Posted by M.S. on August 13, 2009
In this economic slowdown, would you like to make extra money or build a business selling on the Internet?
Take a look at the 10 simple steps to improve your chances of making money selling on eBay!
I have learned these techniques as a successful eBay Powerseller, selling on eBay since 1998, and I now have over 4,000 positive feedbacks.
Now, I am trained by eBay as an Education Specialist & I can help you be successful on eBay too!
The Top Ten Things You Can do to be Successful on eBay!
1. Research the item: Be sure you know everything you can about the item you are listing, so you can accurately describe it and determine an approximate value. Research the item by doing a Google search.
2. Start with a low starting price. I always start with a $9.99 starting price and have a no reserve auction. This means the item will sell to the highest bidder. Low starting prices encourages participation and bidding. You can protect yourself with a reserve auction for a valuable piece.
3. End auctions on Sunday evenings. I always start my auctions on a Sunday evening around 9 pm Eastern time. (That is 6 pm West Coast time.) That way, the auction will end 7 days later at the same time. That is prime time for people to be on their computers and bidding! eBay traffic proves that’s a great time!
4. Include Important Keywords in the Title. Did you know that your title is critically important to your eBay listing & is the main way people will find your item? For that reason, research all the important words that people associate with this item. Look at other eBay listings to see keywords others have included in their auction listings for similar items.
5. Write a catchy description and include all details. Write as if you were writing an ad—because you are! The description & photos are the only way buyers can learn about the item & decide to buy. Include all flaws or damage about the item. People get very upset & leave negative feedback if you are not honest about the condition.
6. Take great photos. Great photos in good lighting is crucial! Include as many photos as you need to show all the features of the item. Take close ups of significant features of the piece. Make it easy for prospective buyers to get excited about your item! Then they will bid more!
7. Keep Shipping Costs Low or Free. Set shipping prices low. Use the Paypal shipping feature that allows you to print US Post Office labels from home with free delivery confirmation included. The mail carrier picks them up from you for FREE- so no more trips to the post office.
8. Be available during the auction to answer questions. Check your e-mail often throughout the day and evening. People will have questions & they expect timely responses, so answer them promptly.
9. Ship the items as soon as you are paid. I love accepting Paypal, since they handle the entire financial portion of the transaction. Once a payment is in your Paypal account, you can ship, since it is considered cleared. Buyers LOVE it when you ship quickly. That helps encourage positive feedback!
10. Be generous with positive feedback. I leave glowing positive feedback as soon as I ship the item to a buyer. This sets a pleasant tone & the buyer is in a positive frame of mind when they receive their item. Then, they are much more likely to leave me positive feedback!
Go to InternetAuctionDiva.com for a schedule of eBay classes starting soon, so you can begin making money on the Internet!
Be sure to check out my blog posts on TheDealDivas on the Charlotte Observer’s online website for lots of frugal tips and easy ways to save & make lots of money!
Posted by M.S. on June 12, 2009
Do you work from home or want to jazz up your commercial office space? Would you like to have a fashionable office space but don’t want to spend a lot of money?
If you are like most people, you have computer equipment, printers and storage that you would like to disguise in your office. You do not need to spend alot to accomplish that! Take a look at what I did to create a fabulous yet frugal office, for very little money!
I built this neat table from wood I obtained FREE, then I sewed a very easy & inexpensive tablecloth to hide all the stuff underneath it.
The wood was FREE from a construction site near my house. It is amazing how much perfectly good wood is throw into the junk pile when a new home or office is constructed.
I stopped at the site and asked the workers if I could take some of the scrap wood and they said “Take all you want–It’s going to the landfill otherwise!“ Man–I hate to think of all this terrific lumber going to waste.
Remember when you do things like this, you are not only saving lots of money, you are actually helping the environment, because you reuse and recycle items! How cool is that?
The long skinny pieces were the perfect size, so I grabbed those and made myself a table.
Ok, my husband actually did the hammering, but I gave him the dimensions.
Inexpensive neutral colored fabric, similar to the color of the walls, was purchased and used to make a quick slipcover type tablecloth. Easy breezy!
The 2 drawer cabinet underneath the table was acquired at a garage sale for $1. It’s perfect for holding printer paper and other goodies for the office.
The next area that needed to be addressed was the carpeting. We had beautiful wood floors in that room, so I wanted a room rug that accented the colors in there.
I found this indoor/outdoor type rug at a local home center for only $40! It looks very similar to one I saw at Pottery Barn for much less money!
There needed to be a chair in the office and we had one that didn’t match the colors in the room, so I found an inexpensive slipcover online & covered it in a classic white canvas.
Nice and neutral and it works in the room beautifully.
Now we can get busy in the beautifully decorated office working and making money!
Posted by M.S. on June 2, 2009
Have you been looking for a way to raise some extra cash? You have come to the right place!
Let me give you a heads up on several categories where eBay is offering discounted listing fees right now! You can make some money while you work from home!
Starting today and going through June 15, Fixed Price Insertion Fees on eBay will be just 5¢ for golf clubs, cameras, cell phones and other similar type items.
All listings must be created with the Product Details feature (Pre-filled Item Information). Product Details automatically fills in your listing with the item information and a stock photo. How much easier can you get?
Don’t have any of those items laying around? Go to some yard sales! I see this kind of stuff there all the time!
