Product Review:

“The Insider Secrets to Selling on eBay”

By The Internet Marketing Center

If you’d like to start a business on the Internet, and potentially earn $10,000+ each MONTH — even BEFORE you have a website — you’ll want to read this article very carefully…

I recently read the newly revised and updated version of IMC’s “The Insider Secrets To Selling On eBay,” and I’ve got to tell you, it’s a must-have for ANYONE wanting to start earning money online!

It doesn’t matter if you have NO business experience, NO money to invest, and NO products to sell…

… IMC’s team of eBay PowerSellers will show you the EXACT steps you need to follow to start a SERIOUS eBay business.

IMC’s experts have spend YEARS researching, developing, testing, and perfecting these strategies (which less than 5% of eBay PowerSellers know about), and thousands of people with no special skills or talents have used them to earn incomes of $2,500… $5,000… $10,000 and MORE each month.

In “Insider Secrets to Selling on eBay,” you’ll discover:

• How to identify the hottest markets on eBay and guarantee auction success!
• Where to find the products that offer the greatest profit potential!
• How to write “bidder magnet” listings that explode your final selling price!
• What you can do to automate your business — so you have more time to grow it!
• Ways to drive swarms of traffic to your auctions with top-secret promotion strategies!
• Advanced techniques tested and proven to grow your business further!
• The LATEST changes to eBay’s rules, and how to take advantage of them to beat your fiercest competition
• And MUCH more

And because the entire program is delivered online, they constantly update it, whenever there are new test results or techniques to report (or eBay makes a change to its rules).

It’s the only eBay “how to” program that NEVER goes out of date!

PLUS… IMC is also giving away FOUR super bonuses, including a 90-minute live webinar TOP with their TOP eBay expert!

As far as I’m concerned, “Insider Secrets to Selling on eBay” is a perfect 10, and I recommend you take a look at it right away.

And IMC’s currently making trial copies available, so you can try out the profitable strategies for 30 days — and prove to yourself that they really DO work — WITHOUT risk!

To find out how, click here now…

Salehoo Review

Salehoo is growing every day with more than 64,000 members.  The most recent topic in the forum is one of a Salehoo member who is now a Silver Powerseller in just three months.  eBay is still a viable place to make money no doubt about it.  If you didnt already know, Salehoo gives you all the secrets of selling wholesale, liquidation, and dropshipping merchandise.  They have personal coaching by way of the forum by Salehoo staff.

Here is a summary of the topics in the forum:

-Starting out Importing
Here you can ask questions from others who import their goods.  There is much you should know about buying extremely inexpensive products from other countries.  Everything you need to know including trusted companies are listed.

-All about selling goods online
Whether it is with eBay, Amazon, or your own website.

General-
Wholesale! Wholesale!  The knowledge and community is priceless.  Maybe you are not sure what you should sell, you will understand here how to find a “niche”.

-Suppliers
If the resource is available, Salehoo and their members have researched it.

-Most wanted wholesale suppliers

If you cannot find what you are looking for the Salehoo staff will find it for you.

-Discuss Products
Find out what other sellers experiences are with certain products and yes, they do share.

Name Them Shame Them!
All of the bad experiences sellers have had with other suppliers are shared here.  Remember, not all suppliers on the Internet are safe.

Find Dropshippers
The dropshipping business does take skill.  You will learn all you need to know about dropshipping and suppliers here.

There are many other forum topics including Salehoo members who have advanced to wholesale suppliers who can provide you with goods.

Salehoo Video + Christmas eBook

When you have a good idea you probably feel like you need to put it into action immediately.  You probably know in theory that any business takes 12-18 months to be established, somehow you still hope you can get there in 2!

One mistake entrepeneurs make is to throw their savings into buying lots of stock before they are aware of how ebay works.  Its easy to be lulled into a false sense of security on eBay after buying a few items.  For buyers, eBay is supposed to be user friendly.  For seller, things get a little more complicated.  Powersellers agree that there are new things to be learned all the time and you gain a lot of experience after selling small, inexpensive items.

You should begin by buying and selling many inexpensive items that can be purchased easily. Try to keep track of what is selling the best and try to narrow down the possibilities of a stronger product.

2. Respond to questions as fast as possible

Most of your customers are using the internet because they like how fast they get thier information, contacts, gifts, advice, et.  I cant stress enough how important it is to check your emails and reply to questions as quickly as possible.

