The Auction Reporter Issue 5 - eBay Tactics & Secrets

INTERVIEW WITH SUSAN 

POWERSELLING MUM & EBAY SELLING COACH

1. What first drew you to eBay?
   
   I was cleaning out my basement, and getting ready for a garage sale. I came across my son's toddler car seat. It was a Dale Earnhardt, Sr. car seat that we had purchased when we lived in North Carolina - NASCAR land. Dale Earnhardt had died about 2 years earlier, and I was thinking, "I hate to just give this away at a garage sale; there is probably a collector out there who would love to have this for his collection." Then, I thought of eBay. I had never bought or sold anything on eBay before.
   
   Several friends at work sold their kids' clothes on eBay and I figured I would give it a try. The most I would lose would be a few dollars for listing fees and my time in plac-ing the listing.
2. How long did it take from your first use of eBay until you would describe yourself as a successful seller?
   
   About 3 months. Once I sold everything in my house, I started looking at garage sales and thrift stores for other items to sell. I never intended for eBay to be a full time venture. I was selling my own personal items and playing around on eBay on the week-ends. Then, once I was in a thrift store and saw this beautiful brand new designer skirt with a $120 tag on it that only cost $3. It wasn't my size. I was thinking, "Wow, I wish I knew somebody to give this to." Then I thought, "Hey, wait, I don't have to. I can sell it on eBay." That is how I got started. I that was 12,000 items ago.
   
   I was experimenting with everything. My motto was, "Can I sell this for at least what I paid for it?" I was able to determine what types of things sold better than others. For example, I discovered that athletic wear was a good product. Nike, Adidas, and Reebok lycra running pants were always a hit. After 3 months of experimenting and consistent selling, I was able to leave my "real" job at a marketing firm, and pursue eBay full-time. I've never looked back!
3. How did you decide what to sell on eBay?
   
   I experimented with a lot of different items, and did extensive research on eBay. Before putting an item up for sale, I did searches on completed and active listings for the same type of products on eBay. I asked other sellers questions about those items to get a feel for how well their products sold. I used eBay pulse to keep track of hot items. (eBay Pulse is contains lists of popular searches, stores, products, and most watched items.)
   
   I have sold just about everything on eBay including lingerie, china, apparel, books, CDs, DVDs, electronics, kitchen items, craft items, pet products, and collectibles. My product line now is mostly apparel and shoes. I am also a trading assistant which means that other people can hire me to sell their items for a fee.
4. What were your first mistakes on eBay and how did you learn from them?
   
   Wow, this could be a really long answer! First of all, remember that you will not even exist without your customers. Everything you do needs to revolve around outstanding customer service.
   
   At first, I did not have a refund policy. I thought, "Once I have somebody's money, I am keeping it." I had an "all sales final" policy.
   
   That was a huge mistake. Offering a fair, generous refund policy shows potential buyers that you are an honest seller and will stand by your products. Customers may never even use the refund policy, but you are giving your customers options just in case they don't like the item for whatever reason. You are empowering them. If you look at large retailers, they will allow returns on any item for just about any reason.
   
   I see a lot of eBay sellers that have return policies like, "store credit only," or "returns only allowed if item is grossly misrepresented." I'll say as a customer, I don't buy from these sellers (on or off eBay). As a customer, I want options. I want to know that if clothing doesn't fit, I can return it. Or if an item doesn't match my home décor, I can return it. I don't want to feel trapped with a purchase that can't be returned. I don't want to waste my money on a product that may not work for me once I have it in my hands - and other customers feel the same way.
   
   I changed my refund policy to allow returns within 30 days, for any product, for any reason. I even offer a refund for my eBooks if the customer isn't happy. Having a fair, generous refund policy will attract more customers to your store and you will make more sales. Even if a customer returns an item and you issue a refund, that customer will know that you are a seller with integrity and they will return to your store. (You can always relist the item once it is returned.)
   
   I sell about 300 items a month, and less than 1% of the items are ever returned. You know how it is, you intend to return an item but never get around to it, or it sits in your car for 2 months waiting to be taken to the post office, and you forget about it. Having a generous refund policy is a powerful marketing tool that any seller can use, and it is totally free.
   
