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eBay Auction Newsletter
The newsletter for buyers and bidders on eBay
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This latest issue is now also available online at
http://www.workwinners.com/newsletter/040910.htm
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In This Issue
1. News and Views
2. It's all in the Title
3. Here's what I do
4. Top of the Addiction League
5. eBay Speaking
6. Someone's auctioning what? Unusual items currently available
7. Finally
8. My Products Catalogue
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Inspirational quote of the day
"Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small
things brought together."
Vincent Van Gogh
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Brian McGregor speaking - you receive the eBay Auction
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 unsubscribe@workwinners.com
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1. News and Views
a) Have you heard about the auction on eBay that received over 17
million hits? I make no comment on the content, other than to say
"only in
picture on the auction is now missing. But I can tell you, it was
of a man in a wedding dress! You can read all about it here:
http://www.workwinners.com/nlr901.htm
I make no comment on the content, other than to say "only in
b) Discounts for your use
If you shop at Curry's, Dixons, the Early Learning Centre, PC
World or Littlewoods Extra, you will be interested in this. I
know it's nothing to do with eBay, but a reader brought this to
my attention, and I thought we all might as well all benefit.
Here is a way in which you can get from 7.5% to 20% discount on
purchases of new items from the Online Shops of these retailers.
Check it out here:
http://www.workwinners.com/nlr902.htm
While I'm on about useful offers, I'm indebted to Lee for sending
me details of how to get a renowned and well respected book at no
charge.
If you've heard of Napoleon Hill, you may know that he wrote
"Think and Grow Rich". You can get a complimentary copy here:
http://www.workwinners.com/nlr903.htm
c) eBay Radio
With information, some people find it easier to listen to it
rather than reading it. If this is you, then you may well find
eBay Radio to be helpful.
eBay Radio is a weekly show, but everything they produce is
available in the archive.
Topics covered by eBay Radio recently can be found here:
http://www.workwinners.com/nlr904.htm
eBay Radio is produced in
information is relevant here. Also, be prepared for the
occasional advert. eBay Radio home page is here:
http://www.workwinners.com/nlr905.htm
d) Before Your Very Eyes
Regular readers will recall that I have mentioned consignment or
drop-off stores before. This is a relatively new phenomenon
brought about by the success of eBay.
They are basically shops where anyone can drop in goods to be
auctioned on eBay. The shop provides the service of researching
value, photographing and creating, managing and concluding the
auction. The shop provides this service for a commission.
This service has now started to appear in the
called SellStuffEasy
have opened for business in
accept any item for auction which is worth more than £20.
It occurs to me if you have enough eBay skills and experience,
you might consider setting up something like this yourself in
your area.
You can see how SellStuffEasy do it here:
If you're at all interested, I recommend you move now. It's
certain that there will be other consingment stores set up soon
around the
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2. It's all in the Title
I regularly get emails from readers seeking my advice because
their auctions just aren't working. I know it can be dispiriting
when you spend time generating your auction, only to find it
doesn't sell. In some cases it's even worse, as the counter shows
that only a handful of people have even looked at the auction.
With such emails, I always start at the same point - the auction
title.
You have the most brilliant auction description with a fantastic
set of pictures offering a superb item at an incredible price.
But the counter shows after seven days of your auction that it
has been seen by only 3 people.
In 99% of cases, the reason for low viewing figures is that your
title isn't strong enough.
Here are a few facts which every eBay seller should understand:
a) 70% of buyers use eBay's search box to locate items in which
they are interested. (Only 30% of buyers select a category, and
then browse through the items listed.)
b) eBay's search system compares the search words keyed in, with
auction titles. (Not the sub-title, and not the auction
description)
c) If an auction title doesn't contain the word(s) keyed into the
search box, the auction doesn't get returned in the search list.
d) If an auction isn't returned in a search list, it cannot be
clicked on to have the auction description viewed.
So, the whole of eBay's standard search system relies on matching
search words with auction titles. That is why the title is
fundamental to non-performing auctions.
If your title doesn't contain words which the buyer searches
upon, your auction will sit on eBay's databases and rarely if
ever see the light of day.
