If you're involved as an affiliate for any product, you've probably wrestled with how you can sell the product on eBay.
After all, eBay offers you a massive potential audience of 147 million members. And people who read about your product will likely have found it by searching thus saying they are interested in the product area in which your product resides.
The bad news, however, is that there is no easy way to market affiliate products on eBay!
First of all, if you haven't heard of affiliate selling, here's a very quick description of how it works.
Fundamentally, selling an affiliate product requires that you get interested buyers to click on a special link. This link takes the person to the product owner's sales page. More importantly, the link also contains your unique affiliate code - it is this code which ensures that sales made from your introductions are recorded in your affiliate account. Finally, if your prospect purchases the product, it is the owner who handles product delivery and who also you with your sales commission payment.
On eBay, you could easily set up an auction saying how marvellous your affiliate product is. You will certainly attract a number of people who would be interested in buying. The problem is, you have no legitimate way of selling it to eBay members!
It's against eBay's rules to have a link in your auction page which takes your readers away to another website to make a sale.
Also, if you think about it, you don't have the affiliate product to deliver. There's no mechanism for you to make the sale on eBay, and deliver the product. If you recall, this is handled automatically by the product owner.
So here are two ways in which you can tap into the eBay market with your affiliate products.
1. The Simple System
You create an auction which explains the benefits of the affiliate product you're promoting.
What do you offer on your eBay auction for the affiliate product?
You sell the information on where to get hold of this superb product. And you sell these details for just one penny.
Whenever someone "buys" your information, you send them an email saying thank you for your purchase. You then explain they don't really need to send you a penny, and here is the link to the fantastic product in which they've expressed an interest.
Of course, the link is YOUR affiliate link.
By the way, in your auction description page please think of a new angle for the product. You'll find almost everybody who is an affiliate for any popular product will be using the suggested sales material supplied by the product owner.
This means that you just appear to be one of many, and the standard sales pitch will be littering the internet. Your interested purchaser has probably seen some of these already. Why should they take notice of your one penny auction for the same product?
Lace your auction description with personal and credible information about the product, and you will get some of those prospective buyers to go with you.
Incidentally, you could find that your one penny auctions are removed by eBay. After all, a one penny auction doesn't bring eBay very much by way of listing or final value fee.
If this happens to you, you could try system 2 below, and you can also place your one penny auction on other auction sites such as Yahoo, Amazon, QXL etc
2. The Not as Simple System
With this system, you need to do a little research before you launch your eBay auction for your affiliate product.
The objective here is to create a package of items which are related to your affiliate products, and which you auction at 0.99 cents or pence.
First off, you need to create a 2 or 3 page report about your affiliate product. Ideally this should be based on your personal experience with the product. Failing that, it should be written in your own personal style. The key point is that it must include your affiliate link to the product.
The next step is to find other items for your "package", you do this by using Google search to locate related free products.
Let's suppose you're an affiliate for an ebook which teaches how to paint and draw figures. On Google you would search for something like "figure drawing" free.
It took me under 10 minutes to locate the following freebies:
Photographing Your Artwork (free ebook) 3D Figure Drawing Studio software (free trial) How to Sell Your Art (free newsletter)
And there are many more you could unearth given a little more research time. Be a little careful in your selection - you don't want to give away something which will compete with your affiliate ebook.
Having found your items, what you now do is bundle them up and add them to your 2/3 page report. You then create an auction which offers the whole package for 99 cents or pence.
There's no way eBay can possibly object to this auction.
As you can see, all it really takes to get your affiliate product in front of eBay's massive market place is a little creativity.About the author
Brian McGregor specializes in showing website owners how to make more money from their sites by applying inventive and original use of eBay. For a free copy of ‘The eBay Traffic Funnel’ which shows you how to use the power of eBay to make more money with your website, visit http://www.more-auction-sales.com/websites/
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
How to start a business selling on eBay
Selling on eBay is gives you an opportunity to start a home based business. Many people have already started a home based business selling on eBay and many more will do the same. Virtually anyone can do it.
This guide will walk you through the basics of starting a home based business selling on eBay.
What you need to Start a Home Based Business Selling on eBay You will need a computer, an internet connection, an eBay account which you can get free at the eBay website. You also need to be familiar with how to list items that are sold, and you will have to be able get the products sold to the person(s) who buys from you.
