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September 30, 2005
eBay USA Launches The Reseller Marketplace
eBay USA has added another benefit for being a Powerseller - the Reseller Marketplace. According to eBay, this is what the Reseller Marketplace is about:
* A new eBay marketplace for business buyers to acquire inventory for resale.
* A way for wholesale-oriented sellers to tap into the power of the eBay community without selling directly to consumers.
* A venue for liquidating returned, refurbished, or otherwise excess inventory in bulk lots to eBay Powersellers for resale on eBay and in other channels.
Powersellers can purchase overstocks, liquidation and other excess inventory directly from manufacturers and wholesalers. Buyers must also have 98% or better feedback rating.
http://reseller.ebay.com/odcs/custom.html?template=start
Posted by SydneyJohnston at 2:24 PM | TrackBack
September 28, 2005
eBay Pro Stores For Online Store Building?
Nobody ever accused eBay of being a stupid company, and with their ProStores program eBay has once again shown their smarts.
Pro Stores opened this summer and seems to be in direct competition with already established systems like Yahoo stores. It allows eBay and non-eBay sellers the means to create their own customized storefront, rather than create one from 'scratch'. It can have its own URL, rather than being 'http://stores.ebay.com/mystorename" and it is independent of eBay.
A Pro Store has four tiers of services and costs $6.95 - $249.95 per month with a 1.5% - .5% "Successful Transaction Fee". Naturally, the more you pay, the more functionality you receive. A user can set up shopping carts with secure checkout services, use design templates, connect with merchants, manage inventory and more.
Naturally, since Pro Stores is owned by eBay, there are advantages for eBay members:
* There is a one month free trial, and then eBay store owners receive a 30% reduction in their monthly charges. "You must be a current eBay Stores seller on the day you are billed for your monthly ProStores subscription fee in order to receive the 30% eBay Store subscriber discount."
* ProStores integrates with an eBay store so that both stores can be managed together and PayPal is auto-integrated.
Pro Stores was a predictable development because eBay recently acquired the Kurant Corporation which owns sophisticated store-creation software.
Does this option make sense for YOU?
It depends. Setting up a complex site like an online store requires savvy and knowhow, and these options certainly simplify the process for tens of thousands of sellers. For folks like me who have had this infrastructure for years, it would simply be additional overhead.
To find out more:
http://www.prostores.com/product-information.shtml
Posted by SydneyJohnston at 3:36 PM | TrackBack
September 26, 2005
What, Exactly, Is eBay Going To Do With Skype?
It's no news that eBay recently bought Skype for $2.6 billion. eBay has been reaching out into all kinds of directions lately. Some of their acquisitions seem obvious, but I admit that I haven't really understood the purchase of Skype. Course, that's mostly because I've never used it! :-)
Any-hoo ... eBay & Skype have lifted the curtain a bit on their intentions:
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Buyers will gain an easy way to talk to sellers quickly and get the information they need to buy, and sellers can more easily build relationships with customers and close sales. As a result, Skype can increase the velocity of trade on eBay, especially in categories that require more involved communications such as used cars, business and industrial equipment, and high-end collectibles.
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I guess this means that buyers and sellers can get on the phone and chat about items up for auction. I don't know about you, but the last thing I want to do is talk on the phone all day to other eBayers. However, I can see that would make sense for major purchases. Might make more sales that way.
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The acquisition also enables eBay and Skype to pursue entirely new lines of business. For example, in addition to eBay’s current transaction-based fees, ecommerce communications could be monetized on a pay-per-call basis through Skype. Pay-per-call communications opens up new categories of ecommerce, especially for those sectors that depend on a lead-generation model such as personal and business services, travel, new cars, and real estate. eBay’s other shopping websites — Shopping.com, Rent.com, Marktplaats.nl and Kijiji – can also benefit from the integration of Skype.
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"... ecommerce communications could be monetized on a pay-per-call basis." I admit that I don't really follow this. Are they talking about using Skype instead of cell phones for biz commerce? 'Pay-per-call basis' sounds like a great way to add overhead to a business, although if the sales are increased as a result, it will obviously be worth it.
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PayPal and Skype also make a powerful combination. For example, a PayPal wallet associated with each Skype account could make it much easier for users to pay for Skype fee-based services, adding to the number of PayPal accounts and increasing payment volume.
