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***
The
newsletter for
Issue 0401
=================================
This
newsletter is written by and for eBay and QXL users in the
=================================
In
this issue:-
1. How to find everything you ever wanted to
know about eBay
2. Do pictures help you sell?
3. Ten Tips for Buyers and Sellers
4. eBay and QXL Personal Coaching
5. Someone's auctioning WHAT???? Unusual items
currently available.
6. Finally ......
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Brian
McGregor speaking - you receive the UK Internet Auction
Users
Newsletter because you have bought from me or enquired
about
my auction items on eBay or QXL.
I
have no wish to encourage SPAM, so if you do not want to
receive
this newsletter, the only one dedicated to
sellers,
you can unsubscribe by sending a blank email to
=================================
Inspirational
quote of the day
"You
cannot raise a man up by calling him down."
William
Boetcker
=================================
1. How to find everything you ever wanted to
know about eBay
The last time I saw a published figure, eBay had 46 million members worldwide.
This
is a massive resource of knowledge and intelligence on how to get the most
out of eBay.
Did
you know that eBay
Community - it's next to Help on all main screens -
you'll be taken there.
Here you will find a plethora of useful information such as eBay Announcements, Press
Releases,
Suggestion Box, Charity ideas and Message Boards.
Message Boards are where you can share and exchange information and experiences with
other
members, and they are useful for both buyers and sellers.
There are several different Boards available, but I find the two most useful are Community
Q & A and Category Chat. If you've never used a Message Board before, don't worry, it's
very
easy. If you just get in there you'll soon get the idea.
If you're feeling really adventurous you could join in with live chat. You will see on the
Community Page, where the Boards are listed, an item called UK Board. This is different
from other the other Message Boards which eBay has in that it runs as a live chat system.
Again, if you've never used live chatting there's no problem, you can just go straight on as a
viewer and see what is happening before you decide if or whether you want to add your two
penneth!
It's worth going to the Community page from time to time, even if it's just to see eBay's latest
announcements.
On the other hand, it is comforting to know that many other members probably have the same
issues
and questions about eBay as you have.
=================================
2. Do pictures help you sell?
I have to admit this is a rhetorical question. There is no question that the vast majority of items
will
sell better if they are shown in all their glory in the form of a picture
or pictures.
There are exceptions of course, but in general I find a picture IS worth a thousand words on
eBay
and QXL.
Having established the case, how do you get pictures onto your auctions? If you are already
familiar with this process, you may wish to move on to the next topic of the newsletter. Although you
may
like to stick around as I might have some new ideas for you too.
Let's
first of all consider how and where to get a picture of your item. There are
three options:
a)
Use a digital camera
b)
Use a scanned image
c)
Use a "library" photo
a)
Use a digital camera
If you have a digital camera, you can photograph your items for auction. You will know that pictures
taken
by your digital camera can be loaded onto your PC.
b)
Use a scanned image
If you have a scanner, or access to one, you can take an "old fashioned" photo of your item, and
scan
it into your computer.
c)
Use a "library" photo
If your item is a standard branded product you may be able to search the internet and find images
of the product. If you find one that is appropriate, place your mouse pointer over the picture and right
click.
In most cases you will be able to "Save Picture As..", and thus
save it on your PC.
Having now got a picture of your item on your PC, whether by a digital camera, a scanner or a library
shot, you can usually improve it by using photo-editing software. You probably already have this
software if you have a digital camera or a scanner. If you don't have such software, you can find
shareware
or freeware versions at sites such as these:
http://freeware.intrastar.net/
I
use PaintShopPro, and find it has just the right balance of "ease of use"
versus clever features.
You need this type of software to achieve a couple of things. First, to get your picture into JPEG
or GIF file format - these are the only two image formats accepted by both eBay and QXL. Next,
to make sure the file size of the image is less than 50Kb - anything larger will result in your image
taking
an unacceptable length of time to load onto your auction page.
Once you have your picture ready, and stored on your own PC, you can now include it in your eBay
and
QXL listings at no cost.
For many items a single picture is fine. If, however, you want to add further pictures to your auction
listing,
there are several options.
eBay have a new Picture Service option, which lets you add more pictures to your auction page -
for
a price. QXL doesn't have any built-in additional picture capability.
If you want to look at ways you can DIY multiple pictures onto your auction page, then you first
need to have your images hosted on the Internet, somewhere. Your own ISP has probably given
you an amount of free web space - you can use this to host pictures for your auctions. Wherever
you store them, each picture has its own unique address (URL) and this is the reference you use
to
access your images.
eBay
allows you to add more pictures free, providing you arrange to "host" them.
For ultimate flexibility, if you do have web space available to you, and you place some images in
this space, you can show these photos anywhere on your auction page. You will need to know HTML
coding
to achieve this, but it is well worth the effort.
=================================
3. Ten Tips for Buyers and Sellers
Keep secure
Mmake sure your passwords are really complicated. A mix of upper and lower case
letters plus interspersed numbers is best. Use what are termed as "dictionary obscure" names too,
not
obvious ones such as a Christian name.
Save time
Whenever you find you are typing the same thing over and over e.g. usernames, use
a lovely piece of software called ShortKeys Lite. It's free, and you can download it from
http://www.shortkeys.com/lite.htm.
Get organised
If you use eBay and QXL regularly you will already know how quickly the emails
mount up. Get your folders in your email program set up properly now! Don't delay, you will save
loads
of time in the coming months.
Squeeze your graphics
Whenever you put a picture on your auction page you add download
time. You can make sure your images are compressed to the lowest file size possible by using
SmartSaverPro.
