• Welcome from Brian McGregor 
• Inspirational Quote of the Day
• News and Views
• How to Convert Your eBay Buyers into Long Term Customers
• Why Don't You Have an eBay Store?
• The eBay Survival Guide (Guest Article)
• A Gift from Me to You
• Someone's auctioning what? Unusual items currently available
• Finally
• My Products Catalogue
• Back to Newsletter Archive

Hello and welcome.

A particularly warm welcome to you if you're a new subscriber. It's good to have you as part of the family taking my eBay auction newsletter.

Well, here we go again!

Another year in front of us.

Let's hope it's a great one - for you, your family, socially and at work.

I also hope this is the year that you can make the most of eBay.

eBay is adding around 120,000 new members every day! What a fantastic and dynamic market place we all have in which to buy and sell.

There is no charge on eBay to buy and bid. And the price of selling is tiny when you consider the size of the eBay market to which you're given access.

There really is no reason why you can't make eBay work for you. The more you use eBay, the more you learn.

So why not make a resolution, that this is the year you get more out of eBay?

If you feel I can help you in any way to achieve your eBay goals, please feel free to contact me.

My email is brian@workwinners.com

Here's to a winning 2006.

Look forward to speaking with you again soon.

Brian
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1. eBay and Phishing

You may remember in December I mentioned about being wary of email phishing attacks. And I reminded you NEVER to click a link inside any email which appeared to come from eBay, or PayPal, or your bank etc.

According to Netcraft, the data survey company, eBay and PayPal were the chosen targets for 62% of all phishing emails in 2005.

What I find more worrying is that, according to a survey by e-mail security firm MailFrontier, only 4% of people can spot a phishing email 100% of the time. If you'd like to see how much you know about phishing emails, MailFrontier have an excellent online test in which you're asked to identify which of 10 sample emails are legitimate and which are phishing emails. You'll find the test here.

Also, I've found an interesting video presentation in which you can see what happens if you do click on a link inside a phishing email.

The video is not too easy to follow, and you regularly need to scroll down to click the Next button. You'll see what I mean when you get there.

But it is definitely worth viewing!

You might even have received this particular phishing email yourself.

The video takes a little while to load, so don't panic.

Click here to view the video.


2. Here's An Idea

I know there is a demand for knowledge on how to sell on eBay.

But I never imagined how great that demand was.

In America, eBay takes an educational road show around the country. They do about 30 events each year.

Earlier this month, the road show appeared in Orlando. I didn't know how popular it would be, but around 1,000 people attended the six hour session.

They were taught the basics of selling on eBay, and went away with some knowledge and some workbooks.

At $59 per head, eBay did very nicely thank you!

Hmm. Maybe we could set up something like that?


3. £281 ($497) of Internet Resources for Free!

Just occasionally, I come across something which is such good value I have to tell you about it, even though it is more related to making money on the internet rather then just eBay.

This is one of those occasions.....

For a very limited time Shawn Casey is giving away the same secrets that have helped over 100,000 of his customers to rake in big profits online. These secrets are in his Internet Business-In-A-Box that retails for £281 ($497).

Why is he doing something this crazy?

Because some people refuse to accept the proof of how successful his customers are, and they dared him to give away some of his best stuff to prove it really works. Of course, they never dreamed that Shawn would accept the challenge.

What does this mean for you?

For a very limited time, Shawn will give you his £281 ($497) Internet Business-In-A-Box for free.

That's right. Your cost is zero.

But he's only doing this for a short while, so you'll need to grab it before he completes this challenge.

Click here now to get your gratis copy of Shawn Casey's £281 ($497) Internet Business-In-A-Box.

Think of it as a New Year present.


4. On a Similar Theme...

Here is another freebie for you.

You may have heard of Jason James. He's a well respected eBay PowerSeller who runs the Auction Resource Network.

James has just produced a very useful free ebook in which he discloses his top ten secrets for selling successfully on eBay.

Although only six pages long, I only wish someone had put something together as concisely as this when I was starting out on eBay!

You can download your free copy here.


5. Finding the Telephone Number of a Buyer or Seller

If you ever get into a dispute with an eBay member, and you wished you could just pick up the phone and talk to them, this is for you.

There is a way to get hold of the personal details of a member with whom you're in the middle of a transaction. This personal information usually includes a telephone number.

Here's the link to go to if your transaction is on UK eBay.

And here's the link if your transaction is on USA eBay.


