Many people make a full-time living on eBay. This is not only possible but it is also quite easy once you know what you are doing. Some people just make a little extra money through eBay auctions simply because it is fun - it becomes a hobby.
Whether you just want to sell some old items lying about your house, or you want to build a business by becoming a PowerSeller, there are five things you absolutely must do before you can start selling on eBay.
1. You must Register. Begin by registering as a member of eBay.
This registration is free, and it will allow you to participate in auctions - as a buyer. As soon as you have completed your registration as a buyer, you can register as a seller simply by logging into your eBay account and clicking on the ‘Sell’ tab at the top of the page. The information that you will enter is very basic information, but as a buyer, you will need to enter a credit card number, or sign up for a paypal account.
2. Sign up with paypal.
Paypal has become one of the most popular payment gateways on the Internet. This website allows people to transfer money from their bank accounts or credit cards, and to transfer money from one Paypal account to another. Signing up is quite easy, but you will need to verify your account with a checking account, and you can optionally add a credit card to the account. Paypal is very secure. As long as you don’t give your password out to anyone, you shouldn’t have any problems.
Paypal is not required to sign up with eBay, but it is highly recommended. This will allow you to give your buyers more payment options. Signing up with Paypal is free.
3. Find items to sell. You may already have items that you want to sell.
For instance, if you have recently cleaned out your attic or your garage, you probably have tons of stuff that you want to get rid of. Some items won’t sell well on eBay, while others will sell like hot cakes! So a little research to see what sells well before you set up any auctions.
You can also find items to auction by going to yard sales around your area.
Many eBay PowerSellers sell brand new items through drop shipping companies as well. It is all just a matter of determining how you want to profit from eBay, and what items are hot sellers.
4. Set up your auction. Once you are signed up, and you are ready to set up your auction, eBay has a form for you to fill out.
Here, you will determine how you are going to sell the product. You can choose to sell a group of items, or just one item. You will have a list of categories to choose from, and these categories determine where your item is listed on eBay. Choosing the proper category for your item is essential - this is how people will find your auction.
You must choose a title for your auction. You want to use your title to catch the buyer’s eye. Coming up with a great title isn’t always easy, and it does require some thought. Look at some past successful auctions to get some ideas. Make sure that you follow eBay’s guidelines for titles!
Make sure that you use the form to add as much information about your item as possible.
The more information you can include, the more successful your auction will be.
Look at the history of past auctions for items similar to yours. This information will help you determine your title, your description, and even your reserve price. The reserve price is the absolute minimum bid amount that you are willing to accept.
You will be allowed to include pictures of your items, and it is very important that you do so.
Make sure that the pictures are clear, and take several different shots from different angles. Pictures will help make your bid more successful. Many bidders won’t even look at auctions that do not include pictures.
You will also need to determine how long your auction will run. Don’t make the auction too short - give bidders time to find your item and place their bids - but at the same time, don’t make it too long. Force bidders to act by getting their bids in before the auction closes!
eBay has many upgrade options that will make your auction more noticeable.
Depending on the reserve price of your item, it may be well worth it to take advantage of these upgrades to get your auction noticed more easily.
5. Communicate with your bidders.
Make sure that you monitor your auction, and keep the lines of communication with your bidders open. Bidders will have questions about the item you are selling. Make sure that you respond to the questions and comments in a timely manner.
Think of yourself as a shop keeper, and reply to the bidders just as you would to a customer who was standing in your shop!
CopyRight Ian D. Major 2005
Ian D. Major makes it easy to understand and use eBay, quickly and
easily. Learn all you need to know by visiting eBay Articles an entirely FREE source of information about eBay.
What you have to remember when starting up your Ebay business is that it is no different from any other business venture. The business world is all about buying and selling and so is your Ebay project. Conduct all your business transactions in a professional manner then you your product or service will be taken seriously.
Running a business is not as big a mission that people make it out to be. However it can prove to be stressful at times - but you can change that by having an organised system. Organization should be one of the main priorities right from the start. Keeping on top is important - keep data up to date and file all files this will help your Ebay business to run smooth thus saving you time.
