The EBAY SELLING Ezine
August 10, 2007
In this issue:
* A Long Time Since Our Last Newsletter
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New Live AUCTION GENIUS COURSE Begins September 8
* "As Seen On TV" Video
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eBay Selling Now Tougher Because Of eBay Greed!
*
Very Cool, FREE Note-Taking Software
* From Our Humor Department: A Redneck Story!
A Long Time Since Our Last Newsletter
We haven't published a newsletters in months - since April, to be exact. The reason why is because of email deliverability problems. As best we can tell, only about 20% of the mail we send is actually delivered. The rest is caught up in ever more restrictive spam filters.
Thanks to those vile spammers & scammers, email becomes harder & harder for the rest of us. Did you know, for instance, that 90+ percent of that junk comes from the Russian mafia? There are horrendous stories of Russian programmers whose families are kidnapped to force the programmer to design vile programs for these criminals. Honestly, I don't have a good feeling about the future of email on the Net - and yet there is nothing to replace it. Apparently, this problem CAN be fixed - but it's expensive and the companies who have the resources to solve the problem are unwilling to do so.
For the lucky 20% of you who get this, we're going to carry on anyway. 
New Live AUCTION GENIUS COURSE Begins September 8
We've made B-I-G changes to our live Auction Genius Course since the spring. That's because the entire eBay game has changed since its beginnings in 1995.
What It Was Like When I First Started Selling On eBay
When I first started selling on eBay, way back in 1996 when eBay was only a few months old, I could list a used pencil and it would sell. I might be exaggerating - but probably not. Folks literally sold lint from behind the sofa cushions and smelly gym socks. eBay was a novelty and if there weren't as many buyers, the competition wasn't so fierce either.
What It's Like Now
Selling on eBay now is much more difficult. It's fiercely competitive and buyers expect ridiculously low prices. Yes, eBay is THE most popular home business in the world, but most folks (about 99%) don't have a clue about what they're doing. They buy into all that silly rhetoric about how it's "quick & easy to get rich on eBay".
A MUCH Easier Way To Succeed On 21st Century eBay
The picture below shows how to take yourself out of this fiercely competitive, killer market.
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The two sellers above each sold some golf balls - and one is stressed and worred, whereas the other one is clearly pleased with himself and his results? Why such different attitudes?
First, let's figure out how much money they made. Checking eBay, we can clearly see that there isn't a lot of profit in golf ball sales. Here are some current BIN eBay auctions:
* 36 AAAA Titleist NXT Used Golf Balls: $16.00 ($.44/ball)
* 36 AAA+ Titleist NXT Golf Balls: $12.00 ($.33/ball)
* 72 AAA Titleist NXT Golf Balls: $18.00 ($25/ball)
Looking at my wholesale sources, I see that a box of Titleist golf balls ranges from $11-$14.50, depending on grade and number. So, clearly, there is very little profit in golf ball sales. For the purposes of this article, let's assume that each seller made $2 in profit on their sales.
SELLER A: is really worried. She has a mortgage, car payment and a kid starting college next year. She needs an income of at least $5,000/month. At only $2 in profit, she is going to need 2,500 sales every month. Today, there are 5995 items listed under a search for 'golf balls' so we know that competition is stiff.
Also, we know that eBay buyers are price-oriented and since golf balls are a standard item, there's no reason to favor one seller over another based on anything but price, price, price. This drives the price DOWN and eliminates any sort of buyer loyalty.
So what are the odds that she'll sell 2,500 golf ball packages every month? Right. Pretty low.
SELLER B: He is in the exact same situation as Seller A. He doesn't have any "secret suppliers" or any advantage that she doesn't have. His expenses are just as urgent as hers. Yet, he's smiling and cheerful and he sucks on his lollipop. The question is ...
WHY?
The "why" is exactly what we teach in the Auction Genius Course. So join us on September 8 and you'll know, too - and you can join the Seller B group instead of fighting it out with 5995 other auctions.
"As Seen On TV" Video
There are a lot of flawed ideas about As Seen On TV wholesale products as this email shows. Chris Malta and I received this sad - even tragic - email from someone who was considering buying our 99 cent book.
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There are so many lessons here! For instance ...
