Auction Selling Revealed Blog

I came across this story this morning and it seems like the IRS wants your eBay profits. One exciting thing about the article was that it said that in difficult economic times people try to sell the things in their closets and attics. The gist of the story is that you are supposed to report any profits to the IRS and it’s a voluntary process.
As the saying goes:

One man’s junk is another man’s treasure!

This might not sound like good news to you, but you are already one step ahead of the crowd or herd. eBay is such a great platform because as

“We’re uniquely positioned as a great resource in strong times to find good items, and in counter-cyclical times we can be used as a way to sell goods people no longer need to make a few extra dollars,” said eBay spokeswoman Kimberly Rubey

You are interested in learning how to sell on eBay and probably making some decent money on the side already and if not that’s why you’re reading this blog.

I know some of you are doing better, and are making a part-time or even full time income from your sales on eBay. If you’d like to find out more about how to sell on eBay take a look at Auction Selling Revealed.

We’ve been hearing that we’re in a recession, no we’re not, yes we are. It doesn’t matter that much to me what the “offical word” is if we are in a recession or not. I can see the price of gasoline at the pump is running full speed ahead towards $5.00 a gallon, and the costs for everyday goods are continuing to go up. To me, the times they are a changing.

It applies even more now that we have rising costs for gas …

Oil jumps $5 on shrinking stockpiles

Price of food and other household needs are rising

Fed: High energy, food prices keep economy weak

I’m sure one of the reasons that the IRS is more interested in your eBay profits is because if the economy is slowing down they are looking for other places to get increase their revenues.

The story goes through the 3 types of sellers:

The casual seller - sells once in a while, usually at a loss; only report any profit they make but cannot deduct expenses. Use Schedule C

The Hobbyist - seller whose income can be offset by losses; those who do more than a few sales but whose motive is not solely for profit. Use Schedule D

The business - can write off losses, for profit intent, check with your accountant for proper filing process

Please check with an accountant for your individual needs. This is not intended as advise or legal consel but for informational purposes only.

Targeting an audience is quite necessary for an ebay seller or a Powerseller. You may say ebay shoppers are my target audience. Yes, it’s true but it’s not enough. You need to narrow it down to specific audience. You need to consider a few things first. Are you selling local or international. If you target local customers, you may need a bit of research on how you are going to reach these customers. As sellers, you will probably want to drive buyers to your auctions from outside ebay. Today, this requires a website with someone commercial educational content along with links to your auctions or ebay store. Your success with both buyers and sellers will be determined by how well you get to know them. Who are they? Which group is likely to become repeat customers? Knowing this will change your approach to reach them. Once you have defined your audience you will be smart enough to change the appearance of your ebay listings, business cards, signage, location and everything in your ebay store.

People who shop online will always consider selling at ebay. Although some people think ebay as an online store that sells junk. Yet ebay is undeniably the best place to shop cheap items compared to the local stores. People now have become more practical that they would consider buying cheaper and slightly used products in good condition than buying expensive items.

Digital products are very salable at ebay. If you try to look ebay’s most sold items, digital products are always first in the list. Although competition is quite tough but if you try to look at it, ebay has so much traffic and there is a big chance that your product will be noticed. As long as you display quality items with a good photo shot and detailed description, people will always buy it.

Selling on ebay is always an advantage than having your own store especially for new sellers. Many of those who build their own online store outside ebay has always started selling at ebay. If you are new to selling digital products, the best way for you to start is on ebay. You may start by trial and error. Be an ebay member; understand the fees and the auction styles. If you are successful with the few products, there is a great chance of making it a stable home business and later on be a powerseller.

Home-based businesses like ebay are done in either a room or if things get crowded, in a garage or basement. A 200 square foot space is a good way for you to start rolling. It is important that you organize the place and make it like a real ebay store. Be clever when designing a garage space so you’ll keep enough of the garage door area clear so that you can open it and easily move parcels in and out when the delivery folks arrive. It would be practical to make your own shelves. Consider using tall shelves to scrounge as much vertical storage space as you can. Build a shipping table which needs to be a little lower than a regular workbench or desk as most shippers prefer this. You can visit the UPS facility shipping table if you want to make sure of the height for your shipping table. Provide a desk for photo editing and somewhere you can do your photo editing. A Photo table is very important. It can be at least four feet wide. Reserve some sturdy shelves empty store space and for oversized items. Lastly, install smoke detector, extinguisher, heater and air conditioner if necessary.

