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One Listing Powerseller
1
ONE LISTING POWERSELLER
Published By:
Keith Purkiss
19 Roper Street,
Whitehaven,
Cumbria
CA28 7BS
United Kingdom
Copyright © 2009 Keith Purkiss
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Copyright © 2009 Keith Purkiss All Rights Reserved
All the material in this Special Report is protected by
International Copyright Law and cannot be duplicated or
reproduced in any way without the express written permission
of the Author Keith Purkiss except as detailed below.
All purchasers of this Report are given permission to re-sell it
provided it is not changed in any way.
Disclaimer
We (the Seller, Publisher, and Author ) disclaim any personal
liability, loss or risk incurred as a result of using any
of the information or advice herein, either directly or indirectly.
The purpose of this report is to educate and we do not warrant
that the information contained is fully complete and shall not be
responsible for any errors or omissions.
Furthermore, all mentions of promises of profit, either implied
or not implied, are strictly based on the author's
opinions of the information contained herein.
We do not intend to render legal, accounting, taxation, or other
professional advice in this document.
Copyright © 2009 Keith Purkiss
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MESSAGE FROM THE AUTHOR
Hello. I'm Keith Purkiss
I have been an entrepreneur – building and
running my own businesses - since 1980.
My first business – designing, manufacturing,
and distributing electronic add-ons for
computers won an award in 1982.
I have also been a computer programmer,
writing machine code games for the
Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum etc.
In 1999 I began my online business from my own website. In the
same year, I commenced trading on eBay and the following year on
Amazon. I have also had stores on Freeserve Marketplace and Ishop.
I am now managing director Accessories Warehouse Ltd which has a
mail order and import division and also a printing and stationery
business called Printpoint.
These are run by my partner and staff while I concentrate on
producing information products to pass on the knowledge I have
gathered during the past ten years online.
I am co-owner of the 'Website Wealth Wizards' site where we help
each other succeed with our online businesses.
Managing Director, Accessories Warehouse Ltd
Copyright © 2009 Keith Purkiss
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CONTENTS
Table of Contents
One listing powerseller...............................................1
Message From The Author..........................................3
Contents..................................................................4
Introduction.............................................................7
Getting Started on eBay...........................................7
What You Need to Know Before Getting Started...........8
What to Sell............................................................8
Tax and Legal Matters..............................................8
Prepare Yourself......................................................8
5 Easy Steps to Posting Your First eBay Auction...........9
An eBay Seller's Checklist.......................................12
What's Your eBay Reputation Really Worth?..............14
How to Think Like an eBay PowerSeller.......................16
ONE LISTING POWERSELLER METHOD.......................17
Research .............................................................17
eBay Pulse............................................................18
Copying other sellers...............................................19
What can you copy?...............................................19
Finding a successful seller ......................................20
Finding the right product ........................................24
Copyright © 2009 Keith Purkiss
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Finding popular items by browsing...........................32
Finding popular items by Searching..........................37
Using Amazon for research .....................................42
Creating successful Listings.......................................43
Finding the best keywords.......................................43
Seven Secrets Of Successful Listings........................47
Shipping Tips..........................................................53
The eBay Glossary...................................................54
Automation.............................................................57
Conclusion..............................................................57
Free Resources........................................................58
Other Resources......................................................58
Copyright © 2009 Keith Purkiss
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From The Office of Keith Purkiss
Internet eBay™ PowerSeller™, Marketer and Award Winning
Entrepreneur.
Dear Colleague,
Have you ever wondered how eBay powersellers find out what
products to sell?
You may want to know what qualifications I have for writing this
special report.
First of all, let me re-introduce myself in case you skipped by the
message from the author section ;)
My name is Keith Purkiss and I joined eBay in 1999. I am an ebay
Seller (User Name: AccessoriesWarehouse) and have over 31,000
positive comments.
Copyright © 2009 Keith Purkiss
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INTRODUCTION
Before I explain the one listing powerseller method I will first of all
go into a few details which more experienced eBay users may
choose to skim through.
GETTING STARTED ON EBAY
If you've ever read an article about eBay, you will have
seen the kinds of incomes people make - it isn't unusual
to hear of people making thousands of dollars per month
on eBay.
eBay doesn't care who you are, where you live, or what
you look like: some PowerSellers are very old, or very
young. Some live out in the middle of nowhere where
selling on eBay is one of the few alternatives to farming
or being very poor. eBay tears down the barriers to
earning that the real world constantly puts up. There's no
job interview and no commuting involved - if you can list
an item, you can be an eBay seller.
