Creating Online Selling Places by Bluesbaby

Online Selling Places

2011-07-28T10:42:00.000-07:00

We all know my disenchantment with the eBay store so its time to branch out. I will still utilize eBay on a lesser scale. Basically I will use the free listings every moth for auctions and split into two identities to expand that advantage as well as separate my merchandise. That way I can take as much profit as I can with little overhead.

I will also try using new venues such as Etsy since I plan on progressing with jewelry creation and Yardsellr for miscellaneous items in stockas well as others that will probably include eBid, eCrater and Bonanzle. The last three are the largest competitors to eBay according to Powersellers Unite with about 4 million auctions each. None are as big as eBay but how many of those auctions are now Big Business which eBay is favoring more and more over individual sellers?

Summer is almost over time for selling?

2010-08-05T17:34:00.000-07:00

Summer is almost over which we all know stinks on eBay. So is it time for selling? More to the point is it time to be somewhere else besides eBay? Ebay alternatives (many of these are free to set up and try)

http://yardsellr.com/ http://www.ecrater.com/ http://www.bonanzle.com/ http://www.ebid.net/ http://www.cqout.com/ http://www.blujay.com/ http://highwire.com/ - this was called BuyitSellit Along with these sites that just sell hand made articles http://www.etsy.com/ http://www.artfire.com/sell-crafts If you want more look here http://www.powersellersunite.com/auctionsitewatch.php Sellers please note they have storefronts http://www.powersellersunite.com/links.php

FVF Increased again

2010-02-04T11:47:00.000-08:00

Here is a table I borrowed showing the old fees and new fees with and without a store.

Summer Over Already

2009-08-06T10:24:00.000-07:00

Yes, for eBay sellers the summer drought is over and time for "Back to School" shopping. Thank goodness! There may still be a few good weeks to enjoy but even the "Big Box" store are pushing "Back to School".

Now it's time to spend your effort and money) loading up your store and auction items with kid's stuff: clothes (used and new), educational toys, books, and even baby coupons. Odds are, if they have school kids they either have babies or know people who do. So let's get busy!

After that, you can start adding womens fashion accessories since the ladies will be thinking about changing their wardrobe with the season soon enough. The market for books will increase as women have a little free time for reading after the mad dash to get ready for the kids go back to school.

School's Out

2009-06-06T10:34:00.000-07:00

For the most part school is over and so is EBay except for the rare item here or there. My experience has been that sales drop dramatically so I either shut down my store or leave very little available to reduce my costs. I may even use the vacation option if I cannot tend my store due to events or travel.

Facebook Safety

2009-02-09T08:28:00.000-08:00

Many people have a Facebook page for more exposure but are they safe? http://whyfacebook.com/2009/02/06/10-ways-to-stay-safe-on-facebook/ http://www.allfacebook.com/2009/02/facebook-privacy/ Please feel free to comment with any other safety tips you may have.

Be Successful Selling

2009-01-24T19:15:00.000-08:00

Interesting Article on Wikihow - make sure to scroll down and check out other related articles http://www.wikihow.com/Be-Successful-Selling-on-eBay

Personalized thank yous

2009-01-07T08:07:00.000-08:00

http://www.pgiproducts.com/?mId=-1999999643 But an even better idea for cheap giveaways http://www.vistaprint.com/ They offer free items and just charge postage. I use a postcard with a calendar and a return purchase offer but I also get business cards there and other paper goods

Excel Tips

2008-11-21T12:29:00.000-08:00

A few different websites for Tips on Excel http://www.vertex42.com/ExcelLinks/cat/excel-tips-tricks-1.html

Protecting Yourself from Illegitimate Wholesale Suppliers

2008-09-20T07:00:00.000-07:00

This comes from the Auction Profiteer - Jason Logan

"Today, we are going to talk about- Protecting Yourself from Illegitimate Wholesale Suppliers

While many fantastic wholesale sources can be found online, there are also a huge number of sites developed specifically to scam sellers looking for a good deal.

So how do you tell whether you are dealing with a real wholesale supplier?

First of all: A supplier may be selling fakes of big name brands but this doesn't necessarily mean he is out to scam you. There are many suppliers in China and other countries selling fakes, but as long as you realize what you are buying, that is not a problem in itself.

The supplier may say they can only accept Western union and wire transfers as payment. These are insecure payment methods, but for Chinese suppliers, these are often the only two options available as credit cards (and therefore Paypal) are almost impossible to get. You should always take the precaution of ordering only a small amount when dealing with a supplier who only takes Western Union and wire transfer for the first time, but many legitimate manufacturers and wholesalers use these methods out of necessity rather than because they are illegitimate.

The Warning Signs

Warning bells should start ringing if you come across any of the following:

Fake address - either it doesn't exist or it exists in a poor or residential area.

No contact details listed on the website.

When you call, the telephone is answered by an individual who does not identify himself on picking up the phone.

You are not asked for a business or tax number.

The company suddenly stop replying to your emails.

Parts of the text or images on their site are copies from other websites.

When you place an order, the company claims they do not have any stock, but want to receive the money before ordering any in.

Your contact becomes shifty when you ask for a product sample.

