In the second part of this mini series Do Something Every Day, I want to cover something that may seem very basic, but if we want to be successful with our eBay business then we need to take steps to learn how to do the basics to improve our business. Now before we get into the main parts of the article I do want to say there are times and places where I do suggest you need to out source some parts of your business, but for today I just want to cover some basics that you can learn.

So why do you need to learn new things everyday…….well by learning about ourselves and our business and finding out new ways of doing some aspects of our business, then we can move on and reach our goals. And as I mentioned before if HTML scares you to death…….fine out source the website design to someone who knows coding, but I do suggest you learn the basics, for example how to add the image tags to a picture…….the reason being you will be using tags like these on a daily basis so if you need to out source this simple task then it will cost you money plus you will also have to wait for someone else.

Another thing is learning to buy domain names…….again if you have to rely on another person then you could loose that domain name. Just spend a little time on sites such as Godaddy.com and they have simple to follow videos on how to buy and register a domain name.

Just learn how to do the basics and out source those big projects. But you will find by allowing yourself time each day learning how to do some basics in your business then when you need to add a tag or buy a domain name, you will do it in your sleep.

But also take time out each day and spend it investing in you as a person and if you just spend 30 minutes each day investing in you as a person then over a year you will have input many hours into yourself and over time this will show in both your business and personal life.

Now go, and invest sometime each day improving your eBay, and other online businesses.

Happy Selling.

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As an eBay and Amazon Consultant I am always being asked about Product Sourcing tips and ideas and how to find those items you can buy low and sell high. And before we get into the main part of this article that last part is the important bit, buying low and selling high.

You do not need fancy bits of kit to help with product sourcing nor do you need a degree while these may help at the end of the day you just need to remember buy low and sell high and if you follow that simple rule you are a good way there to make money week after week on eBay and Amazon.

Quick Product Sourcing Tips

Buy low and sell high – When you are out and about keep an eye open for shops and stores that are selling items off at a steep discount or buy 1 get one free. Here in the Uk I have seen some supermarkets even do buy 1 get 2 free. When you see the buy one get one free sale, remember you need to halve the retail price. For example let’s say it sells for £10.00, but because it is buy one get one free the cost is now only £5.00 each. Take a look and see what they are selling for on sites such as eBay and Amazon and see if there is profit to be made.

Recently I let a big opportunity pass through my fingers in our local shopping centre we had one of those discount stores that was closing down. I popped in whenever I was in town and spend some time doing some product sourcing, and from time to time I found bits and pieces I bought. Now this shop was in it’s last few days of being open and was the last in the chain of shops and they had all the stock in this one shop………………Lots of people and lots of rubbish stock this was stuff people had not bought from the past few weeks. But……………..there were 2 pallets of a well know make of maths sets.  I had a look on my phone and they retailed at £4.99 each on a regular basis plus shipping. 

The shop had them on sale for 25p each. Now I was thinking were these the real deal, it was something the shop would not normally sell. So I thought well I have got a £10.00 note in my pocket so bought 40 items and thought if they are not the same as ones I have seen on Amazon and eBay all I have lost is £10.00.

Anyway got home and listed them and yes they were the real deal and yes each one sold for £4.99 plus postage and packing. On Buy it Now and sold in hours. Next day went back with some more cash to buy a load and the shop had gone, the day I was there was the last day. 

So when you are out product sourcing there are times when you need to take that risk. If you see something when you are out and about I would suggest you spend what you can afford to loose when you are just starting out. Yes when you are product sourcing there will be times you get it wrong and when that happens keep the items as gifts or sell them at cost price.

Product sourcing is fun and over the coming weeks we will look at many different ways you can source products for your eBay and Amazon shops. Happy Product Sourcing

Andrew Milburn Is An eBay And Amazon Consultant Based In Lichfield Staffordshire.

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Yes you read that right Christmas…………..What’s Next. I have not gone mad, honest. But in the retail market place and yes if you sell online you are in the retail trade then you always need to be thinking what’s the next trend, what’s the next season. What’s next should always be on your mind and in your business plan.

