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March 21, 2005

In this issue:
* Our Most Successful Student Spills The Beans
* How Did I Ever Get Along Without This?
* Feature Article: Ridiculous But Popular Ideas You DON'T Want To Follow
* Are YOU An Entrepreneur
* From Our Humor Department: A Gift For Your Archenemy
* Recent Entries From Our Auction Blog

On March 9th our most successful auction student, Todd Taylor, graciously agreed to have an 'open forum' call with Auction Genius members. As I mentioned in previous emails, Todd went from a $350 order to a supplier in May, 2004 to a six figure month in December. Wow.

Naturally, lots of others think "Wow!" too and want to know how he did it. So Todd was grilled for 1 1/2 hours about such matters as:

* Where did you find your sources?
* How do you find suppliers that actually have good wholesale prices? 
* Do you actually stock the inventory?
* How did the recent increase in eBay fees impact your business? What adjustments if any did you make to the way you list your products.
* Is there any secret you can share to get people to look at YOUR auctions - what has worked best for you?
* Is PayPal the best way to handle transactions?
* Is there a formula you use to write good ad copy (headlines, content, images)?
* Any suggestions for taking better pictures?
* How many auctions (average) do you have running at any given time?
* What exact steps do you take everyday to stay on track?
* What tools, software, programs, etc. could you not live without and why?
* What are the top three reasons for your eBay success?
* How were you able to achieve this success in a such a short time?

Todd's kind willingness to share brought RAVE reviews from the participants, and everyone who buys our Auction Genius Course or CD will receive a copy of this fabulous call.

Our next "live" class begins on April 2.

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

How Did I Ever Get Along Without This?

I am really excited to share with you one of the most incredibly useful, and powerful new tools I've seen come out in a long time. Last week I bought an inexpensive piece of software that I've used every single day.

If you ever need to find information on the Web (and who doesn't?) you need to see this. Its purpose is to take a keyword, and within seconds, turn it into a treasure-trove of Websites, ebooks, tutorials, resources, checklists, guides, tips, tricks, articles, MP3s, videos, images, and more.

If you've ever been at a loss for quality content, information, or inspiration, despair no more. I had been looking for a particular piece of information and had given up on finding it. I had already scheduled a morning at the library, hoping against hope that they might have it. I found what I was looking for in seconds with this software!

The homepage has a short video showing in action and a 10-day ecourse on some of the easiest and fastest ways of finding the content you want (audio, video, articles, tips, ebooks, etc.) online.

http://findanything.auctionknowhow.com

Feature Article: Ridiculous But Popular Ideas
That You DON'T Want To Follow

There are two notions about eBay that seem to be sensible - and they've both been around a long, long, time - but they really don't stand up to scrutiny.

The first nonsensical advice is ... {drumroll} ... "go to garage sales and flea markets".

You've probably seen that one a lot, right? But they're not the same kind of source. A flea market is populated by folks who are at least semi-professional, if not full time, in their respective product market. They know the value of what they're selling and they most certainly know about eBay. They're not naive and foolish enough to be "giving away" their goodies at ridiculously low prices.

A garage sale, on the other hand, is run by amateurs, often people who are moving and just want to clean out their house. They are much more fertile fields for eBay-type bargains than flea markets.

Garage sales are great if you just love going to them, and want an eBay hobby. They are also a good way to learn how the eBay system works, to provide fodder for a few auctions to experiment with, but the important point is:

You CANNOT build a business this way!

Your supply is just too uncertain. You might spend all day Saturday going to garage sales and find nothing you can use. As proof of this, collectibles and unique items were once about 75% of eBay's business. According to a recent source, they now equal only 6% of eBay sales.

Unless you are an expert is some field, and have access to a constant stream of supply, you will need to focus on the consumer items market. The only way to make this work is if you have a constant, steady and reliable source. Translation: a wholesale supplier.

So when you see someone advocating that you build you business with garage sales and flea markets, etc. - run for your life because they don't know what they're talking about!

My second nomination for the Nonsense Award is the entire idea about finding "hot" products. If you really want to know what's sizzling, what's fiery H-O-T, spend a few hours watching the informercials on TV.

OK, now that you know the Super Duper Flat Ab Machine Of The Century is in high demand ... what now? Do you know where to find the SDFAMofC?

The odds are, you don't and the reason why makes perfect sense. If YOU owned one of the hottest products in the country, would YOU discount it? You don't have to discount it to sell it. Naturally, you will reduce the price for Macy's or Bed, Bath & Beyond or other giants that can afford to buy $20 million at a time. But you would never discount it to small resellers like the folks on eBay.

Secondly, if you're selling on eBay and you are fortunate enough to locate a hot product, your stream of income won't last. My favorite example is the famous "Iraqi Card" set. When US troops went to Iraq, the government issues cards of most-wanted members of the Hussein regime, so as to make their capture more likely.

The first such set on eBay sold for $3,000. The second set was $2,000. In a very short time, though, you could buy them on eBay for under $5.

Of course, if you come across a hot product at a profitable price, by all means, latch onto it. But to spend lots of time trying to hunt such products down is a waste of your valuable time that could be more profitably spent finding solid product lines that will endure for years. These kinds of items will allow you to set up multiple streams of income that are almost auto pilot, so that you can turn your attention to other ways of making money. That is how substantial fortunes are built - not hustling the latest fad that keeps you constantly in search mode.

Are YOU An Entrepreneur?

I recently received an important email from a stranger who currently has a job, but asked me how he could sell on eBay (as though I could explain that in one paragraph!). He said he would work hard "... if I am assured of getting great results". He further said that he didn't like risk and never took chances.

My advice to him was to remain in his job because what he wants is impossible. When you work for yourself, there is no way to be "assured" of "great results" - meaning profits. You can work for weeks, months or years - and make nothing. There aren't any guarantees, which is why there is so much money to be made as an entrepreneur. We all know that the higher the risk, the higher the potential earnings.

Having said that, eBay is not a high risk business if you know what you're doing. It's not about gambling or risking the food budget for the month. It's a calculated and very limited risk, based on understanding the eBay game (because it is definitely a game) and moving slowly at first. Once you understand what you're doing, you can accelerate your progress, but clearly one of the laws of the Universe is that we will make mistakes when we're new at anything. There's no way around that.

Recent Entries From Our Auction Blog

* eBay Introduces Kijiji Classifed Ad Program
* The “Ridiculous eBay Auction” Oscar Winner
* Phishing Via eBay, Citibank, PayPal
* eBay Gets An A+ In Internet Marketing

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