eBay options

The auction business is so “hot” that there are auction sites all over the Net. If
you want to find them for yourself, there are three methods…
The most obvious way is go to a few of the major Search Engines and type
in “auction sites” and you will find listings that will keep you busy for hours,days and weeks.

The truth of the matter is that most of these auction sites are absolutely
worthless, if your only objective is to make money. However, they can be
wonderful for increasing your auction knowledge, doing comparison shopping
and/or providing entertainment.
Many people are lured by the huge profits of eBay and other big sites and they
believe, sadly, that all they have to do is set up an auction and wait for the
millions to roll in. If you want to maximize your returns, you have to choose
your sites carefully.
There are problems with the huge sites, including eBay. It has far and away
the largest amount of merchandise and the most action. But as a veteran, I can
state that undeniably it is tougher to sell on eBay than it used to be, simply
because of eBay’s growing size.
Buying and selling items on online auctions should be fun, easy and safe. Online auction sites should be easy to navigate, provide a wide selection of categories and subcategories, several custom selling options and a straightforward feedback forum.

Additionally, detail pages should disclose all information about the item and the auction including pictures, descriptions, bid history and information about the seller.


The following are the criteria TopTenReviews used to evaluate online auction sites:
-User Base – While more sellers does increase competition, it also means more potential bidders, better bargains, and more options. For online auctions, bigger is better. The User Base score is determined by how many members the service has and how many items are up for auction on average.
-Fees – Sellers want to make the most of their auction listings without paying extra fees. Some online auction services charge registration fees, listing fees, and/or final value fees. The ideal for sellers is to pay no listing fees, but sometimes a few extra dollars in fees goes a long way in selling potential.
-Selling – Sellers should have a large amount of control over their items. They should have the opportunity to block bidders, choose their own listing and category and disclose all information about the item in the details page. The auction site should also provide tools to assist in listing and selling products as well as managing personal product inventory. This may include features like editing images, adding item descriptions and canceling bids.
-Buying – Finding what you're looking for should be fun and easy. Online auction sites should provide resources and tools to help users find and bid with confidence. The auction site should also provide helpful information about the products and help the bidders feel safe. Some sites provide mobile features and other customizable options to further advance browsing, bidding, and buying.
-Reliability/Security – Helping buyers and sellers feel safe is important for online auction services. Sellers should have control over their auctions and bidders should have assurance that they're buying from a reputable source. Most online auction sites utilize a feedback system where sellers and buyers can rate each other based on transaction experiences. Checking out a user's feedback helps potential bidders and sellers evaluate other members' reputation and credibility.
-Help/Support – Auction services should provide receptive and comprehensive customer support through several methods including email, live chat, telephone and FAQs.

Never make these mistakes

Misspelled keywords in the auction title essentially eliminate the buyer and seller equilibrium usually inherent in eBay. Because the vast majority of prospective eBay buyers find their item by typing in keywords into the eBay search form, such spellings errors have the potential to make or break the final sale. However, due to the sheer size of the eBay marketplace, even such spelling error bargains are bound to be snapped up eventually, but there are simply more spelling mistake and eBay typo deals to be had than that with correctly spelled and properly placed auctions ads.

It isn’t comfortable to single out sellers and point out their mistakes. But you need to know what not to do to maximize auction income. Sometimes, the most awful listings are swamped with bids -- just because the deal is so good. Nevertheless, the more professional you are, the better you will play the game. Making careless and pointless errors isn’t very productive.

Some common mistakes are:-

1) Not giving your photos proper attention. There are two common mistakes people make. One is not having enough pictures to accompany your item’s description. Multiple pictures from various angles will ALWAYS help you get higher bids for your products. The second mistake is not making sure the pictures are up and running

2) Not maintaining the correctness in your listings. For e.g. if you give a link for your home do make sure that the site has a 100% uptime. If you have a link to other auctions do make sure that they are there and remove the link if it is’nt.

3) Using flashy listings or a one that uses all kinds of flashing animation, multicolored text and other bells and whistles in an attempt to entice bidders. In fact, listings like these are distracting, hard to read, and will always discourage people from bidding, resulting in a lower final sales price.

4) Listing an item at the wrong time. It’s found that more buyers browse Internet auction sites on Sunday evenings than any other time during the week. Your auction should be scheduled to end at Sunday evenings (specifically between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m.).

Here are a few steps to avoid online auction description mistakes.

