There are some online websites that allow you to sell digital goods online. One of them is Tradebit which offers merchants and publishers an eShop for selling their digital goods. The service is favoring its Publisher's account, which is tailored to meet the needs of self-publishers, including musicians, writers, amateur movie makers and others. The Publisher's service lets you upload and sell PDF, MP3, FLV, and several image formats including JPG, GIF and BMP. For those creating and selling in other formats, Tradebit provides details on free file conversion programs to help you get your goods into compatible formats.

To list and sell using Tradebit, you first must register on the Web site. After activating your account you can then start uploading your digital goods, , with a maximum file size per file of 2GB, through JAVA FTP, JAVA HTTP, Browser Upload or you can even use an FTP client. After the files have been uploaded, through your account dashboard you choose a category and also edit details of the item including thumbnail views, price, description, tags, and so on. After providing the details, you get the automatically generated PayPal button code that can be used on your own Web site.

If you create your upload as a public file and include a description, your product will also be listed in Tradebit directories which can help increase exposure to your online digital goods.

Using the Tradebit Publisher's account will send purchase payments directly to Tradebit, with your earnings deposited to your own PayPal account twice monthly. Sales generated through any Tradebit Web property will incur a 10 to 25 percent commission, with lower rates for higher volume and quality content sellers. When using your own Web space to sell your digital goods, the sale itself is free, with PayPal fees still applicable. The Publisher account also provides you with 99GB of storage.

Selling digital goods online

When selling digital goods online, most merchants tend to invest as much time and effort as those selling physical goods, but normally the overhead and start-up costs are significantly less, which is why e-goods are such a popular choice for auction-style listings and storefronts.

However, eBay vendors who sell digital goods are facing a dilemma: starting today they can no longer list their inventory in auctions, as the company employs a new policy stating that digital goods may only be sold in the classified ad format.

Fortunately, the Internet offers online sellers many choices for selling digital goods such as computer game items, custom-designed sewing patterns, e-books, digital images, music — anything that can be provided to the consumer in an electronic format. For eBay merchants and other online sellers looking for alternative places from which to sell digital goods, here are three online services available to you.

E-Commerce Site Checklist

If you have the opportunity to set up an E-commerce site the following outline could be used for setting it up:

1. Create an Online Plan
• Assess the opportunity and check out the competition
• Define vision and metrics of success
• Figure out the cost of doing business online
• Determine tasks and staffing needs
2. Establish your Merchandising Approach
• Inventory
• Merchandising focus
• Promotions plan
• Merchandising calendar
• Integrate across channels
3. Figure out the Moving Pieces: Logistics, Shipping, Fulfillment, Customer Service
• Set up a merchant account; establish payment method(s)
• Determine shipping options and policies
• Think about how you want to fulfill orders — in house or outsource
• Establish customer service policies and get toll-free number and email address
4. Select the Right Technologies
• Domain name
• Hosting service
• E-mail/list management
• E-commerce engine/platform/storefront
• Analytics & reporting tool
5. Develop the Web site
• Product photography
• Product copy
• Product tagging/attributes
• Site design
• Site search
• Online marketing program covering SEO, SEM, viral campaigns, online affiliations and public relations as well as online advertising.
6. Be Ready to Adjust

More about drop shipping-7

The "Secret" of Drop-Shipping Success
Launching an online store that uses drop-shipping to fulfill orders is comparatively easy. Hire a Web designer to build a site, post some photos and product descriptions from wholesalers, and — like magic — you're running an e-commerce site. But building that store and making it a real success are two different things. To attract actual paying customers, that store must offer far more than a selection of goods that shoppers can find elsewhere. The biggest mistake that small online sellers make is that, they forget the fact that they're a retailer and they need to add value, they need to market the product. As easy as it is to carry virtual inventory, it hasn't made it any easier to be a retailer in the sense that your job is to have a unique value proposition, a reason for somebody to buy from you. Anyone can post a photo of a glitzy new digital camera. But the best retailers in the world, they take that and say, 'I used this camera in my backpacking trip and it changed my life'. Other techniques that retailers use to establish a brand identity include offering a library of articles about their products, and hosting the opinions of industry experts. Customers respect retailers who have a deep understanding of the products they sell. Regardless of how you build your brand, leveraging the technology of drop-shipping can help you operate your business more efficiently. Just be sure to consider how inventory controlled, be sure the firm you hire has a proven track record of delivering goods and be sure it can accept your order protocol.

