Sunday, July 31, 2005
News:- CEO of eBay ranked Top 5th
Margaret Whitman, CEO of eBay ,was Forbes' 5th Ranking of the world's 100 most powerful women rank- by Forbes Magazine.
Since being named president and Chief Executive of eBay in 1998, Whitman has guided eBay to become one of the most watched leaders in Online Commeerce and a bellwether Internet Stock.
eBay Facts At-A-Glance as Last Updated On April 22nd, 2005:-
- Founded in September 1995, eBay is THE WORLD'S ONLINE MARKETPLACE.
- 147 million users.
- More than 50,000 Categories.
- A global presence in 33 International markets, including the United States.
- Based on Q1-05, eBay users worldwide now trade more than $1,344 worth of goods on the site every second.
- Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV), the total value of goods and services traded on
eBay worldwide, reached $10.6 billion in the Q1-05. - There are 50 million items available on eBay Worldwide, 5 million items are added per day.
- Profitable since its launch, eBay net revenues totaled $1.032 billion in Q1-05.
- More than 430,000 people in The United States , and thousands more around the world, are making all or most of their living by selling on eBay.
- The most expensive item sold on eBay to date is a private business jet for US$4.9 million.
Learn to sell like a pro, sign up : - The Basics of eBay Selling " course conducting at Bedok CC.
Saturday, July 30, 2005
Tips:-Build Your Good Feedback Rating
Buyers check feedback ratings before purchasing items from you .You can increase your credibility by building a good feedback rating.
As a seller, the more you give positive feedback to buyers, the more likely they return the favor.
You can also request your buyers leave feedback if they have not done so soon after purchasing an item.
You can leave feedback concerning any transactions within the last 90 dys. You can also review and respond to feedback left about you. This let you explain under some circumstances which may have led to a user leaving you negative .
As new sellers on eBay, one way to build your feedback quickly is to purchase many inexpensive items and be sure to leave positive feedback promptly.
Once you leave a feedback, you cannot edit or retract it.
Learn to sell like a pro, sign up : - The Basics of eBay Selling " course conducting at Bedok CC.
Friday, July 29, 2005
Tips: Save your Listing Fees
If you incur extra fees by adding too many extra feature to your auctions, you may reduce your profits by spending more than you intended.
You can save some money on your eBay listing fees by thinking creatively.
For example, if you decide you really must add a starting price or reserve price to an item, first check out the insertion fee chart on eBay to see a breakdown of fee prices.
If you planned to sell the item in the $10.00 price range, you may save money if you pay attention how eBay defines its insertion fee brackets :-
- Items priced from $ 1.00 to $ 9.99 cost $0.35
- Items priced from $10.00 to $24.99 cost $0.60
As a result, by list your item at $9.99 instead of $10.00, you save $0.25.If you have ten listing within the price range, you will save $2.50
Learn to sell like a pro, sign up : - The Basics of eBay Selling " course conducting at Bedok CC.
Thursday, July 28, 2005
Tips: Stay Informed About Online Auctions
To up keep you with the constant changing world of online auctions, you have to subscribe with those industry newsletters, they are all FREE OF CHARGE !
You can subscribe to monthly, weekly or daily auction newsletters. Many of the newsletters focus on maximizing your profits and selling tips.
To subscribe,click at below links :-
1)Auction Gold:-Http://www.auctionknowhow.com
2)Cool eBay Tools:-Http://www.coolebaytools.com
3)Weekly newsletter from AuctionBytes:-Http://www.auctionbytes.com
4)Weekly newsletter from TAGnotes:-Http://www.auctionguild.com
Learn to sell like a pro, sign up : - The Basics of eBay Selling " course conducting at Bedok CC.
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Tips: Joining Your eBay Groups
Join and share your interests with other eBay users by joining an eBay Group.
eBay Groups offer an excellent way to learn more about your field of interest within your own group people.
The eBay Groups home page allows you to view the different categories of groups that are available. Go to:http://groups.ebay.com
eBay Groups can be either public or private, and are marked accordingly in the list of Group.
Learn to sell like a pro, sign up : - The Basics of eBay Selling " course conducting at Bedok CC.