1. Don't assume the buyer understands what you want them to understand with a picture. The adage "a picture is worth a thousand words" comes with as many stories of why this saying isn't always accurate. A picture can be doctored, it can be dark and it can be dismal. A buyer cannot make up the description that is lacking simply by viewing your pictures. Even stellar sets of photos with arrows to features cannot ever make up for a good, solid description. To help allay a buyer's fears and assumptions, avoid relying on the pictures alone and definitely avoid using such cop-out terms as:
• As is
• Item as pictured
• Item purchased in condition seen
2. Don't be lazy. No matter whether you are a one-time seller or a full-time seller, you need to take the time to detail the key points about the item you are selling. If you don't do this, then perhaps the local pawnshop is a better bet for you. A description of key elements will help the buyer assess readily whether or not this sale is worth pursuing and if your item is the one that beats the other similar items hands down. There is no need to make it overly long or flowery but there is a need to make clear, concise statements about the elements of the item that matter. Then use the photos or illustrations to back up your written points.
3. Avoid using subjective language. Nobody really cares if you think this item is the best thing since sliced bread. Buyers in Wagga don't know sellers in Oregon from a bar of soap, so why should they trust your say-so that "this item is the best thing anywhere in the world." Unless you've travelled all over the world examining this item in great detail, you really don't have a leg to stand on making such a broadsweeping statement. If you have done so, state such along with your business or professional qualifications!
4. Don't overstate the value or rarity. There is a bizarre tendency for enthusiastic amateur sellers to believe that they are holding the only stock of its kind in their collection because they don't take the time to look further afield and some even don't bother to look on the online auction site itself for duplicates! Avoid such lines as "there's no better deals anywhere else" or "this is rare and it's unlikely you'll find another one anywhere". That is just an invitation to go and find another one and the more a buyer turns up, the lower on the list goes yours. Stick to factual statements, such as it's in excellent condition for its age, it is brand new, it is less than cost price in "insert your" region, has no foxing, is still in original box etc. Factual statements those are things buyers do want to know when comparing apples with apples and can often check.
5. Do not be ambiguous. When you leave things out or you use euphemistic language, you do your sale and your buyer an injustice. One of two things can happen with ambiguous language: the buyer may buy and then be angry or disappointed when they assumed things arising out of the unclear description and leave you poor feedback. Or, the item won't sell because savvy buyers haven't a clue what you're getting at. Again, be clear, concise and straightforward in your description. If the item has bad points, be honest; this will enable buyers to pay a price reflecting the problem whilst accepting it and it may even be a problem that is easily remedied or is outweighed by rarity or uniqueness.
6. Never stoop to criticising anybody else. Whether it be other online sellers, or stores, or a non-paying bidder just do not do it. It is poor taste, it reflects badly on you and it is often untrue because you just do not know the full story behind what other sellers or buyers are doing and this could land you in hot water with them, let alone putting off future buyers. Buyers don't like a bad sport and the more negativity written into a sale, the more a buyer will be hesitant, even if only subconsciously. Friendly, open and welcoming language without being condescending or deriding of others is what makes for the best read on an auction page.
7. Avoid auction fatigue by listing lots. If part of your despair at writing descriptions is due to trying to list single items that would be better sold as batches (for example, knitting patterns, used stamps, baby's bibs etc.), then don't hesitate to do so and to put your writing efforts into fully describing the lot and explaining the bargain being received by the buyer in getting a lot rather than a single item. This can be a very helpful way for buyers who have accumulated too many items in a burst of enthusiastic collecting.

Auctioning Professional Services

Selling services online is much easier than selling physical products. Services can be sold and delivered without any warehousing or shipping costs. All the benefits that a website affords (e.g. worldwide audience, easily updatable information,interactivity, etc.) and none of the drawbacks.
Products are definitely the overwhelming majority of what is sold on the auction sites. But there are a few services that are auctioned as well. So if your business involves some sort of service, an auction is a very feasible option to consider. Use the auctions to promote features of your services.

The following are the few reasons for selling services online:-
1) Save time - Time is the most precious commodity in our society. Many
busy people will pay exorbitant amounts of money for services.

2) Supply specialized service - Sometimes a particular service is sought-after because it is so specialized that the customer doesn’t have the skills required to do it.

3)Cost effectiveness - You can advertise for 10 days, reach an audience of millions and only pay a small fees. Your auction start price could be your minimum hourly rate that you generally have.


You can have your picture, email address, phone number and a list of services. You can also list your teaching qualifications, membership of teaching organisations.
Lawyers can auction legal services, teachers can auction classes, artists can auction their painting services, writers can auction their writing talents. Keep the auctions on for as long as possible and your talents will be advertised to millions of people every day for a small fee. Compare that to what you would pay for a newspaper advert. Plus not as many people will see it because the paper's readership will be limited. eBay, on the other hand, is international and it is cheap.

There are restrictions though. For a start, you can't provide links to any external Web sites that offer services for sale outside eBay. You must also not misrepresent yourself, exaggerate your experience or promise things you can't deliver. You must also not imply to eBay visitors that they shouldn't bid on your auction, but should, instead, contact you for private arrangements. That is a definite no-no, and auctions have been stopped for breaking these rules. eBay also has a policy on "choice auctions" that says that you cannot offer customers a choice of goods in the auction. However, you can customize or tailor the product to the customer's requirements. If someone bids for my teaching services, then they are buying my time. What they want to do in that time is up to them.
Many big companies are turning to eBay these days. If you have a talent they want, they could be getting in touch with you very soon.

Other Profitable Options

There are some other situations where Net auctions do a sensational job in
promoting and building a business.

