were new to eBay...')
Bob -- I don't know about a class, but there
are lots of related articles at my site. Start at
http://www.samizdat.com/ebay.html Evettte,
please tell him what you have.
I tried to sell my flute on ebay and didn't get one bid...
12:34 - Richard Seltzer (Re: 12:32 - YONDAR 'I tried to sell my flute on ebay and didn't...')
I don't think that eBay is very good for selling
single isolated items. In terms of collectibles, you are most likely to
do well
if you have dozens of items of the same ilk,
and spread them out over the course of several months. Test the waters
regarding price and description. Work out
the details of how to pack the goods and what it costs to ship them. Build
an
audience for that kind of thing. You have
to be very lucky to be successful with a single item.
12:34 - Bob Zwick
Evette - how many items do you typically list
in a week and how much time does it take to keep track of bids and sales
?
12:40 - Richard Seltzer (Re: 12:37 - Evette Eleese 'Yondar, I have sold some vintage corsets and stockings on...')
I do believe that it helps to have a niche/specialty.
In your case, you seem to focus on clothing. Over time, you build a
reputation in that category. And you gain
know-how in descriptions, pictures, pricing, and the logistics of shipping
items
of those shapes and sizes. The profit starts
to kick in when much of what you do is automatic for you. If you have to
learn and discover over and over again, the
time commitment and hassle commitment can become overwhelming. Online
auction selling is not an easy way to riches.
You can do well, but expect to work, and expect that your edge will come
from what you learn from your experience and
from the relationships you build with your customers.
12:41 - Evette Eleese
I agree Richard, that is why I think selling used and collectible items has the best profit.
12:44 - Richard Seltzer (Re: 12:41 - Evette Eleese 'I agree Richard, that is why I think selling used...')
I agree. I also would steer people toward merchandise
that is easy to package and ship -- comic books, trading cards,
etc. as opposed to breakable items like glass.
The notion of selling regular (non-collectible)
merchandise through
Buy It Now is new for me, and looks very promising;
but I can't say yet how profitable it will be.
How can one find out what sells and what doesn't sell on eBay ?
12:40 - Evette Eleese
Bob, it would take a long time to answer that
question! But in a nutshell, do a search on Ebay for the type of item you
wish to sell, and see what other sellers are
doing, what the item is selling for, what the starting prices are, what
categories
they are listed in, etc
12:41 - Bump (Re: 12:38 - Bob Zwick 'How can one find out what sells and what doesn't...')
Further to Evette's comments, use the advanced
search and select the option to show only completed items and see
what the selling ratio, amount and stats are
for those items.
12:42 - Richard Seltzer (Re: 12:38 - Bob Zwick 'How can one find out what sells and what doesn't...')
Do searches at eBay -- don't look at the items
for sale right now. Rather look at auctions that have already ended, to
see which items didn't sell and what the final
price was for the ones that did sell.
How do you find the eBay support system. Do they respond well to sellers questions and problems ?
12:46 - Evette Eleese
Bob, the chat forums are packed with experienced
people to answer questions, and eBay employees to answer technical
questions
12:46 - Richard Seltzer (Re: 12:45 - Bob Zwick 'How do you find the eBay support system. Do they...')
Bob -- the best and simplest way to get answers
at eBay is using their LivePerson support (what used to be
HumanClick). It only takes a wait of about
a minute or two to have a live chat with a knowledgeable help person. They
manage this very well.
Do you think pictures are required to sell ? And a digital camera necessary to be successful ?
12:48 - Evette Eleese
Bob, you should check out the articles about this subject in my newsletter at www.makemoneywithonlineauctions.com
12:49 - Evette Eleese
And yes, a picture is worth a thousand words,
and there are all types of ways to take digital pics, not only with a digital
camera
12:50 - Evette Eleese
I am working on a new eBook exclusively on the subject of providing pics in auctions. It is a large subject
12:52 - Richard Seltzer (Re: 12:50 - Evette Eleese 'I am working on a new eBook exclusively on the...')
It took me a long while to wake up to the importance
of photos. First I did stills with a webcam, then I used a digital
camera, now I use my scanner (which for printed
and flat objects works great).
12:53 - Evette Eleese
Richard, all three are great methods. You can
also use a regular camera, bring it to the pharmacy to get developed and
have the pics put in JPG format on a CD
12:57 - Evette Eleese
Yeah, any item that a buyer could get an emotional attachment too, should have a pic....
12:57 - Bump
I think *any* item should have a pic - historically,
without a picture I was getting less than half the ending auction price
than when I got my digital camera.
12:59 - Bump
I think any auction should have a pic; historically,
when I did not list items with a pic I got less than half the ending
auction price as compared to when I got my
digital camera.
12:59 - Evette Eleese
Bump, YES! I ALWAYS provide at least one pic of items I sell
All, we've reached the end of the hour. Thanks
very much for joining us. YOu can come back here at any time to check
the raw transcript. I'll post an edited (smoothed
out) version of the transcript and link to it from
http://www.samizdat.com/chat.html sometime
in the next week. Next Thursday we'll be talking about the related topic
of
where/how to buy merchandise for resale at
online auctions. Please join us then. Also, please before you sign off
now,
please post your email address and URL so
we can keep in touch.
