Making Progress with Your Online Auctions

Selling Children's Products - New Rules!

2011-03-26T20:12:00.000-07:00

If you are selling or planning to sell products in your online business meant for children, you need to be aware of a new law that will take effect December 31, 2011. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has established new tougher rules concerning children's products that may contain lead paint.

In December, manufacturers and distributors of imported children's products will be required to have their products tested for levels of lead paint by an authorized testing lab. As a product is approved the labs will issue a certificate of acceptance. More information is available about this process and their implementation at this CPSC website page. There is also a FAQ page with answers to common questions.

So why is this important to me? You may ask. Well, if you sell or resell children's product's that may contain lead paint to U.S consumers, you may need to show that certificate of acceptance to eBay.com, Amazon.com, or any other selling website you use in order to continue selling your merchandise. So, a word to the wise -- go check out the website links in this article to see if you will be affected and if so, contact your distributor or the manufacturer to see if they are prepared for these changes.

I have also added a CPSC Recall box on this blog which will allow you to sign up to their email list of notifications. Presently, you cannot sell any item on eBay or Amazon that has been recalled by the CPSC.

Ken, Dr. Ebay

Events > Rockaway: eBay Fans Networking Meeting > Rockaway , NJ > Daily record

2010-11-07T13:01:00.000-08:00

Events > Rockaway: eBay Fans Networking Meeting > Rockaway , NJ > Daily record

If you are in the Rockaway Township area on Monday 11/08/10, come out and join us. Always good coffee and conversation. Click link above for details and directions.

Dr eBay

What Sells on eBay

2010-10-13T08:22:00.000-07:00

People always want to know what sells on eBay. The answer is almost everything! Everything from the largest vehicles (think yachts, trucks, jet planes...) to the smallest stone (think diamonds, rubies, pet rocks?...). Some other profitable categories include: anything that people collect, anything that people need or use regularly, new and used clothing, and the list goes on. One way to see what's selling best at any particular day is eBay Pulse. eBay pulse will give you the top 20 times that have sold on eBay that day.

One of my favorite niche categories to sell on eBay is called memorabilia. By memorabilia I mean things that remind people of good times, fun times, often childhood times. For example, as a child did you have a special doll or toy? Maybe you had a Radio Flyer Wagon. These are still made today, but the older models bring big bucks on eBay. Imagine how much fun this man still has with his. Radio Flyer Video

Smile and go find something to sell on eBay.

Ken
DR EBAY

Checks Again OK on eBay with Paypal

2010-10-01T08:11:00.000-07:00

Many eBay members were not happy when eBay decided to no longer allow payment by check. This was part of eBay's efforts to limit many bad checks being received by eBay sellers.

Paypal has just announced a new check payment method now allowed on eBay. It is called 'eCheck'. Any eBay buyer with a Paypal account can now send an eCheck to pay in whole or in part for an item bought on eBay. There is a small $.50 fee.

For those who are not familiar with eChecks, Paypal debits the buyer's checking account and when the echeck clears, Paypal then credits the Seller's account.

So, for those who miss paying by check, you now have an alternative.

Ken
Dr eBay

New eBay Green Box

2010-09-16T18:46:00.000-07:00

At eBay's final "eBay on Location" meeting in San Jose a few weeks ago, they announced their creation of a green shipping box. They come in three different sizes. They plan to give away 100,000 of these new boxes beginning sometime in October, 2010.

A green shipping box is not new. I understand that UPS has them already. But eBay's box is rather unique. By design, it is intended to be used 6 times. The box even has an interior design encouraging recipients to save it and use it again. eBay has designed the interior with six panels for each of the six recipients to write a little message to the next person receiving it. If the box does reach the end of it's useful life before the sixth use, of course it is fully recyclable. A great idea!

If you are an eBay seller and would like to receive some of these boxes, make sure you get to the eBay Green Team site and opt-in to email so you will know when they become available.

Ken
DR EBAY

Combining eBay and YouTube to Increase Your Fan Base

2010-09-16T17:24:00.000-07:00

While I'm on this roll of telling you about great places you can learn how to make money on eBay and elsewhere online, I can't overlook one other trusted educator: Jim Cockrum. Jim is best known for his first book The Silent Sales Machine (on eBay). Jim has been around the eBay and online marketing scene for many years and is listed on an independent online Internet Marketing website, as the most trusted Internet marketer/teacher on the Web. I believe that and I didn't need a poll to tell me.

You can read his blog to get a better sense of who he is and what he is about. Although he has many income streams and claims to work just a few days a week for a six figure income, he still says that eBay is one of the best places to make a good living. So, read his blog, get on his newsletter mailing list, and learn. You won't be sorry.

Ken
DR EBAY
My Silent Team Member

Learning from Online Rockstars

2010-09-16T15:42:00.000-07:00

Learning what you need to know to be successful in the online marketplace can be a real challenge. There are many places to get information on succeeding online and at eBay, but as you probably know they are not all equal. There are people selling information on this subject on eBay and through email who aren't worthy of your time. Many offer everything from out and out false information to products that aren't even worth one dollar. However, if you read about it here, I am putting my reputation on the line and you can be sure it is worth every penny.

Another learning site I would like to share is the Online Success Intitute, now known as OSI Rockstars. This site is run by Janelle Elms, a well respected former eBay University teacher. Janelle has created this site with some of the most friendly people I've met online. Besides classes she herself has created, there are many others created by other talented and successful people, many of whom are eBay Top Sellers. There is an annual fee which allows access to all the classes, past, present, and for the length of your membership at no additional cost. Janelle also provides a weekly newsletter for members and many other opportunitiesas well. I highly recommend OSI Rockstars to you. Go visit the site and I think you'll be very impressed.

Ken
DR EBAY
OSI Rockstar

The eBay Garden

2010-09-16T14:37:00.000-07:00

A lot of people are gardening these days. Many people are trying to live a 'greener' lifestyle. Others have been challenged financially by the recession here in the USA and a home garden has been helpful in putting food on the family table. I recently learned that even eBay has a 'garden'.

Learning how to vegetable garden is a little like learning how to make a great website. "Really?" you say. You don't learn to grow vegetables with one try. For most people it takes years until they learn the best way to make compost, choosing the right crops for their climate, getting the best seed, and so much more trial and error. Similarly, for a great website you need graphics, the right hosting company, enticing products or services that will draw regular visitors, and there is SEO, social networking, AdSense, and so much more through trial and error.

eBay has a garden. No, not for vegetables. eBay's garden is for experimenting with new ways to make eBay better and better. This is where the techies tweak this and that. They try out new apps to help buyers and sellers. They work on ideas submitted by the eBay user community. They brainstorm to find better solutions to known problems.

