Broadway Publishing Company

Oh, I am so ashamed!

2011-03-21T14:50:00.003Z

As you may have noticed, I have very severely been neglecting my blog, I'm actually extremely ashamed by this! The thing is I've had so many other projects on the go that I simply haven't had a spare minute and so I apologise for that.

Over the next few weeks I will be organising myself and making time to add posts here on a regular basis.

I've been busy with my new monthly publication The Source Report plus I'm also writing two new courses this year - details coming soon!

I'll be back soon - I promise!

I Know...It's Been A Long Time!

2010-10-13T13:52:00.002+01:00

Sorry, sorry, sorry. It's been over 3 months since I posted here and there are no excuses...well except that I've been flat out working on my brand new home study course Ultimate Product Sourcing Secrets.

You'll be pleased to know that it is now completed and has finally been launched - hurrah! The feedback coming in has been fantastic so far so I am absolutely delighted - it makes all my hard work worthwhile - and I really hope that for many of you this is the final piece of the jigsaw and you can really make a success of your online business.

I firmly believe that this information will make running your business, and particularly the decisions concerning what to sell and where to find it, a whole lot easier and will enable you to have multiple income streams up and running in no time.

If you haven't checked it out yet, you can do so here: Ultimate Product Sourcing Secrets

And I promise to make sure I keep you updated!

Top 10 eBay Wholesale Product Sourcing Tips

2010-06-02T12:52:00.002+01:00

I know you undoubtedly want a successful eBay business, and these wholesale product sourcing tips could help you to do just that!

Tip 1 – Research potential products on eBay
Use the eBay Advanced Search functionality to discover what particular products are selling well within your niche, but don’t have too much competition. Research is a fundamentally important step to finding the best products to sell.

Tip 2 – Start the search for a wholesale supplier
Use search engines, directories and your local phone book to shortlist some potential wholesale suppliers. There will be a lot of choice, but you will soon be able to filter your list down to a final few.

Tip 3 – Find a wholesale supplier that you can contact
Don’t fall into the trap of choosing a wholesaler that can only be contacted via email. An email can easily go unanswered, so ensure that before you do a deal you speak to a real person on the phone.

Tip 4 – Read reviews of wholesale suppliers and products
You don’t want to spend your hard earned cash on a mediocre product that won’t sell, or on a supplier that won’t deliver. Search for reviews to save you making a costly mistake.

Tip 5 – Receive a sample shipment of your product
Once you have an idea as to the product that you want to sell you should ask a wholesale supplier to send you a sample. Not only will this sample allow you to tell if the product is of a high quality, but you will also be able to list your samples on eBay to see how well they sell.

Tip 6 – Bargain for the best price
Be upfront with your wholesale supplier and bargain down the price. This is one of the most crucial wholesale product sourcing tips, as many people will simply accept the given price without even attempting to push it down.

Tip 7 – Never buy too much of one product
Although you will certainly find that wholesale suppliers offer better rates for bulk deals, buying too much of one product could leave you in a sticky spot. What if demand for the product suddenly dries up? Or what if a rival starts selling the product at a price that you can’t afford to match?

Tip 8 – Don’t list all of your products at once
If you do buy an item in bulk you should never list all of your chosen items at once. If a buyer is led to believe that there is only five of a particular item left, they are more likely to impulse buy than if there are fifty.

Tip 9 – Don’t be afraid to use multiple wholesale suppliers
As a beginner it is good to get used to using one wholesale supplier, but once your eBay business picks up steam you might find that several suppliers can meet your need better than one. This also allows you to play wholesalers off each other for a better deal if they are both selling your chosen product.

Tip 10 – Keep your finger on eBay’s pulse
All of these wholesale product sourcing tips will be in vain if you don’t keep up to date with what is happening in the life of eBay. Spend time digging around the Advanced Search and eBay Pulse to ensure that your wholesale sourced products will sell.

How to Find Best Selling Items on eBay in Hot Niches

2010-05-11T11:14:00.002+01:00

Firstly my apologies for not adding a post to my blog for over a month. I got caught up in the Volcanic Ash chaos as I was on holiday in Portugal at the time and now I am playing catch-up!

So here are some quick tips to help you find what to sell on eBay.

One thing that will guarantee your success or failure as you launch into an eBay selling career is your ability to find the biggest selling items on eBay within the hottest niches. Note that it’s not simply finding the biggest selling items full stop; clothing, electronics and antiques may be statistically the biggest selling items on eBay, but they are also the most competitive markets to sell into. Therefore it is also crucially important to identify the best niches in which to sell, as well as the best products within those niches.

Fortunately you are not altogether alone in your hunt for said products. There are many different resources available to help you to discover how to maximise your profits by selling the best things. We’re going to consider some of them now and dig into how best to use them for your personal gain.

eBay Pulse – Head over to this subpage of eBay in order to discover exactly what terms people are searching for in what categories. This is one of the best ways to determine what the public is actually looking for, opposed to what you think they are looking for. Remember that you aren’t looking for the top selling items as these have the most competition, so drill deeply into the different categories to find products that are selling.

Advanced Search – When you have an idea of a potential product from eBay Pulse, use the Advanced Search to discover how many of these products are actually selling. You can do this by researching the completed listings and seeing how much they have sold for, how many of them have sold and much more.

Amazon – Although we are looking for the biggest selling items on eBay, you should also be aware that similar trends can be identified in massive selling websites such as Amazon. Start typing your product into the Amazon search bar, if it is a frequently searched term the search engine will start to complete it for you, highlighting that people are looking for this product across the internet.

The best way to identify products that continually sell well on eBay is through a long research programme. If you have the patience to monitor and record the best-selling products within certain niches every day for a few months, you will start to become aware of the items that maintain their sales over time. However, sometimes the best way to learn is by giving things a go.

One of the largest mistakes that eBay sellers make is by jumping in with a product that they think is one of the biggest selling items on eBay, buying a huge stack of them, only to learn that they can’t unload them at a profit. Before making a large purchase, test the water with a few examples of the product to learn whether you are making sales, and how much profit per unit you are making. Before you know it your sales will be ramping up and you’ll be increasing your profit margins.

eBay & PayPal Payment Holds – Are They Fair?

2010-03-26T13:17:00.001Z

A few of my weekly newsletter subscribers have complained that the recent Payment Holds introduced by eBay and PayPal just isn’t fair and whilst I know it’s a bit of a pain, I do understand why this system has been put in place.

To bring you up to speed, for a little while now, eBay and PayPal have been randomly holding back funds that sellers have made through eBay sales for up to 21 days. It doesn’t happen to everyone and it only applies to newbie sellers. It’s also worth mentioning that if you are an established seller and simply want to open an extra eBay account this won’t apply to you because you are already trading. The reasoning behind all this is simply a security measure – i.e. to ensure that every eBay seller is trustworthy and is actually sending the goods out to the buyers.

I do understand that this can be extremely frustrating; however what this extra measure is doing is stopping would-be scammers in their tracks. These crooks can’t now simply set up a brand new eBay ID, advertise 100 mobile phones at ridiculously low prices, take your money and then run without sending the goods.

I’m sure you’d prefer that eBay is a safe place to trade rather than having the worry that people won’t visit the site for fear of being ripped off? I know I would. It’s like the extra security at the airports now – yes it takes longer to get through to departures with all the extra security, I don’t really want to get half undressed and have a full body scan and yes it is boring having to queue, but at least I know I’m not getting on to a plane with a bomb on it! Do you see what I mean!

This is why it’s really important that you sell some personal items and build up your reputation on eBay first when you open up a new ID. This way if your money is held it won’t affect your business dealings.

How having an email list can help you with your eBay selling

2010-03-23T13:20:00.002Z

How would you like to create an eBay business where your customers returned to you over and over again to purchase more products from your very own store? Saving you the hassle of spending a lot of time and effort to generate that initial custom, and providing you with the opportunity to concentrate on finding quality goods to offer?

Well, one of the best ways to make serious money from eBay is by generating an email list, allowing you to send information to your previous buyers about new auctions that they might be interested in. If you don’t know how to sell things on eBay by utilising an eBay list then keep reading for some handy hints and tips to get you started.

It is important to understand that people hate spam email. Sending ten emails a day advertising auctions in which your previous buyers have no interest would be a quick way to reduce your email list to nothing. That’s why it is crucial to only send them information about products that they could be interested in. One of the fundamental lessons in learning how to sell things on eBay is that it is important to choose a niche area and stick to it. If someone has bought something from you in your chosen niche area then that is likely to be an area that they would buy in again, hopefully from you.

Before starting to create your list therefore, you must carefully consider what products you will actually sell from your eBay store. If you wish to sell more than one type of item then consider establishing two different eBay accounts, with two different email lists. This will allow you to correctly target your emails to the correct audience, maximising your sales potential.

Once you have your chosen niche in mind and your eBay store(s) established to sell products within that niche, you will need to start building your email list. One of the best ways to do this is by creating an external website that offers users the ability to sign up to a newsletter on the related topic. For example, if your niche area is colour laser printers, then you could create a website offering advice as to how to select the correct printer, how to find the cheapest printers and more helpful tips, with a clearly visible area for your visitors to sign up to join your list. You can then link to your website from every auction on eBay, and from emails sent out to winning bidders.

With your email list created the choices as to the content that you email are limitless. You could email additional information to your subscribers, helping them to stay interested, or you could simply email them with the latest offers from your particular store, or of course a mixture of the two. You will be amazed at how many of your customers return to your store for more, especially if you make great customer service one of you priorities.

A thriving email list will soon help you to realise that getting repeat business on eBay time and time again isn’t rocket science. It’s something that anyone can do!

10 Top Tips to Increase eBay Profit

2010-03-19T10:34:00.002Z

Making money on eBay might seem like the impossible at the outset, but by using some or all of these 10 simple ideas you could soon find your eBay profit rising. Don’t give up without at least attempting to make something of your eBay business, you must be surprised at just how successful you could be.

1. The best way to learn is by doing, so search through your house for any items that you no longer need or want. Creating auctions for these items will help you to learn the ropes and bring in a bit of extra cash.

2. Visit car boot sales and charity shops to find some cheap items to sell, you’d be amazed at what you can pick up for a couple of pounds to sell on at a much higher rate.

3. When considering how much to charge for your items you should check the Royal Mail website, or the website of whatever courier you plan to use, to ensure that it won’t cost more to post the item than you will make.

4. One way to generate a great eBay profit is to buy items that have been listed or described poorly, or that finish at a bad time of day for a lower price than you could sell them on for.

5. Set up a second eBay account. You can have as many accounts as you want, as long as they each have a separate email address linked to them. If you plan to buy and sell items on eBay then you should establish one account for buying, and one account for selling.

6. Take a good photo of your item using a digital camera, or even the camera on your mobile phone, and upload it to your listing to convince your potential buyers that you actually have an item to sell.

7. Use the eBay Pulse tool to find items in any category that are selling particularly well. You can also use the Advanced Search tool to look at completed listings and to see how well certain items have sold.

8. Consider other methods of obtaining stock to sell on eBay, for example wholesale sellers or dropshippers. These methods can help you to increase your eBay profit by buying items that are particularly cheap and selling them on for a profit.

9. Concentrate on customer service to obtain an excellent feedback rating. Post goods out quickly and always respond to queries from potential buyers. You should also be prepared for the necessity of offering refunds occasionally; a willingness to please your customers in any way will help you to earn repeat business.

10. Always stay positive. Sometimes you might find that your eBay profit is not as high as you would like it to be. Staying positive will help you to make it through the rough patches, keeping you focused on your end goal of success. In a relatively short space of time you could make enough money from eBay to pack in your day job, but only if you can stay positive and keep working hard, no matter how difficult it may seem.

How To Find An Ultra Profitable Micro Niche Within the Health & Beauty Market

2010-03-18T14:21:00.001Z

Over the past 4 years or so, I have sold thousands of products on eBay in more categories than I care to remember! Some of those products have been really successful and still are, even now nearly five years on and others were a kind of ‘flash in the pan’ – selling really well for 6 months and then just fizzling out and dying a very sad death as quickly as they had become hot products in the first place!