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Detecting Fraud
It's not often talked about in e-commerce but it's a huge problem: fraud. Unlike the face-to-face transactions in commercial storefronts (which also deal with credit card fraud), online transactions take place between two parties who don't know each other.

Some big e-tailers budget 2 to 3 percent for losses to fraud. But for small sellers working on razor-thin margins, that's not realistic.

Furthermore, drop-shipping adds a third party into the transaction. It's a little bit easier for people who are looking to be bad people to use the disadvantages of drop-shipping to defraud individuals.

Some companies go to the extent of covering up the transactions between the retailer and the other party, but this is an exception and not the rule.

More about drop shippers-5

Tight Margins
It's inexpensive to get started with drop-shipping. Some companies charge its retailers a monthly subscription fee, ranging from $30 to about $70, depending on the services required. But working with a drop-shipper is not a path to easy riches. For a retailer, drop-shipping typically provides smaller profit margins than if they carried actual inventory.

Given the nature of drop-shipping, these tight margins are to be expected. The supplier is taking all the risk and covering the expense of holding inventory, plus handling fulfillment and shipping. All the retailer does is post a photo and description of the item on their site.

Some companies can offer a better wholesale price for retailers because it aggregates the purchasing power of its many retailers to negotiate a competitive rate. Margins differ greatly among the many product categories, from consumer electronics to home and garden to camping equipment, and may even vary from product to product within a category. One notoriously slim-margined category is electronics. Overall, the margins vary from "10 percent to 90 percent," he says. But it's reasonable to assume the majority of products offer margins near the smaller end of that scale.

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There are some companies who handle drop-shipping for small and midsize retailers.

They handle all the communication for the retailers and the retailer doesn't need to know that supplier A is sending data in XML and supplier B is sending flat files that go to an FTP site, and supplier C just hired three people to manually do all the work."

The companies enable retailers to monitor suppliers' inventory levels, allowing sellers' sites to accurately (and quickly) reflect remote product offerings. With a few clicks of a button retailers can fire [a product] off to eBay or eBay Stores, and take the pictures and the descriptions from the supplier and leverage that to make it easier to list the product for sale to the consumer. (Although lookout for an eBay Certified Service Provider.) Retailers, of course, don't have to purchase the products before they post them - they owe nothing until a shopper actually buys them.

More about drop shipping-3

By the early 2000's, drop-shipping was no longer seen as a magic cure-all for every Internet retailing woe. Many retailers who were setting up shop online carried their own inventory, giving them a competitive advantage over virtual inventory sites. Plenty of businesses began viewing drop-shipping with a pronounced disdain.

Data Translation
Fortunately, the technology for carrying virtual inventory has improved significantly. Some companies in the business of drop-shipping for big retailers, offer "universal connectivity hub," between suppliers and sellers. This hub is a central clearinghouse for data exchange, with the ability to translate as many communication protocols as the United Nations translates languages.

Retailers, instead of having to wonder about a wholesaler's inventory level, can now view those levels remotely. And store owners have a "dashboard" to monitor whether a supplier is breaking any of their pre-set delivery rules.

Although big companies handle mostly larger players, some do work with some smaller retailers. Generally, though, a retailer must be making a minimum of around 2,000 transactions per month for it to be cost efficient to work with. The company's initial implementation fee can vary wildly, ranging from $500 to $150,000, depending on factors like volume.

More about drop shippers-2

Many of these snafus were caused by slow, inefficient communication between wholesalers and e-tailers. In many cases they sent orders back and forth via fax or e-mail, or even — gasp — used the phone. Orders had to be keyed in manually and were prone to human error.

Even for those companies that sent information electronically using EDI or XML, obstacles were numerous. Businesses tend to do things their own way, all the way down to the number of digits in a purchase order number. Or how many lines they use in purchase orders, or how many words are allowed in each field of a purchase order. Consequently, drop-shipping created as many problems as it solved. The problems usually were the suppliers' fault.

