101 Auction Secrets Revealed!

By Tim Campbell

AuctionTip #71: Use Underscore to Get Longer Titles

By using underscore "_" between words in your title, you'll get to enter a longer title than if you just used spaces between your words.

It's just one more free thing you should do in order to make your listings stand out...

AuctionTip #72: Use Excellent Key Words in Titles

Since there are so many items on eBay, one of the most effective ways people find things is to use the search engine...

If you want people to find your item, then place key words, and other carefully selected words in your titles.

For example, if you’re selling a collectible model car, don’t just put the word CAR in your title, put the make and model, too.

Put as many keywords possible in the title, so the greatest number of searches will locate it someone could think of who are looking for items like yours.

AuctionTip #73: Path of Least Resistance - Go With Your Strength

When it comes to finding the right thing to sell, make the best out of what you have.

If you have an advantage, then by all means, use it. But first you must recognize it; this is the hardest part. Sometimes these things are so obvious that we never see it.

A few months ago I decided to start writing my own info-manuals to sell online. It was like pulling teeth trying to decide which way to go... but it was so obvious- go with what you know.

And when you notice it... it's off to the races.

Do you have house full of stuff you don’t use? Sure you do. For years it never occurred to me that anyone would pay good money for stuff I never use.

Do you work for someone who you could help liquidate some assets for? Selling on someone else's behalf, called consignment, for a percentage is a very lucrative opportunity.

AuctionTip #81: How to Choose the Best Category

Ok, you have put a lot of thought into your product and completed the introspective phase of getting started.

You're excited about your merchandise and you're ready to start selling it on eBay auctions. The next step is to find your niche market; as applies to online auctions, this refers to the category you will list your item in.

Considering eBay has over 1000 categories to choose from, this should be a relatively easy process. But there is one important trick you need to know.

Before listing your item in any category, follow these simple steps: First, browse through ALL eBay categories and write down which ones you feel are relevant to your product.

You should be able to find at least 5-10 possible choices.

Next, write down the number of auctions currently online in each of those categories (the number of auctions online will appear next to the category name).

An average in any category is about 1000, so if there are more than 1000 you may conclude that the category is active and if there are less than 1000 you may consider it inactive.

I consider categories with over 3000 auctions to be popular and those with over 10000 are most popular.

Using this ranking system, rate the categories that you have chosen for your product.

I recommend listing in active or above categories only because they get the most traffic - if you put your product in an inactive section of eBay™, you may get little or no bids, even if you feature it.

Avoid categories with less than 1000 auctions online!

AuctionTip #82: Crunching Your Graphics

Buyers won't wait forever for huge graphic files to load.

If you have eBay auction listing with 300K of image files of your product, or of whatever images you use, then your ad will take forever to load.

Important sales pulling product pics must be crunched. With the right program, that 300K pic can be squeezed down to about 20K or less. A pic that took 2 minutes to load now takes about 2 seconds.

Bandwidth is still a very big issue on the net. Most of us still live in the middle of nowhere with 56k modems that are painfully slow…

There are several really great programs for shrinking graphics. Smartsaver Pro is my program of choice. You can get it here:

http://www.hotfiles.com

Just go and type the word “Smartsaver Pro” in the search engine, or go to their website:

http://www.jasc.com

Here's just a quick html lesson right fast that is relevant to quick loading pics.

AuctionTip #83: Backup, Backup, Backup!

Losing your data is like losing your brain- it's crucial that you begin backing up your data today! Murphy's Law is always waiting for you to slip.

I have a zip drive and a CD drive to take care of my backups. I make full back ups to CD about every two weeks. I use the zip drive to make small frequent backups of important files.

Get a good surge protector and CD burner to make cheap backups and you'll be able avoid most disasters.

If you have the money, you can buy a good UPS, or uninterrupted power supply for about $250. This will prevent your computer from getting damaged from any sort of electrical abnormality.

It will also keep your system up and running for at least 20 minutes while you wait for the power to come back on, or while you save your files and shut-down.

These days when lightening storms dance around outside I just keep on doing my work.

It's a very secure feeling when you know that a lightning bolt can't blitz your computer.

AuctionTip #84: Some Other Product Sources I’ve Used In the Past

I'm about to list some short-term product sources. That simply means you find it, buy it, sell it, and make about $10. This is what I did my first year on eBay.