Getting Started Selling on eBay
Before selling on eBay as a business, you will have to familiarize yourself with the eBay format if you have not already done so. Simply go to eBay.com browse through the categories that you feel you will be selling in. It is also a good idea to register (for free at eBay.com) and buy a few items yourself to get a feel for the process.
A few of the questions you will want to answer are what are you going to going to sell, where you will get products from and at what cost, and who are your buyers going to be?
If you are serious about making serious about starting a profitable home based business selling on eBay, you are going to have to develop a marketing strategy.
The first important decision that you will have make is What to Sell."
What to Sell
What can you sell on eBay? Pretty much anything. When you first start selling on eBay, the items sold will most likely be things that are "lying around the house unwanted."
It is almost always better to focus your time and energy on selling a few items or related items.
Where to find Products for Sale?
A major part of the success of your home based business will being able to reliably find products that you will be able to sell for a profit.
Personal items - Selling personal that you do not want is a great place to start.
Garage and yard sales - You can spend some of your time shopping at garage and yard sales looking for items that you may be able to sell for a profit.
Estate sales - If you have a way of moving a lot of items that are being sold at estate sales, you can make a good profit by practically buying whole estates. However, if a professional is handling the estate sale, you may not be able to buy the items at a low enough cost to benefit you.
Established retailers - You may be able to buy overstock, discontinued, damaged, seasonal products that were not sold from retail stores at a discount.
Buying from wholesalers - If you are careful in who you choose to buy from, what to buy, and all of the costs associated with buying wholesale, this can be a good way to have a steady stream of products to sell. The most important decision may be who you choose as your wholesaler.
Finding a Niche Market
Once you have an idea of what you want will be selling on eBay, you need to focus your efforts more and find one or more niche markets. If you sell books for example, you can consider selling mainly college textbooks. This will allow you to better know the items that you will selling and more importantly your target customers and the categories which they buy from on eBay.
Choosing Categories to list your Products in Browse the eBay categories that are most relevant to the product(s) that you are selling and list them in the categories that have the most visitors and buyers also the ones the ones that are the most specific to what you are selling. In most cases, you should list your items in no less than 5 categories.
Keeping Track of you Auctions
You will need to be able track an auction from beginning to end. When you begin to have a large number of products listed for sell, you will need to develop a system to keep track of all of them. If you list only a few items at a time, you may be able to keep track of them with a spreadsheet or on a piece of paper. If you will be listing numerous items at once, you want to use software.
If you will not be using software to keep track of the listings, be sure write down the item number, URL, listing price, listing date and time, and the category(s).
When an auction ends, write down the time it ended, the selling price if any, and the buyer's contact information. Index the auctions by auction number for future reference. This system works if you have only a few items listed at a time. It is very important to keep track of all of your auctions, especially for tax purposes.
Posting Pictures
One aspect you will want to become very familiar with will be posting quality pictures. If you will be selling any physical product, this is essential. All that you need to post a picture is a digital camera and a way to upload the image(s) to your computer.
Develop a Strategy for Selling on eBay
Again, I have to stress that when starting an eBay business, treat it like a business if you are serious about making real money selling on eBay. Develop a strategy before you begin to invest any significant amount of time, energy and money into your eBay business. Ask yourself questions such as: What will I be selling? Who will I be selling to? Where will I get the products? Will I be selling a high volume of products at a low profit margin or a low number of items for a higher profit per sale?
Many people have already started and are operating a successful home based business selling on eBay. If owning and operating a home based business is what you want, selling on eBay is one more idea and opportunity to do so.About the author
Jose Valdez is the owner/webmaster of www.aguidetostartingabusiness.com and www.allhomebasedbusinessideas.com
This guide will walk you through the basics of starting a home based business selling on eBay.
What you need to Start a Home Based Business Selling on eBay You will need a computer, an internet connection, an eBay account which you can get free at the eBay website. You also need to be familiar with how to list items that are sold, and you will have to be able get the products sold to the person(s) who buys from you.
Getting Started Selling on eBay
Before selling on eBay as a business, you will have to familiarize yourself with the eBay format if you have not already done so. Simply go to eBay.com browse through the categories that you feel you will be selling in. It is also a good idea to register (for free at eBay.com) and buy a few items yourself to get a feel for the process.
A few of the questions you will want to answer are what are you going to going to sell, where you will get products from and at what cost, and who are your buyers going to be?
If you are serious about making serious about starting a profitable home based business selling on eBay, you are going to have to develop a marketing strategy.
The first important decision that you will have make is What to Sell."
