Making Money Online, Google Adsense & Online Auctions

Top 10 Tips For Auction Success

Posted on 14th November 2009

If you were to look through eBay, or any other online auction site for that matter, you would find that many people make some very basic mistakes. And, they repeat these mistakes over and over again. As indicated in my book "eBay Marketing Wholesale SourcePak" with a little common sense these mistakes are completely preventable. So to prevent you from making these very same mistakes I have put together the Top Ten Tips For Auction Success.

10. Shipping
Always state what your shipping price will be. And, Do Not try to rip off your buyers by inflating the shipping price to increase your profit. Believe it or not, people do have a fair idea of what shipping costs should be. If they feel you are inflating your shipping price they will not bid on your item and may not look at any of your other auctions either from fear of being ripped off.

9. Customer Support
You must respond to all emails regarding your auctions. Yes, responding to emails is time consuming. But, if you don't, that potential bidder will look else ware for the product and you will have lost yourself a customer.

8. Reserve Price
Do your research on the price for your item. If you must use a reserve price keep it real. If you over price your item you will not get as many bids. And, while all good marketers know there is a time and place for the Reserve Auction, you may actually get more bids using no reserve pricing at all. Do your research to help you make this decision.

7. Item Condition
You must let bidders know what condition your item is in. Is it new and in it's packaging, or used but like new condition. Does it have any imperfections they should be made aware of.. A potential bidders will want to know what condition your item is in before making any bids.

6. Terms
This could come under the heading Customer Service. If you have terms on your auction page that read something like this "Not Responsible For Item Once Shipped" or "Item Sold As Is" you will lessen the number of bidders for that auction. Be a responsible eBayer, have insurance on the item that your buyer can purchase. And be sure to have some sort of guarantee on your products.

5. Feedback
One of the most important parts of your eBay Business. Feedback is a method eBay uses to allow buyers and sellers to record their experiences with each other. Then, others can check out the feedback of any eBayer they wish to deal with, to see if there has been any negative comments left. Therefore, it is extremely important to keep your feedback rating positive.

4. Auction Start/Close Time
You must plan your auction start/close time around the bidders you wish to attract to your auction. If the product you are selling appeals to the working woman, the best time to start/end your auction would be in the evening or on the weekend. Always create a profile on your product and what group of the population you are selling to.

3. Item Description
Not enough information or too much rambling of information will discourage people from bidding. So too will to many typos. Your item description must be clean and concise. Succinctly provide all the information required to describe the item sufficiently and create buyer interest.

2. Image
You need to use an image on your auction page. Remember a picture is worth a 1000 words! Potential bidders will want to see what the item looks like before they make a bid. With digital cameras, being so affordable these days adding a image to your auction page is easier then ever. But, make sure the image is clear and well lit to show it's detail or any imperfections it may have. Also, keep the image at a reasonable pixel size so your auction page doesn't take to long to load.

1. Headlines
This is the most important issue for getting more bidders to your auction page. You must include words that people will search on eBay. And, you must make your headline enticing, so potential bidders will click it. If you are selling an antique make-up table a headline saying old vanity table would not pull in a lot of bidders. But, if you said something like "Vintage Vanity Table - Mint Condition - Collectors Item" not only would you get more potential bidders to view your auction, you would also be using words people would search eBay for. Your auction title would appear in searches for Vintage, Vanity Tables, Collectors Items. Therefore, allowing even more potential bidders to see your headline.


Happy Selling!
Joe Clare


About the author:
Joe Clare is an active Netpreneur and eBayer! He is the author of numerous articles on how to succeed on eBay! Check out his latest Best Selling eBook "eBay Marketing Wholesale SourcePak" Your Passport to Success! at http://www.ebooksnsoftware.com

Top 10 Ebay Buyer Personalities

Posted on 14th November 2009

In my years of selling on eBay I have come across all sorts of people. For the most part these people have been very nice and easy to deal with. Having said that, there are always a small percentage, like in any business online or offline, who you'll have some degree of problem with. As explained in my book "eBay Marketing Wholesale SourcePak" you will need to be as polite as you possibly can and have a little patience when dealing with these people. Below you will find my Top Ten List of eBay Buyer Personalities and how to handle them.

10 - The Manipulator
There will be times when you have an auction end with no bids. When this happens watch out for the Manipulator. This is an individual who will email you once you auction ends wanting to purchase your item off eBay at a ridiculously low price. He/she will often try to manipulate you into believing the product will not sell but he/she will be glad to take it off your hands. Forget about them! Do Not sell the item to them. Instead relist the item for auction on eBay with a new headline. If he/she wants it bad enough, they will have to get the item through your auction. And trust me 99% of the time your item will sell.

9 - The Impatient Buyer
This is someone who has won your auction today and is wondering why it wasn't shipped yesterday. This individual wants what was purchased fast, real fast. Just have patience, be polite and explain your shipping process to him/her. Getting the product out quickly with a thank you note for purchasing will give you a happy customer.

