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Browsing Posts in How To

Time To Get Started

March 21, 2012 No comments

As an eBay Consultant one of the issues I find when talking with people is the fact that they do a lot of talking and asking loads of questions which is good in one way, but in other ways they are spending so much time ask about this and that thing on the site, that they never start. It is time to get started, if you have been sitting on the fence for sometime and ask about this or thinking about that let me encourage you, to stop thinking, stop reading the books and buying the DVD’s. The time to get started has arrived.

time to get started, ebay consultant, andrew milburn

Mark a date on your calendar, and then put the date on a large sheet of paper and place it where you will see it on a regular basis. Then take those action steps needed to make the start date happen. Yes it may mean you stop watching TV and going out with friends for a time. But the rewards you will get in the long term will far out weigh any hardships. Imagine for a bit that you have had a goal to leave work and earn your money from selling on eBay, but all you have done is read some books, gone on a few courses and chatted about it with your friends on your weekends out together. You have set the date and the time to get started has arrived.

Ok your friends may make fun of you, and your work friends may laugh when you say you did not watch the soap opera so cannot comment on what they are talking about. But picture the scene some time later, your business is successful and you have enough money to give up work………….and you read in the papers your favourite DJ or group are in the UK for a few gigs, but it means a few nights from home, you phone your mates up and they are pleased you have seen sense and gone back to the fun life and when they hear you can get tickets they are all excited…………………….it is then you say so your ok to have Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday off from work……………………..a long pause and silence. Most say no of course not and carry on with their lives, but a few speak and say when you said to us it was time to get started on your new business we made fun of you, and when you did not come out and have fun we laughed at you.

But who is laughing now ? You chose a new way of life, you made a choose, and gave up having fun for a short while, and now you have the freedom we all want, but do not action to make it happen. Please if you are reading this article and sitting on the fence, make a date and mark it Time to get started and then plan and work hard and one day too you will have all the freedom you want, why…..because you decided it was time to get started.

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Can You Still Make A Profit Selling On eBay ?

September 26, 2011 2 comments

 

Can You Still Make a Profit Selling on eBay?

 

A very good question I get time after time, by clients and people just asking in general is “Can You Still Make A Profit Selling On eBay”. I take a deep breathe and say yes of course. But I do go and and explain that of course it is not as simple as it was all those years ago when eBay first started out. I also tell them they need to plan and prepare and do research, but if they follow through on everything they eBay - My Auction Empires too can be making money day in and day out on sites such as eBay. Then I ask them another question……………is eBay for them and the products that they are looking to be selling.  At this point I often get funny looks and go on to explain that there are now many other sites out there, that could be better for the products and items that they are looking to sell, sites such as Etsy and Amazon could be better for them.

In today’s economic selling on platforms can be very profitable people are looking not only for bargains but they are also looking for products that are good buys and good value for money and will spend time research and looking on line and this means you do not always have to be the cheapest seller, but the seller offering the best items and the seller who gives the best customer service.

eBay still after all these years gets a massive amount of visitors each and every day. And these people have money they want to spend and eager to spend money with someone, and if you have written and worded the listing in the right way they could be spending their money with you. Over the coming weeks and months we will be going into far more detail on how to write a listing and how to design your eBay Shop so that people will come and spend their money with you and not someone else.

You will hear if you have not already heard that eBay charges fees, yes they do, and sorry I am going to be very hard here either get over it, or find another site where for very little money you can sell items 24 hours a day, 365 days a week, and I think you will find it very hard. The fees are tiny and when you are sourcing product you will need to factor them into your overall costs.

In closing eBay is a wonderful place to earn money either on a Part-Time or Full-Time basis, you can sell a few items or sell many thousand items from your eBay shop. You will have winner and you will have losers that is a fact of life and part of running a business. So in answer to the question Can you still make a profit selling on eBay ? The answer is a big yes.

Andrew Milburn Is An eBay Consultant Based In The Uk

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Plush Still Sells

September 6, 2011 No comments

Plush Still Sells

 


One item that seems to sell year in and year out are Plush Toys. One of the reasons (apart from being popular) is the fact that Plush toys are easy to source either second hand or brand new. And when you add the fact that plush toys are very easy to ship all round the world you are well on your way to winner that can put money into your bank account week after week.

If you are buying Plush Toys second hand from either a shop or a private seller, one of the things that I have found you need to check is that they plush toys still have their “Tush Tags” attached, and from selling some Charlie Bears for a client one of the big requests I had from people looking to buy was if the bears had their names still around their necks. Sadly these Charlie Bears did not and this meant a price difference of around 20% and in same cases more.