It works. But you will hit an income ceiling real fast due to time constraints.

Shopping-Bot Strategy

Using some of the free search tools at websites like MySimon & PriceWatch you can quickly dig up items to sell for profit.

http://www.pricewatch.com

http://www.mysimon.com

One example of how I have used these sites. I have made bundles selling CDR media and supplies and by selling hot video games by doing this.

You got to remember that most people don't know how to search the Internet for the best prices. Heck, most impulsive eBayer's aren't even that cost conscious- use this to your advantage when doing this.

When a popular video game called Age of Kings came out a couple of years ago, I bought 10 units at $34 and sold them all in two weeks for an average of $75. One even sold for $100.

You must research and keep your head on the swivel looking for opportunity to do this. You also need a nice cash reserve to swoop in and snag a deal when you see it.

This works. But as you know by now, I see it as doomed to failure if you plan to use it long-term.

Group Buying Strategy

This is something I tried about a year and half ago using group buying websites...

Group buying websites allow you to join hundreds of others from around the world and pool your buying power -- just make an offer for an item listed on the site, and wait for other shoppers to make similar offers.

As more and more people enter their orders, the price comes down. Sometimes way below market value if a cycle is really hot...

You simply snap up a few units and sell them-

This is a great opportunity for new sellers to experiment and practice a little- I made quite a bit of money a while back with these sites.

Review the sites I'm about to show you, if they exist anymore...

Then cross check prices with the completed items search on eBay:

http://pages.ebay.com/search/items/search_completed.html

You'll find that some items are a steal...

Here are the 4 top sites to check into:

MERCATA (busted)
http://www.mercata.com

MobShop (exists)
http://www.mobshop.com/home

Volumebuy (exists)
http://www.volumebuy.com

ActBig (exists)
http://actbig.onlinegroupbuying.com

Some items will resell nicely again and again- others you'll want to steer clear of- either way, this will get your RESEARCH skills primed and ready.

Finding a product source and a good price is 90% of your success with auctions...

Better sources exist, and when you find it, be sure to keep your source a secret :)

These are just simple verifiable examples I have used. Opportunity is everywhere, you just need to develop an eye for it.

AuctionTip #85: How To Keep Track of Your Auctions

Once you have more than 5-10 auction listings online, you will need to develop an effective system for keeping track of them all.

Simply listing the items and sending a confirmation email to the winners is not enough.

For example, if a customer purchases one of your products and asks whether you received payment yet or not, you need to track down the item number and see if you have received his check.

Other customers may want to know when the item was shipped or have other questions pertaining to auctions they won in the past.

The easiest way to keep track of your auctions is with Auction Information Database, by Epigroove. It can be downloaded free for a 30-day trial.

http://www.epigroove.com

If you list less than 5-10 auctions at a time, you can probably keep track of them with the old pen-and-paper method, or with a simple spreadsheet.

If you choose this method, follow these steps for keeping track of the auctions: use a separate sheet of paper for each auction you list.

Write down the item number, URL, listing date, listing price, and category, along with any other comments or pertinent information.

When the auction ends, write down the ending date, the sell price (if any) and the buyer's contact information. Index the auctions by auction number for quick reference in a file.

Again, this method works ok for fewer than 10 auctions online each week. If you have more than that, you must use a database system of some kind, either A.I.D. or some other appropriate software.

Selling the merchandise is only half the battle - you MUST keep track of your sales or you will quickly find yourself lost and confused.

AuctionTip #86: The Taxman Cometh

Did you know that auction income is taxable? It certainly is. Keep good records and collect your reward at tax time. You certainly don't want to be penalized-

The tax advantages to having a small business are many-

Consult a CPA or the SBA for advice on tax liabilities and credits. Rules differ from location to location.

Your tax filing records should allow you to identify your sources of income and keep track of business expenses. It's that simple.

As a small business owner or sole proprietor most likely would use a cash basis bookkeeping system.

This simply means income is recorded when it is received, and expenses are reported when they are actually paid.

Many sole proprietors and businesses with no inventory use the cash method.

From a tax standpoint, it is advantageous for a new business to use the cash method of accounting. That way, recording income can be put off until the next tax year, while expenses are counted right away.

