August 29, 2005
In this issue:
* Hurricane Katrina and Those In Its Path
* The Triumph Of Sarah Steele
* Auction Genius Course Price Increase On Labor Day
* Feature Article: Selling Used Cars On eBay
* LO Chooses Overstock
* Humor: A Woman's Random Thoughts
* Recent Blog Entries
Hurricane Katrina and Those In Its Path
This morning our throughts and prayers are with the citizens of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. Hurricane Katrina has downgraded since last night, but it is still a deadly and dangerous storm. Reports of city-wide flooding in New Orleans will hopefully not materialize. I know that here in Atlanta, hundreds of miles away, we are supposed to receive heavy rains and winds and possibly tornadoes.
Every time I read a comment about humans "conquering nature" I have to roll my eyes. Not hardly.
The Triumph Of Sarah Steele
I love to share inspiring stories and so I gladly share the story of Sarah Steele.
Sarah is a wonderful lady who was in our last Auction Genius class. She is loaded with determination and intelligence and is determined to make a go of eBay. Based on what we discussed in class, she decided to take a leap of faith - she and her husband made a trip to Nevada from her home state of Kansas.
When she returned she emailed me that her experience:
" ... was truly amazing! I could go on and on about it. Suffice it to say that my flood has been started and will not end for many years, if ever. If anyone wants to jumpstart their business (on-line or off-line), this is definitely the way to go."
Sarah mentions her "flood". This is how we get a 'flood' of suppliers in our business pipeline, so that there are multiple choices about what to sell on eBay.
"Great deals were flying left and right. Heck, you could probably buy enough products to start an eBay biz simply by going (here). I bought a bunch of stuff, but it was killing me because I could only take back so much on the plane! It was pretty funny when I got to the airport because I took advantage of almost every single pound of weight I was allowed on the plane. My husband and I were so loaded down with stuff that people were giving us funny looks. Actually, I thought it was rather funny myself! I also felt like the cat that swallowed the canary and figured I could tolerate a little embarrassment if I end up laughing all the way to the bank :)"
"Needless to say, I have my work cut out for me. My days are full and I'm charging full speed ahead with all of my new found information. Interestingly, some of the contacts I made don't have a lot to do with selling on-line."
"Thanks for all the advice and support Sydney - I wouldn't have known about any of this without you!"
Sarah's comment about how many of her supplliers have very little online business is quite important. That means she has a great chance of establishing some really solid contacts with those people. She might even be able to get exclusive representation from some of them. If it's a good product for eBay sales, being the only seller can be quite profitable.
Sarah also informed me that it was taking a considerable amount of time to do her supply and demand research for each product, but that she was already getting faster. This is an absolutely critical skill for any kind of success on the Net. Research first and avoid all kinds of expensive headaches down the road.
Auction Genius Course Price Increases On Labor Day
Sarah is a graduate of our last Auction Genius Course. Our price is going up by $100 on Labor Day, September 5. So if you're planning on signing up, do it before then.
The next live class will begin on September 10.
http://auction-genius-course.com
Feature Article: Selling Used Cars On eBay
There are thousands of used cars for sale on eBay every single day. In fact, eBay Motors is the most profitable sales division on eBay and naturally there are many entrepreneurs who are interested in jumping into this market. For instance, eBay claims it sells an SUV every nine seconds and is the biggest online car dealer in America, exceeding the traditional car companies. In fact, there are 15 million cars sold over the Internet each year - and growing.
The recent rapid growth of the consignment business model has made the used car market even more enticing. Many sellers are able to sell cars they have never even seen and with no more risk than the cost of the auction listing. Some negotiators even persuade the car owner to pay for the ad, thereby risking no more than their time.
The biggest single issue for this business model is the trust of prospective buyers. After all, paying thousands or tens of thousands of dollars for a car sight unseen is an awesome leap of faith. Even buying for a plane ticket to go see a car before paying causes buyers to be uncomfortable.
The best way sellers can overcome this fear is to use an escrow service. The one chosen by eBay is Escrow.com, which handles eBay auctions in the US and Canada.
An escrow service acts as a neutral third party. In an exchange of merchandise, the buyer sends his money to Escrow.com and the seller ships the product to the buyer. The buyer usually has two days to inspect his purchase, and if he is happy, he notifies the excrow company who releases the money to the seller, minus its fee. If the buyer is dissatisfied, he returns the undamaged merchandise to the seller, and after the seller receives his merchandise back (in satisfactory condition), the escrow company returns the buyer's money. Thus both sides in the transaction are protected. The buyer almost always pays the fees for this, although sometimes buyer and seller split the cost.
