Buying on Ebay

Tips to Maximize Profits at Your One Stop Online Auction Shop

admin — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:43:31 +0000

xmayank asked:

Online auctions have become very trendy in recent years. They are great for finding bargains on all sorts of items. Many people shop auctions to find brand names at bargain prices, household items or even wholesale products. Some auction sites are actually one stop online auction shops that sell everything from antiques to automobiles while other sites specialize in only one type of product.

Earn Profits

There are several ways to earn profits through online auctions. You can build whole business through online auctions or use auctions to attract new customers to your existing website. And, you can use online auctions occasionally to sell some of your old household items. You can even advertise wholesale products through auctions. Some online “auctioneers” are earning thousands of dollars each month!

Either way, there are a few simple techniques you can apply to maximize your auction profits. Choosing your one stop online auction shop is only the first step to success. Next, you’ll need to start building your business.

Here are six ways you can maximize your auction profits:

1. Include Photos

One way to maximize auction profits is to include photos with your listings. Most auction sites allow one photo to be displayed next to listing titles. It’s very important that you include a photo to catch the shopper’s eye. People naturally look at pictures and then read the nearby caption. Newspapers and magazines have trained us that way. So, it’s explicable why an auction shopper will look at photos and then read the titles beside the photos. Unfortunately, listing titles without photos can be easily missed.

Another reason to include photos is because auction buyers want to see what they are buying. They are more willing to trust a new seller if a photo of the item is available. If you are selling a luxurious item, include several photos at different angles if necessary. For printed materials such as reports or e-books, you might try creating a few colorful banners and even a mini banner for the photo that will appear next to your listing titles. Banners will have the same eye-catching effect as a photo!

2. Write Compelling Listing Titles and Copy

Don’t be afraid to apply proven marketing techniques to your auction titles and copy. You’re a seller, so don’t vacillate to sell! Use key phrases that will get the buyer’s attention. Words like “free,” “no reserve,” “low or free shipping,” or “like new” always get the buyer’s attention.

3. Use Banners at Your Website

If you own a website and are using auctions to attract more customers, don’t forget to place some banners at your website that link to your auction store as well. Some customers who reach your site by other means might love auctions. They might buy from you both ways!

4. Don’t Under-price your Items

Not many sellers have a problem with over-pricing, but under-pricing seems to be a huge problem with auctions. Don’t sell yourself short. Price your items reasonably, but be sure to include a little profit for yourself. Remember, your time is valuable. If you ship items, you must take time to package and mail them. If the items you are selling offer very little profit, try to find popular items with higher profits that are also unique. The more sparse the supply of a popular item, the higher bids you will receive.

5. Keep Contact with Customers

Be sure to keep in contact with your auction customers after they buy. Send them a personal “thank you” email and include an email signature to get them back to your auction site or to your regular website. An email signature is actually a “P.S.” after your thank you message.

Here’s an example…

P.S. Be sure to visit our auction site again. Some new items have been added recently, and you will receive FREE SHIPPING with your next purchase. (Your auction site address here.)

6. Ask for Feedback

Be sure to ask for feedback after someone makes a purchase. Good feedback helps other buyers to trust you. Some buyers will not buy from a new seller if no feedback is available. The more positive feedback you receive, the more your business will grow.

Keep these tips in mind as you list items at your one stop online auction shop. You’ll see profits increase in no time!

How do I find inventory for my ebay store or find a company that will drop-ship for me?

admin — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 20:42:38 +0000

Miss Green asked:

I am a small ebay seller and I want to find some more inventory for business without buying those pesky little ebay startup books that supposedly tell you where to find inventory…Anyone have any ideas on where I can get good inventory or find a place that will drop-ship for me as I sell the products on ebay?

What is the difference between a locked and unlocked phone on eBay?

admin — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:11:33 +0000

Harve asked:

I am looking to buy a phone on eBay that is the exact same as my broken one. I am an AT&T/Cingular user and the eBay ad says “Locked: Cingular Only”, uhh, what does that mean and what should I do?

