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Most of the people who make money from eBay don’t actually make all of that money on eBay. There are all sorts of ways you can use eBay to give your existing businesses a helping hand.

The Supply Side.

If you have any leftover stock or used items from another business you run, then why not sell them on eBay? You can make this a regular thing, using it to get rid of things that won’t sell for the premium you ask for in a shop, or items that are no longer in demand in the town or city where your business is based.

You can really make a lot of money this way, if you know what you’re doing. You will, of course, already be an expert in the items you’re selling, as you use them in your business, and you’ll know that the items are of high enough quality to be sellable. This is a whole new market for your old inventory!

Not only that, of course, but remember that your good eBay reputation will make you a great buyer! If there’s ever anything you want to get for your business, the chances are you’ll be able to get it on eBay for a discount.

The Sales Side.

Here, though, is where the true power of eBay lies. eBay give you an ‘About Me’ page, where you can write anything you like and link anywhere you like. This means that you can get traffic to your business’ website by linking to your website from your About Me page and linking to your About Me page from each auction.

To create an About Me page, just click on ‘Community’ on the toolbar, scroll to the bottom of the page, and click ‘Create an About Me page’. You then get the option to either enter your own HTML or let eBay guide you through the process. All you need to do is write a little about your website, link to it, and you’re done - you’ll notice that more people start to come to your site straight away.

There are thousands of people who swear by this technique to drive traffic from eBay to their website - with a little persuasive sales copy on your site, they say, you can sell directly to buyers, cutting out the eBay middleman. What’s more, all the traffic you’ll get will be targeted - because the people who click through were interested in your auction to begin with.

This can be a really powerful technique, especially if you’ve already got an e-commerce site. Even if you haven’t, you might find it worth your time to set up a website that does nothing but list your eBay inventory with a few dollars off each item, with a PayPal ‘Buy Now’ button for each item. Then simply make the link to your About Me page read ‘Visit my website for even more bargains!’, and you’re done.

Now that you’ve seen how to drive visitors to your website, maybe you’d like a little help getting your auction in front of buyers. That’s why our next email will show you the secrets of taming the eBay search engine.

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

You want to sell your antiques or collectibles online but before you get started there are a few basics that you need to know. Online auctions from Ebay to uBid.com to Yahoo! Auctions are becoming a more common venue for sellers of everything from teddy bear collectibles to antique armoires.

Research

Before you list any item on an online auction, search for your item or similar items. Watch some of these auctions until they close. Do this over the course of several weeks. This will give you a good indication of how many similar items there are currently up for auction, how many auctions are successfully completed and, the prices commanded for the item. If there are many similar items to yours listed that are not selling or selling for a low price, price your item accordingly. Conversely, if there are only a few similar items that are selling for a high price, you’ll be able to price your item appropriately.

Understand the Listing Procedures

Take some time to do an online tutorial for new sellers. Ebay offers a very thorough tutorial. You’ll learn how to set up a listing, the importance of good photos and how to include them on your listing. This is the time consuming part for new sellers and takes some time to get up to speed. Good photos and clear description are key to ensuring a successful auction because your listing is all that that potential bidders have at their disposal to make their buying decision.

Accuracy

Online auctions simply post your merchandise as described. They do not verify the accuracy of the item, that the merchandise actually exists or even guarantee that you will follow through with the sale. As a seller, you want to be as accurate in describing the condition of your item, both the good and the bad points. If there is damage, mention it in the description and show photos. The more upfront and accurate the description, the more likely the buyer will be a satisfied customer who doesn’t demand his/her money back. Buyers will call you on any unmentioned flaws and cause you justifiable grief.

It’s A Buyers Market Online

Online auctions are more of a gold mine for collectible buyers, rather than for sellers. Buyers can search for the manufacturer, colour and/or style number. The old days when the world seemed larger and items seemed scarce are gone. Online auctions have reduced the perception that an item is rare. Before online auctions, antique hunters would have to scour high and low for their favourite item and often end up paying a high price. Now, with online auctions, the scarcity of collectibles is reduced when you can search, for example, a Coca-Cola picnic cooler and see that there are currently 78 available for auction on eBay. It brings the price down of these items - not so good for sellers.