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Sounds great for eBay. Not sure how this helps anyone else, except that we can pay our Skype bill via PayPal.
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In addition, Skype can help expand the eBay and PayPal global footprint by providing buyers and sellers in emerging ecommerce markets, such as China, India, and Russia, with a more personal way to communicate online. And consumers in markets where eBay currently has a limited presence, such as Japan and Scandinavia, can learn about eBay and PayPal through Skype. Skype can also help streamline cross-border trading and communications.
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It is quite true that the future of commerce is shifting toward Asia. Supposedly, China will be the #1 economic power in the world in 10-20 years. Already, Asia is the best source of wholesale goods for resale in ecommerce. This definitely might be a legitimate advantage.
The most interesting question to me, though, is the sale of Skype. It's only three years old but its two owners are now wealthy beyond imagination. How can we build a company that someone will want to buy in a brief time for such an astounding amount of money?
Posted by SydneyJohnston at 8:02 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
September 25, 2005
eBay Consignment Stores Kicked In The Teeth
In August, the owner of an eBay consignment store was searched, handcuffed and arrested by police in Traverse City, Michigan. Steve Swaney, owner of the The Drop Spot, was charged for refusing to fingerprint his customers, as required by law of pawn shops and other 'second hand stores'. Swaney argued that since the store doesn't own the items it lists on eBay, they aren't subject to such laws.
In September, a judge ruled against the consignment store by refusing its request to drop the motion against them. The owner has given up his fight, due strictly to finances. He says his 11 month old store has already spent $5,000 and cannot afford to do more.
This is a tough blow for eBay consignment stores. Customers will most likely think twice about dropping off items if they are forced to be fingerprinted. I know I personally wouldn't co-operate with such a request. Big Brother is alive and well.
Posted by SydneyJohnston at 7:00 PM | TrackBack
September 23, 2005
Secret eBay Interviews & Sydney Johnston
Up until now, I've been talking about all my colleagues in the Secret eBay Interviews. But, yep, I'm there, too. Hopefully, I don't need any introduction to the readers of this blog, but just in case, you can check me out at my Sydney Johnston page. In my portion of the Secret eBay Interviews I'll tell you:
* Contrary to everyone else, I think low feedback is a really good thing
* How to sink your business ship before it even leaves port (please pardon all the ocean analogies! :-)
* My nomination for the biggest mistake 99% of eBay sellers make - if you fix it, your profits will g-r-o-w!
* Why I do NOT want to be a Power Seller (it would cost me money)
* Learn why you should have several eBay IDs
Posted by SydneyJohnston at 6:29 PM | TrackBack
September 21, 2005
Secret eBay Interviews & Dale Calvert
Dale Calvert brings an unusual background to Secret eBay Interviews. Dale has been very successful at multi level marketing and applied his organizational skills to eBay. Dale's mind is always alert, seeking out new products for eBay. For instance, while he was waiting on his daughter to get her hair cut, rather than sit and read a magazine, he found a product that earned $78. What a great use of a normally "wasted" hour.
* If you would like to leverage $225 into $1400-$1500, hear what Dale has to say
* Have buyers flock to you by creating a 'following' for your eBay ID
* How to know when to auction an item and when to locate it in your store
* Understand why you might want to buy a product knowing that you won't ever sell it. (Sounds strange - but it's true!)