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
Tips: Create your own "About Me " page
Once you registered on eBay. eBay allows you to create your "About Me " page free of charge. Although eBay does not allow members to post links to their own website in all your listing, but you can create hyperlink of your own website at "About Me " page, so please make full use of this "About Me " page.
You can place text in your auction listings to direct people to your "About Me" page. See more details at: About Me
eBay offers special HTML tags at:- HTML Tags/Tips
Learn to sell like a pro, sign up : - The Basics of eBay Selling " course conducting at Bedok CC.
Monday, July 25, 2005
Tips: Improve listings With HTML Editor
Why to use HTML text instead of Plain text when you upload your listing on eBay ?
With HTML text you can place description of your listing :-clear, well organized and look professional that lead to have more sales , and also some of your plain text are not able to reflect on color setting.
eBay makes it very easy to use HTML, as it provides a small HTML text editor within the auction-listing page.
Even if you do not use a lot of HTML tags in your listing, using even a few basic tags can make the difference between one long, monotonous piece of text, and a series of neatly separated and defined paragraphs.
To start learning HTML code for FREE, you can go to :-
1)http://www.pagetutor.com
2)http://www.htmlgoodies.com
3)http://www.davesite.com/webstation/html
Learn to sell like a pro, sign up : - The Basics of eBay Selling " course conducting at Bedok CC.
Sunday, July 24, 2005
Tips:- eBay Seller Newsletters
To stay current with eBay latest news is to subscribe eBay free Category newsletter. eBay called them "Newsflashes" which published monthly.
Each newsflash lists the hottest-selling items for that particular category as well as links to useful eBay tools and information.
Read each month to find out the latest news about your category of interest.You can subscribe to more than one newsletter.
Learn to sell like a pro, sign up : - The Basics of eBay Selling " course conducting at Bedok CC.
Saturday, July 23, 2005
Tips:- Gallery Feature--Good for your listing
With your Gallery feature, buyers can see picture of your product in a miniature image, or thumbnail.
You can get more bids by using it.Because your items are competing against so many other items on eBay, anything that you do to help your listing stand out increases the chances that people will bid on it.
Some shoppers browse through many pages of listings so quickly that they may not have time to view your item if yours do not use the Gallery feature.
Learn to sell like a pro, sign up : - The Basics of eBay Selling " course conducting at Bedok CC.
Friday, July 22, 2005
Paypal :-Seller/Buyer Reputation Numbers
Paypal maintains for every account a Seller Reputation Number and a Buyer Reputation Number.
Your Buyer Reputation Number measures the number of unique verified Paypal members you have paid, while your Seller Reputation Number tells you how many unique verified Paypal members have paid you.
If you have used Paypal for some time as a buyer but are accepting payments for goods for the first time, you might be surprised to find that your Seller Reputation Number is 0
Learn to sell like a pro, sign up : - The Basics of eBay Selling " course conducting at Bedok CC.
Thursday, July 21, 2005
Paypal:- Reputation Number As Sellers
Before conducting business or making payment with your Paypal account, you'd wise to know what others can learn about you through Paypal.
If you have an account with Paypal, a number will appear in parentheses after the word Verified or Unverified in the Account Overview page. Click the number to display your Member Information Box. The same box others see when they use the same procedure.
Although Paypal refers to these scores as Reputation Numbers, they are based solely on the number of transactions completed. Unlike feedback scores at eBay , Paypal reputation numbers are not in any way based on ratings from other Paypal members.
Paypal's calculation of reputation number is delayed much that any transaction in which you're involved won't be counted until 30 days after the transaction completed successfully. Also only transactions US$5.00 or greater in value with verified members are counted.
Learn to sell like a pro, sign up : - The Basics of eBay Selling " course conducting at Bedok CC.
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Tips:Check Your Customes Are Buying
Once you start selling on eBay, check to see what your customers are buying, this is simple to do. From the main Search menu, click on Advanced Search, you'll prompt to a screen "Search Find Items ":-
It shown all items that specific bidder has made bids on in both current and completed auctions.
Now you absolutely know everything you customer has been interested in during the last 30 days. When you gather your inventory for future sales, you'll know exactly what your customers are shopping for.
Learn to sell like a pro, sign up : - The Basics of eBay Selling " course conducting at Bedok CC.
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
How to block a buyer for bidding
As a seller, your primary goal is to invite as many bidders as possible to participate in your auction .