   Another mistake I made was being in too much of a hurry to sell an item. I panicked if something didn't sell on auction within a week and marked it down to get rid of it. Big mistake.
   
   I opened an eBay store and began to transfer items over to store inventory as soon as they did not sell on auction. You can list items in store inventory for only 5 cents a month. Often times, your item doesn't sell on auction because the right person hasn't seen it yet. If you had a good feeling about an item you bought to sell in your store, stick with your gut. Intuition doesn't lie. If it doesn't sell on auction, that's ok. Put the item into store inventory and give it some time. There may very well be a buyer for the item, but maybe he is on vacation or out of town on a family emergency, or is wait-ing for his paycheck, or his Paypal account is not working, or for whatever reason, he just hasn't been able to buy the item. I sell about 25% of my items through store in-ventory. Most sell within 2 months, and many sell for more than the starting price when they were put on auction.
5. What do you consider to be your first success on eBay?
   
   Ironically, my first success was the first item I ever sold, the Dale Earnhardt child's car seat. It sold for $71 and I was just thrilled! That was like money falling out of the sky. I think that gave me the momentum to try new things. I thought, "if someone will pay $71 for this car seat that my child rode in for 2 years, there is no telling what else they will buy!"
6. What tips/advice would you give a complete newbie starting out on eBay who is afraid to take the leap?
   
   First of all, start small. Set up an eBay account and buy a few things to learn the process and get a feel for how eBay works. eBay and working at home is not for eve-ryone. And it is ok if it isn't right for you. Sell some of your own things before you invest any money in other products to sell. Understand that eBay is more than taking pictures and working on the computer - you need to be familiar with how to edit pho-tos, shipping, customer service, and Paypal. Take your time and learn about these things before you jump in and go for it full-time.
   
   Once you are comfortable with the whole process, don't be afraid to take a risk every now and then. I am often asked, "But what if you buy an item and it doesn't sell?" Well, that's ok. I can always relist it. I can mark it down and sell it for what I paid for it and move on. You don't want to buy a truckload of 1,000 items without hav-ing tested them out first, but you do want to experiment with different products - you may find something profitable to sell on a regular basis.
   
   Make small investments and try new products to test them out and see what kind of results you'll get. Don't be afraid to experiment with new products and try new things. eBay is constantly evolving and no trend will last forever. Experience is the best teacher.
7. What methods do you use to get traffic to your store?
   
   (1) I try to list 10 new items every day, in different categories. That pulls in shop-pers from all over eBay. For example, if you have 8 pairs of women's black pants, don't list them all on the same day. List different kinds of items to get lots of traffic. You don't want to compete with yourself by listing 10 of the same item. You've got enough competition on eBay to start with.
   
   (2) When leaving feedback, I always use my store name in the feedback. For example, I say, "Thank you for your purchase. Come back to Atlanta Golf Shop." If you are a regular eBayer, you have been sidetracked reading other eBayer's feedback com-ments. Someone could see my store name, and decide to click over for a look - and now you have a new potential customer.
   
   (3) I put a link to my store on every email I send to every single person, for any rea-son. I can't tell you how many new customers I have found by doing this - my kid's teachers, the PTA president, a friend of a friend who forwarded an email from me, my dentist, etc.
   
   (4)I have a trick I call, "The Armani Factor." When I am out thrift store shopping, I look for very high end clothing, like Armani. When I find something with that label, I buy it no matter what condition it is in. Say for example it is a pair of shoes. As long as they are free of holes, and major stains, I buy them. Then, I list the item with Armani in the title and start it at 1 cent, with no buy it now. So now, I have a very high end designer name item in my store for 7 days. Those types of listings get a lot of page views, and shoppers may click over to my store and browse. You can check on eBay Pulse for the most searched key words - and when you find something that has those key words in the title, put it in your store. You'll get page views and traffic. I may only break even on the shoes themselves, but the traffic that brand name gener-ates is valuable in the long run.
   
   (5)After selling on eBay for 4 years, the 6200 feedback score helps pull shoppers in!
8. Best advice for writing a description, for selling an item like you sell?
   