Fees For Seller

Online auctions are set up so that there are no fees charged to buyers. All fees associated with an online auction are the responsibility of the seller. Keep in mind that listing fees, reserve fees, final auction fees and display fees are how the online auctions make their money. You’ll need to factor these costs when you are determining your selling price. Buyers generally pay for shipping and handling in addition to the final selling price. However, you can factor shipping into your price and indicate so on your auction. This is attractive to bidders because they know the final cost including shipping and handling and can help to draw bids to your auction.

Ebay offers a “Buy It Now” feature where sellers can list items at a fixed price rather than through an auction. The advantage to a seller is that you may sell an item quickly if a buyer is willing to meet your price. The disadvantage is that you’ll never know if an auction might have given you a higher price.

Determining Your Selling Price

The lower the starting price the more attractive the auction is to bidders. Don’t start your auction so high that bidders are turned off. You want to start a bidding frenzy, not scare off bidders. Avoid putting a reserve on an item unless it is of great value. You pay an additional fee and it doesn’t make sense for a low priced item.

Check Buyer’s Feedback

Feedback sections are common feature on online auction. This is the place on the auction website where buyers and sellers can check the reputation of the seller or buyer. Moreover, previous buyers and sellers can post their comments on their experience with an individual. It’s a good indicator as to whether the seller or buyer is an individual you would feel comfortable doing business with, but even a spotless record doesn’t mean that your experience will go as smoothly. After the auction is completed, check the buyer’s feedback immediately for any warning signs of non-payment or multiple returns. This information may help you to proceed carefully to complete a smooth transaction.

Post Your Return Policy

Let bidders know if you will accept returns or if all sales are final. However, a flexible return policy will make your auction more attractive to bidders.

Payment Methods

Avoid cash payments because if there is a dispute, there is no paper trail to document how much you paid. Credit card payments through PayPal, a secure third party company, are a very common payment method. Credit card payments protect both the buyer and seller if there is a dispute.

Insurance & Escrow

Insurance protects the buyer and the seller. It protects up to a preset amount but there are limitations with any insurance. Escrow services are widespread and a good idea for more expensive items.

Unhappy With Your Selling Experience

There are a few avenues of recourse if you are an unhappy seller. First, contact the buyer immediately by email and/or phone to clarify the problem if they are unhappy with him or her. If this doesn’t happen or is unsuccessful, you can leave negative feedback or contact the online auction house as they will likely have a dispute resolution process or contact the police if you feel fraud is involved.

Martin Swinton owns Take-A-Boo Emporium, an antique shop located in Toronto, Canada. He does furniture restoration, caning and rushing repairs, custom reproductions, upholstery, teaches courses on antiques and does appraisals for estates and community events. He can be reached at 416-785-4555 or by visiting http://www.takeaboo.com

This type of entrepreneur usually possesses previous experience in the retail industry, though it is not totally necessary to have previous experience in order to succeed. However, an inexperienced online retailer faces the biggest learning curve.

In order to sell tangible goods, you’ll need to learn the ins and outs of wholesale for product sourcing. You’ll need to learn how to set the optimal price point for your products to remain profitable and competitive. You must deal with shipping and returns.

If you run a one-person operation, it will be near impossible to ship products in the necessary volume. In this case, you’ll need to find companies which can “drop ship” your product. Drop shipping is a fulfillment service.

This sounds ideal - but be forewarned. Most real wholesalers have minimum order requirements and will not ship single items.

Drop ship wholesalers who do ship single items often mark up their prices and you end up paying at least 10%-15% above the true wholesale cost. This isn’t a small price to pay when your objective is competitive pricing. Even a small mark up can kill your profit margin.