There was no rhyme or reason to this, some products just aren’t meant to have a long shelf life – it’s as simple as that! But one of my favourite categories and one that I have always found to be the most enduring and actually more importantly the one that brings consistent, constant profits is the ‘Health and Beauty’ category.

Launched on eBay back in 2004, this category has gone from strength to strength and the reasons for this are quite logical. If you think about it, ‘health’ and ‘beauty’ both fall rather neatly in to what is essentially the ‘necessities’ category of life. So many of us, including me, are conscious of our desire to be healthy and happy and we all like to look great and feel good about ourselves. So it is natural that many of us will be more than prepared to spend money on health enhancing and beautifying products to ensure we look our best.

So, as you can probably imagine, the demand for products in this area is extremely high, giving you a really wide and varied market that you can cater to on eBay. I have even heard claims that by selling health and beauty products online you are reaching a multi-million pound market, which I agree is very probably true!

The demand for health and beauty products continues to increase especially in the more ‘embarrassing products’ health niches – think anti-fungal creams, hair removers, bad breath cures, and other even more embarrassing problems that people are looking to find solutions for. Why put yourself through an excruciating ‘over-the-counter’ buying experience in your local chemist when you can get what you want totally anonymously online?
And so a great many eBay sellers are taking advantage of this trend in health and beauty products and are currently selling within this market. Indeed this was proved beyond doubt when I looked on eBay just this week and noticed that the health and beauty category as a whole has 292,782 items listed!

So, there are certainly big profits to be made in this category as other eBay sellers are proving. But what you must realise is that ‘health and beauty’ generally is a very broad category, with items ranging from bubble bath, back scratchers (yes really!) and toiletries to vitamins, cosmetics, bandages and ear-wax removers (yuk!).

I receive emails on a daily basis from people telling me that they have made the decision to sell within the health and beauty category on eBay, and could I please suggest a supplier so that they can go and buy some products. But, unfortunately, what they don’t realise is that there is no such thing as ‘one’ supplier purely for ‘health and beauty’ products. And this is simply because within this category there are hundreds of sub-categories and within those sub-categories there are even more sub-sub-categories, and so it goes on.

The most important thing to remember is that to source and resell beauty or health products on eBay it is essential that you first narrow down your choice by researching a profitable product within a niche and then finding a trustworthy wholesale supplier or drop shipper for that particular niche product.

Once you have narrowed your niche, often to a niche within a niche – for example Health & Beauty>Nails/Manicure/Pedicure>Nail Art - then you will be on your way and will find it much easier to source wholesale products or find a manufacturer who is prepared to drop ship your product for you.

Finding a Niche
There are an absolutely massive selection of health and beauty product niches to choose from on eBay, including Dental Care, Skin/Face Care, Massage and Natural/Alternative Therapies to name just a few, and with so many to choose from, I have found that what always works well for me is to choose two or even three products within a niche, that complement each other or are loosely related in some way so that this helps you with your cross-selling. For example you could choose:
Dental Care>Teeth Whitening as your first product and then your second product might be Dental Care>Toothbrushes for the obvious up sell opportunity - after all, if a potential buyer is looking to whiten their teeth, then the chances are they will be interested in buying a new toothbrush too to keep their gleaming white smile achieved with your teeth whitening product.
Or, as another example you could choose:
Health Care>Relaxation Aids as your first product and then Massage>Massagers as a further product for your inventory, because relaxation and massage are related categories and will complement each other.

Whatever niches and products you choose to sell in the health and beauty category, it goes without saying that you should always make sure you pick hot selling products that people are actively looking for online. The quickest route to do this is to look at completed eBay listings or eBay Pulse to see what is currently selling and how much for. But there’s another really easy way to spot hot sellers, particularly for health and beauty products and that is simply by keeping your eyes open, reading magazines, looking at websites and keeping track of television advertisements to see what kind of products are popular or what might be the next big thing! And this conveniently brings me on to my second point:

Don’t Source and Sell Any Old Product
I know it’s tempting, but just because you have found a cheap health or beauty product from a wholesale supplier, this does not mean that you will sell it successfully on eBay for a profit. You see, the thing with health and beauty products, even more so than products in some other eBay categories, is that the products you source and sell must do what they say on the tin otherwise you may find your reputation damaged beyond repair.

Every minute of the day, someone somewhere is spending an awful lot of money on products that fall into this category, both online and offline, and these people all expect whatever miracle cream or health supplement or life enhancer they have purchased to solve their particular problem or improve their lives in some way.

So what you must not do is become blinkered and settle for a cheap product because you are at risk of ending up with a poor quality product that is of no use to anyone. In order for your business to succeed, you should always go for credibility with this category of product. Cheap and cheerful might sound good but in the long run is not always the best course of action!
I’ve also found that there’s a strange thing that happens in the health and beauty category on eBay that rarely happens in any other category and that is this. The more expensive the item, particularly in the skin care niche, the better it sells.

This goes against the grain somewhat because eBay is still seen by some as a bit of a bargain basement. However, in my opinion, this is simply not the case anymore.

So, why is it that the higher priced products often sell better in particular in the skin care category? Well, this is because branded products such as Crème De La Mer – which incidentally is the ‘most coveted cream in the world’ cherished by all the major celebrities and costs according to their official website, £90 for a 30ml jar and a whopping £930 (yes you did read that correctly) for a 500ml jar – has given us the idea that what works costs money. And this is true to some extent. Most of us know that ‘you get what you pay for’ and you must therefore pay for quality, although I am not entirely sure that my husband would take kindly to me trying to justify spending nearly £1000 on a pot of gunk to slap on my face even if I did explain that it would give me the skin of a woman half my age!

Anyway, my point here is that you do not necessarily need to try and source cheap goods in this particular health and beauty niche.

This does not mean that you have to source branded goods either and actually you may have some difficulty with this in certain health and beauty niches due to court injunctions and the like on selling certain branded skincare products on eBay.

As you may know, I always sell unbranded products because I believe that they are easier to source and they definitely come with much less hassle! They are easier to price and you have more chance of sourcing a unique but similar item within your niche. And it is entirely possible to source unbranded health or beauty products that buyers simply can’t get enough of, as long as you are in the right niche with the right product.

In the past, I have sold six or seven different products specifically within the very popular dental care and skin care niches. None of these products were branded but they were high quality and most importantly they did exactly the same job as the branded products but cost both me and ultimately my buyers less to purchase.

What is important when sourcing health and beauty products?
Because we are dealing with health and beauty products here, it is essential that once you have ascertained your niche, you purchase samples of your chosen product, making sure that it complies to any relevant health and safety certification requirements and test it before you sell it to others. The reasons for this are pretty self-explanatory – you need to check the quality and know yourself that the product is safe and does what you will be telling your buyers it does before you go ahead with an eBay listing!

This is especially important in niches such as:
Skin Care Products
Dental Care Products
Vitamins/Supplements
Slimming Aids
Tanning
Family Planning

It’s common sense really, because you really can’t go around claiming that a product does something when it doesn’t! At the end of the day, if you do this, you will be the one that loses out because your reputation will suffer, buyers will not trust you or your products and you will end up giving refund after refund. Not good.

How to Source Your Niche Products
There are 3 important product sources that you should consider for the health and beauty category. I have already mentioned branded and unbranded products but there is also a third source that if you get it right can do extremely well for you.

But first though, if you really, really want to go down the branded route then the best way to do so in my opinion is to use a reliable drop shipper who stocks the genuine individual branded products that you have previously identified as good sellers. However you must be very careful as many cosmetics and beauty manufacturers simply don’t like their products being sold on eBay so it is wise to check this out before you start.

As I have already mentioned, as a rule I stick to sourcing and listing unbranded goods on eBay and so if you copy my unbranded route then your chosen product in your chosen niche can be sourced from a good wholesale supplier, distributor or manufacturer either internationally or from within the UK.

Here’s an example. If my chosen niche was Health & Beauty>Make Up/Cosmetics>Sets/Kits and I wanted an unbranded or little known product range then I can narrow my wholesale search down to ‘Make Up Kits Wholesale’ or similar and do a Google search for those keywords.
That keyword example brought up over 50,000 results including wholesale websites such as:
· www.esources.co.uk
A membership site that requires a subscription but which gives you access to thousands of wholesale suppliers in many different niches including health and beauty niche suppliers.
· www.honeypotcosmetics.com
A UK based distributor of wholesale cosmetics, fragrances & gift sets. They stock a huge range of cosmetics, skincare & make up – some branded and other little known budget lines.
· www.lfcosmetics.co.uk
Another UK based distributor of make-up kits, skin care and cosmetics who offer trade pricing. You can view their products online and see their pricing immediately too!
Ok, so earlier, I mentioned a third source of health and beauty products which I want to tell you about now.

The beauty industry is definitely one of the most lucrative niches you can sell within and often you can make even more profits by ‘Private Labelling’ your own products.

Private Labelling involves finding a company who actually manufacture the products you want to sell and who will label the products with your own branding so that you resell them as your own ‘brand’. There are plenty of advantages to this;

Your product is completely unique so you can price it as you wish, which means:
You are a step ahead of your competition and
Margins on Private Label products are often very high.

And what’s more there are lots of different products that you can use Private Labelling for, including:
Cosmetics
Skin Care Products
Anti Aging Products
Acne Products
Hair Products
Bath Products

All those embarrassing products like wart removers, blemish cover ups etc
You might be surprised at just how many companies there are out there that offer private labelling to everyday people like you and me!

Obviously you will need to do your research, but here’s a couple of websites I found just by looking around the web.
· www.alternativebeauty.com
Wholesale, Private Labelling, and drop ship hair and skin care products. Plenty to choose from, at a glance, with low minimum orders available.
· www.7dayhealth.com
This company allows you to actually own your very own brand of nutritional supplements or beauty products - without ever leaving your home or office. They are based in the United States and also have a clearance section on their website.

Finally
I have mentioned a few websites here but please remember that this is not necessarily an endorsement of these companies. Please don’t forget to do your due diligence before purchasing your wholesale products. There are vast numbers of websites that offer wholesale products in many different health and beauty niches, and whilst it is true that online merchants need to remain vigilant where the quality of their products is concerned, if a supplier cannot give you details of ingredients and precautions, CE approval or product manuals for a particular product then please be aware that the quality of goods may be poor and I strongly advise you to make sure you have this information before you make a bulk purchase of your products.

How to get your own successful eBay business

2010-03-05T13:04:00.002Z

I've been really busy this week writing lots of new articles and I've also recorded a short video for you which will explain more about my new eBay home study course 'The Ultimate eBay Success System'.

I recorded this video at the end of last month to show you exactly how simple it is to start your own successful eBay Business by following everything I show you in the course.

But I didn't want to just tell you about what's in the package, so I'm also giving away some free information within the video which will show you just one of the methods you can use to find hot products to sell on eBay and make money.

The video is online now. Click here to see what I'm talking about!

How to Sell Items on eBay - 3 Quick Tips To Make Your eBay Listings Stand Out

2010-02-24T20:44:00.003Z

You’ve thought of a great product or set of products that could sell well on eBay. You’ve taken the time to research similar listings and you’ve looked up your competition. You’ve done everything that you should have done. So why aren’t your auctions selling as well as those from other people?

One possible reason is linked to your listing description itself. If you want to know how to sell items on eBay for the highest profits you will need to know exactly how to create listings that distinguish your specific product from the many others with which you are competing.

This might sound like an impossible task at the outset, with so many different listings existing on eBay, but it certainly doesn’t need to be. Just incorporating the tips I give you here will help you make a start to stand out from the crowd.

Step 1 – think about your title

Have you looked at some eBay listings and wondered what they are actually selling? Perhaps they’ve simply been lacking in the information that you need at a glance. You need to avoid this pitfall that traps many individuals trying to make some profits with eBay. Your title is absolutely crucial to your listing because your 'keywords' are what are used by potential buyers to search out the items that you have for sale. You will never truly master how to sell items on eBay until you can create short but great descriptions for every listing.