Another thing I learnt when selling Plush Toys is you have two main areas

  • The mass market items…………. and people still buys these days in and days out on eBay and Amazon
  • The Collector…………….These people know what they like and want, and if a plush toy has been discontinued then the price can go sky high

When you are out and about product sourcing keep your eyes, ears and nose open to find those cute plush toys that earn you regular profits each and every day. Yes you did read the word nose just and when you are buying plush your nose comes in very handy as you can smell things like mould and smoke. And while you can cope with both of these factors my advice is move onto something else as the time it takes to wash and clean the items will remove any profit………………….and the smell of smoke is very hard to remove from any item especially plush toys. So why not give it a go and see if those Plush Toys can earn you some nice profit.

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Second Hand Toys Make Money

August 27, 2011 No comments

Second Hand Toys Make Money

For many parents in the UK and around the world in a matter of a few days something major is about to happen. Something that has been on the horizon for 5 years. And ideas ? Yes that little baby is now all grown up and will be heading off to school. For many Mums and Dads this is a tearful day, and for some it is the start of a new life as all their children are now at school. And this means added expenses, school meals, clothing and school trips and loads of birthday parties as they get invited to all their friends parties. So where does some of this extra money come from ? Well why not see if you can sell some the toys that will now be gathering dust ?

But I can hear you say who will want to buy a second-hand bike, or second-hand toys and clothing, well believe it or not thousands of people on the eBay platform are waiting right now, with their fingers on the Buy It Now button ready, willing and eager to spend their money. And I am being serious here. As the saying goes “One man’s junk is someone else’s treasure”, and all those things that will now be gathering dust can be turned into ready cash.

How To Sell Second Hand Toys

Before you all go mad and list everything in sight there are a few things that you need to sort out before you start to list and sell your items.

  • That they are still usable and safe for a child to use.
  • They conform to the UK safety rules and regulations.
  • They are clean and tidy (Yes it means you will have to give them a good wash), make they look as new as possible.
  • If you still have the box and instructions pack them away.
Now when you list the toys be as honest and open with the buyers if their is a bit of Lego missing tell them this in the description, yes it might put some buyers off but others just want the Lego. You see if you do not tell them and they get the Lego and find a piece missing they could get cross and leave you negative feedback but if you tell them the truth they know what they are buying.
Also if the toy is marked in anyway again tell them in the description and if possible take a picture of the mark and highlight the picture where the mark is.
Always tell them the truth and list the item to the best of your ability and always think what would you like to know if you were buying the second hand toy or item?
The second-hand toy market is massive and will always be around – you have people looking for a bargain, people looking to replace a favourite toy, and you also have collectors of toys. Price the toys at a reasonable price and try and offer free shipping. Remember in all this you are clearing out the second-hand toys and any profit you make is an added bonus.
Have fun and go and make some money in the wonderful world of second-hand toys.
Andrew Milburn is an eBay Consultant based in Lichfield Staffordshire.

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How To Re-purpose Your Marketing Material

July 23, 2011 No comments

How To Re-purpose Your Marketing Material

A question I often will get is how do you re-purpose your marketing material for your niche. Now with all the latest reports and guides that are doing the rounds at the moment, you may be think that this is something new and hot. Well sorry to disappoint you, the art of re-purposing the written word is nothing new at all, and it is something that has been going on for many years – in fact since the printing press began.

Yes there are lots of these reports and guides out there that tell you how to do it, and how it works so well in the Internet Marketing Business world field. But please listen this works in any field you may choose and if I am honest it works even better in some of the smaller niches, as it has not been over used.

Now some of you may be thinking what does it mean to re-purpose your marketing material, so to help you understand what it means let me give you an example of what it can look like.

@ Take for example the book Harry Potter.

@ The book has been turned into a movie

@ The movie into DVD

@ DVD into spoken word

@ Spoken word into a range of clothing

@ Then you have the fair ground rides

@ Also badges, pens, and loads of other items

@ Food

So you see from a book you can get a whole range of other related items, that have the potential of driving traffic or sales to each other. In fact someone who sees the film, may then go and buy the book. It is a win – win situation.

How To Re-Purpose Your Material

Let’s say that you have written a blog post and added it to your blog, now many people would stop there and leave it at that and loose out on a lots of traffic to their site.

  • You could re-write or spin the article and add it to an Article Directory or a few.
  • You could read it out and turn it into an mp3 and make a mini podcast and add it to iTunes.
  • Make a PowerPoint and a voice over and add it to YouTube
  • Submit it as a Press Release and add it to the Online Press Release Companies

The above is a quick example what you can do with just one simple blog post. Remember the more places you put your name out there the more back links you get, the more back links you get the more traffic and the more traffic means more sales. Also some of the sites allow people to share the items with others, so in a short period of time you can be all over the internet.