Steps to Protecting Yourself

To find out whether you are dealing with a scammer, try these tips:

Copy and paste some text into Google. If it is copied from another site, you'll soon discover it in the search results.

Check that the website gives a full business name and a registration number.

Ring them to verify the phone number given is good, but don't accept a mobile phone number as enough, all companies like this should have a land line number.

Ask for a photograph of the stock with the company logo in the background.

Use secure payment methods such as Escrow, COD and Paypal Verified whenever possible.

Regards, Jason Logan"

New place to advertise

2008-04-28T10:38:00.000-07:00

This one requires a windows live account or what MSN used to call passport http://products.live.com/

EBay glossary and icons

2006-08-27T12:08:00.000-07:00

http://pages.ebay.com/help/newtoebay/glossary.html

About Spam and Phishing

2006-08-15T21:44:00.000-07:00

My Rule of Thumb: Unless you see your first and last name in an email from Paypal or EBay, it is bogus. Sending it to spoof at Paypal or EBay and your ISP spam link is a great idea too. Excellent links below: http://cgi3.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=nss_rba http://www.bustedupcowgirl.com/paypalebayscam.html

How Much Chart

2006-08-06T08:01:00.000-07:00

This came from a lady in one of my Ebay groups.

It is for items posted in stores.

Hello all, Well here is my list, I did go over it several times for accuracy, however my formula if off only one cent can throw everything off. I feel it is accurate. If it is not please someone out there who plays with figures more say something.

.99= .84 PayPal .51

1.99=1.74 PP 1.38

2.99=2.64 PP 2.25

3.99=3.54 PP 3.12

4.99=4.44 PP 4.00

5.99=5.34 PP 4.87

6.99=6.24 PP 5.74

7.99=7.14 PP 6.61

8.99=8.04 PP 7.48

9.99=8.94 PP 8.35

10.99=9.84 PP 9.22

11.99=10.74 PP 10.09

12.99=11.64 PP 10.96

13.99=12.54 PP 11.83

14.99=13.44 PP 12.71

15.99=14.34 PP 13.58

16.99=15.24 PP 14.44

17.99=16.14 PP 15.32

18.99=17.04 PP 16.19

19.99=17.94 PP 17.06

20.99=18.84 PP 17.93

21.99=19.74 PP 18.80

22.99=20.64 PP 19.67

23.99=21.54 PP 20.58

24.99=22.44 PP 21.42

--------------------

25.99=24.07 PP 23.02

26.99=25.00 PP 23.92

27.99=25.93 pp 24.82

28.99=26.86 pp 25.72

29.99=27.79 pp 26.62

34.99=32.44 pp 31.13

39.99=37.09 pp 35.63

44.99=41.74 pp 40.14

49.99=46.39 pp 44.64

54.99=51.04 pp 49.15

59.99=55.69 pp 53.65

64.99=60.34 pp 58.16

69.99=64.99 pp 62.66

74.99=71.64 pp 69.17

79.99=74.29 pp 71.67

84.99=78.94 pp 76.18

89.99=83.59 pp 80.68

94.99=88.24 pp 85.19

99.99=92.89 pp 89.69

The first line in the list is what you are asking for your item. The second line is IF it sells, third line is IF they pay with PayPal. Take in account what you are paying for your item, if it is listed more then one time. I have to make lists or I will forget things. So lists are ALL over our place lol!

Coralie MCDANNELLS

More free resources

2006-07-27T12:11:00.000-07:00

Free drag and drop HTML editor http://www.coffeecup.com/free-editor/

Website designing for beginners http://www.webmonkey.com/webmonkey/frontdoor/beginners.html http://htmlgoodies.com/tutorials/backgrounds/

From ebay members http://cgi3.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=shipscript http://stores.ebay.com/the-media-factory/TUTORIALS-AND-LINKS.html

Liquidators www.abcloseouts.com www.amlinc.com www.amerisurplus.com www.mywebwholesaler.com www.salvagecloseouts.com www.tdwcloseouts.com www.usacloseouts.com

Fight for copyrights

2006-07-20T12:26:00.000-07:00

Here is one ebayer who has sued and won to protect their rights. There is plenty to learn about copyrights here: http://www.tabberone.com/ Don't miss the trademark disputes. http://www.tabberone.com/Trademarks/trademarks.html

Auction help articles

2006-07-10T18:00:00.000-07:00

Great articles for problems with eBay-related transactions:

Buyers: For Buyers Who Have a Problem Getting Delivery of a Paid-For Item from a Seller
Sellers: For Sellers Who Have a Problem Getting Paid or Received a NSF Check For problems with Non-eBay-related transactions:
Buyers: For Buyers Who Have a Problem Getting Delivery of a Paid-For Item from a Seller
Sellers: For Sellers Who Have a Problem Getting Paid or Received NSF Check Making Payment:
Sending and Receiving Money to and from a Foreign Country Loss & Damage:
What to Do If the Item Is Lost or Damaged During Delivery Escrow:
Say No to Escrow Copyright & Trademark Issues:
What to Do When Your Auction Has Been Ended Due to Copyright or Trademark Issues Legal Advice:
How to Find an Attorney
How to Describe a Book Credit-Card Payment Services:
Comparison of Services That Take Credit-Card Payments Money Order Services:
Comparison of Services That Sell Money Orders Online http://www.mindspring.com/~bookdealers/help.html

Finding out about bidder feedback

2006-06-10T09:10:00.000-07:00

You can research this on eBay or just go to http://www.toolhaus.org/ It is really slick, all neutral and negative feedbacks in a heartbeat! Just enter the ebay ID and click the button.