Let’s think specifics. Try to incorporate the make and model of your product if relevant, include its colour, its size, its weight – depending on the product in question there is a lot of information that can be placed within the title so think hard about what a viewer will need to see first.

Step 2 – pick up your camera

eBay listings without images do not sell as well as those with. There is no question as to the reality of this statement. It is often the thumbnail images that persuade a buyer to click through to your auction in the first place. The visual aid helps to catch their initial attention, while assuring the viewers to your listing that you do actually have the product that is for sale.

Take care when taking your photographs. Try not to be misleading by hiding any faults away from the camera. Having said that, you certainly shouldn’t aim to show the item in a negative light, instead you must illuminate it well and take your photo with a plain background.

Step 3 – write your description well

Don’t ever write the description for your listing straight into eBay unless you have a spell checker enabled in your internet browser. It is vital that your description is free from spelling and grammatical errors so make sure you proof read the document before releasing it to the world.

Your description should be accurate and factual. It should be written with a voice of authority as a person who knows a lot about the subject. Inspiring this confidence in your buyers could well be the one thing that will finally encourage them to purchase your item instead of another’s.

Follow these steps and in no time at all you’ll have a greater understanding of how to sell items on eBay and, all importantly, bring in greater profits.

Why You Should Be Seriously Considering Un-branded Products To Sell On eBay Right Now

2010-02-09T21:06:00.004Z

I thought I'd give you a little taster as to what you can expect in my new eBay home study course 'The Ultimate eBay Success System', so this post is based on an extract from just one small part of my new course....enjoy!

eBay Myth: Pick a branded product that you can find cheap (any designer product will do), chuck up a one paragraph eBay listing description as you wait for the kettle to boil and then sit back and watch it sell for a profit whilst you relax with a nice cup of tea.

eBay Truth: The very essence of successful eBay selling is researching and selecting the correct products to sell, listing those products in a way that makes people desperate to buy them and ensuring that your listing descriptions consistently receive as much traffic as possible and so increasing views and sales.

Unfortunately, this is the formula that many people don’t understand and is often why they fall at the first hurdle.

I am happy to tell you though, that this need not be the case as long as you firstly get a complete grip on something very important. This involves moving your mindset away from the belief that most eBay buyers are looking for bargain ‘branded or designer’ goods and consequently the belief that you can source and sell anything on eBay for a profit, and you start thinking about the realms of ‘un-branded’ goods instead.

This has always been my strategy right from the start - oh apart from one small blip about 3 months into my eBay selling career when I made totally the wrong decision over some designer handbags, it all went pear-shaped and I’ve never touched designer or branded goods again. Un-branded goods are far less likely to give you a headache and so all my successful eBay selling techniques are based around un-branded goods. It’s always worked well for me and so that’s why I like to recommend this route to others.

But hang-on, what’s wrong with selling ‘branded’ goods I can hear you wondering! Don’t worry because I am going to explain.

Why Should You Not Sell ‘Branded or Designer Goods?

Firstly there are far more advantages to selling un-branded products (which I will explain in just a moment) than there are if you go down the ‘branded’ route. Of course if you really want to sell ‘branded or designer’ then please do feel free, but I always concentrate on un-branded products for eBay selling and my home study courses deal mostly with un-branded products with a little tiny bit of branded thrown in!

Now, please don’t be confused between ‘branded’ and ‘designer’. By ‘branded’ I don’t just mean those popular designer items often found listed on eBay such as Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, Burberry, Mulberry, Ugg and so on. ‘Branded’ covers any product with a well known or not so well known name. So, for example, Sony, Medela, Per Una, Nike, Topshop, Next, Hitachi, Philips, Panasonic, Apple, Clarks – I could go on! All of these are brands.

So, if you decide you want to sell ‘branded’ goods because you think that there are higher profits available there, then please just think it through first. Here’s why:

Do you have the genuine article? If you source from China then the chances are then no, you are very likely to be the proud owner of a replica or counterfeit item, albeit a very good one! It’s not worth your eBay reputation to be selling fakes of anything.

Are you allowed to sell the ‘brand’ on eBay? If you do find a reliable source for the genuine article you may then find that the brand in question may not want their products sold on eBay at all. If you then list the item on eBay you could find your listings removed under the eBay VERO (Verified Rights Owner) programme or risk a possible suspension. Ask yourself, is it worth the risk?

Is there huge competition for your product? Almost always ‘Yes’ and it will probably be fierce! Branded products are easy for prospective buyers to compare seller to seller, like for like. You will need a phenomenal listing, lots of traffic and a price set to barely make a profit to compete with all the other similar listings.

Do you have multiple quantities of the branded product? If yes and you have got a pallet load of stuff, then be careful. eBay will only allow you to list most new designer or branded goods a certain number of times (the number of times varies – eBay’s decision!) before they stop you listing, usually for 30 days. This is to ensure you are not listing counterfeit goods and you are a genuine seller. The problem arises because if you are limited on listings you cannot build your eBay empire and you will be going nowhere fast.

As an eBay seller who has been there and briefly tried that as I mentioned earlier with the handbag debacle, I would truly recommend that you try and steer clear of branded products if you can. It is an eBay minefield that is best avoided and anyway, done correctly you will have much more success with un-branded products of your choosing.

So the message is that in my opinion you will be much less restricted if you choose to sell un-branded products. Fewer restrictions mean more potential to grow your eBay business, which ultimately means more profit for you! Un-branded products are all I EVER sell now, and believe me – it does work consistently and well.

So now that I have got the ‘branded’ products out of the way which was all a bit doom and gloom, I want to tell you exactly what I mean by ‘un-branded’ products and how concentrating on this selection can help you.

Why Should You Sell ‘Un-Branded’ Goods?

Good question. Does it really matter what you are selling on eBay as long as you are making money? Well, yes it does matter because there’s making money and there’s…making money! If you really want to make a proper income using eBay then you need to find some hot products that you can source easily and at the best price and list correctly that will then give you an income almost on auto-pilot with no hassle and this is where selling un-branded products comes in to it’s own.

‘Un-branded’ products are generic items that you can source and sell that come with no brand name or at the most just a number, so your un-branded product might have packaging that says: Digital Photo Frame HS-2087 - just what it is and then a kind of product reference number.

If you are feeling adventurous you can brand these kinds of products with your OWN invented brand name. This wipes out all competition immediately because no-one else can ever sell your brand apart from you, unless YOU let them of course! (This is such a powerful strategy that I have also dedicated a whole section plus a CD tutorial to this technique in my new eBay home study course – 'The Ultimate eBay Success System’).

So, to start with, all manner of un-branded products can be sourced from almost anywhere in the world at extremely competitive prices. I’m talking about MP3 Players to Digital Cameras, Beauty Products to Car Accessories, Baby Clothes to Pet Products. Anything goes and you should be considering China and the USA particularly as suppliers of these items. Unlike when you are sourcing branded or designer goods from China, you will find that you will get excellent prices, quality products and obviously you have not got the worry about counterfeit goods.

The great thing about un-branded products is that buyers cannot easily compare like for like and this is a huge advantage for you as it means you remain competitive at all times with whatever product you are selling.

Here’s an example. Let’s say you are selling a Dog Training Collar. It is un-branded but looks extremely similar to the top selling branded product, it’s just a different shape that’s all. It does exactly the same job as the branded product. Now, imagine that you can source these dog training collars for £2.50 each and you know that the same branded product is selling on eBay for £14.99. So, you list your dog training product at £12.99, making you a profit of £10.49 less your selling fees of course. Your listing description will state that your product does exactly the same as the branded product (it’s just a different shape) which means that potential buyers will very often go for the option of saving £2.00 on the cost of the product and buy yours rather than the branded product. The trick is to convince potential buyers that they will only be paying extra for the ‘brand’ with the more expensive item. Do you see what I mean?

Contrary to popular belief, not all eBay buyers are looking on the site for designer or branded bargains. Yes, of course many people do visit eBay to specifically search for that must have Tommy Hilfiger jacket or the latest Apple iPod or whatever, but many more just want to find the item they want at a good price and that’s where un-branded products do well.

Think about it. If you are looking to purchase an item like my dog training collar for example, do you really mind whether it’s a well known brand, a designer item or a make that you have never heard of? Will your pooch care? No, I don’t think so! You just need it to do what it was designed for.

So, it is easy to totally trounce the competition in your chosen niche because there is no set or recommended price that your un-branded product must be sold at. It’s up to you and as long as you are making a decent profit then the decision is yours.

You will also discover that there are no listing restrictions on un-branded products either. You can list as many un-branded items as you like in as many different niches as you like, another immediate advantage for you!

I mentioned the possibility of VERO restrictions earlier when I talked about branded goods and by this stage it will probably come as no surprise to you to find that there are no VERO restrictions on un-branded items. There may be the very, very rare occurrence where a seller has secured the sole rights to sell the product on eBay (it is usually an eBay seller who also has their own website) but I have known this to happen only once in the last 5 years so it is extremely unlikely to happen.

And that about wraps it up. I hope you can see why it’s a good idea to shift your mindset and consider taking the un-branded products route to a truly successful eBay business.

So just to summarise; if you choose the un-branded products route:

You will have a wider product choice
You will find better wholesale pricing
You will encounter a larger number of suppliers
You will have less competition on eBay
You will not encounter any selling restrictions
You will not have to deal with VERO restrictions
You will always know that you have the genuine article

Like I have said, I have absolutely nothing against selling branded or designer goods on eBay and if you choose to do so that is your decision, but un-branded is my chosen route and it continues to consistently bring in the profits and so that is why I believe that it is a sure-fire way to success.

The Ultimate eBay Success System - Just Launched!

2010-02-02T10:48:00.006Z

I’m absolutely thrilled to announce the official launch of my brand new Ultimate eBay Success System! You’re one of the first to see this as this is the first time I've given any details on my blog!

So, let me explain what it’s all about and why this is so exciting.

This is a simple step-by-step plan you can use to make £5,000 - £12,000 a month on eBay!

Using my 5 years of eBay selling experience, I’ve developed a system that you can easily copy to create your very own successful eBay business. And don’t worry if you’re new to eBay or even new to using a computer. I’ve written everything in plain English in a jargon-free, easy to understand way.

By following my course, you’ll discover:

How to quickly uncover the hottest products to sell on eBay.
Exactly where to find reliable wholesalers and drop shippers.
How to write powerful eBay listing descriptions that will have buyers queuing up to buy your products.
Tricks to help you get your items to the top of the eBay searches.
Little known strategies even some of the top Powersellers haven’t cottoned on to that will drive traffic to your eBay listings through the roof!
How to source products that will virtually guarantee you have no competition.
Details of over 55 genuine wholesale supplier sources.
Plus loads more information that I have never revealed before.

I’ve even personally recorded 8 CD tutorials showing you live examples of exactly what you need to do. I talk you through the whole process with simple step-by-step instructions. I’ll also be there to offer my personal support should you have any questions.

Copy my simple plan and I’m certain you’ll be up and running and making money within days. But don’t take my word for it...I’m 100% confident this will work for you, but I want you to be completely happy. That’s why you can try the course for a full 30 days risk-free.

Follow these easy steps and see how much you make. And if, for any reason, you feel it’s not right for you, I’ll give you a full refund.

So now there really is nothing to stop you from giving this a go.

I can't wait to hear your eBay success story. I've no doubt that if you manage to get a copy you’ll agree that this is the ‘big one’. The eBay success system that you’ve been waiting for – one that you can operate either in your spare time or full time – you choose - and delivers consistent profits day after day.

From the pre-launch feedback and number of emails filling up my inbox daily, I'm very conscious that copies of this are going to go very quickly.

All the details you need are here: Ultimate eBay Success System

More eBay Sellers Can Become Powersellers From April

2010-02-01T12:37:00.005Z

Great news hot off the press from eBay today! They have confirmed that from April 2010 the sales requirements to become a Powerseller will be lowered. However, performance standards will also become a factor in obtaining Powerseller status too.