* Understand and use the "meter drop theory"
Posted by SydneyJohnston at 9:20 AM | TrackBack
September 20, 2005
Secret eBay Interviews & Todd Taylor
Todd Taylor is my most spectacularly successful student and a contributor to Secret eBay Interviews. Todd started with a $350 order from a wholesaler in May of 2004 - and had a six figure month on eBay in December of 2004. He is now on track to have a $3 million year on eBay. I'd say that qualifies him to talk about the subject! :-)
* Learn from Todd's experience that losing your job may be the the best thing that ever happens to your career
* Let Todd tell about two of his favorite wholesale and salvage sources
* Unless you qualify a supplier, you might really get ripped off - here's how to protect yourself
* Understand "surplus stock", "shelf pulls" and how to get these from chains like Federated, Macy's, Saks 5th Avenue & Bloomingdales
* Understand why Todd's business model involves creating a $50,000-$60,000/month business - and hiring someone to run it for $6,000-$7000/month
* Learn how to test products on eBay in a way that minimizes your risk
Posted by SydneyJohnston at 9:07 AM | TrackBack
September 18, 2005
Secret eBay Interviews & Jim Cockrum
My buddy Jim Cockrum is a great contributor to the Secret eBay Interviews CDs and book. I've known Jim for years and he's a smart guy who has built the largest auction ezine mailing list on the net! Way to go, Jim! Here is some of what he talks about in our series:
* Meet and greet an RV seller who earned a delicious $30,000/ month - and why you should care
* How Jim can spend two hours on Saturday and earn $3,000 a month
* Why you should create a niche product like one brilliant seller who went to ... a car show
* Understand why a picture of the kids and the family cat costs you a lot of money, if you're an eBay seller
* Jim's response to, 'I don't have anything to sell on eBay', is "50 ideas in 30 seconds"
* Know that you shouldn't use eBay's newsletter software - and why
* Check out Jim's ''cheesy'' site - that he's ignored for several years - but still makes $20-$60/day
Posted by SydneyJohnston at 9:03 AM | TrackBack
September 16, 2005
Secret eBay Interviews & Chris Malta
Yesterday I mentioned Secret eBay Interviews and my fascination with the presentation of Armand Morin. Today I'd like to talk about what I learned from my good friend, Chris Malta.
Chris and I are good friends and have written an ebook together, and I promote his list, the Light Bulk Wholesale Directory, as the only worthwhile wholesale directory on line, as far as I know. So, I thought there wasn't much that was new that I could learn from Chris. But I was wrong!
Here is some of what you can learn from Chris:
* Hear Chris say, "Put away the teddy bear, Peter and Wendy. It's time to come back from Never Never Land" - and what he means by this
* See why digital camera sellers could populate the Astrodome and why you don't want to be one of them
* Chris reveals why printed lists of suppliers are useless
* Why Chris, like me, avoids "hot sellers"
* See why you will rarely find genuine wholesalers on a search engine
* Learn what a "light bulk" wholesaler is and why you need them to sell on eBay
* Understand the good, the bad and the ugly of dropshipping
There's hours of great stuff from Chris which is not to be missed!
Posted by SydneyJohnston at 12:28 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
September 14, 2005
Secret eBay Interviews & Armand Morin
Several months ago, I had the pleasure of participating in Secret eBay Interviews, a 16 hour CD set and training manual for selling on eBay. There are a total of 15 top Internet marketers and eBay teachers, one of whom is Armand Morin.
I learned the most from Armand's presentation because I was totally unfamiliar with his eBay tactics. In a nutshell, what Armand does is buy businesses, websites, on eBay and then either:
1. Transforms them into an ongoing income stream
2. Resells them at a much higher price
Here is a small sample of what he talks about:
* Private label your own products for maximum eBay dollars
* Spot a lucrative "Google flaw"
* Armand's two requirements for buying a business on eBay
* Why to rub your hands together in glee when a website has crummy sales letter
* See Armand took a $29.95 set of ebooks and turned them into an auto-pilot profit
* Why you can forget the eBay duplication issue
* Understand why to run from Guaranteed Traffic websites
* How to figure out what when a website or business is profitable
* Understand the power and problems of "turnkey", or duplicate, sites
Listen to approximately 15 minutes of Armand's mind-blowing tactics here:
Posted by SydneyJohnston at 12:14 PM | TrackBack
September 13, 2005
Antique Appraisals Coming To Your Library?
Antique appraisals at your library? Would that be terrific? Up until now, that's mostly been a dream. It's awkward and uncomfortable to spend hours plowing through books - if they even exist - hoping that maybe, just maybe, you might find the exact price you're looking for. However, that might be at an end.
GoAntiques owns the priceminer.com website and they have recently announced a new service that will allow libraries to access a database of 16+ million records. These records cover at 8 year period and include information from GoAntiques, eBay and TIAS, my nomination for the best antique site on the Net.
This would make antique appraisals and pricing so much easier, so if you're interested, contact your library and ask them to subscribe to the service.
