I have a simple sticker on the back of my ford explorer that promotes my eBay website. It’s nothing special – just the website name “eBaymysteries.com” in plain white letters – and it probably gets me jack squat for traffic to my website, but I kid you not, it is because of that small sticker that I have built up this reputation as the “eBay guy” in my neighborhood.

Every time I go to play basketball at the park, go out to eat, go to a friend’s house, or hell – even when I get pulled over by the cops, I get asked, “Hey man, what’s the deal with that sticker on your truck?” It’s a beautiful thing. I never really have to go out of my way to let people know what I do, or have to throw myself out there because people come to me. People ask me about my job. It’s similar to a video phenomenon on YouTube. I don’t really have to tell anyone what I do because everyone does it for me.

I’ve gotten a lot of different eBay jobs because of this reason. As a matter of fact, I’m working on a huge project right now selling an old timer’s 60 year old book collection because when he asked someone where he should go or who he should see to sell his books on eBay for him, that someone said my name.

Now am I telling you to go put a sticker on your car too? – No (although it’s still probably a good idea). What I’m saying is let it be known in the neighborhood that you know a lot about eBay. Every chance you get, mention that you have been making money on eBay lately. Once you have obtained enough knowledge on eBay selling you can talk about it for days about it.

I always like to start conversations about eBay by stating all the ridiculous stuff that gets listed on eBay. I will be like, “Hey you know people are actually selling Imaginary friends on eBay!” (True story BTW) Just this last week there was an episode on SportsCenter that reported a story about a man who was selling his loyalty to the Chicago Cubs on eBay and I think the bid was up to $500 or something. Stories like that are a great way to break the ice and start a conversation about eBay.

Just some things you can do to let it be known you are the man for everyone’s eBay needs:

·         Get business cards

·         Make t-shirts

·         Create a Website

·         Attend eBay Seminars

·         Put ads in Local Newspapers

There’s an endless amount of ways to get your eBay name out there. The best ways are the ones that make it so you don’t have to do any of the work. Let word of mouth let the neighborhood know that you are the man for eBay selling in this town!

eBay arbitrage is when you purchase an item from either eBay or from another market and you then flip it and sell it for a higher price on eBay. This is a technique practiced by more people than you may think, and people of all ages are now starting to catch on to this profitable “hobby.”

How easy is eBay Arbitrage?

eBay arbitrage is uniquely both harder and easier than you may think. Unless you you hit an absolute gold mine, where there is basically a whole warehouse where they are selling one product for dirt cheap, you are usually going to be switching the types of products you sell quite often. every once in a while you may find a slue of one product and you when you do you need to maximize your profits. eBay arbitrage is inconsistently consistent - and what I mean by that is that your products may change over a time period, but your profits are going to stay the same if you are smart and put the work in.

Getting Started with eBay Arbitrage is 90% of the Battle

Like all other businesses, you need money to start eBay arbitrage, and you may find yourself depressingly losing a lot of money before you start to make any. Finding the right products is your number one focus with eBay arbitrage and you are going to go through a lot of trial and error before you start to get it right. Research is key to selling things on eBay using eBay arbitrage and it will limit some of your money losses in the process. The best part of making a living off of eBay arbitrage is that you can do it on your own hours and you are the boss!

There are 3 Different Types of eBay Arbitrage That I Have Practiced

My Favorite

A lot of people are all about getting the products that you are going to resell from eBay, which is my second favorite way to practice eBay arbitrage, but the technique that i have profited the most from is buying my products from the local stores. Wal-Mart, Meijers, Gander Mountain, Dix Sporting Goods - basically any store that I may find myself at at the time is where I would get my products from. The best thing about going to a Wal-Mart or a Meijers store is that the clearance rack is like a gold mine for people that practice eBay Arbitrage. Items that I have made huge profits on from this type of arbitrage are propane lanterns, anchor reels, hunting cameras, binoculars, bowling shoes, B-rated movies…. I mean the list just goes on. The best part of this type of eBay Arbitrage is that you only have to do it while you are grocery shopping or just out snooping around. It is my personal favorite type of eBay arbitrage because it is very relaxed and isn’t complicated at all. It may not, however, be the most lucrative.