If you choose this route, be prepared for a lot of hard work! Online retail requires persistence, patience, strategic planning and a high degree of risk.

Kevin Nobleman has researched and uncovered numerous scams in the corrupt online drop ship industry. He has written special articles to help people avoid drop ship scams. With five years of experience in the online drop ship industry, Kevin has discovered over two dozen legitimate drop ship compananies, wholesalers, independent suppliers and buyer/seller communities he would encourage you to do business with. He provides this report in a valuable information package on his website, http://www.restaurantandbar.org

Answer:
I prefer selling on Amazon because it is just so much more efficient than eBay (in most cases). You can list your books for sale much faster, and I believe they sell faster on Amazon because the buying process is so much simpler and easier for the buyers.

Another big plus in selling books on Amazon is that you can capture some sales from book buyers who go to Amazon, originally with the intention of buying a new book. They get to Amazon’s site expecting to pay $20 for a new book, and notice that a used bookseller has the same thing they’re looking for in excellent condition for only $10. So you get lots of sales on Amazon from people who hadn’t even considered buying a used book.

However, there are some instances when I think it’s good to sell on eBay. If you have a collection or assortment of one authors’ books, you could sell it as a package. For example, if you had one copy of each book written by Stephen King, you could sell it as an “instant Stephen King collection” and it would surely receive lots of attention, and sell for more than you could get for each of the titles individually.

And there are lots of booksellers that believe if you have a truly unusual, collectible book, you can get a higher price by auctioning it on eBay than you can selling it at a fixed price on Amazon.

So even though I prefer selling on Amazon to eBay, I have active accounts on both sites because I don’t want to put all my eggs in one basket. For example, what would happen if your whole business depended on Amazon, and one day Amazon decided they didn’t want to allow independent sellers on their site anymore? In that case your whole business could go down the tubes. So I would recommend that sellers maintain an active eBay account, just to avoid becoming totally dependent on a certain sales venue.

See a real-time list of the most highly sought after used and collectible books.

Read more free articles on selling used books profitably online: http://www.weberbooks.com/selling/selling.htm

Steve Weber is author of “The Home-Based Bookstore: Start Your Own Business Selling Used Books on Amazon, eBay or Your Own Web Site” (ISBN 0977240606). Got a question for Steve? Send to: steve_weber@yahoo.com

eBay provides internet users with an online flea market where buyers and sellers from around the world meet to conduct trade.

However, like most traders who are faced with an innovation of this sort, the first question will always be: It is safe?

The answer is yes, but devious scammers are daily plotting means to take advantage of eBay’s power to forward their dastardly schemes.

The user’s recourse…information and meticulous care in dealing on eBay. Only then can he be less vulnerable to the scammer.

The common consensus is that bidders are often scammed by sellers. But it is possible for things to be the other way around.

Here is a list of the common problems sellers encounter and the means to handle them.

Fake Escrow Services

A winning bidder may request that an escrow service be used to assure both parties of a fair transaction. Unfortunately, the seller is sometimes duped into using a fake escrow system.

To avoid such, the seller must always verify the authenticity of an escrow service. eBay recommends the use of escrow.com. If the bidder insists on his or her escrow service, chances are, that person is a scammer.

Victims of such find it difficult to reclaim their items. They may, however, appeal to the legal means afforded by the state they live in. They must also contact eBay regarding the matter for any assistance they may offer at that juncture.

Deadbeat Bidders

Deadbeat bidders (a winning bidder who doesn’t pay for an item at the auction’s close) are more common on eBay. If the winner of your auction does not pay, you may leave that person a negative feedback.

As for the listing fees the seller shells out, eBay lays out a four step procedure sellers can use to potentially recover lost selling fees. If the sellers complete the process to eBay’s satisfaction, they will receive a Final Value Fee credit and a relist credit. Filing an Unpaid Item dispute is the first step toward eBay reimbursing those fees. One can report an unpaid item up to 45 days after an auction’s close.

Trade Dispute

This occurs when the seller and bidder disagree on some terms of the sale. This may also happen if there is a purported violation of any of these agreements.