3. Try to organize your time

If you are working a full time job and selling online after hours to get your business going, you will benefit from making a list of what you need to do and stick to it.  once you are working on eBay full time it becomes even more important!

4.  Take professional photographs from the beginning

A picture really does speak a thousand words.

5.  Dont put all your eggs in one basket - find other ways to sell apart from eBay

eBay is not the be all and end all of selling online.  It is one of the best ways to start but try thinking of other ways you can increase your web presence.  There are plenty of easy and cheap ways to build your online profile.

6.  Keep a constant outlook for other products to sell, while monitoring your current products.

Make sure to keep looking for emerging trends.  There may be another opportunity just waiting for you.

7.  Keep in contact with your wholesale supplier regularly to ensure you are aware of any stock issues.

Backorders can create a lot of extra work.

8.  Do carry out regular keyword and market research

Keyword research is the way to make sure your potential customers find you easily.  Set aside some time each day for research to ensure you are keeping on top of the game.

Here are some websites to give you market data:

http://www.google.com/insights/search/# — This will tell you what the current trend is in your market

http://tools.seobook.com/keyword-tools/seobook/ — This will show you how many times a day a certain keyword is searched.

http://whats-hot-weekly.com — This will show you the most popular items on eBay by showing how many are watching

http://whats-hot-weekly.com/MostSearched.php — This will show you what the most popular keywords are on eBay

9.  Use software if you need to help you organize your sales.

If you are selling more than 15 items you can lose money with mistakes like forgetting to ship an item and restocking your inventory.

10.  Dont offer free shipping unless you can afford it

Free shipping is a very effective way of attracting more people to your listings.  However, before you consider it, think about your profit margins, how much your item weighs, and the fact that shipping will vary by distance.  It could quickly become crippling if you apply it to a lot of different sized items.

If you are considering importing goods from China it is exciting and scary for many reasons.  For one, there is a language barrier which presents problems for sellers.  Mainly everyone is worried about payments.  How do I pay?  Can they be trusted?  etc.

The main difficulty is that most Chinese Wholesalers only accept Western Union and wire transfer payments.  They are not secure so you must be careful.  You should know, the only reason they use these methods is because these are the only payments available to the Chinese.  It is very hard to get a credit card in China because of government regulations.

Even though there are risks involved, you can minimize this risk by starting with a small shipment of goods.  You can gradually build your order over time.  To get around the language barrier, we always ask a new contact for their MSN or email address so you can ask them questions and get pictures of stock.  After you have a relationship, ask for a sample order.

Another concern many have is the quality of the products.  Most of the products from China are generic brands.  There are products that are in demand that are off brand like scooters, and generic electronics.  They do not have to be a brand name in order to sell. Off brands can be purchased at very good wholesale prices.

Remember always keep an open mind and research before you buy!

You can go to Salehoo for a great Chinese Wholesalers List

eBay ‘Lingo’ – What are they?

Sometimes, you may not understand what eBayers are talking about. It is due to the fact that several terminologies used are hard to understand and not everyone is expected to be familiar with them, unless someone tells you their meanings. The following are commonly used jargons. There is no need for memorization since most of them are hardly ever used.

Words

Bid - The highest price for a certain item that you are willing to pay is shown.
Dutch - 2 or more similar items are available in an auction.
Feedback - Good or bad comments given by other eBayers.
Mint - In great condition.
Non-paying bidder - Someone who bid and won in the auction, but did not purchase the item.
PayPal - An electronic way of making payments which is accepted by many sellers.
Rare - Utilized and neglected on eBay, thus turned out to be completely worthless.
Reserve - A minimal cost of a certain item that is acceptable to the seller.
Shill bid - A false bid made by an eBay seller in the goal of raising his/her auction’s worth.
Snail Mail - A post that is really slow when compared to electronic mail.
Sniping - A last-minute bidding to make sure that no one outbids you.

Abbreviations

AUD - Australian currency known as Australian Dollar.
BIN - Stands for Buy It Now. An auction that has a fixed price.
BNWT - Stands for Brand New With Tags. A product with a tag still attached and was never used.
BW - Stands for Black and White and are utilized for pictures, films and more.
CONUS - Stands for Continental United States. Sellers use this in case they do not wish to send anything to Hawaii or Alaska.
EUR - A currency known as Euro.
FC - A kind of postage considered to be First-class.
GBP - A currency known as Great British Pounds.
HTF - Stands for Hard to Find. Not really as neglected as the ‘rare’ one, but is nearly going there.
NIB - Stands for New in Box. A product which was never opened in its box.
NR - Stands for No Reserve. A product without a reserve price that sellers can set.
OB - Stands for Original Box. A product which was or was not opened, but still has the original box.
PM - Stands for Priority Mail.
PP - Stands for Parcel Post.
SH - Stands for Shipping and Handling. Postage fees that a buyer must pay.
USD - A currency known as United States Dollars.
VGC - Stands for Very Good Condition and is considered to be almost ‘mint’.