eBay to eBay

Finding great deals on eBay is not something that is too hard - I myself am guilty of basically giving things away on there that I am sure have been resold. There are more than 250 million users on eBay, and lucky for you a lot of them do not know how list eBay items properly - or even spell for that matter! There is a whole market of eBay products out there that have the product name spelled improperly in the title and description! There are literally hundreds if not thousands upon thousands of people out there making a living off of people’s misspelled words. How does this happen? People that list items and misspell the item name in the title do not get many hits on there auctions because people that search for it don’t misspell the item that often. Because of this the item does not get bid on and it can be sold for very cheap. If you go to ebooboos.com, you can type in a product and it will show you all of the misspelled listings for that item. Just go to this site and type in “PlayStation” and see how many listings with misspelled titles will come up.

Another great way to find good deals on eBay requires no work at all except checking your eBay messages. Let’s say you’ve found a product, or a string of products that you know you can make a certain amount of money on every time you list it. what you then need to do is search for the item on eBay. eBay will provide you with a “save this search” option and what that does is make it so that eBay will email you every time there is a new listing in this category. If you combine this feature and the “misspelling feature” you will start to see great deal daily, and maybe hourly as well.

Live Auctions and Garage Sales

Live Auctions are definitely the most lucrative type of eBay arbitrage. Most live auctions are held because people are trying as hard as they can to get rid of things. Most other people that go to live auctions are probably going there so they can pick up things they need around the house, but you will be going there to pick up things to sell on eBay, things that most other people won’t buy, and for that reason you will be able to get items cheaper than anywhere on the planet. 400% profits are not unlikely when selling things that you have won at live auctions. Live Auction eBay arbitrage may require the most work but it is definitely worth it.

Garage sales can be a good place to pick up eBay things as well. You have to get lucky with these though and most garage sales do not have much to offer at all. You probably shouldn’t be driving around all day looking at garage sales, unless you have a city garage sale day or something, but rather just stop by every time you happen to come across one. Certain antiques can be very profitable but you really have to be a pro and have a strong “eBay arbitrage eye” when going through garage sales.

Doing all three techniques is the key to becoming successful and being able to make a living. eBay arbitrage can be very profitable, but it takes time, and a strong work ethic to become good at it and successful at, just like everything else.

Why do I use Auctiva?

At the beginning of my eBay adventures I was running a small store and since sales were crucial and most of my time spent was going through periods of trial and error, I wanted to make sure that all of my products that were going to be in the auction format were going to sell. To give them the best shot at selling I wanted to make them all end on a Sunday from anywhere from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. - So what’s the problem with just using eBay you ask?

Well as you may or may not know, you can only schedule one item on eBay, something I wish they would change immediately, and since I had a lot of items that I wanted to list I was forced to do them on separate days, ultimately losing potential higher bidders - until i stumbled upon Auctiva on a random eBay listing.

The number one reason I use Auctiva is because the program allows me to schedule as many listings as I want at no charge. I fell in love with the program immediately when I first started to use it because I was able to list as many auction listings as I wanted all week and schedule them for Sunday all at 9:30 p.m. This also made my shipping a lot easier because I was able to ship all of my auction format items out all on the same day instead of always scrambling to ship everything out every day. Now if you have an eBay store that is constantly selling items at all times of the day, then shipping everyday is something that you are going to have to deal with, but it is always nice to be able to schedule auctions without having to pay the fee that eBay charges no matter how you look at it.

Two other great reasons to start using Auctiva are because it offers free image hosting and free templates. eBay limits the amount of image hosting that you can have and it can get really annoying when eBay stops you from loading anymore pictures up - this is not a problem with Auctiva. Auctiva also offers you a large variety of templates with good and colorful graphics and designs. These alone can boost your eBay selling.

Auctiva Increases eBay Traffic

One of Auctiva’s more favorable free products they offer is there scrolling gallery. Every time you post a listing on eBay, the Auctiva scrolling gallery appears on your listing. This scrolling bar markets other listings that are active and can display up to 14 items at a time. It favors items that are ending nearest and it is auto-appended to your listings and completely customizable. You will immediately start to see increased traffic, and eBay is just as much about traffic and getting the right people to your item as it is actually having the greatest product. You can basically sell anything on eBay, you just have to have the right people see your listings - Auctiva does that for you. Go to Auctiva.com if you are interested in signing up. Auctiva is more for beginners that are trying to get the extra edge while starting up, but it is always good to have as a safety net and it has no negatives when it comes to eBay selling.

