Taking Paypal on eBay

Terry Gibbs
Copyright © 2005
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Accepting Paypal as a payment method might increase your selling prices and your profits. This depends on what you are selling. I sell collectibles to collectors. My clients are like junkies. They will buy regardless of the payment options, so not offering Paypal won't make much difference in the final selling prices.

If you sell items with high competition, accepting Paypal will make your auctions more attractive. This also holds true for impulse buys. Plus, you can get paid instantly through Paypal.

Here's a few suggestions for increasing your profits by accepting Paypal:

1. Select accept Paypal in the auction listing process to get the Paypal logo into your auction. You can put in the auction description that you accept Paypal, but unless you use the Paypal logo some buyers will miss this Payment choice. Many buyers look specifically for the logo and expect to find it in certain areas of the auction listing.

2. If you only accept bank account transfers, and do not accept credit card payments through paypal be sure to mention this in your auction description and the payment types area. Even after you mention this, you will get credit card payments from some Paypal users. This causes confusion with buyers.

3. One problem that may come up is your shipping schedule. I ship once a week. Some eBay buyers feel that I should drop everything and go to the post office as soon as they send me money through Paypal. This used to cause problems.

Now when a buyer sends me money, I quickly email him and tell him when to expect his item. Because I ship on Thursday or Friday, I can tell them their item will be delivered by the next Tuesday, if not earlier. Instead of telling the buyer I will ship the item on Friday, I tell them to expect it on Monday. This changes the buyer's focus from when I will ship to when they will get the item.

One last thing before I finish up. I recommend eBay sellers use guarantees. If you take a credit card through Paypal, and later refund the buyer's money, you will be out the Paypal fees if the refund is done more than 30 days after the initial transaction. You need to require your buyer to return the item quickly.

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Terry Gibbs has taught over 7,000 people how to make a good living on eBay. Terry's most recent eBay instruction manual is "The Auction Revolution." The Auction Revolution is your guide to eBay and beyond. You can learn more about buying and selling antiques and collectibles, and about eBay on Terry's website.
http://tinyurl.com/9jzh5

eBay Description Writing Tips

Kirsten Hawkins
Copyright © 2005
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Once you’ve drawn the buyers in with your title, the next thing to do is to tell them all about your item with the description. But just what should you write in your description?

At its heart, your item description is an ad. Without making it too obvious, you should be writing sales copy. You’re trying to get buyers excited about your products, and that’s usually hard – but on eBay, if you have the right thing to sell and give enough details, the buyers almost excite themselves.

Technical Details
Include every technical detail you know, including the item’s manufacturer, its condition, how big it is, where and when it was made, its history, and anything else special about it. Don’t be too boring, though: the best descriptions are written in friendly, conversational language, and show a real knowledge of the item. Whatever you do, make sure you tell the truth!

Remember that most of the people who’ll be buying your item will be just as knowledgeable about it as you are, if not more – this is their hobby, and they’re experts. Don’t feel like you need to explain the basics of the item: just go into as much technical detail as you can. As a rule, don’t write anything in the description if you don’t know what it means, as the chances are someone will, and if you’ve got it slightly wrong then you’ll look like you don’t know what you’re talking about.

Interesting Details
You might find that you enjoy writing a few things about how you got the item, why you’re selling it, and who you think might like it. This isn’t strictly necessary, but it gives your auctions some character and a personal touch, and can make people more likely to trust you. People might wonder what you’re doing selling 500 CDs all at once, and if you tell them the reason, then they’ll feel reassured that nothing dodgy is going on. If you’re selling them because you’re having a baby and you need the space, just say so.

Write as Much as You Can
Leave nothing out of your description, even if that seems to you like it makes it cumbersomely long. There is no way you can be too thorough: someone, somewhere will appreciate that you took the time to write the extra information.

Don’t assume that anyone who wants extra information will email you to ask a question: many buyers are shy and won’t do it. Think of questions that buyers might have and add the answers to your description, as people generally tend to ask the same questions over and over again.

Each time a buyer does email you with a question, you should both answer their question and update your description so that it will include the answer next time. If people ask questions that are answered in the description, try putting these parts of the auction on a line alone, or in bold, to make them easier to notice.

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Kirsten Hawkins is an Ebay and internet auction enthusiast from Nashville, TN. Visit http://www.auctionseller411.com/ for more great tips on how to make the most from Ebay and other online auctions.

