If you are a regular listener to eBay Radio you probably have heard these but WS Radio has put together 50 eBay Selling Tips from 10 leading eBay experts all on one page.
I just posted a comment on Andy Sernovitz’s post “The Little Things Matter #2″ and thought I would expand on it here. Why not, I don’t post enough here anyway.
When Andy spoke to the Education Specialists the day before eBay Live last year in Boston. The one thing I took and implemented right away was giving the customer something extra and unexpected. I began adding a little treat to each package I sent out.
Usually either a Tootsie Pop or 2 pieces of Bazooka Joe bubble gum. I get them at the dollar store and they cost less than 10 cents each. I started getting comments about them in my Feedback, so I kept it up. Until I ran out and kept forgetting to go back to the dollar store.
When eBay made the changes recently and tied PowerSeller Rewards to DSR ratings, I knew I needed to raise my Shipping and Handling score from 4.7 to 4.8 or above to get the 15% discount on fees. I went back to the dollar store and bought more Tootsie Pops. I also made a Thank You card template that I could attach to the Tootsie Pop and write a little note to the buyer. I have started getting comments again about the treat and the notes, so I can’t wait for the PowerSeller Dashboard to get here so I can see if my ratings have gone up enough for my 30 day score to be over 4.8.
What little things do you do for your customer? If you don’t do anything now, what can you think of to start doing to make yourself “Remarkable”.
Update: The yearly price is now gone but it is still a great value at $49 per month!
I just received an email from Janelle Elms, Visionaire of OSI Rock Stars. Her financial advisors are having a fit about how much money she is letting you save by offering a 1 year membership for $297.00. They gave her a week to remove the offer so that gives you a chance to get over there and take advantage of the deal while it lasts. As of March 1st you will only have the monthly option available. (Currently it is $49 per month but it may go up too)
If you don’t know what OSI Rock Stars is all about, it started with the Online Success Institute (OSI) where Janelle would interview eBay experts and Powersellers on a weekly series of teleseminars that were also distributed as podcasts. Because of the popularity of these calls, they were archived and made available on a membership website she dubbed OSI Rock Stars. where members of the website, the Rock Stars, could have 24/7 access to these recordings.
But it didn’t stop there. Janelle has continued adding 10-20 hours of content monthly with both audio interviews and Video webinars. There is now over 100 hours of Success Content available on OSI Rock Stars on topics such as Setting Up Your eBay Store, Tax & Legal Issues, Search Engine Optimization and Advanced Marketing. Janelle’s guests have included Seth Godin, Cliff Ennico, Catherine Seda, eBay’s Dean of Education, Jim “Griff” Griffith and many more. Representatives from top companies have shown us how to; Research with Terapeak, Source Products with OneSource from Worldwide Brands and create lenses on Squidoo, just to name a few.
Each month brings Exclusive Live Training including an All Access Q&A with Janelle, Success Coaching with the Auction Listing Coach and intensive training on various topics such as the 4 hour Profitable Keywords training and over 6 hours (so far) on the recent changes in Fee, Feedback and DSR’s on eBay.
One of the best aspects of OSI Rock Stars is the lively, active and unique Rock Star Community. My fellow Rock Stars are like no other community of eBayers I have encountered. They provide support, encouragement, and answers to help each other succeed, all in a positive environment. You won’t find bickering and complaining like you find on other eBay forums.
If you are ready to Choose Success and take your eBay business to the next level and beyond then NOW is the time to head over to OSI Rock Stars and join at the 1 year rate of $297. Thats almost 1/2 off the monthly rate of $49.00. (But only until March 1st.)
2008 is quickly shaping up to be a banner year for changes at eBay. The biggest being at the top. On January 23rd, eBay announced that CEO Meg Whitman will be stepping down at the end of March with Marketplaces President John Donahoe taking over. PayPal’s Rajiv Dutta will move into Mr. Donahoe’s slot with more shuffling going on down the line. Meg Whitman wrote a nice message to eBayers on the Announcement Board. I met Meg at eBay Livee 2007 in Boston, and found her to be very kind.
The week before brought the announcement of a re-launch of the eBay Trading Assistant Program. eBay Sr. Marketing Manager, Sharon Guldner and American Research Institiute (ARI), the team behind the amazing success of the eBay Education Specialist Program, are working their magic and bringing many changes and new features to the program (I will add details in a separate post). Because of the success of the Education Specialists, eBay will no longer hold the eBay University classes that had been traveling around the U.S.
