Ebay Gold
Internet auctions are relatively new having been around since
the mid 1990's. There are several Internet auctions including
Yahoo Auctions and UBid. But of course the undisputed king of
Internet auctions is Ebay. Ebay has over 100 million registered
users making it one of the top 10 most visited websites in the
world.
I discovered Ebay way back in 1998. At first, I was strictly a
buyer. I was amazed at the thousands of items that could be
found on Ebay. Just about anything you can imagine can be found
on Ebay. And there were more incredible bargains to be found
than at any other ecommerce website or brick and mortar store I
had ever visited. After about six months or so of buying, I
began selling items on Ebay. I had an extensive collection of
unbuilt as well as built plastic model cars. I began placing the
models on Ebay with starting bids of $5.00 and no reserve. To my
surprise, people started jumping all over these model kits. Some
of them sold for as high as $70.00. It was at this time that I
realized the enormous money making potential of Ebay. The key to
being a successful seller on Ebay is selling items that people
want. There are a number of ebooks on Internet auctions that
tell of the importance of a great headline and a killer ad for
your auction. While this is true, it is also important to
remember that the best ad in the world will never sell an item
that no one wants. The items that do well on Ebay are unique or
interesting items. Antiques, pottery, collectables and high-end
apparel are just a few of the items that will bring high bids on
Ebay. If you can easily find the item at Wal-Mart, chances are
it will not do well on Ebay.
There are a number of wholesalers around the country that you
can buy merchandise from to sell on Ebay. But before you buy, do
your homework. It's very tempting to buy a bunch of electronic
widgets that sell for $2.00 a piece. You might think you can buy
20 of the $2.00 widgets and then sell them for $12.00 a piece on
Ebay and make a killing. Unfortunately, you discover that no one
is bidding on your widgets despite the fact that you have
started the bidding at a mere $6.00. In fact, there are very few
people that are even viewing your auctions. The end result is
you are now stuck with 20 widgets that no one wants. The first
mistake here was not doing a search of widgets on Ebay to find
out if they're hot or not. The second mistake was trying to sell
an electronic item. Yes, I know there is a huge market for
electronic gadgets. That's the problem; the market is too huge.
It is already saturated. How many times a day are you bombarded
with offers for the latest and greatest cell phone or digital
camera? If you try to sell in this market on Ebay, you're
encroaching on Best Buy's turf, which means you'll be smashed
like a bug. On the other hand, how many offers do you receive
for NASCAR collectibles or Gucci shoes? Or how about die cast
models? These are the hot items on Ebay. These are in demand
items and more importantly you can sell these items without
competing against Wal-Mart and Best Buy.
If you're new to Ebay, the first thing you need to do is to
build positive feedback. Feedback is vital to your success on
Ebay. Potential buyers will read your feedback in order to
determine if you're an honest seller. If you have high numbers
of negative feedback, many buyers will look elsewhere. Take a
look at some of the Ebay Power Sellers feedback. Many of them
have feedback in the thousands with a rating of over 99%
positive. It's no secret how these Power Sellers became
successful on Ebay. They take care of their customers. This
means they'll have plenty of repeat business.
When you first sign up with Ebay, you'll have zero feedback.
Most buyers will shy away from an Ebay newbie with zero or very
low feedback. Start building your feedback rating by selling
personal items from around the house that you no longer want.
This is a good way to get the feel of using Ebay and to build
positive feedback. You should invest in a good digital camera.
Good clear pictures are an important selling feature on Ebay.
Remember to describe your items accurately and honestly. Do not
try to trick or deceive buyers in any way. You can't afford
receiving negative feedback this early in the game.
I came across a perfect example of a deceptive seller on Ebay a
while back. The seller had sold a pair of slightly used shocks
for a 2003 Chevy pickup. He used Ebay's Buy-It-Now feature to
sell the shocks for just one cent. Wow! What an incredible deal!
But wait a minute. The unwary buyer forgot to read the entire
auction. The shipping charges were a whopping 60 bucks! The
result was a pissed off buyer and negative feedback for the
seller. This was an obvious attempt on the part of the seller to
make money on the shipping costs. He was banking on the fact
that the buyer would not read the entire auction and would
simply assume the shipping charges would be reasonable. Do not
use deception in your auctions or try to make money on shipping
costs. If you treat your customers the way you expect to be
treated you will never go wrong and you'll be well on your way
to building a reputation as an honest top-notch seller.
If you happen to get a few non-paying bidders, resist the
temptation to leave negative feedback for these individuals.
Leaving negative feedback will only result in possible
retaliation by the non-paying bidder and negative feedback for
you. Once again, you do not want any negative feedback this
early in the game. Buying items off of Ebay is another great way
to build positive feedback. When you win an auction, pay for the
item promptly. The result will be positive feedback for you.
Most buyers will not care whether your feedback came as a result
of buying or selling as long as it's positive.
After you've built a feedback rating of least 25, you'll be
ready to start purchasing wholesale merchandise to sell on Ebay.
Remember what I said about doing your homework before buying
merchandise. If you have your eye on a particular item you think
might sell on Ebay, first do a search of that item on Ebay to
find out what people are bidding if anything on the item. If it
looks hot, at least 7 or 8 bids, then it's probably a good bet.
If it doesn't appear to be getting many bids, you should steer
clear. You can also do an advanced search for auctions that have
already ended. It's a great way to find out the final bid price
for a particular item. A few extra minutes of research can save
you from a giant headache down the road.