The 5 Ways to Make Money on eBay

Todd Reese
Copyright © 2005
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Let me share with you the 5 different ways to use eBay to make money.

1. Traditional Method
2. eBay cross-promotional method
3. Website upsell
4. Cross-promote website
5. Lead generation

Today we will look at the "Traditional Method"

The Traditional Method of making money on eBay is just like it sounds. It is using eBay exactly as eBay inteded. You list an item and you sell it. There is not a lot to this method.

The advantages of using this method are;

1. It is extrememly simple. If you can type you can create an auction listing.

2. It is cost effective. - Depending on the category you can list your item for sale for as little as $.25

3. You tend to get fast-results. My own personal testing shows that the closer to the auction end date the more sales you will make. So within a few days of your auction being up you can start making sales. I have actually listed items and within minutes made a sale! So your results can be almost immediate.

4. Flexible. - You can change your auction listing very easily. If you are not getting a lot of action to your auction listing you can quickly and easily change your listing around to attract more customers.

5. If you list it they will come. You do not need to do any other promotional efforts. Unlike a website where you need to make people aware of it, on eBay there are 32,000 categories and people are visiting the categories that they are most interested in. With a website you have to promote it and even optomize it so that people can find your site. On eBay people are searching, scouring, and hunting the nooks and crannies looking for a deal.

There are some disadvantages to the Traditional Method as well.

1. Unless you know a couple of secrets (that we will get into very soon) you are making a one time only sale. With the Traditional Method you sell the customer once and they are gone forever. That is fine but selling a customer that already knows, likes, and trusts you is a lot easier than going out each and every time and getting new ones!

2. There tends to be a lot of competition in some categories.
Now don't get me wrong, competition can be good but it can also mean that if you don't have the most compelling offer that you will lose sales to those competitors. -There are ways to neutralize the competition that we will talk about in a later edition.

3. People searching on eBay are looking for a deal and one of the biggest complaints is that you can't make any money. This can be true - but doesn't have to be. Again we will go over more of this later one.

4. Unlike a regular website where you create it once and just leave it alone, with eBay every few days you have to re-list your item.

5. Also if you happen to be selling and Information Product like an eBook or Audio eBook eBay does not automatically deliver your auction for you. This has to be done manually. One great solution to this problem is "Automatic Digital Delivery on eBay."

More info here: http://tinyurl.com/77k8o

If you are not currently selling on eBay get your feet wet. Open an account and start selling your product. You need to get to know how eBay works. You also need to open a Paypal account so that you can accept credit cards.

Start today by getting use to the ins and outs of just selling products in the Traditional Method. Soon enough we will get into the more advanced, but you do need to understand the basics. And there is no better way to do this than by getting your feet wet and just doing it!

Until next time! To your success!

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Todd Reese
"The eBay Traffic Controller"
http://tinyurl.com/77k8o

How to Promote Your e-Bay Business With 3 Simple Letters

Dave Lovelace
Copyright © 2006
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As with any business, you're "dead in the water" unless there are paying customers to keep you "afloat". Those customers are called 'Traffic' (whether you're operating Online or Offline).

But how do you get targeted Traffic (your prospective customers) to look in your direction in the quickest time possible? I'll answer that in 3 letters...

P.P.C. Otherwise known as 'Pay Per Click' advertising.

A simplistic explanation of P.P.C advertising is that you're paying when someone clicks on an Ad that you've placed which is written to attract very targeted customers who are searching for your exact product or service.

How are they searching? By entering Keywords and phrases into the search engines.

All you need to do to get your "billboard" in front of them is to make a list of the Keywords that most of these people are using (to search for your products or services) and bid on those Keywords on a per-click basis. Most P.P.C. search engines typically allow a minimum of 10 cents per click (some may be as low as .05 cents).

It's easy to find out what Keywords are being used in the search engines. I use a f*ree piece of software called Good Keywords to extract this information from the search engines in just seconds. You can get more information and download this software by visiting http://www.goodkeywords.com

Once you have a list of Keywords in place, you'll want to create your Ad using a few of those keywords in the Ad's text. Once you determine your budget, what you want to pay per-click, post your Ad with search engines who offer P.P.C. advertising options. I'll give you a link to the most popular of these search engines in a moment.