- Import/Export Business -- The import and/or export business is
wonderful for auctions. You are dealing with unique merchandise that is not
widely distributed. Remember, people are willing to pay more for something
that is exclusive.
If you have ties to suppliers in other countries, there is a wealth of merchandise
that would make perfect niche products to sell in your country. And there are all kinds of folks from other parts of the world looking for someone to represent their products outside their home countries. Of course, the import/export business has its own rules like everything else and it is necessary to know what you are doing before you rush into it.

The following information could be useful for offline as well online help for citizens of various countries.

For U.S. citizens:-
-United States Chamber of Commerce, 202-463-5460
-U S Trade Information Center, 800-872-8723, h ttp://www.ita.doc.gov/tic
-World Trade Centers Association, 1 World Trade Center, Suite 7701, New
York, NY, 212-432-2626

For Indian citizens:-
-Export Inspection Agency-Mumbai (Head Office)
Aman Chambers - 4th Floor,
113, Maharshi Karve Road,
Mumbai - 400 004.
Tel: 022 - 2363 0311 / 2363 0312 / 2363 0113
Fax: 022 - 2368 3927
E – mail: eiabombay@eicindia.org

For UK citizens:-
General enquiries: +44 (0)20 7008 1500
+44 (0)20 7215 8000
or by Minicom on +44 (0)20 7215 2471, 9.00am - 5.30pm, Monday to Friday.
Online enquiry:-https://www.uktradeinvest.gov.uk/ukti/appmanager/ukti/home?_nfls=false&_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=contact_us


For Australian citizens:-
-Customs Information and support centre
telephone: 1300 363 263
email: information@customs.gov.au
internet: www.customs.gov.au
-Foreign affairs and trade, Department of
International Law and transnational crime section
telephone: 02 6261 1111 fax: 02 6261 3111
email: sanctions@dfat.gov.au
internet: www.dfat.gov.au

For Canadian citizens:-
Export News, Canadian Exporters Association, 99 Bank Street, Suite 250,
Ottawa, Ontario, K1P 6B9, 613-238-8888


- Advertising your products
Say you have a site where you want to promote yourself as a professional or sell some service which can’t be done at eBay. If you go for advertising in a famous magazine or even newspaper, daily advertising will definitely be more than that of a listing cost at eBay.
What you can do is list an infoproduct to promote your business. List it for a very low cost, with some useful help guide in it(so that the buyer has some satisfaction of buying it afterall.). You have to list it at a price since auction sites do require you to list goods at a price.
Develop your whole promotion plan to pull target customer traffic in both
directions -- from auction listing to Web site and from Web site to auction listing.

Excess Inventory

Many retail stores have a problem if they have excess inventory in stock at a
certain time of year. When either their fiscal or calendar year ends, they must
pay taxes on these unsold items. If you can sell this merchandise for them, you
are providing an appreciated service.

Off-price retailers (those that sell at discount rates) sell clothing and accessories from major-label brands at a significant discount. These companies take advantage of overruns, canceled orders, and forecasting mistakes made by their counter-parts in the full-price retail sector. When a major designer produces more clothing than it can sell through specialty retailers or department stores, or a store can't move all of the items in a particular line, the excess inventory is sold at a 20%-60% discount to an off-price retailer. The company passes these savings onto consumers, marking up goods by a lower percentage than full-price stores and instead building their operating margins by moving a high volume of inventory quickly, at rock-bottom prices.
Off-price companies serve a special niche in the retail industry, capitalizing on volatility in consumer demand and mistakes made by designers and full-price retail outlets to keep their stores stocked with new low-price products. It is the unpredictability of the market, and the inability of designers and retail stores to perfectly predict consumer demand, that create excess inventories for off-price consumption. While a specialty retail or department store must rely on fashion trends and innovative product designs to drive profits, an off-price retailer depends instead on its ability to move high volumes of goods quickly, and on its relationships with designers and distributors who provide the low-cost inventory on which its stores depend. Off-price companies rely on extremely lean cost structures, using their scale along with sophisticated systems and distribution infrastructure to maximize productivity while maintaining the lowest possible prices for consumers.
Merchandise bought at less than regular wholesale prices & sold at less than retail; often-leftover goods, overruns and irregulars obtained at reduced prices from manufacturers or other retailers. Factory outlets are owned and operated by manufacturers and normally carry the manufacturer's surplus, discontinued or irregular goods.
Example: Mikasa(dinnerware), Dexter (shoes). Independent off-price retailers are owned & run by entrepreneurs or by divisions of larger retail corporations.
Example: T.J.Maxx, Filene's Basement. Warehouse clubs (or wholesale clubs) sell a limited selection of brand name grocery items, appliances, clothing and other goods sold at deep discounts to members who pay an annual membership fees. Warehouse clubs serve small businesses & group members from government agencies, nonprofit organizations and some large corporations. They operate in huge, low-overhead, warehouse like facilities & offer few frills.They offer rock bottom prices- typically 20% to 40% below super market and discount stores prices but make no home deliveries and accept no credit cards.
Example: Sam's Clubs, Max Clubs.
These are one source of acquiring low cost goods.
Another way to find them is to use the Yellow Pages and send letters to stores that sell merchandise in your niche. You can go directly to the stores and talk with the manager or owner. Or you can put ads in trade magazines and newspapers.