If communication between both parties does not help, they may consider availing of a third-party dispute resolution outfit to help. SquareTrade.com is one of these outfits eBay recommends.

Prevention is Better than Cure

A seller’s life may be made terrible because of the constant scamming attacks unscrupulous individuals undertake. But, with proper information and care, he or she can continue trading on eBay with relative safety.

David Riewe is a Publisher and Online Marketer. Visit his eBay Blog to Discover 101 Ebay Auction Tips in this FREE ebook www.push-button-online-income.com/ebayblog

Some people think it’s easy to choose the right eBay category, and often it is. Sometimes, though, it might not be quite clear exactly what to go for.

Why is it Even Important?

Plenty of people use the category system to find items, when they’re not looking for something specific. If your item is listed in the wrong category - or you’ve just given up and listed it in ‘Everything Else’ - then these people aren’t going to find your auction.

Also, listing items in the wrong categories is against eBay’s rules, and eBay say they will remove any auctions that are wrongly categorised. They don’t often actually do this, but it’s not worth the risk - especially since breaking any rules can cause them to penalise your account, including losing PowerSeller status if you have it.

So What Can You Do?

eBay will suggest categories for you when you sell your item, if you type in a few words to describe the item on the category selection page and click ’search’. You can make the best of this feature by typing in exactly what your item is, with brand name and model number (if any), so that eBay can find the best category for you.

If that doesn’t work for you, then search yourself for items like yours, and pay attention to which category most of them seem to be in (you can see this near the top of each item’s description page). Try different words and see which ones come back with the most results. You can also browse through all the available categories from eBay’s front page.

Remember that the more specific the category is, the better - use as many subcategories as are appropriate. Don’t just list your HP laptop in the ‘Computers’ category, for example - list it in ‘Computers > Laptops > HP’. Don’t worry: your item will still appear in the ‘Computers’ category, as well as ‘Computers > Laptops’, because items listed in subcategories are always listed in every category above.

Take some time to look through all the categories and get familiar with the way eBay as a whole is laid out. After all, that’s better than getting a few months down the line and finding that you still think of eBay’s category system like it’s some kind of scary jungle.

What if More Than One Category Fits?

Don’t worry, eBay have you covered. For a small extra fee, you can list your item in an extra category, to increase the number of potential buyers who will see it. This isn’t always worth it, though - some items only really fit properly in one category, and listing them in extra categories is just a waste.

Once you know where to list your item, the next step is to write your auction’s title. The title is the most important thing about your auction - the difference between a good title and a bad title can be the difference between $10 and $100. That’s why I’ll take you through the dos and don’ts in the next email.

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

There are many sellers who are working full time at selling on eBay. In fact, it is their primary source of income and yet they have no idea how much they are making, I mean really clearing from the whole endeavor.

It’s easy to get carried away when you first start listing on eBay by the sheer volume of work. I remember working well past midnight running on pure adrenalin and excited by the fact that there was money coming into my Paypal account daily from the items I was selling.

But like the great basketball coach John Wooden says, “Never confuse activity with actual achievement”. Just because you are moving like a whirling dervish doesn’t mean that you are necessarily meeting your financial objectives.

So how do you know how much you are really making on eBay? It is possible to figure it out but you have to start with real numbers. The traditional profit calculation:

Revenue - Expenses = Profit

can be somewhat helpful but only if you plug in the accurate numbers. The guy who bought something for $1.00 sold it on eBay for $5.00 and thinks he make a $4.00 profit is way wrong. He has actually lost money on the sale.

But to understand how he lost money we need to look at the right way to calculate your eBay earnings. If you have set $30,000 a year as your financial objective then you need to actually clear about $82 per day on eBay.

If you are looking to sell an item that costs you $10.00 and generally closes at auction for about $20.00 with a 70% sell-through rate, then you need to list 12 of these actions a day, everyday, in order to clear your $82.00 per day.