6. You're Having a Laugh!

Here are some delightful real questions asked by eBay members to other ebay Members:

"If I buy this and pay now by paypal will it be delivered in time for Christmas?" - message received on December 24th at 3.45pm.

"I see you have the cost of shipping to Europe and Rest of World but can you give me costs for Canada please"

"How big is this 6 inch crystal?"

"Is the raincoat waterproof?"


7. 5p Listing Fee Day

In case you haven't seen it, eBay.co.uk is running a 5p listing day on Thursday 12th January, 2006.

This means that for auctions you set up on that day, your listing fee will be only 5p.

If you haven't started selling yet, here is a perfect opportunity to run your first sale. It will literally cost you pennies.

You'll find all the details of the 5p listing day here.

If you think about any of your sales transactions on eBay, you're given access to information which marketers in other businesses would be happy to pay for.

In a store, you select something off the shelf, take it to the checkout and pay for it.

Now, if you by pay cash or credit card, the store has gained zero market intelligence about you and your buying habits. It doesn't know who you are, or how to get hold of you to make future related offers to you.

Of course if you use a loyalty or store card, then they DO get the market information they need. They know who you are and what you've bought. And this is added to your record which the store maintains about your buying habits.

As an eBay seller, you really are in a great position.

You know that your buyer is interested in a specific category of products i.e. the category in which the item they purchased from you was listed.

You have their email address and, better still, you're on personal terms with that buyer - most emails in connection with eBay transactions are carried out at the first name level.

And, having delivered to them once, as far as your buyer is concerned you are now in the position of being a trusted supplier. They are more likely to buy from you again, knowing that you have performed responsibly in the past.

And they, having paid you, become your trusted customer. You know that should they buy from you again, they will pay you!

You can now take advantage of all of this to market some other appropriate product to your customer directly.

The simplest form of direct marketing is an email newsletter. All you have to do is to ask people who buy from you if they’d like to be added to your mailing list to learn of your latest offers. Then you send them a monthly update on your new items. Don't forget to include some useful "none-sales" information to give your newsletter more value.

This is obviously easier if the items you sell are frequently updated. For example, here’s an outline of an email newsletter you might write if you were selling DVDs.

“Here are the dates for this month’s new DVD releases:

[list of release dates].

If you want to pre-order anything on this list, just click here [your website/email] and let us know.

Meanwhile, we’ve got some great deals for you this month! [links to your best ebay auctions]"

You might also include a DVD review, which you can get from any number of DVD movie sites on the internet.

If you produce your newsletter regularly, people will begin to get used to you, and your own reputation and integrity will grow. They will also be more likely to take a look at some of the things you’re offering.

But remember it’s not a newsletter without the news. You might want to try writing an article. Think of it as a free gift for your customers: the gift of useful information. Apart from anything else, it’s quite fun to have your own newsletter.

Plus, don't forget to abide by spam regulations and give subscribers the chance to unsubscribe from your newsletter.

If your items are such that a buyer may be interested in something similar, like a collectable, then you can try more targeted emails along the lines of:

“I’m sending you this email today because you bought a [item name] from me a while ago, and I thought you might be interested in this new item I'm auctioning.

You can see the item here [link to website or eBay auction]."

Newsletter and email communications such as these couldn't be simpler.

Give it a go. Keep communicating with your eBay buyers and you'll soon see that you can bring in more business.

First of all, allow me to clear up some terminology about eBay stores. In the USA, they are known as eBay stores, whereas in the UK the term eBay uses is shops. Just to make it easy for me, I'll be calling it eBay stores throughout this article but remember, if you're in the UK, everything I say applies equally to eBay shops.

Now, you may not have heard of eBay stores. Or, you may have heard of them but didn't believe they were relevant to your eBay activity. Perhaps it's time for a re-consideration. Let's see what you may be missing.

So, what exactly is an eBay store?

The best way of describing it is that it's like having your own e-commerce site where you can offer items for sale which you may or may not be auctioning on eBay.

Your store has a unique URL and can be personalized by creating a logo and writing an outline of your business and your policies. The cost of listing items is far less than in eBay auctions.

It's a snip to add inventory to your eBay store as the listing creation process is the same as you're already used to. You list items in your store on fixed price format, just like Buy it Now, and you can have them appear in your store for 30, 60, 90 or 120 days. Or you can list items indefinitely, paying a small monthly ongoing fee for each one.