Passwords

2006-05-31T09:59:00.000-07:00

I suggest you start a book for your logins and passwords. I had a complete computer meltdown and discovered how much I relied on auto fill so I started in an old address book. That works great since I have waaaaay too many sites and passwords, I have registered for up till now. Other people have used unused check registers and even a running list in a plain notebook. I still think the address book is best since you go to the letter of the alphabet for the website and there are only a few different passwords listed. My son says everyone should have a number of different levels of password security. Example: the password you login to the NY Times or other reading/browsing sites is less secure and used more often than the one for your bank business which would be the most secure and used for only banking at one bank. By keeping a book you can have each bank, credit card, any stock trading, Paypal account, and EBay each could have a unique password. In between sites like email or shopping could be at either end of that security spectrum at your discretion.

Losing Power

2006-05-08T10:44:00.000-07:00

Was in the middle of listing and the power went out. Now the power is back and I found the solution to starting over: Saving a Draft of an Unfinished Listing If you start to create a new listing in the Sell Your Item form, but you don't get to finish it, eBay will save it as a draft so that you can easily finish it later. How it works As you fill out the Sell Your Item form and click the Continue button at the bottom of a page, all the information you've entered so far is saved for you on eBay. When you want to finish the listing, return to eBay and click on Sell at the top of any page. On the Sell page, click on the "Complete Your Listing" link. You can continue from where you left off in the Sell Your Item form. Availability of your saved draft Your saved draft remains available on eBay for you to complete unless one of the following happens: Over 30 days pass since the last time you edited the draft. After this period, the draft will expire. You start a brand new listing and click Continue on the Title & Description page. This new listing now becomes your saved draft, replacing the previous one. (You can only have one saved draft at a time.) In rare cases, technical difficulties or outages on eBay may cause your saved draft to be erased

International Shipping

2006-04-26T13:48:00.000-07:00

Tip #1 Don't use UPS for overseas shipments. The USPS is your best choice. They have several shipping options available for shipping overseas. Some of them can't be insured. As far as forms go that's a piece of cake. There are 2 different customs forms and both are easy to fill out. You can get all the information on them at your local post office. You can go to the USPS Index of Countries and Localities click on countries to get more information on shipping requirements.

If you take the item to your post office, they will give you a little green form for items under 4 pounds (PS Form 2976). It is fairly simple to fill out. Remember to be accurate on the form like "child's dress $10.00", not something like "retail items $10.00". Something like that increases the chance of customs opening the box and the risk of something getting lost or damaged. These can also be ordered from http://www.USPS.com

If you use Pay Pal shipping and you want to use Global Priority mail, you can print everything you need right there. Global priority mail has a flat rate envelope that ships pretty cheap or USPS does provide boxes and envelopes too. You can have these materials shipped directly to your location. http://www.USPS.com

Economy post is the "slowest way" to ship anything international and hase a bigger chance of getting lost. I will usually only ship Airmail or Global Priority mail. UPS is one of the most expensive ways to ship internationally and they tend to overcharge your customers on taxes and fees.

Make sure you put in your listings to have customers contact you prior to buying for a shipping quote, as each country is priced differently.

Use U-Pic for insuring your international packages as they are easier to deal with when making a claim. I require all of my international buyers to pay insurance.

Disclaimer for International Buyers:

Orders outside the US may be subject to import duties & taxes, levied once a shipment reaches your country/region. Additional charges for customs clearance must be borne by you; we have no control over these charges and cannot begin to predict what they may be. Customs policies vary widely from country/region to country/region; you should contact your local customs office for further information. Additionally, when purchasing from me, you are considered the importer of record and must comply with all laws and regulations of the country/region in which you are receiving the goods.

Mixing colors right

2006-04-20T10:30:00.000-07:00

There is a big difference between just slapping random color on a page and looking good while you do it. This is a great set of tools to improve readability and color contrast, validation tools for image and links, even view your page in grey scale to see the contrast. This maybe more for a website but if you have templates you reuse it may be worth checking them with these tools.
http://juicystudio.com/services.php#localtools

More color scheme and accessibility tools here for the more advanced user http://uitest.com/

Measurements

2006-04-11T15:32:00.000-07:00

If you are to sell clothing on EBay measuring the items is a must.

MY GUIDE TO MEASUREMENTS: All measurements are taken with garment laying flat. The easiest way to check fit is to compare the measurements with something you currently own that fits you well.

Coats I usually do some flat and some hanging with coats.