And guess what? They want you to come help them. You can try out their new ideas and fixes for old problems. And you can tell them what you think works and what doesn't. It's a lot of fun! Visit them now and go back often to see what new things they are working on. eBay Garden

Ken
DR EBAY

Monthly eBay Call on Skype

2010-09-16T13:45:00.000-07:00

Recently I blogged about the first anniversary of the Virtual Online Learning site at meetup.com. I can't say enough about Dana Crawford and her VOL website. It is all about learning how to make money in the online world we call eBay. But there are plenty of classes you can take where you can apply what you learn to the online world in general.

One of my most favorite things with VOL is a monthly Skype meeting, hosted by James Kirk Pace. You just call in on skype.com for free from anywhere and for a couple of hours you get to speak to others experienced online sellers. Many of them are Powersellers and Top Sellers on eBay. Most of them also sell on other online marketplaces too. You can ask questions or talk about what you are doing and get some feedback and everyone is so friendly.

Hope to see you there. Just visit them at VOL.

Ken
DR EBAY
Lifetime VOL Menber

eBay Fifteen Year Anniversary

2010-09-16T12:42:00.000-07:00

eBay just celebrated their fifteen year anniversary a few weeks ago. Many of you know that eBay was started by Pierre Omidyar in 1995. It was originally known as AuctionWeb and was just one of Pierre's websites in his business. The nam was later changed to eBay. Did you also know that the first item sold on eBay by Pierre was a broken laser pointer which sold for $14.83.

Well, we've come a long way since then. I've been active on eBay since the year 2002 and so much has happened since then. The Internet continues to change almost daily it seems. And eBay keeps evolving and getting better to in order to keep up with the Internet and the ever changing marketplaces thereon.

As a celebration of eBay's fifteen years, I encourage you to tell us about the best thing you ever bought or sold on eBay. Just leave a comment below.

Ken
DR. EBAY

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v729/ASKDANNA/VOL/BlogBadges/BlogChallenge1.jpg

Virtual Online Learning One Year Anniversary Party

2010-07-15T21:08:00.000-07:00

Danna Crawford's Virtual Online Learning will be celebrating it's one year anniversary tomorrow, July 16, 2010. The huge virtual anniversary party will be held on BlogSpotRadio beginning at 8PM and running until 10PM EDT.

If you don't know Danna, she is one of the best of the best on eBay. You may know her better as Powersellingmom. Everyone is invited to the party. There is no charge and you don't have to join anything. Come join us all and have some fun and you may even learn something too.

So come join in the fun. Go to BlogSpotRadio and sign up now so you'll be ready when the party starts. You can win some fantastic prizes. You can participate in the chat and hear from surprise guests. See you there!

Dr. eBay

Apps to Help Your eBay Selling

2010-06-10T12:19:00.000-07:00

Apps are everywhere it seems. The tech world is in love with apps. This word 'apps' is short for 'applications' or an older term, 'application programs'. Apps are on your iPhone, or your Droid (Android), the iPod Touch, etc. Did you know that if you sell on eBay that eBay has apps too! Also, Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, all have apps. In general, the apps we are talking about are created (written) by third parties, not the owner of the website or device.

Let's focus in this blog post about the apps on eBay. eBay apps are there to help you have a more productive selling or buying experience on eBay. Like apps on Smart Phones and elsewhere, some are free, some are not. There are apps for eBay, Twitter, and other websites that you have to find through word-of-mouth or by searching the web. But the apps we're talking about are found right within eBay.

To see all the third party apps available on eBay you have to go to the Apps Center. There are places on eBay to find a link to the Apps Center including the full explanation on using it in the Help Menu. If your Seller account is set up you should also see a link to the apps center in your My eBay in the upper left next to Activity/Messages/Account. Once you get to the Apps Center, I suggest you make it a Favorite or Bookmark in your browser. Note: there are some eBay-provided features that I would also call Apps. They can be found in My eBay in the link called Subscriptions.

In the Apps Center you will see that the apps are divided into several categories, namely:

Customer support

Inventory

Listing

Marketing & merchandising

Research & reporting

Shipping & payments

Sourcing

In addition, you will find a list of the latest, newest apps and a list of the most popular apps. Start browsing. You are bound to find a few to interest you and make your selling life on eBay easier. One of my favorites is Shipsaver. They provide shipping insurance considerably cheaper than USPS and it's connected right to your My eBay page. I love it. See what you can find to help make your selling tasks easier.

Dr. eBay

Help! I'm Overworked and Can't Afford to Hire Someone

2010-06-08T20:28:00.000-07:00

Many online entrepreneurs are one person companies. Me included. Whether you sell on eBay.com, Amazon.com, Half.com, Bonanzle.com, Clickbank.com, a bunch of niche websites, or all of the above, life as an entrepreneur can get overwhelming at times. Some people throw in the towel because of all the pressure of trying to do it all by themselves. They think they can't afford to hire someone or several someones.

There are, after all, so many tasks one has to do to run a company, even a small company. There can be accounting tasks to control the financial side of the business, legal activities, phone calls to make, letters to write, research to do, websites to create, programming to be done, marketing, graphic design, and many others. What is a busy entrepreneur to do?

Well, good news! Freelancers are willing to help you with these tasks on a one shot basis or a regular basis for very little money. How do you find them? There are websites that these freelancers enroll with to help you find them. One that just came to my attention is Fiverr. This site's claim to fame is that you can hire anyone on the site for only $5. Every freelancer on Fiverr will tell you what they will do for just $5. You can browse or search. Take a look.

Fiverr is certainly the most varied of all the freelancing sites in terms of what people will do for your $5. Most jobs offered are meaningful, useful tasks that may help you is some way. But some are out of left field. For fun here are a few I wouldn't have thought to ask for:

1. I will write anything of your choice on my face with a Sharpie for $5
2. I will tweet about your product or service to 3800 followers 5 times a day for 4 weeks for $5
3. I will read your palm for $5
4. I will do any voiceover work for $5
5. I will leave flirtatious/didn't-we-have-so-much-fun comments on your Facebook wall for $5
6. I will give you 60 GB of cPanel web hosting for 1 year for $5

There are many other freelancer websites available. In most of these, you describe your project and freelancers send you bids on what it will cost. You then have the ability to negotiate and question the freelancer about their qualifications and even request samples of similar projects they have completed previously.

My top six freelance website picks in addition to Fiverr are:

eLance, - From creative work like graphics and writing to computer programming.
FreelanceSwitch - From marketing, to writing, to graphic design to programming.
Guru, - From Web and Graphic Design to Programming to Business Consulting.
Allfreelancework - Projects posted on a variety of subjects.
Rentacoder - From simple web pages to programming jobs that could last for months.
ProgrammingBids - From web and graphic design to flash to software development.

(Note: I do not recommend any particular site mentioned above. I have no connection with any of them. I get no remuneration from any of them.)

Go find some help!

Dr. eBay

Can You Always Trust Feedback?

2010-05-25T12:05:00.000-07:00

Feedback is something all eBayers are familiar with. But as Danna Crawford writes at Practical eCommerce, feedback comes in many forms and not all of it is to be trusted.