Most Ebay business`s are run from home so choose a room in the house that you can create as an office area to do business. An office type surrounding will encourage you more in your Ebay business. Everyone has a business plan structured up so why not you - remember you are in business for yourself now.
Write your Ebay plan accordingly to comply with Ebay`s rules and regulations. Jot down your goals you expect to achieve - profits from sales or whatever comes to mind to claim success. Go research on how other Ebay sellers are successful in their business.
Another vital addition is to have an Ebay business checklist drawn up and easily at hand - list all that you would need to start up - like organizing your products for auction, this will include itemized tasks like the photo shoot, writing out a description for the sale item and remember to answer all emails - we are looking to run this Ebay business professionally and prompt replies to questions or queries is where you will gain respect from your customers. Respect can bring repeat orders.
The product or service you choose to sell in your Ebay business is entirely up to you but please do a little research on this matter - the reason being is the greater the need for a certain item then the more chance you have of a guaranteed sale. Expenditure and costs should be limited at least till you have learnt a few tricks of the trade. Buying up front in large quantities is not a good idea - you maybe left with unwanted stock if the product you have chosen to sell for your Ebay business has a sell by date.
There should be no reason why your Ebay business can not be as successful just like the thousands of others who are making their fortune selling their wares.
In an Ebay business what are the tricks of the trade - how can you find out about the tricks of the trade - well let me tell you about a little trick picked up on the way and that is to learn from others. By doing this you can prevent yourself becoming involved in any tricky situations.
For success in business you have to be in the know - don`t take my word for it and check it out for yourself www.ebay.webinputbiz.com Hard work comes with rewards - need a break www.airfarelive.com
One of the things I have noticed as I have increased my sales volume on eBay is the increased volume of spoof emails I have received claiming to be eBay or PayPal. They do this to try and gain access to your eBay or PayPal account, and sometimes even to try and get your bank details. I therefore felt that my next article should be on spotting and avoiding spoof email as it will surely be a problem that all you ebook sellers are going to have to deal with too.
Spotting spoof email can initially be quite tricky. After all the address appears to be a PayPal or eBay one and the often use eBay and PayPal graphics to make the emails look even more authentic. However, once you have had a reasonable amount of spoof email come your way, you soon realise that they all generally stick to the same format. Below are some of the most common spoof emails.
1) Ebay / PayPal Account Suspension:- These claim that your account will be suspended by a certain date if you do not take action. Some look more genuine than others. They ask you to click a link which directs you to a false eBay login screen where the spoof company then tries to steal your eBay Username and Password. These are relatively easy to spot because you are unlikely to receive an email on this subject from eBay or PayPal unless you have committed a serious violation of policy. Even if you believe you have been suspended it’s always best to be safe and logon to eBay manually through your internet browser.
2) Ebay / PayPal Unauthorised Access:- These claim that someone has been making attempts to access your account from another IP address. Some even give false IP addresses and locations from where your eBay account was apparently accessed. These are obvious spoof emails because the fact that you have accessed your account from a different IP address does not constitute someone else trying to access your account. It could simply be you accessing your account from a different computer.
3) Unpaid Item Reminder:- These send you an unpaid item reminder for an item you haven’t even purchased. For example a few days ago I received one for a $2000 camera. Surely I wouldn’t forget if I had purchased an item like that. If you click on the links in this email you are directed to a false eBay page which tries to steal your eBay Username and Password.
4) Question about Ebay Item:- These are one of the trickier spoof emails as it is likely that you do receive questions about the item. Some even have an eBay ID link embedded in the email so that they look more authentic. However, most of the spoof emails do not state which eBay item the query concerns. Furthermore, the questions often do not make much sense and include phrases such as “How much is your last item?” The best way to make sure you do not get caught out is to log into eBay manually and then answer the question through my messages.