Length (collar seam to hem)
Bust (outside measure coat closed)
Collar seam to cuff (outside)
Shoulder seam to cuff (outside)
Back (Shoulder to shoulder outside)
Inside (armpit to armpit)
Sweep (bottom edge of coat)

Other clothing

Shirt lengths = shoulder to hem
Jacket lengths = bottom of collar to hem
Dress lengths = shoulder to hem
Skirt lengths = top of waist to hem
Chest = armpit seam to armpit seam and then doubled
Sleeve = top of shoulder to end of sleeve
Waist = across waist (or narrowest part of garment) and then doubled (Elastic waist will be stretched comfortably and given a range)
Across shoulder = measured in the back of the garment from shoulder seam to shoulder seam
Pant Length = measured from top of waist band to hem
Inseam = measured from crotch seam to bottom hem
Front Rise = top of waistband to crotch seam
Thigh = measured at widest point
Bottom Hem = measured across & doubled
Hip = Taken at bottom of zipper (in pants & skirts) or across widest part of garment and doubled
Waist (see above)

Ebay offers guides to measurement as well

http://search.reviews.ebay.com/measuring_Clothing-Shoes-Accessories_W0QQfgtpZ3QQucatZ11450QQuqtZg

More Image Hosting

2006-04-08T15:23:00.000-07:00

Unlimited bandwith and size

http://reg.imageshack.us/content.php?page=faq

and http://www.theimagehosting.com/faq.php

Hot Linking thumbnails only http://www.pictiger.com/faq.php

When you need more try: http://www.free-webhosts.com/free-image-hosting.php

http://members.freewebs.com/

2006-04-07T11:16:00.000-07:00

http://help.blogger.com/bin/topic.py?topic=44 more to learn here http://cgi3.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=shipscript http://search.reviews.ebay.com/Auction_eBay-User-Tools_W0QQucatZ20924QQuqtZg http://search.reviews.ebay.com/Auction_Everything-Else_W0QQfgtpZ3QQucatZ99QQuqtZg http://search.reviews.ebay.com/Auction_Everything-Else_W0QQfgtpZ2QQucatZ99QQuqtZg http://search.reviews.ebay.com/ws/UCSearch?satitle=Auction&ucc=b http://reviews.ebay.com/Selling-Ebooks-amp-Other-Digital-Goods-on-eBay_W0QQugidZ10000000000078555

Sales slump

2006-04-05T15:13:00.000-07:00

Sales dipped sharply in March, perhaps taxtime did it. Looking a little better now that April is here. I did participate int the street faire on Monday and will share my wares whenever I get an opportunity. Need to post but not well so nap is next for me.

Adding color to pages or listings

2006-03-30T09:21:00.000-08:00

Color charts for HTML codes http://www.origins.tv/htmlataglance/contents.htm http://www.annabella.net/netscape.html http://www.angelfire.com/in/jimsac/hexcolors.html http://xample.net/htmlcolors.htm These can all be used to insert a color in the tag < color="red"> instead of the word red or to put in a background color < background="paste your background URL here"> Use caps where I have, then close the ends < > at the beginning and end of the tags. For nested tables as background here are great tutorials http://xample.net/html1.htm

Search Engines and how to get listed + signatures

2006-03-24T10:41:00.000-08:00

I would say it takes less than a month to start catching some searches, but you can speed things along by submitting your URL to search engines. Here is a site that will submit your store URL to 20+ search engines for free. http://www.submitexpress.com/

This link will submit your URL just to Google http://www.google.com/addurl/?continue=/addurl

What NOT to do when submitting to Google http://www.stevenforsyth.com/google/google-donts.htm

As to how it appears, I'm not real sure I can explain except to say that if you put in a specific item to search on (like I keep finding my Avon items) it brings it up because of the keywords in each category of your store and the item title and description. It's not bringing up the store itself but the item because of the store.

You all know about Froogle? That is the 5th link over on the top of the Google page and when clicked will take you to only shopping links (including EBAY) but not other types of websites. Froogle is a great place to research items that are out there on other sites, books, records, vintage, Avon, and antiques.

Outgoing mail and signature files - My signature looks like this:
Please visit my webstore for silver jewelry, vintage items and collectibles! Please tell your friends too! http://stores.ebay.com/Jewelry-Avon-and-all-that-Jazz

It goes on every email automatically. I use web based mail and to install this I went to Mail Settings and the Signature.

In Outlook you go to Tools, Options, Mail Format, and then click the button labled Signature near the bottom to add the signature. Make sure you ask them to visit soon!

Generating free templates

2006-03-21T15:45:00.000-08:00

Here is a free site to generate templates http://www.auctioninsights.info/templates/

Try a few and see if they meet your needs or if they need to be more complex, you may have to break down and learn some HTML. A great place for that is on this site with its step by step approach. http://www.eobcards.com/tutorial3.htm

or if you just need the HTML tags and understand the basics this site is really helpful http://www.web-source.net/html_codes_chart.htm

You can practice or just to check how it looks here: http://www.practiceboard.com/

Google Suggest

2006-03-17T08:01:00.000-08:00

Google Suggest guesses what you are typing and offers suggestions in real time. Why Google suggest? It offers real time suggestion as well the number of results for each of the suggestions. It also offers more refined searched up front. This feature can give you a good insight about what everyone is searching for, on Google http://www.google.com/webhp?complete=1&hl=en

Free Trial - Create Professional-Quality eBay Listings

2006-03-16T10:31:00.000-08:00

I have created some of my own backgrounds, learned a little bit of HTML and had some success with it. Still looking for a way to look more professional so this looks like the next thing to try. . .