There are online sites for the same as well like:-
http://www.closeoutsavailable.com/
http://www.costplus.com/
http://www.colesmyer.com/

Charity Auctions

Charity auctions are a great excuse for a media fest. And, by extension, they
are great publicity opportunities for your auction business. Local media
love interesting, colorful local stories and an Internet charity auction is
definitely different.

eBay for Charity is an easy way for buyers and sellers on eBay to support their favourite charities. Buyers can shop for items knowing they’re supporting a good cause, be it an everyday bargain or a special auction. Sellers, whether they’re individuals or businesses, can donate a percentage from any sale to a charity of their choice and add Gift Aid to their donations. Charities can also sell their own items directly on eBay.co.uk.

In addition, all eBay for Charity items will qualify for a fee credit on basic insertion and final value fees equal to the percentage donated.
When you’re selling, the real beauty of eBay for Charity is that there’s something for everyone - yourself included. You decide exactly what percentage of your final selling price you’d like to give to charity (that’s good causes sorted), and what percentage you’d like for yourself (that’s you sorted). You also get to choose which charity you’d like to support.

It's seen by everyone

eBay for Charity listings are the same as any other eBay listing, except for the blue and yellow eBay for Charity ribbon in search results and your chosen charity’s mission statement and logo in your listing. This means your listing can be seen by everyone who searches through eBay.co.uk. It’ll also get extra visibility through the eBay for Charity pages.
It’s the perfect way to make a difference – while doing what you do every day on eBay, whether you're a fishing enthusiast selling angling gear or a big business trading electronics.
Go to http://pages.ebay.com/charity and you will see the huge number of
charity auctions that are on the sites. If you would like to make money this way,
you can arrange these auctions - and handle the details - for various groups
who have never considered this idea and don’t have the expertise to handle it.
You make your profit by charging a certain percentage of the total revenue.
If this type of auction business appeals to you, specialize in handling auctions
for all kinds of groups. You can stage charity auctions for schools, athletic
organizations and church groups, as well as regular charitable causes.

Here are the steps on eBay for creating a charity auction.
1) Get approval from eBay for your organization or cause. They also will
require some information at the time of the auction such as the name of a
contact person, a brief synopsis of your organization and examples of items
you would like to list.

2) Create an “About Me” page, explaining your organization and what it does.
The only difference between your auction page and your personal page is that
you should change Feedback to “Show no feedback” and change “Items for
Sale” to “Show all items.” eBay further suggests that you may want to include
your logo for your organization at the top of your About Me page.

3) Have e-Bay link your listings to the “Charity page” which gets a lot of
attention.

The 1-2-3 of selling for charity
1)Once you’re ready to sell your item, go to the Sell hub and select ‘Advanced Sell’. If you're stuck, you can get some tips on how to list

2)As you’re filling out the details, look out for the charity box just below where you set your price. Select a charity to support and the percentage (10%-100%) of your final selling price that you'd like to donate. Note: There is a minimum donation per listing.

3)A week after your item sells, MissionFish (eBay's charity partner) will automatically collect the donation from you. You can also manage your donations through the 'My Donations' section of My eBay, under the My Account tab. Any fee credits will appear on your next invoice.

If you are really ambitious, you can often find celebrities who will participate by donating items, their name or their time.

Sell high value goods

Generally sellers followed the business model of high volume/low price. With that particular approach, the seller must sell large quantity of items to make a substantial income.
You can become a low volume seller, the one who specializes in very
expensive items. That does not necessarily mean, however, that those
thousands of dollars invested in merchandise are coming out of your pocket as
the seller. The safest way to sell high-end items is to sell merchandise that
belongs to other people.
Certainly, if you find something that you recognize as an awesome bargain
and you are an experienced trader, then go for it and buy the expensive item
with your own money. But that is a long way off for the smart auction seller.
Never, never, never do this until you are experienced, very experienced!

Here I can give you a brief as how to find vehicles at a bargain. First of all you need to find these vehicles. Obviously, you don’t want to talk to the dealers. You are interested in individuals, not professionals. So take your detective skills and search. Newspapers and Specialty Magazines are another source. Another approach is to pay attention as you drive around. Private citizens park cars in mall parking lots, on busy streets and all kinds of public and private spots with “For Sale By Owner” signs on them. And of course there are online options as well.


Since you could source your products online and thus you could be a buyer, the following could be some basic guidelines for making safe online high cost purchases:-

-Don't buy based on price alone. We all know that if the price is too good to be true, it probably is. Not all knockoffs sell for cheap, however. High prices can add a sense of legitimacy, and many knockoff sellers know this. Just because the price is high doesn't mean it's authentic.