Although we are at the start of December, all your planning should have been done and dusted for the Christmas / Holiday selling season. So what should you be planning right now – Well this does depend on the niche you are selling in and also the lead times on the products you source and buy. But let’s look at this as a normal niche with no major lead times etc.

So what seasons should you be thinking about and marketing as soon as the Christmas Day Supper has been eaten. ?

Sorry it is too late for anything to do with New Years Eve – this should have been thought about along with Christmas. The top ones that I can think of straight away are -

• Valentines Day
• Mother’s Day (UK)
• Easter

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A very popular question that I get asked is “eBay or Amazon” and yes once again I have to answer it depends. Regular readers will by know be used to me saying it depends, but as you learn more about the science of selling on platforms such as eBay and Amazon you will get to learn that it will depend which one you sell on, by the items you are product sourcing.

You see eBay as long as it is legal and allowed will allow you to sell most items on the platform no matter what the condition is as long as you are open and honest in the listing and the description. But Amazon on the other hand will only allow you to sell media items in any condition – again you need to be open and honest with people and tell the condition the item is in. But other items have to be either new or in same cases if it is a collectable item (signed item) then you way be allowed to sell older items on Amazon. But for items other than media it is best to source new items only.

Also prices will vary from the different platforms and as you get used to sourcing and selling you will soon get to know what sells best on the different eCommerce platforms such as eBay and Amazon (and please remember there are many others out there, for example Etsy is suitable if you sell craft or antique items). This is due to the fact that the different platforms each have a different type of buyer. With their own likes and dislikes.

When you are looking at where you will be planning to sell remember that if the product is suitable why not list on both the eBay and the Amazon sites, by doing this you will be giving yourself better exposure for the items you will be selling as you will be appearing on both of the selling platforms. But if you do sell an item on both of the sites, please remember that if it sells on one to remove it from the other one straight away, without fail, if not you will be selling something you do not have.

Happy Selling

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Yes eBay will help you all they can with the promotion and marketing but at the end of the day you will need to drive traffic to your listings. Most of this can be done within eBay……………….using proper keywords, some basic SEO will go along way. And when you couple this with free delivery and a good picture you will go along way to getting traffic to your listings.

Now you can help this along by doing some reviews and guides and posting those on eBay. Both eBay and Google will pick these up and it can help with some extra traffic to the site. Moving along from that you can write some press releases, articles and send them out to sites online and offline.

And again how much you do will depend on the value of the items you are selling. If you are selling a one of £4.99 item then all the extra work might not be worth it. But if the item is worth thousands then some extra work will pay off. And if you have been asked to sell a large collection of items for someone famous then as much offline and online marketing as you can do will bring the viewers and from the viewers will come the buyers.

So weigh up what the item or items are worth and then spend some time if needed doing promotions off eBay. Also if you have an eBay shop you will need to spend sometime just promoting your eBay shop both online and offline, as you cannot and should not rely on eBay doing all the work.

Have fun and get out there and promote yourself and your business everyday both online and offline.

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So let’s look at this from some different angles. Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, but did it work the first time ? No of course not, it took him many tries and failures before he got what he wanted? Some would have seen him as a failure in business and life, but he saw each failure as a step nearer to the finished product. Abraham Lincoln failed in life and business not once but many times…………but each time he got up dusted himself down and learnt from the failures and moved on.

And if we look at business people all over the world, the ones who come up with new ideas and new products will have had more failures than successes. Some we hear about and others we don’t, but we do see is a finished product that would not have been there if they had not had the failures in life and business. Did Apple think one day iPhone……………………no it was a process and within that process many failures, but the finished product was fantastic. Take a look at Google each day the teams launch new ideas in the world of search some get thumbs up overs last a few months, while others come through. Do companies such as Google see these failures as failures, no they see them as a learning curve. Where did we go wrong and what can we learn to improve the product or idea.

The same goes for your online business if a product or idea does not take off or does not sell, please do not see this as a failure in business and give. Spend some time and ask questions such as what went wrong, why it went wrong. And then learn from these failures and apply what you have learnt and move on.