What to Sell
What can you sell on eBay? Pretty much anything. When you first start selling on eBay, the items sold will most likely be things that are "lying around the house unwanted."
It is almost always better to focus your time and energy on selling a few items or related items.
Where to find Products for Sale?
A major part of the success of your home based business will being able to reliably find products that you will be able to sell for a profit.
Personal items - Selling personal that you do not want is a great place to start.
Garage and yard sales - You can spend some of your time shopping at garage and yard sales looking for items that you may be able to sell for a profit.
Estate sales - If you have a way of moving a lot of items that are being sold at estate sales, you can make a good profit by practically buying whole estates. However, if a professional is handling the estate sale, you may not be able to buy the items at a low enough cost to benefit you.
Established retailers - You may be able to buy overstock, discontinued, damaged, seasonal products that were not sold from retail stores at a discount.
Buying from wholesalers - If you are careful in who you choose to buy from, what to buy, and all of the costs associated with buying wholesale, this can be a good way to have a steady stream of products to sell. The most important decision may be who you choose as your wholesaler.
Finding a Niche Market
Once you have an idea of what you want will be selling on eBay, you need to focus your efforts more and find one or more niche markets. If you sell books for example, you can consider selling mainly college textbooks. This will allow you to better know the items that you will selling and more importantly your target customers and the categories which they buy from on eBay.
Choosing Categories to list your Products in Browse the eBay categories that are most relevant to the product(s) that you are selling and list them in the categories that have the most visitors and buyers also the ones the ones that are the most specific to what you are selling. In most cases, you should list your items in no less than 5 categories.
Keeping Track of you Auctions
You will need to be able track an auction from beginning to end. When you begin to have a large number of products listed for sell, you will need to develop a system to keep track of all of them. If you list only a few items at a time, you may be able to keep track of them with a spreadsheet or on a piece of paper. If you will be listing numerous items at once, you want to use software.
If you will not be using software to keep track of the listings, be sure write down the item number, URL, listing price, listing date and time, and the category(s).
When an auction ends, write down the time it ended, the selling price if any, and the buyer's contact information. Index the auctions by auction number for future reference. This system works if you have only a few items listed at a time. It is very important to keep track of all of your auctions, especially for tax purposes.
Posting Pictures
One aspect you will want to become very familiar with will be posting quality pictures. If you will be selling any physical product, this is essential. All that you need to post a picture is a digital camera and a way to upload the image(s) to your computer.
Develop a Strategy for Selling on eBay
Again, I have to stress that when starting an eBay business, treat it like a business if you are serious about making real money selling on eBay. Develop a strategy before you begin to invest any significant amount of time, energy and money into your eBay business. Ask yourself questions such as: What will I be selling? Who will I be selling to? Where will I get the products? Will I be selling a high volume of products at a low profit margin or a low number of items for a higher profit per sale?
Many people have already started and are operating a successful home based business selling on eBay. If owning and operating a home based business is what you want, selling on eBay is one more idea and opportunity to do so.About the author
Jose Valdez is the owner/webmaster of www.aguidetostartingabusiness.com and www.allhomebasedbusinessideas.com
Seven steps to eBay selling success
More and more people try their luck at selling on eBay everyday. With all of that growing competition it is important that you do everything possible to make sure that you stand out from the crowd. By following a few simple steps you can greatly improve the odds of your auction being noticed, that browsers will convert to bidders, and that those bidders will become repeat customers. Begin practicing the follow seven tips and watch your eBay auction sales explode.
1. Inundate your potential buyers with details. It is much better to provide a lot rather than a little information and this will also be a great opportunity for you to pepper your listing description with keywords. Do be sure, however, that your auction listing is informative and not filled with hype. Those extra exclamation points really aren't going to make the sale. Actually, they will only make you look unprofessional. Also, give your readers details as appropriate such as models number, item condition, color, size, etc.
2. The title may not seem like a vital part of the equation, but it really is of great importance. It is the first thing people see when browsing through the auctions, so it has to not only grab their attention, but also entice them to click. Do not enter you title in ALL CAPS. This will only make you look like an amateur. Include as applicable; keywords, model numbers, seating information, brand names, item size, color, etc.
3. A picture is worth a thousand bids. Okay, well maybe not a thousand, but it will certainly help your item sell. Think about it; would you buy something sight unseen? Of course not and neither will the majority of buyers on eBay. Be sure to take care when photographing your item. Lesser quality photos are just as bad as no pictures at all. Also, the more expensive the items; the more photos you should provide.