If you listen to eBay Radio with Griff, you know he has been hinting at other changes to come, including one concerning Feedback. With so many changes coming early in the year, I can’t wait to find out what announcements are made at eBay Live in Chicago.
Do You Twitter? Do you know about Twitter? If not, try it. Twitter is like a mini-blog that lets you keep friends and family ( and customers?) updated on your activity by giving a short (140 character) answer to the constant Twitter Question, “What are you doing?” People can “Follow” you to know what you are doing, and you can follow them.
You can make manual entries, which can include links, from your page on Twitter, from your cell phone, through widgets on Facebook, Wordpress, etc (see my sidebar) or though the use of third party tools that will make automatic entries for you from an RSS feed. I have recently started using one of these services, Twitterfeed, to make updates when I list new items on eBay using my eBay Store RSS Feed and it even puts a link to the item in the Twitter post. (those in the know call them “Tweets”)
I had signed up for Twitter a while back but always kept forgetting to post anything. Recently I discovered a new tool called 40Twitter that will pop up periodically (the default is 40 minutes, hence the name) and ask you, “What are you doing?” You just fill in the box, hit submit and it makes your Tweet.
There are many other tools available and a lively community to help along the way, so try Twitter, and Follow Me.
Its that time of year again, people all around the world are making New Year’s resolutions. If you are like me, you haven’t decided what they should be just yet, but luckily Chris Malta of Worldwide Brands has given us a jump start. He has created a special ‘New Year’s Resolution Audio’ for you. It’s called…
Now, the main problem with most resolutions is they are quickly forgotten. Whether it’s losing weight, quitting smoking, or starting a new business, most people do not follow through with their resolutions.
What’s the big difference between those who accomplish their resolutions and reach their goals and those who don’t?
ACTION.
You must take immediate and swift action as soon as you make a resolution.
So what about you? Will you take action? Will 2008 be your big breakthrough year? I hope so. And I want to do something ‘BIG’ to help you reach all of your business goals this year. If you take action today by listening to the audio and getting your lifetime membership to OneSource, you’ll get a special bonus video called…
“Importing From China”
Importing is a huge multi-billion dollar market and if you know how to take advantage of it, your profit margins could soar. Plus, you’ll be able to market unique products from different countries that aren’t readily available to your competitors. It gives you a huge unfair advantage.
Recently, Worldwide Brands spent thousands of dollars to fly to China and get an ‘insider’s viewpoint’ of the import/export business. It was eye-opening.
This on-location video will be available to OneSource members just for the month of January. They’re going to expand on the video and turn it into a full-blown course in the future, but right now, it’ll be available for you to see in the member’s area until January 31st.
So, if you’re already a member of OneSource, log-in and check it out. And if you’re not a member, take action right now and join OneSource today.
Start the new year off right. Get your wholesale product suppliers lined up. 2008 is going to be a great year for eCommerce business. Forrester Research states that online sales will reach an estimated $229.9 Billion dollars in 2008. It’s time to get your share. Make sure you take advantage of this opportunity.
Best Wishes for 2008!
Have Fun!
Mike
P.S. - Please keep in mind that the import/export suppliers you can use to get going immediately are right inside of OneSource. Log-in today and check them out.
I received a most unique gift this holiday season. I was given an envelope in which was a printout of a web page and a code for an online gift certificate.
“What?”, you say. “An online gift certificate? What is so unique about that? Millions of those were probably given this year.”
Well, it is not what it is that makes it unique but where it is from and how it is to be used.
The gift certificate is from Kiva.org and is used to make a $25 loan to an entrepreneur in an impoverished area of the world.
If you are not familiar with Kiva, they facilitate loans between individuals and small businesses in the developing world. By sponsoring a business, you can help the working poor on their way toward economic independence. During the term of the loan you can receive email updates from the business you sponsored and as the loan is repaid, you get your money back. By partnering with microfinance institutions around the world, Kiva has gained access to entrepreneurs in impoverished communities worldwide. Those partners choose qualified borrowers and upload the profiles to Kiva.org so you can lend to them.
I chose Joan Batuwadde’s group. Joan is a tailor in Kasubi, Uganda. She has requested the loan to buy more stock including thread and hopes to buy a new sewing machine. the other members of her group are; Sarah Nansamba, Sarah Nakazibwe, Farida Akello, Viola Kabajwisa, Esther Namubiru, Merab Namugga and Beatrice Nesigamye. The total loan for the group is $3050.00 and was funded in less than 8 hours. The group will make monthly payments over 1 year to repay the loan.