   Include measurements, color, size, and fabric content, manufacturer, washing in-structions, weight, texture and anything else you can think of. Use lots sensory adjectives to describe the item. eBay shoppers can't touch, feel, or hold the item, so you have to help them envision how wonderful it is. Anticipate what shoppers will ask and include that information on the listing. You'll save time in the future be-cause you won't have to go back and take the item out of storage, examine it for the requested information, and reply to their email. Look up that item on the In-ternet and see how retailers describe it. I am not advocating that you plagiarize material from the Internet, but you can definitely get ideas by researching how the big companies describe their items.
   
   If the item has a flaw, be honest and mention it, and show a photo of it. THE KEY IS TO BE HONEST. You can't fool eBay shoppers, they are sharp and they care-fully examine their purchases. Many times, a small flaw is not an issue, and as long as you mention it, some buyers just won't care. This could even work in your favor. Case in point: I had bought a beautiful cashmere sweater at a garage sale to sell but didn't realize it had a hole in it until I got home. The hole was beyond repair. I listed it anyway. I mentioned the flaw in my listing and a buyer contacted me to ask if I had more damaged sweaters to sell. It turned out that this buyer was search-ing for sweaters to use as the material for making small dog sweaters. From then on, I kept her and her business in mind when I was shopping and we have now a great business relationship. There really is a buyer for everything.
   
   You'll have a better reputation when you mention the flaw up front. You will also avoid the hassle of the return-refund process, and you won't risk getting negative feedback.
9. What are your plans for the future on eBay?
   
   I plan to continue what I am doing as far as selling merchandise in my eBay store. I enjoy the process and the thrill of the hunt for new products. I really
   enjoy working with customers around the world.
   
   I have written a book called: 'The Stay-at-Home Mom's Guide to Successful eBay Selling'. which is being published as we speak, and will be available on Amazon.com and other on-line book stores in a few months. I am a stay at home mom and discovered that eBay is a fun home business. Not only is it fun, but it is interesting and profit-able. (Stay at home moms need something interesting to do, too! The Disney Channel gets old!) I have found a new passion - helping other entrepreneurs find success on eBay. (My book is available in my eBay store and on my website in eBook format. See my Store link below)
   
   I have started a website http://ebaysellingcoach.com/ that I developed to offer resources to beginner and intermediate eBay sellers. I offer a free eBay selling newsletter with practical information, work at home tips, and money saving ideas for entrepreneurs. I have also written several original eBay education and informa-tion products to help new sellers. eBay is huge now with 220 million users. The number of users is up 24% from 3rd quarter 2006. That is astronomical growth in a short time. There is room on eBay for everyone and I enjoy helping new sellers suc-ceed. I also have a blog where I post free tips and creative marketing ideas. http://ebaysuz.blogspot.com/
   
   I remember when I started on eBay 4 years ago, the resources were few and far between. I struggled to figure everything out, and how to make all the aspects of eBay selling fit together. I read a lot of eBay and marketing books and learned so much from trial and error. I talked to many other sellers, took classes, and at-tended seminars. Now, I have pulled everything together on my website so that I can help shorten the learning curve for other sellers, and they have a place to go when they can't find the answer they need on eBay. That is why I called it eBay Selling Coach - I am able to coach and guide other sellers along.
   
   Tell your readers to visit my site and sign up for my free newsletter!
   http://ebaysellingcoach.com/
   
   Thank you for the opportunity to do this interview, and happy selling!

TIPS FROM THE TOP 

How to Attain Your Goals in 5 Minutes a Day

• You know I have started setting goals and am trying my best to keep them. Now I am not always successful but I read about this method that I think could really put the onus on success. Especially as all you need to make your goals come true is your brain and five spare minutes a day.
  
  You know how some motivational gurus tell you to aim really high. But as a beginner if you really want something to work you have to take baby steps and set goals that are just out of your comfort zone. It's no good wishing for the world if you haven't got the confidence to manifest it.
  