As time goes on I will add other ideas and thoughts as to how you can re-purpose your marketing material and generate more traffic and thus get more sales.

Andrew Milburn Is An eBay Consultant Based In Lichfield Staffordshire.

 

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How To Add Video To My eBay Listings

April 19, 2011 No comments
renaissancechambara.jp/2008/05/23/unboxing-the...

Image via Wikipedia

Today I want to cover a subject people are asking me often and that’s “How To Add Video To My eBay Listings. If you had asked this

some years ago the answer would have been no, then just a few years ago it would have been possible but hard work and expensive. But today it is easy, free, and quick.

 

Before we get into the main part of the article a question I also ask people is “Why do you want to add video to eBay listings” ?  No I am not being funny, it is a serious question. The videos need to add something to your listing. For example if you sell musical items, you can show the item being played. Or if you sell an item that moves, you can show the item moving. Please do not just put a video on your listing just because everyone else is doing it.

Lastly this is not an article telling you how to take the video, upload it, we shall be covering these topics at a different time.

How To Add Video To My eBay Listings

** Please note that since this article was written eBay and YouTube have played around with some code. Now while the same principals apply, and after step 4 where you click embed video, you will need to also click the use old code button, this should then work.**

  1. Using something like a flip camera, video camera or even the camera on your phone, shoot your video, but keep this to around 30 seconds. You need to think TV advert length no more.
  2. Upload the video to Youtube.
  3. Once the video is uploaded to Youtube, make sure it looks good.
  4. Now go to the video on Youtube and under the video you will see something called embed video, click on this.
  5. Next choose the colors that match your listing
  6. Now untick show related videos, this tells YouTube to only show your video to people
  7. High light the code that Youtube gives you and copy.
  8. Now go to eBay and to your listing, click on the html tab
  9. Scroll down to where you would like the video to go.
  10. Paste the code into the listing, and you are done.
  11. You may notice that when you go back to normal view on your listing there is nothing there,do not panic (yet)
  12. You will need to preview your listing and if by magic, your video will be there

I hope this short article has helped you understand the process needed to add video to eBay listings.Enhanced by Zemanta

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Wicker Baskets Make Money

November 4, 2010 No comments

A quick question, who has a wicker basket at home ? In today’s world people are always looking to make some extra money to pay those bills and also to put towards holidays, birthdays and Christmas, and at the same time they want a bit of sparkle in their lives and in the lives of people around them. But selling things like books and CD’s etc, just does not turn you on, you are the more hands on person and like to make things to sell.

So lets go back to my question at the start of this article. How many of you have a wicker basket at home ? Now I need you to cast your thoughts back in time. What was in that wicker basket ? Chances are it was full of things like, food, smelly items, items that made you feel good when you opened it up. Yes we are talking about wicker hampers filled with cute and wonderful things.

If you have an eye for detail and like packaging items up then why not start a wicker hamper business and sell your items on sites such as eBay and etsy ? You can fill the wicker baskets with things like :

Four styles of basket
Image via Wikipedia
  • Skin Care and Cosmetics
  • Sweets
  • Chocolates
  • Food
  • Baby Items

In fact the list is endless and they can cost very little to ultra expensive so all budgets and tastes are catered for. As well as filling the baskets with items you will need to present them in the correct way. It is no good just putting a few boxes into the basket and expecting it to sell, you need to decorate the basket and when finished wrap it carefully in see through foil and put bows and ribbons on it. Then it needs to be placed into a box and carefully packed. If you really want a wow factor have a nice big box and put the wicker hamper

in it and then fill it with helium balloons. The idea being that when the client opens it the balloons will spill out, making them go wow.

But while we have talked about wicker baskets, you need to think out side the box. Take a look around you and think what else could I make into a hamper :

  • Rucksacks
  • Baby Cot
  • Hat


Again the list is endless, you just need to work out your target market and what will go into the item. But as you start out, start off with the wicker basket idea, and as you get into the business, then you can branch out into other hamper ideas.

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Never Give In

December 18, 2009 No comments

 

Each day we all need to make decisions, things like do we get up in the morning, what we eat, what we wear, and if we go to work. For most this is a daily routine which we never think about. But there are days when we say out loud or just in our head, “I have just had enough of this daily lifestyle I want a change.”

To some they just say this and carry on with their lifestyle. To others they decide enough is enough, and each day they do something different to bring their life style to where they want.