So, what can you do about this?
Well, first of all, your auction title has three requirements:
i) To contain keywords i.e. words which buyers' use to search for
items like yours
ii) To persuade buyers to click through to your auction
description page
iii) To convey what the item is
By far the most important of these is the first requirement i.e.
to contain keywords.
When you create your auction title it pays to try and think as a
buyer. What words would be used by a person interested in
searching for an item like yours? At this stage, just list them.
Don't put the words into a sentence yet. Spend as long as you
like on this exercise. The more effective you are with this, the
less likely you are to have one of those sleepy auctions that
rarely gets a visitor.
Having listed as many keywords as you can think of, you may now
have to decide which are the strongest. Remember, you only have
55 precious characters for your auction title.
Taking your best keywords, you can now try and create a title.
It's not an English exam, so it doesn't matter if it doesn't scan
like a sentence.
You can add a power word if you've space. By this I mean words
like stunning, limited edition, unique, rare, new, one-off,
exclusive, distinctive, dramatic etc. Such words are used to
influence buyers to click through on your auction in a search
return list. Note that power words like these will not be
searched on by buyers, so use them sparingly. For the same
reason, I wouldn't advocate the look of "clever" words like l@@k
or w0w!
Finally, do the words in your title convey what the item is? If
so, that's it. You've created a powerful auction title which
will appear more often in search return lists.
If you can get your auction to appear more frequently in search
return lists, more buyers will view your auction description
page.
The more people that visit your auction description page, the
more likely you are to make a sale at an acceptable price.
And ALL of this starts with the auction title.
Try it. I can assure you, it will work on your auctions.
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3. Here's what I do
I get many requests from readers about the systems I use in
running my own eBay and internet business.
To give you the answer in one place, here is the software which I
use daily in my own business.
I should point out that much of my own activity is now to do with
selling digital information via eBay and from websites i.e.
ebooks and software, which is why some of the software programs I
use are concerned with this activity.
General productivity
Shortkeys
This is lovely utility which saves me hours of time each week. It
is perfect for those occasions when you are required to key in
information to websites. For example, how often do you key in
your name and address, or a username and password, or an email
address?
With Shortkeys, you associate 3 or 4 unique keystrokes with a
string of frequently used information. Let's suppose I want to
have a shortkey for my email address, and I set this as ##z1 in
Shortkeys. Whenever I am required to key in my email address, in
Outlook, on web forms, in Word documents etc, I just type in ##z1
and Shortkeys instantly replaces that with my email address.
There is a free version called Shortkeys Lite which has a limit
of 30 items. The full version of Shortkeys allows you an
unlimited number of items.
You can get it here:
http://www.workwinners.com/nlrshortkeys.htm
Download Accelerator
If you regularly download ebooks or software, and it seems to
take forever, you will find Download Accelerator is a useful
addition to your portfolio. Download Accelerator increases
download speeds by up to 300%, regardless of the speed of your
internet connection. I don't know how it does it, but I guess 89
million users can't be wrong!
You can get Download Accelerator on 14 day free trial here:
http://www.workwinners.com/nlraccelerator.htm
eBook production
Acrobat Adobe
I create all my ebooks in pdf format as this file can be read by
anyone with the free Acrobat Reader, and this includes Mac users
too. The way I create an ebook is to write it in Microsoft Word
first. Once I'm happy that the Word version is exactly how I want
it, I use an integrated converter which takes the Word file and
converts it automatically into a pdf file. This conversion
preserves everything which appeared in the Word document,
including headers/footers, page numbers and web links.
You can read all about Adobe Acrobat here:
http://www.workwinners.com/nlracrobat.htm
If you are considering developing your own ebooks using Acrobat,
the most cost effective way of purchasing it is to buy online
from Adobe's US site, and select the download option. To buy the
download version this is the place to start:
http://www.workwinners.com/nlracrobat_dl.htm
At 167 Mb, Acrobat is quite a large software product. If you
would therefore prefer to buy the boxed CD version, the cheapest
way in the UK is to get it from Amazon.
http://www.workwinners.com/nlramacrobat.htm
ebook Covers
It is a fact that showing your ebook in 3D form so it looks like
a book really helps to boost sales. Compact Draw is the software
I use to create my ebook covers. You can try it free for 30 days
here:
http://www.workwinners.com/nlrcompact.htm
Website creation and maintenance
Website design
I use Macromedia's Dreamweaver to design websites, and indeed to
create eBay auction description pages. Dreamweaver is a premium
web design product, and unless you're going to do serious website
design I wouldn't advise you to acquire it.
