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UK
The
newsletter for buyers and bidders on
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This latest
issue is now also available online at
http://www.workwinners.com/newsletter/040209.htm
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In This
Issue
1. Hints
and Tips
2. A
Searching Lesson
3. And I Thought this was a Birth Control Method!
4. Well, a
Man can Change his Mind, can't he?
5.
Someone's auctioning what? Unusual items currently available
6. Finally
7. My
Products Catalogue
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Inspirational
quote of the day
"The
reward of a thing well done is to have done it."
Ralph Waldo
Emerson
=============================
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.
If you do
not want to receive this newsletter, the only one
dedicated
to eBay
email to
remove@workwinners.com
=============================
1. Hints
and Tips
Here are
some useful hints and tips for
sellers.
a) I've
recently been made aware of a super tip on how to handle
potentially
fraudulent emails purporting to be from eBay or
PayPal, or even your bank.
But before
I give you that tip, here's two more to help you trade
safely.
One, just so you know, eBay and PayPal will always
address
you by name - they will never send you an email addressed
Dear eBay member, or Dear PayPal member. If
you receive an email
addressed
in that way, delete it instantly.
Two, never
click on a link in an email to sign into an account.
But suppose
you get an email which you're convinced is genuine,
and you
feel you must act on it, here's the new tip:
Deliberately key in an incorrect password.
Put in the
right username, but make sure you type in a wrong
password.
If the people who sent you the email are genuine, they
will know
your password is wrong, and you will get a message back
to the
effect that the username/password is incorrect.
If the emailer is a fraudster, they will take away your username
and
password, unaware that the information you have given them
is
worthless and won't work!
Low tech
true, but the best advice I've heard on this subject.
b) While
we're talking about potential fraud, here are a few of
the
latest emails being sent out. The fraudsters are getting
cleverer
by the minute.
A new
message to members pretending to be from eBay tells them
they will
get a reward of 30% off service fees when they get to
the next
feedback star level, and to register for this reduction
now.
Don't do it!
A message
purporting to be from PayPal asking to enlist your
help
stamp out
hackers! If you just give them your log-in details they
will scan
your PayPal account and tell you if there has been
any
suspicious
or unauthorised activity. Don't fall for
it!
c) Here's a
neat tip if you're interested in buying DVDs on eBay.
Or, if
you're selling DVDs, please take note. If you're looking
for a
Harry Potter DVD, you probably type those words in eBay's
search
box. However, even though they're selling a DVD, about 4%
of
sellers don't put DVD in their auction title. Why is this
significant?
Where the word DVD is omitted, these DVDs sell for
less. So,
go to the DVDs section, search for Harry Potter -dvd,
and you
will bring these bargains up in your search results. See
later on
in this newsletter for more information on the effective
use of
eBay searching.
d) I
recently came across an auction with a £1.99 Buy it Now
price.
This was fine, except the Postage & Packaging was listed
as
£9.99. This may sound unreasonable, but
at least the seller
had
indicated the P&P price in the auction and so bidders had the
opportunity
to see how much they were committed to pay if they
bought on
that auction.
I've
mentioned before that I recommend buyers email sellers to
clarify
any uncertainties they may have about their auction. P&P
falls
into this category, as it is not obligatory for a seller to
disclose
this up-front in the auction. Of course, it's good
practice,
and honest sellers will always show costs such as P&P.
But there
is an increasing trend to "sell low" and build up P&P
charges.
One of the reasons for this is that sellers wish to
reduce
their listing fees. The listing fee paid by the seller is
based on
the auction Start Price. Any P&P mentioned in the
auction
is not counted by eBay in the Start Price calculation to
arrive at
the listing fee.
So, if you
have any doubts at all about any aspects of an
auction,
ask the seller a question.
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2. A
Searching Lesson
76 million
times each day, members use eBay's search box when
they're
looking for items that are of interest to them.
It occurred
to me that very few of these members would know how
eBay's
search worked. Put another way, knowing how eBay's search
operates
might help you in making your searches more effective.
For a
start, words keyed into the standard search box are only
matched
against auction titles, and not against the contents of
auction
descriptions.
eBay's
searching defaults to an "all present" style of search.
