EBay commands a LOT of traffic and should not be ignored, but it certainly does not hurt to add your inventory elsewhere!

Since no one should have all of their eggs in one basket, you should know that there are other sites out there that you might just want to check out!

There are sites that are similar to eBay on which you can list your items for auction and there are sites on which you can list them for a fixed price and/or allow people to make you an offer.

iOffer

The easiest site to use if you are already on eBay is iOffer. You simply create your account and check out Mr. Grabber! Mr. Grabber allows you to chose another site that you use and import your items from that site to iOffer. Your options are eBay, Overstock and Sell.com.

This may take a few minutes, but nothing could be easier! Some of your items will need to be placed in appropriate categories as they won't correspond directly to iOffer's categories.

You then also need to chose whether you want someone to be able to make an offer on your item. If this is the case, you simply do not apply a dollar amount.

iOffer listings are free, gallery is free, and you even have the option of a store, which is, you guessed it, FREE!

If you list something as an iOffer Lite item (under $4.99) you pay no final value fee!

Livedeal

Livedeal is another site on which you may list your items for free. There is a final value fee, but it is inline with eBay and other sites.

Livedeal is similar to iOffer in that you place items up for sale for a set price. I've found that the easiest way to upload items to Livedeal is with their bulk upload function which involves building a spreadsheet.

Oh, come on now! Pick your jaw up off the floor! It's not so hard! You simply go to My Account once you've set one up and then select Bulk Upload Tool. You can then download a template and start filling in the blanks!

Livedeal's template provides you a spreadsheet page with titles at the top of the columns. You fill in the rows underneath each title with the information being asked, save it as a file and then go to Livedeal to upload it!

Spreadsheet or CSV (comma separated value) sheets are much quicker than doing listings individually.

With most any auction site you usually will have the option of listing items one by one, or, for the truly brave, you can use a spreadsheet. Now, if this is something that has caused you to feel faint of heart before, you really ought to byte the bullet and give it a try! It's actually really awesome once you get the hang of it!

If you pull a list of the items you have on eBay from File Manager, you can cut and paste much of the information you need for your template right from that.

Or, you can just do your listings one by one. Either way, its another basket for your eggs!

Blujay is yet another free listing site that is working its way up through the ranks! You can also have a store on their site. Registration took far less than one minute! And the Terms of Service are very remniscent of the "old" eBay with a very "hands off" approach.

You are able to list for up to 180 days at a time, link to your own website and have a customized banner, categories and more!

ePier

ePier is another auction site on which the listings are free. You again have the option of listing your items individually or via a spreadsheet.

Overstock

Overstock has a terrific little program very much like Turbo Lister for eBay, called OLister. You download it to your desktop. It is a one page template on which you fill in your information and once you have everything listed, you upload at a time that you chose.

Overstock also has far less expensive listing fees and a Make It Mine option (like Buy It Now) that you can add for free!

If you check out Index of the Web you will find quite a few specialty auction sites for things such as cruises, guitars, stocks and bonds, etc.

I have bounced all over the internet to find sites on which we could list our items in order to gain a wider share of the market.

Then, as I became more and more experienced in basic selling, I realized that there were many other things I needed to learn. Things such as marketing, what could be written off, how to best use keywords, how to include additional photos in our listings without paying an additional fee, the importance of using the newsletter feature, the list goes on and on! The more I learn, the more I realize I need to learn!

A few years ago I ran across my future mentor, Janelle Elms. I started ingesting her newsletters and combing her website, the Online Success Institute for all sorts of information. This woman knows everyone that has any sort of knowledge regarding online selling.

She interviews a person and records the interview so that it can be listened to anytime, downloaded to your ipod, etc.

Not long ago, she put out a request for help in getting a new website up and running. I was incredibly fortunate in being one of those chosen to do beta testing for that site.

The website is now live and let me tell you, rather than doing all of the internet hopping I've done in the past, absolutely everything, EVERYTHING you need is all right here in one site, all wrapped up like a big, beautiful gift just waiting for you to open it and join up.

Many of the members are those same people that Janelle has interviewed and what is so fantastic about this is that this site is so much like a big family, that those people are more than happy to help you for free~ These are the same people that charge literally hundreds of dollars for a consultation.

The members are so very respectful and helpful though that I believe none of us take advantage of this perk.

Not only do you become a part of an extrememly upbeat, positive and powerful group, but you will have even more access to the help you need in absolutely every aspect of your business.

Have you held your breath long enough? Alright, alright, the site is OSI Rockstars.

Have you ever been to an eBay Live? This is why I ask. At eBay Live, you have the opportunity to sign up for three days' worth of classes on a great variety of topics. There is no possible way to take all of the classes you would really like to take as there are just so many and so little time.

You can "take" those same classes, or at least very similar ones at OSI Rockstars.

Here is a smattering of the topics on which information is available at this fantastic site:

*Basic Selling
*Advanced Selling
*Product Sourcing
*Profitable Keywords
*Photography
*Shipping
*Automation Tools
*Reviews of books you should have in your library
*Antique identification
*How to use Commission Junction
*Identifying Homeruns at Estate and Yard sales
*Using HTML
*Using Squidoo
*Description writing

Okay - I'm developing carpel tunnel here. You get the idea. There is a free ten minute pass that I invite you to use. This will give you enough time to get a feel for OSI Rockstars.

If you decide to join, the knowledge you are certain to gain will take you far in your online selling endeavors with any site on which you chose to list!

Jennifer Smith
www.PrecisionBluingPlus.com
eBay Education Specialist Extraordinaire