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January 6 , 2005

In this issue:
* United Kingdom Genius Student Scores Big On eBay
* Finding "Exclusive" Wholesale Sources
* Feature Article: Learning From the Famous “Virgin Mary Cheese Sandwich”
* What To Sell On eBay: “Want It Now”
* Here's An Interesting Development ...

United Kingdom Genius Student Scores Big On eBay

Imagine moving from a one bedroom apartment directly to a four bedroom house in the English countryside. Yvonne Tagbo, an Auction Genius Course student in the UK, did just that.

Following an idea in the Genius Course, Yvonne has multiple IDs in both the UK and the US. One of her best sellers are professionally designed refrigerator magnets (she kindly sent me six of them and they're terrific!) She says, "You always encouraged us not to sell what everyone else was selling" and her magnets truly are unique.

Even better, she's starting to get wholesale inquiries for her original designs. "I've had people order magnets from the middle east, Australia and even South Africa". Her magnets include such themes as cats, exercise, Christian themes and even personalized ones for such occasions as weddings.

In addition to taking care of two small daughters, and running a full time eBay business, Yvonne is also starting two membership sites:

1. One is for computer crafting: "There is so much that people can create with computers from candy wrappers to wedding invitations, flyers, booklets, personalised gifts, stickers, designs on ceramic and glassware, etc."

2. And the second is for auction tools & templates, including interviews with experts in various subjects.

She might even begin a clip art site. Perhaps she'll be the next clipart.com - UK style!

Yvonne is absolute proof that auctions on eBay are only the beginning. She kindly says, "I am really counting my blessings over the past two years and you are one of them. I'm sure you're getting fed up with the numerous thank you's but I just had to write and tell you one more time." She doesn't realize that
teachers never get tired of hearing that! :-)

We're starting our next live Auction Genius Course on January 15th. It includes live instruction for eight weeks in how to build an eBay business, instead of an eBay hobby. You can read the details here:

http://www.auction-genius-course.com

Finding 'Exclusive' Wholesale Sources

Recently, I was asked about an expensive ebook that supposedly gives leads to “exclusive” wholesale sources.

My reaction: I think that is one of those 'smoke and mirrors' promises that are mostly marketing hype.

Let's look at this from the perspective of a wholesale supplier ... his goal is to make as much profit as he can. Naturally. That's the goal of all of us. And how can he best do that? By selling as many products as he can, to as many people as he can.

Suppliers do NOT want to be exclusive to anybody unless it's a giant company like WalMart, Best Buy, etc. Exclusive suppliers for small sellers like we are (and no matter how much money you make on eBay, you
will always be a 'small' seller to wholesalers) just don't exist. Would you want to be exclusive to a handful of
small sellers? That just doesn't make any sense at all.

Feature Article: Learning From The Famous “Virgin Mary Cheese Sandwich”

Have you heard about the famous cheese sandwich that supposedly has a picture of the Virgin Mary on it?

The original was supposedly a 10 year old sandwich sold by a seller name Diana Duyser. Supposedly, she took one bite of the sandwich (made on plain white bread with American cheese and cooked with no oil or butter) and noticed the face. She supposedly kept it on her nightstand for 10 years, wrapped in a baggie, and claims the sandwich never got moldy. She sold the original on eBay for over $16,000.

When I first heard about this sandwich, I was truly amazed! Who in the world would pay that kind of money for such a silly reason? Turns out the buyer is the Golden Palace online casino who is taking full advantage of the publicity generated by the famous food item.

For instance, they now sell all kinds of spinoffs. We can now get our very own Virgin Mary t-shirt, mug, mouse pad, apron, tote bag and more.

To follow up on this famous artifact, the site has bought the “haunted cane” - for the hefty price of $65,000! The seller claims that the ghost of her dead father manifests the cane and has scared her five-year-old son repeatedly. The seller’s father died recently after battling lung cancer for over a year. He died
peacefully in his sleep but the child claims to have been visited repeatedly by his apparition. In life, the deceased used the walking cane to tap the child when he was misbehaving.

If you're thinking all this is pretty silly stuff, you're right, IMHO. But, it shows really shrewd publicity instincts on the part of the casino owners, who clearly know how to exploit publicity for their cause. Heck, they're even started a “cheese tour”. After all, just anyone couldn't be trusted to transport the world's most valuable sandwich. Miami Herald columnist Jim DeFede's drove from Miami to Las Vegas with the samdwich, reporting on his “odyssey across the United States” as he went (more valuable publicity!)

Other eBayers take advantage of publicity in a different way. Using controversy to sell things on eBay is a tactic as old as the auction site, itself - even if sometimes the ethics or morality might be questionable.

For instance, even non-sports fans, like me, have heard of the monstrosity in November when Detroit Pistons/Indiana Pacer players waded into the stands, punching spectators and getting involved in a general melee that casts shame on professional sports.

Player Ron Artest received the most severe penalty – a suspension for the rest of the basketball season. In response, eBay sellers have been peddling “Ron t-shirts” and expressing their own opinions about how mistreated he was.

Regardless of our emotional reaction to these sales, the bottom line is that they are smart marketing. So you might want to ask yourselves how you can take advantage yourself? A simple example – upcoming movies. Harry Potter IV is coming, meaning there will a spike in Harry Potter merchandise. Or Matthew McConaughey will be starring in the first Dirk Pitt movies, a famous character invented by author Clive Cussler. If I still sold books, I would be grabbing all the Cussler novels I could get my hands on.

If you keep up with the news, there are all kinds of coming events that are sure to capture the imagination of online buyers. How can you think ahead and be ready when demand crests?

What To Sell On eBay: “Want It Now”

eBay has introduced an interesting new service called Want It Now.

There are two sections of this service. First, buyers tell sellers what they want to buy. There is a list of all categories and buyers simply post what they are looking for.

Then, sellers can respond to the requests of buyers and direct them to auctions of their own that offer the sought-after products.

How active is this board? This morning, there were 9360 listings in Books, 5100 in Sporting Goods and 15425 in Clothing, Shoes & Accessories. It is logical to assume that the numbers will grow as more people learn about this service.

As for how useful it is ... I would guess that it will be more useful for research than actual sales. After all, out of 9360 book requests, how likely is it that I would have a particular volume? And how much time will it take me to go through all those listings to sell a book and make a few dollars in profit? Is that really a wise use of my time? I doubt it.

However, there might be trends to be spotted. For instance, let's assume there are large numbers of requests for Sci Fi books. That might encourage more sellers to specialize in this category.

My guess: probably not especially useful. But I could be wrong, and let's give eBay credit for trying.

Here's An Interesting Development ...

In India in December, one of eBay's employees, Baazee.com co- founder Avnish Bajaj, was arrested in New Delhi after a user listed a pornographic video clip on the Baazee site. The video clip itself was not shown on the site; the seller offered to email the clip to buyers directly. The listing violated Baazee.com’s policies and user agreement and was removed from the site once it was discovered.

Mr. Bajaj’s subsequent arrest came as a complete surprise and occurred while he was in New Delhi voluntarily working with police officials. Never before has such an action been taken against an eBay employee in any of the 32 countries in which they do business.

According to eBay: “His case, which is getting enormous attention from the news media, government and internet industry, strikes at the very core principles fundamental to eBay sites around the world, and at the basic roles and responsibilities of everyone engaged in open Internet commerce. eBay is working to secure Mr. Bajaj’s release from jail as soon as possible.”

It will be interesting if eBay is held legally responsible for what is sold on their site. They have always taken the position that they are simply a venue – but at the same time, they have rules and restrictions on what can be sold, or even said, on eBay. Quite a fine line to walk.