One way to create impressive, eye catching and feature rich listings with ease is to try AlienFiles. http://www.alienfiles.net/:

The Features::

Large selection of text fonts and text sizes
Use bold, Italic and Underlined
Change text color
Add images
Add links to websites
Show bulleted lists
Align text (left, middle, right)
Change backgrounds
Select a presentation theme - from Over 400 themes and backgrounds available
Add a TV-Style blurb of scrolling words - Paste Word files & websites into this area
Preview exactly how your listing will appear on eBay:

AlienFiles has an image upload section so you can add your images with ease. This means you don't have to use eBay picture upload - your images will appear in your listing as usual, but without incurring eBay image fees!

Add 30 images (eBay only allows 12)
Add a text description of your images
Your images will appear in eBay as normal
No eBay picture fees to pay
People viewing your listings can zoom in and out of the images
You can protect your images from theft
Images appear in an attractive format

AlienFiles will set your listings out from the crowd. If you sell heavy or large items add maps and directions. Buyers like to see positive feedback so add some or all of your eBay feedback in to your listing with the click of a button! More useful features too:

Add a Map of your location
Include a distance calculator
Add your previous eBay feedback
Add useful features:
'Print this page' button
'Bookmark this page' button
'Tell a Friend' button
Add unit conversions, for example KM vs Miles
Add Audio, Sound, Music Files
Add Video, Movie Files
Add Office files: Word-Excel-PowerPoint
Add PDF Files
Insert a Flash banner

Ideas for Promoting Your Store

2006-03-12T09:52:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned back in February Share Your Wares events can increase your exposure on ebay http://bluesandmore.blogspot.com/2006/02/share-your-wares-groups-and-discussion.html Use a signature file on email and any groups you post to regularly, add links to your blog(s) and websites. Here are even more ideas for increasing your store traffic http://reviews.ebay.com/How-to-Promote-Your-eBay-Store_W0QQugidZ10000000000077591

Keyword selector

2006-03-06T04:13:00.000-08:00

The title of your auction contains keywords. Avoid the cliche' L@@K or words like cute or pretty. Use words the buyer might search on. To find out how many times a certain keyword was searched for in a given month try a keyword selector tool. It shows all related searches for the entered keyword. To find a keyword selector tool, put the words keyword selector in a search engine or just try these http://inventory.overture.com/ or https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordSandbox

Best Offer

2006-03-01T15:20:00.000-08:00

Earlier this year EBAY started accept best offer and many of my store items offer that option. I am ok with it most of the time BUT I had an incident where someone who sells Avon Vintage (read discontinued) fragrance made a low ball offer of $4.00 when I had offered a full bottle for $7.99. Now the reason this did not agree was she was already selling a bottle for $35.00! I was not amused so I declined the offer, upped the price on my bottle, and am still aggravated. The thing is she could have paid my asking and still made a profit, but wanted to take advantage. Now I have sold many buy it now items but never saw another quite like this. What do you think I should have done?

Nested Backgrounds

2006-02-25T15:44:00.000-08:00

Trying to increase the perceived value of my listings I have started to use more and more HTML and now have nested tables of various colors and backgrounds that appear integrated as frames for my listings. If you want to try some of these nested table background sets but are not sure where to start, try http://wtv-zone.com/BannerzRus/1tbacks/tripcover.html

They have many all ready to use, just cut and paste the code which puts them on your page and gives them a small link at the bottom of the page.

Some auctions have imbedded pictures where I want more than the one gallery picture to show my item. These are hosted at http://www.photobucket.com where again it is a cut and paste the code into your page.

Learning more of these tricks of the trade all the time from the vintage group "Blast from the Past" on eBay. They are a fun bunch but there are many things to learn that they break down step by step.

ACEO's continued

2006-02-22T18:52:00.000-08:00

We have been folowing the ACEO's on EBAY and it seems that certain people have a following and command quite a good price but others can't sell them even for 99 cents. Who knows what that means since the art quality seems to be similar. Sheila is working on some watercolors for this project (all different styles). We will have to see how this project turns out over the long run.

ACEO's

2006-02-15T15:47:00.000-08:00

ACEO stands for Art Card Editions and Originals. These are small 2.5 x 3.5 inch art (prints or originals) available on eBay. They appear to be quite popular, so we will try a few in Lila's Teeny Tiny Art Gallery but first Sheila has a portrait to finish before she can get to these.

Wording and Spelling

2006-02-10T08:08:00.000-08:00

Writing an auction title and using the best keywords is critical to the success of your auction as most bidders will search on the title field only and that’s how they find your auction among hundreds or thousands of others Focus on key terms, adding as many relevant words as you can to take advantage of all 55 characters that have been allowed for titles. Terms such as Brand New, or size information can help avoid misconceptions and save you the time of replying to emails explaining what you are selling. Avoid using meaningless phrases in your title, such as “look” or "excellent". Spelling your listing title wrong will cause buyers to miss your auction, AND will also show a lack of professionalism.