So you want to get started on eBay? Well, that's great!
There are only a few little things you need to learn to get
started. Read on!
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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE GETTING STARTED
So you've decided that you want to get started as a seller
on eBay. There are a few things that you really need to
know before you go and throw yourself in at the deep
end.
WHAT TO SELL
You clearly need to know what it is you're going to sell,
but I will explain this in more detail in the main part of
the guide.
TAX AND LEGAL MATTERS
If you earn enough money, you should be aware that
you're going to have to start paying tax - this won't be
done for you. If you decide to sell on eBay on a full-time
basis, you should probably register as a business.
PREPARE YOURSELF
There are going to be ups and downs when you sell on
eBay. Don't pack it in if something goes a little wrong in
your first few sales: the sellers who are successful on
eBay are the ones who enjoy it, and stick at it whatever
happens.
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Anyone can sell on eBay, if they believe in themselves and if you do decide it's not for you, then the start-up
costs are so low that you won't really have lost anything.
If you're ready to start selling, then the next thing you
need to know is the different auction types, so you can
decide which ones you will use to sell your items.
5 EASY STEPS TO POSTING YOUR FIRST EBAY AUCTION
It's surprisingly simple to get started posting your very
first auction on eBay. Here's what you need to do.
Step 1: Open an eBay seller's account.
If you've bought things on eBay, then you already have
an account - just log in with it and click 'Sell' in the
toolbar at the top of the page, then click 'Create a seller's
account'. If you've never used eBay before, then you'll
need to open an account first using the 'register' link
underneath the toolbar, and then click 'Sell' and 'Create a
seller's account'. The eBay site will then guide you
through the process. For security, this may involve giving
card details and bank information.
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Step 2: Decide what to sell.
For your first little experiment with eBay, it doesn't really
matter what you sell. Take a look around the room you're
in - I'm sure there's something in there that you're not all
that attached to and could put in the post. Small books
and CDs are ideal first items.
Step 3: Submit your item.
Click 'Sell', and you're on your way to listing your item.
The first thing you need to do is choose a category - it's
best to just type in what the item is and let eBay choose
for you. Next, write a title and description. Include key
words you think people will search for in the title box, and
all the information you have about the item in the
description box.
Now set a starting price. $0.01 is the best starting price,
as it draws people in to bid who otherwise wouldn't, and
items will almost never finish at such a low price. The
next thing to set is the duration of the auction: 3, 5, 7 or
10 days. This is up to you: longer sales will usually get
more bids, but will also seem to drag on forever. If you've
taken a picture, add it now - items with pictures always
sell for more. Finally, tick the payment methods you will
accept (just PayPal is best for now), and where you will
post to (limit yourself to your own country to begin with).
Submit and you're done!
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Step 4: Wait for it to sell.
This is just a matter of sitting back and letting eBay do its
thing - buyers will find your item and leave bids on it.
Some bidders might email you with questions about the
item, and you should do your best to answer these
questions as quickly as you can.
** Remember that if your item doesn't sell then you can
list it again for free. **
Step 5: Collect payment and post it.
eBay will sent your buyer emails guiding them through
the process of sending you payment for the item. Make
sure you have the money before you send anything.
Once you've got the payment, all you need to do is pack
the item for posting (make sure to use some bubble
wrap), take the buyer's address from the confirmation
email eBay sent you, and write it on the parcel. Put some
stamps on, post it, and you're done!
Copyright © 2009 Keith Purkiss
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AN EBAY SELLER'S CHECKLIST
Being a seller is a lot of responsibility, and sometimes you
might feel like you're not doing everything you should be.
This simple checklist will help you keep on top of things.
Have you found out everything you possibly could about
your items? Try typing their names into a search engine you might find out something you didn't know. If
someone else is selling the same thing as you, then
always try to provide more information about it than they
do.
Do you monitor the competition? Always keep an eye on
how much other items the same as or similar to yours are
selling, and what prices they're being offered at. There's
usually little point in starting a fixed price auction for
$100 when someone else is selling the item for $90.
Have you got pictures of the items? It's worth taking the
time to photograph your items, especially if you have a
digital camera. If you get serious about eBay but don't
have a camera, then you will probably want to invest in
one at some point.