5) PayPal payment Sent:- These spoof emails again look a little more genuine. They claim that an unauthorised PayPal attempt has been sent. I received one today saying that I had sent $400 without my knowledge. They then have a link saying if you did not authorise this payment “Click Here” which then leads you to a spoof PayPal page where they try to get your User ID and Password. However, when you make a genuine PayPal payment they do not usually mention anything about it being unauthorised. If they did suspect it to be unauthorised they would probably just hold the payment.
6) Ebay PowerSeller Confirmation:- I received a couple of these before I actually was made a PowerSeller. They do look genuine but instead of directing you to eBay to enter your Username and Password you are directed to a spoof website. The best way to make sure the email is genuine is to go to the eBay PowerSeller page and login at http://pages.ebay.co.uk/services/buyandsell/powersellers.html. If the email is genuine you will be recognised as a PowerSeller here. If you are not then you know the email is spoof.
Beware that this is only some of the spoof email subjects you may receive. The people who write them will always be thinking of new ways to steal your ID and Password and as a result new spoof emails are surfacing all the time. Below is a list of the common things to look for in emails to identify them as spoof.
1) Ebay ID / PayPal Name:- If the email addresses your either by your eBay User ID or your actual name it is much more likely to be genuine. Most spoof emails simply address you as the email address to which the email has been sent. For example a genuine email from eBay is likely to say “Congratulations ebookcavern…” whereas a spoof email is likely to say “Congratulations sales@theebookcavern.co.uk…”
2) From Email Address:- Although this is not a dead certain way of identifying spoof email on some it is noticeable. The spoof emails will claim to be from eBay or PayPal and in a large majority of them when you check this out the email address looks genuine. However, some of the from email addresses do not look so genuine. For example I recently received a spoof email claiming to be from the PayPal address: service@paypal.comservicepaypal.com which made it pretty clear that this email was spoof.
3) Excessive use of eBay / PayPal images:- Many of the spoof emails in an attempt to look genuine use eBay or PayPal images in the email. However, some use excessive amounts of these and when compared to a normal email from eBay or PayPal and so can be easily identified by this.
4) The Hyperlink:- This is the link that the email is trying to get you to click on. It is also the best way of identifying whether the email is spoof or not. If you scroll over the link or right-click and view the properties you should find out what the actual link is. If this link is not part of a PayPal or eBay domain then you can be sure it is spoof.
If you identify an email as spoof using the above criteria then you must not click on any of the links inside it. If it is an eBay spoof email forward it to spoof@ebay.co.uk and if it is a PayPal spoof email forward it to spoof@paypal.com and then delete it. Remember it is always better to be safe then sorry so take precautions such as logging into eBay and PayPal manually through your internet browser and regularly changing your password. You can also read eBay’s guide to spoof email at http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/confidence/isgw-account-theft-spoof.html. Stay safe and Good Luck!!!
Tom Parker has been selling ebooks and software with resell rights on eBay since 2003 at stores.ebay.co.uk/theebookcavern. In 2006 he created www.theebookcavern.co.uk/ from which he intends to sell his own ebook. He also opened www.theebookcavernreviews.co.uk/ which reviews the best ClickBank products available. You can reprint any of Tom’s articles but please include the bio so that he is credited.
Have you ever participated in any online auctions?
Yes, people are making piles of cash from online auctions.
And you can take advantage of this new gold rush to generate
a lot of traffic to your own website.
There are thousands of online auctions on the internet.
People love them because they can usually find great
bargains.
If you have an online business, you can use
them to increase traffic to your web site.
You could create an electronic book or report that
relates to your online business, then auction it off at an
online auction.
You could increase traffic to your web
site by placing an ad for your web site in the electronic
publication.
Some online auctions will even allow you
to link directly to your web site.
Electronic publications won’t cost you anything to ship.
You could send them via e-mail or allow people to
download the electronic publication from your web site.
You can also auction them off for a lower price. When
they visit your web site you could offer them a higher
priced product.
You could also get traffic from people who don’t bid
or don’t get the winning bid.
You could direct them to your web site to download and read
a free sample of the ebook or report before they bid.
If they want more detailed information about the ebook
or report, you could also direct them to your web site.
You can also get traffic to your web site by auctioning
a physical product.