This means
if you key in two words such as finding nemo, the
search will
return auctions where the title contains both words
in any
order. It won't bring back auctions if the title contains
only one
of the words.
If you want
to do a search of an "either or" style, you place
parentheses
around the words and separate them with a comma and
no
spaces. So, if you key in (finding,nemo)
your search will
return
auctions with either finding or nemo in the auction
title.
Of course,
with the finding nemo example, what you really want to
do is
find auctions where finding nemo occurs as a phrase.
To do
this, you
place quotation marks before and after. So, if you key
in
"finding nemo" your search will return
auctions where the
titles
contain the exact phrase finding nemo.
If you're
not sure of the spelling of a particular word, or if
the word
you want to search on is a preface with several endings,
you can
use an asterisk as a "wild card". For example if you're
interested
in a Vuitton handbag, some sellers misspell vuitton or
type it
in incorrectly. You could search on vui*, and this
will
bring
back auctions with vuitton or vuiton
in the title, or
indeed vui followed by any other combination of letters.
These are
probably the main search weapons you need to save you
time, and
to help you home in on the items you want to find.
If you wish
to explore eBay searching in even more depth, you
will find
a useful description of the process here:
http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/buy/search_commands.html
=============================
3. And I Thought this was a Birth Control Method!
eBay have
announced a Mutual Withdrawal policy. If you're as
mature in
age as I am, you might be forgiven for thinking eBay
has
entered (sic) the debate on contraception.
However, on
reading their announcement more carefully I see this
concerns
feedback.
Effective
from
which
enables members to mutually agree to withdraw feedback
relating
to a transaction between them.
This is
good news for sellers who feel they have received
negative
or neutral feedback unfairly, and they have the
agreement
of their buyer that this is the case.
The
terminology is slightly misleading, however, in that the
feedback
originally given still remains in view against the
member,
but with a note underneath saying it has been "withdrawn"
by mutual
agreement.
The
withdrawal does affect the feedback rating, however. For
example,
if a negative feedback is withdrawn via this process,
the
feedback rating of that eBay member will increase.
The other
unusual feature of this policy is that it is, by
definition,
two-way. If a seller and a buyer agree on a mutual
withdrawal
of feedback, then both feedbacks are withdrawn. You
cannot
agree for one of the parties only to have their feedback
withdrawn,
Nevertheless,
I view this as a good step forward. Sometimes
individuals
regret leaving negative feedback, once they
understand
the other party's point of view. At least with this
policy
some redress is now feasible.
The only
downside is that the policy does not apply
retrospectively. Only listings that end on or after February 9,
2004 can
take advantage of the new policy.
To read
more about the Mutual Feedback Withdrawal policy, go to
this web
page:
http://pages.ebay.co.uk/services/forum/mfwfaq.html
=============================
4. Well, a
Man can Change his Mind, can't he?
You
probably know I've been writing and selling eBooks
and
Special Reports for some time.
Although
many people have enquired, to date I have never allowed
anyone
else to re-sell these publications. I feel like they're my
babies.
However, as
my internet profile changes, I have become much more
involved
in advising and guiding others on eBay issues. I am also
now
increasingly involved in working with partners on joint
projects.
All of this
is a long winded way of saying that I realise I
cannot
now do justice to the promotion and selling of my own
information
products.
So I have
taken the decision to allow a select number of people
to have
the rights to re-sell my eBooks and Special Reports.
Why would
anyone want to resell my publications? Well, they're
pretty
popular. In fact, I have sold thousands of my eBooks
and
Special Reports in the last twelve months.
And my
latest title, 'The eBay Formula', is probably the fastest
selling eBook on how to make money on
I stress
again this resell opportunity will only be made
available
to a limited number of people. What I am looking for is
25 partners
in this venture, as I don't have the time to
efficiently
manage more than this.
I know this
won't appeal to everyone, but if you're selling on
eBay
already and you wish to consider adding some superb (well, I
am
biased!) eBooks and Special
Reports to your own portfolio of
products,
you might like to consider what I have to offer.
If you want
to know all about this opportunity, please go to the
following
web page:
http://www.workwinners.com/rs15.htm
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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 ...