What this means is that if you are currently an eBay seller who always offers fantastic customer service and has consistently high DSR's, but you don't make a huge volume of sales, the playing field has been levelled somewhat. This is because from April, to become a Powerseller, the minimum transactions required will be 100 per year instead of 100 per month - that's quite a reduction - plus a minimum sales volume of £2000 per year (that's only just over £166 per month!), an average DSR score of 4.6 or above and a low number of 1 or 2 star ratings - only 1 or 2% in each of the five DSR score areas.

Other requirements remain the same such as being a business seller with no less than 98% positive feedback score etc.

Now, there are definitely some benefits to these changes. For a start, gaining Powerseller status means that you will be able to take advantage of Featured Listings and gain better visibility for your products and secondly you will get the chance to qualify for Top Seller Status too which again gives you greater visibility not to mention gains your buyers trust and confidence.

You need to keep an eye on your Seller Dashboard from now to see which areas you might need to make improvements in order to meet the criteria. But you've got at least 2 months to make any changes and get your sales and DSR's up and in my view those 2 months would be well spent doing just that!

Coming soon...The Ultimate eBay Success System

2010-01-20T11:23:00.002Z

I’ve got some really exciting news...

Drop whatever you're doing and read this right now. It is very, very important.

I’ve been dying to tell you about this for AGES but because I was still making the final tweaks I was sworn to absolute secrecy!

And I know you are getting impatient now because over the past few weeks I have received dozens of emails from people desperate to get their hands on my new eBay Success home study course. Now finally, I can reveal all...

Over the past few months I’ve been burning the candle at both ends working on a complete system that really is an ‘eBay business in a box’. I am delighted to tell you that it will be released very shortly.

But first, a little background . . .

You will remember that a while back, I did a survey to find out exactly what it is that you need, to enable you to take the plunge and start your own eBay business. I wanted to know what you found difficult, what would really help you to get started and the biggest challenges you faced and needed to overcome.

And wow, what a response I got!

I was inundated with replies. But what became clear to me very quickly was that so many people are facing exactly the same challenges.

This is what I discovered YOU need to know

The sort of products you should be selling on eBay
How to find reliable drop shippers and wholesalers of those products
Where to get your products from at a price that you can actually make a profit from
How to write a really good eBay listing description
How to get people to click through to your listings in the first place
How to get to the top of the eBay search results
How to get thousands of people to find your products and importantly buy them

But most importantly, how to combine all these things into a really successful eBay business that will allow you to earn as much income as you require.

I am totally with you on this one. In a nutshell, these really are some of the most important aspects of a truly successful eBay business. And this is where I got really excited because I knew instantly that I could help you with every one of these things and a whole lot more besides.
But, I didn’t want to just write about all this stuff. I decided to go one step further and not only answer these questions for you but put together a complete eBay success system – your business in a box.

My Ultimate eBay Success System is your blueprint for your own home based business using eBay as your platform. What I will be showing you is how to set up and run a professional business which brings in a consistent income.

But there’s more…

I was on a bit of a roll and I wanted to ensure that you have in your possession absolutely every tiny little piece of information you could possibly need to make your eBay business a success.
So, not only have I put everything down in writing in a simple to follow course, I have also personally recorded over 9 hours of video tutorials taking you step by step through the whole process of setting up your eBay business and way beyond. It will be just like having me right there in the room with you!

Yes, this is the big one. The one you've been waiting for!

If you are selling on eBay right now then take note because I will reveal the secrets and tricks of the trade that you need to know to get your business to where you want it to be this year.

I have included everything that I only wish I had known when I first started my own eBay business 5 years ago. So this is guaranteed to give you the biggest head-start ever in setting up and expanding your own eBay business.

Yes, very, very soon you can at last gain possession of absolutely everything you need to know (and a whole lot more that you probably thought you didn’t need to know) all in one package, to ensure that your eBay business is a huge success.

As I mentioned earlier, I have literally been inundated with emails about this over the past few weeks since I first started talking about it and so now it’s up to you. You can be the one heading to eBay success, or the one watching others heading to eBay success. Which one do you want to be?

If you would like to receive early-bird details you can always subscribe to my free newsletter You'll get a free eBay Selling Secrets report when you sign up and details of my Ultimate eBay Success System in your weekly emails.

Selling On eBay In 2010

2010-01-02T17:36:00.004Z

Happy New Year! Thank you to all my blog readers and newsletter subscribers who have supported me throughout 2009.

I am looking forward to providing you with even more eBay strategies, tips, techniques and secrets during 2010, starting with something very special which will be coming very soon - this month in fact, because I'm celebrating the 5th anniversary of the day I made the decision which changed everything for me.

Keep an eye on my blog, follow me on Twitter and subscribe to my FREE weekly newsletter to ensure that you don't miss out on updates and new information. Remember, these are all free so you have absolutely nothing to lose.

If you haven't started selling on eBay yet or if you already have an eBay account and want to literally explode your eBay sales during 2010, then you will be crazy to miss what I've got in store for you.

Make 2010 the year that you make the decision to start living the comfortable life you deserve. You can do it with my help but only you can take that first step. Good luck for 2010.

eBay Secrets - Don't Miss This!

2009-12-17T11:26:00.002Z

I must first apologise for neglecting my blog of late. But, I do have a very good excuse because I have been extremely busy completing my brand new eBay home study course for 2010.

If you would like to know what I've got in store for you next year then sign up to my free weekly newsletter today at Powerseller Pod because this Friday's newsletter will include a preview of something that you would be crazy to miss out on!

Subscribe here - it's free! Powerseller Pod

Top 10 eBay Selling Tips

2009-11-19T13:05:00.001Z

There are plenty of quick and easy methods to use to maximise your earning potential via selling on eBay. If you’ve always fancied making a bit of extra cash on the side through the world’s premier internet auction website then have a look at the top 10 eBay selling tips to help you to succeed:

1. Discover your niche. Consider what you are interested in and what you would like to sell. Selling items that you are knowledgeable about will help you to create repeat custom and detailed descriptions.

2. Take full advantage of eBay’s search functionality. Not only does it provide you with the ability to discover current items selling within your niche, it also lets you look at completed listings.

3. Explore eBay Pulse. It will show you exactly what is selling in the category that you are planning on selling into. Remember that what sells best is likely to have the most competition.

4. When you get to the stage of creating your auctions take the time to generate a really good title. You need to include keywords that people will search for to find your item. Consider what you would enter into the search bar to find your item and use this to help you craft the perfect title.

5. Don’t ever feel rushed to complete a listing. Spending time to make an accurate and informative description and to load a photo to the site will make up for the time spent in the long run.

6. Sell products around your house or cheap items initially to get used to the website and to build a great feedback score. Without it you will always struggle to sell any expensive items.

7. When you’re shopping around for items to sell it is important to remember the principle of buy low, sell high. This will take some time and practice for you to perfect but before long you will find yourself able to spot a bargain in shops, car boot sales or even on eBay itself. If you can buy at a low price you are likely to make more of a profit.

8. Minimise your expenses by lowering the cost of your packaging. Don’t spend a lot of money purchasing boxes for example when a bit of bubble wrap would suffice. However, ensure that everything that you send is safely packaged to save your feedback score.

9. Take care of your customers. Respond quickly to their queries and always dispatch items quickly and correctly packaged. Your customer care will help you to get new buyers and retain existing ones. Of all of the eBay selling tips around this is probably the most important.

10. Concentrate on repeat business. It’ll save you time in the long run in attempting to find new buyers. Great customer care and informative descriptions will help you to achieve this.

Stick to these 10 eBay selling tips and in no time at all you will find yourself making more sales and increasing your revenue. Good luck!

How to Make Money on eBay by Finding a Profitable Niche

2009-10-29T11:33:00.002Z

You may have heard it said that finding the best market in which to sell on eBay is an important part of learning how to make money on eBay. And, yes, you have heard correctly!

Choosing the best niche market could make or break your eBay business or hobby and dishearten you from future endeavours into the world of internet auction sites. So, to prevent this from happening let’s consider how to go about finding that best area at the outset.

Have you ever been sold something that you weren’t really that interested in but the salesperson talked you around? That salesman would not have been able to persuade you to part with your hard earned cash if he was not an expert in his field. and the same situation arises when considering how to make money on eBay – to increase your sales you need to be knowledgeable and passionate about your chosen field. This will help you to craft great descriptions that will help your products to jump off the shelves as well as to answer questions on the subject matter with authority.

When you first start selling, it's best not to consider stepping into eBay in an area in which you are not interested, no matter how profitable it may seem. You won’t be able to sell a product well that you yourself don’t like or believe in.

The battle doesn’t end in identifying what you are interested in though. It is also vitally important to recognise that not every area will be profitable. While it’s true that the majority of items, no matter how weird or wacky, will sell on eBay it’s also true that some niche markets will sell better than others. You need to use some common sense when deciding which of your potential areas of interest to go for.

There’s no point in expending a lot of effort flogging a dead horse, better to do the research upfront to know if your idea has potential.

Curious as to how to conduct this research? Wondering how much it’ll cost you to find out whether your potential niche is a profitable one? You don’t need to worry – it won’t cost a penny. In fact, eBay provides all of the tools that you need to discover how much demand there is for your items!

The advanced search functionality provided by eBay lets you search through auctions that have finished to help you to see how much certain items sold for. Also eBay Pulse provides lists as to the most searched for phrases within each category. Taking the time to understand this information and how it relates to your market will help you to understand how to make money on eBay in no time at all.

Many people have been successful in making money through eBay but at the same time, many have failed miserably! So, take your lesson from those that are successful and follow their example if you really want to start making money for yourself using eBay.

What To Sell To Make Money On eBay

2009-10-23T10:51:00.002+01:00

Many people decide to start an eBay businesses selling all sorts of different products but if you are interested in discovering how to make money on eBay then there are certain products that you should consider selling, and others that you should avoid!

When you choose the products that you want to sell on eBay you need to be selective. You need to choose products which are profitable and also popular and its best if you try selling products to niches rather than trying to attract the whole market.

One great way of finding out what people are looking for on eBay is to actually visit the site yourself. If you visit eBay then you will be able to search the completed listings and get an idea of how much certain products are selling for.

You can also use 'eBay pulse' to find out what products you could sell to make money on eBay.
It's important to get an idea of how much these products sell for because this will make it much easier to find out whether or not you are able to make a profit. Take a look at items that you think you might like to sell and then find out how much they sell for. You can also identify popular items by looking at how many bids the items have received.

If you want to make money on eBay then the products that you choose will be extremely important. You need to carefully think about what it is you are going to sell to make as much money as possible.

Once you know the sort of products that you might like to sell you will then need to find yourself a supplier. Your supplier could be either a dropshipper or a wholesaler. These are the people that stock the products for you.

Find out exactly how much these products cost including any shipping charges because this way you will find it much easier to work out whether or not you will make a profit. Your profit margin will be the difference between the purchase price and the sale price of the item. You want to make sure that you are making a big enough profit to make selling it worthwhile.

Remember too, that to make money on eBay you must bear in mind your eBay fees. eBay fees are split into two main categories that everyone has to pay.

Listing fees are paid by anyone who wants to list an item on eBay. These are very cheap and are designed to prevent spam being posted on the site. Whenever you add a new listing to eBay you will have to pay a listing fee.

The final value fee is only payable when your product sells. This is a percentage of the final value of the product. Make sure you take these fees into account when you are working out how much profit you will make. It really is important to be thorough in order to be successful at selling on eBay!

Want A Hot Product To Sell On eBay?

2009-10-15T14:01:00.004+01:00

If you are considering subscribing to my free weekly eBay Powersellers Secrets newsletter then now is the time to take action and sign up!

This week for my subscribers, I have recorded a video of a live product sourcing example - it's a product that is selling really well on eBay right now and you could be selling within the next 10 days too! I will be sending the link out in my newsletter tomorrow.

By becoming a subscriber you will receive information, tips and techniques every week to help you sell on eBay. And I'm not talking about basic, general information here. I make sure that my newsletters always contain detailed information that will help you build up your eBay business and become successful at selling.

As an eBay Powerseller, I have almost 5 years experience of selling on eBay so I know what works and what doesn't and I am happy to share this with you through my home study courses, my newsletter, my website and blog.

So, if you want to know the details of a hot product you can sell on eBay right now including exactly where to source it, sign up now using the form at the top of the page and tomorrow you will find out!