Print your web site advertisement on a flyer or brochure
then insert it into each product package you ship.
Before you start auctioning any product at an online
auction, read the terms and conditions.
Some auctions may not allow the auctioning of electronic
products or directly linking to your web site where you
have other products for sale.
May these online auction secrets help you to make a lot
of money.
Warmly,
I-key Benney, CEO
I-key, a Millionaire CEO from New York City is the creator of “Mscsrrr: Millionaire Secret Cash System”, (home based business) program, which has helped thousands of ordinary people from all over the world to attain financial security and shining success during the past 2 yrs.
Mscsrrr Millionaire Cash System helps you to generate $1,500+/Week for life, from home or office, part time or full time. No large investment or hassles. Win $1000-$2000 free “cash”…
The story of the astonishing £40,000 price achieved by Encore Auctions on eBay fizzed around the world in no time. The equine painting by famed Irish artist Jack Butler Yeats was the subject of fierce bidding by three parties. It was featured on Yahoo and CNN news channels plus a host of websites as a key indicator of the changing auction market.
There will always be a place for traditional auctioneers who can validate and promote individual lots through a quality catalogue and network. However, online activity continues to grow exponentially within the art, antiques and collectables field as the Yeats sale testifies.
Why did the vendor choose Invaluable to dispose of this work? There are, of course, many viable alternatives but the bottom line is that Invaluable is respected for the breadth and diversity of its mainstream auction search service over the past 15 years. Its reputation for outstanding customer service also means that it has rapidly attained power seller status on eBay and gives vendors numerous advantages should they wish to access this 150,000,000 strong audience.
Further benefits include the anonymity of Encore Auctions, the Invaluable store on eBay, low seller commission, no buyer’s premium and very targeted online marketing through major search engines. Moreover, there is ongoing cross fertilisation between the listings placed on Encore and lot information from conventional auctions that meet the criteria of the Invaluable clientele.
The best way to fully appreciate this shift in the way business is being transacted is to read the recent article in the FT by Simon de Burton. This outlined clearly that Invaluable, while sensitive to the historic approach, is witnessing more and more salerooms, dealers and private individuals use its services to dispose of items that did not sell first time around.
Evidently, it’s horses for courses. Not everybody will embrace and welcome such innovations but there is a groundswell of support for Encore and similar initiatives that continues to gather pace. When one sees the FT generate that kind of coverage, there is a sense that the tide is inexorably turning towards slick, cost effective marketing campaigns that combine old world values and new world communications
Howard Lewis,
Chairman, Invaluable group of companies.
Only Invaluable gives you unrivalled access to pre-sale and post-sale information for auction houses and salerooms across the globe.
Find art, antiques and collectables. Try our Keyword search, register at http://www.invaluable.com for a free 14 day trial.
Bidding is the act of making an offer for an item that is up for auction. Bidding on eBay however is slightly different, and does not work in exactly the same way as normal auctions, at least in theory. Bidding on eBay is meant to be fun, but remember that all bids on eBay are binding, except in the sales of real estate or businesses and the sales of items that are prohibited by law or by eBay’s user agreement.
On eBay, you enter the maximum amount for the item you are willing to pay, and then eBay’s bidding system bids for the items on your behalf. Meaning supposing you are willing to pay $100.00 for an item, you can end up paying only $30.00 for the item, if that was the highest maximum bid anyone else placed.
Bidding on eBay can be very addictive, so its a good idea to have a pre - determined amount you are willing to spend for an item and not exceed it regardless of loosing out on the auction. A good strategy here is to use eBay’s proxy bidding system to automatically bid on your behalf. This means you don’t have to keep coming back to re-bid every time someone places a higher bid.
An Example of how eBay’s Proxy Bidding Process Works
* Search for an item you want to bid on.
* You determine how much you are willing to pay for it, in this example $30.00.
* The current minimum bid on the item is $18.00.
* Enter your maximum bid of $30.00.
* If there are no other bids on the item, eBay’s proxy server will bid for the item at the minimum of $18.00.