Posted by SydneyJohnston at 11:24 AM | TrackBack
September 12, 2005
How To Do A Joint Venture On eBay, Part 5
In the final part of our series on How To Do A Joint Venture On eBay, we find the last of our major advantages for using the JV method for selling on eBay:
10. A successful Powerseller on eBay has hundreds or thousands of customers. Administering to that many is time consuming and expensive - and it calls for organizational skills. An eBay business can be ruined quickly if shipments are delayed, payments are credited, etc. A JV seller doesn't have this concern, because with the use of autoresponders customers are funneled directly into an email list and there is no need for shipping, payment collection and all the other admin chores.
11. The best benefit of all has been saved for last ... an eBay JV seller never settles for one measly profit. With her own mailing list, a JV sellers can promote to her list again and again and again.
And not only is she building a mailing list but she is getting paid for acquiring customers. What can be sweeter than that?
With its 147,000,000 registered users, eBay is the biggest and cheapest source of traffic on the Internet. Successfully completing Joint Venture deals allows Internet sellers to add huge numbers of targeted customers.
How To Do A Joint Venture On eBay.
Posted by SydneyJohnston at 6:12 PM | TrackBack
September 11, 2005
How To Do A Joint Venture On eBay, Part 4
Continuing with our commentary on How To Do A Joint Venture On eBay, we discuss three more advantages of this uncommon method of profiting from eBay.
7. An eBay business thrives or shrivels based on the eBay ''feedback'' system. Low or no feedback frightens away potential buyers, especially if the product for sale is expensive while negative feedback simply slams the business to a dead halt. JV sellers need pay no attention to feedback since they're not selling directly on eBay. Instead, they're relying on the feedback and reputation of their carefully chosen Joint Venture partners.
8. JV sellers don't directly sell on eBay, so there are no fees paid to eBay or Paypal. This can be an enormous saving of costs, resulting in higher profits for any JV seller.
9. Anyone doing JV deals can make money off eBay without a single customer of his own, since he is 'borrowing' the customers of his partner. Established sellers can be recruited to cooperate because theu are making money for doing so. Everybody wins!
How To Do A Joint Venture On eBay.
Posted by SydneyJohnston at 5:42 PM | TrackBack
September 8, 2005
How To Do A Joint Venture On eBay, Part 3
4. There are lots of lazy and unscrupulous sellers on eBay who will copy those who are succeeding. Your prize listing that you worked so hard on may be stolen verbatim by a competitor. And picture theft is so common that some sellers take the time to print something across their pictures. If you're doing a Joint Venture, though, this ceases to be a problem, simply because you have no pictures or copy on eBay for someone else to steal! Competitors don't even know you exist.
5. Joint Venture sellers can, most likely, forget about shipping any boxes. All of my joint ventures have involved a digital download, which can be quickly and easily delivered to customers via autoresponder. Therefore, I do not have to mail a single box. Hee-haw!
6. Have you ever gotten involved in a price war? It isn't a pretty sight! Inexperienced sellers can mess it up for everybody. What they do is panic and start slashing prices. Once Seller A cuts prices, Seller B notices and lowers his, at which time Seller A escalates the war. Seller C notices and does likewise. The effect is that no one makes any money because prices are artificially depressed, often beyond the cost of the products for sale. A sane seller will have to hold on to her merchandise for a period of time until the foolish sellers are chased out of the market. Joint Ventures sellers, however, can serenely coast above the fray and are invulnerable to such nonsense.
How To Do A Joint Venture On eBay.
Posted by SydneyJohnston at 11:23 AM | TrackBack
September 7, 2005
How To Do A Joint Venture On eBay, Part 2
Selling on eBay has its problems - although it is zillions of times easier than building a website, getting traffic and actually making sales. Yesterday I discussed some of the problems, so today I can tell you some solutions offered by our new product, How To Do A Joint Venture On eBay.
1. eBay and PayPal can drive even decent, honest sellers to drink! There are a lot of rules and regulations, especially on eBay. My policy is to always obey eBay rules, but I have gotten occasional 'nastygrams' because I broke rules I didn't even know existed. With a Joint Venture, you can forget all that because you're selling with an established seller who is your JV partner. Therefore, you don't actually list on eBay at any time and it has no authority over you.
2. Sadly, there are sellers have risked their mortgage money to buy products to sell on eBay. Because they often don't understand even the most basic research, and plunge ahead based on feelings, they've lose their investment. They are the kind you meet at a party who sourly insist that "eBay doesn't work". An eBay Joint Venture, however, costs only a few hours of time.
3. With 'traditional' eBay selling, you must choose one of these options:
* Post an auction listing
* Create a Buy It Now
* Invest in your own eBay store
However, with a joint venture you don't have to do any of those things. You don't ever have to list on eBay, in fact. That's an enormous time and money saver!
How To Do A Joint Venture On eBay.
Posted by SydneyJohnston at 4:05 PM | TrackBack
September 6, 2005
How To Do A Joint Venture On eBay, Part 1
Most sellers don't think of "eBay" and "Joint Venture" in the same sentence. However, I've been doing JVs on eBay for a couple of years and find them enormously profitable.
I stand by my declaration that eBay is the easiest way I know to make money online - but let's face it ... nothing is easy when it comes to Internet sales. Auctions have been very good to me, but there are definite problems:
1. Intense competition
2. Confusion about what products to sell
3. Lazy and dishonest sellers stealing pictures and listing copy (often word for word) 4. Price wars
5. eBay and Paypal fees that aren't individually large but add up to substantial amounts
Several times I've taught a live seminar called "How To Do A Joint Venture On eBay". Everybody has always loved it, so now I've recorded a class and created a pdf book explaining the process step by step. It's also inexpensive (on purpose), so that more folks can actually make some moola on eBay.
There are a lot of advantages to doing business this way, and we'll cover all of them in this blog.
How To Do A Joint Venture On eBay
Posted by SydneyJohnston at 2:23 PM | TrackBack
September 5, 2005
eBay Canada Removes Front Page Featured Option
Selling on eBay can be greatly accelerated by using the Front Page Feature option. Briefly, you can buy a link from the front page of eBay to a small section of featured listings. It's one of the biggest advertising bargains around. Unfortunately, eBay has removed it from eBay Canada. There is no explanation for this and it's really too bad. I sincerely hope eBay USA doesn't follow suit.
Posted by SydneyJohnston at 2:09 PM | TrackBack
September 2, 2005
Online Sales, Holidays + Katrina
I've tried numerous times to write about Katrina and the pain we all feel for our fellow Americans - and even more importantly, fellow human beings. The sight of such devastation is terrible enough, but seeing the scum of humanity shooting doctors as they try to help the injured is ... unspeakable. Better writers than I will have to express the horror of what's happening.
So, instead, I decided to speculate on the effect this will have on online sales in the upcoming season. That is something I can talk about - but I don't have to because my good friend, Chris Malta, has written an outstanding article on the subject. Take it away Chris.
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How Will Today's Economic Issues Affect Your EBiz?
If you already have your EBiz up and running, this could be a surprisingly good Holiday Season for you. If you don't, you should probably get started now.
Gas prices are still rising at the pumps. More than a million people have been tragically victimized by one of the worst natural disasters the US has ever faced. There will be changes in our economy this Fall that probably would have happened to some extent anyway, but will definitely be magnified by the fact that Hurricane Katrina has caused such destruction, and has also severely affected our petroleum refining and product importing industries along the Gulf Coast.
What effect does all this have on your EBiz, and ECommerce in general?
Before I get into that, I have to be very clear about something. I am profoundly saddened to see the terrible tragedy that has hit our neighbors along the Gulf Coast, only a few hundred miles from our own homes here in Florida. The thoughts and prayers of everyone here at Worldwide Brands go out to the unthinkable number of people who have lost their homes, and far worse in some cases, members of their families. We all sincerely hope for the best for all of you.
I say that because I don't want this Newsletter to sound like this tragedy is in any way some kind of benefit to anybody. It isn't.
We, as Entrepreneurs, though, have to look toward some kind of strategy to maintain and even to try to grow our livelihoods during any kind of disaster, especially one that affects the US economy the way this one will.
In the next few months, gas prices will likely continue to rise, although hopefully at a slower pace. Insurance rates will climb, and possibly interest rates. Heating oil, electricity and natural gas will cost more this coming winter.
Believe it or not, those negative things could very well mean an unusually busy Holiday Season for ECommerce.
Think about the fact that already people are cutting down on the number of average miles they drive. This Holiday Season, which is already beginning in the retail industry, will undoubtedly see fewer people who are willing to spend gas money to drive all over town buying presents. Physical retail stores at your local mall will probably see a decline in business. Those who already shop online, though, will do so at an accelerated rate this year, and many of those who don't shop online will start to do so.
By the time the Holiday Shopping Season really gets rolling, most people are going to be feeling even more economic pressure as the reality of fuel and insurance price hikes sink into their monthly budgets. This means that this year, most people will have less Disposable Income (the money left over after you pay your bills) to shop with. They will also be less inclined to spend outrageous amounts of gas money to make repeated trips to the malls and other physical stores.
As that reality sinks in for the physical retail stores in the malls, they are likely to cut down on the amount of product they'll be buying from their wholesale suppliers. When they have fewer walk-in customers, they don't want to tie up as much money in putting products in their own store warehouses.
That in turn means that wholesalers, who are already stocking up for the Holiday Season, will begin to worry about having too much product left over at the end of the year.
So, it becomes likely that wholesalers will begin to offer reduced price deals on existing inventory.
Do you see where this is going? A Holiday Shopping Season in an economic trend like this one points to Online Shopping as the most cost-effective way to go for the consumer. At the same time, wholesale prices on existing inventory from legitimate wholesale suppliers are likely to drop to some extent.
This should actually be a very good year for home-based EBiz.
None of us likes the fact that the economy is not the way we'd like it to be right now. I'm not saying that anyone should be happy about the way this trend is going, and will go for the next few months or more.
However, when you're in business, you need to look at the big picture as it affects your business, and this is what it looks like to me for this Holiday Shopping Season.
Keep in mind, also, that because people will have less Disposable Income this year, they will not be spending as much money on expensive products. Probably the best place for an EBiz to be this Season is selling products that are middle-of-the-road when it comes to cost.
So, to take the best possible stance for your EBiz in a tight economy, keep these things in mind:
With rising gas prices and other fuel prices, fewer people are likely to drive around shopping at physical stores, and many will shift to buying much more product Online.
Many people who have never bought online before will begin to do so.
This means that physical stores will reduce their inventories, and wholesalers will begin to worry about having leftover product at the end of their year.
To bail themselves out of costs already expended on existing warehouse stock, many wholesalers will begin offering special deals on their products. Talk to your wholesale suppliers, and keep an eye out for those specials as they come up later in the Season!
With less Disposable Income this Holiday Season, people will be looking for nice, but less expensive products to buy as gifts. Keep that clearly in mind when choosing what you'll sell!
Yes, shipping prices will go up, because the major shipping carriers (UPS, FedEx) have to pay for gas too. However, it still saves people more money to buy online and pay slightly higher shipping costs rather than paying however many dollars per gallon gas will rise to in the coming months, in order to shop at the malls.
These are the reasons I'm saying that if you already have an EBiz, this could be a very good Holiday Season for you, and if you don't have one yet, this is a good time to get started.
Nobody likes an economic trend like this one, and we all hope things get better soon. They always do, somehow, given time. However, you can turn a nice profit in this trend if you pay attention to it's effects.
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Get your free copy of Product Sourcing Scams Revealed, an ebook co-authored by Chris and me.
Posted by SydneyJohnston at 5:24 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
September 1, 2005
Wholesale Dropshippers: eBay Seller Lost In Space
Sigh. Here is an eBay sellers seeking wholesale dropshippers - but he just doesn't have a clue. He writes:
"Time and time again I keep trying to get ahold of them and there's no reply or answering srvc. on their phones. Nobody calls me back so I'm wondering how I can get in touch with them. do you have any suggestions?"
If a so-called company:
1. Never answers their phone
2. Has no voice mail
3. Never returns calls (although I wonder how he can leave them a message if they never answer phones and have no answering service)
WHY would anyone think they will behave well as a supplier. Why wouldn't they behave even worse after they have this guy's money in their hands?
My advice: tear up this so-called source's phone number and never go near them again. Gee, it was tough to come up with that advice, huh?
Posted by SydneyJohnston at 12:17 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