It is proven time and time again the more failures you have the stronger you will become, and yes you may have to go through a few dozen products to find the winner, but each time a product does nor sell you learn lessons and being in business is a journey. So please never look at failure in business as failure. Look at it as a learning curve, learn from these mistakes and failures and will become a stronger person and also have a strong and profitable business. So what is failure in business ? It is a stepping stone to finding that product or service that will sell.

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Meeting Those Goals

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.

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Also due to the fact that Christmas Day is on a Sunday this year we also have an extra delivery day as all the major companies will be delivering on the Saturday as well – but they and not leave it that late, and as you get into the week before Christmas it may be worth it to send items next day delivery etc.

Also some carriers even offer a Christmas Day Delivery but this is expensive and is only worth it for high end items.

Lastly in many parts of the word Christmas often means bad weather…………….please can I encourage you to look out different carriers in case one is unable to deliver an item.  At times if the weather lasts some time carriers get a back log and this does have a knock on effect. For example her e in Uk last year we had some real bad weather that lasted weeks and a well known online supplier was unable to get their orders out, this was due to bad weather, and their carrier having massive back logs of deliveries, but I was able to send orders out each day and have them arrive within a few days.

So do you have a plan if the weather is bad ?

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How would you like to turn those unwanted Cd’s into much needed cash, or that pile of baby items ?  Yes you can still today turn unwanted items into much needed cash, but it is a bit harder these days but with the right eBay Training, you can soon have your items listed and up for sale in no time at all.

eBay has grown over the years and this means there are many books, dvd’s out there showing and telling you how to sell on the platform. But while this eBay Training is good a lot of it is taught by people who have not sold on the platform, and while they can teach you the basics, they often miss some hints and tips as they are not in the site on a daily basis.

When you are looking for training or consulting you need to ask questions like.

• How long they have sold on the platform
• Do they sell and buy on a regular basis
• Do they work full time in their eBay / ecommerce business

The above are some of the common questions you should ask. But more important you need to feel at ease with the person doing the training as often you will be sharing information with them about goals, passwords, and plans for the future.

Also with modern day computers you do not need to having training done face to face. I consult / train with people via :

• Face to face
• Will travel to your business
• On computer
• email
• Skype
• Phone
• webinars

Also you should look for trainers and consulting who will tailor the package to you the student / client. For instance at all times I find out the clients needs and wants and then I will put forward some ideas and plans and then we take the steps needed.

If you are interested in having some eBay / Amazon / ecommerce training or consulting please get in touch with us and have a Free chat to see how we can help you take your business to the next level with the right eBay Training.

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Make Money From Nostalgia

Did you know history sells, or to give it, it’s proper term Nostalgia sells day in and day out. Nostalgia sells for many reasons – people like to remember the good old days, they still own something that requires a part, and then you have TV and production companies who need and want items from days gone by on a regular basis. Lastly you have interior designers who need items for period houses, shops and offices and the list goes on and on.

Can you make a living from this nostalgia niche ? Well I would say it depends. You will need to get known for the person to come to when they need some gadget from the past (and I include clothing, food, sweets in this list too). Also to make a good living you will have to be able to source at the drop of a hat.

It is a fun business to be in, and because some of the items are hard to find you can almost name your price, but do not be too greedy or people will go else where. For example you may find someone asks you to find one of those old “trim phones” it takes you some time but you source one and add a fair profit, this could happen a few times, and then suddenly the person emails you and asks you to source 300 items for a film. Now if you had over charged they would have gone else where. Does this happen on sites such as eBay, yes it does. You often find directors and producers buying props on sites such as eBay.

When you are looking to go into this nostalgia niche think about :

• Cameras
  Telephones – Trim phones, dial phones etc
  Clothing
  Sweets
  Cereals packets
  Food
  Magazines etc

And the list goes on and on, and if you are careful do your research very soon you may find TV companies paying you to travel the world to source items.  Can it happen, yes, but before it can you need to take that step into the wonderful world of Nostalgia.

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