First off let’s cover the most basic part of the feedback: When to leave positive, negative, and neutral feedback. This article is pretty lengthy (though very informative) so you can skip over this part if you already know these details. Buyers and sellers will be grouped together here.

Leave positive feedback when the transaction is smooth and easy, the shipping is decently on time (even maybe if it’s a little bit late), when the shipping price is appropriate, when the buyer or seller responds in a timely manner to any questions, and when the product is pretty much exactly as described.

Leave neutral feedback if the item isn’t really as described. Maybe it was really used when it was listed as new? Leave Neutral feedback if the person takes a long time to ship the item but everything else was good (do not leave neutral feedback if the shipment is only a couple days late). Another classic case that happens a lot that people use the neutral feedback option for is when someone buys a product, but the seller says that he no longer has the item and he has to issue a refund.

Leave negative feedback on worst case scenarios. Do not be an eBay pest and do it when you do not get your way in every little detail. Leave negative feedback when the shipping is more than a couple weeks late. Leave it when the item is the exact opposite of how it was described. Do not leave it if the person simply does not communicate with you, but that would definitely be a nice add on if one of the other two things that I have mentioned happens along with that. And of course, leave negative feedback if the person was in any way strongly offensive to you – that goes without saying. Do not leave negative feedback just because someone had left negative feedback for you (although sometimes you have the right to). Know when you screwed up and act accordingly.

And that thought brings me to my next topic… Feedback Wars

Feedback wars come in many shapes and sizes and though you may win a couple of the battles, remember that it is up to the fellas over at appeal@eBay.com that actually decide who wins the war. So that is why it is always good to remain honest and fair in your feedback ratings.

Every once in a while you will get the paranoid eBay buyer that is never satisfied. He will want tracking ID, special prices, or other certain “special requirements.” As soon as he doesn’t get what he wants, he gives you a negative feedback with a nice little nasty-gram attached to it. Do not hesitate to leave negative feedback as well, and then appeal right away to eBay.

Sellers will threaten to leave you negative feedback if you leave them negative feedback all the time. Do not let them get away with it. If you feel like they deserve negative feedback, but you are scared that they will leave you negative feedback in return, do it anyways and let the eBay powers that be take care of it. If you are fair and honest, eBay will reward you and negate your negative feedback while punishing the deserving side.

Simple Feedback Rules (or more like laws)

One of the golden rules for eBay sellers is to never leave feedback first. Never. The truth of the matter is that you don’t know the other person. You don’t know what they look like, how they talk, who they are, what kind of moral standings they live by… That person that just bought something off of you may be the craziest nut on eBay for all you know, and you are only one pet peeve away from them leaving you negative feedback. If you leave negative feedback first, they are more than likely going to leave negative feedback as well. If you are a buyer, then it is common courtesy to leave feedback first.

Open up a dispute before making any quick decisions. Many times you’ll notice that an eBay member with very few feedbacks will buy an item, and never pay for it. These buyers are usually people that do not use eBay very often and are on once in a very great while. Leaving negative feedback might not even be worth it in this case, so just open up a dispute and try to get your final value fee back.

Be honest with everything you do. Do not give someone negative feedback that doesn’t deserve it and do not give someone positive feedback that doesn’t deserve it.

Watch out for Feedback Frauds

Not many people know what I’m talking about when I say “feedback fraud.” People that have once had a “successful” eBay business that have been kicked off eBay know the value of good feedback. For that reason there is a loophole in the feedback world. As you may know, there are items on eBay called eBooks - well some of them can range as low in price as 1 single cent. Feedback frauds could buy 10,000 of these items and get 10,000 positive feedbacks within a matter of a day or two so remember to keep a lookout for them.

Feedback is all about honesty and fairness. If you are honest and fair, then it’s more than likely your customer or provider will be. There will always be bad seeds (if you want example of “bad seeds” go to a power sellers feedback profile – every so often they get negative feedback and 50% of the time it’s because of someone abusing the system), but you cant let them affect your decision making when it comes to leaving feedback.