You can download a free trial version from http://www.ulead.com.
Quote the auction
Whether buying or selling, always quote the auction number in the subject of
any emails about that auction. So, whenever you get a query about it from your seller or buyer you
can
simply search on the auction number, and pull back all the relevant emails.
Accept credit/debit cards
If you're selling, you WILL attract more bidders if you offer to take
credit/debit cards. Fortunately you don't need a merchant account to be able to do this. Just open
a free account with PayPal - the most used payment mechanism on Internet auctions. With PayPal
you can accept all the usual credit cards plus Solo and Switch debit cards. If you don't have a
PayPal account, you can instantly create one free by clicking here:
Become a Search expert
When you're looking for items on eBay or QXL, don't forget the
Advanced Search facility. On eBay click on the Search button, and then Advanced Search.
On QXL, Advanced Search is under the Search box. You can be much more specific, and
save yourself hundreds of hits, which you have might have to scroll through to find the one
item
that you really wanted in the first place.
Be polite
Whether buying or selling, always try and be polite. As a priority, you want to avoid
any negative feedback. Although it might appear that feedback is more important to sellers than
buyers, this isn't necessarily the case. Even if you're only a buyer at the moment, you might find
sellers
exclude you from bidding if your negative ratio is poor.
Become a Help Expert
I recommend you spend some time on eBay and QXL Help pages.
Hidden in there are jewels like Proxy Bidding (eBay) and the benefit of accepting partial
quantities
(QXL). No, I'm not going to explain these for you - have a look in Help!
Finally, the mathematicians amongst you will have noted this is only nine tips, and I promised
you
ten!
my eBay and QXL Personal Coaching service. eBay and QXL is a marvellous hobby, but take it
from me it's even better when you start making real money from auctions.
=================================
4. eBay and QXL Personal Coaching
This newsletter has resulted in me getting an avalanche of questions and enquiries about making
money
from selling on eBay and QXL.
Many people try selling on eBay and QXL, they find out it works, and discover it is an enjoyable
and
stimulating process.
What then seems to happen is that they want to develop their use of auctions, and find that getting
beyond
that first stage requires them to learn and understand some new skills and
resources.
I now have a group of people who are using me as a personal coach as they grow their own
eBay and QXL "businesses". I show them short cuts, tips, methods, systems, and all sorts of ideas
which come from my own experience. I am not quite earning a fulltime living from my auction activity,
but I hope to be soon.
I
am now making a limited number of places available in my personal coaching
group.
If you would like find out about my personal coaching services to help people succeed on eBay and
QXL,
please email me at brian@workwinners.com
with Coaching in the Subject line.
My
coaching service is chargeable, so please don't email if you object to paying
for such services.
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5. Someone's auctioning WHAT???? Unusual items
currently available.
Nothing
surprises me when it comes to Internet auctions. Amuse yourself with some
of these beauties ...
-----
Got a spare £46,000? If so you can have your business advertised on the leathers of a motor cycle
rider who will drive around London for 8 hours each day for 46 weeks! It's true, look at eBay auction
2923973277.
-----
Here's an item which flaunts all the rules. It is very heavy, somewhat fragile yet can't really be wrapped.
How about some paving slabs? It's a "buyer collect" job so, if you're anywhere near Kenilworth in
Warwickshire,
and you're looking for paving slabs, check out QXL auction 8170796.
-----
I don't believe it!! You know the scene - you're in a night club or you're at work, you've taken an illegal
substance and they're are doing random tests! They now want a urine sample from you. Well, never get
caught
short again. Simply bid for this bottle of pure(!) urine. Look for yourself,
it's on eBay 2924364081
-----
Now this is what I call initiative. How about an auction for a white van journey? Well, it's not quite an
auction for the journey, more an advert for the services of a white van and driver. It's here; QXL item
8145326.
-----
Speaking of initiative... Are you based near East Anglia and looking for a Private Detective? Well, you
can
Buy it Now on eBay 2924687946 for £99!
-----
Disclaimer
- I have no association with any of the sellers of the above items.
================================
6.
Finally .....
I
have been using eBay and QXL for around two years, initially
selling
items. My current feedback ratings are 494 on eBay and 92on QXL.
I
have three User IDs, two on eBay and one on QXL.
You
can view my current eBay auctions here:
eBay
User ID: gbm0
If
this link doesn't work, cut and paste the full link into your browser, and
press enter.
eBay
User ID: workwinners
If
this link doesn't work, cut and paste the full link into your browser, and
press enter.
To
see my QXL auctions:
If
this link doesn't work, cut and paste the full link into your browser, and
press enter.
I
also write information guides, and you can find out about these
================================
And
finally...
If
you are changing email addresses soon please put a note on
send
a blank email to:
...AFTER
you get your new email address.
I
don't want to lose touch with you!
If
a friend sent you this newsletter you need to send a blank
That
way you can get your own copy next time!
Regards
Brian
McGregor
Editor
- "UK Internet Auction Users Newsletter"
==================== A note about SPAM ====================
"UK
Internet Auction Users Newsletter" is published whenever
information
to share.
In
each issue you'll get ideas on how to make the most of buying
on
eBay and QXL auction sites from a UK perspective.
If
you would like to unsubscribe please use the link at the
Finally,
be assured that your email address will NEVER be shared
I
can't stand spam, and don't want to send any. Thank you for
on this mailing list.
=====================
Copyright
Information
=====================
Copyright
© 2003 Brian McGregor. All rights reserved.
No
part of this newsletter may be copied or published without
but
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you
keep it in its entirety.
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for
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