May 8, 2008
Home Purchases on eBay vs. Realtors & Brokers
The presence of real estate agents and brokers is all over the Internet, affording both buyers and sellers easy access to invaluable property information and assistance. You can tap into New York mortgage brokers or Connecticut mortgage brokers or even Austin real estate agents in Texas. In fact, they are everywhere.
But just how great would it be if their assistance wasn't needed at all and you could locate a great property buy on your own. Well, eBay is a great resource for the consideration of home purchases. Though the market is very much in a downward spiral, the options available in eBay's real estate category are plentiful and offer sellers great exposure around the country - if not the world.
If you are in the market for a new home or have one to sell, definitely don't overlook eBay as a viable option.
Posted by SydneyJohnston at 1:46 PM | TrackBack (0)
May 7, 2008
eBay US & eBay Canada Receive Listing Fees Break
If you're interested in offering some fixed price (only) items on eBay US or eBay Canada then you're in luck. From May 7 - May 14, the maximum listing price is $.50. There are some exclusions:
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Auction-style listings, eBay Motors Passenger Vehicles, Motorcycles, Power Sports, Other Vehicles, Motors Local Market, International, Live Auction, Professional Services, Real Estate, Ad Format and Store Inventory listings. The following business and industrial categories are excluded from the Insertion Fee Sale: tractors & farm machinery (91952), heavy equipment (25249), concession trailers, carts (67145), imaging and aesthetics equipment (92035), forklifts and other lifts (97185), manufacturing equipment (92080), metalworking equipment (92082) and commercial printing presses (26247).
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Any listing upgrades will cost the usual price and Final Value Fees are unchanged.
Posted by SydneyJohnston at 1:16 PM | TrackBack (0)
May 5, 2008
eBay Cancels 'eBay Live 2009' - BOO!
eBay has announced that they are cancelling eBay Live 2009 to concentrate on "smaller venues to facilitate more face-to-face interactions with our customers and community". Whatever that means. I'm truly sorry about it because it was scheduled to be in my home town of Atlanta, which would be quite convenient. Boo ...
eBay says "... we intend to spend more quality time with more of you in 2009 than we have in recent memory" but the details of said quality time are not forthcoming.
eBay does plan on holding eBay Live 2010 in Orlando on August 12-14, 2010 in Orlando, Florida at the Orange County Convention Center.
Posted by SydneyJohnston at 12:38 PM | TrackBack (0)
May 3, 2008
Real Estate Locations on eBay
In the U.S., we live in such a mobile nation that people who are your neighbors and close friends might easily live 1000 miles away a year from now. Relatively speaking, it is so simple to change home locations that a typical, non-military family might conceivably move 3-5 times during their adult lives.
Some of the locations around the country are simply spectacular. And opportunities to nab great deals are definitely no longer limited to the expertise of local real estate agents. With a little initiative of your own, you might find a beautiful home and neighborhood in such locales as Manchester New Hampshire real estate, Whitefish Bay real estate, Lake Hartwell real estate, Central Coast California real estate, or, well, pretty much any state of the nation.
The residential real estate selections available on eBay are just as superb. From Indiana, to Michigan, to Maine, to California and all in between, some of the most stylish and attractive homes (and deals) sit online waiting for visitors. If you have any thoughts whatsoever of purchasing a home, at least take the time to either browse through the real estate homes listed in eBay or type in a specific state or city in the search field if you know roughly where you plan to live. It will be time worth investing!
Posted by SydneyJohnston at 12:31 PM | TrackBack (0)
May 1, 2008
Amazon Sues The State Of New York
Hurrah for amazon.com. Recently the state of New York passed a law that would require Amazon, in effect, to pay New York taxes because it has affiliates in that state. Here is a terrific summary of this story from the New York Times technology section {http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/01/amazon-sues-new-york-state-to-void-sales-tax-rules}
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Before the ink on the bill has even dried, Amazon.com has filed a suit challenging New York State’s new law that forces online retailers to collect sales taxes on shipments to state residents.
On Friday, Amazon filed a complaint in New York Supreme Court in New York City, objecting to the law. The provision is meant to contribute about $50 million to the $122 billion budget that was passed by the state legislature April 9 and signed by Gov. David A. Paterson last week.
The issue isn’t whether people should pay taxes when they buy goods from out-of state sellers like Amazon, which is based in Seattle. For decades, New York and other states have required their residents to pay use tax — equivalent to sales tax — on out-of-state purchases for which sales tax wasn’t collected.