One example of feedback that is not to be trusted, I have personally experienced. It involves a condo at the beach that I own and rent out. It is in a building at the beach that has dozens of condos. It is a very nice building with two pools, a spa, barbecue deck, and many other amenities.

Several years ago some people rented one of the condos. These people apparantly had no respect of rules. Rules like no running by the pool, no glass bottles in the pool area, no public drunkeness, no disturbing other guests... all meant to help everyone there have a safe and enjoyable stay. These people repeatedly broke these rules and were given numerous warnings to no avail. Finally, one night the police had to be called because other guests' safety was at risk. The people causing all this ruckus were finally asked to leave.

Within a few weeks some slanderous comments were left on a public website that asks for evaluations of vacation stays at various beach hotels, motels, and other rental properties. Year after year those same or similar comments were left. All were similar enough that any intelligent person could only conclude that they were left by the same person or group.

This is just one example of how reputations can be ruined or hurt by anger and bitterness through no fault of the 'seller'. The lesson here is that whenever you are reading feedback, whether it is concerning another eBayer or in any other form, take it with a grain of salt, as they say. Remember, when people are happy or satisfied, they often don't leave feedback, except on eBay. For more, read Danna Crawford's post.

Dr. eBay

Books, Product Sourcing #1

2010-05-22T16:52:00.000-07:00

When I teach people how to sell and make money on eBay the most common question is, "What should I sell?" One answer I give is, "Sell what you know." Do you have a hobby, a job, a passion, a pastime, or love of something? This is something to ponder and out of that you may come up with the answer to the first question. This begins a series of posts on the subject of sourcing, i.e. finding sources for the items that you sell.

When I first had someone tell me to sell what I know, my immediate thought was that there wasn't anything in my hobbies or jobs that I could connect with a product to sell on eBay. Later I did think of one or two things, but I felt no passion for them. Some years later I read something about selling books on eBay and I realized I love books. I've had a passion for books and have collected books for years.

After thinking about and researching this new potential eBay product for a few weeks, I decided that books made sense for me. New books are available in dollar stores, and at clearance sales in book stores, supermarkets, and elsewhere. Are there sources for books where one can make a decent profit margin? Of course! Used books are available at yard sales and estate sales as well as public library book sales.

I did further research and read some papers and books on the subject to learn the ropes of sourcing, choosing, pricing, & shipping. So now I sell mostly used books on eBay, on Half.com, and on Amazon. I don't get rich selling used books, but it is only one of my income streams. The people who can succeed selling one product are few and far between today.

So what is your passion? Tell us a little by leaving a comment.

Dr. eBay

Is Your Online Business Full of Drama?

2010-05-05T12:05:00.000-07:00

As an online business owner, be it on eBay or another online selling venue, if your daily business life is full of drama it will undermine everything else you do in that business. Sometimes it can be very difficult to remain positive. In the past year and a half, many successful sellers on eBay have gotten sidetracked by negative reactions to changes eBay Inc. made to the rules of selling and buying on the site. No matter what or where your business is, remaining positive can be difficult when someone keeps changing the rules.

Our friend Danna Crawford has created a new blog called Run Drama, Ru n. It's aim is to help us all leave the drama behind and keep positive in our business and our private life as well. I urge you to check it often to help keep the drama away.

Ken
Dr. eBay

Google Announces New eBook Platform

2010-05-05T07:25:00.000-07:00

Google announced yesterday that they will begin selling eBooks this summer. They have created a new platform that will allow readers to load ebooks onto various devices, according to a news story on MercuryNews.com.

Do you have an eBook in the works or already being sold? This may be worth watching.

Auction Progress Every Place I Sell

2010-05-05T07:04:00.000-07:00

Auction Progress Every Place I Sell

How To Use eBay Completed Items Search to Your Advantage

2010-02-27T19:20:00.000-08:00

Are you an eBay seller? If so, are you successful at what you do? Perhaps, the better question to ask is if you are making a profit selling on eBay? If you aren’t, there are a number of steps that you can take to increase your chances of making money on eBay.

When it comes to improving your chances of making a sale on eBay, your first impulse may to be change the way that your eBay items are listed for sale. For instance, it is often suggested that you upload detailed pictures of your items, provide detailed descriptions and such. While you certainly will want to try doing so, you will also want to focus on the items that you are listing for sale. Your problem with making a profit on eBay, might be the items that you are trying to sell. If you have a poor quality item or an item that other sellers can't seem to sell either, you may not be able to sell it, but you would still be responsible for paying your eBay fees. In this case, you will not only be unable to make a profit, but you also may end up losing money.

When it comes to knowing which items you can profit from selling on eBay, there are some who will tell you that it is impossible to do. While it may seem impossible, it isn’t. Before actually trying to list a particular item for sale online, like an old music CD for instance, you can check to see if that item has been sold on eBay before. This information is found by doing a completed items search for the name of the item you want to sell. If that particular item was sold before, you can also figure out exactly how much money it sold for! This will give you a good idea as to whether or not it would be worth it for you to spend the time creating your auction listings and paying eBay’s fees. Although the decision as to whether or not you want to post your item for sale is yours to make, a completed items search may give you inside information; information that you will want to take into consideration when making your decision.

To perform a search of completed items, you will want to use the advanced search option. The link to the advanced search form can be found by eBay’s traditional search box. The only thing that you will do differently is check the box labeled “Completed Listings Only.” Your results will include auctions that meet your search criteria, but that have already been completed. If an item sold, its price will be in green print. If an item did not sell, the asking price will be in red print. As previously stated, performing an eBay completed items search gives you the ability to tell whether or not you have an item that has been a good seller in the past.

If you are like many eBay sellers, there is a good chance that you are always on the lookout for great deals, bargains, or antiques. Familiarizing yourself with popular eBay items, ones that can be considered “hot sellers,” is a great way to make yourself a profit on eBay. In fact, you can not only use a completed listing search to determine if an item you already have is worth money, but you can also use this eBay tool to help you determine what items are in demand and how much, on average, the item sells for. If you scout yard sales, flea markets, or thrift stores, you may want to have a partner at home looking up eBay completed listings, while you are out shopping for items to sell on eBay. If that isn't practical for you, another way is to use a cell phone with an Internet eBay search application or bring a laptop computer with Internet wireless access when you are out scouting for things to sell.

Performing an eBay completed listing search will only take a few minutes of your time and can help you make money as an eBay seller, not lose it.

eBay Bucks Program Helps Buyers and Sellers

2010-02-03T17:53:00.000-08:00

eBay hates it when sellers lower the price of an item and then raise the shipping charges to an outrageous amount to compensate. When this is done eBay loses money in Final Value Fees and other conscientious sellers face unfair competition when they charge actual shipping and handling.