However, some bidders just don't get the message. Even if you have told them not to bid on your sales, eithr because you do not ship to their country or because they have turned out to be Non-Paying Bidder (NPBs ) in previous sales, they occasionally try again and place bids.
Any eBay seller can create a blocked list--a list of members who cannot bid on any of your auctions . The list covers not just the auctions that are currently ongoing, but any that you plans to hold in the future. You can add or remove people from the list at any time.
You can add a member to the list before that person can bid of your subsequent sales. However, if someone places a bid and you recognize the User ID from previous failed transactions, you can add that individual to your list of blocked buyers and any bids that are already placed will be invalid ; Block FAQ states that such changes are effective immediately. To avoid this gray area ,place the buyer on your blocked list by following these steps:-
- Go to the Blocked Bidder/Buyer List
- Enter your user ID and password
- Enter any names you want to block to the form, separated by a comma or a single blank space, then click Submit.
You can also using the same form to :-
Pre-approved Bidder/Buyer List :-You can create your own pre-approved bidder list for any item. The list will only allow those users you have on your list to bid on, or purchase, your items. Any user who is not in your pre-approved list will be asked to contact you by email before they can place a bid or purchase your item. You can add or delete users up until your listing ends.
Buyer Block Exemption List :- If you've already set up buyer blocks but you want to let certain users through regardless of the blocks you've set, you can create a list of specific, exempt users. You can use the buyer block exemption list to let specific users through, regardless of the blocks you've set.
you can also use the same form to remove buyers/bidders from you blocked list. When you remove someone, be sure to send that bidder an email message as a courtesy to let he or her knows they can bid again.
Learn to sell like a pro, sign up : - The Basics of eBay Selling " course conducting at Bedok CC.
Monday, July 18, 2005
If bidder asks you to cancel your bid
Many a time,sellers receive requests to cancel a bid that has been placed on an item. Sometimes the requests come from parents who discover that their children have place the bids using their account information.
Or, perhaps the bidder has a legitimate reason for backing out. such as a death in the family , the bidder has fallen seriously ill, or there has been a dramatic change in the bidder's financial status.
eBay allows you to cancel bids only in a few narrowly defined situations. For example, if you are unable to verify a bidder's identity you cancel a bid. You may also cancel a bid at the bidder's request, if the person changes his or her mind, or if you read negative feedback comments that identify the individual as a Non-Paying Bidders. Just follow these steps to cancel your listing:-
- Go to the Cancel Bids page
- sign in with your ID and password
- When the Bid Cancellation page appears, enter the item number of the auction, the User ID of the bid you want to cancel and a brief explanation of why you want to cancel
- Click cancel bid.
You can also cancel bids from your My eBay page. Go to My eBay,click the Selling tab, and scroll down to the Selling-Related Links section. Click the link Cancel bids on My Item to initiate the cancellation process.
Learn to sell like a pro, sign up : - The Basics of eBay Selling " course conducting at Bedok CC.
Sunday, July 17, 2005
eBay Policies on listing and Removal
1)What are eBay's policies on selling items ?
Before list any items on eBay, it's a good idea to read the site's policies at:-eBay Policies. For example, some sellers may not know that you can't offer a choice of items when a purchase price has been met because it require offsite negotiation. Violation of eBay policies can result in removal of your listing or suspension of your account, so read them carefully.
2).Why did eBay remove my listing ?
If you're attempting to sell an item that violate copyright or other laws or is against eBay policies, eBay will remove it. The site should refund all of your fees within one billing cycle. If you attempt to relist the item, eBay may suspend your account.
Learn to sell like a pro, sign up : - The Basics of eBay Selling " course conducting at Bedok CC.
Saturday, July 16, 2005
Refund of Final Value Fee !
If you don't get paid for your item ( the buyer back out, his cheques bources, he wants a refund, etc ), you can get a refund on your Final Value Fee.
First, file an Unpaid Dispute to attempt to get the buyer to pay. If the buyer does not pay after 10 days , you fill out a Final Value Credit Request Form, and eBay will issue you a refund.
Note that you must fill out the form within 60 day from the end of the auction.
Learn to sell like a pro, sign up : - The Basics of eBay Selling " course conducting at Bedok CC.