There are a lot more eBay jargons, but it cannot be covered here anymore. In case you encountered a strange lingo, type the word in the search engine and put ‘eBay’ next to it. You may be able to see that somebody has made an effort to explain that particular word in detail.

It is better if you can understand someone else’s jargon, but refrain from making use of it unless it is necessary, like not enough space in the product’s title. Most shoppers are not veteran eBayers and they might back off if you put tons of strange terminologies in your auction.

Here are the top 10 antiques sold on ebay right at this moment:  Guess what you can see the top 1000 at http://whats-hot-weekly.com

sterling
sterling silver
clock
gaming
lamp
chandelier
quilt
silver
victorian
primitives

Although this book is over 50 pages, it includes a lot of photos as I wanted to show you:

real examples so please do not feel discouraged. It is an easy read with good
information. That being said, it is impossible to list everything that sells on eBay. There
are literally millions of items being added every single day. This would be hundreds if
not thousands of pages long – no thanks right? Besides, this is a “best of the best” list.
This is not a “how to sell on ebaY” guide. There are tons of books out there on how to
sell on ebaY. And I didn’t want to “fill” this book with information you didn’t sign up for.
However I have included some resources and tips related to selling on ebaY that I feel is
valuable.
So, I’ve listed what “I” personally sell and have success with as well as a few extras to
give you some additional ideas and help you brainstorm. Basically, the stuff that
consistently sells. “The best of the best!” I’m very good at what I do so why show you
anything else?
I have included a lot of photos for you of actual eBay auctions. Some I’ve shown one
photo, some there are more. No reason for this other than I felt the need to further
reference the item.
I’ve included links to “completed” auctions of categories I’m discussing so you can
clearly see the proof (you will have to be logged into to eBay for this. You may want to do that
now.)
I have further references of other places to find items to sell that cost very little.
Links to other sources for further researching or referencing.
Bonus section to help you get higher bids on eBay.
Bonus cheat sheet to take with you shopping.
This means to take note as this item is a hot seller!



If you are interested in making money from other people’s ebay auctions you can find out how to do this here.  This is called affiliate marketing.  When you have your own website you can place other people’s ebay auctions on your site and receive commission if your visitor makes a purchase.  eBay provides rss feeds for this or you can buy software to pull the auctions.

Making money with eBay is a great way to make money but you can also make money with Amazon and other affiliate programs.  You must apply for the eBay partner network after you have your own website.  eBay has made it difficult to get approved in their network and I recommened starting with Amazon.

There is software available for you to have your very own Amazon affiliate store or you can copy and paste the links yourself.  This is THE best way to make money online and easier than selling your items and shipping them.

You can sell absolutely any product online and get paid a commission.  Does this sound interesting?  I can show you exactly how to  do this!

I will give you step by step  instructions.  There is no upfront money involved.  You dont even need your own website!  There are ways to use free websites and if you like the idea of making money from home, more money than you ever thought possible, I can show you how.

Go Here to get a free guide and step by step instructions:

http://netjobforyou.com

The Best Ebay wholesale dropshippers are located from one company.  The only eBay approved company for wholesale dropshippers.  What do they have?

There used to only be two players in the video game business. The video game suppliers and video game retailers. The retailers were the only ones who had a website store. There is such a high demand for video games there is now plently of room for anyone who is interested in getting started with their own video game business.

Let’s begin with an overview of the world of video games. There are three major console players: Nintendo, Microsoft, and the largest one, Sony. Each company has released what are now called third generation consoles. These consoles are the Wii, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3.

Prior to the third generation consoles, gamers had Nintendo’s GameCube, Microsoft’s Xbox, and Sony’s PlayStation 2 to keep their thumbs in shape. The games and accessories of these second generation consoles are what primarily make up the wholesale video game market today. One key aspect to keeping these wholesale games and overstock video game accessories in value is backward compatibility. Backward compatibility is the ability of older video games and accessories, such as controllers and memory cards, to interface with newer generation consoles.