For suppliers, it was a foreign concept to ship, say, one camera to a buyer's home. They were used to shipping pallets of products to retailers. Worse still, as Internet commerce rocketed, the demand for drop-shipping companies exploded, leading plenty of shady salesmen to set up drop-ship firms. Sure, they would take a store owner's money, but would they ship the product, that was the question?

Make Drop-shipping Work

As Internet retailing was getting started in the mid '90s, online storeowners assumed drop-shipping would be the answer to their every worry. Little did they know it's an issue still being worked out today. Still, progress is being made in the technology, including standardization protocols and remote inventory-watch functions, and vendors can stand to gain from the distribution method if they know what to consider before signing up.

Filling orders through drop-shipping (sometimes called "virtual inventory") meant that site owners could route all their orders to wholesalers, who shipped directly to customers. For e-tailers, this eliminated the expense of carrying inventory - and the risk of being stuck with it if it didn't sell.

Online retailers assumed the days of needing a warehouse were coming to a close. And pity those poor brick-and-mortar stores who actually had to stock goods. They would probably be extinct by about 2005 or so.

But, there were service issues — in fact there were all kinds of issues with virtual inventory. Customers placed orders, retailers routed it to the wholesaler, but the product was never sent. Wholesalers shipped the wrong product or couldn't keep up with the pace of retailers' sales. The list goes on. More in other posts.

More about drop shippers-1

The question arises where do you find the drop shippers.

Finding a good genuine drop shipper takes time, research and plenty of fortitude. While there are no formally published methodologies describing how to find drop shippers, there are several techniques to take note. There are at least three methods proven to be tried and true. We will examine three of them:

· Internet searches

· Trade show searches

· Government Embassies

Search Methodologies

Regardless of the search methodology used, they will all have one thing in common. They require labor intensive research.

Internet Searches. Doing an Internet search for a drop shipper has become one of the most widely used methods of finding a drop shipper. Many folks leverage the search engines to locate a desired product. After finding a specific product, they work their way backwards towards a search for a manufacturer listing the product. The manufacturer can sometimes be found by discovering several retailers selling the same product listing the name of a manufacturer. Once the manufacturer is discovered, a phone call can be made to find out about their distribution policies. At this point you can begin discussions to find out information about their drop shipping and business policies.

Trade Show Searches. Trade shows happen across the country in many major cities. There are many large shows that feature manufacturers and focus on a particular market segment (i.e. sporting goods, gift market, automotive, hardware?etc.). A trade show has the advantage of getting you face-to-face with manufacturers. Trade shows are some of the best ways to meeting a quality drop shipper as you can perform an interview and get the critical information needed for your business. Likewise, it gives your drop shipper a chance to meet you and find out your needs and requirements.

Government Embassies. Some of the government embassies have become a real opportunity for manufacturers, in other countries seeking to sell their products in the U.S. Many U.S. drop shippers in the import/export business have requested a list of these manufacturers from the embassies. Likewise, you can also get in contact with these same manufacturers to find out their U.S. wholesale distribution centers.

Your Search.

Regardless of the search methodology you choose, hard work and persistence will get you the desired results. Remember, your searches should always be focused on the brands and products you wish to sell. Once you have a couple of successful searches under your belt, you will start to get a little quicker at spotting the authentic drop shippers from the middlemen.

How to Locate Drop Shippers for Your Success

Drop shippers often can be the key to success for online retail businesses who do not wish to stock actual inventory. Drop shippers are the source of wholesale merchandise many Websites offer to customers. An authentic drop shipper will have many qualities that make them desirable by an online retail business:

• They do not require you to buy a minimum amount of products.
• They do all the warehousing and shipping of their products.
• They do not charge for initial setup fees or membership dues.
• They will ship product from their location to your customer.

Because the task of locating true drop shippers can be very labor intensive, so many people turn to us (www.hienote.com) to help them locate drop shippers which saves them time and money on doing the searches for drop shippers themselves.

Good Drop Shippers

Finding a good drop shipper is critical but there are some drawbacks to drop shipping. If you sell products from a wholesale drop shipper, you are dependent on them to get your products shipped to your customer's on-time. Drop shippers are truly a business partner of yours as they handle some of the critical pieces for your online business.

Interestingly, not all drop shippers want to work with online businesses. This is particularly true for folks wanting to sell products via online auctions. The most common reason for not wanting to work with online retailers relates to profit erosion and competition from sub-wholesalers. We will not go into that discussion for this article. More in another post.