Share Your Wares - Groups and Discussion Boards

2006-02-07T11:23:00.000-08:00

Most groups have a purpose and EBay is no different. They have groups based on locale, special interest, and types of items. Some are better than others, you just have to try a few to see if they suit you. Most groups require you join but have no type of restrictions. Many of these groups have a regular "Share Your Wares" thread where you can add your listings for greater exposure. Discussion Boards do not seem to require anything other than an EBay ID to contribute. They cover a wide range of topics from general to specific items. Some are users helping other users with specific feature or problems encountered. Monday and Thursday nights there is a Discussion Board, named "The Park" that sponsors a themed "Share Your Wares" Event and then once a month (on the first Monday) there is a "Street Faire" with multiple Discussion Boards open for posting "Share Your Wares".

Shipping

2006-02-04T11:54:00.000-08:00

I have just changed all my items to Paypal only.

That means I can print my shipping labels from Paypal with postage already on it and pay for it from my Paypal account. It also helps to provide long term record keeping for me on the financial end.

(Remember details on transactions are only available on EBay for 4 months. They should be downloaded or printed out at least that often to keep minimal records.)

I use USPS exclusively because of my location and it works well for me. I also have a PO Box as my main address but occassionally I must give a home address for delivery of items (packing peanuts, bubble wrap, and other bulky items) that I need.

Shipping boxes are available from USPS (many are free) for Priority Mail, Express Mail and Global Priority Mail. These all come delivered to your door. After you set up an account it takes 3-4 weeks to get boxes so plan ahead. http://shop.usps.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/TopCategoriesDisplay?storeId=10001&catalogId=10152

Co Branded EBay USPS Priority Mail Shipping boxes are also available from EBay for free (but less variety here) http://ebaysupplies.usps.com/

There are more features for USPS on Ebay here:

http://pages.ebay.com/usps/home.html

Reviews are a new feature of EBay that can be extremely helpful in explaining a wide variety of topics, however you must be careful to choose advice from people who know the ropes just as you do when looking at websites.

Great review on shipping here
http://reviews.ebay.com/Introduction-to-Ebay-Shipping-For-Buyers-and-Sellers_W0QQugidZ10000000000012875

First Class Mail reviewed on EBAY
http://reviews.ebay.com/What-Class-Of-Mail-Part-One-FIRST-CLASS-MAIL-guide-1_W0QQugidZ10000000000068869

Priority Mail reviewed on EBAY
http://reviews.ebay.com/What-Type-Of-Shipping-Part-two-PRIORITY-MAIL-Part-2_W0QQugidZ10000000000113970

Flat Rate Priority Boxes reviewed here:
http://reviews.ebay.com/What-type-of-mail-Part-three-FLAT-RATE-PRIORITY-part-3_W0QQugidZ10000000000069525

Parcel Post reviewed on EBAY
http://reviews.ebay.com/What-Type-Of-Shipping-Part-four-PARCEL-POST-Mail-4_W0QQugidZ10000000000079360

All about Media Mail
http://reviews.ebay.com/What-Type-Of-Mail-Part-five-MEDIA-MAIL-RATE-USPS-5_W0QQugidZ10000000000109373

Diversifying - ebooks and art

2006-02-03T11:38:00.000-08:00

Well the Groundhog said early spring here but we will see. Now I have been posting more to the store so I need to get auctions going too. I bought some ebooks with resale rights; that should be interesting. I am starting that with the 90 day Powerseller Challenge book and then the Back Pain Book. Adding more as I can see having a selection would be of value. A few out on auction bringing buyers to the store for more kinds with a higher price tag. Sheila is also considering what she can put in my store. She has some books but I am interested in promoting her art if we can. That is another we'll see propsition since she started entering poster contests, but she could do art for me between posters. Speaking of posting I need to get back to work. Later . . .

Bravenet

2006-01-31T23:50:00.000-08:00

I missed mentioning Bravenet which has different levels of service depending on need. They also send out some informative emails with how to advice but its mixed in with emails from various "parteners" who are selling services. Not too bad though, lately its VistaPrint and Cafe Press which are reputable and affordable.

So here are the details on http://www.bravenet.com/

They started out as a webmaster tools site and you can still get some cool additions to your site there: http://www.bravenet.com/

Bravenet Free account 1.5 GB of bandwidth* 50 MB disk space Easy Builders Web-based FTP Free Templates Advertising supported

Bravenet Basic account @ $4.95/month 30 GB of bandwidth* 1,000 MB disk space 30 email accounts Free domain name** 30 sub domains Easy Builders 500+ FREE Site Templates

or Premium @ $6.95/month 100 GB of bandwidth* 5,000 MB disk space 2,000 email accounts Free domain name** 200 sub domains MySQL Database PHP Enabled Easy Builders FrontPage Extensions 500+ FREE Site Templates