- See to it that the seller has a return policy, or ensure that they use a buyer protection program like that of e-bay’s (refer to my previous post for details

-Read the fine print as well. Some auction sellers will lure you in with words that you're likely to search for like "Chanel" or "Gucci". Many sites also use words like -- "authentic," "genuine" and other enticing adjectives -- to describe their fashion items. It's only by reading carefully through the descriptions that you will see comments like "Inspired by..." to let you know that the merchandise isn't an exact copy

-Don’t trust pictures alone. If a seller shows only a few pictures, and won't share more, he might be illegitimate.

- Counterfeiters are one step ahead, and know how to fake packaging and ID cards. Recent reports have stated that counterfeiters are even buying fake receipts to prove authenticity.

Drop Shipping

Drop shipping is a supply chain management technique in which the retailer does not keep goods in stock, but instead transfers customer orders and shipment details to wholesalers, who then ship the goods directly to the customer. The retailers make their profit on the difference between the wholesale and retail price.
Some drop shipping retailers may keep "show" items on display in stores, so that customers can inspect an item similar to those that they can purchase. Other retailers may provide only a catalogue or website.
Retailers that drop ship merchandise from wholesalers may take measures to hide this fact to avoid any stigma, or to keep the wholesale source from becoming widely known. This can be effected by "blind shipping" (shipping merchandise without a return address), or "private label shipping" (having merchandise shipped from the wholesaler with a return address customized to the retailer). A customized packing slip may also be included by the wholesaler, indicating the retailer's company name, logo, and/or contact information.

Many auction sellers are surprised to find out they can sell merchandise they
don’t own, may never see and best of all, definitely don’t have to ship. There
are many companies who will drop ship items for you.

Drop ship is a sales strategy used by many businesses, especially small companies.
These are often the companies who can’t afford ads.
They don’t have a large sales staff and they can’t afford large spreads in national magazines. Therefore, they will sell merchandise at reduced prices to small buyers like us. We act as their unofficial sales people.

It’s a win-win situation. The company sells more merchandise than they could
ordinarily sell. Your Net auction business wins because
1) You don’t have any financial investment in the goods you are selling. If
the merchandise sells on the auction you receive payment from your buyer and
send part of the money to the company. Most of them will mail to your
customer with your mailing label on the box. If the merchandise doesn’t sell,
you have not risked your money and have no capital tied up in merchandise.
2) You do not need to bother with the shipping and handling of these
items. You are free to pursue your real love -- finding exciting and salable
goods.
3) Many of these companies have professionally created catalogs and/or
pictures that you can use on your auction site. The quality may exceed that
which you can achieve with your own camera or scanner.
4) There are no goods to store. This can be a huge advantage.
5) This works best with higher-priced items. If you are going to sell 50
widgets at Rs.100 each, you are either going to have to take possession of them
and mail them yourself, or you are going to have to pay a gruesomely
expensive shipping charge to your supplier.

Some of the drop sites can be found at :-
http://www.dropshipsites.com/

Caution: There is a caveat to all this. Not all drop shippers are real and some of it might be pure scams. Normally it is found that online drop shippers belong to this category, but not all of them. To find a real drop shippers, don't use search engines. Instead, find a broker who has list of real drop shippers.

Here are the important points.
i) I didn’t ship anything! My distributor handled all that for me and I didn’t have
to bother with it at all.
ii) The company guaranteed it for 30 days so I didn’t have to concern myself
with that part, either.
iii) I risked no money at all, except for the fee that I paid eBay for my listing.
The great part was that most of my customers paid me through PayPal.
iv) It was so convenient and quick. I ordered my customer’s product right
online. There was an account sheet that was created especially for me,
complete with ID and password so that no one else could access it. I then sent
an e-mail copy of the order to my customer so that they felt comfortable that
they would soon receive their merchandise.
v) There was no extra work to repeat the auction indefinitely. I spent
approximately half an hour creating an ad, and I just re-submitted the same ad,
again and again.

So there you are with the various ways of sourcing and selling goods online.

Finding bargain merchandise to sell

Having a successful online business depends greatly on offering the right product, at the right time. Before you buy wholesale merchandise for your store, try to visit a competitor or a store selling a product line similar to what you plan to sell. Browse the store's product selection, making a mental note of the brands they carry. t price, at the right time. Bargain merchandise might be worth a fortune to someone else.
When things don’t sell at garage sales, they often get donated to charity for a tax write-off. Some people just prefer to skip the hassle of selling their throwaways and take the tax deduction. The charity then sells the goods in its thrift shop to fund its programs
There are many, many small auction sites that have very little traffic. If you are following the prices in your chosen niches, you can sometimes find products on these sites and sell them for a profit on the biggies like eBay, Amazon and Yahoo.
There are many people who sell goods who have absolutely no idea what their merchandise is worth. Ads in specialized magazines can be a gold mine.

Choosing a Vendor
Once you've located several sources of products, evaluate each vendor on a variety of factors. The following could be the factors to consider
• Price
• Location
• Shipping Options
• Shipping Costs
• Customer Service
• Terms of Sale
• Returned Merchandise

You may have heard of factory outlets, bargain shops, factory stores, or discount shops, which are all outlet shopping stores. The idea is for the retailer to offload as much out of date, refunded or excess stock at a very low price. There are more than two hundred of these stores in the US alone. Sometimes you will only be required to pay 20% of the original retail price!