This translates to 70 auctions a week for your item and it better continue to produce for you. If your weekly auctions go much over this 70 auctions per week you will surely have to hire help thereby adding to your expenses and wreaking havoc on your financials as outlined above.

This scenario is not meant to scare you but to make you aware of the real dollars and cents of selling on eBay. So what is the solution to this? To find and sell item that you can sell over and over again, thereby reducing the amount of labor involved and being sure that you buy low and sell high.

You have to continually evaluate what your time is worth and factor that into the items you sell and the time that it takes to list them. All auctions are not created equally. Some items are decidedly more difficult and/or labor intensive to list than others; with clothing being one of the most time-consuming.

Photographing your items for auction is one of the most labor-intensive tasks you will have to do for your auction. So having an item that you can just sell over and over again makes the process of listing and relisting a lot easier. If you are selling unique, one of a kind items then it becomes important to factor in additional time for photographing items, in your calculations of the hourly rate you pay yourself.

Just like in any business, keeping track of the numbers will let you know if you are on the right financial track with your eBay business.

Stephanie McIntyre became a Platinum eBay Powerseller (making $10,000 a month or more) after er first 6 months. She now works with business owners offering training in eBay As An added Revenue Stream, and Advanced eBay Strategies.

Imagine having top companies invent, design and buy products, test the market, employ world class copywriters to describe their products, hire top-notch graphic designers and photographers - and give you the whole lot FREE OF CHARGE! Well, that’s exactly what you can do when you start using dropshipping as part of your eBay business.

This article reveals the inside strategies for getting this to work for you.

‘Dropshipping’ describes a process whereby a manufacturer or supplier delivers products directly to your customers without you ever needing to stock or pre-purchase goods.

Typically you list products on eBay, using your own or supplying companies’ graphics and descriptions; you take payment, give the supplying company your buyers’ names and addresses, and they send the product.

That’s your part done; now you can go back to selling.

That’s the theory, in practice it can be so different. Dropshipping is a wonderful way to make big money fast, and about the best way to lose money, too.

Sadly, it’s a fact that many business owners - including dropshipping companies - care more about money than customer care and this can reflect badly for you, in the form of buyer complaints, poor quality products, long delays between customers paying and receiving their goods.

The onus is on you to take care of your business, and your customers, so be as careful picking dropshipping partners as you are planning all other aspects of your business.

MORE ABOUT DROPSHIPPING

* Some so-called dropshipping offers border on scams, asking a high fee to access a site, where you’ll find more firms offering dropshipping information who in turn ask payment to access their sites, and so on, and so on. Where products are accessible with graphics and sales materials for your eBay listings, oftentimes the goods are rubbish, sometimes they’re grossly overpriced. They might be seconds, end of line, customer returns, damaged… you get the picture!

* That said, there are many excellent paid-for membership sites offering sound contact details for worldwide dropshipping companies. Some membership sites continuously scrutinise their recommended suppliers, and score entries 1 to 5, acceptable to excellent, based on member feedback. The best we found, Worldwide Brands, is eBay acknowledged and operated by Chris Malta, Product Sourcing Editor of eBay Radio. The company has a team of researchers on constant lookout for new dropshipping and wholesale suppliers to add to their directory.

* Find dropshipping companies yourself via their own advertisements in local newspapers (not national; too competitive), at trade shows, by word of mouth from sellers of non-competing products. Search for them online via search engines such as www.google.com (our preference); use appropriate keywords like ‘manufacturers dolls (or other product) New York (or other location)’.

* Look for firms selling lots of different products, on a related or unrelated theme. Within hours of deciding to sell dog featured jewelry, we searched www.google.com and found two firms willing to dropship their wide ranging products to our customers, with no minimum order, and a CD of graphics and sales materials arriving next day. Another firm, based a few miles from us, has more than twelve different products for over 100 breeds of dog, and no one currently selling their products on eBay! No graphics either, so we checked their products, bought one of each, and created our own unique listings.