What is Dropshipping?

A dropshipping company is a company that you would pay a small fee to basically work for you, and give you products to sell on eBay. Having a membership with a dropshipping company will allow you to get products and cheap wholesale prices. You would list the items that you chose on eBay. If and only if the items sell, you take the money that you get from the buyer of the specific item, and turn around and order it at wholesale price through the dropshipping company. You would then keep the difference of what you paid, and what your buyer paid. Whatever you have left over would be your profit. If you want to make money on eBay, this is a great way to start, and you really have nothing to lose except for time, and the small amount of money it will cost for the dropshipping membership fee.

How to get started dropshipping

To start dropshipping on eBay you first of course, need to find a good dropshipping company. There are a lot of different things that you need to think about before choosing a dropshipping company to go through.

How to choose a good dropshipping company?

• Look for a money back guarantee. The only true way to be able to tell if you’re going to like the services you get is to try it out yourself. With a good money back guarantee you can test drive the services, and see how you like it.

• Good Customer support. You want to make sure that you have good customer support that will be available to you if you have any questions. Phone support is important to me. If a dropshipping company does not have phone support, then they are not legitimate enough for me in my opinion.

• Good honest wholesale prices. Make sure that the wholesale prices are cheaper then what you can get from your local retail store. There is no point in trying to make a profit off of items that are not discounted to you.

• Fast Shipping. You need to make sure your customers are happy when you are trying to make money on eBay. If you are going to make money on eBay you need to offer a reasonable shipping service. Your dropshipping company is useless if they take 2 weeks to get an item to your customer.

• Returns. This one seems obvious, but you would be surprised that some companies do not offer a return policy. Make sure your dropshipping company offers fair return policies.

• Worldwide Shipping. This one depends on you. If you want to ship worldwide, obviously you need to make sure that you will be able to dropship to customers in other countries. If just shipping to the United States and Canada is okay with you, then that is fine.

Suggested Dropshipping Companies:

• OneSource — This is without a doubt the best way to go if you are going to dropship on eBay. OneSource is really just a database of thousands of dropshipping companies. So you can match your needs with as many of the different dropshipping companies as you want. And not only that, but there is a ton of wholesalers, liquidators, and small bulk wholesalers. This allows you to have the option to upgrade to buying at cheaper wholesale prices from larger bulk wholesalers. OneSource offers a money back guarantee that will allow you to get a full refund if at anytime you do not want your lifetime membership anymore. They also have great customer support. Another great feature that OneSource has is their market research tools. You can find out what products are the best to sell on eBay, and on the internet. They evaluate the demand, and the competition for specific products that you may want to sell and tell you how good of a chance you will have to be successful within that area. They are also eBay certified, which no other dropshipping company is. You cannot and will not find a dropshipping company this good. I will tell you right now straight up, that the price is $250.00 to join. It is just a one time fee for a lifetime membership, and you will be able to make that back within a week of dropshipping with OneSource.

• Dropshipping Wholesalers — The reason why I like this dropshipping source is because the price is low, and the products to be sold are low. I personally use OneSource, so I do not know much about this company. I have a friend that uses it, and he makes a good living from selling these products. That leads me to believe that they are pretty good. If you do not want to spend as much money I would suggest giving Dropshipping Wholesalers a try.

• Salehoo — Salehoo offers a huge source of wholesalers. You can get products for very good prices, and you can get access to most of the good dropshipping companies through Salehoo. Once again, this one is a cheaper price, but you do not get near the amount of tools, resources, or anything else that you would get with OneSource. I would still give it a try, if you do not like what you see in OneSource. Either way you can make good money dropshipping on eBay.