The Video Game industry is a 12+ Billion Dollar industry. If you are looking for a product that is easy to ship and returns a large profit, video games are a great choice. There are so many small niches in video games like the cards and other accessories.

There are many websites claiming to be wholesale distributors of video games but there is one available wholesale list that gives you proven distributors (more than you will need). It is a new video game distributor list that a very successful seller has been using for five years. He is giving you the list of suppliers because he does not need them all. He also gives you all of the information you need to get your business off on the right foot.

Here is the link where you can get your list of suppliers FREE:

http://wholesale.gotmineforless.com/Store/Wholesale-Gaming

Dont forget to check out http://whats-hot-weekly.com

Click here to learn about dropshipping the right way.

This information is from Chris Malta. Chris is the Founder and CEO of WorldwideBrands.com. He and his company have been in the business of teaching how to start selling physical products online. He teaches about dropshipping, wholesalers and a WHOLE lot more. And Chris has been a leader in fighting online scams for years.

Over the years Chris found that so many people were going about setting up their dropship relationships all wrong. Just last week he was just telling me how he hears from tired, frustrated people who just need a break.

Some of the people he hears from have been caught by the guy in the middle, acting as a wholesaler, trying to catch a quick buck from an unsuspecting person like you who just wants to make an honest living online.

“So, what can I do about it?” you ask?

YOU can decide not be one of those suckers who believes in the overnight millions in your bank account. Deep down you know that everything worth anything takes time, so PLEASE don’t fall for it.

Even if you’ve not decided whether or not selling online is right for you, I strongly suggest that you take a look at what Chris is giving away.
Chris is GIVING you one of his educational products, Dropship Focus. A $97 valued product jam packed with dropship education for FREE. Last year Chris sold hundreds of this product for $97. But now it is free to introduce you to his wholesale educational & information program with no strings attached.

That’s right, you won’t have to enter your credit card number, or even your PayPal address.
Times are tough, and we don’t want you to spend money that you don’t have.

That’s why it’s completely, 100% F.R.E.E.

Click Here to watch a short video. Then just enter your name and email to get access to the remainder of the product.

Video games are a $12 + Billion dollar industry  You can make a living selling video games online.  To become  successful you need to find a supplier.  This can be more difficult than it first seems.  There are ways to find legitimate suppliers which you can see at the link below.

While the profit margins are higher if you stock your own inventory, you can still make a good living dropshipping.  Once you have found a reliable wholesale company, you need to choose a selling method.  This is usually online with an auction site.  When you have established a reputation your sales will skyrocket.

Here you can view video games wholesale and also a free guide for a wholesale provider:

http://wholesale.gotmineforless.com/Store/Wholesale-Gaming

Find Out how to sell Documents on eBay for Cash!

Why the best item to buy to resell is something nobody wants and would never contemplate buying.  But wait, there is an incredibly good reason for you to buy that item and with just a few minutes’ effort I’ll show you how to turn it into something people will fall over themselves to buy!  This is the stuff bidding wars and eBay record breaking prices are made of!

Be paid $5, $20  …..  even $100 or more for every sale.  Remember some people will buy several of these items, others will bid up to incredible amounts for items that cost you pennies.

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE -FREE NEWSLETTER

How to make really silly money.  I’ll show you books that contain thousands of items that can be sold separately, each of which can bring bids of $4, $10, $40 or more a time.  I’ve done it, many times, and I include irrefutable proof in my book.  I’ll even show you which books and magazines to look for and how to get them at the lowest possible price, even free of charge!  You’ll quickly discover that the choice of publications you can choose from is so immense that what you sell is nothing at all like what I am selling and could in fact be worth much more than my items. The upshot is that won’t ever encroach on my market and I won’t ever be a threat to you!

When You are looking for the Best ebay wholesale dropshippers you should research the product you want to sell very throughly.  This can be done by looking at keyword tools and places like http://whats-hot-weekly.com.  After you find a product that sells one right after the other and confirm that there is a good demand for the product on the internet you should consider using Salehoo or Worldwide Brands.  You can find out a lot about these wholesale drop ship directories on this website.  You can also use http://wholesale.gotmineforless.com to find liquidation products that are very easy to buy and resell for profit.  Liquidation is quickly becoming the best way to sell on eBay because eBay itself is below wholesale a lot of the time as you can see on http://wholesale.gotmineforless.com

The truth is: men, women… and even teenagers… are making ENORMOUS monthly salaries… from home… using the secrets described inside the free eBay Success System Kit.