I can remember as far back as 2006 at the eBay Live conference in Las Vegas hearing Bill Cobb, the President of eBay North America, tell us that eBay will be taking steps to stop these unscrupulous sellers from overcharging for shipping. Since then eBay has put several procedures and other steps in place to get sellers to stop overcharging for shipping and handling. Some of these include encouraging sellers to offer free shipping, creating the Detailed Seller Ratings (DSRs) program, and adjusting search results to favor sellers charging free or reasonable shipping.

AuctionBytes, a trade publication for online merchants, suggests that the new eBay Bucks program is another great step in the war against high shipping. With the eBay Bucks program,
"...buyers are able to earn rewards based on the purchase price of items they buy on eBay using PayPal. The buyer earns 2 percent of the purchase price (up to $200 per item and a maximum of $500 per qualifying period) and receives an eBay Bucks Certificate at the end of the quarter to use against purchases in the following quarter. Shipping is not included in the "purchase price" used to determine the reward amount.

Now the buyer has a reason to buy the $20 item with free shipping over the $5 item with $15 shipping. In the first example, the buyer receives 40 cents, in the second example it is only 10 cents. It sounds like small numbers, but if you're looking at items in the hundreds of dollars, or a buyer who purchases a lot throughout the quarter, which sellers do you think buyers will choose?"

For the complete article, go to Will eBay Bucks Deter Excessive Shipping and Handling? By Lissa McGrath.

eBay Auction Fees Lowered Again

2010-01-26T12:08:00.000-08:00

A major announcement by eBay today restructures Auction and Fixed Price fees. For instance, beginning March 30, 2010, up to 100 auction listings per month with a start price under $1 are free to list. Also Final Value Fees (FVF) for auction items are a flat nine percent but never more than $50, which does simplify working with FVFs. In addition, there will be new lower listing fees for all other start prices.

Fixed price listings, both store items and direct listings will be considered the same for search purposes. This means that all store fixed price items will always appear in search results, unlike today where store fixed price listings only appear in search if the threshold is met and often don't appear at all. Now you can eliminate direct auction or fixed price listings to drive traffic to your store.

Another thing I like is the new eBay fee illustrator. This new tool allows you to put in your average estimated listing data and the tool will respond with recommendations as to which store level, or no store, is the best choice for you!

You can find all the details eBay Annoucements.

Happy eBaying!!

eBayers Donate Sales Proceeds to Haiti

2010-01-25T19:09:00.000-08:00

As a follow up to my blog about eBay Ink last Thursday, the latest issue of the eBay Ink blog tells how eBayers are stepping up to the plate to help the Haitian people after their devastating earthquake earlier this month.

Yes, you can buy, sell, or donate items while on eBay with the proceeds being sent to The American Red Cross, Save the Children, and other nonprofits doing relief work in Haiti. So far, over 326,000 donors have raised over $1,000,000 and climbing, for the work in Haiti.

How can you get in on this worthwhile effort? Click here to get to a special eBay page to learn how to help in Haiti by simply buying or selling something on eBay. You can also make a cash donation on the same page if you prefer.

In addition to the eBay effort, Paypal Checkout is waiving the payment processing fees for donations to Save the Children. You can also make donations to Save the Children through Amazon Checkout, and Google Checkout if you use those services. Click here for the Save the Children donation page.

eBay Ink

2010-01-21T18:13:00.000-08:00

Here's a resource any serious eBayer should be watching. It's called eBay Ink. These are regular posts by eBay's resident blogger. His name is Richard Brewer-hay. He is an eBay, Inc. employee. His job is to blog about the conversations happening inside eBay and outside of it too.

It's a great way to keep up with what management is thinking and lower department heads are working on for the future, even before the official announcements are made about changes to the platform. Richard also welcomes comments and questions about his blog posts.

As I write this, Richard has blogged about his Favorite eCommerce Podcasts. The topics include: "eBay Radio", "ColderIce (Internet eCommerce & eBay)", "eBay & Beyond: Basics to Business", and "The River, The Ranch & The Bay." These are all great topics and I'm sure you will learn a lot if you give a listen.

Virtual Online Meetup

2010-01-21T16:02:00.000-08:00

I found a great resource for eBay buyers and sellers. It's called the "Virtual Online Meetup." There you will find online classes called webinars, a discussion board, monthly skype meetings, website directory, article reference, and more. Topics range from eBay and other online sales sites to social network marketing blogging, and other of Internet marketing.

This great resource has been created and hosted by the one and only Danna Crawford, PowerSellingMom. Many of these features are free. But you get everything for a very reasonable membership fee. If you are interested in learning about these topics, a visit to this group may be just what you've been looking for. I'm a member myself and I can tell you that there is something for everyone from newbie to experienced.

eBay Changes To Continue

2009-07-28T21:17:00.000-07:00

eBay CEO John Donahoe said yesterday that eBay will continue making changes [to it's business model] over the next three to four years. eBay is moving from 40% fixed price and 60% auction format to a 60% fixed price and 40% auction format, he said.

The most recent change is that Paypal which is 35% of eBay's sales now has developed the technology behind TwitPay, the new Twitter addition that allows Twitter users to send money to another Twitter user using TwitPay. Go to TwitPay for details.

Multiple Income Streams

2009-05-14T19:23:00.000-07:00

Hello Faithful Readers,

You may be selling on eBay, Bonanzle, Etsy, Amazon, and elsewhere. This tells me that you understand the principal of multiple streams of income, an Internet marketing basic principal for success. Some of you may be involved already with affiliate marketing and viral income streams.

I have recently learned about a new opportunity for you. I'm sure you should have heard all the talk about viral marketing and the wonders it can possibly do for your online business. And I have the priviledge of passing on a special gift for you today which takes viral marketing to the next level.

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==> Rebrand over a dozen different software titles filled with YOUR own banners and text links.

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==> Give the rebranded software, loaded with your website links, away for f.ree as a lead generator and watch your list EXPLODE.

==> Present yourself as a valuable resource to new website visitors and past customers/readers.

==> Collect hefty commissions & sales daily when others click on your banners & text links inside the software and purchases.

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And much much more!

You really need to check this out for yourself to see how powerful it is. Click on the link and see what these guys are giving away.

>>http://www.imbuzzsoftware.com<<

This awesome "IM Buzz Software" membership used to be available only for paid members. But for a limited time now, you can sign up to gain instant *NO-COST* access to its members area and start making your own cash-producing viral software in just a few minutes. This is honestly one revolutionary site which redefines viral marketing and transcends it to a whole new level. So be sure not to be left out while everyone else takes advantage of this incredible never-to-be-repeated opportunity.

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Free Books, No Shipping

2009-05-11T10:36:00.000-07:00

Free eBooks and no shipping. ebooks? Are you thinking worthless, not a real book, old, public domain, or filled with affiliate links? Those terms might be applied to some ebooks, but not all. With the advent of Amazon's Kindle, Google Book's library, and other advances, books in electronic form are now in the mainstream and worth another look.