How To Increase eBay Profits

Some sell on eBay to clean out their garage or attic.Some sell to make a little extra money here and there. Butfor some, eBay represents a chance to create a secondincome or start a home business. Product choice isimportant. But to really increase profit you must know how toincrease the number and amount of bids per item. An eBayseller must maximize each product's profit margin. Thisarticle describes techniques to make as much profit aspossible.

1. Sell like products at the same time. Bidders look tosee what else you have for sale they might be interestedin. Combined shipping saves postage for the buyer. Packingin the same box saves time and packing costs for the seller.

2. Bundle a less desirable item with a more desirable item increases sales. This is an old offline auction technique.If the bidder wants the better item he has to buy both. Iftwo sellers offer the same item, the buyer bids on the twoitem auction. Bundling two low cost items together alsoincreases bids. A buyer may not be willing to pay shippingfor one item, but would for two.

3. Remember seasonal issues. Don't sell snow skis in July,water skis in January. Be sure to offer seasonal itemsearly enough to allow for shipping. Don't expect to sellmany Christmas items that must be shipped during the secondweek of December.

4. Understand profit margins. Don't buy to resell foronly a $5 profit when you can make $20 on a different item.Determine your desired monthly income and choose productsappropriately. Want to make 1000 a month? That is $250 aweek. That's ten successful actions at $25.00 profit, orfive items at $200 a month, or ten items at $100 each. Alsopacking 10 items takes less time than packing 20 items.Always consider time as a cost.

5. Don't forget back end sales and secondary products.Offer similar products during the payment process or onyour auction store/web site. If you sell underground fencesfor dogs, an up-sell item is a customized collar. Asecondary product could be a pet door. Another secondaryproduct could be a ebook on "Travel Safely With Your Pet".A back-end sale to the ebook could be a item that helpsyour family travel safely with your pet.

6. The List - For many successful online sellers themailing list is where their money is made. Using aautoresponder, sellers automatically email customers ontheir list at regular intervals. Including content withannouncements of upcoming sales increases back end sales.Once a customer buys, they are more likely to buy againfrom same person or company.

7. Customer demographics should be considered. Collectorshave expectations non-collectors don't. Example, some bookbuyers that are allergic like to see "book from non-smokinghome" in ad. This would earn you a higher bid. What doesthe customer expect to see in a description?

8. Auction terms and conditions should be included witheach auction. What shipping options are available? Do youtake questions? Do you ship only certain days? What kind ofpayments do you take? Type whatever standard terms youoffer in a word processor and cut and paste into yourauctions. This saves time. For some sellers, typing thecontent for each auction is one of the most time consumingtasks.

Profit involves keeping costs reasonably low and creatinghigher bids. We've described some techniques for increasingprofit. Sit down and mentally run through the process of auctionselling and come up with some of your own ideas.EBay is a great business opportunity but like any business, sellers must be wise in their product choice and sales techniques.

More about tradeshows-6

Manufacturer's from India are very attentive when selling their products at Trade Shows and they look kindly on those who buy at last one item (no matter how inexpensive or small), as a point of moving forward in cementing a long term business relationship. This overture of buying one small item instills a trust level and signals the beginning of a business relationship.

You will very, very rarely find manufacturer's at trade shows offering drop shipping and if you do, then expect to pay much more for the product line, as drop shippers make money not only on the product line but, through monthly membership fees and fees associated with shipping and handling.

If you are unable to attend a tradeshow to pick up your own wholesale sourcing contacts and product, here are five wholesalers you can check out online:

• eXtreme Toy Zone: This importer, distributor, and wholesaler offers a nice line of toys from dinosaurs to pop-star dolls. They also carry a large line of remote control (RC) toys.
• Sidelines International: This site is a retail site, but you can contact the wholesale division if you're looking for a line on Zippo lighters and products, Victorinox Swiss Army Knives and other products.
• Kole Imports: A broad supplier offering a huge selection of more low-priced products like auto accessories, tools, hair care, seasonal items and more.
• Cutting Edge Products: Offers wholesale and dropship programs for security products like alarms, stun guns and other unusual products related to safety and security.