Just type
the auction number into the Search Box on eBay.
If ever you
fancy a night out in
reading -
this could be for you. A genuine steelman is on offer
here
2986787280
This seller
could get a scriptwriting job anywhere (please ignore
the
spelling). One phrase does it for me. See if you can guess
which -
it's to do with the nose. Here's the auction 2986553999
Can anyone
tell me what this is all about please? 2595347573
Maybe this
one isn't as silly as it sounds. There will be plenty
living
away from home who might be tempted. You can almost taste
it - take
a look 2986544172
If you had
a heart, you would bid on this. How can you possibly
resist?
See 3586562159
Disclaimer
- I have no association with any of the sellers of the
above
items.
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6. Finally
If you are
changing email addresses soon please put a note on
your
calendar to send a blank email to:
newsletter@workwinners.com
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
email to:
newsletter@workwinners.com
That way
you can get your own copy next time!
Increasingly,
email filters are preventing genuine email
communications such as this newsletter from reaching subscribers.
If you use
any method of checking on your email, and you wish to
continue
receiving the newsletter you may need to include my
email
address in your safe list, whitelist or address book.
Thank you
for continuing to take my newsletter - I hope
it gives
you as much enjoyment to read, as it does me to write.
Regards
Brian
McGregor
Editor -
"
=============================
7. My
Products Catalogue
All the
following are original products, services and
opportunities written, created by myself.
"The
eBay Formula"
How to sell
successfully on
time.
http://www.workwinners.com/ebf/nloffer.htm
NB Save £5
with this Special Offer price for Newsletter readers.
"
Nine genuine
http://www.workwinners.com/UK_Dropshipping.htm
"eBay Keyword Selling Service"
The top 4
buyer keywords by eBay category, emailed weekly to
subscribers.
"Sourcing
DVDs, CDs and Videos at Trade Prices"
Where and
how to buy DVDs, CDs and Videos at trade prices, and
how to
sell for profit.
http://www.workwinners.com/DVD_CD_Video_at_Trade_Prices.htm
"Sourcing
and Selling Electrical Products for Big Profits"
Where and
how to buy Widescreen TVs, DVD players and VCR players
at trade
prices, and how to sell for profit.
http://www.workwinners.com/Electrical_wholesale.htm
"Sourcing
Maternity Clothing and Baby Needs at Trade Prices"
Where and how to buy at trade prices.
http://www.workwinners.com/Maternity_baby_nursery_at_Trade_Prices.htm
"Sourcing
and Selling Jewellery for Big Profits"
Where and
how to buy jewellery at trade prices, and how to sell
for
profit.
http://www.workwinners.com/Jewellery_wholesale.htm
"Sourcing
Mobile Phone Accessories at Trade Prices"
Where and
how to buy mobile phone accessories at trade prices,
and how
to sell for profit.
http://www.workwinners.com/Mobile_Phone_Accessories_wholesale.htm
"The
Streetwise Buyer's Guide to Radar Detectors"
Don't buy a
Radar Detector system until you read this.
http://www.workwinners.com/Streetwise_Radar_Detectors.htm
Oil
Painting Marketing Business
Become my
partner in this pleasant money-making venture
http://www.workwinners.com/oil_paintings.htm
See the
whole catalogue here: http://www.workwinners.com
=============================
"
In each
issue you'll get ideas on how to make the most of buying
and
selling on eBay sites from a
If you
would like to unsubscribe please use the link at the
bottom of
this email.
Finally, be
assured that your email address will never be shared
or sold -
ever!
=============================
Copyright
Information
Copyright © 2006 Brian McGregor. All rights reserved.
NE25 9RD
No part of
this newsletter may be copied or published without
prior
permission, but do please forward it to your friends and
colleagues
as long as you keep it in its entirety. Brian
McGregor,
as publisher, disclaims any liability for the use of
any
information contained herein. We further claim no
responsibility for the legality or accuracy of any advertisements
or
articles. It is the reader's responsibility to practice due
diligence
in any product or service acquired based on information
contained
in this newsletter.
To
unsubscribe, send a blank email to remove@workwinners.com
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