How long does something you ordered from ebay to get to your home?

admin — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 04:12:25 +0000

JameseyWamsey asked:

I just orded something from ebay and I wanna know how long till it gets here. Is there any links you can give me that will tell me how long? Thanks!

How can ebay seller pay for taxes ?

admin — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 04:15:20 +0000

subasa2811 asked:

I’m wonder how can ebay seller pay for there taxes. You know, nobody knows how much they really make.
So is that mean they never paid taxes ?

How can I start a small buisiness on eBay?

admin — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 09:10:31 +0000

Nolan asked:

I’m young, and do not know much about running a buisiness. I want to start selling things on eBay, and I’m not really sure how I would go about doing this. I know I could sell things that I have around the house. But would anyone have any information on how I could do things like, but directly from teh company so I could sell for a better price? I would appreciate the help.

How do you declare what you make on eBay as income?

admin — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 10:56:49 +0000

mÜff asked:

I need to declare income and ebay is my job (to get a car loan), how do I go about doing that?

The Truth Behind Making Money at Police and Public Car Auctions

admin — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 06:30:12 +0000

Chris Chamberlain asked:

I’ve bought and sold over 500 vehicles at various car auctions since 2002. Police auctions, Bank-repo auctions and State & Local Government auctions are all fantastic places to buy cars at wholesale prices. Like anything, however, not every car at these auctions is a winner waiting to be purchased for pennies on the dollar. Finding the best deals at the best auctions takes a little research. But, the fact remains, you’ll never find a better deal on a used car anywhere else.

Why are Auctions such a great place to purchase a car?

The biggest reason, of course, is the price. It is very common to get vehicles for 50% below retail. Especially, given the state of the economy, people want to buy reliable, fuel-efficient cars at great prices. If you can do the leg-work to acquire these cars at auctions…you can quickly start making a very good income for a few hours of work a month.

The other big draw to car auctions is that there are no dealers to argue with. Used car dealers are notorious for doing anything to sell a car. They have this reputation for a reason. By buying at auctions, you don’t have to worry about haggling over prices or having a salesman follow you all over the car lot.

Despite the obvious advantage of buying at auctions, I’m amazed how many people stay away because they think that the vehicles are in poor condition or that there’s some big ’secret’ to finding these car auctions.

These are the two biggest and most expensive myths about Car Auctions….

Firstly, are there junky cars at these auctions? Yes. But are there great cars in great condition? Absolutely.

Over the years, I’ve bought many low-mileage seized autos that were in excellent condition. They were seized from a drug-dealer (or whatever type of criminal) by the police and auctioned off to help the local government raise money. I’ve also found a lot of great deals at Bank-repo auctions. Great cars in great condition that were simply repossessed by the bank because the person didn’t make their payments….and I was there to take advantage of a great deal. I’ve bought a lot of higher-end cars from these two types of auctions (especially BMW’s) because criminals tend to drive nice cars and banks repo cars that someone thought they could afford but really couldn’t.

Another great source of what I like to call more ‘functional’ vehicles are government agency auctions. A lot of state & local agencies are constantly buying new vehicles for their fleet and selling off the old ones. Not just police but, environmental agencies, department of transportation, city inspectors, etc. all drive government owned cars. These are traditionally very well taken care of (they’re required to by law) and have relatively low mileage. These make great resales because they’re cheap, reliable cars and people (especially in this economy with these gas prices) are always looking for such cars.

How do you find the good deals at these auctions?

A lot of people are still scared away from auctions because they think they have to be a mechanic to be able to separate the good cars from the “lemons”. I admit, I fell into this group when I started. At almost every auction you can inspect the cars before submitting a bid. While you won’t be able to take them for a test drive, many will still come with a manufacturer’s warranty. I’ve bought a lot of ‘government’ cars without even seeing them because they are always in such good condition. But here’s a quick checklist which I recommend for anyone just starting out - this will help you avoid getting a ‘lemon’:

1. If possible, start the engine and listen for anything unusual (or to see if it starts at all). Note most auction sites will sell these cars “as-is”. If you’re able to get a look at the car while the engine is running, you’ll be able to tell a great deal about in what condition it’s in. Check the exhaust to make sure it’s clean, check the air conditioning, heat and all the power options (windows, seats, sunroof, etc.).