The question is whether the vendors must collect those taxes on behalf of the state. Generally, only those companies that have a physical presence, such as an office or store, in the state of the purchase are required to collect the taxes.
The new law is based on a novel definition of what constitutes a presence in the state: It includes any Web site based in the state that earns a referral fee for sending customers to an online retailer. Amazon has hundreds of thousands of affiliates—from big publishers to tiny blogs—that feature links to its products. It says thousands of those have given an address in New York State, although it does not verify the addresses.
The state law says that if even one of those affiliates is in New York, Amazon must collect sales tax on everything sold in the state, even if it is not sold through the affiliate. This is an extension of an existing rule that companies that employ independent agents or representatives to solicit business must collect sales taxes for the state.
Amazon’s suit challenges the constitutionality of this interpretation and seeks a declaratory judgment that it is invalid. (Wired magazine posted a copy of the complaint here.)
Amazon’s complaint argues that the statue is “overly broad and vague.” It is impossible, Amazon wrote, for it to determine which of its affiliates are actually in New York State.
Amazon said that its affiliates are not agents but simply sites on which it places advertising. The commissions it pays the sites are simply one method of paying for those ads, it argued.
The online retailer further claimed that the new rules violate the equal protection clause of the constitution because it specifically targeted Amazon. “It was carefully crafted to increase state tax revenues by forcing Amazon to collect sales and use taxes,” the complaint says, noting that “state officials have described the statute as the ‘Amazon Tax.’ “
Tom Bergin, a spokesman for the New York State Department of Taxation, said that department would not comment on the suit until it files a formal reply with the court. The state’s defense will be coordinated by the New York attorney general’s office.
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You go, Amazon!!!
Posted by SydneyJohnston at 12:20 PM | TrackBack (0)
April 27, 2008
All Our CDs Are On Sale
All our CDs are on sale for the next few weeks:
* Auction Genius Course 8 CD-ROM Set:: $397 - $299
This is our main course and teaches students how to sell on eBay
* Auction Genius Wealth Plan 4 CD-ROM Set:: $499 - $399
This is the plan we developed for ourselves for creating passive income using eBay and search engines
* Auction Leads Machine 6 CD-ROM Set: $499 - $299
This is a series done with marketer Jim Edwards where Sydney shows Jim how to use eBay to sell affiliate products
* Auction Genius Tools & Tactics CD-ROM: $99 - $69
This CD covers a multitude of auction issues like what to do when your goodies don't sell, and includes software
* Auction Genius Bootstrap CD: $149 - $119
This is the Auction Genius Course "lite" version - it includes only one CD and doesn't cover anything about locating products
If you're interested in any of our products, NOW is definitely the time!
Posted by SydneyJohnston at 2:49 PM | TrackBack (0)
April 24, 2008
Home Mortgages and eBay Buying Options
When eBay opened up its mega-traffic to the world of real estate sales, it brought a great opportunity to buyers and sellers alike. The real estate market was hot when this began, and now that it has cooled during the past year or more, eBay's role becomes even more pronounced.
Despite the many benefits of home purchase opportunities through eBay, almost all buyers still need a mortgage loan to seal the deal. What a market that is in itself! Prospective buyers need to learn about the each available type of mortgage loan, tools of the trade, such as a mortgage interest rates calculator, learning how to calculate house payments, and locate the right lending institution to help meet their needs. Purchasing any of the thousands of homes available through eBay requires a sober, well-thought-out decision. But part of those considerations include some of the astounding deals online every day.
If you are considering a move from one home to another, do yourself a favor and commit a couple of weeks to eBay research to find a property and deal that meets your financial needs.
Posted by SydneyJohnston at 1:02 PM | TrackBack (0)
April 20, 2008
Website Marketing Strategy
It's always a pleasure to see a clever website marketing strategy. Who knows when we can adopt it for ourselves? And here's a case in point ... a recipe. But a brilliantly done recipe.
Note that creating this recipe calls for several ingredients sold by the site. And with the click of a single button, every food ingredient stocked by the site can be ordered. This is SO much smarter than forcing the customer to locate each ingredient separately.
Plus, we might be inclined to order only one or two, instead of the whole she-bang.
Well done, Swanson!
Posted by SydneyJohnston at 8:14 PM | TrackBack (0)