1. Listing without Pictures

2. Limiting Sales to the Continental United States

3. Aiming for a High Starting Bid

4. Choosing the Wrong Listing Category

5. Failing to Cross-List Items

6. Mis-scheduling Items

7. Failing to Research Unusual Items

8. Writing Ads that Are Plain or Non-Persuasive

9. Targeting Fad Items

10. Improperly Maintaining Correspondence.

TOP TEN MISTAKES ON eBay Number 1: Listing Without Pictures

In the earliest days of eBay, many listings fared quite well without pictures. Digital cameras were relatively new, and imaging services were expensive then. Descriptions in those days carried every bit of information one could imagine. Smart shoppers asked questions that were not adequately anticipated by the ads, and few people were completely distrustful of photo-free ads. Times are different now. Digital cameras are inexpensive and easily acquired, and eBay image hosting makes it easy to post pics in every ad.

To avoid misunderstandings and cut down on superfluous questions, it is always best to include as many pictures as possible. Show your item from various angles. Choose the best image to be your gallery image. Don’t be cheap–pay for the gallery image to see the results. Listings that include gallery images outsell similar listings without gallery images by 4 to 1. And whatever else you do, be sure to include pics of wear and tear to your item. Your bidders will appreciate your honesty.

TOP TEN MISTAKES ON eBay Number 2: Limiting Sales to the Continental United States

Whether out of habit or out of a fear of dealing across continents and oceans, many eBay sellers still make this number 2 of the top ten mistakes on eBay. While the United States’ market is very good, it can have its limitations. With nearly as many American sellers as there are American bidders on eBay, it stands to reason that those items that are available to international bidders will do better than those that are available only to users from the continental United States.

Furthermore, many items that are taken for granted by American bidders are very rare and extremely appreciated by bidders from other parts of the world. A simple Applause Raggedy Ann doll that goes for under $10.00 in the States may get bids of four and five times that amount in diverse areas such as Germany, China, and Japan. Long ago, my partner and I realized that many of our items were prized by people in countries other than our own. We decided right away that we would take a chance by listing everything we were selling in international-friendly auctions. We have never been unhappy with that decision. From collectible, vintage toys to rare antiques to items that seem rather ubiquitous by American standards, time and time again many of our best customers have been international bidders. And often, such bidders have become repeat customers.

TOP TEN MISTAKES ON eBay Number 3: Aiming for a High Starting Bid

Number 3 on the top ten mistakes on eBay list is Aiming for a High Starting Bid. For avid auction goers the notion that you have to be willing to take a chance is not a strange one. Many sellers and bidders on eBay, though, do not understand such an idea. With the advent of online auctions, many people who never had entered an auction house themselves began to experiment with the idea of letting others decide the true value of the products they offered. Fearful that items of great value may go for low, low prices, many people start their bids at prices that serve only to intimidate bidders. While it is smart not to start a bid at a price you could not stand to lose an item, it is also smart to start a bid at a price that seems almost like a steal for the bidder. In most cases, items that are as wonderful and as rare as the sellers claim will not go for extremely low prices. Often, the low starting bid serves to generate interest. As bidders add your listing to their watch list, you’ll see that a frenzy of sorts can build around a very reasonably-priced item.

TOP TEN MISTAKES ON eBay Number 4: Choosing the Wrong Listing Category

Because the volume of items listed for sale on eBay has reached astronomical levels, smart sellers determine various ways to make their items more noticeable on eBay. While there may be a category that perfectly describes the item you wish to sell, no eBay seller should send his or her item off into a sea of duplicates. With many of the same item up for bids, your item will suffer. Supply and demand is still the rule for getting the best market price. And, often, collectors may be seeking your item without even realizing it. Your job as seller is two-fold: determine the best category for your item through research and make your potential bidders see what it is they should love about your item.

TOP TEN MISTAKES ON eBay Number 5: Failing to Cross List an Item

Failing to cross list an item follows easily behind choosing the wrong listing category in any top ten mistakes on eBay list. For a very small fee, you can choose to list any item in more than one category. Leery of spending more on advertising than necessary, many eBay sellers still list perfectly good cross collectibles or items of interest to diverse shoppers in singular categories that fail to address various groups of people. Consider tableware, for instance. A set of china designed by a specific artist for a specific transportation company such as a rail line or airline may be of interest to several kinds of collectors. Listing it under tableware for any given period would do no justice to the interest such a set generates. Investing mere change in cross listing can open up diverse opportunities for increased bidding.