Update For eBay Sellers - UK Postal Strikes

2009-10-08T18:10:00.008+01:00

eBay have today announced that they will suspend Dispatch Time DSR's whilst the threat of ongoing postal strikes is with us here in the UK.

This is the eBay announcement that was issued today:

"Today the Commercial Worker’s Union has issued strike notice to Royal Mail this means a national strike is possible from the 18th October.

We take this notice very seriously and recognise the negative impact that such action will have for sellers on eBay.co.uk and I want to let you know what we are doing to mitigate the impact:

We’re temporarily removing the option for buyers to rate sellers on the Dispatch Time Detailed Seller Rating from the start date of any national strike action.

We’ve expressed our concerns directly to the business secretary Rt. Hon Lord Mandelson that it is unacceptable many hard-working small businesses selling on eBay are victims of a dispute that is beyond their control

We’re working with a number of alternative postal carriers to ensure sellers can provide the levels of service that are critical in the run up to Christmas."

Hopefully this will give eBay sellers one less thing to worry about on the run up to Christmas. But the problem is still there of postal delays and buyers nor receiving their orders.

I recently wrote a blog post regarding what you can do as a damage limitation exercise if you are concerned that you might receive negative feedback through no fault of your own but due to postal strikes, so if you want a recap, please go here: Postal Strikes

3 Points To Check The Reliability Of A Wholesale Or Dropship Supplier

2009-10-02T17:11:00.006+01:00

I've had a couple of emails this week asking me how I make sure that a wholesale supplier is reliable and genuine before I order from them. So with this in mind, I thought I'd just give you a quick 3 point checklist that you should be aware of before parting with your cash:

1. Does the wholesale supplier advertise their telephone number?

While many do, it might surprise you to learn that some online suppliers only offer contact through email. Whilst this alone is not something that should necessarily put you off from placing a wholesale order, you do need to ask yourself why the supplier does not want telephone contact. It could be the sign of something not quite bone-fide.

2. Is the wholesale suppliers mailing address visible on their website or correspondence?

You should check whether the supplier displays a PO Box address, a valid business address or simply has no address at all. This is important because if you can't locate them if needed then things could easily go wrong. It is reassuring to you if the company has a proper physical address as it's more likely that they are genuine and have nothing to hide. You can also look up an address very easily to check that it really exists.

3. Do the wholesale suppliers products and prices seem to good to be true?

Many bogus companies hook you in by offering in demand branded or designer products at very cheap prices. After ordering, you find that you have been supplied with counterfeit goods or your order doesn't show up at all. Beware of cheap branded goods, especially so when ordering from China as they may be very good copies.

It is up to you to do your own due diligence and thoroughly research a company before you place an order. It might require a little time and effort but could save you money and heartache further down the line.

The best way to learn about the reliability of wholesale and dropship suppliers is to find others who have already used them - then you will really get an honest view of the company.

Selling On eBay: eBay Blogs To Be Retired

2009-09-24T12:00:00.003+01:00

eBay have recently announced that their ‘eBay Blogs’ feature will be retired at the end of October 2009.

What ‘eBay Blogs’ feature? you might be asking! And you may well ask, because this particular eBay feature was so poorly promoted that hardly anyone knew about it, including myself up until about 3 months ago, which by then was far to late for me to start messing around with setting my eBay blog up. Besides, I have my own independent blog now – this one.

Seriously though, it’s a shame that eBay feel that they should just get rid of it, because it could have been a really great thing for eBay sellers if more of us had actually known that it existed in the first place. And of course there are those sellers that are currently using the eBay blog feature to their advantage by helping promote their eBay products, who will no longer be able to utilise it.

I really don’t remember any big song and dance when it was launched as there usually is with new eBay features so I am not sure how we were supposed to find out about it. I only stumbled across it by accident and I’m quite up to date on all things eBay. However, eBay have taken the decision to end it rather than promote it which is sometimes what you have to do in business. If things aren’t working out as you had hoped, sometimes it’s better to knock something on the head and add something new instead – onwards and upwards!

Talking of which and whilst I’m on the subject of blogs, why not think about starting your own independent blog to promote your eBay products. It’s a great way to get backlinks to your eBay listings and increase your traffic - definitely worth doing if you want to increase your eBay sales.

Postal Strikes and the Effect on Your eBay Sales

2009-09-17T22:07:00.003+01:00

You can’t fail to have noticed that there have been ongoing postal strikes across England recently, and an official ballot will take place shortly which could see the start of further postal strikes right across the UK.

As an eBay seller this disruption could affect you in a couple of ways:

Buyers may be wary of purchasing online, worried that their goods will arrive late or not arrive at all and your sales may drop.

Buyers may purchase and then initiate charge backs via PayPal if they don’t receive their orders in good time.

Buyers may start ‘item not received’ disputes through eBay and PayPal if their goods are delayed.

This all sounds like bad news right? Well, it’s not an ideal situation for eBay sellers like myself and many others who send out their orders through Royal Mail.

Many eBay sellers are restricted to using Royal Mail, simply because their parcels are small enough to go by ‘letter post’ or ‘small packet’. It’s just not cost effective to use alternative delivery methods such as a courier service for small, light items. And this means that lots of eBay sellers are at the mercy of Royal Mail.

So in this situation, what can you do to minimise the risk of charge-backs, negative feedback and the possibility of your DSR’s being marked down due to late or non-delivery?

Firstly, if possible, even if you don’t do so normally, always make sure that you send items by Recorded Delivery during postal strikes. This makes sure that you have proof of posting including a reference number in case you need it for an item not received dispute later on. You will be able to prove to PayPal and your buyer that the item has been dispatched. You can also make a claim through Royal Mail for a lost or delayed item using this reference number.

It’s also a good idea to update your ‘Your Item has been Dispatched’ automated email in Selling Manager Pro. Add a sentence or two saying something like this:

‘We are currently experiencing intermittent postal strikes across the UK. All orders are being dispatched on a daily basis as normal, however there is the possibility that your order may take slightly longer than usual to arrive. Unfortunately this is out of our control and we apologise for any inconvenience.’

This shows that you are aware of what’s going on around you and your business, it also shows that you care about your customers and finally it does the job of fore-warning your customers that there may be a delay.

If you stay one step ahead and keep your customers informed, then they will understand that sometimes situations like this are unfortunately beyond your control and you as a seller won’t get penalised.

A New eBay Outlet?

2009-09-10T20:48:00.011+01:00

I did a little survey recently with my newsletter readers as I am always interested to find out what they would like to learn from me so that I can help everybody become more successful at selling on eBay.

Well, I had a huge number of replies and I am currently working my way through all the responses so that I can hopefully make things a little bit easier for everyone! I have had a quick glance through some of the responses this morning and there seems to be one subject that appears time and time again! I won’t reveal what it is just yet though – I need to get my thinking cap on first!

Anyway, in the meantime, I thought I’d give you a quick heads up today on something new that eBay have introduced very recently.

You might have noticed that at the top of the eBay home page there is a new little button that says ‘Outlet’. It’s shown below:

If you click on the link, you reach a page that shows you current deals from, and I quote from the actual page here: ‘Brands And Retailers on eBay’. So, it’s not just regular eBay sellers whose items are shown here but the proper ‘big brands’ - the high street retailers who are now advertising their goods on eBay via this ‘Outlet’.

What eBay have done is set up this outlet to encourage these leading retailers to use eBay to sell more stock. So, eBay wins because they make money from the final value fees they collect from every sale and the retailers win because not only is the link to their goods in a top position on the eBay home page, but they can directly tap in to all those eBay buyers who are right there just waiting to snap up a bargain. And bargains they are because after taking a look at the outlet it seems that most retailers are using this section to advertise their stock at rock-bottom prices. It’s the perfect place for them to offload their surplus stock and end-of-season items. So, eBay buyers win too because there are certainly bargains to be found.

So that’s three winners so far – eBay itself, the leading high street retailers and eBay buyers . But what about the average eBay seller like you and me?

Well firstly, the outlet may indirectly be a good thing because more buyers may visit the eBay site as a whole in the long run and so eventually you may gain more custom. However, if you are selling similar lines of branded stock on eBay then the outlet may cause you a few problems down the line. For starters you have now got extra competition from these powerful stores and secondly you’ll more than likely have the problem of matching their cheap deals on branded goods.Which brings me back to that age old dilemma – should you sell branded goods or unbranded goods?

Personally, I will continue to focus on unbranded goods simply because things like the outlet do not affect my eBay business in any way, shape or form! Here's why:

I am not in competition with any of these brands because my products aren’t branded.

I don’t have to worry that a leading high street retailer with loads of money will undercut my prices because I’m not selling the same products.

I don’t have to worry about buyers comparing like for like and going for the best deal because it’s very difficult to compare like for like on unbranded items.

So you see, taking the unbranded route means you can easily avoid a whole host of problems with your eBay selling – the new eBay outlet being just one example.

I’m not saying that you shouldn’t sell branded goods – that is of course your own choice and you may be selling completely different kinds of goods to those advertised in the Outlet, but I for one will be sticking to the decision I made a few years ago. Unbranded wins for me every time!

Using Articles To Improve Your eBay Traffic

2009-09-04T13:22:00.002+01:00

It's official - I think I am obsessed with finding more ways to drive traffic to my eBay listings!

If you are like me and are constantly on the lookout for new ways to attract visitors to your eBay listings as you continue on your quest for more sales, then you will probably be interested in reading this.

I really love writing and I am lucky in that it's actually one of the things that I do quite well. I'm quite creative generally and can write for hours without getting fed up or running out of ideas. So, for a number of years I have written articles, often under pseudonyms, about the products that I sell from my websites which I then submit to online ezines and other article sites in order to drive traffic to my websites. This is not a new idea at all and it does work extremely well and brings results.

But I was thinking the other day, could I also do this for my eBay listings? And if so, why have I not thought of this before.

Google absolutely loves article sites because the content changes so rapidly and is so up to date. This means that if you write (or get someone else to write) a number of keyword-rich articles about your products, and submit those articles to the most popular ezines such as www.ezinearticles.com and www.goarticles.com, Google will index your articles and they will easily get found by the search engines.

At the bottom of each article you submit, you get the opportunity to add a link or two. Obviously this is where I normally link to my websites, but you could just as easily add your eBay shop link and direct traffic straight to your store.

So, when someone does a Google search for Product X that you happen to sell on eBay, your article about Product X will show in the search results and will more than likley be quite high up too. Your article gets clicked on, is read by the person looking for Product X and they find the link to your eBay shop at the bottom of the article. They click on your link and they arrive directly in your eBay shop with Product X in front of them! How can they fail to buy.....

Seriously though, articles are a great way to grab some extra traffic so I recommend you try this. And the more articles you have out there, the more traffic you will get.

If you are not a natural writer, don't worry, there are plenty of websites out there that specialise in providing other people who will write for you, for a small fee.

Ok. Sometimes eBay Powersellers Get it Wrong Too!

2009-08-28T10:14:00.003+01:00

I had a bit of a shock yesterday when I was checking my eBay Summary on each of my ID’s, as I do every week, when I discovered that on one of my eBay ID’s that I don’t do much selling on these days - I just keep one or two items running on it to keep it active – my search standing had been labelled as ‘Lowered Search Standing’ on my seller dashboard.

Lowered Search Standing? What’s going on I thought. So I took a good look at my DSR’s and they were all sitting quite happily at 4.8 and 4.9 as they have been every week for the last 12 months report. Nothing wrong there then.

So I then looked at my 30 day DSR’s report (which I had looked at the week before and everything was fine) and there it was staring me in the face…

My ‘Communication DSR’ had plummeted to 4.3 – more about that in a minute – and the minimum standard is 4.4! So, because this one DSR of mine had dropped below the threshold by this tiny amount, eBay had lowered my search standing. Thanks!

Now I know that nobody’s perfect, and I don’t want to blow my own trumpet, but actually I pride myself on my COMMUNICATION skills and I think that I’m very good at it, and so incidentally do quite a vast majority of my eBay customers, newsletter subscribers, blog readers etc.