Thanks again. Great chat. Thanks especiallly
to Evette. Any chance you can join us next Thursday too?
13:01 - Eric
egs@tcm.com - http://www.tcm.com
13:02 - Bob Zwick
Thank you Evette and all... cottagemicro@hotmail.com http://www.cottagemicro.com
13:03 - Evette Eleese
http://cgi6.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?MfcISAPICommand=ViewListedItems&userid=substatic&include=0&since=30&sort=3&rows=200
13:12 - Richard Seltzer
Joe in VA and Michael K -- today's session
has ended, but the transcript will be here for you to puruse. Please join
us
next Thursday noon to 1 PM Eastern time for
a followup conversation. And for related auction advice check my article
at http://www.samizdat.com/ebay.html
and related articles at my site.
Richard - reading the transcript....
About Paypal logos..........
I've always used the Paypal logo. In my Notetab/enhanced Notespad I
keep a page open all the time with the code on it so I can just copy and
paste at the end of auctions. Just go to their logo page or smart logo
page
http://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_help-ext&eloc=0&loc=449
http://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_help-ext&eloc=0&loc=464
You wrote
>. (eBay lets you put links of all kinds in your listings so you can
tie your special introductory offers at eBay into your normal selling
mode).
Except Ebay does not let you link to commercial sites or sites where
you are selling anything outside of Ebay, and suspends you if you are caught.
So you have to be careful here. They instituted this policy a year ago.
You can however have one business link on your ABOUT ME page.
About classes - I do teach a 4 hour Internet auctions workshop at the Cambridge Center five times a year.
Selling at other sites - be careful listing the same item twice, at Ebay and Half.com. Ebay and Amazon Marketplace is less risk for simultaneous sales and negative feedback.......but you should always remove the listing from Amazon as soon as you get your first bid at Ebay.
You have to be careful with listing the same item at Half.com and Ebay
when you only have one because Half.com
allows buyers to give feedback on cancelled auctions. Half.com
sakes are so slow that I've risked having items listed there
simultaneously with both Ebay and Amazon Marketplace, but for the first
time this week I ended up with a simultaneous
sales which caused problems. Pocahontas was on the Disney channel twice
in the same day and my one Pocahontas video
sold on both Half.com and Ebay within 10 minutes of each other. The
same video. I cancelled Half.com after the sale and gave the buyer a refund
but now I'm at risk for negative feedback. I won't do this again! Apparently
this technique for speeding up sales is particularly risky with videos
because if a movie is on tv, there is a sudden rush for the video immediately
afterwards......
[NB -- These are serious concerns when the item is a collectible and you have only one of them. In my case, I sell books on CD ROM that I make myself and hence the quantity is unlimited, and I can sell through multiple channels simultaneously. Richard]
>FYI -- re: eBay, if you haven't tried selling there for 2-3 years,
it's now a completely different experience -- in terms of ease of use and
the time it takes to post and manage your auctions I disagree. It takes
twice as long now. Instead of
one page, you have to go through four or five pages to do a listing
and wait for each page to load. It's so frustrating. The new seller form
has been making many sellers very unhappy for this very reason. The RELIST
and SELL SIMILAR feature are great though.
[Interesting. I tend to focus on a particular niche, so my "new listings" work very well with their "sell similar" feature. It can be very time consuming to create totally new listings that have little if anything in common.]
Mister Lister can be frustrating because it's often down. One can spend a lot of time putting together about 15 auctions, submit them all, and then have the whole thing crash on you.....and none of them appear.... so it's really important to save each set. But then each set gets messy when you cull out some items and keep others. I stoppedusing it a year ago, but perhaps it's been improved. Frankly I find using old auctions as templates is very viable for multiple auctions.
To connect to the chat room, go to www.samizdat.com/chat-intro.html
Edited transcript of recent auction-related chat sessions
The full text of Richard Seltzer's books The Social Web,
Take
Charge of Your Web Site, Shop Online the Lazy Way, and
The
Way of the Web, plus more than a hundred related articles are available
on CD ROM My
Internet: a Personal View of Internet Business Opportunities.
Web
Business Boot Camp: Hands-on Internet lessons for manager, entrepreneurs,
and professionals by Richard Seltzer (Wiley, 2002).
No-nonsense guide targets activities that anyone can perform to achieve
online business success.
a
library for the price of a book.
Can we help you build an Internet business? Richard Seltzer is an independent Internet writer/speaker/consultant. Click here for details. or send email to seltzer@samizdat.com
This site is Published by B&R Samizdat Express, 33 Gould St., West
Roxbury, MA 02132. (617) 469-2269. seltzer@samizdat.com
Return to B&R Samizdat Express
Check our sitemap page www.samizdat.com/sitemap.html from which you can get to any other page at this site in one click.
Pet Care | Surgeon: Los Angeles Plastic Surgery| Facial Surgery: Los Angeles Facelift | Hair Loss? Try Hair Restoration | Online Auction | Pet Owners: Veterinary Directory | Health Directory of Nutrition Business | Pet, Home, Garden | Wholesale Distributors | Class Action Lawsuits | Mortgages | Mortgage Refinancing | Home Loans - Mortgage Loans | Mortgage Refinancing Loans |