Unlike other lending sites, you do not earn interest on your loans through Kiva.
In this case it is not about making a profit, it is about making a difference.
If you would like to make a loan, or give a gift certifiate to someone and allow them to make the loan, visit www.kiva.org.
Are you the type of person who waits to the last minute, or just has no clue what to buy and just settles for a Gift Card? That way they can get what they want, right?
Or Maybe you buy gifts for your best customers, or vendors, or associates and always struggle with finding something that is not quite as boring as last year.
Need a new way to get your website in front of new eyes?
Visa has just introduced GiftCardLab.com where you can create Personalized Visa Gift Cards. Its Easy!
Choose “Upload Your Own” or “Shop Design Gallery” to get your Visa Gift Card
(Normal people may want to “Shop Design Gallery” but Brilliant Marketers like those at OSI Rock Stars will want to “Upload Your Own”, with your web address added.) [at least 840x840 but less than 10MB]
Add your selected Visa Gift Cards to your shopping cart
Personalize your Visa Gift Card with your recipient’s name, a selected message and packaging
Send or give your gift in person
Have your recipient activate their Visa Gift Card online
(I added this one myself!) Everywhere your Gift Recipient shops, Your Website gets noticed!
If you want to use your company logo it takes a few extra steps for approval. All the details are on GiftCardLab.com
Create & order a unique gift card online - using your own images at GiftCardLab.com
Several weeks ago I was at an estate sale and bought a vintage Pioneer Audio Rack System with several components. When I listed the first piece, the rack shelf, I mentioned that I would be listing the rack itself in a week or so.
A couple of weeks later I got a message from a potential buyer asking when I was going to list that rack. I had to break the news to him that he had missed it. It had sold two weeks earlier. I also briefly told him how to use my RSS feed to keep informed about my new listings.That question made me realize that there are many eBay users out there, both buyers and sellers, who don’t know that eBay provides RSS feeds, much less how to use them.
RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. A feed is a summary of website content that updates regularly and it can be utilized to keep users informed of the latest changes. eBay provides feeds in RSS 2.0 format for search results, Stores, Announcements, discussion boards and more. Just look for the orange RSS button to subscribe.
The first thing you need to do in order to utilize RSS feeds is find yourself a good RSS aggregator or “reader”. Personally I use Google Reader but there are many others available, both free and paid, each offering its own set of features. Just experiment to find what works best for you.
As a Buyer who is waiting for a particular item or just wanting to know when your Favorite Seller lists new items there are a couple of ways to subscribe to an RSS feed that will keep you informed. If the seller has an eBay Store and has enabled his RSS feed (more on that later) you can just scroll to the bottom of any store page and click on the RSS button. If the seller does not have an eBay Store, you can add them as a “Favorite Seller” or do an advanced search for items just from that seller and then use the RSS button at the bottom of the search results page. This can be done for any type of search, by the way.
As a Seller, if you have an eBay Store you must turn on your RSS feed before your buyers can subscribe to it. If you go to Manage My Store, you will see on the left, in the Marketing Tools section, under Store Marketing is Listing Feeds. When you go into Listing Feeds you will need to choose the radio button for “Activate your Store Inventory listings via RSS” and click apply. Once activated, a RSS button will appear at the bottom of your eBay Store pages. If you do not have a store just have your buyers add you as a Favorite Seller and they can subscribe to a feed from your item listing page.
Now you can keep up to date with your Favorite Sellers and your buyers will know when you list new items.
The 2 biggest questions you must have answered if you want to run a profitable internet business are..
1. What do I sell?
and
2. Where do I get it?
It doesn’t matter if you sell on eBay, Yahoo stores, or your own website. Finding hot products to sell is something you’ll always have to do for your business. I know companies who spend hundreds of thousands of dollars each year just to source products.
You don’t have to do that.
Worldwide Brands will handle the heavy lifting of product sourcing for you and let you concentrate on growing your business.
If you don’t already know who Worldwide Brands is, let me tell you about them…
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I chose Joan Batuwadde’s group. Joan is a tailor in Kasubi, Uganda. She has requested the loan to buy more stock including thread and hopes to buy a new sewing machine. the other members of her group are; Sarah Nansamba, Sarah Nakazibwe, Farida Akello, Viola Kabajwisa, Esther Namubiru, Merab Namugga and Beatrice Nesigamye. The total loan for the group is $3050.00 and was funded in less than 8 hours. The group will make monthly payments over 1 year to repay the loan.