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Here are some tips to follow at tradeshows.

Bring your corporate checkbook and when you find a manufacturer with a great product line and bulk discounts, offer to write three checks for your merchandise order. They will RARELY refuse such a deal!

Let's say you're going to spend $3,000.00 with a specific supplier. Offer to write three checks. One for $1000.00 (which can be deposited immediately) and the other two for thirty and sixty days out from the date of sale. You have just bought yourself 60 full days to resell the merchandise! In addition, ask for a 10% discount!

Remember, when attending trade shows, you will be meeting sellers from all over the world.

Those who display at trade shows come from Japan, China, Thailand, India and other pacific-rim countries. Learn about their cultures, as this knowledge can go very far in developing firm (solid) working relationships.

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When the trade show is only open to those in the business of buying and selling, the deals and price points are in line for reselling to the general public. The idea of a one day walk about (during a three day) event is useful in that during the last day, the deals and discounts get better, as those who are selling at wholesale, have paid to display their products for big bucks and are seeking to sell as much product as they can to recover trade show costs.

You'll find that trade shows for many product specific areas take place three to four times a year. Trade shows are scheduled just before upcoming holiday periods.

When you attend trade shows you may not only be able to purchase merchandise on the spot but, may also be allowed to take the merchandise with you. If you find a wholesaler or manufacturer who offers some great deals, size them up! Take nothing for granted. Make sure they are personable, will work with terms (up to 90 days out on payment for product) and can offer delivery guarantees. In some cases, it's best to buy even one or two products from a number of vendors at trade shows in order to forge several relationships.

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Going back to registering your new business enterprise.

This is an important step in attending a trade show, as you may be asked for a copy of your business license or corporate documents when registering. Open a business checking account and bring corporate checks with you when attending a trade show.

Whatever you do, never attend a trade show, which opens its doors to the general public, as you'll be defeating the purpose of attending such a show. The vendors attending these types of shows open up the floor to the general public during the last show day and no doubt, have little incentive to offer a reseller a great deal. These shows are usually filled with "merchant middlemen".

More about trade shows-2

During day two, you'll focus your time on re-visiting vendor booths, which interested you during your first day "walk about". You will find that at some trade shows that more than a few vendors will annoy you by "barking" their product line as you walk you by. This may a clear sign that these vendors are NOT manufacturer's but, "merchant middlemen".

A manufacturer - a true source of product - rarely conducts themselves at trade shows in this fashion.

You can also weed out the merchant middlemen by checking out prices. You will normally find a few merchant middlemen selling the exact same product line at a trade show with varied price points. However, when you come across the main source of the same product line (at the very same trade show), the price will be greatly reduced and is usually accompanied by a discount and terms program.

Finding a trade show is easy. Do a Yahoo! search for a trade show in your product area of interest. If you want to sell home accessories, do a search for "Home Accessories Trade Shows" and you should luck out on your first try accessing a list of national and/or regional trade shows in your area.

More about tradeshows

Where can you truly find product at wholesale prices? Trade shows. The answer is and always will be "trade shows". Yes, you can find product in eBay's Reseller Marketplace however, availability and a continued flow of product may not always be consistent. In addition, the Marketplace may not have the product available, which you prefer to sell.

However, go to a few trade shows and you'll not only learn more about the product line you wish to sell, you'll begin to forge ahead and cement the "ties that bind" with manufacturer's.

First, you have to have all your business ducks in a row. Set up a corporation, set up a business bank account and print out plenty of business cards. When you visit a trade show, you'll hand out dozens of business cards and you should present yourself as an established "registered" business.

Trade shows can last from just a few days to a full week and take place all over the globe. You might want to plan to attend a trade show in a locale, which has other attractions, as to combine a trade show experience with a short vacation.

Day one at a trade show should be a "walk about". In other words, walk up and down every aisle and put a check number next to the booth numbers, which look interesting to you. You will receive a trade show guide with an alphabetical listing of vendor names and associated booth numbers and appliable product lines.

Spend no more than a minute looking at any one booth of products, as you'll get back to that booth on day two and three.

Don't be afraid to pick up brochures and business cards during your "walk about" as you'll spend your evening time (on the first day) reviewing this information in preparation of your next few days of "vendor visits".

