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*** 
UK Internet Auction Users Newsletter  ***

 

The newsletter for UK bidders and sellers on Internet Auctions

 

                      Issue 0901

 

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The newsletter for eBay and QXL users in the UK.

 

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This latest issue is now also available online at

 

http://www.workwinners.com/newsletter/0901.htm

 

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In this issue:-

 

  1. Personal Note from the editor

 

  2. It's arrived!!!

 

  3. Don't get banned

 

  4. Five Tips for safe buying on eBay or QXL

 

  5. Someone's auctioning WHAT??

 

  6. Finally ......

 

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Inspirational quote of the day

 

"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds

you plant"

 

Robert Louis Stevenson

 

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1. Personal Note from the editor

 

Brian McGregor speaking...

 

I apologise for missing producing an issue in August. This was

due to a close family bereavement - my partner's mother

unfortunately passing away after a short illness. During this

period I really wasn't able or inclined to put much time into

anything else.

 

We're back on track now, and count our own blessings that we are

in good health.

 

On an official note, 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 S-P*A-M, so if you do not want to

receive this newsletter, the only one dedicated to UK bidders and

sellers, you can unsubscribe by sending a blank email to

remove@workwinners.com

 

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2. It's Arrived!!!

 

It's been a long time coming!

 

I've said it was coming in most of my recent newsletters!

 

I've sweated blood and tears over it!

 

Now - it's here.....

 

My new eBook is available, and is launched on Monday, 29th

September, 2003.

 

As I promised, as a reader of my newsletter, you are finding out

about it first.

 

The eBook is called "The eBay Formula" and shows people how to

sell successfully on UK eBay.

 

As I have mentioned before, I was fed up finding that all the

decent eBooks on eBay were American based.

 

You will probably realise that eBay.com - the American eBay - is

MASSIVE! They have around 10 million items on there at any one

time. And they get 4 BILLION page views each month.

 

With that traffic, it isn't surprising that eBay say over 100,000

Americans make a full-time living selling on eBay.

 

Here in the UK, the picture is somewhat different. eBay.co.uk

have about 1 million items on sale, with 4 million visitors per

month.

 If you want to sell successfully on UK eBay, perhaps with a view

to developing it into a full-time business, in my experience you

have to do certain things exceptionally well. This is what "The

eBay Formula" is all about.

 

But I don't want to re-write the eBook in this newsletter.

 

If you're interested in "The eBay Formula", you can find out all

about it at my information page here:

 

http://www.workwinners.com/ebf/nloffer.htm

 

And, as I promised, the eBook is available at a Special Price for

my newsletter readers. You will see this on the information page.

 

If you're in the market to make extra money via the internet or

hope to go full-time, and you want to do it through eBay.co.uk,

then I guarantee "The eBay Formula" will help you.

 

As with all the information products I write, you get my normal

moneyback guarantee. So, it might be worth a look....

 

And that's the end of my blatant advert. I'm sorry about that,

it's just such a momentous moment for me.

 

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3. Don't get banned

 

I've recently has a little bother with my friends at eBay.co.uk

 

They have taken it upon themselves to delete some of my auctions.

 

I have to admit that everything they did was probably fair

enough.

 

The items I had deleted were because I had inadvertently used

some copyrighted film titles in an auction I run about an eBook

on buying cheap DVDs.

 

Anyone who owns a trademark, or a copyrighted name or phrase, can

complain to eBay if these are used in auctions. So I was told

that Time Warner had complained about my auction. The mighty Time

Warner? In a way I'm flattered.

 

However, even though eBay refund your listing fees whenever they

close your auction down in this way, in practice it caused me

lost time and lost auctions.

 

So, my advice is that you spend a little time reviewing eBay's

listing policies, and bring any of your auctions into line if

need be.

 

Whilst this may not appear to be too critical, if you do it

repeatedly eBay can suspend your membership. As my User ID

concerned had over 600 feedback rating, you can be sure I won't

be risking it again!

 

 

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4. Five Tips for safe buying on eBay or QXL

 

Sorry to have to concentrate on the negative, but the popularity

of auction sites means that they have become a target for

sophisticated fraudsters. Here are five tips about this.