* If someone bids $22.00 for the item, eBay’s proxy server will automatically increase your bid to $23.00, which is what it is currently bidding for plus the minimum increment.
* EBay then emails the other bidder to inform them that they have been outbid.
* If there is another bidder with a higher maximum, you will obviously be outbid. But if no other bidder has a higher maximum, you win the auction, and the item is yours and this saves you the time and effort of having to sit around to bid again anytime you are outbid.
And because the proxy bidding system bids using your pre - determined maximum amount, there is no tendency for you to overbid, which significantly saves you some money. Of course you will not always win if someone bids a higher maximum value, but then it will not make you over spend, and because it’s eBay you can always come back again and bid on a similar item from a different seller.
Copyright © David E Nettey
|
David E Nettey is the webmaster of http://manicures.lyecryads.com and http://culinary-arts.lyecryads.com He operates a successful home based business and coaches others to successfully start their own home based business, for a home business that comes with training that you can easily start, visit his website http://www.PlugInProfitsSite.net |
Taking some pride in my one hundred percent positive
feedback score on eBay, I was horrified to see a
negative feedback appear against me.
What had I done wrong? Had I overlooked an auction win
and failed to deliver product as promised? Had I given
poor, slow service? Was I rude to the auction winner?
Certainly, if I had been guilty of any of these things,
the negative feedback may have been deserved. But,
wait a second! The auction had just ended!
Within minutes (perhaps seconds) of the auction`s end,
I was being awarded negative feedback. Not only did I
not receive any chance to fulfill the order or to right
any wrong that I may have committed, I also received an
e-mail from the perpetrator threatening to have me
suspended from eBay if I didn`t meet certain demands.
This wasn`t fair! Obviously, I had been victimized by
an online bully. (You would honestly think that people
had more productive things to do with their time.)
What could I do about it? I e-mailed eBay and told
them my story. I mentioned how libel was a cause for
civil action. I forwarded to them the e-mail extorting
me. Extortion is a criminal offense.
Happily, eBay took action. The negative feedback that
appeared on my member profile was almost immediately
removed. eBay also took disciplinary action against
the suspected abuser.
Yes, it took extra time and effort to deal with the
problem, but isn`t your reputation worth it?
J. Stephen Pope, President of Pope Consulting Inc.,
http://www.popeconsultinginc.com/ has been helping
clients to earn maximum business profits for over
twenty-five years.
For valuable Work at Home Small Business Ideas,
visit: http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/
In the world of online auctions, the title is the only way to get more traffic. Traffic equals more bids, more bids equals more money. Sellers who want the most money from eBay will need to learn how to write a good title.
Statistically speaking, the vast majority of bidders will find your auction by searching for it. The search is the primary interface on eBay, and the first step to getting customers. When a user searches for an item, say xyz, all auctions with xyz in the title will show up. Keep in mind that auctions with yzx or x y z will not be there. Each term the users puts in the search (xyz for example) should therefore be included in our title if we want to get the most bidders. More bidders makes for a higher final sale price, and that is what we are aiming for.
This means that you must, no matter what, include as many potential keywords as possible. In order to perfect these keywords we need to first pretend we are a buyer. Particularly, a buyer who would be interested in your auction. You should decide what search terms you would use to find the item. Start writing down a list of all potential search terms. When you feel that this list is fairly complete, we can move on to picking which terms to include in the title.
eBay limits the length of the title to 55 characters, so we have to choose each word very carefully. Deciding which keywords, or search terms, to include can be a daunting process. Luckily for us, there are probably a lot of other people who have sold the exact same item. Why is this a good thing? Because we can search for completed auctions.
Pick a keyword that describes your item and search for it on eBay: you will be presented with a list of items. Now, on the lower left navigation bar select “Search Completed Items.” This will bring up a new list of auctions that have already ended. There will most likely be a lot of different items showing up, so you now want to refine your search to the point that only the exact product that you are selling shows up. Once that is finished, go to the top of the results. Click on the button that will sort items by price - with the highest prices at the top. What you’ve just done is created yourself a list of titles, with the ones that work best on the top. Compare the best titles with your keywords, and information about your item specifically (e.g. condition, color), and combine it all into a single line of keywords.