Are you emailing your sellers? It's worth sending a brief
email when transactions go through: something like a
simple "Thank you for buying my item, please let me
know when you have sent the payment". Follow this up
with "Thanks for your payment, I have posted your [item
name] today". You will be surprised how many problems
you will avoid just by communicating this way.
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Also, are you checking your emails? Remember that
potential buyers can send you email about anything at
any time, and not answering these emails will just make
them go somewhere else instead of buying from you.
Do your item description pages have everything that
buyers need to know? If you're planning to offer
international delivery, then it's good to make a list of the
charges to different counties and display it on each
auction. If you have any special terms and conditions (for
example, if you will give a refund on any item as long as
it hasn't been opened), then you should make sure these
are displayed too.
Have you been wrapping your items correctly? Your
wrapping should be professional for the best impression:
use appropriately sized envelopes or parcels, wrap the
item in bubble wrap to stop it from getting damaged, and
print labels instead of hand-writing addresses.
Do you follow up? It is worth sending out an email a few
days after you post an item, saying "Is everything alright
with your purchase? I hope you received it and it was as
you expected." This might sound like giving the customer
an opportunity to complain, but you should be trying to
help your customers, not take their money and run.
Being a really good eBay seller, more than anything else,
is about providing genuinely good and honest customer
service. That's the only foolproof way to protect your
reputation.
Copyright © 2009 Keith Purkiss
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WHAT'S YOUR EBAY REPUTATION REALLY WORTH?
Your eBay reputation is everything you are on eBay without it, you're nothing. Your reputation is worth as
much as every sale you will ever make.
If you've ever bought anything on eBay (and the chances
are you have), then think about your own behaviour.
Buying from a seller with a low feedback rating makes
you feel a little nervous and insecure, while buying from a
PowerSeller with their reputation in the thousands doesn't
require any thought or fear - it feels just like buying from
a shop.
A Bad Reputation Will Lose You Sales.
In fact, a bad reputation will lose you almost all your
sales. If someone leaves you negative feedback, you will
feel the pain straight away, as that rating will go right at
the top of your user page for everyone to see. Who's
going to want to do business with you when they've just
read that you "took a month to deliver the item", or that
you had "bad communication and sent a damaged item"?
The answer is no-one.
Your next few items will need to be very cheap things,
just to push that negative down the page. You might have
to spend days or even weeks selling cheap stuff to get
enough positive feedback to make anyone deal with you
again.
It's even worse if you consistently let buyers leave
negative feedback - once you get below 90% positive
ratings, you might as well be invisible.
Copyright © 2009 Keith Purkiss
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A Good Reputation Will Get You Sales.
When a PowerSeller tells me something, I tend to believe
them. They can be selling a pretty unlikely item, but if
they guarantee it is what they say it is, then I trust them
- they're not going to risk their reputation, after all. This
is the power of a reputation: people know you want to
keep it, and they know you'll go to almost any lengths to
do so.
This is true even to the point that I would sooner buy
something for $20 from a seller I know I can trust than
for $15 from someone with average feedback. It's worth
the extra money to feel like the seller knows what they're
doing, has all their systems in place and will get me the
item quickly and efficiently.
Copyright © 2009 Keith Purkiss
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HOW TO THINK LIKE AN EBAY POWERSELLER
PowerSellers are the people on eBay who've made it,
recognisable by the little 'PowerSeller' badge next to their
name. You've probably seen these people around - and to
succeed on eBay, you want to think the way they do.
This is the most important part of understanding how
PowerSellers think. They don't see what they're doing as
being some random bazaar, or a hobby - instead, they
see themselves as a business.
Put it like this. If you run a stall in a marketplace, the
chances are that you have a general area of business, but
you mostly just sell whatever you can get your hands on
that week. If your dodgy buddy got his hands of a job lot
of something at a discount, then that's what you'll be
selling. This might be fun - and when you have a good
week, you'll have a really good week - but it's no way to
run a real business in the long-term.
PowerSellers think far more like shops. They sell the same
things again and again, every week - regular stock for
regular customers. They do 'boring' business things like
keep inventories and budgets. They know what they're
going to be selling, how much they buy it for and how
much they expect to sell for. Just like a real shop, there
can be hard times sometimes, but their income is stable
and their business can grow slowly.
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ONE LISTING POWERSELLER METHOD
Briefly this method involves selling one item in large quantities (at
least 100 per month) so that you can focus on perfecting your
listing and sales process on just one item.
