Today I was on a consulting call with an eBay client and due to some issues he has having with his camera and need to list some items as fast as possible to start to bring some money in as soon as possible from the items he has been buying, but with a a broken camera and 150 miles between us there was an issue. It was then it struck me most of the items he had bought were books and Dvd’s and bar codes, so I got him him to go to Amazon and talked him through the process of opening an account to sell his items.
Then I talked him how to list an item on Amazon in a few clicks and entering a few words about condition. He was shocked to how easy it was list an item and loved the fact that he did not have to take a picture of anything and there was not listing fee. He was able to list items in a few minutes instead of 10 minutes.
Anyway on the call today he was so excited as he had sold one of the items and he had made a nice profit. This got me thinking big time , there must be loads of other people like my client, and due to this reason there will be regular items on Amazon appearing, and how to sell on the site.
And if you are not selling on Amazon yet, I would look at it as a serious platform along side eBay to sell your items.
As an eBay Consultant one of the questions I like to ask a client both old and new is “What business are you in ?”. Now normally I either get a blank stare or they come out with what ever they are selling. For example if they are selling shoes….they say they are in the show business.
Now while they are right, they have missed out a major part of the business they are in. Some people who have been selling online might come out with a phrase such as “We are in the marketing of shoes business” Again they are right, but as an eBay consultant the words I am always looking for is “We are in the attraction business”
To many people this is a major mind shift, they have gone from selling say shoes, to marketing them, to being in the shoe attraction business, and until online sellers can get this they will just be shoe sellers – Selling shoes day in and out, but as soon as they get get the word attraction business into their thought, they will be selling and marketing items on a much larger basis.
So what do I mean the attraction business ? My thinking is we need to move from just being a seller of an item to someone who attracts buyers and lookers to our shop on a regular basis and the more attractive we make our eBay shop and listings the more items we will sell.
As we look around the world we are bombarded with adverts and sales gimmicks, but our minds focus and draw into those adverts and listings that look attractive. Our eyes scan eBay listings for an everyday product, but all of a sudden they stop and focus on a listing. It is the same product, same title almost, same price, but something has stopped us in our tracks. The picture and listing looks attractive, the person has made their listing stand out and almost forces us to click on the listing and then once inside the listing they make it even more attractive and by the time we have come to the end of the listing we have already bought the item.
So the next time you write out an advert or eBay listing, stop, plan and think on ways on how you can make your listing more attractive and stand out from the rest of the crowd. If you can learn this skill then you will be able to drive more traffic to your eBay listings and because you have more traffic in the end you will have more sales and more sales means more profit for you.
So go and make your listings more attractive and make them stand out from the rest of the crowd,
We all know we should write down goals, but very often we write them down and then sit back and wait for something to happen. I am sorry to say by writing the goals down is not something magic, you will not wake up one morning and find all those goals completed by magic. But what you will find is that over time as long as you do something each day you will be meeting those goals time after time.
Time after time I am asked for a magic wand to help people meet those goals have taken time to write out, but when I ask them what steps they have taken today in meeting those goals, I very often get a blank stare and they often say well I have been too busy playing on Facebook. – Now before I get loads of emails Facebook is good for business but we need to use it in a proper way and if we do it will help you big time in meeting those goals you have set.
So let’s look at a quick example on meeting those goals. You have a goal of listing 300 items on eBay a month, now that is a lot of product, but if you know it is realistic for your lifestyle, lets break it down bit by bit. In fact 300 items is only 10 items a day, and if you say your eBay listing time is 5 hours a day, that is 2 items an hour. Yes simple, but by breaking them down bit by bit you will be meeting those goals day after day.
Also when you have met the bigger goal of 300 items in a month give yourself a treat. Maybe a walk or a meal out or Take Away. But as an incentive of meeting those goals put that reward in the goal sheet. For example “I have listed 300 items – reward a meal at your favourite place. And once you feel at home and meeting those goals each month, set yourself some higher ones, but please do over stretch yourself for this will not help you if you are unable to meet the goals each and every month. Yes your goals need to stretch you every time, but if you fail to reach them time after time, then you will soon give hope of ever meeting those goals.
Stay focused, write the goals down, break them into easy to reach chunks and very soon meeting those goals will happen and it will seem like it has happened by magic, but this is only because you have put the hard work in. Now go and start meeting those goals.
We are well into October, so please mark these very Important Diary Datesinto your calendars, mind’s and To-Do Lists. These dates could make or break your
and Amazon business, also if you miss out on the dates you will be leaving a lot of money on the table.
Before we get into the dates, just for the new people and those who have not gone through a Holiday selling period I want to cover why these are Important Diary Dates. As the Christmas / Holiday season gets closer we as online sellers need to look out for these dates, the reason being we need to be thinking ahead to get stock into our business, shipping supplies in store and make sure we have enough hours in the day to do all the extra listing and the extra shipping that this will bring you.