4. State all of your requirements upfront. Tell potential bidders how much you intend to charge for shipping, to which countries you are willing to ship, if you will accept returns, or anything else that you might wish to specify. You really can't make things up as you go along. You have to get all requirements out there at the beginning.
5. If a potential buyer contacts you with a question then be sure to promptly respond. If you wait you may lose a much needed bidder. Also, be sure to be polite in your response as no question is too stupid to warrant anything other than but a courteous reply. Even if that person doesn't bid on your item they will certainly remember your pleasant attitude and that could mean a future sale.
6. The majority of buyers on eBay prefer to pay for their purchase via PayPal. That is why it is vital for you to accept this method of payment. It is also beneficial to you as it eliminates the potential for bad checks or money orders.
7. After the sale most winning bidders will expect the seller to begin the completion of the transaction. Send an email, an invoice, alert the buyer when the item has shipped, and be sure to leave feedback after the transaction.
Copyright © 2005 Heather WallaceAbout the author
Heather Wallace is a writer whose work has been published in national, regional, and online publications. To receive a FREE eBay Seller's Resource Guide, send a blank email to mail to: eBay-Sellers-Resource-Guide@fetchingsites.com
1. Inundate your potential buyers with details. It is much better to provide a lot rather than a little information and this will also be a great opportunity for you to pepper your listing description with keywords. Do be sure, however, that your auction listing is informative and not filled with hype. Those extra exclamation points really aren't going to make the sale. Actually, they will only make you look unprofessional. Also, give your readers details as appropriate such as models number, item condition, color, size, etc.
2. The title may not seem like a vital part of the equation, but it really is of great importance. It is the first thing people see when browsing through the auctions, so it has to not only grab their attention, but also entice them to click. Do not enter you title in ALL CAPS. This will only make you look like an amateur. Include as applicable; keywords, model numbers, seating information, brand names, item size, color, etc.
3. A picture is worth a thousand bids. Okay, well maybe not a thousand, but it will certainly help your item sell. Think about it; would you buy something sight unseen? Of course not and neither will the majority of buyers on eBay. Be sure to take care when photographing your item. Lesser quality photos are just as bad as no pictures at all. Also, the more expensive the items; the more photos you should provide.
4. State all of your requirements upfront. Tell potential bidders how much you intend to charge for shipping, to which countries you are willing to ship, if you will accept returns, or anything else that you might wish to specify. You really can't make things up as you go along. You have to get all requirements out there at the beginning.
5. If a potential buyer contacts you with a question then be sure to promptly respond. If you wait you may lose a much needed bidder. Also, be sure to be polite in your response as no question is too stupid to warrant anything other than but a courteous reply. Even if that person doesn't bid on your item they will certainly remember your pleasant attitude and that could mean a future sale.
6. The majority of buyers on eBay prefer to pay for their purchase via PayPal. That is why it is vital for you to accept this method of payment. It is also beneficial to you as it eliminates the potential for bad checks or money orders.
7. After the sale most winning bidders will expect the seller to begin the completion of the transaction. Send an email, an invoice, alert the buyer when the item has shipped, and be sure to leave feedback after the transaction.
Copyright © 2005 Heather WallaceAbout the author
Heather Wallace is a writer whose work has been published in national, regional, and online publications. To receive a FREE eBay Seller's Resource Guide, send a blank email to mail to: eBay-Sellers-Resource-Guide@fetchingsites.com
How to sell $20,000 per month on eBay
First of all let me tell you selling on eBay is easy, but it takes time or money. eBay has fees that you have to pay and if you want to grow quickly you will spend a lot on fees while you are learning.
My wife had an eBay business and she was a Gold Power Seller selling more than $20,000 per month. She sold mostly watches, lots and lots of watches. She sold them wholesale, by the dozen or by the case, 30 to 60 at a time. They were inexpensive watches; we paid from $2.50 to $4.00 for each one and sold them from $3.50 to $12.00 depending on the quantity purchased.
All of the techniques and suppliers we used are included in my eBook or in my exclusive newsletters you get as a free bonus when you buy my eBook.
When selling on eBay there are several tricks. Let me tell you the 3 tricks I think are the most important.
Trick #1: Build your reviews. Your reviews are your lifeline on eBay. You need to build your reviews so people trust you and want to do business with you. If they don’t trust you, you won’t sell anything on eBay. When you start you will have to offer good deals, free shipping or great communication. I always encouraged people to call me on the phone and ask questions by posting my phone in every listing. I didn’t get a lot of calls but I did get a lot of reviews.