And remember, you don’t need any special skills… any experience… and… you don’t even need to invest any of your own money to start making money, almost immediately.

The secrets you’ll discover in your kit will literally take you by the hand and walk you through… step-by-step… the entire process eBay millionaires use to make their money.

There will be no stone left unturned… no questions left unanswered… and no grey-areas in your understanding of what it takes to make money… get out of debt… quit your job… start working from home… and… secure your financial future

(even in these tough economic times) with eBay.

Click Here For Your Free Ebay Success System Kit

Dont Forget to check out http://whats-hot-weekly.com for the most watched items and be on the lookout for http://givemeaniche.com for ebay keywords!!

Information on how to make this work with Worldwide Brands - Remember they are the only company approved by eBay

Wholesale Items For Sale Here

Many sellers list their items for one week and if it doesnt sell, they do not try to relist it.  You should treat your online business the same as your off line business.  Products in stores do not all sell in one day!

That very reason is why many fail in the liquidation business. They try to move the products too fast. I have had items listed that get re listed 3 or 4 times. But they eventually get a sale. There is a buyer for anything and everything. You just have to be the one presenting that item.

For instance. I had a suitcase pallet a few months ago. I listed 4 units for 99Cents starting bid. They all closed and I barely made $80 on them. I paid i think $200 for the pallet.

It was the lowest priced pallet macys had in that category and I chose it as a test pallet for myself. Most of them were in mint condition but some had a problem with the handles. After tinkering with them I figured out how to fix all of those with bad handles. I then ran many of the suitcases with Higher prices. All buy it now. It took me 2 months but now most of them are sold. And Im sitting on about 700 Profit on that pallet. And I still have several suitcases I haven’t even listed yet. Just imagine if I bought 5 pallets and had a ton of them listed. I sat on the products longer and turned a pallet that might have barely broke even into a high profit pallet. Just by being patient.

Other people only sell what they personally think will sell high. And they curb the rest or even throw it away. This is something that just cant happen. Your basically putting profit in a corner to rot and taking a loss when you should list and sell it.

I have watched successful sellers even selling something remote as a onion peeler. Yeah its a small item but even if you sell it for $4.00 thats $4.00 more in your pocket. You have 30 items like that on a pallet selling for the same price and you have $120 in profit on that pallet that some toss in a corner and don’t sell.

So yes patience always pays off. If your in a hurry then you will loose potential profits you could have made. Just because your item did not sell that week does not mean it wont sell on another. It just means that buyer wasnt looking for your item at the time you started the listing.

I* have normally 3,000 items up but only sell 200-300 items a week on avg ..keep most in my ebay store and still turn good profit only selling 5-10% each week of what i have listed …you can have 2500 items in your store and it is only $75 a month for the listings .I have stuff sometimes sit for months before selling , it just depends on how much money you have to work with.*

See Wholesale Gymboree Lots Here

Gymboree Coupons Here

Make some extra cash by having fun shopping for your kids.  You really can buy Gymboree and resell it for profits.  You can become your own boss and the best part is it is a very enjoyable way to  make money.  Here is a guide to help you get started.

I am an eBay powerseller and I am able to stay home with my 3 kids and make a very good income.  It is EASY - Gymboree! Gymboree is one of the most searched for brands on eBay.  I can buy an outfit for my daughter, have her wear it and then resell it on eBay.  After she wears it I actually make a profit when I resell it. This is like recycling and you cannot do this with just any brand.

For you to be successful you will need to put in a good amount of time.  This is a full time job for me but I can work on it whenever I please.  I like to work at night when the kids are asleep.  You will get as much out of your eBay business as you are willing to put into it.

I. BEFORE YOU PURCHASE ANY INVENTORY YOU MUST:
~~ Register on Gymboree’s online store.  This will provide you with advance notice of sales and GYMBUCKS.

~~Sign up for Gymbohaven’s newsletter.  The newsletter also provides you with advanced notice of sales and the online promotion codes.  The site itself is a reference site of past and present Gymboree lines and pricing.

~~Sign up for an image hosting service like Auctiva (free) or Seller Sourcebook (very reasonably priced).  Both allow you to host your images there and even have very pretty auction templates that you can use.  Having an image host will save you the additional image fees eBay charges and allow you to place more images of your item in your listings.