Today is the launch of new ebay feedback policy.  The changes includes: (1)no negative feedback for buyers only for sellers (2) feedback lasts only 60 days from date of transaction (3) no more feedbacks for suspended members or if buyer fails to respond to unpaid items  (4) members will get credit for weekly repeat feedback. (5) Positive feedback percentage will be computed after every 12 months and requires Powersellers 98% feedback. 

Ebay stated the reason for the change is they think buyers were prevented from leaving honest feedback since they feared retaliation from sellers if they left a negative feedback.  Though sellers has bombarded ebay for making ebay pro seller instead of being neutral. Powersellers even so react negatively with the changes, especially those who are Trading Asssistants and Ebay Educators.  A positive feedback of 98% is too much as a requirement and credits not enough for repeat feedback.     

To decide on a starting bid price is one of the most difficult tasks an eBay Trading Assistant has to decide. Imagine how you expect to get $1500 from a starting price of $0.00. Powersellers of course have some tricks on how to they are able to meet the expected price. It is more difficult for an Ebay Trading Assistant to sell items of other people than selling his own. It is always good to start at low price. Most auctions that start a low bid price ended high as you would expect. The trick is, never start an item at more than one-third of the expected ending price, and lower if possible. But when you are selling obscure items of high value, with very small following, start the item at a price you will be comfortable taking if only one person bids.

In ebay selling, it is important that you avoid selling junks. Powersellers never do this. Obviously, junk won’t sell for much, so you will get a little if no profit from selling it. But something else happens. When potential buyers get interested in you, they will often click on your “View Seller’s other items” link. If they find a lot of junk there they will think less of you as a seller. And all that junk will make it harder for interested bidders to see the good stuff you are also offering. Still, selling junks consumes eBay and PayPal fees that could be better spent. As an ebay seller, you have to set a minimum dollar value for each item you list. If you think an item can sell profitably for that minimum value, don’t list it. Do not compromise your business reputation. Selling good quality products will keep you in ebay business.

Digital cameras have become very useful to ebay sellers. Different models are coming out in the market and varies from pixel to pixel. Here’s a list of things I think you should look for in a camera:

• A mnimum of three megapixels
• A good close-up capability for small objects and details
• The biggest LCD display you can afford
• An efficient way to move images from the camera to your computer such as the USB port.
• A way to run the camera on AC, or removable batteries, so you can recharge one set while using another.

In using a digital camera for taking pictures for items to sell on ebay is a very easy task.  Just remember these few tips before you buy one.

If your garage is getting too full and crowded, powersellers or trading assistants may think of moving to a commercial space. Some ebay sellers rent a warehouse or a retail shop called eBay Trading Post. Trading Assistants usually have their own trading posts. These assistants are ebay sellers who help folks who don’t want to become ebay sellers to sell their items on eBay. They take the customer’s items and do all the selling for them - list, collect the payment, ship the item to the buyer, and soon. Trading posts are the best place to make transactions with these customers. A properly located retail store with a visible sign will attract a lot of attention, and therefore a lot of potential customers. Ebay sellers with trading posts need to sell a lot of other people’s items in order to keep the business going because of the small portion they get from the items they sell. They need to consider the space rentals, advertising & PR, utilities, telephone insurance, office supplies, taxes and licenses including labor if they prefer to have a selling assistant.

Logos signify your company name. It carries the company’s reputation. It’s a visual representation of the nature of business you have. Logos are one of marketing strategies of every company. For example, if you see a check sign, you will easily remember the Nike brand or when kids see an M, they will think of Mc Donald’s restaurant. Make it simple and easily recognized. You want your store to be recognized quickly. When people surf through tons of auctions you want yours to stand out. You want people to remember your store. Be creative without spending much. Logos need not be expensive. You can make a simple and creative logo through MS word, fireworks or photoshop. Be creative. Choose a good color or image or letter. Play with it. Come up with a logo that best signifies your ebay business. Make a consistent look and style. It’s not enough to splash your logo all over town,; you also want it to look the same everywhere. Since it is your trademark, it must be authentic. It must have the same look and style when placed in brochures, business cards, letterheads or any other ads.