Beginner's Guide to Ecommerce

Online Advertising

Mon, 24 Jul 2006 19:00:14 +0000

Web Development

Mon, 24 Jul 2006 19:03:19 +0000

Points to Ponder Before You Start in Web Development

Web Design Principles You Need to Know

ECommerce Solutions

Mon, 24 Jul 2006 19:06:34 +0000

What Do You Get With ECommerce Solutions

What to Look for in ECommerce Solutions

Choosing the Right ECommerce Solution For You

Affiliate Marketing

Mon, 24 Jul 2006 19:08:18 +0000

Is Affiliate Marketing Popular?

How to Get Started in Affiliate Marketing

How to Have Others Do Affiliate Marketing For You

Buying on eBay Overview

Fri, 06 Oct 2006 21:20:49 +0000

Have you ever gone to eBay and seen the many products listed? You see very many categories of products from dolls to train sets. You may even see cars and houses for sell. You see your friends buy online all the time but you never did it. Is there a secret to buying on eBay? What exactly are the procedures for buying something on eBay? After all since many people do shop online, it must not be hard to do it? Well, if you are new to eBay and you want to get into the game, you need to consider a few things about it before you get into it. Buying from eBay is not hard to do as long as you know what you are doing, learn certain tricks that many eBayers use, and stick to the game plan, you can have a successful experience buying something on eBay. Here are some things to take into consideration first:

• Manually snipe it: When you decide on what product you want, should you go ahead and bid on it right away? Some people may do this, but is it wise. When you buy on eBay long enough you soon realize that bidding on a product too soon could cause you to spend more money than you want to and/or cause you to loose out on getting it. So what you need to do as many do and that is to bid at the last minute. This way no one else can outbid you. This is known in the trade as sniping. In some cases, bidders actually waited for seconds to spare to place their bid. This way they are guaranteed to win the auction.
• Automatic sniping: If you do not want to manually control your sniping, or waiting to place the bid at the last minute, you may want to do it automatically. There are sniping programs or services you can get that you can set up to snipe automatically. The only thing about a sniping service or program is that you must provide your eBay ID and password. This way the software or Website can log in and place the bid for you. The best sniping service around is at http://www.esnipe.com/.
• Deal with fraud: Unfortunately, there are occasions when you will need to deal with fraud. It does happen. However, eBay does have tools to help buyers deal with fraud. Use these tools only when you need to. Because eBay will ask if you contacted the seller first.

What are the Steps to Buying on eBay?

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If you never bought anything on eBay before, you are in for a great experience. For there were many people who bought things such as digital camera, cell phones, domains, and many other items on eBay for a lot less than you would find in a conventional store. There are steps you need to take to become an eBay buyer. These steps are listed below:

• Register with PayPal: If you have not done so, you must register with PayPal, since eBay uses PayPal for most transactions. Without PayPal, you will be forced to deal with accepting checks and credit card payments, if you have these available.
• Register with eBay: If you haven't done so, register an account with eBay. It is free and entitles you to place bids so as to win auctions. Eventually, you may get to the stage where you may want to try and sell things on eBay. By being registered you can do so.
• Browse: After you have registered and secured your user ID and password, it is time for you to browse around and see if there is anything you like. If you do find something, you merely click on the ad or icon, read the description to see if it is what you are looking for, and place your bid.
• Bidding time: Bidding is the time when things get exciting and anxiety builds. When you place your bid, you are hoping that no one outbids you. If someone does, you have to go back to the description page, and place another bid. You must keep doing this till the auction is over. And by that time you hope you are the winning bidder.
• Pay time: If you are the winning bidder, it is time to pay for the item. There will be a link sent to you, letting you know you won the auction and it is time for you to pay. You just click on the pay now button and you will automatically be forwarded to PayPal where you can confirm the payment and be done with it.