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Now it is to these people that I want to talk with, there are going to be days when you just do not feel like spending that extra few hours working or learning something new. Please do not give up !!!!

There is going to be times when people laugh at you and say stuff like “You do something like that” please do not listen to them, carry on and make that dream you had come through. And you know what, those people who laughed at you will soon have to say sorry for you will be living your dream lifestyle.

So make a decision today to take steps to make that dream come true and please “Never Give Up”

Another thought and resource bought to you by Andrew Milburn and My Auction Empires.

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How To Decide What To Sell Online

November 19, 2009 No comments

I guess that if you have ever felt bored at work, or worse have lost your job you are among many thousands of people who dream on a daily basis and want to set up and start selling online on places such as eBay and Amazon to name a few of the more famous sites. By doing this will give,you more time to spend at home with your family or loved ones or allowing you free time to spend in other areas of your life. Now this is all good, but you can wish all you like, plan all day long, but until you have a product idea or line of products to sell on these sites, then guess what you will not be making any money.

Today there the thousands and thousands of product ideas and niches that you can sell on eBay, Amazon or your own website. Now in this article there is not the space or time to go into a full lesson, but there are plenty of places to go to for help or give you ideas. In this article you will find some nuggets that will help you brain storm product and product niche ideas to give you a start.

eBay and Amazon, is the best place to get a toe in the water to see if online selling is for you, and if running your own business is the thing for you. Once you have sold the items in your home, and for family and friends you will need in place a source of new products to sell, so to help you get started below are some ideas that sell day in and day out on these sites.

Now before we get into some hot niches it is important to think when you are sourcing do not pick very hot products that you will never be able to price match on, as sadly you will only lose money on. For instance the latest gadget maybe on everyones want list, but will the profit margins allow you to make a living, think and plan.


Baby Items Are Hot

Babies around the world are born every second and new parents and those who have a second or third child will always want new items or the latest item for their little one. But something else with baby items things like nappies are repeat items and parents by them on a weekly basis ib bulk for a few years at a time. If you can get a good supply and offer good customer service then you will have customers for a few years spending good money with you.

Non Branded Products

Everyone likes the latest item but often cost does not allow people to do this, but instead of think and looking for branded items, go out and look for non-branded items and very often you can find the same quality at a huge reduction and your customers will love you for this.

Niche Products From Around The World

Now if you have friends or contacts around the world or love to travel, then selling niche items that can only be found in some far flung country could be your key to a new business. Yes you need to think of customs etc, but do not let this stop you thinking out side of the box.

Hope this helps you and start you in making money on eBay and Amazon.

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Turn Unwanted Items Into Much Needed Cash in a Matter of a Few Days

September 22, 2009 No comments

I would guess if you are like most people, you are finding it a bit harder to get by the last few months, and with some holidays coming up, a lot of you will be thinking of either cutting back on how much they spend or even thinking of staying at home.

But did you know you have an almost instead solution sitting right in your home or business ( if you are self-employed ), it has been suggested that people have around $2,000 sitting in their homes in unwanted gifts, and items they no longer use. Ok you may say, but how do I turn these into hard cash that I can spend.

Below there are some simple steps that if you follow them you will have the cash in your accounts very shortly.

Step One : Find a large box or laundry basket, the bigger the better for this exercise.

Step Two : Now go around the home and place into the box everything that you have not used for six months, look in cupboards, drawers, sheds, garages, take your time over this.

Step Three : If you have children who understand what you are doing, get them doing the same around their own rooms, make it a family project, this does work well if it is for a family holiday.

Step Four : Once you have done this, I suggest you allow a few days, spread everything out on a table or floor.

Step Five : You need to think am I going to sell this at a Car Boot / Garage sale, eBay or Amazon. My suggestion would be eBay as this allows you to sell world-wide.

Step Six : You need to take a picture of each of your items and write a good heading and a description, to help you sell the items.

Step Seven : If your item has a story behind it, use it and tell it as it will help you sell the item and maybe get a higher price.

Step Eight : Now go to eBay and start to list – because you have done the hard work of writing descriptions and taking pictures this should not take to long.

Step Nine : Set sensible prices – either auction or Buy It Now.

Step Ten : Sell, sell, sell.

Step Eleven : Post the items off to the people who have bought them.

Step Twelve : Bank the money.

So there you have it in twelve simple steps, you can turn unwanted gifts and items around your home and business into much needed cash. This is a real fun project and all ages can take part. If you have teenagers maybe you could get one to take the pictures, another one to write the descriptions and someone else to do the listing. They will all have fun, and all will know at the end of the day, the money if for a holiday or some family fun thing.

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