Undoubtedly, there will be more words then space to type them in. This is a challenge that happens with nearly every product or item that is listed on eBay. The key to winning out over the other auctions, and making more money, is to check your keywords over and over again. Keep looking at the completed auctions, you must learn to pick the ‘hot’ or ‘best’ keywords for your item. If you have narrowed your title down to the best search terms and it is all under 55 characters - then you are finished! Post your item for sale and watch as the price magically surpasses all of the other items in the category.
Mason Hipp is an eBay PowerSeller and a regular contributer to www.selladeal.com To read more articles by Mason, please visit www.selladeal.com/guides
When my voice mail system recently gave up the ghost, I discovered that the equipment I had been using has not been manufactured in years, and no one makes anything quite like it.
After learning more than I really wanted to know about phone and voice mail systems, I narrowed my decision to two systems. One seemed to be a better choice, and was even less expensive than the other. However, when it came time to place the order I got nervous. The manufacturer seemed less ‘corporate’ and not as well established as the maker of the other system. I started wondering if paying the higher price was the safer thing to do, rather than dealing with a lesser-known company. Would my credit card information be secure? Would the company provide a quality product, and would they stand behind it?
The factor that won me over was eBay. Although I was not shopping for their products on eBay, it turns out that this company sells a lot on eBay, and their feedback score is 100%. Of course, the raw number isn’t enough to go on. They have enough ratings that the feedback score appears to be genuine, the feedback comes from many users with established feedback scores, and the feedback is primarily for selling the type of product I was planning to buy.
eBay had a great idea when they came up with feedback scores. While a good feedback score is not a guarantee that you will be happy with your transaction, it is a good indicator. In this case, even though I wasn’t planning to buy on eBay, the fact that this merchant had good feedback there gave me the confidence I needed to do business with them.
Positive feedback from eBay customers is just one way you can build credibility and create trust in the online community. The more confidence your customers have in you, the easier it will be to get their business.
Copyright Cathy Stucker. As the IdeaLady, Cathy Stucker helps authors, entrepreneurs and professionals attract customers and make themselves famous. To learn more about marketing and get free marketing tips, visit Cathy at http://www.IdeaLady.com/
Basic Paper Piecing Tips
Here are some tips that will help you create paper piecings that will sell!
Save some time by eliminating the “tracing” of patterns. Take your pattern, lay it
over your cardstock and use your stylus to “trace” it onto your cardstock. You won’t
need a light box or copier for this and you can re-use your patterns again and
again.
Use the Fiskars soft-tip micro-touch ones. They have an ultra fine tip that will allow
you to get into small spaces and make precision cuts. You should also try to move
your paper around instead of moving the scissors. This will allow you to cut a
smooth and even line.
Sets that have more than one matching piece do better than a stand alone paper
piecing. Even a title or matching smaller accent piece of paper helps! Other things
that help are matching tags, journaling boxes, corners, borders, or stickers.
Learn how to do details. Invest in a very thin tipped black pen and a white gel pen to
add detail to your pieces.
Use lots of shading on your paper piecings. Shade with chalk - use the teenie tiny
pompoms with hemostates to hold the pompom to do your chalking and shading in
small places. Take a look at some tole books to learn how to create proper shading
on your sets. Practice shading techniques by taking a household object and shining
a light on it. Note where the shadows and highlights are. Move the light and see
how the shading changes.
Make your paper piecings special or unique. Try to use the latest scrapbooking
trends in new and unusual ways.
Pay attention to color schemes. Invest in a color wheel and earn how to use it.
Organize Your Paper Piecings
Use a set of drawers, page protectors or other filing system to keep track of all of
your paper piecings. Separate them by:
(1) paper piecings that have been bid on/sold but not sent out
(2) paper piecings that have not been sold
(3) paper piecings in progress
You can also have them packed and ready to ship as you list You may need to
combine some paper piecings for a customer that wins multiple pieces, but the
packing is already done and makes shipping go faster!