In addition to listing fees, running an eBay store incurs a monthly fee. Currently there are three levels of store:

1. Basic for $15.95 (£6) per month

2. Featured for $49.95 (£30) per month

3. Anchor for $499.95 (£300) per month

The best place to start is with a Basic store. As I write this, you can get one month’s free trial of your store. Note that you must have a feedback rating of at least 20 before you can sign-up for an eBay store.

When anyone accesses your store they will be presented with both your store only items and your auction items.

Now, how do you get traffic to your store?

Here are some of the ways you can do this:

1. Mention your store in your auction listings e.g. "We have more great inventory & accessories you can BUY NOW from our eBay store".

2. Offer discount if people purchase from your store as well as your auction on the same day.

3. Include your unique store URL in your email signature.

4. Use eBay's Merchandising Manager to cross-promote your store items.

5. Run targeted email campaigns to your previous customers, pointing them either to your store or, more effectively, to a specific relevant category in your store.

Viewers can also search your store for anything they might want. And they can click through to your store from the door symbol next to your eBay user ID.

If you want to investigate more, you can find everything you need here for USA eBay Stores, and here for UK eBay Shops.

Guest Article by Dave Bromley

When I was in the Armed Forces we were always being issued with “Survival Guides”. How to survive in the Jungle, the Desert, and the Sea are just 3 titles that I remember. But if there is one environment that has been crying out for a survival guide it is eBay.

So I was intrigued when I got my hands on Michael Banks latest book “The eBay Survival Guide”. I soon realised that it was a cut above many of the recent eBay books. As the webmaster for UK auctionline I comes across literally hundreds of books and reports about online auctions every year. I expected this would just be another expanded version of the eBay site map. But I was wrong; this book is an informative and riveting read.

It is a fact that it is possible to make a very good living selling products through eBay. However, it is equally true that if you either go about it in the wrong way or in some cases are just plain unlucky you can lose money. One of the biggest causes of this happening is the person not fully understanding how the market place works or knowing what to do if things go wrong. After reading the “The eBay Survival Guide” you should be much better equipped to tackle the day to day business of buying and selling on eBay.

One area that Michael covers in full detail is a subject that other books hardly mention and that is how to get the most out of the eBay search function. There are two detailed sections on buying and selling on eBay. The "Do’s and Dont's" chapters for both buyers and sellers not only show you the correct way to approach the task but also the traps to avoid.

The book is written in an easy to read no nonsense manner and you will find plenty of useful tips. One in particular that I liked was Michael’s suggestion on how to react to a customer who claims that a sent item never arrived. To find out what it is you will have to buy the book.

There are two chapters that everyone who buys or sells on eBay should read. They are “Shills, Sleazes and Seller Scams” and “Bogus products and Money making Scams”. Being forewarned is being forearmed and after reading these chapters you should be able to avoid the pitfalls that can trap the unwary.

The book covers a wide range of subjects including effective bidding strategies, buying stock to sell a dhow to create compelling listings. Whether you are new to online auction or an old hand this is one item you should definitely add to your eBay Library. This 260+ page paperback is published by No Starch and is available from Amazon.com for $13.57 (£7.99). And whether you are a newcomer or an experienced eBayer I think you will find this book interesting.

About the author

Dave Bromley is the webmaster and publisher of the UK Auctionline web site and newsletter.This is an information packed site for all users of eBay. You can register for his newsletter and 6 part mini course at http://www.ukauctionline.co.uk


This is Brian, saying if you want to get hold of "The eBay Survival Guide", it is currently available from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com.

Do you have wireless networking at home?

If you don't, it could be something which might arise in the not too distant future!

If you work on your PC from home with a broadband connection, all it takes is for someone else in the household to realise that they could connect their PC to your broadband service and voila, you've both got broadband.

I know a little about the topic, as we've just done exactly this. Thanks to our new wireless network, my partner's son has his PC hooked into my broadband, and he gets his internet connection free!

It's really great. And we found it not too difficult to implement.

If you're about to embark on wireless networking, or you just want to know more about it, here is a useful free ebook.

It's called "The Beginner's Guide to Wireless Networking".

You can download it from here.

Nothing surprises me when it comes to internet auctions. Amuse yourself with some of these beauties.

You don't have to be nuts to work here. But it helps!

All alone and blue - well, green actually

Well, as I said, nothing surprises me on eBay!

I wonder if the tie comes with this?

Is this genuine? Or will the auction bounce?

Disclaimer - I have no association with any of the sellers of the above items.