TOP TEN MISTAKES ON eBay Number 6: Mis-Scheduling Items

Excited to get an auction started, some listers put their items on eBay without ever considering the power of timing. Auctions set to end in the middle of night often receive poor bids. Choosing times when many people have opportunity to relax and surf the web will help you to garner better final bids for your items. And each type of item you can imagine has a time when it is most likely to sell. You can determine for yourself what the best time for your item to start and end would be by considering the type of person who might be looking for it and by checking to see at what times similar items performed best.

TOP TEN MISTAKES ON eBay Number 7: Failing to Research Unusual Items

Searching through the nooks and crannies of your neighborhood antique or thrift store you find an item that seems promising and intriguing. Excited to think about the possibilities of selling it, you quickly buy it and rush home. Immediately, you list it on eBay, describing the rarity of such a peculiar item. There are several problems with this hasty approach. First of all, listing the item without attempting to make a few discoveries about it will hinder your ability to answer questions. Secondly, ignoring the history of your item limits the way in which you may list and shuts your listing away from diverse bidders. Thirdly, this is the internet after all. Few things escape mention on the internet that sits at your fingertips each and every time you list something on eBay. In plain English, it is lazy not to take to the few moments necessary to glean a bit of wisdom regarding your rare, exceptional item.

TOP TEN MISTAKES ON eBay Number 8: Writing Ads that Are Plain or Non-Persuasive

Many people will advise that plain, bulleted ads produce the highest bids, but I advise that this may, in fact, have the reverse effect. Many collectors and other avid bidders appreciate the sense of community that eBay affords. In addition, sch bidders enjoy the sense of security that comes from purchasing an item from someone who may be an expert on its value. And, to top it all off, few people are ever harmed by learning something new.

TOP TEN MISTAKES ON eBay Number 9: Targeting Fad Items

Beanie Babies, enough said.

TOP TEN MISTAKES ON eBay Number 10: Improperly Maintaining Correspondence

In the world of eBay, where your last email is your best personal credit, maintaining correspondence professionally and considerately is not just good form–it is also the only way to go to reach high sales volume and to earn a reputation as a credible seller. eBay anticipates the seller’s and the bidder’s correspondence needs. My eBay is a great tool for maintaining proper correspondence. Friendly notifications/invoices, cordial “thank yous” for payment receipt, and gracious feedback will make you memorable to your bidders. Considerate, timely correspondence is the first step to establishing repeat-buyer clientèle.

In order to be a successful eBay Seller there is a lot that a seller must think about. I have come up with what I feel are 10 of the most important eBay selling tips that I would give anybody who is going to attempt to sell on eBay. Some of these ideas are simple, but yet highly overlooked.

• Be an honest seller. If you are going to sell on eBay you must get it in your head that honesty is the best way to go. Tell it exactly how it is, and it will always pay off. If there is a flaw in the item you are selling, then describe the flaw in great detail. Don’t say that you will ship it within 24 hours if you know that there is no way you are going to be able to get to the post office for a couple of days. If you say you are going to ship the item within 24 hours then make sure you can do that. Being a dishonest eBay seller will come back to you every time.

• Take good pictures. Any experienced seller would tell you the same thing about pictures. If you are selling an item on eBay take good pictures. Take pictures of every angle, and make the pictures as good in quality as possible. You don’t need to make the pictures look like they have been taken by a professional, but they should be clear good looking pictures. Make sure the lighting is right, and there isn’t a shadow over the picture. If at all possible you want to try not to use stock photos for products. Of course if you are a seller planning on selling for a living, you are not going to take pictures of every individual item you are selling.

• Keep your buyers happy. I have three main reasons why I feel that it is important to keep your buyers happy when you sell on eBay. The first reason is because of the feedback system. Your feedback rating is important, and you can’t be getting negative feedbacks if you plan on selling for very long. The second reason is because you want to keep your buyers coming back. The most profitable businesses have a lot of repeat customers; with any business that is the key to success. The last reason is because you want your buyers to recommend you to other buyers. Your customer service can make or break you. Your buyer’s happiness with you can be the difference between them telling someone to go to you or not. In some cases, if you make the buyer mad enough they will take the time to specifically tell people not to buy from you.