First of all you will need to do some investigation.
RESEARCH
First of all I suggest looking at the Top selling categories online
which include:
Computer Hardware & Software
Tickets & Travel
Books
Consumer Electronics
Cosmetics & Fragrances
Toys & Video Games
Flowers, Cards & Gifts
You may well not want to go for the top selling items in these
areas since there will be a lot of competition.
Visiting physical shops relevant to your niche is one good way of
finding ideas for products.
Another useful method is to use eBay's 'Seller Resources' section
which is dedicated to delivering information to help you sell
products on their site:
http://pages.ebay.com/sell/resources.html
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EBAY PULSE
http://pulse.ebay.com/
In this section you can see:
The top ten most popular searches
The ten most watched auctions
A List of stores with most active listings
You can display these as an overall view as in the picture below,
or narrow the results down to a particular category from the drop
down menu at the top:
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COPYING OTHER SELLERS
WHAT CAN YOU COPY?
First of all I'd better clarify what 'Copying other sellers' means.
You should not under any circumstances copy anyone else's listing
titles, descriptions or images. This could result in your listing
being removed and receiving warnings from eBay.
You can however copy what someone else is selling – look at what
is selling well for them, then source and sell the same or similar
items.
I will go into detail on how to do this in the following sections.
There are several methods to find established sellers with
consistent high levels of feedback, and narrow down which are
their biggest selling items.
I will also explain how to find popular items directly, and then
investigate how well they are really selling.
Later on I will show you how to find the best suppliers of the
products you wish to sell , and then how to create quality listings
to increase your sales.
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FINDING A SUCCESSFUL SELLER
You should look for someone who is consistently selling a lot.
One way to find big sellers is by looking at eBay pulse mentioned
previously listed at the top of the largest stores section.
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I am using a seller found here as an example. Here is their
feedback profile, displayed just by clicking on their feedback
number.
They should ideally have the following features:
Established eBay Member
Check their join date to make sure they joined at least a year ago,
preferably several years ago, to give a higher chance that they are
running a steady business.
My example joined in 2002, so they qualify easily.
High Total Feedback
I would suggest at least 10,000 so you know they have had all a
good volume of sales.
My example has with a feedback of over 600,000.
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High Monthly Sales
A quick way of checking this is just to look at their feedback for
the last month, six months, and one year to see if they have high
consistent sales. I would look for 1000 or more.
My example has a feedback of over 48,000+ for the last month,
360,000+ for 6 months, and 647,000+ for the past year.
Small Number Of Listings
If someone is selling 10,000 items per month but has 5,000
listings it may not be easy to find a good selling item. They may
be selling between 0 and 5 of each one.
On the other hand if a seller has only 10 listings and sells 1000
items per month at least one of them must be selling over 100 per
month and it won't take long to find out which one it is.
Divide their last month's feedback by the number of their current
listings and if it's 5 or more take a closer look.
My example has 780,000+ items so this is certainly an not ideal
case, but you may still be able to find a good item so sell.
Have a look, and if it doesn't look promising move on to another
seller – there are plenty of choices.
Copyright © 2009 Keith Purkiss
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Ebay pulse – Most watched items
This is another way to find successful sellers and of course popular
items. The most watched items are in the bottom part of the
ebay pulse page.
This link goes to the business section, but you can select any
category you like:
http://pulse.ebay.com/Business-Industrial
Popular items:
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FINDING THE RIGHT PRODUCT
There are various ways to look at the items a seller has listed to
find out what is selling best:
Look at their feedback
When you view someone's feedback you can see the title of items
recently sold.
If you spot one that occurs often then you could be onto a winner.
In this case there were a big mixture of different items which is
not good.
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View all their items
If you view a seller's listings the ones at the top will be featured
items. This means they have paid extra for these so we can
assume they sell well (but we will check to make sure).
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Look at the seller's completed items
To do this click the advanced search option, then the 'By seller'
link on the left hand side
Enter the seller's user ID, tick the Show complete listings only
button, and change results per page to 200.
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Next you just click the search button to display the results:
If you notice an item occurs many times it is a good sign.
An experienced seller would not list an item over and over again
unless it sold well.
You can click on an item's title to view the details, and see how
many have sold.
