Secrets of the eBay

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Introduction xiii Chapter 3, “Connect with Your Customers,” attempts to answer the most frequently asked of all questions regarding eBay sales: What’s the best thing to sell? Only you can answer that question, and this chapter gives you some helpful starting points for doing so: you learn what your customers want; you build a profile of your customers; and you learn to relate to them in a way they’ll respond to positively. Chapter 4, “Think and Act Like a Businessperson,” reveals how successful sellers turn what began as an occasional part-time activity into a full-time, thriving business. The answers are simple: you come up with a plan, and you prepare to work long hours and put in lots of “sweat equity.” Chapter 5, “Identify Sources of Merchandise,” shows two ways in which eBay sellers come up with a steady supply of merchandise to sell. On one hand, there are traditional offline sellers like Robert Zanger who already have wholesale supply connections. If you fall into this category, you already have an advantage and have a head start on becoming a PowerSeller. The other option is to seek out wholesalers yourself, like the mother-daughter team of Linda and Ava Conoval. These women, who call themselves the “MemoryQueens,” find merchandise by attending trade shows and doing extensive research. They’re always on the lookout for something new to sell. Chapter 6, “Reach the Widest Possible Audience,” explores options for marketing your eBay business or your web site. You’ll find a profile of an innovative business that calls itself an eBay “broker” and that gives sellers a head start on selling. Tony Cicalese traveled the country to make connections related to his music business; he also is committed to reaching out by donating to charity through each one of his auctions. Chapter 7, “Diversify Your Business Presence,” demonstrates how eBay sellers have boosted their business by finding several different ways to sell. David Hardin opened multiple eBay Stores to separate and organize his merchandise and make shopping easier for his customers. David Portugal opened a brick-and-mortar drop-off store to reach customers in his local area and to sell big items like motor vehicles. Chapter 8, “Provide Instant and Personalized Service,” describes how to maintain good relations with customers once you acquire them. You’ll learn how sellers sell hundreds or even thousands of items each month while managing to ship and pack quickly. Chapter 9, “Build a Good Reputation,” investigates the importance of developing a good business reputation on eBay through feedback. You’ll meet two sellers who are leaders in popular fields. One sells high-end clothing and accessories, while the other deals in old-school paper publications such as “Golden Age” comic books. Chapter 10, “Acquire and Keep Your Customers,” delves into an advanced topic that you don’t have to be a big-time seller to practice: upselling and cross-selling. You’ll learn how your eBay Store sales can promote your eBay auction sales. You’ll also learn how a golf equipment seller who’s also a Titanium PowerSeller uses advanced technology that encourages buyers to trade in their old equipment for new. Chapter 11, “Automate to Ramp Up Sales,” profiles two of eBay’s biggest and most successful sellers. One managed to pile up tens of thousands of feedback comments in just a couple of years. Another sells in retail stores and through a web site as well as on eBay, and uses special software to improve productivity.
xiv Secrets of the eBay Millionaires Two appendixes at the end of the book provide you with a set of online resources that will help you emulate the “best practices” followed by the sellers you’ve read about. You’ll also find a set of Frequently Asked Questions that will help you solve common problems and sell more effectively. How This Book Works To keep things fun and make important bits of information catch your attention, we’ve developed some special elements that will help you get the most out of this book: ● About the Seller Each seller profile includes a short bit of boxed information that provides their name (or names), the URL of their web site or eBay Store, and what they sell on eBay. ● More Info An additional bit of information that expands on the procedure or point made just before it. ● Note A key take-away or point to remember so you can be a better seller. ● Caution Errors and pitfalls to avoid from those who fell into them and want to save you the trouble. ● Short Cut Time-saving tips and handy URLs to remember. ● Money Maker A proven money-making idea or strategy. ● Tip Alternative ways of doing things and helpful resources. Within the text, you’ll also find words in special formatting. New terms are in italics, and URLS are in bold. By the way, eBay’s site is changing all the time, so don’t be surprised if a web page or service doesn’t look exactly the same as it does in the book. Often that just means they have added new features or functionality since this book was published, which is usually a good thing. If a web page isn’t where the book says it should be, try entering only the site name (such as www.ebay.com) or if that doesn’t work, try searching for the topic on Google or some other search engine and you will likely find what you are looking for. Off and Running I hope you enjoy reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it. Hopefully it will expand your idea about how far you can go with eBay selling. One of the best things about selling on eBay is that it can take as much time as you want; the more time and energy you spend on your sales, the more money you are likely to make. All you need is some inspiration, a lot of perspiration, and more than a little confidence. If you know of other ways to ramp up your eBay sales that I haven’t covered, or if you want to share your own success story, I’d like to hear from you. E-mail greg@gregholden.com to share your eBay sales experiences and best practices.
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Lessons Learned in This Chapter ●
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Business name Abovethemall Seller n
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place for buyers,” he comments.
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● Gives them new reasons to visit
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Chapter 11 Automate to Ramp Up Sale
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markets within 15 miles of Charlott
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Business name Jake’s Dog House Se
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Appendix A Web Resources for PowerS
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Appendix A: Web Resources for Power
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Appendix B Becoming an eBay Million
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Appendix B: Becoming an eBay Millio
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A About Me pages, 36, 37, 38, 79, 2
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customers abusive, 148-153 acquirin
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information on, 232 motivation, 3,
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shoe business, 134-140 Shoetime, 13
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Secrets of the eBay

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