2. Check for water damage under the seats, floor mats or in the trunk.

3. Lift the hood and check the oil. Check for white bubbles on the dipstick (this means there’s likely water in the oil tank) and check for any grains (i.e. sand or sediment). If the oil looks think and pasty it’s likely the car wasn’t regularly maintained. These aren’t necessarily deal breakers but I’d adjust my bid accordingly.

4. Check the transmission fluid too - you’ll want to see that’s it’s clean and not dark or sticky. Look at the tailpipe for excessive soot.

5. Check the exterior as well. This is easy and you’re really just looking for what condition it’s in. Is there rusting? If so how much? Look for paint bubbles or welding marks. Also, keep an eye out for slightly different shades of paint, rough surfaces or body panels out of alignment. Also, make sure and check the engine compartment for new bolts or bolts which don’t match in color.

As you get more comfortable with buying at car auctions you’ll learn what’s a ‘dealbreaker’ and what’s not. As I mentioned, unless a government car looks really bad in the picture, I’ll submit a bid without even looking at it. Even if a car I’ve just bought needs a tuneup, new brake pads or an alignment, I keep that in mind when I’m bidding. If I can make $2,000 on a resale, I’m happy to spend another $300-$400 to get it into shape. You’re still getting a great deal because of the purchase price.

I would also recommend (especially as you start out) getting a CarFax or AutoCheck vehicle history report. These are cheap ways to get a lot of information on the car you’re interested in.

When I started out, I got an AutoCheck report for every vehicle I was interested in and it gave me more than enough information to make an informed decision.

Even if you DO end up getting a ‘lemon’…i.e. you didn’t get an AutoCheck report and bought it sight unseen and it needs a new transmission that you don’t want to spend the money on? Then you can always sell it at the next auction. Someone will always want to buy it and fix it up…

How do you know what to bid?

Before bidding on any car you should know the “comps” or resale values. Look at Kelly Blue Book, Edmunds.com, the NADguides, the MMR prices (check out our website for more on this) and, of course, ebay motors and autotrader.com. Look for comparable cars with similar mileage and establish a range of prices. The low end of this range is you target bid price.

If the bidding gets too high just walk away…I remember something an experienced auto trader told me at my second auction when I was getting worked up about a BMW I was bidding on. “don’t get to excited kid…In this game, you always have another ‘at bat’ “. What he was saying is: don’t spend too much on a car because there is always another deal out there. I ended up letting that BMW go to someone else but I got another one a week later for several thousand less. I always try to remember that bit of advice.

How do you find these auctions?

A lot of these auctions can be tough to find. Only very recently have they started advertising online but most have had websites up for years. The result is…a simple “Google search” isn’t going to turn up anything.

You can always find some local auctions in the paper which is a good place to start. I’ve spent years compiling a list of these auctions by state which is another good resource to save you a lot of time and money. Check out my site for more.

The bottom line. You can’t afford NOT to look at Car Auctions.

I’ve been amazed at some of the deals I’ve found over the years at these auctions. It’s been enough to surpass my day job and for much less work. Even if you’re interested in just buying one car for yourself, you can’t afford NOT to look at a Car Auction. So what are you waiting for?!

What are the biggest selling sports cards on ebay?

admin — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 06:12:01 +0000

kvsmiller asked:

I have an extensive collection of sports cards dating from 1950-2003 and I was wondering what is hot right now. What cards i should get rid or what cards i should hold on to, ect… Or, any insider websites on selling on ebay.

How do you become a top seller on Ebay or is there simular sites?

admin — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 22:05:34 +0000

ICU2007 asked:

I love selling things I want to know how to become a top seller on Ebay. What the best thing to try to sell to get a lot of money. And how to you know if what you’re sell holds any value to it? I want to become a power seller or something. I have the bases down. I need to start making the real money now.