Friday, July 15, 2005
What is a Final Value Fee ?
When your item is sold or your auction ends with a winning bid, you are charged a Final Value Fee based on the selling price or the final bid.
If you have multiple items listed, this fee is based on the number of items sold.
You will not be charged a Final Value Fee if you don't receive any bids on your item or if no bids meet your reserve price.
Learn to sell like a pro, sign up : - The Basics of eBay Selling " course conducting at Bedok CC.
Thursday, July 14, 2005
What is an Insertion Fee ?
An Insertion Fee is the cost to list your item. The Insertion Fee is based on the starting price of the item.
For Multiple Item Listings, it is based on the starting cost times the number of items you are selling.
The Insertion Fee is charged when you list your item and is non-refundable.
Learn to sell like a pro, sign up : - The Basics of eBay Selling " course conducting at Bedok CC.
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Refund The Insertion Fee
If your item does not sell or your don't get paid, you can relist the item by using the Relist feature and get a refund on the Insertion Fee.
You don't have to request this credit---the eBay system should automatically detect that your item was relisted. some requirement include:-
- The item must be relisted within 90 days
- Only the first relisting is eligible
- Only single items qualify
Learn to sell like a pro, sign up : - The Basics of eBay Selling " course conducting at Bedok CC.
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Search For Completed Items On eBay
You can search Completed Items using the Advanced Search tab on the eBay search page.
You can search for completed items to find prices paid for items similar to those you are going to list.
To search for completed items, select and check the box next to "Completed Items " search.
Learn to sell like a pro, sign up : - The Basics of eBay Selling " course conducting at Bedok CC.
Monday, July 11, 2005
Why Some Seller's Feedback Is Hidden ?
eBay allows users to keep their feedback comments hidden as a privacy feature. Although the comments are hidden, the ratings are not and other users can still see how many positive, neutral, and negative feedback points the person has accumulated.
Hiding comments can bring immediate suspicious to your feedback profile. Because other bidders may assume you are trying to hide negative reports, they may not bid your auctions at all !
But sometime you may need to hide your feedback comments temporarily until eBay fixes a problem if someone has violated the Feedback Abuse Policy and entered contact information into his or her comments about you.
Sunday, July 10, 2005
Download eBay Free Software
Take advantage of the buying and selling tools that eBay has to offer! If you use eBay a little or a lot, eBay has a tool that can help you save time and make repetitive tasks much easier :-
eBay toolbar :-
The new & improved eBay Toolbar is here. Get desktop alerts and 1-click access to eBay areas such as My eBay, Annoucements, the Community hub, and PayPal. Plus, you can see top items you are buying and selling. The Account Guard features helps protect your eBay account information. Don't be fooled by potentially fraudulent web sites - eBay Toolbar has an indicator built right in. Download it and use it for FREE !
Turbo Lister :-
A FREE , easy-to-use software for listing items in bulk and creating attractive HTML item descriptions. If you're a medium to high volume seller and looking for the simplest, most cost efficient way to save time when creating listings, check out how Turbo Lister can help.
Seller's Assistant :-
A complete sales management and bulk listing tool that helps you sell more and save time. This downloadable software tool is great for medium to high volume users who want the benefits from of a desktop application. Try it now free for 30 days.
Accounting Assistant :-
Save valuable time and easily export information about your eBay and PayPal transactions into QuickBooks using Accounting Assistant. It’s fast, easy, and convenient — and, Accounting Assistant works with your existing QuickBooks setup so you can get started right away! Accounting Assistant is FREE for all Stores Sellers and subscribers of Selling Manager, Selling Manager Pro, Seller’s Assistant Basic or Seller’s Assistant Pro. Download your copy today !
eBay Solutions Directory :-
Looking for more tools? Check out the eBay Solutions Directory. It is a great place to find all the available eBay tools and solutions, created by eBay and members of the eBay Developer Community. Find software and services that fit your specific eBay trading needs. Search by features and functionality, browse by solutions for specific eBay categories, or compare multiple solutions by price.
Saturday, July 09, 2005
Mkt Tips: Free Merchant Advisor
eBay offers a suite of merchant selling solutions for obtaining exposure to millions of buyers worldwide! Develop and grow your online business with eBay's directory of merchant education, tools and resources :- Selling Solutions
eBay have made it easier than ever to start a successful eBay business.