Many published authors are offering their 3, 4, 500 page books in PDF format for free. Fellow blogger dlfreebook has set up hundreds of links to get recent books in PDF format for free. Sometimes these will be one revision back from the latest edition in the bookstores. Would you like to read eBay's Jim Griffith's The Official eBay Bible, Andrew Goodman's Winning Results with Google Adwords, or Lee Jordan's Blogger: Beyond the Basics, all for free? These and many more are available to you.

Many of these ebooks are in PDF format, so you will need Adobe's Reader to read them. Also most are in compressed formats for downloading like ZIP and RAR. When I downloaded some from dlfreebook, I was given the opportunity to download a free uncompression untility called jZip. It was quick and easy to install and there is no adware, no spyware, no pop-ups, no trojans, and no toolbars. jZip handles ZIP, RAR, and many other compression formats.

Enjoy. If you know of any other great free ebook sites like this, please leave a comment.

DSRs - Bane or Blessing?

2009-03-26T08:31:00.000-07:00

Any eBay seller knows that DSR stands for Detailed Seller Ratings. DSRs are ratings that eBay allows buyers to use to rate any seller thay have bought from. The ratings range from a low of one star to the top of five stars. ebay added this new feature in 2008 to help buyers get a more accurate look at a seller's reputation, beyond the one line Feedback system that had been in place for years. It is unclear to me how many buyers check the DSRs of a seller they are thinking of buying from for the first time or, for that matter, even the basic feedback comments.

What is clear is that sellers are paying attention to their own DSRs. The DSR ratings now affect everything from organic search ranking of a seller's listing ad on eBay to his/her compensation. Powersellers get discounts off the final value fees that eBay charges all sellers when their DSRs are at or near the top of the range approaching five. All sellers may even have their ability to place listings on the site suspended when any one rating of the four categories drops below 4.1.

The four customer service categories that buyers are asked to use to rate a seller are: Item as Described, Communication, Shipping Time, and Shipping and Handling Charges. Many sellers have pointed out various parts of the DSR program that they believe are flawed. One of the flaws that sellers point out most frequently to eBay has been the rating scale itself. When given a scale of 1 to 5, many buyers would think that 4 means "pretty good." But eBay expects every seller to have all fives, or at least more that 4.1 and much closer to all fives to get the powerseller discount. So if every buyer gave all sellers a four, all of the sellers on eBay would no longer be allowed to sell on eBay according to the current DSR scale structure. I realize this is an absolute and would never happen, but it illustrates many sellers' concerns with the system. Nevertheless, most sellers have now learned how to provide better customer service and therefore higher DSR rankings.

eBay has provided a list of best practices that sellers can adopt to improve their DSRs. I have improved my own DSR numbers dramatically since adopting many of these ideas. It is clear to me that DSRs are separating the good sellers from the 'bad' sellers. And the 'bad' sellers are learning and practicing new customer service skills or leaving eBay. There is now a Seller Dashboard page where you can look at a detailed view of each of your DSRs. In addition, the latest tool eBay has provided to sellers is the ability to run targeted reports based on Buyer Location, Category, Date Range, Item Numbers, or Shipping. This will help sellers zero in on which situations are generating lower DSRs and enable them to fine tune their listings and selling practices to change those low ratings. Look for a link on your Dashboard page that says "Create Report" or "See Your Reports."

Another tool that helps me keep on track with even the smallest changes in my DSRs automatically is at AuctionTrax. It's a free tool that allows you to view any eBay seller's DSRs for the past 30 days or 12 months. If you set it up for your own seller account, they will email you a report about the changes whenever they occur. Thanks, AuctionTrax.

Earth Hour Beckons

2009-03-20T14:03:00.000-07:00

Sorry I've been away folks. I had some family issues going on. But the good news is, I'm Back!

Are you coming to the Earth Hour party on March 28, 2009? You are invited, nay, you are encouraged to attend. Earth Hour is a movement to show solidarity toward reducing the carbon footprint created by the excessive use of power our modern technology requires. I encourage you to go to the website and get informed.

This means no lights, computers, TVs, etc. And it also means no blogging, surfing, twittering, eBaying, facebook, myspace, etc.

Here's an idea! Call all your friends and have an Earth Hour party by candle light. Make sure the beer is cold before turning off the refrigerator. ;)

Ken

Are You a Professional?

2008-11-26T21:11:00.000-08:00

I'm probably not going to make any friends with this blog post, but I think it is something that needs to be talked about. Are you trying to start a business online? Perhaps you have a product to sell on eBay or another online marketplace and need to write descriptions that entice the lookers to buy. Or, maybe you want get into Internet marketing by providing a service to other online entrepreneurs. Well, I have a question.

Here's the question. Can you spell? Can you write using at least halfway decent grammar? If you want to look professional, you need to act professional and write in a professional manner. In a face-to-face business, potential customers judge you by what you wear and how you speak. In an online business, they initially only see what you write. The first contact with you might be a blog post you wrote, a sales letter they've found on an emailing, a free newsletter you sent out, or even Twitter. You won't appear professional if there are spelling errors, run-on sentences, no paragraph breaks, or other obvious grammatical errors. "Why do I need to look professional?" you might ask. Because 'professional' usually equates to traits like 'competent', 'trustworthy', and 'knowledgeable' for most people.

A program based or web based spelling checker is a first step. Always spell check before sending out anything. But a spelling checker is not enough. You need to proofread what you wrote after correcting any spelling mistakes caught by the spelling checker. Case in point, I was reading a blog post today where the writer used the word incite, when she really meant insight. The spelling checker knows they are both valid words, but with two very different meanings. Just this week I noticed two different people on Twitter who had a typographical error in their blog link that they put in their 'Bio'. Also, learn the correct usage of commonly misused words that sound alike, such as 'there', 'their', and 'they're' as well as 'to', 'two', and 'too'. If your blog posting software or other writing tool doesn't have a good spelling checker, write in Word or another good word processor and then cut and paste into your blog or other media. Then you'll also get the benefit of some grammer checking that the more robust writing platforms provide while spell checking.

Finally, use capitals and lower case as appropriate. That all lower case thing is so last century. And please don't use smileys or acronyms if you want to appear professional.

So, there, I've said it. I'll get down off the soapbox now. Oh, by the way, my grammar is not what my college writing professor would want to see on a thesis. I use a more conversational style, which, while still professional, comes across as 'friendly'. Comments are always welcome.

Getting Targeted Twitter Followers

2008-11-26T09:51:00.000-08:00

Do you Twitter. If you have any kind of business, you need to market it on twitter.com. There are many and varied ways to market on Twitter, but we'll start with the first one.