To reiterate this, I must just tell you what I think good communication skills are with regard to eBay. Well, I always send a ‘Thank You For Your order’ email to my eBay customers. I always send a ‘Thank you for your payment’ email to my eBay customers. I always send a ‘Your item has been Dispatched’ email to my eBay customers. PLUS, I always respond to questions about my listings within 24 hours – normally a hell of a lot quicker! So, how my communication DSR can be at 4.3 I have absolutely no idea.

But this got me thinking. Maybe my buyers are under the impression that giving me 4 out of 5 for communication is good and I suppose in usual terms, this would be good. But eBay have set the minimum standard at 4.4 which means that my buyers really need to be giving me 5 stars for communication, all the time and how likely is it that that is going to happen? For a start, I think that buyers don’t understand that they should give 5 out of 5 where it’s due, or maybe they don’t want to give me a 5 for whatever reason and that is of course their prerogative, but please, what other communication could I possibly send to my buyers apart from the emails I have mentioned above?

Would I get a 5 if I enquired about the health of their dog or asked them if they were having a nice day?!

Who knows, but what this does show is that even Powersellers like me are sometimes at the mercy of eBay buyers reluctant to admit that they did in fact receive great service, and more importantly this shows that you must strive to keep your DSR scores up high at all times to ensure you have the best spot in the searches and your items don’t get lowered.

This means running your business as a proper business, and providing excellent customer service at all times. Communicate to the best of your ability, be helpful, post promptly, describe your goods honestly and don’t overcharge on postage.

I’m off now to wish all my eBay customers a very happy bank holiday weekend in an attempt to raise my communication DSR!! I will let you know how I get on…….

Quick eBay Profits From Misspelled Items

2009-08-21T13:16:00.004+01:00

I've just finished writing today's eBay Powerseller Secrets newsletter for my subscribers ready to send out later today. This week I've covered hints on writing an eBay listing that will make your potential buyers actually buy.

Anyway, I've included a piece about the fact that some eBay sellers write their listings with no care or attention what-so-ever towards their spelling and grammar. If you are seriously wanting to sell on eBay to make money then if your listings are hashed together in 2 minutes, full of spelling mistakes and with little information then I'm afraid it's unlikely that your items will sell, so it's important that you pay attention to this.

However, listings with spelling mistakes can actually also be extremely profitable - but only if you put your 'eBay buying hat' on first. You can search for specific misspelled items on eBay, buy them very inexpensively (because they are misspelled and no-one can find them to bid on them), then relist them with your 'eBay selling hat' on. Write a better listing, spell correctly, be detailed and you are on a sure-fire way to making a quick profit.

So, I was looking for some new eBay resources recently and stumbled across this one which is perfect for helping you to find those misspelled items that I'm talking about. It's called Fat Fingers and it's free. Simply type in the search term you are looking for and it will bring up all the misspelled listings for that item.

I input the random search term 'Nintendo' and was presented with 250 misspelled results. Impressive! So if you want to take advantage of those eBay sellers that just can't be bothered with their listings go and take a look and see if you can spot an eBay misspelled bargain that you can turn around for a profit.

Promote Your eBay Items For Free

2009-08-13T18:19:00.005+01:00

If you are an eBay seller and you also have the advantage of your own blog or website here's a nifty little tool for you that will allow you to place all your eBay listings on your Blog or website and give them extra exposure.

You simply choose UK in the top right hand corner, then input your eBay ID so that you create a widget which you then place on your site. It displays all your eBay listings that are ending soon, plus it also provides a 'Search Box' for your visitors so that they can search for other items.

Best of all this is a free service. Try it out for yourself here: ListingTicker

'The £2,500 Per Week eBay Powersellers Secrets' Independent Review

2009-08-07T17:32:00.005+01:00

It must be something in the water, because just recently I've had a few people ask me 'Why should I buy your book?' and 'What's your book got to offer that others on the subject haven't?'

Now to be honest, I really don't want to literally 'tell' someone that they should buy my book because the decision has to be made by the individual concerned, but what I will say is that 'The £2,500 Per Week eBay Powersellers Secrets' home study course is entirely up to date compared to many other 'similar' publications out there and more importantly it was written entirely by me - not a ghost-writer - me!

What's more, it's written from my real-life experiences! I do actually sell on eBay! I do actually make a very comfortable living from eBay and I do genuinely want to teach other people to do the same! I really did enjoy writing everything down and turning it into the best source for starting an eBay business that I possibly could!

I am careful to ensure that I give all buyers access to updates so that if eBay makes changes - which they like to do occassionally! - then the world doesn't stop and things continue to run smoothly for everyone.

So, I thought it might help others who have similar 'Why should I buy it....?' questions, to read an independent, un-biased review of my home study course. This way, instead of me giving reasons to buy which might seem biased - after all it's my home study course and I wrote it - people can make a decision based on the real facts. Just click here! Review of The £2,500 Per week eBay Powersellers Secrets.

Do You Sell In eBay Clothes, Shoes & Accessories Category?

2009-08-03T21:07:00.004+01:00

Just a quickie today! It's good news for those of you who sell clothing and shoes on eBay! It's not a category that I sell within myself, but, if you have an eBay shop, are registered as a business and do sell in the Clothes, Shoes and Accessories category then you can take advantage of no insertion fees up until 30th September as long as you use the new multi-variation format for your items.

The multi-variation listing format lets you offer buyers a selection of your products from a single listing. So, you can price each variation of your item, for example different sizes and colours, however you want and only pay one listing fee - or in this case, no listing fee!

Definitely worth doing if you've got the stock!

It’s eBay UK's 10th Birthday!

2009-08-01T18:14:00.002+01:00

It was ten years ago this very week that eBay UK’s first seller was made. This was a gentleman from Scotland who sold a CD Single by a heavy metal band, on the site for the princely sum of £2.89!

Since then, over 964 million items have been sold by 7.1 million people on eBay UK. These items range from magazines to antiques, electronic items to fudge, cars to caravans! The most popular items have evolved over the years, but today the electronics category and the clothing category remain top favourites.

Since its conception, eBay UK has attracted all sorts of buyers including the rich and famous. The Duchess of Cornwall, James Blunt, Daniel Bedingfield and Sophie Ellis-Bextor are just a few celebrities who spend time browsing the site and snapping up bargains!

What’s more there are more than 123,000 registered businesses on eBay UK at the present time – so it just goes to show that there is money to be made by selling on eBay.

Perhaps now is the time for you to give it a try too!

eBay UK - Changes for Sellers From September 2009

2009-07-29T15:37:00.004+01:00

eBay UK have recently announced their “Seller Release 2″ changes which are due to come in to play from September 2009 onwards. Read eBay’s announcement here if you want to check how you will be affected by any of the changes, but to simplify things, I have detailed some of the important changes below so that you get an idea of what’s coming!

eBay's New ‘Top Seller’ Program

From October 1st, the current Powerseller program will also include a new 'Top Seller' program. This will be open to all Powersellers who deal with at least 100 transactions per year and have an average DSR rating of at least 4.6 across all their DSR ratings.

Those who become ‘Top Sellers’ will get better exposure in searches, access to features such as Featured First, they will also gain the 'virtual Top Seller badge' and receive preferential customer service and the highest level of Powerseller discounts.

The Powerseller Icon, currently shown next to Powerseller ID’s will be discontinued.

Changes to search

Best Match is to be updated so that an Item Quality score replaces Recent Sales. Currently, the number of recent sales helps your position in the search results. Item quality is the ratio of sales to search impressions – or how often a listing was shown on a search results page. So, if you receive lots of impressions but no sales your listing will appear lower than if you receive lots of impressions and some sales!

Some of the other features such as Featured Plus, Highlight and Bold will be discontinued in September, but the 'Top Sellers' will get their Top Seller icon displayed in search results as mentioned earlier which should help boost sales.

Theoretically, this should help small and medium sellers get their listings started on eBay, because if you list an item that buyers are interested in and that is priced well it will get a higher score in listing performance and therefore appear higher in the search.

Other changes will include the introduction of a 10% difference in start price on auctions that run with an added Buy It Now option.

Selling Changes

At last! Comments such as “I am not responsible for items lost in the post” will be barred from listings and sellers will be expected to offer high standards of customer service at all times and keep to their terms and conditions.

Free P&P

Free Postage and Packing will be compulsory in even more categories and optional insurance will no longer be allowed.

DSR Improvements

1) International Detailed Seller Ratings (DSR's) will no longer count towards the Powerseller or new 'Top Seller' requirements.
2) DSR’s from repeat buyers will count towards your score.
3) If items are listed as Local Pick Up, the Postage DSR will not be counted.

Dispute Resolution

The resolution process will become more streamlined and less time-consuming and should be up and running by Christmas 2009. eBay are aiming to cut the time it takes to resolve disputes.

Many of these changes are all about being a ‘Good Seller’ and being considered an honest, reliable and reputable seller is indeed a good thing for you because it keeps people coming back and gets you repeat business. The one thing you must remember is that eBay is constantly evolving and we sellers need to change with it in order to remain a success!

Buy It Now is the Way to Sell on eBay

2009-07-27T11:18:00.001+01:00

Recently, eBay announced their latest figures to be somewhat higher than had been predicted which is great news! It shows that despite the ‘recession’, there are still huge amounts of buyers who purchase online - particularly from sites such as eBay and Amazon.

eBay Inc. President and CEO John Donahoe recently hinted that figures have risen partly due to the move away from the more traditional auction format on eBay to the fixed price format of ‘Buy It Now’. This appears to be backed up by the fact that Amazon’s figures have also improved and most of the items sold on Amazon are at a fixed price.

And this is all good news for you and me! But why?

It is very rare that I list anything in auction format on eBay, simply because I stick to the process of selling the same product at a set price continually. I source a product, I list it in multiple quantities on a 30 day or Good Till Cancelled listing, I sell from that listing over and over again and repeat with another product. After the initial research and set-up, this involves almost no work whatsoever! Just rinse and repeat!

Don’t worry if you use the traditional auction format for your listings because there is so much traffic coming to eBay that your auction listings will continue to be successful. However, I would suggest testing some products on a Fixed Price ‘Buy It Now’ so that you get the best of both worlds!

I believe that ultimately, ‘Buy It Now’s’ are the best option for your eBay business. This is what has always worked for me, both on eBay and Amazon so I recommend you try it too!

You can read more about my ‘Rinse and Repeat’ methods in my eBay home study course ‘The £2,500 Per Week eBay Powersellers Secrets’.

eBay Selling - A Simple Strategy For Success

2009-07-22T15:25:00.002+01:00

I get emails from lots of people every day, all asking me for advice about the best way to make money on eBay and I always tell them that there is one foolproof way to ensure that their eBay listings are profitable.

There is a simple strategy that you should follow when selling on eBay, and it is this: Research the market, source the product, promote the product, automate your listings and REPEAT!

If you can do this, and follow these simple steps, then you will succeed with your eBay business.

Since the start of the recession an estimated 88 million people a month have been shopping on eBay actively looking for products, so imagine if you could grab even a small amount of business from all those buyers!

If you want to learn more about making money on eBay with a step by step guide then head over to Powerseller Profiteer where you can read about how to get your own eBay business started quickly and easily.

A Reflective Moment

2009-07-15T11:39:00.002+01:00

With the school Summer Holidays almost upon us, it's at this time of year that I really appreciate the decision I made a few years ago which was to start an eBay business and work for myself.

This week in particular, so many Mums in the school playground have been describing just how hard it is to find good, low-cost childcare during the six weeks holidays. Most of them are having to juggle their children between grandparents, holiday clubs (which aren't cheap) and friends, whilst they go to work.

I am lucky that I don't have this problem as I run my eBay business from my home office and my hours are extremely flexible. Unlike some of my friends, I am at home for my children during the holidays and we are able to do things together daily. I don't need to find childcare and we are free to do pretty much as we please. If I can't fit in an hour or two of work during the day to keep things up to date, then I work for an hour or so in the evening after the children have gone to bed, which is great!