Tap into the Power of a $34 Billion Market Place !
Business of all kinds and all sizes find eBay to be an Effective and Profitable Sales Channel !
Some focus on liquidating excess inventory and returns. While others use eBay to expand their core business to a Global Market.
A Seller OnRamp consultant will give you personalized practical advice on setting up and running your eBay business.
They will provide you with free, expert guidance by phone on your schedule and help you create a profitable eBay business quickly and easily. It's flexible, it's easy - and it works !
If your business is ready to get started, call the Seller OnRamp consultants today !
Get started today with free, personalized eBay Merchant Advisor:-eBay Merchant Advisor
Friday, July 08, 2005
eBay Marketing Tips:- eBay Pulse
The eBay Pulse is a daily snapshot that contains several dynamically created lists showing popular searches, stores, products, and more.
These lists are a great way for you to catch a glimpse inside the exciting world of the eBay marketplace-Trends, Hot Picks, Cool Stuff :-
Click here for full details:eBay Pulse
Thursday, July 07, 2005
eBay Chatter Newsletter:
New Policy:-To Improve/ Enforce
eBay is a community that encourages open and honest communication among all its members. eBay community is guided by five fundamental values:
The Chatter Newsletter is an eBay's community newsletter available at:www.pages.ebay.com/chatter/index.html. The Chatter includes hints, articles about eBay members of note, and profiles of eBay staff and announcement of new policy as well.You can read past issues of The Chatter by clicking the Chatter Archive link, available at the lower left side of the main Chatter page.
This issue is concerning the new policy of Improvements & New Enforcement Consequences. Please click at below link for full details:-
2005 Marketplace :- Policy Improvements & New Enforcement Consequences
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
eBay Live 2005 !
eBay Live 2002,Anaheim, California
eBay held annual convention/ conference every year starting from the year in 2002.
I was grateful of having a chance to take part on the first convention at City of Anaheim, California in 2002.
The coming eBay Live 2006 will be held in June 13-15 2006 at Las Vegas, Nevada.
Personally I’m looking forward of this great event and do hope all of us be there as well !
eBay Live 2005, San Jose, California !
eBay Live! 2005 was held from June 23-25, 2005 in San Jose, California (eBay head quarter ), Illustrating the spirit of the Community's famous goodwill and sharing, thousands of Community members and hundreds of eBay employees came together from all corners of the world for 3 days.
All celebrating their revolution of commerce over the past 10 years with insightful education programs, valuable resources for businesses on eBay, and tons of networking opportunities.
Below are links that covered the event with articles, photos and write-up for your viewing pleasure :-
Photo coverage of eBay Live 2005
Live Update from June 23-25, 2005
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
Can I Revise My Listing Before It Ended ?
You can make major changes to your listing after it has gone "LIVE" to the site, but only before it actually receives a bid. this gives you come time to Revise Your Item.
To make revisions to a live item where no bids have been placed, go to the item description page. Look for and click the link "Revise item " on the top section of the item page next to "Seller Services".
Click the button to go back to the Review and Submit page,where you can change almost anything about your listing.
Revising an item after bids are received: In case where bids have been received and you need to correct an error, but the error is not so serious as to warrant ending the listing early, you can always add to the listing's description. To do so, go to the "My eBay" Selling tab,scroll down to the bottom of the page, and click the link for "Add to my item description." Follow the instructions from there.
This feature is very handy for adding information about the item or more pictures of the item after a listing has begun.
To revise your listing:-
- Click the My eBay button at the top of most eBay pages.
- Under the My eBay Views column, click the "Selling" link. Your list of items is displayed.
- For each item you want to revise, click the button under the Action column and click the "Revise" link.
- On the Review and Submit Listing page, click the "Edit..." link next to the part of the listing you want to change.
- On the Revise Your Item Page, make your changes.
Note: If you do not see an "Edit..." link, the ability to revise your item has been limited.
Revision Limitations:- The information that you can revise in your listing depends on the time left before the listing ends and whether or not you have received any bids. In most cases you cannot change the listing format, that is :- you cannot change from an auction-style listing to an eBay Stores listing. You also cannot change your listing from auction format to fixed price, or vice-versa.