First you need to get targeted followers to your Twitter tweets. There are a number of ways to do that, but here's how I do it. My way isn't the faster or easiest, but it may be the most effective. Here it is:

Begin by locating several other Twitter members who have similar business' to yours. If you eBay, then find sellers on Twitter who you respect or you know are active in marketing their ebay business. If you do something else, find people in that genre on Twitter. All you need is one to start.
Go to that Twitter member's page by clicking on their Twitter ID.
Click on their 'Followers' link in the upper right of the page.
Now this is the most important part. Mouse-over each ID in the list one-by-one to see each person's Bio. Look at the bio to see if that person is involved in your area of interest. If you ebay, do you see the word 'eBay' in their bio? If so, click to follow them. If your genre is selling jewelry, look for people who may be interested in jewelry, etc. For instance, I sell many things for children (clothing, toys, books, CDs,...), so if I see someone who appears from their bio to be a mom of small children, I click on them too, even though the word 'ebay' doesn't appear in the bio.
The other thing to watch for while going through the list of followers are Twitterers who you know and respect in your genre. Make a note of their Twitter ID and repeat this process with their list of followers.
You have just followed these people. Most will soon follow you.

There are other ways to find targeted followers, but this is perhaps the only way to create a list of super-targeted followers for your future marketing related tweets.

Watch for my next blog on this subject for tips on using Twitter to get your message to your followers. Hope this helps.

Ken

Buyer's Guide To eBay Feedback

2008-11-26T09:30:00.000-08:00

I couldn't wait to share this with you. If you sell on eBay you should check out my friend Marlene's blog for her letter to buyers about how to rate a seller from whom they've just purchased.

In the Savvy Seller, she lays it all out for the buyer so they understand the different DSR ratings. After reading her letter, the buyer will know that a 3 doesn't mean 'Good'. And that a seller is failing if their average rating is 4. There's no way I could improve on her "Holiday Note to Buyers", so just go read it.

Ken

Store Tips for Holiday Sales

2008-08-28T08:02:00.000-07:00

As the holiday season approaches, the best selling season also approaches. Anyone with a store, online or brick and mortar, will tell you that their sales jump up during this time of the year. If you are selling from your store on eBay, Amazon, Auctiva, your own website, or any other online store, taking advantage of the holiday buying fever that seems to increase each year is nothing but common sense. But how do you do that?

Decorate Your Store - Add some holiday graphics to help visitors to your store get in the holiday buying mood.
Have a Sale - Pre-holiday sales can help jump start your selling season. People who come to your store for the sale may come back and bring their friends (via word-of-mouth) even when the sale is over. There are many procrastinators out there. Get them to buy early or they may end up buying elsewhere on the eve of the holiday.
Advertise Your Store - Put up flyers, send ads out to your email list, get your store on some of the bump sites, use Twitter, tell people on Facebook and MySpace about your store, consider using Google Adwords, etc.
Stock up on what will sell - Think gift items and consider using the pre-wrapped "Gift" shipping option for your eBay listings! Also, try to stock up on items that are HOT!
Shop for Closeouts Now - If you live near a summer resort area, everything is on sale now! Many of those items will make great gifts. You can also haggle if you are buying in quantity for resale. My friend Jen at Down the Shore with Jen just posted about End of Season Deals.
Use Buy it now style listings - People are often stressed out at this time of year and will not waste time with auctions.
Offer free shipping on some items- Many buyers come to the online world at this time of year to avoid the crowds and the time needed to shop.Not having to compare shipping costs from seller to seller simplifies and shortens their experience.
Start Now! - There is a lot to do to get ready. Don't wait until October or November. Many people start their holiday shopping soon after Labor Day.

Hope you can put these tips to use. Best wishes for a successful holiday selling season.

eBay Live 2008 Chicago

2008-07-27T19:56:00.001-07:00

I promised you a report of my trip to eBay Live in Chicago this past June 2008, but I've been struggling a little with how I feel about the trip, hence my foot dragging has us all the way into the end of July already. My apologies for that. So here goes....

This was my third eBay Live in three years. I attended the eBay Live in Las Vegas in 2006 and Boston in 2007. Las Vegas was amazing. I had never been there before and it's a very exciting town. And eBay Live itself was very exciting with so much education there for the taking. I soaked up seminar after seminar and visited almost every booth on the Solutions Hall floor, which is where all the exhibitors are located. I was like a bird flying around with no one telling me I had to go here or there. The one thing missing was that I didn't know anyone. So, while that gave me freedom to do what I wanted, it was somewhat of a lonely existence. But I wouldn't have missed it for the world and it helped me immensely as an eBay seller. Probably, the highlight was hearing Janelle Elms present her Ebay Stores 101 class. More about Janelle later.

In Boston, my sister (goneantiqueing) flew up from Tucson for her first eBay Live. We had the advantage of staying with our other sister who lives an hour outside of Boston. The crowd was a little smaller at Boston, but that was to be expected because Las Vegas has more glitz than most other U.S. cities. Here I was a little pickier about which classes to take and which Solutions Hall vendors to visit. I also had made some eBay friends in the past year and took time to meet up with them during the three days. Boston was another great success for me both personally and for my eBay business. I grew again as I began hearing about becoming an Education Specialist and how websites like MySpace could help my growing eBay business.

I have mixed feelings about eBay Live Chicago. There seemed to be a cloud hanging over the convention. I guess that cloud could have been called "Upset Powersellers." In February, eBay's management made several rules changes that were designed to bring in more buyers to the eBay arena, but to do so meant making some changes that disadvantaged some sellers. eBay said the changes only hurt "bad" sellers. Not everyone was in agreement with that statement. Being neither a powerseller or a "bad" seller, I didn't have a problem with the changes, and even some of my powserseller friends told me that by and large they would make more money after the changes than before. Still there was this aire of discontent wafting about the corridors and seminar rooms from a small, but vocal group. In addition, attendance was down from the previous year and the back half of the Solutions Hall had no vendors.

I said I had mixed feelings and that is because I was there with a group of very 'positive' eBayers. About five months before eBay Live, I joined Janelle Elms' new group called OSI Rock Stars. I am so excited about being part of the Online Success Institute Rock Stars. About 25 of the members (Janelle calls us Rock Stars) were able to attend eBay Live in Chicago. It was like a mini Rock Stars convention within a convention. We had special events, our own T-shirts and goodie bags. But the best part was being able to meet all these super talented people and talk about eBay in real time. You see, Janelle has filled this group with many multi-talented eBayers that are the most positive people you'll ever meet. These folks, along with Janelle herself and other experts, have created over a thousand hours of webinars, podcasts, and video classes for the OSI members only. And as members of OSI Rock Stars we help each other in the extensive online forum. Well, I guess you can see why I really enjoyed this latest eBay Live more than the others.

Oh, remember I mentioned promoting your eBay business on MySpace. That was just the tip of the iceberg. Between what I learned at eBay Live this year and what I am learning at OSI Rock Stars, now we have Blogging, Facebook, Twitter, Digg, Del.icio.us, Technorati, StumbleUpon, LinkedIn, Squidoo, YouTube, Bumping, etc. Yes, these are all ways to increase your success on eBay.