Sourcing goods from tradeshows

There are many ways to source products for your eBay and ecommerce business, and trade shows are a great way to keep your product line fresh. Tradeshows are crucial to developing your own eBay business. While searching online can be a great resource for finding wholesalers, there are significant advantages to attending industry events. At a tradeshow, not only can you see the products firsthand, but many wholesalers just do not have an online presence.

Trade shows offer many businesses a simple and convenient way to directly target relevant buyers in an industry. When attending a trade show, making a statement that rises above the visual roar of neighboring booths is probably the greatest challenge. Portable trade show displays offer a cost-effective way to convey your message forcefully and effectively in the few seconds potential clients spend walking by your booth.

When you enter a trade show it can be overwhelming. There are loads of folks walking around and tons of booths to see. Use the first couple days to orient yourself. Be sure to walk the aisles multiple times and in different directions. You'll see something new each time. Here are a few tips to help your first trade show be a success:

• Wear sensible shoes and be prepared to walk!
• Bring a wheelie bag or backpack because you will pick up lots of fliers and hand-outs. On the last day of the show, many vendors sell their floor samples, so you'll want a place to carry it all as you walk the floor. Be sure to have cash to pay for the samples.
• Bring a box of business cards or brochures. I passed out over 200 business cards and I still ran out! You never know what opportunity will present itself for you to network and promote your business. It is wise to always have a business card handy.
• Practice your pitch. If you want to sell an idea or negotiate, practice on vendors you don't really care about. You have 30 seconds to get them interested in your business. Then, when you really want to negotiate with a vendor, you're warmed up and you know what to say. It took me two days of practicing before I felt completely confident.
• Be open and creative about incorporating products you normally wouldn't consider. On my way to the show I said I definitely wasn't interested in Scrapbooking. When I got there, over half the show space was devoted to Scrapbooking. Needless to say, I became very interested!
• Listen to folks walking the floor. Even though they're business owners, they're buyers, too. Find out what they're buying. Look for the hottest booths, too. Crowded booths are a good clue that those products are probably good sellers.
• Be prepared for the occasional shut-down and use it to your advantage. Some vendors don't understand online businesses and argue that the online community is unfair competition to their brick-and-mortar customers. Use this as an opportunity to teach them about your business and what you are doing online (another reason to practice your pitch!). A good place to find very amenable vendors is in the new vendor area. These vendors are trying to break into the market and are open to all kinds of negotiations.
• Stay focused. I see the creative potential in everything, so it's easy for me to lose my focus. It can be a struggle to keep separate those products that would be viable for my store and those which are just fun for me. If you suffer from an overactive creative vision, it helps to mentally categorize what you see into "store" or "self interests." This helps you from picking up too much stuff.
• Stay organized. Each night when I got back to my hotel room, I organized my fliers and samples into YES, NO and MAYBE piles. The last day of the show, I reviewed the NO and MAYBE piles one last time. If they remained a NO, they were recycled. If they were a MAYBE, they came home with the YES pile.
• Oh, and definitely bring an empty suitcase for all those YES and MAYBE piles and cool floor samples you find. You'll definitely need it!

The following sites give a comprehensive idea about tradeshows taking place around the world.

http://www.tradeshowalerts.com/

http://www.tradeindia.com/TradeShows/

http://www.biztradeshows.com/

Marketing with niche auction sites

Online auctions are big business, but they can be big headaches as well. People spend a lot of time sifting through cluttered pages of auctions, bidding, setting up accounts and managing multiple, confusing and expensive fees that can take an accountant to figure out. And trying to figure out how to submit a simple email or place a quick call for help can be a pain in the neck.

The solution is smaller, niche sites with personalized service. Some of the auction tips for these sites and in general are:

• Customer Service - When you have an item listed and a potential buyer contacts you with a question, respond quickly. It is important and actually critical to your success to check your email account several times a day. Answering a question could be the difference between you getting the sale or the buyer going someplace else.
• Description - When you list your item(s), write an accurate description. No need to write long paragraphs of rambling information. But do provide exact measurements, colors, condition, etc. Be precise.
• Exceed Expectations - You want every customer to be happy. So do a little more research on shipping, or negotiate on price. But remember that the customer is the reason you will have success. Be prepared to go the extra mile and provide superior service every time.
• Digital Images - While auctions without photographs can and do sell, auctions with photographs sell much better. People like visualizations and want to see what they will get with their money. Make sure your photograph is clear, focused and offers more than just a straight view.

