Finding Inventory for eBay 

Sourcing your products is one of the most difficult tasks a seller has to do. If you don't have the right product, no matter how good your other selling strategies are, you won't make much money.

Where to Find Inventory for eBay

Finding a source for your inventory on eBay is the toughtest part of selling, hands-down. Customer service, shipping, creating a listing, even HTML are all CAKE next to the difficult task of sourcing. Naturally, other eBay sellers are not willing to...

eBay's Widgets 

An eBay Tool to Show People What you Have!

Blog Blog Blog 

Installing the eBay Widget 

Setting up the widget on your blog or my space couldn't be any more simple. click here or type togo.ebay.com into your browser, then follow the simple instructions. They will ask you to select the style/look appropriate for you, enter your id, and enter the search you'd like to show up inside your widget. It's best to choose the items that would take up the entire widget, so if you sell mostly handbags, like us, type that into the search box. Finally, eBay will generate an html code for you to simply copy and paste onto your blog or my space...incredibly easy! You don't have to know how to write html, don't worry. The code is automatically generated, all you have to do is paste it on your blog or site. Free advertising is never a bad thing! You can also highlight certain items, maybe a rarity that people should see, or feature your sale items from the markdown manager. So, copy and paste away on your blogs and my spaces and drive a little extra traffic.

The downside of eBay to Go would be its loading performance. The To Go widget is sometimes a little slow loading, or sometimes not at all. In this instance, you can try other widgets and widget submissions from other companies like ISDN Tek, Grazr or Yahoo. These can work just as well, if not better. They are also simple to create.

What's your Favorite eBay Book? 

Blog about your Store 

eBay buyers first and foremost are usually looking for a deal. To increase repeat traffic to your listings, eBay buyers are looking for the total package, a great experience from start to finish..so if they're satisfied with their first transaction, there's a possibility they might come back. One way to keep in touch with past and potential customers is through eBay's Blog Feature. You'll be able to promote your store through eBay blogs, or on your own personal blog. Better yet, ask someone else to blog your site or store.

Blogging is definitely one of the better ways to increase traffic to your own website or eBay store, and being on eBay you already have some sort of traffic flowing to your blog. But how can you increase it? The more targeted traffic to your blog, the more possible sales from potential buyers who might slip into your store and make a purchase.

Use keywords.

Not only is there a search bar in the eBay blog, but the search engines can find you as well with good keyword usage. Sprinkle in some items that you sell, maybe your store URL, and other relevant keywords.

Link all over your store and listings.

Leave links to your eBay blog in your listings and you'll see more traffic headed to your blog. Most will return to your listing, and some will want to return to read more information, perhaps taking a visit to your store? Link throughout your store on any pages you can, even on your listing frame if you'd like.

Offer something unique and different.

There are thousands and thousands of blogs to read, but what makes yours stand out? Would a reader return for more? Is it compelling, well-written, error-free and informative?

Don't spam.

It's best to leave great content, and keep your spamming limited, if any. Readers want content, they'll visit your site based on how they like your blog. Generally, spam and advertisements have negative impacts on the number of readers.

Refrain from a text only post.

Pictures, bullets, numbering or other means of breaking up a page will let readers more quickly scan your blog, absorbing more of your content and providing more interest. Think about it, when you see a large block of text, you may immediately think "boring!" Add some variations and try new things, use your own pictures or creative ways of presenting your blog.

Pay attention to your traffic.

Looking at how many people have viewed your blog is very important. This way, you can see if you're blogging is paying off, being read, our related to your increase in sales. Maybe it might be time to change up your content, or maybe you have a winning formula! You can also view your my world page to see how many people have viewed that as well.

Blog daily.

Blogging often is one of, if not THE, most imporant part of effective blogging. If you make a great post that has garnered some traffic, you want to follow it up soon with another high quality post. Your readers will appreciate it, and they'll come to expect it.

Add even more links!

Link in your email signature, forum signature, other blogs, about me page, and you're certain to see some more traffic.

Be Consistant.

Not only is the regularity of your postings important, but sticking to the topic is something people want to see. For example you have an ebay store, and you post about one of your hobbies, your knowledge of your store items, and maybe some seasonal anecdotes. Sticking to this usual recipe is a good idea, if that's what people like and it's getting traffic. If you never get a comment on a post and you've posted MANY times on that subject, maybe it's a dud and it's time to rethink how you're wording your posts or titles. Or, it might be time to think of a new regular topic.

Give them something to talk about.

People love controversy, information they can't find anywhere else, or things that really make them think. They want something that is going to help them in their own lives, or give them something to pass along to someone else. How can you relate this to your products? Only you can know based on what you're selling, but generally people are in love with secrets. Let them in on some of yours!
Squidoo Directory

Your About ME Page 

Now is your chance to show everyone who you are and what you stand for? But what is it that your About ME Page is telling everyone?

How to Create a Captivating About Us Page

An "about," "about us," "about me," "company information," or "about the company" page can be a valuable asset to a website, and is one of the most important pages. Often times an about us page will be one of the first results when searching for a bu...