It comes in boxed form, and Macromedia will channel any UK
purchasers to a UK based reseller. The cheapest way in the UK is
to get it from Amazon.
http://www.workwinners.com/nlramdream.htm
Image Manipulation & Optimising
I use Paint Shop Pro for picture manipulation and for optimising.
This is important for auction pictures, as eBay have a size limit
of 50KB on any pictures which you want to upload to their Picture
Service.
The authors, JASC, have just released Version 9 of this software.
I find Version 8 is perfectly acceptable for everything I want to
do, and it's cheaper than Version 9.
You can't now buy Version 8 from the author's USA site, which is
unfortunate as this was the cheapest way of buying the product
before Version 9 came out.
The good news is that Version 8 is currently half price at the
author's UK site, as you can see here:
http://www.workwinners.com/nlrpsp.htm
It's available on free trial at the UK site, and I recommend you
test it to see if you can work with it.
Website upload
Cute FTP is probably the best known FTP software. I have used it
for several years and have been very satisfied with the software.
http://www.workwinners.com/nlrcute.htm
Website hosting
ProWebSpace are excellent and reasonable web hosts which I have
now been using for over a year. I transferred to them from
another host with whom I was having lots of problems. Now, I have
a better service, and it's at one third the price! Of course, you
can get loads of free web space from a variety of ISPs. Take a
look at http://www.freeisp.com
You only need companies like ProWebSpace if you intend to "go
commercial" in your internet activities. If you do, it's
important to have a paid service as this gives you the right to
kick b**t if ever you experience hosting problems. If you would
like to know the hosting company who I moved from, email me. If
you think you need professional hosting, this is definitely where
I would start.
http://www.workwinners.com/nlrpws.htm
Newsletter and other Mailings
As my newsletter has grown, I've tried various ways of managing
my mailing lists. I currently use Press-Manager, and have found
their service to be very easy to set-up and to use. It's a web
based service, and all mailings are performed from their site.
This means there's no software to be installed, I can manage my
mailings from any PC and my ISP no longer bears the mailing load.
http://www.workwinners.com/nlrpm.htm
Autoresponding
You may know that the use of autoresponders is one of the keys to
marketing on the internet. I use Promasoft, and have found it can
easily handle everything I want.
http://www.workwinners.com/nlrpsoft.htm
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4. Top of the Addiction League
When you're at work, do you go on the internet for private
purposes?
According to a survey of 600 employers by recruitment company
Portfolio Payroll and employment law firm Peninsula, staff
rummaging around the web at work while the boss isn't looking is
a fast growing phenomenon.
Would you like to guess which is the most addictive internet
destination for UK workers?
They admitted to quite a wide range of visits - sports sites,
holiday sites, property sites, and the rest. But top of the
league is our very own eBay.
Four in ten said that trawling through eBay is the most popular
web activity for a bit of time-killing while at work.
Danny Done, MD of Portfolio Payroll, said "The biggest problem
over the last couple of months has been employees using eBay to
sell and buy cheaply. Although employers must be careful to not
monitor employees to the point where they feel victimised or
targeted...it is up to the employer to ensure that any monitoring
which is to be introduced into the workplace must be sensitively
implemented and that all employees are aware of the reasons why
these changes are to be brought about."
Peninsula also published research in July in which it found that
British office workers are spending almost half their day surfing
the net and sending emails. And the problem is getting worse,
with workers spending, on average, three hours a day online,
compared to two hours in 2003.
Peninsula describes this as "frivolous employee behaviour" which
is having a "serious negative effect on firms' productivity".
I would say that for many people work is so dull that it's a
blessed relief to indulge in a bit of eBaying!
