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100 Auction Secrets Revealed! By Aubrey Johnson & Barkingbird Productions AuctionTip #1: How to
Put an Attractive Background in Your Online Auction Ad Have you ever visited an
auction and noticed a peculiar and catchy background? Here's how to do it... First off, go background
texture hunting at this site: http://www.grsites.com/textures/ Once you find one-
upload it to an image host like: Now, for the moment
you're been waiting for... This requires HTML so
don't faint on me. Make sure this is the first thing that appears in your ad
html: <BODY background="http://www.yourhost.com/yourimage.gif"> That's the code you'll
need... AuctionTip #2: The BEST Types of Products to Sell Without a doubt, there are a few types of products you'll need to sell in order to become really successful on eBay… Here are
the 3 types of products you should try to sell if possible: Consumable Example
would be anything a person would buy and use up and buy again. To say there is
staggering potential for backend sales would be an understatement. Information Any
product you would download or receive by floppy or CD is considered to be an
info-product. Though it
takes some study and patience to reap the rewards of selling information
effectively, in the long run it will be worth the effort. Collectibles EBay is
famous for its rare items. Stamps, beanies, antique whatnots, you name it, and
it's there. Sentimental
items carry with them the largest profit margins. When you're pulling in
$100-200 profit margins or more, your volume doesn’t have to be heavy to get
where you need. If you
want a brainstorm with a list of all the various products categories, visit the
link below: 11 Time Tested
Principles For eBay Selling Success
Without a
doubt, something separates good sellers from the not-so-hot ones. It has
nothing to do with magic either- it has everything to do with sound practice... Here are
11 principles to live by when you start your auction business. They will work
wonders for you... 1.
Pick Your Niche and Define Your Market This is
ground zero for your success strategy. Find your own niche. Define your market.
Then you can know the type of person you’re going to be selling to and the
types of product you want to sell. You're
auction sales letters will be a hundred times better if you know the person who
you are writing for. Along
with being in a superior position to take advantage of repeat business, the
benefits from becoming specialized are endless- We will
be getting into this a little more later. 2.
Your Vision Know
where you want to go with your business and why. Every business that thrives
has a soul and a purpose. What is it that you want long term? Do you want to
become financially independent? What do
you want short term? Do you want to make a steady income every week? If so, how
much? Give yourself something to shoot for and try to surpass it. Remember
in the beginning to keep plugging away. The toughest time is at the start.
Everyone has to serve as an apprentice before they can truly master what they
do. When
you're starting out be willing to absorb every ounce of helpful information
your brain can hold. 3.
Order is the Foundation of Every Good Thing One of your
early foundations of success is order. Strive for efficiency in every aspect of
what you do. If you’re lacking in a system of organization your whole business
is going to be threatened. This not
only includes keeping things in their place but things like keeping income tax
and business expenditures records. 4.
Serve Your Customer With a Passion In business your customer is the only thing. You customer
is far more important than any product you sell. Strive to give them quality
at every level of the transaction. With online auctions most sellers have a hard time looking
past the initial sell. As far as they are concerned after the initial bid the
relationship is over. That is why most of them don’t do so well when they try
to make a business of this. Look far beyond the first sell. It is only the beginning
of a long mutually beneficial relationship. 5.
Become An Expert In Your Field Become an
authority in what you do, wherever you choose to go with you online auction
business. If you sell CD media supplies, you want to be thought of before
anyone else. When you
become an authority in your field, a whole new universe of business and
opportunity is opened up to you. I buy
certain types of things on eBay from the same sellers over and over. I do business with them because they have proven themselves and
their product. You want
to earn that same type of position in the minds of eBayer’s for your niche. 6.
Credibility- the Key Factor in Selling Become trustworthy. Remove every doubt about your
credibility any chance you get. You can do this through presenting yourself
positively through your feedback, being passionately devoted to your business
and by being an expert. By making great complete ads and from answering emails
quickly. The X factor is the critical ingredient for online sales
success. 7.
Harness the Power of Technology Use your
existing software on the Internet to handle repetitive tasks. This will free
you up to grow your business to a level... One of my
big sticking points is leverage. Leveraging means getting everything you
can, out of all you got. When you use existing tools and methods for
freeing yourself from repetitive tasks, you will compress time. That
means you will get more work done with less effort... and as a result you will
make more money. 8.
