eBay Scams to Watch Out For | Part 1

Spoof Email
If you get an email from eBay or Paypal that says please verify your information, regardless of how authentic it looks always mail it to spoof@ebay.com or spoof@paypal.com. eBay will let you know if this is an authentic email or not, most of the time not!

Empty Box Scam
If you are biding on a product or service that is way under priced, it probably is a scam. One of the most memorable scams I can remember is the "xbox" scam. You see a picture of a xbox "box" and the bid is a couple bucks, you think this is too good to be true, it is. Many people were actually selling boxes with an "X" on it.

Yahoo! Auction is a big scam!
Yahoo! has little control over the seller, you don't think it is a big deal now but years ago (I am old) when Yahoo! Auctions debut, the first auction I won, I really lost. I sent my money as did a bunch of other people, the person closed their accounts and they were long gone....

Be careful and do your homework. If it is too good to be true, it probably is!

Ebay Tools: Sales Reports and Sales Reports Plus.

Sales Reports from eBay
The basic version will supply you with key performance metrics for your business, including data on total sales, average sale prices, your fees as a percentage to sales, and much more.

With reports and data you will know how your auctions are performing, how to improve the price, day listed, and category of listings, to name a few. Without analytics you don't know what is working and what is not.

If you are looking for advanced analytics for your eBay store you can pay an extra $10 a month for a premium store, the analytics are well worth the money and you are offered other premium services including better customer service.

eBay Seller Solutions: Microsoft Visual Studios Kit

The eBay Selling Starter Kit for VB provides the ASP.NET eBay auction management application. Customize the application to add new features, and integrate it with your existing inventory management system.

Auction Management Features
Easily list items from your website's inventory on eBay. View and manages your eBay listings, quickly write feedback, and search eBay listings with ease.

Underlying Technology
Uses the eBay SDK for Windows and eBay Web services to integrate your inventory with eBay, also integrates with SQL Server.

Download the eBay VWD eBay Starter Kit and Windows eBay Starter kit today

eBay Seller Tips - Part 1

After 4 years of selling Video Games on eBay I have learned that it is fun but not a business.

What are the tips I learned?

1. Sell on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday evening between 5pm and 10pm EST (Everyone sells on the Weekends and it gets too competitive)

2. Always give feedback. If someone is a good buyer or seller reward them and everyone will do the same thing. Feedback is the most important criteria for a buyer. You can only participate in the ebay powerseller program.

3. Set a real auction and buy now price. Don't start at $.01 because it may sell. It is ok if you only sell 25-50% of your games each week. Just make sure you are getting the optimal amount of profit.

4. Give just enough information to completely inform but not to overwhelm your buyers.

5. Use clear pictures of the actual product. The better the picture the more interested a buyer will be.

6. Offer one type of product at a time, don't list two of the same games unless you know they will sell right away. This will give the buyer an incentive to purchase, thinking it may not be their tomorrow since it is the only one in your store.

7. Use the hot lists from eBay. They take the time to figure out what is selling and what is not. But on the other side of the coin, look for hot sellers before everyone else does.

8. Be prepared for eBay to give up information about the hot categories you find before everyone else. Be pro-active and find hot categories yourself.

9. Always offer Paypal and Money order. Some people don't trust paypal or don't have a checking account. If they use paypal they will pay by paypal.

10. Be very careful about International buyers. I only sold to Canadian buyers. Even though International buyers are willing to pay more, shipping is not always 100% reliable.

11. Always thank a person for their purchase and tell them when you are going to send the product and how long it should take.

12. Use boxes for fragile products instead of bubble mailers. Buyers will pay more for boxes. You can get them at Uline for a reasonable price. Use the Wrap Pack for bubble mailers.

Got more tips, let us know.