The following table shows the changes you can make depending on the type of listing, the time left before it ends, and whether you have received any bids:
Click on your listing type to see what you can revise:-
Auction-style listing
eBay Stores or Fixed Price listing
Store Inventory listing
Tip:-If you want to revise your listing but there's less than 12 hours before it ends, or there are bids for the item, you will need to end your listing early and relist it with your corrections.
Monday, July 04, 2005
Timing :- When Your Auction Should End
Before you list your item on eBay,the first thing to remember when setting your auction ending times is that eBay operate in San Jose, California on eBay Official Time = Pacific Standard Time (PST)zone.
No matter how long you choose to run your auction ,the hour it starts is the same hour it ends--it ends at the exact time of day that it started. That's important to consider, because as with any real auction, the real action happens within the last hours of your listing !
If you list items for USA market, please bear in mind that Singapore time is :-
Most sellers believe that it's best to have auctions end on a weekend, when the largest number of bidders has time to shop and bid online.To choose the length of your auctions, you have the following options:-
Tips:-
Although there is no magic formula for determining what times and days are the best for online auctions, some users argue that certain days are better than others. For example, the http://www.auctionbytes.com/ offers a useful calendar that you can reference when determining which days are best to start your auctions,with weather icons that identify good days and bad days for those listing on USA market.
Well ! Do More Research Yourself !
Sunday, July 03, 2005
Add A Counter To Chart Your Listing
A counter keeps track of the number of times your listing is viewed, even the same person during multiple visits--viewed your listing.
Normally you'll see how much relative activity an item is generating that help you to determine :-
1). Which item seem to be the most popular
2). which key word seem to get the most search
3). Which pricing strategies seem to lure more potential buyers
4). Which days of the week seem to be the most counter increases
5). Which combined approaches seem to be working best
With above statistics, you're in a much better position to make well-reasoned adjustments as the number indictate.
But " Do The Numbers Ever Lie ? " Yes, it may be. You can't draw too many conclustions from counter. A counter might tell your listing has been viewed 1o times, but that might be one person saw your listing seven times and three others viewed it once each.
You use a counter might be for one reason to visitors:-
A hidden counter can indicate to you, the seller , how much interest has been generated, while not affecting how your bidders react.
Saturday, July 02, 2005
What Product Should I Start Selling ?
What should I sell?
Your starting point should be your own knowledge, contacts and belongings. An ideal way to start is by selling off your own unwanted property to get some first-hand experience and build up your feedback.
Beyond what you already own, consider whether there are any auction categories you have experience of outside eBay, for example you may have hobbies or past occupations that have given you expertise in a particular area. It is easier to apply your existing knowledge to the eBay market than to start from scratch .
Once you have identified one or more categories to focus on, increase the depth of your eBay research to track your chosen categories and keywords (including any relevant wholesale categories) until you have a strong "feel" for the marketplace.
Search completed items to find final sale prices. You should be able to predict the final price of common items to within 10% or so, and understand which variables affect the price and to what degree - for example condition, brand, rarity, and ad quality all have different impacts in different auctions.
Finally, be aware that some items will never sell well on eBay. The items that sell best have a high in value light in weight ratio (because most eBay items are sent by mail), or are collectible or rare. This means most electronics and antiques are "eBayable", while refrigerators, microwaves etc. and computer monitors are best avoided.
Friday, July 01, 2005
How Do I Get Good Feedback ?
How do I get good feedback ? This is one of the most frequent question that I was asked by new Sellers who completed the eBay Basics Course.
Negative Feedback is aleays be disastrous for your business. You must be focused on customer service right from the start.
Good customer service does not begin when the auction ends, but when you are composing your auction ad. List your policies on payment, shipping, refunds etc clearly; make your auction description informative and complete, including any defects; respond quickly and professionally to questions; accept different payment methods ( if possible, but don't force yourself to do so ); and above all send out items quickly and well packed the item.
We all have experience of good and bad customer service so keep your own standards as high as humanly possible. Read the positive and negative feedback given to other sellers in your category to see what buyers value - you will probably see constant communication, fast shipping and good packaging as the most frequently praised aspects of the buying experience. Follow the leaders and do what they do (more, if you can) to keep customers happy.
