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February 2012
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Time To Get Back To Work

January 5, 2012 No comments

 

Life as an eBay Consultant has it’s ups and downs over the holiday periods. As well as offering Consultancy and Training on subjects as eBay, Amazon and Etsy I am still very active in sourcing products for not only myself but for clients as well. Yes it can get very busy when you have to balance your own business along side the “demands of clients” and it is all fun and yes means working into the wee small hours but I do not mind as I love what I do, and love helping my clients take their businesses to the next level.

But as I mentioned before the holidays are now gone, and it is time to get back to normal and rank up our selling and of course this means if we want to sell we need to source products and this is such a great time to find products as people are selling off presents they no longer need or want and also sell off their older items as they were given a newer one.

Also very soon people will be getting their credit card and store card bills, and will be looking to make some extra cash – so keep your eyes and ears open for people looking to unload some products. Also remember if you are a Trading Assistant get your name out and about as people will be looking to make that extra money.very soon,

And one of the harder areas an eBay Consultant has is when they need to sit down with a client either old or new and say to the client is it time for the product they are selling is put to bed and a new product needs to be found. Yes at times we all need to look at what we are selling and ask ourselves is the product still selling like it did a year ago. It can be hard and stressful for all concerned, but the end results can be outstanding as the old product was holding them back.

So let’s get back to work and start making that money and grow our businesses to new heights.

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Tool Tuesday – Evernote

January 3, 2012 No comments

 evernote-logo

As an eBay Consultant we are asked many different question, but if you asked all the eBay consultants around the world they could most likely group the questions in around 5 different groups. And one of the groups would be “Tools”. What tools do you use in your business to help you streamline your business and enable you to do as much as you do in a day or week.

Well I will let you into a little secret eBay consultants have 30 hours in their days……….I wish !!! No we all have tools and programs that we use on a daily basis to help us manage our time and activities. But before we get into this weeks chosen tool, I want to say if you are serious about your eBay (or Amazon / Etsy) business then you need a Smartphone one that is either on the iphone  or Android platform due to the many apps that there are to help you. I myself am using a Samsung Galaxy S on the Android platform and it is like an extra person in my business.

This weeks tool is called Evernote. This App works on both your phone (iPhone / Android) but it also sinks with your computer and as it is a web based program it can be asked from any computer in the world where there is an internet connection.

So what is Evernote ?

 

Evernote is like a notebook on super power. In simple terms you have almost unlimited notebooks and within those notebooks you can make notes. So for example you can have an eBay Notebook and then within that eBay notebook you can have notes such as product ideas, product sources, a new carriers name and address. You can also take photo’s and make audio notes and then tag them with keywords so that they are easy to find.

Then once you have made the note you just press sync on your phone and within seconds it is available  in the cloud. Let’s look at an example you are out sourcing products and make notes of a great product. You jot down names, costs where you saw it and take a quick picture. You press sync, and within seconds your contact back at home or the office has it on their laptop then again within seconds it can be shared with a friend in China and within a day you could have access to that product.

Yes you could just email the person but Evernote is far more powerful and is accessible far easier and can be shared far faster around the world. And the best bit it is free for the basic package and unless you are doing massive amounts of note taking the free version is all you need, but if you do need to upgrade to the premium version it is very affordable.

 

Another use of Evernote is the app that sits in the Google Chrome Browser. Again let’s say you come across some product ideas while you are surfing the net. In days gone by you would either have to print of sheets of paper or make notes which take time. Now you can just send the ideas to your phone or tablet. The video below shows you more what can be done.

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Happy New Year

January 2, 2012 No comments

Happy New Year

Well once again we are at the start of a New Year. The old has gone, good or bad it has happened and there is nothing we can do to alter that fact. Yes Ok we can always improve on areas, but a question I am asked time after time by my eBay Consultant clients is well about that or this that happened in our business, or do you think I should have handled that sale different. Well yes of course you might have done it different, but that was all in the past. Yes learn from past mistakes but do not keep going back to them, it only harms you and your business.

We are at the start of a New Year, and whole year set before each one of us to reach our dreams and goals. Do not let past hurts and regrets harm you and your business. Draw a line in the sand and step over it and start a fresh. In fact you can do this every single day. The past is history.

So as we move into 2012 what goals, dreams do you have for your business. It is good to write it down, first your big goals and then you will need to break them down into smaller bite sized chunks right down to daily goals that you can achieve to take your business to the next level and beyond.

For me I have many goals, most will be shared on this blog, and I hope over the months that lie ahead you will see these go from an idea through to a money making business – But remember goals are not always about making money, they need to be for all areas of your life both personal and for your business.

eBay is still going to be the main focus of my business for this year, both in selling and consulting with clients, but I shall be adding Multi-Channel selling as well – Amazon and Etsy, as I believe I am also my clients are leaving money on the table. So I will be blogging about my journey into this area.

Also I want to cover product sourcing, yes I have covered this before but I find this a major question in my role as an eBay Consultant. Time after time clients both new and old ask me “How do I find products to sell” So watch this space.

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eBay And Multi-Variation Listings

December 29, 2011 No comments

 

As an eBay Consultant one of the things we need to do is always keep ourselves up to date with the latest happenings on the eBay sites around the world. When the eBay Multi-Variation listing format came out I went on several courses and did a few dummy listings, but at the time I was not selling anything that needed this type of listing nor were my clients.

Recently I took on a new client and this week they were selling items that called for them to be listed on a Multi-Variation format. And yes even eBay Consultants have a few panic moments when you are sitting their with a client and your mind goes completely blank, but as soon as I started it all came back in a flash.

eBay Multi-Variation listings save the seller time and money as you just do the one listing and pay the one listing fee for it could be hundreds of items, this is fantastic news.

One of the things I did find is if you are selling items with colour have that as your first choice and then do things like size etc second, this is so that you can match the colour with the picture, all will be explained as you do it.

Another tip you need to have one picture with all the colours on, I found the simple way was to go into a program like photo shop and cut and paste each coloured item onto one page and then save as a jpg and then when asked upload to eBay. You then need to upload each picture.for each of the colours, then add the costing for each colour and size (these can be all different prices if you wish).

 

Once this is done just add the description as normal and you are done. To help you understand this better I have included a video from eBay seller Support.

 

Yes it does sound a bit complicated but once you have done one or two you will be doing them with your eyes closed. Any questions please leave them in the comments below or drop me an email at info@MyAuctionEmpires.com

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eBay and Descriptions Part Five

December 26, 2011 No comments

 

In our final part of this mini series a common question eBay Consultants tend to get is “How long should the description be ?” As with most things in life and business, it all depends.

Your eBay description needs to be long enough to sell the item in a non threatening way, just write the description in a manner that you were telling your best friend about the item you were selling.

It often amazes me as an eBay consultant the problems people have when they need to write about the item they are about to sell online. When a client says they are having challenges with writing a description I often give them these tips.

  • Place the item on a table in front of them
  • Take a pad and pen and then write a letter to their best friend telling them about this item they have just bought. But they cannot send any pictures to the friend so the description needs to explain what the item is.
  • Also if there is any damage they need to put this in the description too.
  • Be honest and open and never over sell the item in the listing.
  • And as for length write enough sales copy to get your point across. Where possible try and use some bullet points to make your points stand out.

Andrew Milburn is an eBay Consultant based in the UK

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eBay And Postage Costs Part Four

December 20, 2011 No comments

 

Being an eBay Consultant for me is one of the best jobs in the world, here am doing something that I love doing and being paid for it at the same time, but at times you have to deal with subjects that there does not always seem a clear and cut answer and today we will look at one of those areas when we talk about postage costs.postage-scales

I guess we could call it something else “Free Or Not Free”. When I first started selling on eBay in around 1998, I always charged postage and no one seemed to mind that they were buying a 99p CD and paying £2.99 postage, but over the years mind sets changed, and for a lot of the items I started to sell I did with free shipping or the UK Market Place and just added the cost price of shipping when I sent items abroad.

Very soon I was hooked on the concept of free shipping and leant to add the price into my sales price, customers loved it, and so did my sales. But at times I still added shipping and postage costs even for the UK Market when the item was bulky and heavy…….again as long as my buyers knew what to expect they were happy.

Roll on the years to 2011………….eBay and people liked the free shipping method and by now 99.9% of my items were done free shipping. That was until I took on some new Trading Assistant Clients, they all said they wanted the postage costs to be kept separate I explained how eBay worked but to no avail. I then went away to do some research to show them in black and white that buyers wanted free shipping and my findings really shocked me……….buyers wanted postage as an extra and were willing and also expected it. But this is eBay and over the years nothing shocks or surprises me really now.

So the motto of this post is to do your research and if the market place want free shipping give them free shipping, but if they want to pay for postage and shipping as a separate item put it as an extra. To find out what your customers want, just go and take a look at the category you want to sell in and see what the Top Rated Sellers are doing and follow suit.

But if they do want to pay for postage and shipping please do not be greedy, cover the postage costs and cost of a box etc, but do not go mad….buyers will not come back and buy again from you. Also I have started to put on all my listings a small sentence “ If when we post your item we have over charged you on the postage costs we will give you a refund of the difference, otherwise we will make up the difference”

Hope this article has helped you with the postage and shipping part of your listings. If you need any help with your eBay business we can offer our eBay consultancy to you for as short as an hour through to a monthly on going job. The choice is yours.