Another fabulous deal on right now is for collectible books. From May 27 – June 9th, you can list books for in the categories of Books—Antiquarian & Collectible and Antiques—Books & Manuscripts. This promotion is good for both Auction-style and Fixed Price listings.
eBay Motors is having a listing sale from June 1 through June 8, Insertion Fees in select Parts & Accessories categories. These listing fees will be just 35¢
Included are Fixed Price and Auction style listings in Apparel and Merchandise, ATV Parts, Aviation Parts, Boat Parts, Motorcycle Parts, Personal Watercraft Parts, and Other Vehicle Parts.
The sooner you list some items to sell on eBay, the sooner you will be making some money!
Get Going!
Posted by M.S. on May 22, 2009
Would it surprise you to know that there is a way you can make your life simpler and easier and you will save money at the same time?
Many people are surprised to learn that they can print postage labels and ship all their packages from their own homes or offices through the US Post Office using FREE supplies provided by them! There are boxes of every shape and size and you can choose as many as you need.
You can order boxes directly from the post office at www.USPS.com and they will deliver them to your home or office FREE of charge!
This is a perfect solution for all your holiday shipping needs or for shipping all the goodies you can sell on eBay or Amazon!
Save time, money and hassles on all your shipping needs–not to mention the gasoline savings thanks to the US Post Office!
You can pay for the postage easily with your PayPal Account and even get discounts on the cost of the shipping. As an added bonus–you will receive FREE Delivery Confirmation when you purchase postage through Paypal! That service costs 65 cents if you get it at the post office!
Sign up for PayPal here!
See how easy it is with this step by step tutorial Print labels and Pay with Paypal.
To make life even easier and to save gas-you can even schedule a pickup with your mail carrier through the USPS.com website. I just leave a note in the mailbox for my mailman and ask him to come to the door.
This is perfect for Work at Home Moms and Dads!
No more standing in line with the kids at the post office!
Posted by M.S. on May 13, 2009
Want to pay off debt and start to accumulate savings, but you don’t know where to start? Let me tell you about the technique we used many years ago when we wanted to save for our first piece of real estate.
Determine the exact amount of money you want to accumulate per month. Earn that extra money and along with your reduced expenses, pay off debt, then start SAVING and Investing it. Then, Get Rich!
There are so many ways to increase your income that you might not have considered! Keep an open mind!
My Absolute Favorite: Sell on eBay www. eBay.com There is a market for practically everything on eBay! Clear out your closets, go to Spring yard sales, or offer to sell things for other people and make a commission! I will talk much more in depth about this in future posts and give you tons of ideas to get maximum money for your items.
Check out Amazon. com to see how easy it is to sell current books, tapes and DVDs. Amazon.com
You don’t even need to take pictures or write descriptions! Simply enter the name of the item you want to list and Amazon will bring up all the information. Along the right hand column, look for More Buying Choices. Below that it says “Sell Yours Here”. Click that and fill out your info–and the item is listed!
Are you crafty or artistic? Check out www.Etsy.com This website allows anyone to sell their handmade items! I know 2 gals that are making great money by selling their handmade yoga bags, totes, and clothing!
The beauty of the Internet is that you can make money online with NO childcare costs!
Learn how to do something that other people want to know about–then teach others how to do it!! Call community colleges and continuing education departments at local universities, as well as senior centers! That’s what I did after becoming a successful eBay Powerseller! Now, I am trained by eBay & teach folks how to become successful sellers on eBay!
I wanted a website and didn’t want to spend thousands of dollars to get one, so I took training and learned how to build my own FREE website. Now, I teach other people how to build their own Free websites!
There are teachers for everything from painting to auto mechanics to cake decorating. Anything you can think of could be offered as a class! Learn something!
An added bonus of my teaching gigs is I get a gift certificate from the school that allows me to take 2 FREE classes each year! I receive that just because I am a teacher!! How awesome is that? Ask your school- maybe they offer teachers free tuition too! What a great way to learn more skills to make you extra money–at NO cost to you!
Take look at this fabulous list of 52 other ways to make extra money. 52 Ways to Make Extra Money
Now–get going!
Posted by M.S. on April 30, 2009
Would it surprise you to know that 1.3 million people, just like you, are making a living selling on eBay? Over $100,000 worth of sales are made on eBay every minute. That’s over $ 50 billion in sales on eBay every year!
One of the things I love the most about selling on eBay for Moms (and Dads) is that it allows you to work at home and earn extra income while caring for your children with NO childcare costs.
Not to mention the time you save on commuting and NO expensive work clothes! Think of the money you will save on gas costs, too. The reduced stress of all that juggling is priceless!
An eBay business is a perfect way to increase your income with essentially no investment! There is no factory to build, no staff to be hired! You can earn money and build wealth without any risk.
Are you ready to tap into the over 90 million people registered on eBay in 38 countries? You have access to ALL of them from the comfort of your own home! Try getting that many people to buy your products locally!
When I started selling on eBay in 1998, my husband was skeptical that other people would want this “junk” I had accumulated. As the money started rolling in- he became a believer!
Today, you can sell virtually anything on eBay and tap into the wealth of the world’s largest auction marketplace!
Take a look at the Hottest Selling items on eBay right now. Maybe you have some of them in your closet, just waiting to be turned into cash!
Click Here to See What’s Hot on eBay Right Now