  So let's say you want to have more money in your life. It is not a good idea to have a goal of attaining one million notes in one month. Why not start with a goal to increase your income by 10% in the next few months? It's not going to change your life over-night but by starting small you are making your goal easier to attain, instead of going for something that you may get disappointed and subdued when you don't achieve.
  
  Just think how much your confidence will be boosted when you have you achieved your first goal. You can aim higher in your next goal and take reasonable steps to change your life for the better instead of rushing it all, beating yourself up and disregarding this method.
  
  The next step is to create a declaration of intent. This is where the work on the sub-conscious begins. Every morning write down the goal you have picked, what is your goal? What do you want to experience?
  Three good beginnings to these lines are:
  I am now creating . . .
  I am now attracting . . .
  I now intend . . .
  I will now . . .
  
  Example declarations of intent:
  I am now creating assertiveness and confidence in my abilities
  I am now attracting new job opportunities and ideas
  I now intend to make an extra $100 a month
  I will now sell 5 products a month
  
  You will obviously have to create the wording in a way that suits you as it will be your personal affirmation to repeat every day and your emotional state has to agree with your statement. For example you cannot say 'I am now exercising every day' when you are not because your subconscious will see the lie and the goal will be harder to attain.
  
  Using I am now attracting or I now intend in case would not be a lie and will contra-dict your emotional state. Take some time to find the wording that works for your own particular goal.
  
  Now it is time to visualize. Once you have written your goal down, mentally picture yourself in the future when you have achieved this goal. Imagine the feeling of ac-complishment, the happiness and excitement. Just pretend it is say two months from today, move your mind and imagination to that day, pretend that your goal has been achieved, imagine the feelings and success and the knowledge that you can use the power within you to achieve your goal. What will be your next goal when you have achieved this one. Imagine the celebration and how great you feel about celebrating your achievement.
  
  Whilst you are visualizing your success, look back from the future and ask your fu-ture what is you need to do today to help you be able to reach your goal. When you feel that you get that answer, write it down and make sure you take that action at some point during the day. The all important task of action is the best way of con-vincing your subconscious that you are serious about your goal and will help manifest your goal faster.
  
  You have to do this daily until your goal is achieved. Stick with the same goal and don't change goals until you have achieved the one you have first set out to do.
  
  You have to do this daily if you want this to work. After all lack of persistence is the prime reason that people do not reach their goals. This techniques takes 5 to 10 min-utes a day and apparently works flawlessly if you continue with it.
  
  I am certainly going to have a go, once this newsletter is complete this month! Also I am trying a hypnotic course on stopping smoking for the next two weeks, which if successful will save me about $100 a month anyway! It's all about taking control of your brain!

TIPS FROM THE TOP 

Making Sure your eBook Goes Viral

1. Make sure you have some related affiliate links within your ebook to create back end sales
2. Create a sales page to go with your ebook. This alone will help ensure that your ebook gets sold on eBay as without one it is unlikely to be sold on there.
3. Create an ebook cover. It makes your ebook look more professional, more complete
4. On the networking premise above, contact as many ebook sellers as you can offer to cross promote by selling each others ebooks - just imagine if you found 100 like minded ebook sellers. Your ebook would be all over the place!
5. Don't set a sales price, even if you do, you will still find it on eBay selling for a cent. You want your ebook to go viral so any restrictions will go against that.
6. Along these lines as well, don't set restrictions on where people can distribute the ebook. I have had many an resell ebook that says their books cannot be sold on auction sites. On the one hand yes this will keep the value of the ebook up but on the over hand you will be restricting your back end sales if you don't allow it to be given away, added to membership sites etc.
7. Brandable ebooks can spread like wildfire so if possible include some links in your ebook that can be rebrandable so that the seller can also make some additional back end sales from reselling your product and thus is more likely to add your ebook to his eBay inventory. Of course you can keep some of your own links in there so it is a win win situation.

