Friday, July 6, 2007

The 2 tools that guarantee eBay success


If you have not with eBay, pehaps this article written by Jim Kobialko worth your time to read.



The 2 tools that guarantee eBay success
By Jim Kobialko

The first thing people ask me when they discover I'm a professional eBay mentor is, "Can you really make a living selling on eBay?"

The answer to that is a definite YES!

In fact, thanks to the great research tools available, you can discover exactly what products are hot-sellers on eBay -- and find cheap sources of those products -- so you can set up your own profitable eBay business in less than a week!


Here's how to do it:


Step #1: Brainstorm possible research topics


Brainstorm a list of your skills and interests. What topics are you most interested in? What skills have you picked up on the job or in your personal life? Any one of these could be the basis of a highly profitable eBay business.

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Step #2: Choose a topic to explore further


Narrow your list down to your top 5 choices. Now pick one to research further. It should be something you could see yourself basing a business on. For example, maybe you're a high school basketball coach, or a huge NBA fan. One of the topics you'd probably want to explore further is basketball.



Step #3: Use Terapeak to discover what people are buying on eBay


Terapeak is hands-down my favorite research tool. It costs only $16.95 a month to use and shows you exactly what products people are buying on eBay. It shows you the exact search terms people are using to look for products on eBay.... how much the products are selling for... and who the competition is.


In short, it tells you absolutely everything you need to know to determine what products to sell -- and how much to sell them for -- in order to make a profit on eBay.
Let's go back to the basketball example. Terapeak can tell you exactly how many people are buying basketball-related items on eBay. Then you could drill down deeper to discover exactly what those basketball-related items are.

Plus, it'll tell you the exact keyword terms people are using when they search for those items on eBay!

You could even discover what percentage of items actually got sold -- so you'd know how successful your listings are likely to be, before you even post them.


Say you discovered that Nike "Air Force S.T.A.T." basketball shoes were selling on eBay for an average price of $79.99 -- and that 60% of all listings for those shoes received bids. That means for every 10 listings you post, you'll successfully sell six pairs of shoes.

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Step #4: Calculate your profit margin


As you probably know, eBay charges you money for every listing you post. How much you pay depends on how much your starting price is, how much the final sale price is, and how fancy your listing is. (For example, how many pictures you include.)

You need to figure out these costs, so you know exactly how much of your profits will end up in eBay's pocket. Once you know that, you'll know how much you have to charge in order to make more money than you spend.



Step #5: Find a reliable drop-shipper

Drop shipping is an arrangement in which a manufacturer or distributor ships products to your customers on your behalf. You do all the selling and the drop shipper is responsible for product development and order fulfillment.


Drop shipping is a great way to start making money FAST on eBay because it allows you to auction new products almost instantly. You don't have to build up your own inventory. And you don't have to worry about leftover stock.


All you have to do is use Terapeak to figure out what you want to sell -- then find a drop shipper who supplies that product, sign up for their program, and you're in business.


The downside to drop shipping is, you won't make as much money as you would if you were selling your own products.


Also -- due to the growing popularity of drop shipping, there are a lot of scammers out there selling fake lists of drop shippers for hundreds of dollars online. There are also middlemen posing as drop shippers who'll charge you much more for merchandise than you should be paying.


Don't let these scammers scare you away. Just be aware they exist and always look twice at any company before agreeing to enter into a business arrangement with them.


Here are two drop shipping resources that offer reliable information and have a good reputation: Worldwide Brands offers a directory of legitimate drop shippers with excellent reputations. Worldwide Brands is also the ONLY directory publisher of drop ship and wholesale product sourcing information on the Internet that is certified by eBay.

Doba allows you to source products that you can drop ship to your buyers. You can browse product categories or search for specific keywords, and then buy the ones you want to sell, or use the "Push to Marketplace" feature to list them on eBay immediately.Step #6: Write your own listings -- and make sure they stand out from the crowd!


Here's a trick that'll have you making more money than your competitors who also sell drop ship products: WRITE YOUR OWN LISTINGS!


The vast majority of people who sell products through drop shipping use the product listings they're given by the drop shipper. That means shoppers see the exact same salescopy for every product they click on!


Make sure YOUR listing stands out from the crowd by writing it yourself -- and including the keywords you found during your Terapeak research. These are the exact words and phrases people are using when searching for products on eBay. Place them prominently throughout your copy -- and you'll have a listing that catches people's attention because it speaks directly to their needs.

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Step #7: Start selling!

That's it! As you can see, by using a research tool like Terapeak and a product sourcing tool like Doba or Worldwide Brands, you can set up a profitable eBay business in well under a week. Best of all, you can guarantee it's successful before you even set up your first auction.
Happy eBay selling!



[Ed. note: Jim Kobialko is head of IMC’s expert team of eBay mentors. To learn more about how you can set up your own highly profitable eBay business, click here: www.auctiontips.com/course].

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