Get Everything You Can Out of All You Have A wiser
person than myself once said, "There are only two qualities in the world,
efficiency and inefficiency, and only two sorts of people: the efficient and
the inefficient." Maximize
results while minimizing your expenditures. This is the essence of what it
takes. Test ads
ruthlessly to get more for your advertising dollar. Look for better ways to do
business. So much can be done to get better and better returns. Set an ideal up
for yourself and call it, "efficiency"- if you do this you will never
become stagnant in what you do... Always
search for better and better returns for the amount of resources you put in. 9.
Probably the Most Important Thing: Your Sales Letter Your
sales letter is your salesman. On the net, how your potential buyer perceives
you and your product is everything. Copywriting
is the art of showing you and what you sell to your buyer in the best possible
light. It’s the
most important thing you have going for you. A carefully crafted sales letter
can increase you results exponentially without having to spend an extra penny. 10.
Shoulder The Risk in the Transaction Risk reversal is one of the strongest free sales
tools you have at your disposal. When you offer your bidders a satisfaction
guarantee, you are telling them that you are confident that your product can
deliver, and if not you are willing to shoulder the risk for them by giving them
their money back… Very rarely do they ask for one unless
your product is poor. This is one
of the easiest ways to increase sales; if you have a good product to begin
with, don’t neglect this technique. I see many sellers who don’t offer one when
they could. It’s a must
to offer one with your Dutch auctions. A strong risk-reversing offer will
clinch sales that pass others by. 11.
Perseverance Will See You Through Anything Perseverance is your greatest asset of
all, especially when things get rough. To me, nothing is more fulfilling than
meeting the challenge head on and winning out. Anytime you run into trouble or resistance
in your business, accept it as a growth opportunity that you need in order
to get to higher levels or success. AuctionTip #4: You'll
Never Repeat Yourself, Ever Again... Do you ever notice
yourself repeating the same answers to the same questions over and over? Would
it be great if you could press control-q and spit out the answer? I use a program called
Shortkeys to type repetitive phrases and sentences. By wisely using email
keyboard shortcuts and you'll cut your time responding to email down by 90%. This will save you loads
of time. AuctionTip #5: Buyers
Want Easy Payment Options As a seller, you want to
offer every pay type under the sun. If you cover all possible pay types you'll be
able to make profits that pass others by... Here are the pay types
sellers on eBay offer: ·
Paypal ·
Personal Check, Cash or Money Order ·
Billpoint or similar pay types at different venues ·
Electronic Checks ·
Credit Cards by email, secure server, phone and fax... It's the merchant
accounts that can be a pain; don't let it- it's easier and cheaper to get them
than you think... /00 3 AuctionTip #6: Over 75%
of eBayer's Use Paypal Hands down, Paypal is THE
auction pay type. It's a free service and easy for bidders to use. If you
use it, you'll have almost no fees taken away from your hard earned
money- Sign up today and start
taking credit card orders instantly- plus you'll get $5 for opening and account
and $5 for anyone you refer. I'm sure you're probably
already a member by now :) AuctionTip #7: Getting
Set Up With Merchant Accounts It's not difficult or as
expensive as you may think. Do you plan on doing business online? If so, it's a
good idea to have them- Here's an example to look at: http://www.marketingtips.com/creditcards/index.html AuctionTip #8: Use An
Email Signature One great free way to
promote your auction business is by using a signature. Signatures are six to
eight line inserts at the end of your email messages. All email programs support
them. Take advantage of this cheap and effective means of advertising your
listings... AuctionTip #9: Put the Hurt on A Spammer An
onslaught of email is coming your way. If you thought you were getting spammed
earlier, just wait until you start selling heavily on eBay. Filtering is one
answer- You've
got to defend yourself- your time is at stake here. Try
Eudora to handle your email. The
Eudora Lite version doesn’t expire. You can get a copy from the link below. AuctionTip #10: Automate To The Max With This Free Service When it
comes to selling on the net, you want to get the most from the amount of time
you put in. Master
services like Andale to give your auctions a boost. Use this
service correctly and you'll explode your auction sales. Andale can
save time on just about every aspect of the auction process-… by the way, you
get $20 for signing up and $20 for everyone you refer- |