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Checking If An Item Sells Well
When you have found an item you think is worth looking at
you can click on the item title link to look at the item details:
and look at the sales of that item with the history link:
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This item has sold 190 items and is selling several per day so it
looks like a good prospect.
Another example I found from looking at the most watched items
in ebay pulse.
I clicked on one of these:
Copyright © 2009 Keith Purkiss
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As you can see it has sold 266 so it looked promising – however it
turned out to be a unique item written by the seller so you cannot
sell this exact item.
However it is worth looking at all their listings:
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This is interesting – they only have five listings and all are
featured. It looks like they concentrate on selling in volume from
a small number of items.
A closer look shows there are only three different items as two of
them appear twice.
Lets look at one:
This has sold a lot, so this is a clear possibility.
If you find one like this make a note of it, then when you have a
few go onto the sourcing section of this ebook and look for a
supplier.
Reverse the process
If you already have a source of an item, you can reverse the
process explained in copying a seller to see if it is selling.
Just search for your item and look at the listings.
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FINDING POPULAR ITEMS BY BROWSING
In this section I will explain how to find popular items by
browsing.
First of all click on the buy button from the top eBay menu:
[This view has been editied to fit into a smaller space]
Notice on the top right there is a popular stores section – these
are likely to be owned by big eBay sellers so they can also be
used with the previous method.
In this example I clicked on the 'Jewelry & Watches' section.
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I selected at random the Engagement and Wedding section:
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There are a considerable number of featured items in this section
indicating good sales. I tried each of them and found the seller's
feedbacks weren't very high so I chose the fourth one for my
example.
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Even the fourth seller's feedback isn't massive, but clearly these
are expensive items so you do not need to sell as many.
This item had a winning bid while I was saving a screen shot:
I clicked on the seller's feedback which shows reasonable sales,
about 60 positives per month. The items are around $300 each
so with sales of $18,000 or more we can lower our criteria for
feedback per month.
The investment for this business is clearly going to be higher but
you do have to ship out less items and create less listings.
There are different sections for lower priced jewelry items as well
as of course all the other categories so plenty of options.
Copyright © 2009 Keith Purkiss
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In this case I found that 'Mens 14K White Gold Diamond &
Sapphire Wedding Ring' had sold several times so if you fancy
going into this business or have contacts already it certainly has
potential.
Keep following this process to get an in depth feel of the market
you wish to be in.
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FINDING POPULAR ITEMS BY SEARCHING
This is really very similar to the previous browsing section except
you decide on a keyword to use.
If you already have a product idea this may be more appropriate.
I decided to try the word 'Ipod'.
Just type it in the search box and press enter (or click on search).
These are the results I saw:
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The top 3 items here all had massive sales – however from
personal knowledge I know the second item costs a lot more than
the other two and I know the margin isn't going to be good.
The third one is the cheapest to buy, and small (cheaper to ship,
easir to store) so lets look at that.
It sold over 2,400!
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It's looking good, but let's check the seller's feedback anyway:
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This is a screen shot of the sales history, showing 24 sales in one
day, making sales of $112.56. This is equivalant to over $3000
per month:
This shows plenty of sales, and it would be worth you looking at
their other listings.
This is just a small sample of their feedback - looking through a
few more pages confirmed that the Ipod Headphones sell well.
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I recommend adding items like this to your watch list to keep an
eye on their progress.
The next stage of our process is to source the product and make
sure the price is competitive so you can sell it at a profit.
There are also sections on finding products to sell in smaller
volumes for those just starting out.
Copyright © 2009 Keith Purkiss
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USING AMAZON FOR RESEARCH
Another method I use to find out what is selling well envolves
searching Amazon.
In the example below is used 'Ipod' as the search term, then
selected electronics from the right menu, and 'bestselling' from
the left hand side.
You can then click on an item and see it ranking.
The first item is an ipod headset similar to the one we found
already and is the 14th best selling electronics item on Amazon
which means huge sales.
One thing I must point out though is that many items are branded
so this is an indicator of the type of product that sells but you
have to be aware that a 'generic' version could have different
sales. Amazon is still useful for getting ideas.
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CREATING SUCCESSFUL LISTINGS
There are many factors that determine how well your listings will
do. One of these is choosing the best keywords to use in the title
which I have explained in the next section.
FINDING THE BEST KEYWORDS
This is similar to some of the research described earlier. I suggest
doing a search for part of your product title.
For example if you are researching the ipod earphones we found
earlier do searches for 'ipod earphones' and look at the other
words used by sellers of the same items.