Also remember licensing issues. The laws and regulations vary from location to location. Some states require licenses to sell some do not. Check with the Small Business Administration for more detail:

http://www.sba.gov

Also dig up some info at:

http://www.irs.gov

and...

http://www.entreprenuer.com

AuctionTip #87: Using A Website With Your Auctions

One great way to boost your profits is to use a website with your auctions. Use a little subtlety promoting your website using your auctions.

The rule is: You can't provide a link to your website where you are selling the product for the same price or less. Be sure you

don't break any rules to avoid having your auction pulled.

AuctionTip #88: Promoting Your Auctions Outside eBay

Few people try to drive traffic to their auctions. Find a good way to do this and you'll get tons of free hits.

Find appropriate message boards to promote on. Use free classifieds, newsgroups and whatever method will work for your particular type of auctions. You can use email just make certain its highly targeted- don't spam.

AuctionTip #89: Study Up!

You are what you read... I spend a good bit of time reading myself, trying to keep my mind sharp and all. Never quit taking in as much as you can from the best minds available in your field.

And since our fields require much selling, chances are we will probably be reading a lot of the same things.

There's a lot of good information available to you for free, but to get the really good stuff it's sometimes worth investing a little bit of money.

Two classic Internet marketing books that have had the most impact on me, as well as a lot of other people are:

"The Insider Secrets to Marketing Your Business on the Internet" Home Study Course- by Cory Rudl

http://www.marketingtips.com/tipsltr.html

The cost for Cory’s course is around $197, and worth it.

And then there is the Bible of selling online...

MYSS! (Make Your Site Sell)- By Ken Envoy

http://www.sitesell.com/svensgaard.html

Ken sells this gem for about $19.

MYSS is an absolute steal, being given away at an insane price- If Cory's course is too steep, I high recommend you buy MYSS!

Ken also offer’s some other great eBooks as well that you should look into. These books will do more for you than you could ever imagine.

These two courses are the best of their breed by far... get them and succeed online!

Another info-manual you have is “eBook Secrets” by How-To Guru Ken Silver. Be sure to read it, you’ll start to see the real beauty of selling your own "How-To" manual.

I have harped all book long on the virtues of info-products, just remember this is my preference.

AuctionTip #90: The Truth About Using Other Auction Sites

I have tried my hand at almost all the sites. Test their profitability for yourself. Since I'm big on focusing efforts, it may be best for you to stick with eBay until you have good reason to otherwise.

For instance...

You may find that your area of the eBay market is a bit too stuffy. If so, there are many things you can do, using other sites is just one of them.

If the competition is really tough for what you're selling check out a few of the other auction sites such Amazon and Yahoo.

Try to limit yourself to these two extras- once you start selling on some of the other auction sites you begin get smaller and smaller returns-

Plus the buyers are going to be less reliable. Deadbeats are problem on eBay. Even more so on CNET auctions.

A negative feedback on Lycos auctions means nothing- on eBay it does... people just don't take smaller venues very seriously. I'll be honest, I've bid on ZDNET auctions and not paid for the simple reason that I feared the seller wasn't reliable.

Also for the record- I have never had a bounced check off of eBay- I have had three outside of eBay.

On Yahoo you can list for free- but don't let that fool you; your ad will never be seen. On the other hand- Yahoo will allow you to bid on your ad exposure.

You may have a product that fits into a category with no competition- you can buy a day's worth of the sites best advertising for a quarter.

This is an exception, I once netted over $300 on a Yahoo Dutch auction with a small $2 in advertising... so it may be worth your time.

You can view a list of the various auction houses at:

http://www.internetauctionlist.com

It’s so important to find your place on eBay first. When you’re successful on eBay you will start to find that all the business you need to generate to make a lot of money is there.

You’re main problem in becoming successful with online auctions is having your energies divided. I have mixed emotions about using the others.

If you have tightly defined your niche market and you find yourself with a shortage of customers on eBay, use the other sites to help you make up for this, but…

You will find out a little later, there are a million things you can do to generate extra results while keeping focus on THE one essential site, eBay.

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(Tips #1-10)  (Tips #11-20)  (Tips #21-30)  (Tips #31-40) (Tips #41-50)
(Tips #51-60)  (Tips #61-70)  (Tips #71-80)  (Tips #81-90)
(Tips #91-101)  Final Words

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