There are pessimistic individuals who contend that there are no bargains to be
had at flea markets. Yet there are Net auction sellers who regularly make six figure
incomes just from flea markets. (Maybe they’re the ones who start these
no-bargain rumors!) The best bargains are found if you’re there at dawn or as
the dealers are packing up at the end of the day or weekend.

Outlet shopping is a great way to get items that are still vogue at a discounted price. Sometimes items are sold at 80% off retail price! There is an abundance of products only just out of season, and it can be a great way to shop for next years warm or cool weather clothes. If you are going on a holiday, outlet shopping could have what you need for the overseas climate your heading to. You can also pick up items that were refunded or repossessed for a fraction of the original prices.

Below are some of the links of sites that could serve as an information base.
Expomarket's shopping offers online shopping services, gift shopping, jewelry shopping, Handicrafts from india.
http://shopping.expomarkets.com

Tesco UK Online Price Check is a price comparison site that allows you to search and compare Tesco's supermarket prices against their competitors.
http://www.tesco.com/price_check_search/

An eBay search utility which allows auction searching by zip code, college campus, or major airport.
http://www.internetbargaincenter.com/

Canada Classifieds, buy and sell everything online. Fast, free and easy to use.
Buy and sell bargain used equipment used cars classifieds used deals car and auto bargain hardware bid auction buy and sell used good bargains yard sale garage
http://www.cdncc.com/

The yahoo web page given below has a host of links for bargain shopping and sites with related information.
http://in.dir.yahoo.com/Business_and_Economy/Shopping_and_Services/General_Merchandise/

Selling options

In any kind of trade there are basically 3 options for you to trade with respect to your goods.

1) Sell the merchandise you already own
2) Find bargain merchandise to sell
3) Drop ship

I will discuss these part by part in my posts. I’ll start with the first one.
The first, and easiest, way to begin your Internet auction career is to sell goods
that you already own. This is how most people begin and I certainly
recommend this way for the novice. Selling used merchandise has many advantages: It’s easy to come by, you don’t need to do much research to learn about it , since you either already own it or were able to purchase it for pennies on the dollar from others cleaning out their closets.
Time to clean out your own closets, attics and basements. Being passionate about or fascinated by a particular subject or product category will inspire you to learn as much as you can about it, making you a more savvy seller. Similarly, before you start selling, do some research to find out how much products generally sell for and not just on eBay. On eBay’s Sell page you’ll find a "How to Sell" video tutorial that will walk you through the selling process. You’ll also find several sections devoted to various aspects of selling: determining an item’s value, what’s selling well now, shipping rules and regulations, and other resources. One of those resources is advice from fellow eBay sellers, most of whom are more than willing to answer questions posed by newer users. eBay’s discussion boards are one place to get answers or feedback from experienced sellers


Apart from the above you have the following benefits.
1) You have access to millions of buyers. You can go beyond your
surrounding neighborhood.

2) There is no risk involved. You can try it out, see if you like it, and then
decide if it is a game you want to play. Do you know of any other business that
can be experienced in such a modest way? I certainly don’t.

More about the other 2 selling options in later posts.
Article Directory Online: Free Online Article Submission - Free Article Submission For Authors, Free Content for Publishers!
Free Submission Directory
SpotJockey Web Directory

Reporting Violations

Since auction sites can’t possibly monitor all the items they are selling, they
rely on the membership to help them.

Each site has its own rules for reporting behavior. The most advanced of these
is eBay’s VeRO (Verified Rights Owner) program. If you own “intellectual
property,” you can be a VeRO member. This means that if someone is using
your ad copy, your course information, your logo or copyrighted item, you can
do something about it.
Members of the VeRO program include hundreds of law enforcement officials
and representatives from companies who are very zealous in the protection of
their property. eBay doesn’t prosecute people but it will suspend them
permanently. Federal governments sometimes prosecute offenders.

eBay developed the Verified Rights Owner (VeRO) Program to facilitate cooperation between eBay and rights owners protecting their intellectual property rights.

How to report a listing to eBay

The following steps are for reporting a listing to eBay. Only the intellectual property rights owner can report potentially infringing items or listings through eBay's VeRO Program. If you are not the intellectual property rights owner, you can still help by getting in touch with the rights owner and encouraging them to contact us. For a list of rights owners who participate in our VeRO program, view the list of About Me Pages.

Step One:
If you have a good faith belief that a listing on eBay infringes your copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property rights, all you need to do is download our Notice of Claimed Infringement (NOCI) form, fill it out, and fax it to eBay. Download eBay's NOCI form
Note: You will need Adobe® Acrobat Reader to view and print our NOCI form. You can download a free copy at Adobe's Web site.

Step Two:
After we receive your first NOCI, eBay will send you an electronic version of our NOCI form as well as instructions on how to submit future reports electronically.

Step Three:
We encourage you to educate eBay users about your products and legal positions by creating an "About Me" page. We have found that many of our users cease listing potentially infringing items when presented with such information.