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5. eBay Speaking
One of the eBay experts I have a lot of respect for is Jim
Cockrum. His ebook 'The Silent Sales Machine Hiding on eBay' is
excellent.
Well, recently Jim managed to interview an ex eBay employee of
eBay.com. And he asked the kind of questions which you and I have
been itching to get answered.
Here's how the interview went...
Jim: What were your job duties at eBay?
ex eBay employee: During my employment at eBay. I worked in
several departments. As a Customer Support Rep. I answered
general support emails from members. I was also on the phone team
for a short while. Yes. eBay DOES have limited phone support
believe it or not! I learned most of eBay's policies on the phone
team because we got calls from Just about everyone for every
reason. I covered the globe in eBay Policies & Procedures that
way. I also had experience in the Safe Harbor department where
ending auctions and suspending members made me feel quite
empowered.
Jim: Do most eBay employees have an eBay account?
ex eBay employee: Actually it is an unwritten policy that ALL
eBay support employees have an eBay account. Part of the hiring
process requires that they have knowledge of at least the buyer
side of eBay. I'm sure they'll say they do this so they can be
sure each employee can actually give first hand knowledge of how
the site is run and therefore provide better customer service,
but some will argue that this is not the best hiring practice as
many new employees have never even used ebay until just before
their interview. Others say it only helps eBay to increase the
number of registered members for the analysts.
Jim: How is the eBay site monitored for violations? Is it really
monitored only by eBay users or are there eBay sponsored 'police'
as well?
ex eBay employee: Both. EBay does rely on their users to police
the site. This "tattle tale" system is what eBay used to solely
rely on. In the last year or so. eBay has created teams that
target certain types of auctions: this is a very proactive
approach. eBay has also developed their own applications that
actually go out and run searches for unique phrases and foul
language content (among other variables). A rep then reviews the
list of items that are captured and then goes through to confirm
and sort the violation and then just copies and pastes the
seller's ID into another program which automatically ends all
auctions or suspends the users as appropriate. Some reps get a
great sense of satisfaction at doing this as it makes them feel
almost God Like.
Jim: How should you handle an email from eBay that tells you that
you've violated an eBay policy?
ex eBay employee: eBay does not like to point out exactly what
you are violating because it is costly to research each auction
for the exact guideline. There may not even be an exact policy
that covers your specific item anyway. eBay won't tell you the
exact guideline in the policy that you violated. Instead, they'll
send you the guidelines and Just remind you to follow them and
hope that you can determine the violation on your own. Most users
don't think they've done anything wrong and because they've seen
the exact same listing on another user's auction, they feel as if
they are being singled out or that eBay is out to get them. Thus.
they become defensive and rightly upset that they now have to
resubmit all of their auctions after they correct the issue. This
leads to hot headed emails to eBay's Safe Harbor department and
trust me. read 100 or so nasty emails from upset users and you'll
have NO problem understanding why some reps Just flat out don't
reply or reply with more bad news. The bottom line here is: catch
a rep on a bad day and be the brunt of his/her frustrations!
Jim: So it sounds like your tone is important when writing eBay-
cooperation will take you far...
ex eBay employee: Yes
Jim: How hard is it to get you account back up and running if
it's been turned off (suspended)?
ex eBay employee: It depends on your infraction: it isn't that
difficult unless you are indefinitely suspended. That can be
nearly impossible. The clue here is to not get all hot headed and
defensive about your suspension. The louder you yell. the slower
they investigate they're only human after all. Obviously, eBay
wants you as a member because you are a valuable revenue stream
for them. however, if you are a problem member who is costing
eBay money by using up their resources. they will have to let you
go.