Trick #2: Make big margins. You need those margins. You can’t buy something for $10 and sell it at $12, not even at $15. The listing fees alone will eat you. Remember, you have to pay a listing fee, you have to pay a fee if you sell the product and on top of that you pay PayPal when you collect the money. You could easily pay up to 10% or more of your selling price. This could be your entire profit. If you use any special listings to showcase your product you could be looking at $20 extra per listing category. So again, don’t try to make it on volume, try to make it on big margins. The best things to sell are either unique items or collectibles, name brand items that people are looking for like iPods, or hard to find items or imports.
Trick #3: Make more money on shipping. When my wife sold on eBay about 80% of our profit was made from shipping charges. We kept our product prices low so they attract the buyer and charged a bit more on shipping. People understood and they always got a great deal. For us it was a no brainer. eBay does not charge you any fees on your shipping charges, just on the selling prices.
The funny thing is we only sold wholesale on eBay. And it seemed we were the only ones really selling wholesale. Most people selling at “wholesale prices” were selling at about 3 times what we could get any of their items.
Many of our customers had eBay stores, others had convenience stores or gift stores, many of them had other businesses and wanted giveaways for their customers.
This is only a small example of what you can do with Wholesale Distribution. And believe me, it’s not the most profitable one or the easiest to start. In my eBook you will find cheaper, faster ways of getting started in wholesale distribution and make even more money than what I made on eBay. I made much more from my other wholesale distribution businesses than what I made on eBay and I worked less too. About the author
Jorge Olson is a consultant, speaker and entrepreneur and owns several Wholesale Distribution companies. His latest eBook teaches you step by step how to get started and make money in Wholesale Distribution. You can find it at http://www.DistributionBusiness.com
My wife had an eBay business and she was a Gold Power Seller selling more than $20,000 per month. She sold mostly watches, lots and lots of watches. She sold them wholesale, by the dozen or by the case, 30 to 60 at a time. They were inexpensive watches; we paid from $2.50 to $4.00 for each one and sold them from $3.50 to $12.00 depending on the quantity purchased.
All of the techniques and suppliers we used are included in my eBook or in my exclusive newsletters you get as a free bonus when you buy my eBook.
When selling on eBay there are several tricks. Let me tell you the 3 tricks I think are the most important.
Trick #1: Build your reviews. Your reviews are your lifeline on eBay. You need to build your reviews so people trust you and want to do business with you. If they don’t trust you, you won’t sell anything on eBay. When you start you will have to offer good deals, free shipping or great communication. I always encouraged people to call me on the phone and ask questions by posting my phone in every listing. I didn’t get a lot of calls but I did get a lot of reviews.
Trick #2: Make big margins. You need those margins. You can’t buy something for $10 and sell it at $12, not even at $15. The listing fees alone will eat you. Remember, you have to pay a listing fee, you have to pay a fee if you sell the product and on top of that you pay PayPal when you collect the money. You could easily pay up to 10% or more of your selling price. This could be your entire profit. If you use any special listings to showcase your product you could be looking at $20 extra per listing category. So again, don’t try to make it on volume, try to make it on big margins. The best things to sell are either unique items or collectibles, name brand items that people are looking for like iPods, or hard to find items or imports.
Trick #3: Make more money on shipping. When my wife sold on eBay about 80% of our profit was made from shipping charges. We kept our product prices low so they attract the buyer and charged a bit more on shipping. People understood and they always got a great deal. For us it was a no brainer. eBay does not charge you any fees on your shipping charges, just on the selling prices.
The funny thing is we only sold wholesale on eBay. And it seemed we were the only ones really selling wholesale. Most people selling at “wholesale prices” were selling at about 3 times what we could get any of their items.
Many of our customers had eBay stores, others had convenience stores or gift stores, many of them had other businesses and wanted giveaways for their customers.
This is only a small example of what you can do with Wholesale Distribution. And believe me, it’s not the most profitable one or the easiest to start. In my eBook you will find cheaper, faster ways of getting started in wholesale distribution and make even more money than what I made on eBay. I made much more from my other wholesale distribution businesses than what I made on eBay and I worked less too. About the author
Jorge Olson is a consultant, speaker and entrepreneur and owns several Wholesale Distribution companies. His latest eBook teaches you step by step how to get started and make money in Wholesale Distribution. You can find it at http://www.DistributionBusiness.com
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