You can know more about the program at:-
http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/questions/vero-ended-item.html
http://pages.ebay.com/help/tp/programs-vero-ov.html
http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/compliant-listings.html

You can know more about reporting feedback at :-
http://pages.ebay.com/services/forum/feedback.html

You can report suspicious activity at :-
http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?LeaveFeedbackShow


If you mistakenly break the rules, chances are nothing will happen, if you can convince eBay that is was an honest mistake. But repeat offenders don’t receive the benefit of the doubt.

Evaluating your product

Valuing an antique or any other good often takes research and patience, and you still might not be able to count on selling an item for the determined value. As uncertain as valuing antiques may be, appraisers do value them every day of the week largely by looking at comparable values.

Items value can increase with a high price tag. Jump on a “hot” trend whenever possible. Good profits come when you catch a trend just when it is beginning.
There are many books and magazines to determine true value.
There are several reference options online as well like:-.
www.antique-antiques.com/evaluating-old-toys.shtml
http://antiquescentre.com/
http://www.collectingchannel.com/
http://www.toyfan.com/
http://www.worldcollectorsnet.com/cmart/

E-Bay itself provides a page for tips on evaluating antiques:-
http://pages.ebay.com/buy/guides/antiques-selling-guide/

Visiting online auctions to look up past results or logging on to a large online antique mall and searching the inventory for comparison pricing are two more convenient ways of assessing approximate value. You’ll want to keep in mind that online pricing can vary widely from dealer to dealer, and the price they’re asking for a piece might not equal the negotiated value when it eventually sells. And sometimes, especially with online auction results, prices reflect values far less than what dealers tend to ask in brick and mortar shops and at antiques shows. All these should act as a reference for your auction business, but the only thing that matters is what your buyers will pay for your merchandise.

However, if anyone who has ever auctioned antiques on eBay might have found, moving big-ticket items is rarely as easy or as profitable as it seems. Similarly, selling antiques through a dealer or an auction house, while perhaps more reliable, can get pricey when you factor in commissions, fees, and shipping. Buying can be expensive, too.

If your item is not bringing in the bids you expected, don't panic. Since many bidders wait until the last minute to bid (sniping) the price on a desirable item can double or even triple during the last few seconds of an auction. If a potential buyer makes you an offer via e-mail to end the auction early and sell the item to them outright, that's not a good idea either. It's not only against eBay's rules to skirt around paying ending item fees, you could be cheating yourself out of a high ending price by selling to someone making a lowball offer.

Shipping and handling charges can really increase up the cost you pass along to bidders. Consider charging only what it costs you to mail the item, and build in the cost of packaging and labor into your starting price instead. Bidders want to know how much they're going to have to pay to get their buys home before they bid. Some people will avoid auctions that don't explicitly state shipping charges up front.
If you specialize in certain items you can set up an email list to keep in touch with past bidders. Ask them before placing them on the list so your email won't be considered spam. Once you've compiled lists of people interested in your specialties, you can keep in touch with them weekly, bi-weekly or monthly to let them know when you've listed items they might be interested in viewing.

It’s also wise to keep in mind that common items sold in online auctions often bring lower values, sometimes even lower than wholesale, when compared to what you could ask for the same piece as an antique mall or show dealer. To get the most for an antique or collectible, selling directly to the secondary market consumer in an offline venue is usually the most lucrative method. There are exceptions, however. If you’re hawking a rare item or hot commodity, online sales can reach more buyers and usually bring in a higher price.

Remember that researching the best way to sell your items will be one last step in determining their ultimate value.

Bidding Abuses

Many auctioneers complain about snipping as illegal, but it isn’t. There are, however, bidding practices that are considered as illegal and can lead to expulsion from the site.

i) Bid siphoning – It is a practice where another seller outsells you. Suppose Jay is selling an item and the current price is Rs500. You email the bidders with the information that you have the same item and will sell it for Rs450, thus undercutting the seller.

ii) Fake bidding - It is quite common, although it may not be obvious to everyone.
In this the seller gets friends and relatives to bid on the item, either to increase the price or to prevent a sale at a too low price.
Suppose you want to sell an item for at least $500. You put your bidding price at Rs.50.
Then you get your friends and relatives to bid on the item.
The auction sites have no way of knowing whether the merchandise ever actually changed hands. If neither seller or buyer ever complain, they assume all is well.
This method is also used to increase the items visibility by making it a hot item and it receives a favored position at the very beginning of the category.

There are other things that are considered offensive like revealing any information other than e-mail addresses online, sending spam, giving wrong identity details. All these may attract suspension from the site.
Blurbosphere
ArticlesZones Directory - Free General Web Directory
Webwise directory - the best websites

Ways that you can be defrauded

There are really only three ways that you can be defrauded by a dishonest
buyer.

1) The buyer claims to have never received their items – To protect against
this possibility some sort of tracking system with any packages.
When the buyer wants a really cheap mailing option that doesn’t qualify for tracking, send him an e-mail stating that this is his risk, not yours. and save the e-mail.