Webspace

2006-01-30T10:06:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you need webspace so it becomes handy to have a website or webpage. I have quite a few where I store bits of information, pictures, charts, and links to other sites. I highly recommend avoiding sites with pop ups since people really hate them, if you want people to visit your site. There are many free sites to create your website, blogs, and image hosting sites too so it doesn't have to drain the bank. You can look to see if your Internet Service Provider allows you some webspace or try one of these: http://www.freewebspace.com/ http://www.00freehost.com/ http://www.01webspace.com/ http://www.100webspace.com/web_hosting/free_plan.html I found these sites here: http://www.free-webhosts.com/ but am going to be cautious with them at first. Another place to look for free hosting: http://www.100best-free-web-space.com/freeHosts.html Microsoft is Beta testing their new webspaces, Basic continue to be free after Beta testing is over but all levels are free now. http://officelive.microsoft.com/WebHosting.aspx I have not tried any of the above but I am looking for a new site to put the pics for http://bluesbaby.8k.com since it looks like I will outgrow the 12Mgs of storage allowed there. I do like their site and they have been reliable so I may keep some pages there at least for a while. I've also used MSN Spaces and Blogger (where this is located along with my other blogs.) View my profile for more of them. My MSN Spaces is another Blues oriented site with some cool links and pics on it. http://spaces.msn.com/bluesbaby-us/ I highly recommend Blogger for ease of use and features! Here is a basic tutorial on how to create a website: http://personalweb.about.com/od/basicwebdesigntips/a/tutorial.htm

Discussion Groups on EBAY

2006-01-22T11:28:00.000-08:00

Learning new stuff every day on eBay. They have discussion groups where you can learn from other sellers, some are better than others. For example I belong to 2 different groups on vintage items. One is very active "Blast from the Past" with threads teaching basic HTML, various word games to play, sharing info about vintage items, helping identify obscure things, and sharing about family and pets. In other words developing a community of friends selling similar items. The other group shall remain nameless as there is very little activity and no opportunities to learn but it is starting to pick up so perhaps it was just the holiday season. I will continue to visit periodically as I seek ways to better my sales.

Learning about 3rd party image hosting

2006-01-20T14:12:00.000-08:00

If you haven't downloaded Irfanview at: http://www.irfanview.com/ Do it now. With it you can crop, rotate and resize any pic. Well the time has come to start adding more pizzazz to my auctions and online presence so I have set up accounts with http://www.villagephotos.com and http://photobucket.com/whatsnew/whatsnew.php to host pictures (for free) to add in the middle of the text for an eBay listing. These were free and easy to sign up for. With the free Photobucket account you get 50 MG's of disk space, 2500 MGs of monthly bandwith, and maximum size of 250KB. With both free and premium accounts you get direct linking, html and img generated tags to insert in your listing, (whooohoo no coding), mobile uploads and sub abums. Villagephoto offers a Page Designer HTML Tool, Easy Image Upload, FTP Access, Optimize and Rotate JPEG Images, Online Greeting Cards, and Unlimited eBay and Yahoo Auctions Image Usage on their upgraded memberships but the Free plan allows 50 images with a maximum size of 250KB, a max of 800 MB monthly transfer and 800 MB in total auction usage. On Villagephotos they provide a wonderful tutorial:

To get an image from your computer to an eBay auction: You need to log in, then click on the Photos tab, and select an album from the list by clicking on the its link. This is the album you'll upload images into.
Using the "upload new images to this album" link to get to the upload form.
Use the "browse" buttons to locate the image files on your computer you want to upload.
Hit the Upload button to send them to your account here.
Return to the Photos tab, select the album again, then you'll see thumbnails of the images you uploaded.
Click on a thumbnail on the album page to get to the "image URLs and tools" page that contains all the URL's and codes you'll need to use the image.
In the top sectdion of the Image URL and Tools page is the "public image URL" you can use for eBay listings!
Copy that from URL our site by highlighting it and choosing Edit / Copy on your browser's menu.
Paste it to the "Picture URL" field on eBay to include your image on the auction.
You can also use the "HTML IMG Tag" line we give on the "image URL and tools" page to add additional images in your auction's description.
Make sure if you're adding HTML codes to your description, you're using the "Enter your own HTML" description entry box!
Always preview your auction to make sure images are added correctly! The result is the auction with a picture embedded in the text http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5079462391&ssPageName=ADME:B:EF:US:1

Correction

2006-01-15T09:27:00.000-08:00

Oooops now I only have a pair of the Betty Boop slippers in small, but lots of vintage Avon, books, movies, software, and Valetines gifts for sale.

More news and resources for auctions

2006-01-10T10:29:00.000-08:00

If you don't use Irfanview for photos you may want to try this free download which requires PC Running Windows 98, NT, 2000, XP, ME, etc. and Netscape Navigator or MS Internet Explorer (browser optional) To create a gallery of details and closeups, drop the same photo into each frame and zoom in to show a particular detail.http://www.isdntek.com/clicpic.htm

Another free Image Converter http://www.etrusoft.com/graphic-converter/

Or you can compress photos online http://thumly.com/

More etools like Image Magnifier, Shadow Blending, Button Generator, Border Maker and more http://www.isdntek.com/etools.htm

News and resources from todays new source http://auctionbytes.com/cab

Boy the auctions and websites have to keep improving now!