 

Check out your seller

 

Make sure your seller has a solid feedback rating, and that

feedbacks are linked to an item. If you're bidding on a higher

value item, I wouldn't consider buying from a seller with less

than 25 feedback rating. Even with a good rating, check for any

neutral or negative feedbacks the seller has received. See if the

seller has responded to these - you can tell a lot about a seller

from the way they handle a "complaint" Email the seller too, with

a question about the item. Good, attentive sellers will email you

back usually within 24 hours. If they don't get back to you in

that timescale, it doesn't make them dishonest but it may pay you

to be more cautious.

 

Don't wait for the horse to bolt

 

Print out the winning auction page as your evidence of the

transaction. If the unthinkable happens and you need to

communicate with a credit card company about a dispute it is much

easier if you have hard copy of the auction.

 

Stick to your maximum

 

Although it doesn't happen much over here in the UK - yet, shill

bidding will increasingly occur. If you didn't know, shill

bidding is where the seller uses another User ID to increase the

bidding on his/her item. There are several nuances to shill

bidding, but if you stick to a maximum limit on anything you're

bidding for you won't be taken in by them. As a derivation of

this, beware of any item where User's with zero or very low

feedback ratings are bidding against each other. They may be new

IDs set up by the seller for the purpose of driving up the

bidding. If this occurs, check out the seller's other auctions -

you might see a pattern emerge!

 

Be safe

 

There are several groups now operating across Europe with

hijacked online auction accounts. they hijack existing accounts

to gain reputable feedback. They typically do this by emailing

members and pretending to be "eBay security" or "QXL membership

department", asking the recipient to confirm their User ID and

Password.  One way to detect them is to find users who typically

selling low value items who are now selling top end digital

cameras, laptops, TVs, sound systems etc.  Their auctions might

include phrases such as 'email me for special buy now price'.

What they are looking for is to get in email conversation with

you where they can suggest you pay them a discounted price

through an escrow service they suggest (which will be a

fraudulent service), or to send payment by Western Union. Do not

do this - you will never see your money again.

 

Keep your ear to the ground

 

Make a habit of looking in on eBay's Community pages and checking

out the Discussion Boards. You will find out here all the nasties

that are currently happening

 

 

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5. Someone's auctioning WHAT????

 

Regular readers will know that in this section of the newsletter

I point out half a dozen unusual auctions currently on eBay and

QXL.

 

Well to day I'm going to be lazy. There is a site in America

(where else) which contains a large number of unusual auctions

which have appeared on eBay.

 

I thought you might find some of the items amusing.

 

So, this time, I'm suggesting you take a look at the site in

question, and I'll be back with more new unusual auctions in the

next edition of the newsletter.

 

Here's the web address:

 

http://www.whattheheck.com/ebay/index.html

 

 

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6. Finally .....

 

I have been using eBay and QXL for around two years, initially

for buying, but very quickly I started selling items. My current

feedback ratings are 861 on eBay and 126 on QXL.

 

I have four User IDs, three on eBay and one on QXL.

 

eBay User IDs: gbm0, workwinners, jmcollie

 

QXL User ID: bptrad

 

If you want to look at the items I currently have on auction, use

Advanced Search on eBay or QXL, and key in my seller ID.

 

I also write Special Reports, and you can see all of these at my

web site:

 

http://www.workwinners.com/

 

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And 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!

 

And thank you for the gracious comments send by readers during

the recent weeks. My partner and I really appreciate it.

 

Regards

Brian McGregor

Editor - "UK Internet Auction Users Newsletter"

 

 

 

 

====================  A note about S-P*A-M  ====================

 

"UK Internet Auction Users Newsletter" is published whenever

there is useful information to share.

 

In each issue you'll get ideas on how to make the most of buying

and selling on eBay and QXL auction 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!

 

I can't stand spam, and don't want to send any. Thank you for

joining and staying on this mailing list.

 

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Copyright Information

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Copyright © 2003 Brian McGregor. All rights reserved.

 

No part of this newsletter may be copied or published without

prior permission, but please feel free to forward this 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 readers 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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