My World Page 

Customize your eBay "My World" Page and tell the world who you are!

First off, try something. Google your user ID. What comes up? Most likely the My World page! This is huge news for eBay sellers and users alike who would like their page to be seen. Another reason to customize your My World page is because it is highly clicked when you leave a blog post. For blog readers to access your blog, they will often enter by clicking your My World page. This brings them to a blog link.

Different from the "About Me" page, the My World page is very uniform and something eBay users can be comfortable with. Customize using eBay's modules, which will tell everyone why you are here on eBay.

There are a number of features to customize your My World page, all of which are very easy to set up. To start, click on your user ID. This will take you directly to your My World page. To change things up, click "add content." If you are an eBay seller, you will want to add the "add listings module" icon.

Customize your Bio... 

Next, you'll want to add the "Bio" module. Here you can select whether you would like an eBayness bio, business profile, or your business. You can also add personal favorites if you choose to, like your favorite tv shows, books, music, hobbies and more.

You'll find the "Business Information" heading below the favorites. You can include important features such as your selling policies, history/background, payment methods accepted and other specifics. Also, add your own bold print subjects you'd like readers to see with the blank boxes provided. Be sure to add a photograph to your My World page displaying either your store logo or picture of yourself!

My Auctions Aren't Doing Well! 

You have the product, you have everything all set up the right way, you have your store, you have Squidoo, you have your product listed...now what's the problem? Why are sales not going as planned? It's time to take a look at your auctions and see wh...

How to Write an eBay Auction Listing

Are you not happy with the results you've been getting with your eBay auctions? Whether you're a big time eBay store seller or only an occasional seller, the same tips still apply to see a great final bid price. EBay is a huge marketplace, where the...

Stores Module  

The eBay store module will allow eBay store owners to promote their stores. You can opt to display your store description, display a link to "Add to favorite stores," include link to sign up for store newsletter, and to use the current image your store (logo). Promotion boxes are provided for display, the same ones you use in your store, such as "ending soon," "newly listed," or "item showcase."

Blogs Module 

Reviews & Guides 

Neighborhoods 

Favorites Module 

Theme/Layout 

New to this Whole Squidoo-eBay Relationship? 

How to Market your eBay Store with Squidoo

First off, what is Squidoo? Squidoo is, according to Wikipedia, "a platform designed to make it easy for anyone, for free, to set up a page on a single topic he or she knows or cares a lot about." It's easily customized, and you can include links bac...

Out with the Old... 

When sales slump and inventory gets stale, it might be time to clear out some old product and make way for the new! Holding onto the old product is usually of no advantage, unless it is a seasonal item. To quickly generate interest in items, eBay store has introduced the "Markdown Manager" feature to slash prices on items while letting customers know this is a reduced price by including a slash through the old price. This can be very effective!

Creating the Sale 

First off, to use this feature you must be an ebay stores subscriber. To enable this and create a sale, simply log into your ebay account and click "manage my store" under "my ebay." This is found on the left, under subscriptions. Under marketing tools>item promotion, you'll find markdown manager. Click that, then "create sale." Select the timeframe you would like to use the promotion, keeping in mind when your customers would most likely be on their computer.

Set the Best Time 

Next, create your sale name. This is visible only to you. The time selected for the sale must be at least a 24 hour period. Also, a limit of 45-days is put on the sale. Remember, you also want to market your store beyond the sale period, so educating your customers in your listings about your store or products is a must to be effective long-term! All store inventory and fixed-price listings can be included in a markdown sale. You can choose your own percentage or choose a dollar-off amount for the items chosen. Click "save and submit" to finalize the sale.

Advertise your Sale 

You can further advertise your sale through the ebay store listing frame. This is found in also under the "manage my store" icon, then under "marketing tools." Click "listing frame" and check the box next to "link to items on sale." This will include a small band in all of your listings with links to your items on sale, creating a buzz and some traffic to your sale items. You might be thinking, "why would I want to promote my sale items, I want to promote my full-price items first!" While that may seem obvious, it's actually important to keep your customers interested in your listings and store for a long period of time with your content and items. A quick click of a non-sale item by a customer may quickly lead to them clicking the back button...but wait! There's some sale items that might be similar to this item in this ebay seller's store, I'll click the link to find out what...boom! They're brought into your store, browsing your sale items. This increases traffic to your listings, and therefore, your sales! So by enabling the listing frame and the sale link, you've increased traffic.

Finding a Deal on eBay 

Make sure to use the markdown manager feature sparingly! Too much of anything is not good, and customers will come to EXPECT a sale, then wait for it to make a purchase. And who can blame them? Use it only occasionally.

A great form of inventory.....

How to Find a Great Deal on eBay

The eBay environment might be changing for sellers, but for buyers, the time has never been better to find a great deal. Whatever you're looking to purchase, eBay will most likely be the cheapest of all places to purchase an item. However, there's a...

Email It! 

 

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Guestbook 

Store Logo Designs on eBay 

 

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