99 CENTS? Why wouldn't I use that information to make thousands of dollars/month on eBay? |
You are very welcome to watch the video below and find out
TWO sobering truths about TV shopping show returns
Why this sad woman's 'As Seen On TV' obsession is costing her the very success and wealth she desperately craves
Why you should never focus exclusively on only one kind of product
Why she will NEVER find the 'As Seen On TV' wholesale the way she is seeking it
How she has proven that she does NOT belong in such a highly competitive selling area
Why she should NOT disclose personal information in a business email
And, most tragic of all: what her 'As Seen On TV' obsession is costing her!
eBay Selling Now Tougher Because Of eBay Greed!
Selling on eBay just became more difficult, thanks to eBay. When you pay your eBay listing fees, what you are buying is advertising space on eBay's giant site. This is YOUR space and it should belong only to you, the seller. In fact, eBay and its sellers (like me) have gone around the mountain with eBay on this issue before. It isn't the first time that eBay has posted revenue-creating links on the View Item pages of their customers.
My postion: if I pay for a page on eBay, that page should contain nothing but MY offer. eBay is already making money off my listing and that should be enough.
However, eBay is now creeping onto the seller pages with ads directly below their counter. Like this one:
Shame on eBay! This is only a distraction from the seller's offer. Obviously, eBay is including this affiliate link because they expect to make money with it - or, at least, are hopeful they will make added income. Where will that money come from - unless a buyer is distracted from the listing and decides to check out the free credit report? In this event, it is almost 100% certain that the seller who paid for this page will LOSE a sale.
What is the remedy?
Don't use eBay counters. Instead sign up for a free account with Vendio.com and use their free counters. The counter is a very valuable research tool and is important to a professional eBay business so avoid the distraction of eBay's lame attempts to monetize every word on its site - at the expense of its customers.
Very Cool, FREE Note-Taking Software
In only a few days I've gotten very attached to a free note-taking program called EverNote. Here are the features:
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Multiple Note Formats: With EverNote, you can create notes in multiple formats, including text, web, email, handwriting, camera phone snapshots, image clips and custom templates. You don't need to save your notes manually - EverNote saves them for you automatically.
Intelligent, Multiple Categories: Assign multiple categories to notes automatically or manually, use drag-and-drop or stamp the categories on notes for easy organization and retrieval. Also, easily assign over 50 identifiable icons to individual categories, such as Ink Notes, Web Clips, Business, Personal, and more.
Powerful SmartSearch: Multiple methods for finding notes: visually, by time, categories, automatic labeling and keywords, complete with matching note count. All found keywords are highlighted in yellow. Advanced search through images and Ink Notes is available only in EverNote Plus.
AIR-search in images: Search photos and graphics stored in your notes to find embedded typed or handwritten text. Use it for snapshots of whiteboards, product labels, in-store packaging and pricing, business cards, trade show badges, and more. This feature is available only in EverNote Plus Learn More.
Intuitive UI: All notes placed on an endless, virtual roll of paper, so you can quickly scan through your notes similar to scanning through handwritten notes in a notebook. Easily navigate your notes by using the 'Accelerator Bar', categories or the 'TimeBand'.
Image Editing: All clipped images can now be edited within the tape - a new right-click menu item provides various image editing options including picture resizing, contrast and brightness adjustments, and more.
Ink Markup: New functionality in the Universal Clipper allows adding ink markup to any selected screen area. The marked area will be saved as an image note, so AIR-search can find your handwritten text.
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There's an upgraded, paid version, but it really isn't necessary. I don't need anything more than I'm using right now.
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From Our Humor Department A Redneck Story! |
A redneck was stopped by a game warden in West Virginia recently with two ice chests full of fish. He was leaving a cove well-known for its fishing.
The game warden asked the man. "Do you have a license to catch those fish?
"No, sir," replied the redneck. "I ain't got none of them there licenses, these here are my pet fish."
"Pet FISH???
"Yeah, every night, I take these here fish down to the lake and let 'em swim 'round for awhile. Then, when I whistle, they jump right back into these here ice chests and I take 'em home."
"That's a bunch of nonsense! Fish can't do that."
The redneck looked at the warden for a moment and then said, "It's the truth Mr. Government Man. I'll show ya. It really works."
"OK," said the warden. "I've got to see this!"
The redneck poured the fish into the lake and stood and waited. After several minutes, the warden says, "Well?"
"Well, what?," says the redneck.
The warden says, "When are you going to call them back?"
"Call who back?"
"The FISH," replied the warden!
"What fish?" replied the redneck.