Important Diary Date One – October 31st (Halloween), – Ok you are not planning to sell Halloween goods on this day, that should have been planned back in the summer. But Halloween is the starting point where you will see sales start to climb for the Holiday and Christmas buying period. Are you ready ?
Important Diary Date Two – Black Friday (This year it is November 25th). Black Friday is traditional the first Friday after Thanksgiving. It is when the retail stores have their busiest sales period. This day also shows a marked increase in retail sales here in the UK.
Important Diary Date Three – Cyber Monday (This Year it is November 28th). As the name suggest cyber Monday is when there is a massive peak in online sales. This peak happens on the first Monday after Thanksgiving. As online sellers we need to watch this day and make sure we are well prepared for the sales that will come in.
Important Diary Date Four – Super Saturday, this is the last Saturday before Christmas, but this year 2011 it is expected to be Saturday 17th, as the 24th is Christmas Eve. This is the last Saturday for people to get their last minute shopping items in time for Christmas and the Holiday season.
Important Diary Date Five – Hanukkah, make a note of this date and send out emails and offer items for sale to this important Holiday festival.
Other Important Dates – Other dates you need to mark in your diary are Christmas Day, Boxing Day, and New Years Day. The main reason is while you might not make any sales in your own country on those days (but last few years I have done), we run an international business and while it maybe Christmas Day where you live, somewhere else in the world may have had Christmas Day and else where it is still Christmas Eve.
So make these Important Diary Dates down and see if you can apply them into your online business and make some extra money.
I am doing this review of Retail Arbitrage as I work on improving my Amazon FBA Business, and thought I would do a review as I went through the whole process, in the past I have found this type of review helped me the most. To start with I want to cover what this book is all about.
Chris Green the author of Retail Arbitrage talks you through the whole process. Chris Green is one of those people who walks the talk, as you read the book Retail Arbitrage he talks you through each step of the way in an easy to understand way, and the only way he can do this is because he walks the talk. Chris does this for a living. He does not make money from talks and conferences, books and courses. (yes he does have a book and software) but his money was and still is made by buying at a low price and flipping the item or product and selling it at a higher price on Amazon FBA.
Retail Arbitrage is no small book book either it comes in at well over 200 pages, and this is not 200 pages with large type font either. Looking at my copy I would say the type font was around 12pt, and is evenly spaced. Chris only uses graphics and screen shots where it is needed, so what you are getting is a book / Manual that is full of content that will take your Amazon FBA business to the next level. And remember because we are talking Amazon FBA, we can supply products not only to our Amazon customer that almost any other customer that we may have. The list is endless
Retail Arbitrage by Chris Green is a complete course, you can build your Amazon FBA business from start to finish and need nothing more than stock and an account at Amazon. But he does mention some tools that he has developed over the years that he does sell for a monthly fee. Do you need these tools – No, but as your business grows and you are sourcing and selling more my the FBA system then the tools will help you in your business and will in fact save you time. But for now, the Retail Arbitrage book by Chris Green is all you need. Well as with anything once you have read it, you need to go and take action.
A question that is on many people’s lips is “What Is Amazon FBA” ? To help me explain what Amazon FBA is, let us look at a little story, of how Amazon FBA can help you take your online selling business to the next level.
Amazon FBA or to give it, it’s full name Fulfilment By Amazon is a program set up by Amazon that allows you to use Amazon to warehouse and then send out your items (and also always you to sell your items on the Amazon Site). Amazon FBA is very simple, but at the same time is a very powerful and can take your business to the next level for very low costs.
Imagine the scene you are busy doing your product sourcing and have picked up some books, CD’s DVD’s, Home and Beauty items a few new toys (Yes items sold via Amazon FBA have to be either new or collectible). Now normally at the back of your mind you are thinking I wish I could buy more stock, but there is no more room at home. This is where the Amazon FBA comes into play. And you can just test the water out of using the basic Amazon selling account or you can be a Pro-Merchant, it does not matter.
You come home and scan or list the items as usual into your Amazon selling account and a few clicks later, you print out some bar codes which you must put over the original bar code on the item (Yes items will need to have a bar code or listed on the Amazon site). A few more clicks and you print out a packing slip which goes in the box or boxes. You then book a pick-up from a carrier and this does vary on where you live and how you pay for it – each country is different.
Next you complete the order and wait for the order to be picked up and within days your item will be in the Amazon warehouse being sold for you and you can sit back and bank the money. Amazon FBA deals with payments, shipping, and customer emails, you just need to source more stock and bank the money.
Yes there are some extra costs that Amazon charges but these are low, and the savings you make on the postage is fantastic – remember you are using Amazon’s buying power and no more queues in Post Offices and no more having to buy bubble wrap and boxes.
Something else people do not realise is that you can use Amazon FBA to ship out to your eBay and other buyers. Yes Amazon store the items, and send the items out for you. And for very little cost and in most cases a lot cheaper than you can do. All the pricing information can be found on your countries Amazon site. Just do a search for Amazon FBA.
Go on and give it a go, you have nothing to loose and a lot to gain.
A very common question I get as an eBay and Amazon Consultant is “How Not To Sell Online“. Now a common train of thought with both new sellers and those who have been selling online a good number of years, is to cut prices. Now while having a sale is both fun and can help liquidate some of your stock that has been in your store rooms for sometime is a good idea and can bring you in money. But if you just cut prices because everyone else does, will lead you into big trouble and could cause you to go out of business.
As I mentioned earlier, if you cut and reduce your prices for all the right reasons and motives you will sell stock and make money (and in the case of some items just break even or sell at a slight loss – but you will still have money). What I am talking about in to days article is just cutting the price because everyone else is cutting their price.
Now to be fair to eBay, yes this does happen, but the site where we see it happen more often is on Amazon. New sellers come in and they see a price of $20.00 so they list their for $18.97, then the sellers who have been on the site for sometime cut their price to $15.00, and very soon everyone is cutting their prices right down t no profits and in the case of the big sellers, not making anything at all – they can do this because they are major retailers and sellers and can afford to take a loss. You see they know these new sellers will soon be gone, and out of businesses. Then when this happens they can put the price up to what it should be.
When you price your items and you see people always under cutting, please do not follow suit. Stick to the proper prices, be yourself and never sell yourself out, it is not worth it. You need to remember that some of the people selling on sites such as Amazon are major retailers and buy at huge discounts. For example we might be selling a widget at 10.00. This widget cost us 6.00. But another seller might be buying it at 2.00, just because of volume, and they can afford to knock prices down low and also they can afford to almost give the item away as they know the cost cutters will be long gone.
So next time you are in a niche that keep under cutting each other, stick to your guns, keep your price what you set it at. And when the price war is over, you will still be there and still selling. Also remember buyers do not just buy on price, they also buy on who the person is and their customer service.
Andrew Milburn Is An eBay and Amazon Consultant Based In Lichfield Staffordshire
Today I want to talk with you about another selling platform. I would guess that if you have been selling on eBay for sometime, you will have dipped your toe into the world of selling on Amazon. If you have not yet ventured into this area, I would suggest you give it a go. In future blog posts I will cover how to set this up, and the main differences between Amazon and eBay. But for today I want to tell you about an area on Amazon that is not hidden, but not many people have heard of, and if used in the correct way, can mean massive profits for you and your business.
I guess if you have sold on Amazon, you will have listed the item, and when it sold shipped the item out to the customer ? Now as you know when you sell on Amazon your item is listed by Amazons own stock. For example you have this widget to sell, you see Amazon has it for sale and they have 8 in stock, you add yours and it still says amazon have 8 in stock and there are 4 for sale
by other sellers. But you still have to store the items, pack and ship them.
Now how would you like to have none of the above packing and shipping and quite often increase your sales by upto 30% or more when you sell on Amazon ? Well there is away and it is called Amazon FBA. In simple terms Amazon FBA, is where you send your stock to Amazon – they store it, pick it, ship it, deal with returns (if you get them), but one of the big advantages is your stock is included in Amazons stock and if a customer is a Prime Customer they get the item next day.
Yes there are costs involved, but when you see the pricing and work it out it real is cheap. You have non of the hassle of storage and packing, and you can still send on sites such as eBay and Amazon will ship it to your customers any where in the world, and their shipping rates are often cheaper than the normal person in the street can ship for.
For more details, go to the Amazon site of the country you live in, log into your account and do a search for FBA. I will put some links in to the blog next few days for the USA and UK, but want to double check the links before I do. Quite often when you log into your Amazon sellers account the FBA logo is on the right hand side of the page.
Happy Selling
My Auction Empires, helping sellers in the Lichfield Staffordshire area (WS13, WS14, WS15), with selling on sites like eBay and Amazon.
News is starting to hit the streets that Royal Mail will be going on strike on the 22nd and 23rd October. This is a Thursday and Friday, so will effect mail deliver on those days and will also effect deliveries at the start of the week as they have to cope with backlogs.
As yet this is not an all out strike, and one will pray and hope it will not come to this.
Please keep your customers upto date and when you email them just let them know their orders could be delayed.
There is good news, if your item is over 500g you can use other firms to send out your items. There is one Courier Broker who is fantastic, they have great rates, a very fast service, and yes I have used them loads of times.
Will keep you upto date on this Royal Mail strike action.
As we move into the busy selling period, make sure you have enough :
Boxes
Jiffy Bags
Parcel Tape
Shipping Paperwork
The last thing you will want is to run out of the above items, for it could take you a few days to get the items back in stock, and that could mean some very unhappy customers.
Another area you need to look at and write down, are the last posting dates for items to reach your customers in time for Christmas. If you ship overseas each country will have a date that you need to send items out to. Also this is very different if you send them via Air or sea. Again plan ahead and be prepared.