Jim: How does eBay really feel about one user having multiple
eBay accounts?
ex eBay employee: Certainly, no one at eBay corporate will frown
upon you having multiple accounts after all. it DOES make eBay
"appear" to have more registered members and that only helps
eBay's image to investors. Note to readers from Jim - "See I told
you soil" :0)
Jim: Do Power Sellers really get preferential treatment when it
comes to eBay policy? It seems so...
ex eBay employee: Oh yes. many do. I know of one PS whose
feedback score got so high that eBay actually created the top
flying star icon Just for him. He also got an expense paid
special invitation to visit with Meg and tour the facility in San
Jose and Salt Lake City. In fact eBay now offers their Gold
members health insurance! Of course, they all still get that
special email account that is really answered within 2 hours and
Bronze/Gold members get a special phone number they can call for
immediate help. Gold members even get their very own account
manager to hold their hand through Just about anything.
Jim: What are the hottest categories on eBay (get the most
TRAFFIC - and bids)?
ex eBay employee: eBay MOTORS is the fastest growing category
since 1999 and ELECTRONICS is probably the top-producing category
for number of items listed (lots of fraud in Electronic items so
beware!) Collectibles & Antiques still remain to be the hottest
items traffic wise on eBay. Oh. but wait - did I mention the
other side of eBay? The Mature Audience categories don't get
publicly counted but are THE #1 highest traffic source on eBay.
Jim: I won't be going there...
It's Brian back again. I don't know about you, but I could have
done with another half an hour with that guy.
Anyway, well done Jim for getting the interview in the first
place.
And I thoroughly recommend you review Jim's ebook, 'The Silent
Sales Machine Hiding on eBay". You can do so here:
http://www.workwinners.com/nlr906.htm
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6. Someone's auctioning what? Unusual items currently available
Nothing surprises me when it comes to internet auctions. Amuse
yourself with some of these beauties ...
I wonder if this is hot?
http://www.workwinners.com/nlr907.htm
You'll have to hurry, auction finishing deadline approaching. Did
I mention, you'll need quite a wad to win..
http://www.workwinners.com/nlr908.htm
Hmmm, I wonder. Is there anyone I can think of to use this on????
http://www.workwinners.com/nlr909.htm
'ello, 'ello, 'ello. What 'ave we 'ere then? Someone running
round with a naked police cap!
http://www.workwinners.com/nlr910.htm
Maybe with this, I would know whether my item was going to sell
before I even auction it! Spooky, or what?
http://www.workwinners.com/nlr911.htm
Disclaimer - I have no association with any of the sellers of the
above items.
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7. 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 - "eBay Auction Newsletter"
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8. My Products Catalogue
All the following are original products, services and
opportunities written and created by myself.
"The eBay Formula"
How to sell successfully on UK eBay - time, after time, after
time. Special Price offer to newsletter readers.
http://www.workwinners.com/rd01.htm
"UK Dropshipping Sources"
Twelve genuine UK dropship companies.
http://www.workwinners.com/rd02.htm
"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/rd03.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/rd04.htm
"Sourcing Maternity Clothing and Baby Needs at Trade Prices"
Where and how to buy at trade prices.
http://www.workwinners.com/rd05.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/rd06.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/rd07.htm
"The Streetwise Buyer's Guide to Radar Detectors"
Don't buy a Radar Detector system until you read this.
http://www.workwinners.com/rd08.htm
Oil Painting Marketing Business
Become my partner in this pleasant money-making venture.
http://www.workwinners.com/rd09.htm
Your Own ebook and Software Sales Business
Valuable ebooks and software which you can use and resell on
eBay, and through the website pages provided.
http://www.workwinners.com/rd11.htm
See the whole catalogue here:
Finally, a book which isn't mine, but is worth reading. In 'The
eBay Book', long time eBay user David Belbin, explains how
eBay.co.uk works and how to get the most out of it, whether you
are a buyer or seller. Step-by-step, he takes you through the key
features of the site, advises on bidding and selling tactics,
explains how to minimise the fees you pay and why feedback is so
important. He explores the best ways to pay for goods, and what
to do if your transactions go wrong. This hugely readable book
also contains a wealth of case studies covering a wide variety of
eBay users. It's on special offer at Amazon here:
http://www.workwinners.com/nlr809.htm
=============================
"UK eBay Auction Newsletter" is published approximately two
weekly.
In each issue you'll get ideas on how to make the most of buying
and selling on eBay sites from a UK perspective.
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.
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 unsubscribe@workwinners.com
=============================
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