This site offers

Calendar showing good and bad days to end auctions
Collectors' Links for many kinds of learning and collectible identification
Bookshelf - selling books
Fraud Resources -many links here
Auction Site Chart with Fees
Auction Management Chart with Fees
Payment Services Chart with Fees
Storefronts Chart with Fees
Sniping Chart with Fees (some are free)
Consignment Services Chart with Fees
Ecommerce Resources - ads, affiliates, check out, email lists, and much more
Photo Tips (wow did I learn about lighting)
Bill the Postman - Tips from a postal worker

Since I have a non paying bidder right now this was fairly interesting. http://www.ebayersthatsuck.com/main/index.php

Zoicks.com

2006-01-09T10:17:00.000-08:00

Wow this could keep me busy for a long time.

First from http://www.zoicks.com/ebaylinks.htm

Found some great Tips and Tricks for Ebay

Zoiks has:

Things from very basic
How to Create your own 'About Me' Page
Accepting Cookies
Learn how to Copy, Paste and Cut
Step-by-Step Beginner's Guide to Becoming an eBay Seller
Irfanview Free Image Editor
How to Create Clickable Links
Using MSN as a Host

to much more complicated things like:

Adding Backgrounds to your Auction Page

Adding images to your auction with HTML code and an outside image host

ANSI Character Set

AOL Uploading Help and Fuzzy Pic Syndrome Help

Jazz Up your Ads with Auction Templates

A Background Color Selector

Blocked Servers that Disallow Remote Linking

How to Clear your Browser's Cache

Color Chart

Step-by-Step Beginner's Guide to Becoming an eBay Seller

Free Online Counters

Digital Camera Recommendation & Photography Tips

eMail Form Sends Auction Number in Subject Line

Using FrontPage as an HTML Editor for your Auctions

Just a Few Fun Things for Auction or 'About me' Page

Create a Gallery Link to your Auction Items

eBay Gallery Pictures FAQs

HTML Practice Board

Free/Pay Image Hosting Sites

How to Add Multiple Images to your eBay Auction Page

How to Put your Name on Your Images

Create Your Own Nested Tables Template (Triple Backgrounds)

Jazz Up your Images with Photo Frames & Borders

Smiley Faces - Over 900 of Them!

Embedding Background Sound in your Auction or 'About me' Page

How to Stitch Images

How to Insert your Webpage into your Auction Page

2006-01-08T16:05:00.000-08:00

Finding more and more things to add. Some is vintage and some brand new. These slippers are available in small and medium.

First things first - set up accounts

2006-01-05T18:30:00.000-08:00

First things first. When you start to sell on eBay you need some basics: an eBay account, an email account, and a Paypal account.

You probably have bought some things on eBay so you have an account with some feedback. That is good since people will be more likely to trust you if you have some positive feedback.

A separate email account is not required but it does keep things sorted out for you. Your ISP probably offers you multiple accounts or you can go to http://www.Yahoo.com or http://gmail.google.com/ to get a free email account.

Paypal is essential to sell on eBay. It's the only method I use for Payment and with a Premier account I can accept credit cards, checks or direct transfers from bank accounts. People who use eBay are used to using Paypal. Becoming Paypal Verified puts another level of trust out there for your customers.

A digital camera is pretty necessary to get the photos you need without spending a fortune. You also need to get a photo editing program. EBay University recommended Irfanview which is a free download at: http://www.irfanview.com/

he other thing they recommended at eBay University is Notepad for lots of things, even creating listings because it adds no formatting or other characters. I store all kinds of things there, html cheet sheets, listings I am likely to modify and reuse, backgrounds in html format, lists of book titles, wording I may want to paste into a listing, etc.

To use: click start, all programs, accessories and notepad should be in the drop down. If you can't find it there you can search for it from the start button and then double click the result that shows as an application.

To work with Notepad, once you open it, just type in the small window. I like to check word wrap under the format drop down so it doesn't run off the page. I have a shortcut on my desktop too since I use it pretty much every day.

It's very handy and doesn't close when you get one of those horrible "Microsoft has encountered an error and needs to close" messages that make me want to scream.

New Beginnings

2006-01-02T10:59:00.000-08:00

Jewelry-Avon-and-All-That-Jazz

Well it's a new year and the new business is moving along. If you would like to see what I have been up to click here: http://stores.ebay.com/Jewelry-Avon-and-all-that-Jazz

The store was started mid December and is slowly expanding beyond the original jewelry and vintage Avon.

There are many tutorials, guides, and help pages right on EBay to get you started. You just have to know where to look:

Site Map ~ http://pages.ebay.com/sitemap.html

Get started selling ~ http://pages.ebay.com/sellercentral/newsellers.html

http://pages.ebay.com/storefronts/glossary.html

Setting up the store http://pages.ebay.com/help/specialtysites/customizing-your-store.html

http://pages.ebay.com/community/chatter/2004october/stores.html

Fees ~ http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/fees.html

A to Z help page index ~ http://pages.ebay.com/help/index/A.html

Reviews and Guides written by other members http://reviews.ebay.com/