~~APPLY FOR THE GYMBOREE VISA.
You get an additional  5% off of your Gymboree purchases and 1% back in the form of a Gymboree gift card at the end of the earning year.

II.  PURCHASING INVENTORY:
~~What sizes to buy?  IN MY OPINION, it makes sense to buy/sell a little bit of each size.  Variety is always a good thing.  After all, how would you like to go into a store that only sold size 6-12 months or only size 4T?
The children’s market never goes through seasons.  Someone is ALWAYS looking for children’s clothing.

~~Purchase inventory at the end of the season.  You will get amazing deals this way.  You will want to list these items in your eBay store for now.  Then, once the appropriate season is near, you can send them to fixed price or auction style listings.  This will ensure you get the most profit for your item.

~~Always check out the clearance racks!  I know new store items are just SO CUTE!  But the best bargains will be on the clearance racks.

~~GYMBUCKS!  What are gymbucks?  Gymbucks are a discount coupon for $25 off a $50 purchase.  During Gymbucks earning period you can earn Gymbucks in increments of $25 for every $50 you spend.  Usually a few weeks later, the redemption period begins.  You can either purchase new lines at 50% using your Gymbucks, or use them to get even BIGGER savings on already reduced merchandise.  It will be your choice how you want to spend your Gymbucks.

You can also purchase Gymbucks on eBay.  You won’t get the full discount but you won’t have to spend the money to earn them.

THE IMPORTANT THING IS NOT TO MISS OUT ON GYMBUCKS!!

PSST!  Go into your local Gymboree the day before GYMBUCKS redemption begins and select your items.  Gymboree will allow you to hold your items for up to 24 hours.  You can also go to their website and put your items in the shopping cart and then check out once redemption begins. I can also show you where you can purchase Gymbucks for pennies on the dollar.

~~Wholesale lots
You can sometimes get GREAT DEALS on wholesale lots.

I often list my excess inventory as Wholesale Lots in my eBay store.  Not because they are not HOT sellers, but because maybe I purchase too much to earn Gymbucks, or I simply don’t have the time to list it all.

This is especially a great option if you don’t have a Gymboree nearby.  I get rid of some of my excess inventory and you get the great prices without having to drive to 5 different Gymboree’s.

~~Gymboree markdowns are usually on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

~~7 day price adjustment policy.

~~60 day money back return policy with tags and receipt.

GENERALLY OUTLET LINES DON’T SELL AS WELL.  SO SO SAVE YOUR MONEY FOR NON-OUTLET ITEMS.
III.  ORGANIZING INVENTORY:
~~KEEP YOUR INVENTORY ORGANIZED!!
I had to end all of my store listings and start all over because I had lost track of my inventory.

~~CLEAR PLASTIC BINS ARE A GODSEND!
The lease expensive price I found was Walmart at $4.85 for a 54 qt clear bin with lid.

~~Label your bins.
How you chose to categorize depends on how much inventory you INTEND to have at any given time.  Think big!  My bins are categorized by style, i.e., SHORT SLEEVE DRESSES, LONG SLEEVE DRESSES, SLEEVELESS DRESSES.  It makes finding an item, once it has sold, so much easier!

IV.  LISTING YOUR ITEMS:
~~Take GREAT PICTURES!

~~TAKE YOUR TIME WITH PICTURES.
Invest in a couple of poster boards.  A light colored one for dark clothing and a dark one for light clothing.  When you take pictures on these you will have images with no obstruction of wrinkled bedding, carpet, floor and the like.  It makes your items more appealing.

Iron EUC and GUC items.  The more appealing the item is, the more likely it is to get higher bids.  Skipping this step may cause you to miss out on lots of $$ if your items look like garage sale items. THINK LIKE A BUYER!

~~DON’T PHOTOGRAPH ITEMS ON THE FLOOR!
This turns many buyers off.

EXAMPLE OF SEVERAL GREAT PICTURES:
Using a solid-color background, such as a poster board, gives your pictures that “floating” look you see at online stores.

~~ALWAYS! ALWAYS! INCLUDE THE LINE NAME IN YOUR TITLE!!
Without the Line name, i.e., Dandelion Wishes, Cherry Pie, you may as well be selling a non-brand, non-Gymboree item.
Part of the following of Gymboree fanatics, including myself, is the LINES.  When buyers conduct a search for an item they will type in the specific line name.  YOU WILL GET MORE PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY US GYMBOREE FANATICS, TO LOOK AND POSSIBLY BID ON YOUR AUCTIONS!