2) Non payment of your merchandise cost- You can protect yourself from this
scam if you carefully choose your payment options. If you accept checks, allow time for the bank to clear them. Be sure to make it crystal clear to your buyers that this is your policy. Once the bank has informed you that the check is good, you are protected.

3) The buyer claims the merchandise was damaged - This issue is
the toughest to handle. Perhaps it really was damaged, in which case we have
an obligation to satisfy the buyer and then deal with the carrier.
Preventing fraud in this area depends on your guarantee.
With a more expensive item, you can take a photo of it, along with the
shipping label before you send it.

Your best protection is good records so that you can prove that you are
telling the truth. There are many more buyers defrauded than sellers so the
sympathy leans toward the buyer.
Add Site, Submit Site | Add Link, Submit Link to Web Directory

Irreconcilable Disagreements

Sometimes, it just isn’t possible to amicably settle a dispute. In that case, you
have several possible remedies. Just be aware that if the deal isn’t really a
major one, all veterans will strongly urge you to forget it.

Here are a few options:-
1) Formal Complaint with the site- Provide the facts. If it becomes a matter for law-enforcement agencies, the site may not notify you of the results.
The buyer or seller can become a NARU (Not a Registered User).
Unfortunately, unscrupulous people may simply re-register under a new name.
If it isn‘t a law-enforcement problem, you will be notified that customer service will contact you. This is a pretty overworked crowd and you may not hear from them for days.
The auction sites can’t compel someone to honor their agreement with you.
Their only course of action is to suspend the guilty part from the auction site
and hopefully from the auction business. Ultimately, auction sites are a
community, and like any small town, word gets around.

2) Insurance – You will have used an escrow service for any expensive items and thus eliminated your risk. Some of the sites themselves offer insurance but this is usually for buyers, not sellers. If you are careless enough to ship merchandise for which you have not been paid, you are on your own.
eBay has contracted an specialized service called Square Trade
(http://www.squaretrade.com /) to help resolve disputes between buyers
and sellers. It is a free Web-based forum which allows users to attempt to
resolve their differences on their own. You can file a complaint and Square
Trade will then contact the other party.
If you are dealing with a genuine crook, this system is of no use because they won’t abide by the results. On the other hand, this method is effective between two honest people who have simply become outraged with each other.
eBlogzilla
Go BlogZ
Ave Blogs
High PR Sites | High Page Rank Websites | Directory
Ablaze Directory

Disputes in online trading

In online trading, there are a few horror stories, and it is always smart to be prepared for the worst. The more business you do, the more likely you are to run into someone dishonest.

There could be some disputes where you think that the other party is wrong and he would think the same about you. The following are the few possibilities that could happen :-

1) The buyer doesn’t respond - First of all, don’t panic! There might be valid reasons why they have ignored you. Don’t rush out and give negative feedback about this buyer right away. Send the buyer a gentle reminder.

Mention him your last message and remind him that the auction site considers a bid a valid contract. Remind him that you have held up your part of the bargain and you expect him to do the same. Specify a date by which you expect payment.
If after a couple of weeks, you still haven’t heard from the buyer, the only recourse you have is to leave bad feedback on the buyer. Refuse to ever allow him to bid on your merchandise again.

Unfortunately, you will have to relist your item and start again or you can check the bids on your item and contact the second-highest bidder and ask if he is still interested in your merchandise.
When you post your feedback, be professional about it. Calling someone
horrible names and being really ugly does not serve your seller image at all. In
short, Mr. Bogus Buyer isn’t worth it!


2) A bad check - Earlier, we discussed the importance of deciding on the
method of payment in advance of your first auction. As you recall, you either
hold the check, or only accept money orders, or use a third party like PayPal.
Veteran sellers say that most often a bouncing check is just a mistake that the
embarrassed buyer will correct when it is pointed out. If you are uncomfortable with the risk, don’t assume it. And, of course, never ship a really expensive item until I was certain you had the money.

3) Damage If you send an item and when the buyer receives it, and it’s damaged, I urge you to take responsibility for this problem, rather than ignore it.
Unless you are selling a billion rupees item, your reputation as a professional and honest seller is much more important than a single item. It is best to either replace the item, if you have one, or refund the buyer’s money. You can then take your claim to your carrier.

Follow Up With Your Customer

After mailing your package, it is important to send your buyer a follow-up email.
For example…

Dear Ravi,
I received your money order today and therefore mailed
your package this morning. Your tracking number is 123456789 and
you can follow its progress at .
I am sending some positive feedback for you and would appreciate
you doing the same for me. Please let me know when your
package arrives. Thanks for a successful and happy transaction.

John

Some people think that this constant harping on follow-up and good customer
service is overkill. As long as you don’t get negative feedback, it doesn’t matter if the exchange is sloppy. However, for long term success, attention to detail is important.

Some sellers want to make money on shipping. But don’t try this with your customers because most buyers resent paying more than actual shipping charges and experienced ones may avoid your auctions altogether if your costs aren’t reasonable.