• Respond to questions quickly. Answering questions of potential buyers as quickly as possible can be the difference between a sale or no sale. Remember that every single sale counts. Who knows, maybe that buyer that you get will end up being a lifetime buyer. You can’t take little things for granted.

• Good description. Having a good description of your item is a very important step to sell on eBay. If you are going to sell on eBay you must have a good description. It is very easy to run through the description quickly and throw something together. By doing this, you will miss the details that are important. Make sure you include every detail possible in your description.

• Reasonable Shipping Prices. You should only charge what it costs you to ship out the item you are selling. It’s real easy to up your shipping prices to get a little profit from shipping. If you are going to sell on eBay you want your buyers to trust you. Not only that, but if you have good shipping prices you will have more people that will buy from you. It might seem like a good idea to have higher shipping at the time, but in the long run it will pay off to have fair shipping prices. My advice is that you use the shipping calculator that allows buyers to calculate their own shipping depending on where they are located.

• Ship as fast as possible. This one is plain and simple, as well as pretty obvious but you would be surprised how many people fail to ship in a reasonable time. You should ship as fast as you possibly can. If you aren’t going to be able to ship it out until later then 24 hours after you sell the item make sure you let the buyer know that.

• Good Title and keywords. You want as many people to see your item as possible. In order to do this, you should make sure you have a good title with as many keywords and details as possible. Whatever it is that you are selling you want to make sure that you include any words in your title that people may search for to find your product. Just make sure you only put words that have something to do with your item, otherwise you will be violating eBay Policies. If you are going to sell on eBay you must have good titles and keywords.

• Keep in contact with your buyers. Make sure you let your buyers know what is going on with the items they buy. Let them know when they are going to be receiving the items, and give them a tracking code to track the items themselves. Whatever the reason may be, make sure you keep in contact with your buyer while you sell on eBay.

• List your items at the right time. Timing is the key to having a successful auction. If you want to be successful then you need to make sure that you set your auctions up to end at the right time to get the best outcome. The best time to have an item end would be on a Sunday around the evening time. That is when the majority of buyers will be checking out eBay. If you are going to sell on eBay make sure that you list your items at the right time.

These tips are all essential to sell on eBay. In my future articles I will touch more on the details of setting your auctions apart from the average sellers on eBay.

The first step of finding a product to sell on eBay is to discover what you enjoy and have a passion for. You probably don’t even need to discover it, because chances are you already have some sort of passion or interest. Whatever it may be, you can find a way to put that passion into a career on eBay. I personally never had a problem finding my niche, but that is because selling on eBay and running my own business is my passion. For most people, finding a niche is the key.

I will use one of my clients as a good example. He is an expert in the poker field. In fact he makes the majority of his income just by playing poker. However, he wanted to find a way to use poker to bring in his income that didn’t consist of the long nights, and stressful hours at a poker table. He came to me like he had a big problem, but what he didn’t know was that he was the easiest client I have ever had to deal with. He already had his niche figured out, and he had a passion that could easily be pushed into the eBay/internet field. I am currently building a poker website for him, and he is on his way to making a full time income from eBay. He writes e-books about poker, and he has hooked up with a good poker wholesaler. He has a poker store on eBay, and will soon have a website devoted to poker.

Whatever your niche may be you can find a way to incorporate it into eBay. The incorporating to eBay part may be the phase where you could use some help from someone that knows what they are doing. As far as finding your niche goes, you will only need yourself. Fortunately, once you find your niche the rest will all fall into place. It just takes some hard work and dedication.

If you still haven’t figured it out by now, the point of this article is to show you that finding your niche is really up to you. Nobody can tell you what to sell on eBay. You really could become a very successful eBay seller just by using the

eBay scam number 1

Rule number 1 for eBay scams: Do not believe anything that anyone says that claims to be from the country Nigeria! If someone says they are from Nigeria or asks you to ship something out to Nigeria, 99% of time it is an eBay scam. Things to look out for when dealing with these kinds of eBay scams include:

• The eBay fraud will usually make up a long elaborated story on why you should ship this out to Nigeria as fast as possible. For example, the first Nigerian eBay scam artist that I encountered asked me to ship out a play station 2 a.s.a.p. because it was his grandfather’s birthday. He even asked me if I would be kind enough to go out and bu