Tips on Buying at eBay

Fri, 06 Oct 2006 21:22:26 +0000

Of course, as with any kind of buying situation, there are tips you can use to help you become better buyers and win more auctions. The trick is to learn these tips and apply them. If you do, you'll find that you'll win more auctions and perhaps can help other people become better eBay buyers. Here are some tips that will help you become better at buying on eBay:

• Look for seller mistakes: If you are smart, you will realize that sellers do make mistakes with their item descriptions? By realizing this you can search for keywords that are misspellings of what you are looking for. This will help broaden your search and help you find more products you want to bid on.
• Use automated sniping service: In some cases an automated sniping service will come in handy. If you aren't sure what sniping is, this is a term to describe someone who waits till the last minute to place a bid for an item, giving the previous bidders little to know chance to respond. This way you get to win the auction. The reason an automated sniping service is suggested, because if you do it manually, you have to be alert to the time and bids of that auction and have it set up so you can respond quickly before the time is up.
• Use search keywords: If you search too broadly, you will have too many items to go through just to find what you are looking for. So if you are specific as to what you are looking for, you'll have better results.
• Shipping charges: When considering bidding for an item, look at the shipping charges. You don't want to be caught in a trap knowing you bid on a $10 item and you have to pay $30 in shipping charges. That would mean the shipping cost more than the item.

Resolving Issues and Disputes on eBay

Fri, 06 Oct 2006 21:22:50 +0000

Although buying on eBay can be fun and exciting, there are occasions where you run into problems with a seller. If you find you are in the situation where the item you purchased never arrived, or when it did arrive, it arrived damaged, or it was not the same item as described, you want to resolve these issues quickly and efficiently. If this happens to you the first step is to be calm and polite when bringing up the dispute. If you email the seller, read the email over carefully before sending it. Maybe have a friend or relative read it first. You may say things that are rude and impolite because you are angry or upset. The mistake might be a simple oversight on the part of the seller that can be resolved in a few seconds. If you start calling people names, you are only going to put the seller on the defensive and a heated argument many ensue.

If you can't get anywhere with the seller by email or phone, you can use eBay's dispute resolution system. Just go to eBay and click a link to report the problem. EBay will look into the matter and help resolve it within 90 days. As soon as you file the dispute, the seller has 10 days to respond. If this results in satisfaction the case is closed. If however, it does not, you can file a complaint with eBay's Trust and safety team.

If you pay the item using PayPal, you still need to file a complaint with eBay, but you go through PayPal for all refunds. PayPal usually refunds your money much faster than eBay would.

Buying on eBay can be a great experience once you get use to it. Just take the proper steps to register and learn the ropes and soon you'll become a master at buying on eBay.

Selling an item on eBay Overview

Fri, 06 Oct 2006 21:23:29 +0000

If you are like many Americans, your garage or attic may be asking for a yard sale. But yard sale prices just aren't what your prized possessions deserve. If you are longing to find others who appreciate the nice things that you no longer need, and who will pay much better than yard sale prices to make them their own, you may want to consider presenting your items to the 100 million plus shoppers in the online eBay marketplace. On eBay, you can sell everything from garage doors to garden gnomes, and you don't have to be a computer wizard to do it. This article will show you how to choose items to sell, and then take you through the step-by-step process of designing an ad, pricing your item, arranging shipping and payment, and completing the sale. All this can be done in under an hour. Don't let the unfamiliarity scare you. You can easily enter the eBay marketplace.

How do I choose what to sell on eBay?

Fri, 06 Oct 2006 21:27:02 +0000

As we all know, one man's trash is another man's treasure. The first thing to know is that many of those items you think you should haul off to the dump may be worth something on eBay. How can you find out? Well, eBay provides a service that lets you search past auctions to see what similar items have sold for. All you need is some specific information, such as brand name, model number, or year of manufacture. Be as specific as you can, but general categories (garden gnomes) can be enough as well. This search function can be found at:
http://pages.ebay.com/sellercentral/research.html
This is a little like treasure hunting and can be lots of fun!