8 - The Disappointed Buyer
There are some people you just can not please, not even if you were to stand on your head. They will be disappointed no matter what you do. Sometimes these people can be down right rude and take up a lot of your time. Learn to recognize this type of person and don't get caught up in an on slot of emails. Remember that time is money, and once you have done all you can do to rectify their problem move on. If the emails continue simply ignore them.

7 - The Invisible Buyer
This is someone who has won your auction but you never hear from them. Ever! They pay you right on time without any problems. So you send the product they won off to them. And that's it! They do not leave feedback, and do not return any emails. They just disappear into thin air. If you send a couple of follow up emails asking if they received their item and requesting positive feedback and you get no response, just forget them and move on.

6 - The Interrogator
This individual could drive you crazy. It's not their fault, they just have questions. Lots of Questions! For these people even if every question imaginable is answered in your auction description, they'll still manage to find a reason to email you a question. Be weary of this type of individual they can, and will waste a lot of your time if you let them. On your first email to them be polite answer their question then refer them back to your auction description telling them all the answers are there. Suggest they read it again. Don't get caught up in email after email. Always remember that time is money, and if you've done your auction description correctly there should be no questions left to ask. Your auction surfer should be ready to make a bid.

5 - The Late Payer
This customer has no clue about deadlines and they really don't seem to care about them either. Their attitude is you'll get paid when I am ready to pay you. You will need to set guidelines for when payment is due. If payment is not received you may choose to give your buyer one extension. Be specific giving him/her a date as to when the balance is due. Also tell them if payment is not received by that date you will have no other choice but to relist the item for auction. Sometimes a month or so down the road you'll end up getting a check in the mail from this person with a note as to why they were late. Simply return the payment with an explanation that the item was re-listed as he/she failed to meet the payment deadline and it has been sold to someone else.

4 - The Deadbeat
There is no buyer more irritating than the one who is always telling you the check is in the mail. Of course the check never arrives. Unfortunately there is not much you can do about this. Like above give them a deadline and if they don't make it relist the item for auction again.

3 - The "I'm Sooo Confused" Buyer
This customer does want to buy from you. Really, they do! If they could only figure out how! How to bid, how to pay, how to... All this high tech computer stuff is just way to confusing for them. Have patience and be polite. Explain what they should do next. If you find no matter how you explain things it just doesn't register with them, suggest they read over eBay's tutorials. Remember your time is money and you can only spend so much time with any potential customer before you must move on.

2 - The Spender
This individual can spend a lot of money with you. And often will return as a repeat buyer usually purchasing a little of everything you have up for auction. This person will also spend $100.00 in merchandise in order to save $10.00 on shipping. Bless him/her!

1 - The Perfect Customer
This individual is simply a Happy Person. He/she has won your auction and they are just ecstatic about it. The great thing about this type of buyer is if you run into a problem they are always understanding and easy to deal with. If looked after correctly, very often these people will become a customer for life. Now, don't we wish all customers were like this.

So, there you have it. The Top Ten eBay Buyer Personalities. If you already sell on eBay I'm sure you will recognize some of these personality traits in your own customers. If you're just getting started with your eBay Auction Business no doubt you'll be running into these people soon. Whatever personality your day brings you, always be patience, polite and just have fun with it.


Happy Selling!
Joe Clare


About the author:
Joe Clare is an active Netpreneur and eBayer! He is the author of numerous articles on how to make money online and be successful on eBay! Check out his latest Best Selling eBook "eBay Marketing Wholesale SourcePak" Your Passport to Success! at http://www.ebooksnsoftware.com

Top 10 Antique Categories on Ebay

Posted on 14th November 2009

Knowledge is Power! And this statement could not be more true when it comes to selling on eBay. As explained in my book "eBay Marketing Wholesale SourcePak" being successful on eBay all depends on being in the right place, at the right time, with the right product. For example, did you know one of the most popular categories on eBay for buying and selling is the Antiques Category. That's right! People flock to eBay to locate treasures from the past. But what if we could know exactly what they are looking for? Just what kind of Antiques? Well I can help! Below you will find the Top Ten Picks of Antique Categories (at the time of this writing) as per eBay.

10 - Lace and Crochet Trim

9 - Medical Antiques

8 - Wood Picture Frames

7 - Knobs and Handles

6 - Linen Samplers

5 - Mixed Material: Picture Frames

4 - Roman Antiquities

3 - Silver Napkin Rings

2 - Locks and Keys

And the Number 1 Antique Category for "Hot Items" is...

Weathervanes and Lightning Rods.

There you have it! The Top Ten Picks of Antique Categories where potential bidders are surfing to find all those treasures from times gone by. If you sell Antiques on eBay, finding items that fit into one or more of the above categories will see your number of bids increase substantially. Always remember to do your research before listing any item for auction. Know what categories are "Hot!" Do a price analysis of your product. Know what the item costs you and what you can potentially sell it for. Then sit back and watch the bidding heat up!

Happy Selling!
Joe Clare


About the author:
Joe Clare is an active Netpreneur and eBayer! He is the author of numerous articles on how to succeed on eBay! Check out his latest Best Selling eBook "eBay Marketing Wholesale SourcePak" Your Passport to Success! at http://www.ebooksnsoftware.com