I know plenty of other Mums who would love to be in my position (and some who wouldn't - those that enjoy going to work in an environment away from home - but still love their children dearly and spend time with them!) and thats why I think I am lucky.

I am doing a job that I enjoy, that is flexible and that allows me a very comfortable standard of living for working only a few hours a day. It's perfect for me.

Perhaps, with the onset of the Summer Holidays, now is the time for those of you that have been considering working for yourselves to give it a go?

An eBay business is a simple option to start and was the best decision I ever made. Here's to a Summer of sunshine!

eBay Asks Members to Sign Fair Trade Petition

2009-07-08T13:44:00.002+01:00

Further to my post on 23rd June 2009, eBay UK has announced that it is under threat by brands who are trying to stop ebay traders selling their products on eBay.

eBay are now asking members to sign a petition against these online trade barriers. They are calling on European policymakers to amend EU competition law to stop what eBay deems unfair trade practices.

And, it does seem unfair because some brands are wanting to stop people selling their products on eBay, even if the item in question is second-hand! Surely, once a product has been purchased by a consumer, it is their right to do with it whatever they like?

The full eBay announcement can be viewed here but you must be logged in to sign it.

Once again, it proves my point - choose to sell unbranded goods on eBay or brand your own unique products!

Press Release Marketing can Increase Your eBay Sales

2009-07-02T10:46:00.013+01:00

A short while ago I mentioned that I had sent out lots of Press Releases to various newspapers, magazines and PR sites to promote my eBay home study course 'The £2,500 Per Week eBay Powersellers Secrets'.

You might recall that at that time I was contacted by a journalist from a glossy magazine who had picked up my details from one of those Press Releases who then came and interviewed me for a featured article within the magazine.

I promised that as soon as the feature was published I would post the link so that my readers could see just how effective Press Release marketing can be! The article was published this month and the cover of the magazine is shown in the above picture.

The magazine is on sale from 1st July, and below is the link to the online version which has fewer photographs but you get the general idea!

Amanda O'Brien eBay Seller Feature in Cotswold Style Magazine

(You need to scroll down the left hand column of the page that you arrive at and then click on more!)

So, not only have I got a big splash in a very nice monthly, glossy magazine, but I have also got some great online publicity and another back-link to my website. Of course, all this was free and that's why it's worth making the effort to write an interesting press release and getting it in front of the right people. You can do this for your eBay products - simply put together a short press release with an interesting angle and submit it to some of the sites that I mention in my blog post of 4th May 2009 .

Try it and watch the results!

Michael Jackson and eBay

2009-06-30T12:54:00.005+01:00

I was talking with a friend in the school playground on Friday morning, right after the news had broken about the death of Michael Jackson the previous evening. Knowing all about my ebay business, she said to me 'Oh I suppose you logged straight on to eBay last night did you?'

I answered honestly: 'No!' (Memorabilia does not interest me at all and I prefer to sell the same unbranded products over and over on eBay! Less work, more continual profit!)

Anyway, it turned out that her husband had watched the news reports of Michael Jackson's death and within minutes he had logged on to eBay and started bidding on items of Michael Jackson 'memorabilia'. Bids were going sky-high as people tried to grab a piece of history in the hope that it would be worth a fortune, now or in the future.

All very entrepreneurial and good luck to those who purchased items for a reasonable price with a view to reselling them on eBay or other venues for profit at a later date! However, that is not the point of this post.

My point is this: Where did many thousands of people all flock to as their first port of call, to find what they wanted? eBay of course.

Why did they all choose to look there first?
Because eBay is well known worldwide as the place to buy pretty much anything. People were aware that they could find what they wanted and bag a great deal on that item RIGHT NOW!

There was no time to waste. People wanted something. They wanted it immediately and they knew they could get it on eBay!

My point? Proof that eBay is the first place that many millions of people go looking when they want to buy something online.

What are you all waiting for? Join in and start selling on eBay!

eBay Easy Returns Live on eBay UK

2009-06-24T13:04:00.000+01:00

eBay’s ‘Easy Returns’ system went live yesterday on the UK site. The link is accessed from ‘My eBay’ and is available for 35 days after the sale. Buyers can now simply choose a reason for a return from a drop-down menu and then enter a message stating why they are returning the item to the seller.

Although like myself, there are many who sell on eBay and do allow returns for eBay purchases, however there are just as many sellers who do not allow returns. What worries me is that there is nothing on the Easy Returns page that tells buyers that only Business Sellers are legally expected to accept returns. This could lead to some confusion.

Another point is that as stated by eBay themselves, Distance Selling Regulations only apply to purchases made from a Fixed Price Auction yet there is nothing that clarifies this on the page. More confusion? Perhaps there should be an option for different returns policies for different types of auctions? Only time will tell!

Why It Is Best To Sell Un-Branded Products On eBay

2009-06-23T10:43:00.003+01:00

I was reading in the Telegraph Online today that eBay recently did a survey of it's online traders and they were surprised to find that almost 50% have been stopped from selling branded or designer goods on eBay by the manufacturers of these brands.

Similarly, almost the same percentage said that their suppliers had tried to stop them from selling goods on eBay even if they were already selling the same product offline such as through a shop. The message here is pretty clear. The suppliers of these consumer goods simply do not want their products sold on eBay at a discount.

I have to say that none of this really surprised me though! I have always said that un-branded products are a far better way to go with your eBay selling for a number of reasons:

Un-branded goods are cheaper to buy at wholesale in the first place
You are not at risk of being supplied fake goods
There is less competition
You are not at risk of having your listings removed by Vero
You can more-or-less charge whatever you like for your product

Surely those are reasons enough to take the un-branded products route to sell on eBay?

Promote Your Products For Free

2009-06-16T10:37:00.003+01:00

Recently I wrote on my blog about submitting newsworthy press releases to local and national newspapers and online PR sites to promote your products. You can do this to promote the products you are selling on eBay or your website products or simply to promote your company generally. Just an update on this now.

I sent press releases to 20 newspapers and 3 of them published a piece promoting my eBay home study course. Of course this was totally free of charge! You can see one of the newspaper articles as it appeared here.

It also appeared online here.

From the PR sites and News Wires I submitted to, I was contacted by a glossy lifestyle magazine who came and interviewed me and who will be running a feature on me and my eBay home study course in their July issue! I will post the link as soon as the feature is published.

So, you see, all this hasn't cost me a penny and so far I've had lots of publicity.

Another example - Simply through contacting a variety of magazines in one of my product niches, a top-selling product of mine is featured within a national magazine complete with my website address! More free publicity and an increase in sales. Here's the link. Click on the magazine picture to see the actual magazine page.

The point of this post is to show you that with a little bit of research and ensuring that you make time to spend on marketing, you can find ways to increase your sales that cost you absolutely nothing!

Ebay Selling Updates

2009-06-12T11:28:00.003+01:00

Back in March this year, ebay UK announced a few changes that would be taking place over the summer. The first of these changes takes place next week on June 15th, so I thought I would update you all to make sure you are ready!

Ensure all your listings show a dispatch time as this will be mandatory
Certain category listings must offer the option of free postage and packaging for all domestic postage. If you have listings in Video Games, Mobile / Home Phones, Consumer Electronics, Computing, Photography or Clothes, Shoes & Accessories, then please check to see if your listings will be affected as this does not apply to all sub-categories. please note that this change applies to anyone in these categories who is selling on eBay UK, not just UK residents.
There will be some category changes which will mostly apply to sellers who list in the Clothes Shoes & Accessories, Home & Garden and Motors categories. Please check to see if you are affected.
Some sub-categories are being removed, so any listings in those categories will be moved into the relevant parent category. This should happen automatically but please check to make sure your listings are showing, in case of glitches!

eBay are also introducing some new features. These will be available from around the 15th June, but take a look now so that you are ready to take advantage of these new features when they are live.

Multi-variation listings. You can list colour and size variations of items on a single listing.
Free photographs in Clothes Shoes & Accessories & Home and Garden categories.
Custom item specifics
Easy returns
Smart FAQs: Have a look at your ASQ’s. If a lot of people are asking the same question over and over, add the question and the answer to your Smart FAQ’s to save time answering the same question more than once!

I hope this helps! I'm off to double check all my listings now!

Looking For Information Products To Sell?

2009-06-09T10:41:00.007+01:00

I have been working on setting up an affiliate program for my eBay Home Study Course - The £2,500 Per Week eBay Powersellers Secrets - and am pleased to say that the affiliate program is now live and totally free to join.

If you are looking for a new, fast-selling information product to promote then please take a look because you will earn an easy 40% commission for every sale that you generate.

All you have to do is sign up and start promoting the product on your blog, newsletter or website. I will arrange fulfilment of the orders and all orders are tracked so your commission will be paid monthly - how easy is that!

Join The 2,500 Per Week eBay Powersellers Secrets affiliate program:
Get 40.00% for each sale
Sign up takes less than a minute
No-risk offer – The 2,500 Per Week eBay Powersellers Secrets affiliate program is free to join
Comprehensive performance statistics
180 days cookie tracking
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You can get started straight away right here: Affiliate Program

What Are The Best Products to Sell On eBay?

2009-06-02T13:11:00.005+01:00

I have lost count of the number of times I am asked the same question: "What are the best products to sell on eBay?" It is a good question but also the 6 million dollar question because quite simply there are no absolute 'best' products to sell on eBay. However there are certain categories that you should look at to ensure your eBay business makes money from the start.

Some of the best products to sell are those that 'solve' a problem of some sort or another. Examples of these could be acne treatments, wrinkle removers, bad breath treatments, back pain remedies, dog training, pest control ... the list is actually endless. It just requires a little bit of thought.

Take a look on eBay and see what the Powersellers in these categories are selling. How many are they selling? If it's huge quantities then it is a good product to sell. Then simply source a similar or preferably better product and grab a slice of the action!

If you would like in depth information about eBay categories and product sourcing including specific products and wholesale sources, you will find it all in my new home study course 'The £2,500 Per Week eBay Powersellers Secrets'.

Get A Free eBay Shop Logo

2009-05-31T21:05:00.006+01:00

I want to share with you a great tool that will allow you to make your own eBay shop logo - and it's free! If you sell on eBay and already have an eBay shop but don't have a stand-alone website then it's unlikely that you will have a logo already, so you can make one right here and simply upload it to eBay!

Having a unique eBay shop logo will make your eBay business look very professional. It's much better than using one of eBay's own suggestions which are usually just pictures and shapes with no text. Having a proper logo means that you are starting to build your brand. You can use your logo on letterheads and compliment slips and on your packing slips when you send out your products. More people will remember your eBay shop if you have a great logo which should improve repeat sales so it will only work to your advantage!

Here's one I made in literally 30 seconds!

Click here to take a look at the free eBay shop logo maker, have a play around and get yourself a professional looking logo, free.

eBay Tips For Successful Selling

2009-05-26T13:42:00.006+01:00

If you are an eBay seller who believes in luck - please stop doing so! I don't deny that you do need luck to be successful; however, the role played by luck is a very small one.

You should combine your brains with some tips and tricks to be successful at eBay selling. So, I am listing a few tips here to help you become a successful eBay seller:

1. Give your auction a good title: There are many sellers who do not really give importance to their titles and tend to ignore the importance of them. They just provide a simple title of what they are selling. For example, you might be selling a Baby Monitor. If you just give the title as Baby Monitor, this is so vague that few people will find it. eBay now works with keywords just like Google and you should be aware of niche words to help sell your items. So add the brand (if it's a branded product), whether it's new or used, and related keywords that will help people find your item in the search.

2. Give a good and detailed description: When you write a description of the item you are selling, be generous in your description. List everything about the product that you would want to know if you were the buyer. Highlight the strengths, features and benefits of the item and also very subtlely mention any flaws or faults if the item is not new. Personalise your listing so that buyers can relate to you as the seller as they will be much more likely to buy!

3. Be meticulous: You should thoroughly know your product. Highlight the important characteristics of your product and tell people exactly why it's such a good product.

4. Use pictures: Use a good digital camera and add photos of the item you are listing. You need these photos to post within the description of the product. Don't forget to add a photo for the gallery picture so that potential buyers can see exactly what they are buying.