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Don't just copy any word though – make sure the listings using
them sell and create your title by combining the best ones.
For our search keywords included:
Iphone
3G
earbuds
nano
video
shuffle
mp3
stereo
Do another search for related keywords e.g. 'MP3 earbuds' may
reveal different listings with extra keywords to add to your list.
In this case I found 'headset' and 'MP4'
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Trademarks in Titles
Under eBay's rules you cannot use titles including trademarks
such as 'ipod' and 'Nokia' in the form 'Ipod Headphones' or 'Nokia
Mains Charger' unless they are the original manufacturers ones.
This is because it could imply the product is the manufacturers
own item not a generic version.
Your have to put:
'Headphones for ipod'
'Mains Charger for Nokia Cell Phones'
'Battery for Kodak Camera'
etc.
Some sellers break this rule but I do not advise it – you could
have your listing cancelled and that may lead to being banned.
Forming The Title
Combining the keywords I found produces:
Earbud/Headphone/Earphones for I-POD/IPHONE Nano,3G,MP3
I'm not saying this is the best possible title. You could put 4G
instead of 3G etc. There are more tips further on in this ebook.
Problem Keywords
Some keywords may give you problems when uploading with
turbo list. I have found 'ipod' and 'ebook' cause my listings to be
rejected, however 'i pod' and 'e-book' worked.
Keyword Variations
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If you do a search for 'i pod' you will see it also finds listings with
the word 'ipod' in and vice versa. This means you do not need to
put both versions in your title.
You can check this by doing a search for one variation of your
word and seeing if the other variation appears.
This is an important point because space in a title is limited so you
do not want to include unnecessary words:
Copyright © 2009 Keith Purkiss
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SEVEN SECRETS OF SUCCESSFUL LISTINGS
Once you have found the product you would like to sell, found a
supplier and made sure it will generate a profit the next step is to
create a high quality listing.
I’ve listed seven of my favourite tips gathered from trading on
eBay since 1999 and from talking to many other sellers.
1) Use A Professional Auction Template
If you look at the big sellers' listings you will see most of them use
an attractive layout in a standardised template.
I had mine done many years ago by a graphic designer I found on
Elance.com but I will recommend a couple of excellent designers
that I know through internet forums in the resources section at
the end of this eBook.
(The description in this listing isn't very good.)
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2) Fill Your Titles with Keywords:
Include the main keywords people are likely to use to find your
item. Use up all the available characters eBay allows.
Don't put the whole title in capitals – that's like shouting at people
and also having some words in capitals draws attention to those.
For more information on powerful titles I recommend
Magic Auction Words by my colleague Randy Smith.
3) Description - Benefits not features:
Make sure your description stresses the benefits of the item to
your, do not just mention its features.
Remember that people are interested in themselves so tell people
what it can do for them.
Look at other people's descriptions – get ideas from them but
don't copy.
Things that you should include are:
General description of the product
Physical details – weight, size, colour etc.
Payment Methods
Delivery Time
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4) Improve your picture:
You can make your listing a lot more attractive by adding good
quality picture(s) A blurred photo or a badly lit one looks
unprofessional and won't encourage anyone to buy.
I find taking them outside on a sunny day works best as you don't
get a reflection from lights. Take a few and pick the best one.
5) Use A gallery Picture:
This feature is now free so should be used.
There are various tricks I have used to improve this feature.
You can draw a bright line around the outside of the picture to
make it stand out. Including some text such a Free Shipping to
attract people's attention also works. You can even use just text
if you like, since there is not much room.
These are some I have used, which are 64 by 64 pixels:
You can easily draw these on a free program such as Paint.
Do a search for your product and look at other people's gallery
pictures.
Think about how you can make yours stand out
amongst them. You can look at other product searches and see if
you can find ideas used for other items that will work for yours.
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6) Write terms & conditions and Offer A Guarantee:
Have a 'small print' terms and conditions section in all your
listings.
Include details of things like shipping times and prices, your
refund policy, and any other business practices you might have.
This will help to build up a buyer’s confidence.
It's a good idea to add a guarantee graphic so that it stands out.
Offering a full money back guarantee is well worth while.
This isn't a good example:
This would certainly put some buyers off, although this is for a
one off item and it does make clear that there is no guarantee.