Niche Sites

Niche sites may be the real cream of the crop, depending on what you are

selling. And, as was said earlier, niche sites attract targeted visitors. Sounds

like the perfect combo!

Here are a few possibilities that might “fit” with your passion...

1) Free Bid ( http://www.freebid.de /) is a German site specializing in

antiques and art, both European and German. The entire site is in German so I

was at a disadvantage to understand it completely but it gets reasonably good

traffic and it might be a good source for anyone interested in international

sales.

2) Just Glass ( http://www.justglass.com /) concentrates on (surprise!) just

glass! They sell such items as Vaseline glass, Avon, Boyd Glass, Collector

40’s, 50’s, 60’s Glass, Phoenix/Consolidated, Pyrex and Elegant Depression

Glass. The site has a nice collection of features, such as access to an expert,

online prices guide, a bookstore, no fees, dealer shops and an online

magazine.

3) Biddington’s ( http://www.biddingtons.com /) is the site of upscale

Biddington’s Contemporary Art Gallery. This isn’t a site like the other because

while Biddington’s definitely auctions its own property, it also acts as an

intermediary for anyone wanting to sell. You aren’t allowed to handle your

transaction yourself.

Normally, we wouldn’t include this site but it sells some really expensive art so

it might be worthwhile for anyone interested and knowledgeable in this field.

Biddington’s charges 10% commission for its services and holds the money in

escrow until the transaction is complete.

Smaller general sites

There are a handful of smaller, general sites that you may want to
consider. They show promise of becoming larger and if you believe in healthy
competition (as I do), they need our support.
Generally, I copy the same ads that I use on eBay or Yahoo so it takes only a
few extra minutes to put these on the smaller sites.

Here are a few sites to get you started.
1) My favorite small site is at http://www.epier.com / ePier has no listing
fees, no end of auction percentages, and free image-storing. Some veteran
sellers start their items on eBay and later list unsold items with ePier until the
right buyer comes along. You save at least 50% in final value fee for most
items when you sell at ePier.

2) Belgium and Holland Antiques Online
(http://www.BelgiumAntiques.com /) is a site for Belgian and Dutch
antique shops, dealers, wholesalers, exporters, auctioneers, fairs and flea markets. They also offer free classifieds and list dates of intriguing events.

3) ubid ( http://www.ubid.com /) is a general purpose site but it’s heavy on
computers and electronics. It has an affiliate program and is growing quickly.

4) Buynsellit ( http://www.buynsellit.com /) has no fees and it has the
usual collection of general categories.

5) Eurobid ( http://www.eurobid.com /) sells European goods with some
fascinating items like food and wines from France, Spain, Italy and Germany.
Prices are in British pounds and Eurodollars. Customers are able to read the
site in their language of choice -- English, French, Spanish, Italian and German.

6) Auction.com - Auction does not charge any listing or final value fees, but does charge you for enhancements like bolding your listing and so on. Traffic seems a bit low, and a lot of bells and whistles you’re used to seem to be missing.

7) Bidtopia.com - Bidtopia has some unique ideas in that bidding and selling have to be done from separate accounts. The site only charges final value fees and focuses heavily on $.99 auctions.

8) Bonanzle.com - The site allows you to import your existing items from eBay and Craigslist, encourages direct contact between buyers and sellers, and prides itself on a quick listing process.

9) eBid.net - eBid offers several country specific sites, free registration, no listing fees for auctions, and even offers you the ability to pay for a lifetime membership that will remove all final value fees from your listings.

eBay Alternatives

eBay’s main competitors are:-
Yahoo! Auctions ( http://auctions.yahoo.com /) and
Amazon ( http://www.amazon.com /) .

Here are the popular online alternatives:
1) Amazon Marketplace lets sellers list items that are already for sale through the website, such as books, DVDs, and household items. The fact that most items are already listed makes it easier for sellers, because they don't need to take their own photos or enter their own product descriptions. Amazon charges no fees unless products sell. Commission and closing fees vary by item. Books, for example, carry a 15 percent commission rate plus $2.35 in other fees. It is good for casual sellers looking to unload old CD collections or slightly used books.