5. Reply to questions: You will receive lots of questions from potential buyers. Always answer them promptly!

6. Show friendliness: Be professional but be likeable too. People prefer sellers who are easy going than those who are very business like or too professional. So, be enthusiastic and friendly but don't be too casual in answering questions.

Use your common sense and you will become successful with your eBay business.

Can You Profit From The Recession?

2009-05-20T12:47:00.003+01:00

Did you know that auction sites like eBay are one of the first places people look to buy from in times of recession?

Think about it - if money is tight then people want to save a few pounds. So if they can find the product they want listed on an eBay auction, the chances are that they will get it a lot cheaper than if they purchase it on the High Street!

That's why right now is a great time to start your own eBay business. Consumers are actively looking for 'bargains' and if you can source the right products at the right prices then you cansupply those customers and get a big slice of the action.

Also, in times of recession, it's much easier to pick up cheaper stock. What about the items that are returned to stores by consumers and retailers? Well, you can make a good profit by simply buying those surplus, close-out and overstocked goods from suppliers and selling them on eBay! There are hundreds of this type of supplier out there. Do a search for 'closeout' or 'surplus stock' etc and you'll see what I mean ...

Follow Me On Twitter!

2009-05-18T12:55:00.005+01:00

I have recently discovered the power of Social Marketing sites! Yes perhaps I am a little bit behind, but I've been extremely busy promoting my new eBay home study course. So, if you want to see what I get up to, you can now follow me on Twitter and Facebook amongst others!

I'm also working on a brand new product to help you increase your eBay profits which should be ready in a few weeks or so, so keep an eye out for updates on that too...

Help With eBay Selling - Powerseller Pod Now Live!

2009-05-12T10:47:00.003+01:00

My website Powerseller Pod has undergone a revamp and I am delighted to let you know that it is now live!

If you are looking for help with your eBay selling then you will find lots of information in the form of articles, news and announcements. There are also eBay selling products available, including my brand new book 'The £2,500 Per Week eBay Powersellers Secrets'.

Articles detailing how to get the most out of your eBay selling are being added all the time and you can also register your interest in my eBay seminar (due to take place later this year - dates to be confirmed).

Drive Free Traffic to Your Website by Submitting Press Releases

2009-05-04T18:37:00.001+01:00

It’s all very well having a stunning website for your product, but if no-one can find it then it is a total waste of time. Obvious, but completely true!

Driving traffic to your website – especially if it has been set up specifically to sell a brand new product – is a challenge as your site won’t rank highly in the search engines. So, you have to become a bit creative, even more so if you want to drive free traffic to your site.

I was faced with this challenge myself only recently with the launch of my brand new home study course ‘The £2,500 Per Week eBay Powersellers Secrets’.

I knew without doubt that my course would be of great interest to anyone who wanted to start their own successful eBay business, or for those who needed a bit of extra help with their listings that were already running and for those looking to work from home with an online business. The challenge was to reach those people and get my book in front of them; and this is the hurdle that anyone with a product to sell has to overcome.

When I started researching ways to get my website noticed, I quickly realised that the very fact that I am a successful eBay Powerseller and I have written ‘The £2,500 Per Week eBay Powersellers Secrets’ from my own experiences is actually quite a newsworthy item in itself. So, I thought, why not issue a press release to all the local newspapers in my immediate area. A quick search on www.mediauk.co.uk revealed all the information I required including in some cases the name of the Editor of the newspaper – so I knew exactly who to send my press release to.

I compiled a list, wrote a decent press release to them all and enclosed a photograph and contact details, enveloped them up and posted them off.

The result was that two articles were published in the respective newspapers and one also added the information to their online newspaper giving me, my product and most importantly my website address vital coverage and for free!

This got me thinking about submitting press releases online and I found that there are hundreds of online press release sites that you can submit to absolutely free. Once you have submitted a release, it is sent by the news agencies to other news sites where journalists and the general public can read your news.

I submitted my press release to about 25 different online PR sites including www.prlog.org, www.pressreleasepoint.com and www.freepressreleases.co.uk and found that my website was rising up the search rankings daily simply from these submissions. You can see an example of one of my submitted press release here: http://www.pressrelease001.com/internet5364/learn-how-sell-ebay-uk-powerseller-launches-brand-new-guide-startin

Also, because each of my online press releases included a link to my website, it was also providing those all important back-links that Google loves, again increasing my search engine ranking. It was from one of these press releases that a journalist from a monthly glossy magazine contacted me, asking for an interview – more great free publicity for ‘The £2,500 Per Week eBay Powersellers Secrets’!

PR sites have ever changing and updated content and are crawled by search engines very regularly. This means that finding a newsworthy angle for your product is definitely a must if you want to get news about your product out to people quickly. It can also result in a snowball effect of more great free publicity in the media as journalists pick up your story.

The £2,500 Per Week eBay Powersellers Secrets Officially Launched

2009-05-01T18:39:00.004+01:00

Last week I launched my brand new book - 'The £2,500 Per Week eBay Powersellers Secrets' after months of hard work writing, re-writing, designing and not getting very much sleep! That's me - Amanda O'Brien - pictured with my book!

The result of my hard work is a very informative course, which will get YOUR eBay business started from scratch in the shortest possible amount of time even if you have never logged on to the eBay website before and in the current climate, selling products on eBay is something that you really should seriously consider.

I have written 'The £2,500 Per Week eBay Powersellers Secrets' completely from real life experience, and this is my (shortened!) story...

Five years or so ago, I had never even looked at the eBay website. All my friends had of course, but at the time, I wasn't really interested. I had two young children and a full time job and not a spare minute to myself! So, as you can imagine, surfing the internet was not a priority for me, unlike my single friends!

Around this time, I was also seriously hacked off with my job in Advertising - especially the fact that most of my wages were being spent on the childcare I needed whilst I was actually doing the job - where was the sense in that? So, I got this idea into my head that I wanted to work for myself, from home, doing only the hours that I wanted to do so that I could spend more time with my family, yet still contribute to the household income.

To cut a very long story short, after messing around for ages not really knowing what direction to take (and I might add, being scammed by some unscrupulous online ventures) my husband suggested selling on eBay. As you can probably imagine, this scared me to death as I had never so much as become a member of eBay, let alone bought or sold something. However, I was desperate to leave my job and work for myself so I decided to take the plunge.

It was the best decision I ever made!

After a very shaky start, not really knowing what I was doing and making many mistakes along the way, I am now a Powerseller with several eBay ID's all earning me many times more than my previous 9 to 5 employment!

I admit it actually took some time to get things exactly right and running as smoothly as they are now, but I was a complete novice at the start and had to learn from scratch with absolutely no help.

Thats why I have taken the time to write down everything anyone who wants to start an eBay business should know so that they too can grab the opportunity to ditch their jobs and work for themselves, make more money than before and work less hours.

By following my step-by-step guide, the information and the techiques that I provide (including exactly where to buy products at wholesale prices to resell at a profit) absolutely anyone can do what I have done. The only difference is that it won't take as long!

I had no help, YOU will! Simply click here to find out the full details

How To Drive Traffic To Your Web Site

2009-03-24T14:08:00.000Z

If you have just launched a new website or are thinking of setting up an online business, one of the most important factors is getting people to actually visit your website. There is no point in having an all-singing, all-dancing site if no-one can find it!

These 7 tips will help you get started ...

1. Make sure that every page of your website is fully optimised for important keywords before you launch it so that results happen immediately.

2. Submit your website to online directories - this will create incoming links and help with your search engine ranking.

3. Start a blog and create a buzz about your new site or product.

4. Write a Press Release and submit it online and offline.

5. Use free classified advertising websites to post an ad to bring in targeted traffic.

6. Make sure you have a presence on a couple of the social networking sites.

7. For instant results, consider Google Adwords or similar Pay Per Click Advertising.

All these suggestions will help you drive traffic to your website, but remember that marketing your online business will need continual work to get the best results.

What To Do About Your eBay Listings When You Go On Holiday

2009-03-17T11:18:00.000Z

I am currently looking forward to my forthcoming holiday and getting some much needed sunshine! But, like many people who run their own businesses, there is always the worry when taking time off about what to do with your eBay listings when you go on holiday.

Do you leave them running as normal? If you have an eBay shop, do you put your holiday settings on? Do you simply cancel all your listings? Do you email all your recent past customers and let them know you will be away?

It's a matter of preference, and is always a bit of a dilemma. Even more so now with the introduction of 'Best Match' and the fact that if you don't restart a listing within 7 days of it ending you run the risk of losing the page 1 position that you have built up to date, meaning that if you do cancel all your listings, there is the likelihood that you will have to start from scratch again when you return from your holiday to gain a prominent position in the listing order.

Over the years I have tried many different ways of ensuring that my customers remain happy and keep buying even whilst I am away, and for the first 2 years of running my eBay business, this actually involved not going on holiday at all!

Now, what I do is allow my listings to continue to run and as I have an eBay shop, I can turn the holiday settings on (you can access further information about holiday settings by clicking here: eBay Holiday Settings

I also add a small bit of text to my description explaining that orders are welcome but there will be a delay in dispatch (you can do this after a listing has started simply by going to 'Revise Item' and adding the extra text into a separate box at the bottom of your original description.)
This gives your customers the choice - You have informed them of your plans and they may still order and not mind waiting a little longer than normal for delivery, or they may choose to buy elsewhere. But at least this way, you continue to receive orders whilst you are away and retain your position in the listings ready for your return.

How to easily design your own professional looking website

2009-03-10T11:36:00.000Z

If you want to know how to design your own website but don't know where to start, I have found an amazing tool to help you and now I don't know what I'd do without it! XSitePro is a tool that anyone can easily use to create professional looking websites without any html or design knowledge at all.

There's loads of drop-down menus and widgets so that you can change your design, layout, colours and templates really quickly and easily. For example, with just one click you can change the look and feel of the header graphics on your page, and that change is then made on all your web pages!

Adding a Paypal button is also very straightforward with XSitePro - again just one click, fill in your details and insert the payment button so you can start taking payments immediately.

Monetizing your website is really simple! There is a button to click to insert Google AdSense ads so you don't have to go backwards and forwards cutting and pasting lots of bits of code. You can do this all from within your web page editor with one click.

Even the usually complicated task of building a site map to ensure your web pages are crawled by the search engines is done for you. Once again, one click compiles your site map for you!

There is loads more exciting stuff and I have only mentioned a few but the list goes on and on! You can click here to visit their site to see a demonstration and get more information.

How To Make £2,500 Per Week

2009-03-09T22:14:00.002Z

In the current economic climate, everyone is feeling the pinch and is on the lookout for a bargain even more so than usual. One of the first places people look to try and save a few pounds is by buying online rather than from the High Street. More importantly, they look to auction sites like eBay. I am delighted to be able to share with others the best way to take advantage of this trend by starting your own online business, so that everyone has the opportunity to make some extra money.

Since giving up my 9 to 5 job in Advertising Sales 4 years ago, I have been earning a generous full time income from my successful online business and now find myself working fewer hours, earning a better income and have more precious time to spend with my family.

My motivation to write a step-by-step guide to starting an online business came as I realised that more and more of us are trying to supplement our incomes, safeguard savings and not rely so heavily on our ‘day jobs’ for fear of redundancy.

'The £2,500 Per Week eBay Powersellers Secrets' is a complete guide to setting up your own home-based business. Even if you have no business experience and have never looked at the eBay web site before, it doesn’t matter! I am just a normal, married, mother of two, who knew nothing about running a business, or even about eBay when I first started! So believe me when I say there is the potential for anyone to earn a full time or second income, working just a few hours a day, simply by following the information in my book. I have done it myself and continue to do so, so I know that my methods really work!

This is the most up-to-date eBay Start Up guide available and shows exactly how anyone can start an eBay business from scratch and make a serious income from it. Simple step-by-step instructions guide you through the whole process; from registering on eBay, right through to researching and sourcing stock, listing your products and making your first sale. There are lots of tips, advice and ideas including exactly where you will find the best products to make a profit. Everything is covered in detail to allow you to get started immediately in the easiest way possible.

Click Here for the full details