How about your Auction Progress? Are you keeping up? Leave a comment and tell us which eBay Live you liked best and what you are doing to improve your eBay success.

Are You Bumping?

2008-07-27T14:43:00.000-07:00

eBay Store sellers have had some setbacks in the past few years as eBay eliminated our store listings from eBay search results, and made other changes to the site that reduced the number of buyers finding our listings.

Many eBay sellers have taken to advertising their auctions and store listings on other websites. At first, you had to get a domain name, design a website, get hosting and develop good search engine optimization techniques before anyone would find your site to click on a link that would take them to your ebay listing or store. Now all you have to do is put a link to your eBay store or auctions on a 'bump' site.

My friend and fellow Rockstar, Brenda, from The Crabby Nook has done a marvelous job of explaining bump sites in detail. Check out her Squidoo lens on Bumping for "how to" information and links to sites.

If you are bumping already or have a question, please leave a comment by clicking on the word "Comments" below.

What Don't You Understand About NEW and USED?

2008-07-26T19:22:00.000-07:00

eBay just announced they will make changes to product attributes, called Item Specifics, in certain categories in August. In Books, DVD & Movies, Music and Video Games categories, eBay will change "Condition" values from "New" and "Used" to "Brand New", "Like New", "Very Good", "Good" and "Acceptable."

I think this change will muddy the water and introduce a level of ambiguity to the condition of the item for used books, DVDs, movies, music, and games. NEW and USED are pretty easy to understand. On the other hand, what do "Like New", "Very Good", "Good" and "Acceptable" mean? Without eBay defining each of these, sellers can't accurately describe their items in terms that the buyer can agree with.

There are published descriptions for various condition levels out there already, such as at the International Online Booksellers Association (IOBA). Some used book sellers are already using one of the accepted standards, such as IOBA, and the rest are doing their best to describe the condition of the item in the listing description. And that works up to a point with the current NEW and USED condition specifics.

In my opinion, eBay needs to publish a similar set of definitions for each of these categories and they need to be easily accessible by both buyers and sellers. Otherwise, I think there will be a steep rise in the number of dissatisfied buyers and unpaid item disputes due to the confusion this change will create.

So, what do you think? Leave a comment below by clicking on the word "Comments".

Janieruth Seriously Hurt at eBay Live

2008-07-01T20:09:00.000-07:00

I promised you all a report on my visit to eBay Live in Chicago June 19-21. And that will be coming along soon. But first I need to share some related news of a more serious nature.

An eBayer and fellow OSIRockStar, Janieruth was seriously hurt during a visit to the Chicago Art Museum with friends. As I understand it, she somehow fell ten feet over a banister or railing. She suffered serious brain injuries during the incident, but is bouncing back so well it is even surprising the doctors.

Janieruth's immediate family is with her at the hospital as well as others from the eBay and Rock Star community. Besides the weeks in the hospital to help heal her injuries she is facing an astronomical hospital bill that won't all be covered by insurance. In addition her family is facing major expenses staying near the hospital where she will remain for several weeks.

A fund has been set up to help with these medical expenses. As a friend of Janieruth's, I'm appealing to you, my readers, for anything you can manage to give, $10, $5, even a dollar.

Going To eBay Live!

2008-06-14T20:52:00.000-07:00

Thursday, June 19, 2008 begins another eBay Live! This is an annual international convention of eBay buyers and sellers. This year it is being held in the 'Windy City', Chicago of course. The number of attendees this year is expected to be above 10,000. I'll tell you all about it when I return.

Right now I want to share a new contest that is premiering at this year's eBay Live! It's called "Spot The Rock Star". Among the 10,000 attendees will be 35 OSI RockStars at eBay Live! If you are going to eBay Live look for the Rock Stars. When you find one they will give you a card to get to a special part of the Rock Star website. Go there and register for the contest and you can win one of the many prizes -- over $5000 worth.

These Are The Basics

2008-05-27T17:58:00.000-07:00

In my life as an eBay addict, I have picked up quite a lot of knowledge about how to do things on eBay, the right way. Some from reading books and ebooks, some by reading eBay help topics, some by joining in online and face-to-face discussions with other eBayers, some by taking eBay classes, and some by trial and error. In an effort to help those of you just starting out as well as those who have been selling for some time, I'd like to share a little of what I've learned over the next few posts here on "When Do I Get To Retire?" It never hurts to get back to the basics. These are the basics.

It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. People everywhere are fascinated by pictures and depending on how one displays the picture of the items you are selling, a decision to buy or not to buy hangs in the balance. Often a prospective buyer will scan the search results and not even read a listing with a poor picture or none at all. Every listing needs at least one digital picture of the item. The picture must be clear and sharp and preferably in color. The background must be a solid neutral color that provides good contrast for your item. Your picture must be cropped so the image of your item fills all or most of the frame. These are the basics.

It is said that one who fails to plan is one who plans to fail. The same goes for research on eBay. Research of products similar to, or the same as, your product is essential. Before you list your items up for sale, check out what other sellers are asking for the same kind of product that you want to sell. This shows you what prices and practices (Titles, Descriptions, shipping methods, etc.) you will be competing against. In addition, search for the item you are selling under "Completed Auctions". This can help you to determine how much the items are really selling for. Setting your beginning bid or fixed price too high will mean failure. Remember also to pick a product that is selling before investing in inventory. These are the basics.

After the picture, the Title is the most important element in your listing. After all, the picture and the title are the first things the prospective buyer will see in the search results. The title must be filled with keywords. Keywords are what your buyer will search for to find your product. Think like your buyer. What keywords will she type into the search box. Put them in your title. You have 55 spaces. Try to use them all. These are the basics.

Your description is not only about listing the basic information about your product. You must market it too. Make an effort to describe your product in detail. Break your description up into paragraphs. One long paragraph will scare buyers away. Bulleted lists work well too. Learn to use words that make your buyer want your product instead of the ones the other sellers have listed. Free is always a good word...as in free shipping for instance. You can think of other words too, but don't sound like a used car salesman. People will go to the next seller. These are the basics.

Buyers like name brand products, great prices, good customer service and fast shipping. The good news is that in eBay, this is totally under the sellers’ control. So while selling, make sure you always include the correct shipping costs and explain how it will be shipped. You have no control of how long it will take to get there, so don't make those promises. These are the basics.

Choosing what payment methods to offer your prospective buyers is not just a personal choice. You need to try to meet the payment abilities of the greatest number of buyers while tempering that with your ability to deal with an occasional problem. Paypal handles most credit card purchases along with seasoned buyers with a Paypal balance. However, some buyers either aren't comfortable with a service like Paypal or they have no credit cards or even a checking account. So, your choice of allowing, or not allowing, money orders, bank checks, or personal checks may mean the difference between you or another seller getting the sale. These are the basics.