Copyright © 2009 Keith Purkiss
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Example from one of my listings:
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7) Show Off Your Feedback:
Display your feedback in your listings as a form of Social Proof i.e.
shows readers of your listing that other people buy your products
and like your service.
You can do this by making a screen shot. Just press shift and
print screen, paste into paint or another graphics program and cut
it down to the size you want. Then just add it as an image to your
listing. You may want to blur the buyers names or remove them.
Copyright © 2009 Keith Purkiss
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SHIPPING TIPS
Do Not Overcharge
Ideally you should offer Free Shipping - this places you higher in
the default search results, and lowers the risk of negative
feedback.
If you can't make it free e.g. a heavy item that you want to have
as a $1 start auction, then make it as close to cost price as you
can.
Again this lowers negative feedback rate.
Cut Your Costs
Look for low rate shipping.
In the UK I now use second class and offer free shipping , but
have an option for first class for an additional charge of £1 (you
just set two different shipping rates)
Other Tips
Send items as quickly possible.
Pack them well to avoid damage in transit.
Enclose an invoice makes you look more professional and some of
your customers may by businesses that require one.
Also enclose a flyer advertising your website and your other
products.
I regularly post additional tips on my blog:
http://www.keithpurkiss.com
Copyright © 2009 Keith Purkiss
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THE EBAY GLOSSARY
Bid: telling eBay's system the maximum price you
are prepared to pay for an item.
Dutch: an auction where more than one of an item is
available.
Feedback: positive or negative comments left about
other users on eBay.
Mint: in perfect condition.
Non-paying bidder: a bidder who wins an auction
but does not then go on to buy the item.
PayPal: an electronic payment method accepted by
most sellers.
Rare: used and abused on eBay, now entirely
meaningless.
Reserve: the minimum price the seller will accept for
the item.
Shill bid: a fake bid placed by a seller trying to drive
up their auction's price.
Snail Mail: the post, which is obviously very slow
compared to email.
Sniping: bidding at the last second to win the item
before anyone else can outbid you.
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Initials & Abbreviations
AUD: Australian Dollar Currency.
BIN: Buy it Now. A fixed price auction.
BNWT: Brand New With Tags. An item that has
never been used and still has its original tags.
BW: Black and White. Used for films, photos etc.
CONUS: Continental United States. Generally used
by sellers who don't want to post things to Alaska or
Hawaii.
EUR: Euro Currency.
FC: First Class. Type of postage.
GBP: Great British Pounds Currency.
HTF: Hard To Find. Not quite as abused as 'rare', but
getting there.
NIB: New in Box. Never opened, still in its original
box.
NR: No Reserve. An item where the seller has not set
a reserve price.
OB: Original Box. An item that has its original box
(but might have been opened).
PM: Priority Mail.
PP: Parcel Post.
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SH: Shipping and Handling. The fees the buyer will
pay you for postage.
USD: United States Dollars Currency.
VGC: Very Good Condition. Not mint, but close.
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AUTOMATION
Whatever business you operate, you should aim to automate your
online business as much as possible. Use as many tools as you
can to multiply your work.
One project I am involved in is Website Wealth Wizards which
aims to help people to run a businesses online.
It is free to join:
Website Wealth Wizards
Finding the best methods for marketing and running your business
is as important as having the right products.
CONCLUSION
The best advice I can give is to start small but think big. Test
everything out in a small way. Improve on anything that works,
i.e. scale it up as much as possible. Obtain lower prices by buying
in bulk.
My first sale online was a mobile phone case for £3 or $6 but it led
to millions in sales.
You can do the same – I hope you do!
Thanks for reading,
Copyright © 2009 Keith Purkiss
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FREE RESOURCES
Some of these have been mentioned already in this ebook but this
is a useful summary:
Forums
Website Wealth Wizards
Free silver membership.
Blogs
Keith Purkiss
John Thornhill
Jim Cockrum
OTHER RESOURCES
Reference Guides
Sourcing Secrets Revealed
Where are all the quality suppliers and wholesalers hiding?
Magic Auction Words
Adding the Power of Persuasion to All Your Online Auctions!
Auction Traffic Formula
Discover how to drive FREE Traffic to your eBay store with a real
life eBay PowerSeller’s Formula.
Graphic Designers
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ecoverpalace
Forums
Planet Forum
One-off fee for ebook package and membership
Freelance Sites For Outsourcing
eLance
GetACoder
Copyright © 2009 Keith Purkiss
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