Once you become a more seasoned seller you will be able to guesstimate which pieces will do well alone or as an outfit.

~~CHECK YOUR SPELLING–ESPECIALLY IN THE TITLE!
If your item or brand are mispelled you will miss out on potential buyers!

~~WRITING YOUR DESCRIPTION
How you want to describe your items is entirely up to you.  I chose simple and to the point.
HOWEVER, make sure you mention ANY flaws with an item, no matter how small and include a picture of it.

As a buyer I would rather be PLEASANTLY SURPRISED than UNEXPECTEDLY DISAPPOINTED.
~~TERMS AND POLICIES
Make sure you include all of you terms in your listing.  Some important items include:  Return Policy, Payment Methods, Shipping, INSURANCE, and anything else you want the buyer to know and be aware of PRIOR to buying.

IV.  SHIPPING YOUR ITEMS:
~~Ship items in the same manner you would like to receive your purchases in.
Tissue paper, curly ribbon and raffia ribbon are all nice and inexpensive little touches.

~~Remove clearance/markdown stickers from your items PRIOR to shipping them out.

V.  PRICING YOUR ITEMS:
~~Keeping the value up!
Okay, if we want to continue to do this and continue to make a nice profit we have to help keep the prices steady.  What do I mean by this?  If I am selling an item for a very low price, it will lower the ‘perceived’ value of that particular item.  Although you want to be competitive, you don’t want to price too that it will bring down the market value of the item for all of us, including you! Try to stay competitive without being destructive to the market.  Right now Gymboree is a hot seller, but it won’t be the same money maker and it won’t be as much fun if you are turning over $.25 profit on items.

VI.  CUSTOMER SERVICE
~~Remember, think like a BUYER!!

~~If you make a mistake, fix it.  The proverbial “the customer is always right” applies to any business.

~~If you tend to be dry or abrasive in your e-mails, use emotiocons so that a buyer can see the tone intended in your email.  (Don’t use all CAPS–it is considered yelling–amazing huh?)

~What do you do with the typical non-paying bidder that claims their 2-year-old daughter accidentally purchased an entire line of gymboree clothes?  The one who has a financial tragedy but you can see she is still actively buying on e-bay?  You file the Unpaid Item Dispute.  When they don’t reply within 7 days you can close the dispute, or if they reply but still won’t pay.  You recover your fees and then leave feedback.  Is there a risk of receiving negative feedback if you leave it for them?  Yes!  But they will keep burning other sellers because they know we rather let it go than get a negative.  I don’t practice that.  You don’t or won’t pay–you will get negative feedback.  This helps keep the e-bay community safe from people who think we put all of our time and hard work into this just for kicks.  Harsh?  Yes, but when you have 15-20 of these such buyers, even the kindest seller will have their limits :-)  Use your discretion when deciding to leave a negative feedback.

VII.  MISC. TIPS
~~You can get 250 free business cards from VISTAPRINT. (You only pay about $5 for shipping and handling.) These are great to include with your shipments to buyers.

~~Register a domain name.  For about $10 per year, you can own your own “DOMAIN”.   Having an actual web address/domain you can bounce to your ebay store is a lot better than the long-winded eBay http address you get to your store.

MY GUIDE MAY NOT MAKE YOU A POWER SELLER IN 3 MONTHS, BUT IT WILL HELP YOU GET STARTED!

REMEMBER, THERE IS ROOM FOR ALL OF US AND I AM A FIRM BELIEVER THAT IF YOU  HELP SOMEONE OUT IT COMES BACK TO YOU.  HOW I WISH SOMEONE WOULD HAVE HELPED ME OUT WHEN I STARTED–IT WOULD HAVE SAVED ME A LOT OF MONEY, AGGREVATION, AND TIME!

HAPPY GYMBOREEING!

There is a new FREE tool for finding the Hot Selling Items on eBay!!!

http://whats-hot-weekly.com

http://whats-hot-weekly.com

This tool is wonderful because it tells you what the most popular products are in every category!  You can even find out how many people are watching, how many bids and what the current price is.

This is great for sellers and buyers because sellers now know what people really like (great for finding niches) and buyers can find out what the best products are in every category.

There is also a feature to “search” a keyword for the most popular products.

Enjoy!