A good reputation matters more than anything else on eBay. Unless you are just on the site to sell one item and leave, the first thing that you should focus on is getting good feedback on your sales. A good percentage of eBay buyers will check the track record (called Feedback) of the person from which they are considering bidding or buying. So the better the comments and ratings you have from your past buyers, the better the chance you have of getting new buyers. These are the basics.

Lastly, providing good customer service will give you an edge over other sellers. This is shown in your attentiveness to questions sent by prospective buyers during the auction, how comforting your return policy is, and the amount of follow up in terms of emails that you provide to your customer after the sale. These are the basics.

Yes, these are the basics. But there is so much more to being successful on eBay. Check back regularly for more ramblings from an eBay addict. You never know what you'll learn. Also, if you live in the New York City greater metro area, consider taking one of our classes at Auction Progress, where you'll get the whole story, not just the basics. Our motto is "Helping eBayers Get to the Next Level."

Ken

Technorati Profile

Finding a Local Group of eBayers

2008-05-21T19:51:00.000-07:00

Okay, as I've said previously, I am an eBay addict. Some eBay addicts are buyers. They never sell anything, they just buy, buy, buy. To them it's like the Home Shopping Network without the TV. It's even better since it's not on TV, because their non-computing friends envy them for their techie status.

Others are sellers. (Actually, I've never met a seller who isn't also a buyer on eBay.) They want to make some money. How much money depends on the person. For some it's a hobby and others a business. I think the last statistic I read was that there are over 12 million sellers on eBay running a full time or part time business. With the exception of this last group, it's not about the money...well, not just about the money. If you are an eBay addict, you eat, sleep, and play eBay as much as you can get away with. For some it even borders on OCD, we... 'er they feel drawn to the computer all the time. Did I sell anything in the last 5 minutes?; Did anyone send me a question about one of my listings?; Are their any new sellers in my niche? etc., etc., etc.

So, one of the things that eBay addicts enjoy, is talking to other eBay addicts. Well, since this whole thing revolves around the computer and the Internet, how does one do that? Let me count the ways.... There are discussion Forums on eBay's website. There are Groups on eBay. There are even Blogs on eBay. You can also send email to other users through My Messages of eBay. I have a baseball cap with the eBay logo on it that sometimes gets another eBayer to say hello. With the possible exception of the last one, these methods are not really 'talking' to other eBayers.

What's the answer? You attend a local eBay networking group meeting. If you can't find one, you start your own local group. A couple of years ago I found a group in the neighboring state. It was an hour and fifteen minutes each way for a two hour meeting once a month. But I went, month after month...for awhile. It was great! Then one day I was reading some of the discussion topics in an online eBay Group meant for eBayers from my state. One discussion was titled, "Meeting other eBayers in Person." That got my attention. There was a lot of posting on the topic back and forth for months, but nothing ever came of it.

So I just went ahead and started a group. It's called the eBayers of Northern NJ. We meet one a month at a local Panera Bread restaurant which has free WIFI. It's not a big group , but we put notices in some of the local newspapers and we regularly get new visitors. It's so enjoyable to talk to others face-to-face and share what we buy or sell on eBay. We trade tips and techniques and stories about the products we buy or sell.

You can do this too. Go to eBay Groups and search for any groups with the name of your state as part of their name. Then join some of them and ask if there are any face-to-face networking groups in your area. If not, consider starting one. You can then go back and tell the people in those groups you visited, about the new group you started. Another way to find eBay meetings is to go to the website: Meetup.com. There you can browse groups by city or search for a meetup group with the word 'eBay' in the name.

Now, I'm looking forward to the big daddy of eBay meetups in a few weeks, the eBay Live convention in Chicago. This is eBay's annual education, networking, and exhibition gathering. I'll tell you all about it, in a month from now when I return.

Ken

Things That Get In The Way

2008-01-29T14:53:00.000-08:00

Wow. I didn't realize it had been so long since I last posted an entry in this blog. Where do I start? Let me catch you up with my attempt to make sense of this thing called retirement.

I have been an eBay buyer and seller since 2002. When I left my last full-time job at the end of May 2006. In the beginning it was just a casual pastime, but has built up to a fever pitch here as we enter 2008. More about this journey in upcoming posts.

I thought that I would try to expand my eBay selling activities and possibly make a little money. Little did I realize the road I was about to travel and the pitfalls I would have to overcome.

Jo, the love of my life, who is NOT retired, had other plans for me. It seems that, in her eyes, we had switched roles and she was now the bread winner and I was now the house husband. I could understand that, but I was now expected to do the cooking, food shopping, errand running, clothes washing, and house cleaning. Along with all of this, the roles of house handi-man, yard and garden worker, car washer, computer and network geek, and small-time mechanic remained. I embraced this challenge -- with one exception -- I hate house cleaning!

I think mentioned last time that we also own a summer condo at the shore (that's what we call the beach in New Jersey) and I bought a 22' Catalina sailboat. Some time later we bought another shore area condo as an investment. I became a board member of both owner associations and president on one. Oh, I can't forget that for the past year I've been general contractor on our complete kitchen and bath makeover.

What to do? How do you do all the household chores and these other responsibilities and still put in full time hours developing a new business. Yes, I can hear all the working mothers saying, "Well I do it!". Regardless of that I concluded that I couldn't or wouldn't.

So, I decided that I would do my best on the chores and work at the new business part-time. By the way, the sailboat is for sale since I've only had time to go out in it a few times in three years. Golf? I've forgotten where they put the course.

Needless to say, the development of the business has taken a back seat. However, in many respects I've still made significant progress since May 2006. Stop back soon to read what I've accomplished as an eBay seller, an Internet marketing guru, an Internet affiliate, a teacher of eBay selling classess, a blogger for dollars, a website developer, and more.

Ken

Enjoy Retirement? Who Has Time?

2007-06-15T20:32:00.001-07:00

I created this blog shortly after I retired from full time employment about a year ago in June 2006 at the age of 63. I could see early on that there was a problem with this thing called 'retirement.' I thought I'd have lots more time for my ham radio hobby, selling on eBay, and enjoying my garden. Boy, was I misled!

Here it is a year later and I am just now finding the time to post my first entry in my blog. Where does the time go? I am spending even less time on the air as WA2KKG, my ham call. My eBay selling has slowed to a crawl with hundreds of items yet to be listed and sold. And the weeds have completely taken over the garden.

Some of my projects on the honey-do list were to paint all the rooms in the house--I have gotten two done so far; spruce up the garden--I've already mentioned that failed project; and when I do get on the air now, I don't recognise any of the call signs I hear--where did all these new operators come from?

To be fair, we bought a summer place at the beach which calls to us all the time. I also bought a 22 foot Catalina sail boat. Need I mention how much time (and money) boats take? And I did start another blog Ham Radio Scene which has been growing nicely. I still cannot figure out where all the time goes. Can anybody help me?

I guess I better get out there and pull a few weeds...

Ken