Now when anyone types in a keyword that you've bid on, you're Ad will show up. If it gets the prospective customer's attention, they'll click on it to go to your site (auction store, etc) to get more information. The rest is up to you to close the sale. Just ensure that you've followed a few basic and simple rules for listing your product. Need a reminder? Learn more at: http://www.6figuremarketing.com/articles/make-money-on-ebay.html

The most popular P.P.C. service? It may be no surprise, as this one happens to be the largest and most recommended by marketing experts. I'm referring to Google's Adwords at: http://adwords.google.com

These are the classified-sized Ads you see on the right hand side of Google's 'results page' whenever you use their search engine. And your Ad could be showing up in on Google's results page and driving targeted traffic to your e-Bay store (or any page that you want to send traffic to) in as little as the next 15 minutes.

Side Note: with any paid advertising method, make sure that your expected profit margin covers your Ad costs. It's all about Testing to see what works best for you and your business.

Ready to give P.P.C. a try?

First, you need to gather your Keywords and create your Ad. But keep in mind, there is a formula to creating this type of targeted Ad that ensures the "most bang for your buck".

The good news is.. you can discover this formula immediately by reviewing a f*ree Adwords "Super Tips" course available at http://www.6figuremarketing.com/adwords-tips.shtml. No registration required (at the time of this writing). You'll get instant access and you'll shave months off your learning curve. I'm all about "getting it right the first time" whenever possible.

Pay Per Click advertising can be very effective, as you’ve just taken your products to the world outside eBay. Imagine someone going to a search engine, typing in what they’re looking for and seeing your store right there!

What’s more, if you target this approach to specific models of a product it can be very cheap. Most advertisers try to get as much traffic as they can instead of targeting their ads as specifically as you will be, meaning there won’t be much competition for the keywords.

By the way, e-Bay encourages this method of marketing because it benefits as well as you, since it drives new buyers to e-Bay as a whole, not just to your site.

So when planning your next marketing budget, take a serious look at Pay Per Click. It may be the competitive edge you've been looking for.

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Dave Lovelace is the author of e-Bay Platinum Profits, a step by
step beginner's guide to making mone.y on e-Bay "the right way the
first time". Subscribe to Dave's F.REE 9-day mini-course, "e-Bay
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 in the next 2 minutes when you signup
now. Go to => http://tinyurl.com/symk2

Six ways to make extra money for Christmas

Anna-Marie Stewart
Copyright © 2005
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Christmas time can be stressful and hard if you`re running low on cash. Here are 6 tips for making some extra money so you too can have a joyful season.

1. Root around your house, from attic to basement. Find EVERYTHING that you don`t need and don`t use, then list them on Ebay.com It`s amazing what people actually buy. Remember, one mans junk is another mans treasure.

2. If you find Ebay too confusing, or you feel the need to get out more, take all your new-found items along to the nearest flea market or car boot sale. If you don`t want to travel to find customers, throw up a big old "Yard Sale" sign outside your house.

3. If you haven`t got your own stuff, or want to sell more, ask your friends for THEIR junk. Tell them you`ll sell it for them if you get a percentage of what you make. That way, both you AND your friends make money for Christmas.

4. If you`ve got a website and digital products such as software and ebooks that you have full resale rights to, see if you can bundle up lots of goodies together for an unbelievably low price. Make sure you let people know it`s a one-off Christmas Special that will end soon. Be aware of copywrite and license agreements that may prohibit bundling of certain software products.

5. If you`ve got a website and you sell physical products, bundle a few together, make up a good price and offer free shipping. Or offer free shipping for purchasing a certain amount. Offering free products such as "buy 3 get 1 free" also works well.

6. Try to get a "stand-in" job in a busy resturant, pub or club. Maybe even a pizza delivery job. There`s big tips to be had at Christmas time, and never enough staff.

Try out one, two, or even all of these ideas NOW and you`ll have that little bit of extra cash in your pocket in time for Christmas. Feel free to let me know how it works for you, I`d love to hear it!

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Anna-Marie Stewart has been involved with internet marketing since 1999. She has always tried to help people "make a go of it" online, by sharing her own experiences with as many people as possible. She now publishes "Not Just Another Ezine" a FREE weekly newsletter at http://annamarketing.com - dedicated to helping newbie and semi-pro internet marketers avoid the pitfalls BEFORE getting burnt.