QUICK START TIPS 

What to Sell to get a Feel of eBay

1. Go through your wardrobe and be ruthless in sorting them out! Look for items that you will not wear again but still have some wear in it. (In a past issue I men-tioned old rock t-shirts that might be something to look out for). Maybe you have some vintage stuff or hats that you no longer wear, are 'out of fashion' or are no longer your style. Everyday items can be quite hard to get rid off but there is no harm in trying. In listings be absolutely honest about condition of the goods and take a clear photo (or several from different angles).
2. If you have a hobby or are arty crafty, consider selling your finished products on eBay, whether its mittens, ships in bottles, shellcraft, wood work etc. Hand made goods can often find good loyal followers and collectors from eBay. Items that show originality, good workmanship can attract high dollars. Once again include good and as many photos as possible. Also describe how lovingly crafted and the methods used to create your item as people buying these types of items will be buying your story as much as buying your product.
3. On a similar vein locally made goods also make sellers on eBay. Every place in the world will be home to at least a few unique products, resources , fauna, or food. Is Marmite available universally? Or is their some poor soul somewhere suffering withdrawal symptoms or having to put with cheap imitations! Think Harris Tweed, native crafts, local indigenous crafts, Rock from Brighton. A great way to use your imagination and put a spin on your locality and offering something worldwide. I wish Chocolate Covered Pretzels were easy to buy in the UK
4. Household décor, furniture or antiques are also good items to try first of all. Why not try getting ridding of that awful vase your Aunt Hilda bought you (tell your partner you accidently dropped it and hope they don't look on eBay for a re-placement!). Don't ever think that something is too ugly, retro or cheesy for eBay. On the other hand don't try to sell anything bought really cheaply from a local department store that is in every town and city. This idea makes me want to trawl the charity shops for the ugliest items I can find. I think some getting bids and sales in this manner would never fail to amuse me!

THE AUCTION REPORTER PLANS AND PROGRESS 

Plans for March and How I got On (continued)

• The Start of Going Viral with the interview ebook with Alex Jeffreys. The ebook will be called "Are you Making Money on eBay orThrough eBay?". Look out for it everywhere soon!
  
  I know I promised you this ebook about two weeks ago but for reasons beyond my control and having paid for my graphics and not received them back yet. It is on hold. But you will get in this April sometime - you have my word.
• More Promotion of The Auction Reporter
  Writing emails to top eBay gurus to see if they will promote The Auction Reporter as an affiliate and you guys too think about it. You read it, you like it so tell people about it!!
  
  I have agreed that my newsletter will be added as a bonus for the lucky members of Easy profit Auctions and have compiled an email ready to shoot off to some eBay ex-perts. I must admit I got cold feet on this one upon the release of Jim Cockrum's My Silent Team, which I hope to review for next month's issue, I wasn't sure I could compete but I can and I know I have many loyal readers who enjoy reading this newsletter and my quirkyness!
• More Listings and putting a process in place
  
  I will be following the advice given by Alex in the interview I suggest you do to. His course is nothing short of amazing! Listing more ebooks and the other two domain names mentioned. I have not really done many extra listings this month. I have added all my past issues of The Auction Reporter to my Ebay Store. I have still to list the domain names, talking of which, I have found this great ebook I can share with you for free on selling domain names for extra cash each month. (See Freebie page)
• Using and implementing SitePal
  I'm going to have some fun with this one!! Take a look even if it is just for the demo.
  
  I have added audio to My Myspace page, My About Me Page and a couple of auctions. More to do over the coming months.
• More tweaking of My About Me Page
  Making it less commercial and more about me, adding audio and contact details.
  
  Added audio - more tweaking to be done.
• Experimenting with Classified Ads
  
  It needs to be done. It's an outstanding task.
  Still Outstanding.

PLANS FOR FUTURE ISSUES 

• More personal success stories from The Auction Reporter (and I'd love to include your sto-ries of success or eBay woes as well so contact me NOW!)
• More 'Tips from the Top', 'Did You Know About' and 'Quick Start Tips' (they are my fa-vorite sections every month - are they yours?)
• More Interviews from Powersellers and eBay experts
• In the next few issues expect to see more about Wholesale & eBay
• Study of specific Powersellers and what we can learn from them. This will be a new section called "Powerseller Analysis" (coming soon - with a Guest Writer)
• Another new section will be "Delving into eBay" which well show parts of the site which you may or may not know about. Including different Ways to use eBay's Affiliate Scheme