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eBay and Deliveries Part Three

December 19, 2011 No comments

 

Welcome back to part three in our Mini Series on listing on eBay. Today I want to take a quick look at Deliveries. Although we work online and sell our products on eBay and other selling platforms such as Amazon….there is something we all need once the sale has taken place and that is a reliable delivery system. RoyalMail

As with most aspects of selling on eBay you need to think like a buyer, once the item has sold how fast would you like to receive it. And in most cases this would be as soon as possible. And you would like to receive it in a nice package with the item protected as much as possible according to what it is.

You can buy boxes, bubble wrap, and other packaging items from eBay and very often this is a lot cheaper than going to your local high street supplier.

Yes where possible re-cycle bubble wrap and boxes but always make sure the boxes and bubble wrap are in very good condition. We must remember that once the item leaves our hands it has to go through many different stages on it’s journey to the new customer and this may mean at times being at the bottom of a sack, subjected to rain, snow, water, sun, being thrown and tossed around. Protect your item as much as possible.

Delivery companies run massive businesses and they have very tight time limits so they need to move your items in the fastest way possible.

In future articles we will talk about how to prepare items for delivery, but today I just wanted to talk about the need to get the item out to the customer in the fastest way possible and the most cost effective that will allow your item to arrive in one piece.

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eBay and Pictures Part Two

December 15, 2011 No comments

 

pictures images

 

 

In part two of this mini series I want to cover the topic of images and pictures that you use in your eBay business. This is another common question I get asked as an eBay Consultant. But as I mention in the previous article about Keywords, yes on their own these items can make small differences to your listings and each one is very important but when you group them all together they will make one massive difference to your eBay business.

The first picture or image that you choose for your eBay listing will be the one that will show up in the gallery – this is the picture you see when you do a search and eBay gives you several items to look at. So of course you want this to be your best image or picture. It needs to show off your item in the best way.

How many pictures should you use in your listing………and sorry I am going to say it all depends. It depends on what you are selling the the very often it will depend on the price point. Also take a look at what the other sellers are using. If the top rated sellers are using just one image, then follow them, but if they are using a lot of pictures also follow their lead.

(This takes us to another point, each eBay country has their own amount of free images you can use, and then each country allows different numbers of pictures in different categories – complex yes, but this is eBay. Learn the number of free images you have and if you need to “buy” an image pack work out if it is in your profit model. Also you can host your images and pictures on place such as Picasa etc for free – we will talk about that later in another article)

Where possible you need to use natural light as this gives the best effect for your pictures. Your pictures are the selling point of your listing. Yes you can tell people about your item but a picture will make them feel safe as they can see what they are buying.

In closing remember if your item has any marks or chips or special marks or detail take close up pictures of this.

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Keywords And eBay Part 1

December 13, 2011 No comments

 

 

 

keywords

 

As an eBay Consultant I am often asked by both new sellers and sellers who have been selling on the platform for a long time…..”Do Keywords in the eBay title make any difference” And I always reply Yes, but it also depends on how the rest of your listing is laid out, and over the coming few weeks we will be looking at the different aspects of a listing and that how on their own they do little but when you put all the bits together you have one fantastic listing.

In part one I want to talk about Keywords and their use in the title. Gone are the days with eBay where you could list anything with any title and it will sell, eBay has grown up and so have the types of people who use eBay. Today you have all age ranges and types of people buying off eBay.

Before we start I want to tell you a few BIG NOs in using titles on eBay.

  • Do Not use words such as WOW……..LOOK, WICKED, SUPER – unless these are in the title.
  • Do not keyword spam either the title or the listing. For example if you are selling a scented candle do not put “Scented Candle Like Yankee Candle” if you do this eBay will take your listing down and if you keep on doing it they will close your account down. Only use brand names in a title or listing if you are selling that make or brand.

Of course there are many more no’s to think about, but the above two are important.

Below are a few pointers to help you find good keywords to use in your eBay Listings.

  • Always try and use all 80 characters – as you write the title try and think like a buyer at all times. You need to think what would my buyer put.
  • Use words such as your buyer would use, this should be easy for you as long as you have your keyword lists sorted. (They will be articles on this at a later stage)
  • Use the free tools on eBay such as eBay Pulse this will give you an up to date feel for the type of words or phrases people are searching for in your category.
  • Always use the main keyword at the start of your title, for one reason although eBay has given us 80 characters…..Google only reads the first 60 or so. So if you put your keyword at the end Google will never ever see it and you could loose a lot of traffic.
  • And although I have said to use all 80 characters, if you cannot think of any other words and you have only used say 50 characters do not just put junk words in leave it with what you have got.

As you list more items you will find your titles will get better and better, it is a skill you will learn in a very short space of time. Hope you have enjoyed this article eBay and keywords and this is the first article in a mini series to help you get better listings on the eBay Platform.

 

 

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Quick Product Sourcing Tips

December 12, 2011 No comments

Quick Product Sourcing Tips

 

Product Sourcing, eBay Consultant

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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