Escrow.com has created its "Vehicle Services Division" specifically for dealing with the used cars, trucks, SUVs and almost anything else with wheels and a motor. The buyer can have a 160 point inspection performed before agreeing to the purchase. This is an inexpensive service and certainly will save the buyer any headaches.
* The buyer pays a $125 fee that is non-refundable
* The seller is contacted and the inspection is carried out
* The buyer receives a report
* The buyer chooses to go ahead with the purchase - or not
Another choice for the buyer is to deposit his payment with Escrow.com and then take delivery of the vehicle. The seller ships the car after he knows the money is secure with the escrow company. The seller must provide tracking information, which is verified by Escrow.com.
The buyer has between one and 30 days to thoroughly inspect his new purchase (the period is negotiated between the two parties ahead of time). If this time expires and the escrow company has not heard from the buyer, it assumes he is happy and gives the purchase price to the seller.
The buyer may return his vehicle if he isn't happy and sometimes buyers and sellers work out partial payment agreements, the buyer being satisfied with some parts of the transaction, but not with others. If a dispute arises, it is settled by the American Arbitration Association.
The fee for this service is:
* $0 - $7,500 = value of vehicle: $125
* $7,500.01 to $15,000: $170
* $15,000.01 to $30,000: $200
* $30,000.01 to $50,000: $275
* $50,000+ = 6% of the value
Once both parties have agreed, the title transfer process begins and Escrow.com will guarantee this too, for a fee of $95. Title transfers are handled by Centerpoint Diversified Services which works in all 50 states. The fee, naturally, doesn't include any transfer costs - it is only insurance that the title will be expedited to the satisfaction of both parties.
Escrow.com also offers a service that will ship cars almost anywhere in the world and will gather an auto history report to inform sellers if their new chariot has been salvaged or stolen, suffered flood or hail damage, been in a fire or accident, has had an odometer rollback or has been used as a police car, a rental or a taxi.
Anyone considering offering used cars for sale on eBay would be well advised to thoroughly learn the services available through Escrow.com and offer those to prospective buyers. The trust factor will skyrocket and your chances of completing sales will dramatically increase.
JLo Chooses Overstock
How much would you pay to see (and meet?) Jennifer Lopez? Actually, I'm so disinterested that I wouldn't walk across the street, but obviously I'm out of touch. Lopez has chosen Overstock to sell tickets to the opening of the first JLO boutique in Chicago.
Here's what the winner will receive:
* Two VIP tickets to the opening of Lopez’s first U.S. Marshall Fields boutique. The event will include a reception and a fashion show featuring JLo by Jennifer Lopez and Sweetface.
* Two VIP tickets to the opening of Lopez’s first U.S. Marshall Fields boutique
* Two roundtrip airline tickets to Chicago O’Hare airport (from anywhere within the lower 48 states),
* A one night stay in a Chicago four-star hotel
Currently, the price is "only" $6,630.00. At least all the proceeds go to charity.
Actually, what's interesting about this auction is that Overstock continues to challenge the domination of eBay. We sellers can only be thrilled. Go, Overstock!
A Woman's Random Thoughts
1) If you love something, set it free. If it comes back, it will always be yours. If it doesn't come back, it was never yours to begin with. But, if it just sits in your living room, messes up your stuff, eats your food, uses your telephone, takes your money, and doesn't appear to realize that you had set it free....... You either married it or gave birth to it.
2) Reason to smile: Every 7 minutes of every day someone in an aerobics class pulls a hamstring.
3) My mind not only wanders, it sometimes leaves completely.
4) The best way to forget all your troubles is to wear tight shoes.
5) The nice part about living in a small town: When you don't know what you're doing, someone else always does.
6) Just when I was getting used to yesterday, along came today.
7) Sometimes I think I understand everything, then I regain consciousness.
8) Amazing! You hang something in your closet for a while and it shrinks two sizes!
9) They keep telling us to get in touch with our bodies. Mine isn't all that communicative but I heard from it the other day after I said, "Body, how'd you like to go to the six o'clock class in vigorous toning?" Clear as a bell my body said, "Listen fatty .... do it and die."
10) I read this article that said the typical symptoms of stress are eating too much, impulse buying, and driving too fast. Are they kidding? That's my idea of a perfect day.
Recent Blog Entries
* Internet Abbreviations - eBay Style
* Auctions on eBay: Three Kinds Of Auctions
* Feedback For Product Sourcing Scams Revealed
* eBay Online Bidding To Change
* eBay Sales: Cancelling At The Last Minute?
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