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100 Auction Secrets Revealed! By Aubrey Johnson & Barkingbird Productions AuctionTip #11: Honesty
Is The Best Policy Make one virtue for
yourself on eBay- and that's honesty. If you're a little late
getting the package in the mail... tell your customer. You’ll always be
forgiven and spared the negative feedback if you are up front and honest. They'll thank you for
being straight with them- everyone loves peace of mind... what's more
irritating than not knowing? AuctionTip #12:
Save Time At The Post Office
If you
don’t have much time to spend at the post office, and I'm sure you don't, prepare
in advance. You can
have all of your mailing supplies picked up at your local post office, or courier outlet: e, g, Purolator. Visit http://www.canadapost.ca and http://www.canadapost.ca/ventureone for more details. Look for
supplies and services on their web site. You can also call Canada Post toll free at 1-877-262-5762 or by fax at 1-902-863-6796. Also, do
this: ·
Buy
an inexpensive scale ·
Print
postage from your PC ·
Look
up shipping rates on the net This will save loads of
time. AuctionTip #13:
Avoid Bouncing Checks?
Bounced
checks are rare. Since your future as a seller depends on the service you
provide, being quick and trusting is always going to pay off tenfold in the
long run. So, hold
checks only when the item is highly valuable, or when the user has a bad
feedback history. Most
eBayer’s are trustworthy- just check their record if you’re uncertain. AuctionTip #14: Price Auctions Low To Build A Crowd… Do you have a good item that you KNOW will sell well? Start it off at a penny. This will get you healthy early bidding. You want a large group around the item; some will be competitive bidders- people who will pay extra just for the thrill of winning. You'll
usually get more for your item than someone who priced theirs higher, because
your auction has more bidders watching. AuctionTip #15: Set Your Auctions On Fire Have you
ever been on eBay and happened upon an auction that was doing incredibly well? Like a
Dutch auction with over a hundred bids? In the past eBay had a
"torch" for hot items, and if you made 30 bids you get in a
"Hot" category and bidding spirals upward. Here's my
approach for getting over 100 bids selling simple info-products. You can adjust
it according to what you sell. I've done
this numerous times... The first
day of the auction is critical. You want the majority of your bids on the first
day. Make sure you buy the best exposure you can... Your goal
is to get 30 bids as quickly as possible. The best
time to list when attempting this is early Saturday morning around about 7 a.m.
EST. You want your best exposure on the first day. Also,
drive bidders to your auctions early. Normally
I would contact my mailing list and tell them I'm having a clearout of my
inventory and offer a special like free shipping for bidding. Remember; just get the rock moving down
the hill as early as possible. If you get that auction up over 30 bids by
Sunday night... that gives you 7 days of sizzling hot exposure in the
"Hot" category... AuctionTip #16: A Thousand Words is Worth a Picture I am
a photography expert, with over 20 years teaching professional photography at the Community College level. I always take pictures of my products, with one of three digital cameras, and I
can say this with authority... Photos
and other pics make you and your item credible. The better you are with your
camera the more bids you’re going to get. If you
have a digital camera, use it. Take several photos of important aspects of the
item, flaws and all. If your teapot has a crack in it be sure to take a picture
of that as well. Also
remember; by inserting a photograph of the item you are selling you get a 'Pic'
graphic next to your item description supplied free by eBay. Bidders
look for the 'Pic' symbol and will be more inclined to visit. Regardless of how the image is done (digital, scanned or conventional pic), I ALWAYS use as many pics in my ads as required. Since I have my own hosting company, I file my images in a folder on my server and then add the appropritae html code in my eBay listing to save on eBay fees. If you list numerous items on eBay, with numerous images, you can save a bundle every month by using your own hosting service. Don't be
afraid to weave some images and graphics into your auctions- but if you do…
make sure it contributes to your message. A
sprinkling of clipart does wonders for html ads, if it contributes to the message.
If not, don't use them. They distract. If you
ever need any pics to add your description go to: AuctionTip #17:
Remember To Say Thanks Send a thank-you
note/receipt email to your customer when they pay. Include your eBay user name
and telephone so they can contact you if they need to. Don't worry about
them calling. Kindly ask them to leave
feedback in your email. Include a convenient link to the feedback forum, and I
guarantee you, 9 times out of 10 they will drop a good word for you. AuctionTip #18: Make Your Description Complete When
making your item description make it as complete as possible. Many
people find your auction through the search engine, so use a complete and descriptive
headline with good keywords too- this will make your listing easy to find for
the person looking for your item. Leave no stone unturned- don't neglect to mention some crucial piece of info. Bidders will steer clear if they sense something important missing. Plus someone might buy and won't have his or her expectations met... That could be a problem. Include all necessary info. AuctionTip #18: Use a Good Sales Policy to Bail You Out Post terms and conditions on every listing you create. Things like shipping terms or any other rules that you'll use. Make a separate text file containing your sales policy that you can edit, copy and paste into your listings quickly. Sit down
and come up with a good one that applies to you and what you’re selling. This can
steer you past any bumps in the road. Example: do you insure packages? Do you
only ship on Tuesdays & Saturdays? Be sure to state these types of things
in your policy. Everything
isn’t perfect when you’re dealing with people in auctions- most transactions
are flawless, but some are, well... plain difficult. Think of your sales policy as your
shield & buckler. AuctionTip #19: Don’t Overcharge On Shipping
This is
one of the more common causes of negative feedback. Only
charge what it normally costs you to pack and ship. Buyers are sensitive in
this area. Chances
are, they know when you gouge them. In your
sales policy, try to briefly justify whatever your costs may be... Auctions
are notorious for their many gray areas. This is a gray area, so be cautious. EBay Auction Secrets
12/00 13 AuctionTip #20: Caution When Leaving Negatives Be
careful about leaving negative feedback for bidders that may deserve it. Go out of
your way to clear things up before you decide to do so. It's normal for bidders
to strike back with their own negative and unfair comments. Always
try to find some other solution. Don’t
leave negative feedback unless they blatantly defraud you- if they don’t pay,
either leave neutrals or no comments. |