Setting Up An Accounting and Tracking System
Having a detailed and organized accounting system is essential for a paper piecing
business.
Set up a three-ring binder, index card, folder, spreadsheet or file system that
includes the following information for each auction:
Title (you may want to place a printed copy of the paper piecing along with the
information)
Date Listed
Starting Bid
Date Sold
Final Bid
Winning Bidders Information:
E-mail
Ebay ID
Name
Address
Fees:
Ebay
Postage
Insurance
Packaging
Total Due
Total Profit
1st notice sent
2nd notice sent
3rd notice sent
Form of payment
Payment received date
Date PP sent to buyer
Notice that it was sent
Give feedback
Receive feedback
Other bidders
Spruce Up Your Auctions With Basic HTML
Basic HTML is easy to learn and can really make a difference in the appearance of
your auctions. Go to http://www.lissaexplains.com/html.shtml and learn some
HTML information that you can use in your auction description box. You can type up
a “template” using HTML in Word or WordPad and just “fill in the blanks” each time
you want to list a new auction. This saves a lot of time.
Advertising Your Auction
Don’t count on your auctions to advertise themselves! Create an email list and ask
every customer if they would like to be notified when you list new auctions. Repeat
customers will become some of your best customers.
Keep your email addresses grouped in your address book on your computer and
send using the “BCC” so that you are not revealing their email address to everyone
else.
When you list new auctions, just send out a short email letting them know what you
have listed and include a link to your listings page.
You can also send out advertisements on scrapbooking related “groups” or email
lists. You can do a search on Yahoogroups.com, the MSN groups or any other email
list to find scrapbooking groups. Email the list owner to find out what their policies
are regarding ads. A lot of lists allow ads to be placed once a week.
There are also “For Sale and Trade” message boards at scrapbooking sites that you
can advertise at. I don’t recommend advertising on regular message boards, though,
because most of them don’t allow it and it will really get everyone upset!
Accepting and Pricing Custom Orders
You’ve got QUESTIONS?
“I was just asked if I could do a Custom of one of my PP’s for a person that lost out
on the bid. How would I charge someone for something like that?”
We’ve got ANSWERS!
You should try to charge right around the same price of the ended auction. Maybe a
few dollars short of that. Only do this if you are satisfied with the ending bid price.
If the price was too low, feel free to quote a higher price for your work.
Be sure to make it worth your time and effort. Don’t sell yourself too cheaply!
Here is a form letter you can use to reply to custom requests:
“Hello! Thank you so much for you interest in placing a custom order for XXXXXXX. I
would be willing to make this paper piecing for you for $XXXX plus $XXX for
shipping. Please note that insurance is optional and would cost an additional $XXX.
Custom orders may be slightly different than the set you have seen because these
items are handmade. Colors may vary slightly also, but I always attempt to get as
close to the original as I can.
Please be advised that I am currently allowing XXX weeks for any custom orders.
You can pay for this order using PayPal, check or money order.
Please respond to this email to let me know if you still want to order this set.
Include your name, address and any special instructions for the paper piecing.
Thanks again for your interest!”
Providing Good Customer Service
Working with customers through online auction sites is the same as working with
any other type of customer. Do your best to provide good customer service. If
somebody isn?t pleased with an item that they receive, do your best to replace the
item or refund the money.
You may want to offer incentive programs to repeat winners. You could offer a
discount after so many wins or even offer to do a free paper piecing after the person
wins X amount of your auctions.
Always answer emails in a timely manner, ship items as soon as you receive
payment and be polite in all of your correspondence.
Copyright © 2002 Antuanette Wheeler
http://www.misstonigifts.com
Miss Toni Gifts started out as a small pin sales site and blossomed over the last few
years into a pin/bookmark combo design business.
We are three women who have known each other forever. We have all been involved
in scouting, scrapbooking and general arts and crafts for a LONG time. This is really
a family affair because Glenda is the Mom, Toni is the daughter, and Missy is a
friend for over 20 years!