2) Bidville attracts all kinds of sellers, from those selling vintage Beanie Babies to cars to jewelry. It charges no listing fee for unsuccessful sales, and sellers pay 5 percent on items under $25 and between 1 and 2.5 percent on more expensive items, plus a low flat fee It is good for sellers seeking an eBay-like experience.

3) Etsy.com features handmade products, including bath products, earrings, sweaters, and woodwork. Pomegranate soap goes for $4, and a pink and brown vintage apron for $24. Etsy.com charges 20 cents to list an item and a 3.5 percent flat sales fee, which means a $20 item will carry a 90 cent fee, excluding shipping costs.

4) My Auction Planet- Free item insertion, free image upload, free stores and no final value fees are some of the many give-aways that My Auction Planet, formerly called Ubid Fast, is offering. Additionally, sellers can take advantage of auto-listing, which lets them post any item until it sells. Like most small auction sites, My Auction Planet still has just a handful of registered members and only 50 or so total auctions listed. Still, with lots of "free fees" it might be worth bookmarking and checking in on from time to time.

5) OnlineAuction.com- According to company spokesperson Valerie Fain, the success of OnlineAuction is due to its low cost membership. OnlineAuction offers free basic member accounts that can be used to bid, browse or buy on the site. A $4-per-month account offers access to private mail, feedback and chat rooms to connect with the sellers. Sellers can get verified for as little as $8 per month, and that fee also allows you to buy and sell as many items as you like, without paying additional listing or final value fees. A Founding member account gives you access to everything offered by OnlineAuction and costs $196. After the first year, this membership is $96 each year.

6) BiddersnSellers - Online sellers looking for another basket to carry their wares might want to take a look at BiddersnSellers.com, an auction Web site offering more than 30 categories for buyers and sellers including art, cars, parts & vehicles, cell phones, clothing, DVDs, real estate and video games. Currently BiddersnSellers is promoting the "EB** Boycott", as they call it on this site, with plenty of features for new sellers including; $1 per month fees, Homepage Featured for $1, penny Gallery fees and a flat 1 percent final value fee for the first month

7)Wensy -Launched earlier this year(2008), the site Wensy has grown in the past six months to a total of 2,400 registered members conducting $60,000 in net sales. Currently Wensy offers offer 21,000 listed items spanning a total of 22 categories. Wensy has become more popular than many of the smaller online auction sites we've covered simply because all services to buyers and sellers are completely free.

Evaluation Criteria for auction sites

The best way to know where to sell your goods is to evaluate auction sites.

Use the following criteria to evaluate the two sites as a practice run. Continue
to add to your criteria as you gain experience. You want to locate the best
auction sites for your product or service.
1) Degree of professionalism -- Many auction sites are so amateurish that
they are an immediate turn-off. This does not mean that unless the site owner
has spent $10,000 creating a site we should ignore it. Sound business
practices, however, do need to prevail.
2) Ease of use -- Net research has proved again and again that site owners
have a few critical seconds to either entice a visitor to stay, or turn her off
entirely. And causing confusion in potential customers is a great way to send
them screaming away.
3) Targeted traffic -- Starting a general site and successfully competing with
huge, well-financed, already established giants may be possible -- but it’s
unlikely. However, smaller niche sites (who specialize in a field that is too
small for the giants to bother with) have a chance for success. Attracting
targeted traffic is their only reason for being.
4) Site promotion -- One of the ways that eBay grew to be so gigantic, so
quickly, is because it has spent a fortune advertising itself. Not only has it paid for advertisements but eBay has also created an affiliate program, developed
strategic alliances and has skillfully used press releases. In short, eBay has
followed all the rules of sound Internet business practices.
If you are going to ally yourself with an auction site, you need to make sure that
the owner is actively promoting the site in as many ways as possible. As a
potential customer you have the right to ask. If their response isn’t satisfactory,
then carefully consider whether you should spend time with them.
5) Site owner interest and enthusiasm -- The last, and most subjective,
criterion is whether the site seems lively and interesting. Do you have a feeling
that the owners are excited about what they are doing? Keeping any auction
site alive is intense work, and if the owner isn’t interested in doing it, forget it
and go elsewhere.