The next consideration is shipping costs. If your item is both bulky and inexpensive, it is probably not eBay material. Nobody makes money selling crates of DelMonte canned pineapple on eBay. However, don't let size be a controlling factor. Many large and valuable items can be sold and shipped either by freight or be sold as "pick-up only." If you sell a car, you can insist that the buyer come pick it up in your town. Finally, eBay seller's fees are around $1.50 minimum, so items that cost less than a few dollars aren't worth your while.

How do I get registered with eBay and make an ad?

Fri, 06 Oct 2006 21:28:13 +0000

This is the step that probably dissuades most people from selling on eBay. We feel that we need web-designing prowess in order to design an attractive ad for our items. Not so. EBay makes it very easy.

First, you need to get registered as an eBay user. To do this, you will need a debit/credit card and your specific zip code (5+4 numbers). Just go to http://cgi5.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?SellHub3 to register. It is probably also a good idea to register for Paypal as well. Paypal is the way that most people pay for items on eBay. You will be asked if you want to register for Paypal when you sign up for eBay. The process is self-explanatory.

To sell an item, click on the above link and enter what type of item you would like to sell. The following comments will give you an overview of this process. Posting an ad to sell on eBay costs a little bit of money. For example, it is $0.20 for an ad, $0.15 for pictures after the first one, $0.10 for a small picture next to your listing etc. Altogether, your ad will cost between $2.00 and $10.00 depending on how many frills you want.

Pictures are the most important part of your ad. They should be taken with a digital camera, and downloaded to your computer before you begin designing an ad. Make sure that you fill the frame, so that buyers can see the details of your item. Especially take pictures of any flaws in your item, so that buyers are not disappointed, nor feel deceived, when they receive their purchase in the mail. It is probably worth the extra $0.45 cents to add three more pictures to your ad.

On the written description, the best sellers are brutally honest. They describe the item accurately and in detail. Phrases such as "teensy weensy scratch" and "slight rust mark" help buyers to know exactly what they are purchasing. EBay works on trust, and your buyers will have an opportunity to rate your honesty for all future buyers to see, after they receive your item.

You should also take advantage of the listing designer, which allows you to attach a small picture of your item to its search result. If you've ever searched for items to buy, you know how easy it is to skip the listings that don't have that icon next to the item name in the search result. This costs $0.10 to add. Adding a subtitle allows you to add more info to this search result but is less commonly done and more expensive ($0.50).

Extra frills serve to draw attention to your item out of large lists of sometimes hundreds of similar items. These are mainly formatting changes to your item's name. For instance bold text ($1.00), Border ($3.00), Colored band ($5.00). You should probably write in caps, and consider buying bold, since eBay claims that bolded items sell for 39% more than their unbolded counterparts.

How much should I sell my item for?

Fri, 06 Oct 2006 21:29:05 +0000

What's it worth? As already mentioned, you can search past auctions to get an idea. For instance, I searched the Prince O3 Blue tennis racket, and found that it had been sold four times on eBay, twice for $170 on "buy it now" (more on that later), and twice in auction: new for $135, and used for $117. This tells me that even if my racket is used, I can expect a good return on it. A quick search for the item for sale now shows that eBay merchants are content to offer the racket in buy it now auctions over and over on the chance that they will sell one. If I want to sell my racket soon, I should either choose a lower buy it now price than these sellers, or do an auction. I can probably expect between $100 and $150 for a new racket.

EBay offers various ways to sell your item. These include the online auction, buy it now, and make an offer.

In an Online Auction, you set the time frame (1-7 days), over which potential buyers may bid on your item. You can set the starting price and the increment between bids. Buyers are attracted by the potential of getting a really good deal, so it is probably unwise to set a high starting price. There is enough competition on most items to keep final sale prices high despite low starting prices. However if you are feeling cautious, you can also set a "reserve price." This is a secret minimum price below which you are not obligated to sell your item. If your reserve is not met by the end of the auction, the item is yours to post again. You don't get your money back from posting the ad, though.