* Typically you pay the supplier an agreed amount per shipment upfront, although some will invoice you later. For local firms you can pop down, offer their share, hand over delivery labels. When you have a good supplier, ask permission to pack goods yourself at their premises so you can insert special offer flyers, money-off vouchers. For distant suppliers keep close tabs on how well they serve your customers. See the next paragraph.

* Negative feedback is much more likely using dropshipping and other partner companies than where you handle all customer transactions direct. With the wrong partners you could generate bad feeling, requests for refund, negative feedback, dismissal from eBay. Check partner companies by reading feedback from your customers. Look for problem delivery times, product quality concerns, poor customer service. Mounting negatives with similar complaints signify problems you must correct or seek new suppliers.

* My experience of dropshipping has been exceptionally good. I have companies posting products to my customers minutes after they get my faxed order and they always put my company details into the package, never their own. They don’t poach my customers, they’ve never asked payment from me up front, they’re better than I’d hoped for. Getting them was remarkably easy and all down to good communications. I telephone every potential dropshipper before promoting their products. I get to know the other person, determine how serious they are about their business, how approachable they are. Those I have chosen for my business talked more about customers and products than money, they were considerate and caring, keen to please. That first impression has always served me well. Do the same, you won’t be disappointed.

* If problems ensue, don’t blame the dropshipper without checking first. It could be you haven’t explained your requirements properly, they may have serious business or personal problems, it could be coincidence or a batch of particularly difficult customers to blame for those negatives. Be careful, check thoroughly, and have an emergency plan for major problems. Have plenty of eggs in your basket: use several dropshippers, not just one, and have quality replacements waiting in line.

* Sales materials and graphics are normally provided by larger suppliers or can be downloaded from their web sites. Some have printed catalogues from which you can scan product pictures, others have CDs containing digital pictures. Using their pictures and descriptions makes life a lot easier for you; you won’t spend time and money buying products, taking pictures, creating descriptions. But typically, the bigger the company, the more aggressive their marketing, and the more likely their products are known to other eBay sellers. The moral is to not rely solely on these bigger companies. Very often firms without sales materials and graphics are small companies, probably unknown to most other resellers, with fabulous products, and closer control over quality and communications. Of three companies providing my entire dog jewelry stock, two are one man set ups, the other a father and son business.

* Good organizational and communications skills are needed, especially where you sell hundreds of different products from numerous dropshipping and supplying companies. I’ve seen PowerSellers listing hundreds of thousands of products at one time, all totally different, and obviously from lots of individual suppliers. Imagine taking just one thousand orders a month (many eBayers take tens of thousands), where you must ensure each order reaches the correct fulfilment company, with accurate customer details, and proper payment. Complicated and very time-consuming! Far better sell a smaller range of high
profit items from a few select suppliers.

* Check competition on eBay for your dropshipping company and their products before planning to sell. I found a wonderful dropship firm for CDs, there were hundreds of different titles, their graphics were bright and colorful, a more professional organization was difficult to find. I joined their program, downloaded their graphics and sales materials, created and uploaded my listings, and waited, and waited, and nothing happened. Soon afterwards I checked for others selling similar products on eBay and found dozens of them. I should have checked first as in the next tip.

* Search competition for your product by keying the name, title or maker’s name into the search box top right on eBay’s home page. No entries for similar products might be good news for you, might because others might still be selling these products, just not right now. Bad news too because others might have tried selling similar products with little success. Lots of entries signals lots of competition, but view listings first to check similarity to your product. Where you find just a few people selling similar products, see how much they charge, check completed listings for how many sold and how many second chance offers were possible. More than five firms selling similar products worldwide, I’d say is one or two firms too many, except where they sell through auction and you choose shop only listings. If overseas firms sell similar products, but not internationally, consider selling in other countries.

NOT QUITE DROPSHIPPING BUT EVERY BIT AS GOOD

* Artists and craftworkers are keen on making, not so keen on marketing, and are my favorite source of quality products. I make a point of visiting local craft fairs at least once a month where I find exhibitors selling stunning creations at a tiny fraction of eBay prices for similar items, if any exist. Many items are unique or limited edition and never get seen beyond a few miles of their makers’ homes. My eldest daughter obtains designer jewelry this way, my youngest opts for hand-made dolls and teddies, and I take watercolor paintings on hand-made paper from a young Chinese artist whose work I sell exclusively on eBay. She dropships for me direct to my customers. Visit these fairs once and you’ll return time and again. You don’t have to buy items, most craftworkers and artists will work on commission, rather like a dropshipper who takes payment and delivers the product when you make a sale. Most will dropship to your customers. Find craftwork fairs advertised in local weekend papers, usually under ‘Items for sale’, ‘Fairs and auctions’, ‘Days out’, or similar.

Avril Harper is a triple eBay PowerSeller and editor of eBay Confidential and webmaster of http://www.publishingcircles.com. She has produced a free guide - 103 POWERSELLER TIPS - which you can download with other freely distributable reports and eBooks at http://www.toppco.com.

Have you ever noticed how rare it is for high volume ebay sellers to have 100% feedback. It’s not like they deliberately scam 1 or 2 % of there 2000 plus customers. They’ve streamlined the auction process, reduced the risk of faulty products and goods arriving damaged etc.

So why are they still left with angry customers. The truth is some people are just jerks. They will bid on an item and then when you expect them to pay for it they will abuse you.

Sometimes they will be angry if the product doesn’t arrive, even though you did everything you could and it was completely out of your control.

Dealing with these people is an everyday occurrence for ebay powersellers. But there are ways to minimize their effect on your feedback.

• In the initial email say something like “sometimes products will get lost in the post. If it hasn’t turned up within 10 days email me and I will replace it”. This will warm the customer up to the idea that well, s*** happens and there’s no point getting abusive.
• If the customer backs out of the sale, leave positive feedback. They will appreciate this and give you great feedback, and will be more open toward buying from you in the future.
• If the customer doesn’t respond to your emails, don’t leave negative feedback, leave none. You’ve already lost the sale so nothing can be gained by you getting abusive.

It’s a very rare seller who is able to bite their tongue, but the rewards far out way the small satisfaction of giving them a piece of your mind.

Jules Boven is a professional auction seller and CEO of The Wholesale-Hub, an online resource connecting retailers to wholesalers. If you want to buy wholesale click here.

At this moment in time it would be quite hard for someone who is new to ebay to start selling and be successful due to the fact that there are many, many sellers to compete with. In this article I will tell you a few of the key points in being successful with ebay auctions are.

The most noticeable sign of a good seller is their feedback score. Feedback is a good sign as it will tell you how that person treats their customers and roughly how many items they have sold. When selling on ebay you should treat your customers very well as they will leave you positive feedback if you do and they also may come back to buy again. Always try to get positive feedback.

Promotion would be the next point to think of. You should try to promote your auctions and ebay store with every chance you get. With all your listings you could have a link saying “Click here to view my auctions” as most of the time the reader will click on it. You could also write ebay guides and hope that readers will go to see your products. Any guides you write can also be submitted to article directories too but I would advise you to try and write to the best of your ability.

Always be consistent when listing auctions. If you have an ebay shop with one hundred items in it, then it will show that you are serious about your business, whereas a shop with only a few items will look as if you are just an odd time seller. Set yourself an amount of auctions to start each night and stick to it.

Never sell anything that you do not believe to be of good quality. If you sell products which you do not personally have any interest in or you think are not worth the money they cost then simply do not sell them. You should over deliver to your customers and only list good quality items. A good way to keep customers happy after a purchase would be to send them an unannounced bonus just as a thank you for their business. You do not have to send them something of great value but the better you treat your customers, the more chance there is of them buying from you again.

Niall Mehaffey is an internet marketer and ebay seller. If you would like to learn the real potential of eBay then click here make money on ebay