The "buy it now" option can stand alone, or be added to an auction. You can think of it as being like posting the item in the classified section of the Sunday paper. It allows a buyer to buy the item without waiting for the auction to end, simply by paying a price the seller chooses in advance. For instance, I might post my tennis racket for $135 Buy it now, and a buyer could purchase it at any time for that price, even if the item is being bid on by other eBay buyers.

Finally, you can post your item and allow buyers to make an offer.

If you want to sell more than one of the same item at the same time, this is also easy to do with eBay. Just enter the quantity on the seller's form and sell as many as you want in any way you want.

EBay charges a percentage fee if you sell your item. This is detailed at the following address:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/fees.html
On an item that sells for $25 the fee is $1.31. For a $1000 item it is $23.31.

How do I get paid for my item?

Fri, 06 Oct 2006 21:29:47 +0000

EBay allows three ways to accept payment for an item. These are Paypal, Money order, and personal check. Paypal is the fastest, most secure, and most commonly used, and charges fees of 1.9-2.9% + $0.30 per item. You will need to sign up for a Paypal account to use this option.

If you choose money order or personal check, be aware that these transactions take longer, and will dissuade some impatient buyers from choosing your item.

How do I ship the item?

Fri, 06 Oct 2006 21:30:20 +0000

The two main ways are flat rate, and with an online shipping calculator.

With a USPS Flat rate envelope: You can ship any weight, to anywhere in the 50 states for $4.05 for 2-3 day delivery, $14.40 overnight. There is also a flat rate box for $8.80 for 2-3 day delivery.

Using the shipping calculator, eBay adds the price of shipping between you and your buyer to the final price of the item. You need to choose which shipping options you are willing to use. Below is a comparison of some of the main options for USPS and UPS, the two major carriers eBay uses.
On a 1-2 lb small package/large envelope, the prices are as follows:

From St. Louis to Chicago:

USPS Parcel post: $4.06
USPS 2-3 day priority mail $4.20
USPS Express (usually overnight) $18.80

UPS Ground: $7.77
UPS 3-day select $10.67
UPS 2nd day air: $13.69
UPS Overnight $26.22

From St. Louis to Boston:

USPS Parcel post: $4.73
USPS 2-3 day priority mail $5.30
USPS Express (usually overnight) $18.80

UPS Ground: $8.94
UPS 3-day select $15.78
UPS 2nd day air: $17.98
UPS Overnight $37.93

You may not want to offer too many different shipping options, as this will make shipping complex for starting sellers. You must have your act together as an eBay seller when it comes to shipping. Speed is important, so you need to be able to enter the time period that the buyer can expect the shipping to take, starting with the day of purchase. If you want to attract the truly impatient, you can offer the "Get it fast" (domestic overnight) shipping option.

If you want to become a high volume seller, you may consider specializing, by buying a postage scale, setting up your printer to print the appropriate postage from the USPS or UPS websites. In order to compete with the daily home pickup of the USPS, UPS also offers to pick up shipments of 20 or more packages at your home or place of business.

How do I complete the sale?

Fri, 06 Oct 2006 21:30:52 +0000

Completing the sale involves packing the item carefully and shipping it punctually. If you do a competent job of this, your buyer will leave you positive "feedback" on your seller profile. This feedback forms your reputation as a seller, and you should try hard to protect it. The number of sales with positive feedback appears next to your name on the auction screen. If you misrepresent your item, or ship it poorly, expect neutral or negative feedback on your abilities as a seller. Negative feedback is, as a general rule, reserved for only the worst cases of eBay negligence. Remember to leave feedback on your buyer as well. If a dispute arises, eBay offers arbitration services. Make every effort to resolve an issue "behind closed doors" before permanently besmirching someone's public reputation.

Finally, before you sell, go to eBay's seller's site at:
http://pages.ebay.com/sellercentral/resources.html
This site has links to eBay resources on every topic that eBay sellers have found that they need to know about when getting started buying on eBay. If there's a question you have after reading this article, go to this site and click on some of the links at the bottom of the page for detailed overviews on selling, designing the perfect listing, online payments, frequently asked questions, research on pricing and ad design, and more.

Good luck!

Resources: