Second Edition......Page 1
Shanghai . Tokyo . Toronto . Washington, D.C.......Page 3
Call to Action 15......Page 7
Hardware 72......Page 8
III. Business As Usual 145......Page 9
Summary 217......Page 10
What Should I Do? 293......Page 11
20. Customer Service 363......Page 12
About Me Webpage 402......Page 13
25. Selling Services on eBay 453......Page 14
Use Elance 492......Page 15
Index 545......Page 16
Acknowledgments......Page 17
Introduction......Page 21
At one time, eBay published statistics on its home page. It cut back the volume of statistics and then finally quit publishing statistics on its home page altogether. Now it publishes some statistics at its annual conference in June, but you .........Page 23
Who Should Read This Book?......Page 24
Changes......Page 26
2. Sell on eBay and Also on Your eCommerce Website You have an ecommerce website where you sell your product or service and you also sell on eBay. Well, it generally costs just as much to market on the Web as it does off the Web. So, your eco.........Page 27
The eBay Advantage......Page 28
Customer Service......Page 29
Work......Page 30
Books Can Help......Page 31
It shows a man walking searchingly in a parking lot on a dark day with a few inches of snow on the ground. The man obviously can not remember where he parked his car. He carries a huge load of Christmas presents. One present drops into the sn.........Page 32
Call to Action......Page 33
Experiment......Page 34
What are the lessons for retailers here? The first lesson is that each item has its own market. Don’t assume that similar items will pro duce the same sales results. You may have the market to yourself for one item and face an aggressive comp.........Page 36
Let Your Brain Do the Walking......Page 37
Figure 1.1 eBay Motors auction listing. ©1995-2003 eBay Inc.......Page 38
Marketing Study......Page 39
Keep in touch after you’ve accomplished something substantial or unique in an eBay business, I’d like to hear from you. Email me at
[email protected]. (Put EBAY READER in the subject line so I can find your email in the sea of daily SPAM.) Perh.........Page 40
Introducing eBay Business......Page 19
Setting Yourself Up Legally......Page 43
Sole Proprietorship......Page 44
Disadvantages of Filing......Page 45
Why Not to File......Page 46
Restrictive Covenants......Page 47
Partnership......Page 48
Documents......Page 49
Responsibility......Page 50
Avoiding Partnerships......Page 51
Limited Liability......Page 52
Do you really need protection from creditors as an eBay business? Keep in mind that if you operate properly on eBay, you get a quick turnover. That means you don’t hold your inventory very long. Auctions are ten days at the most. Consequently.........Page 53
Selling Stock......Page 54
Subchapter S Corporation......Page 55
Virtual Businesses......Page 56
And Then You Grow......Page 57
Taxation......Page 58
Resources......Page 59
Conclusion......Page 60
Getting Started......Page 41
Sales Tax License......Page 61
States Without Sales Tax......Page 62
Employer Identification Number (EIN)......Page 63
The Future......Page 64
And Consumers......Page 66
Business License......Page 67
Employees......Page 68
Guidelines......Page 69
Can You Help?......Page 70
Fulfillment Example......Page 71
Delegating......Page 72
Insurance......Page 73
Bank Accounts......Page 74
Merchant Credit Card Account......Page 75
Quicken......Page 76
Manual Accounting......Page 77
Branding......Page 78
Brand Action......Page 79
Simple Name......Page 80
Uniform Name......Page 81
Logo......Page 82
Cross-Selling......Page 83
If All Else Fails......Page 84
4. Can business information (acquiring business knowledge) by itself be motivational? It can if presented in an enthusiastic manner in a way that’s easy to understand. Indeed, properly pre sented, business information can be a significant inspiration.......Page 85
eBay is encouraging members to form local eBay groups. After about a year, the program is not a huge success yet, at least not in my area. Still, I encourage you to join in and make this program an eventual success. It has a lot of potential.......Page 86
Resources......Page 87
Equipment, Supplies, and Space......Page 89
Free Computer for Low-Budget Startup......Page 90
The easiest and perhaps best backup today is a USB 2.0 external case with an IDE hard disk. The case costs about $40. A new hard disk can cost as little as $45 depending on size. Connect the exter nal hard disk to your computer using a USB 2..........Page 91
Software......Page 92
Free Software......Page 93
Your television cable company may be able to provide Internet access to you. The speed and cost of the service is comparable to DSL, but it comes over your televison cable rather than a tele phone line.......Page 94
Home Router......Page 95
Long Distance Service......Page 96
Business Machines......Page 97
Office Furniture......Page 98
Office Supplies......Page 99
3. Mini-storage is inexpensive, but access is inconvenient. It’s gen erally not an appropriate place for a packaging and shipping operation.......Page 100
Home Office Tax Deduction......Page 101
Inexpensive Home Office......Page 102
Out of Town......Page 103
1. Use an old computer, not necessarily a laptop. You can even use your normal desktop office computer provided you leave an up- to-date backup of your hard disk at home.......Page 104
6. Naturally, you need to farm out your fulfillment to an indepen dent contractor. For most eBay businesses, a mobile fulfillment operation would be much too cumbersome to operate and too susceptible to a sizeable loss through theft.......Page 105
With a CD recorder, I burn a CD with all my work (away from home) and take it along backpacking so my data won’t be lost in the event of a theft. This is quick and easy to do. You don’t have to go backpacking to use this precaution. I do it e.........Page 106
Finding Inventory......Page 107
Play the Field......Page 108
Name, Rank, and Serial Number......Page 109
The List......Page 110
What Trade Shows?......Page 111
Finding Trade Shows......Page 112
Figure 5.1 Charlotte Merchandise Mart.......Page 114
Figure 5.2 Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, Washington, DC.......Page 116
Wholesalers......Page 117
Business-Like Appearance......Page 118
Craftspeople and Artists......Page 119
List Carefully......Page 120
Your Business Library......Page 121
Figure 5.3 Gale Group website. ©2003 The Gale Group, Inc.......Page 122
Small Manufacturers......Page 124
Once you become established with a wholesaler, the wholesaler may finance your business. By extending 15, 30, or 60-day credit, a wholesaler is, in effect, providing you with free operating capital. Because you can potentially turn over inven.........Page 125
Special Mail-Order Wholesalers......Page 126
Drop-Ship Wholesalers......Page 127
Closeouts......Page 128
Figure 5.5 Wholesale Central website. © Sumner Communications, Inc.......Page 131
Further investigation indicated that this same tripod sells for between $20 and $35 in online discount stores. An eBay retailer sells this routinely on eBay for between $5 and $16. However, the eBay retailer charges a $16 flat fee for shippin.........Page 132
Foreign Closeouts......Page 133
Special Products......Page 134
Manufacturers’ Representatives......Page 135
Retail Excess Inventory......Page 136
Picking......Page 137
Designer Clothes......Page 138
Packages......Page 139
Newspaper......Page 140
Local Auctions......Page 141
4. Refurbish or repair broken or defective items. Such items sell cheap on eBay (assuming the defects are properly disclosed). Buy an item on eBay. Repair it. Then sell it on eBay for a profit.......Page 142
Imports......Page 143
Go for It!......Page 144
Borrowing Money......Page 145
13. Problems and Potential Problems......Page 146
17. Cash Flow Projection......Page 147
Savings......Page 148
In other words, suppose you buy your inventory on the 26th of March (the day after the account closes for the month). You don't get billed until the statement that comes May 2nd, and you have until May 20th to pay without accumulating interes.........Page 149
Relatives......Page 150
Operating Statement......Page 151
Borrowing Dilemma......Page 152
Normally when you borrow for buying equipment and fixtures, you borrow long-term. This makes sense on the theory that your equip ment will last a long time and can be used as collateral until it sub stantially depreciates.......Page 153
Compensating Balances......Page 154
SBA Loans......Page 155
Trust......Page 156
Vendor Leasing......Page 157
Vendor Credit......Page 158
Lenders for eBay Businesses......Page 160
Resources......Page 161
Types of Auctions......Page 165
Reserve......Page 166
Restricted Access......Page 167
Fixed-Price History......Page 168
Category......Page 169
Figure 7.2 Auction title.......Page 170
Abbreviations......Page 171
Auction Ad......Page 172
Optional Listing Features......Page 173
Relisting......Page 175
Turbo Lister......Page 176
Prohibited......Page 177
Restricted......Page 181
Your Marketplace......Page 182
2. Devise a strategy for setting the minimum bid, the reserve, or the Buy It Now price.......Page 183
Text-Box and Banner Advertising on eBay......Page 184
The Heart of the Matter......Page 185
Business As Usual......Page 163
Advertising......Page 187
Easy to Read......Page 188
Bold......Page 189
Figure 8.4 All caps are difficult to read.......Page 190
Borders......Page 191
Flush Left......Page 192
Templates......Page 193
Manufacturer’s Information......Page 194
Fellow eBay Members......Page 195
Close to the Line......Page 196
Like Products......Page 197
Multimedia......Page 198
5. Strictly electable - starts when a buyer clicks on a button (i.e., doesn’t play automatically)......Page 199
Casual Approach......Page 200
Table 8.1 eBay Time and US, Japan, and Britain Time Zones......Page 201
Cell Phones......Page 202
About Me......Page 203
Typeface......Page 204
HTML......Page 205
Where the Work Is......Page 206
Photography......Page 207
Equipment Quality......Page 208
Figure 9.1 Close-up photograph.......Page 209
Lights......Page 210
Diffused Lighting......Page 211
Outside......Page 212
Shooting......Page 213
Fabrics......Page 214
Film Scanning......Page 215
Digital Cameras......Page 216
Most digital cameras give you a choice of quality settings for your photographs. The higher the quality, the more memory used. Using lower quality enables you to take more photographs at one time. However, always use the highest quality photo.........Page 217
Image Services......Page 218
Figure 9.5 WS_FTP Pro screen.......Page 219
Storage Services......Page 220
Figure 9.6 iPIX, a popular photo service for eBay sellers.......Page 221
How to Use......Page 222
Choosing a Service......Page 223
Using Image Software......Page 225
This program was picked because it is a freeware program that you can download from the website mentioned. It’s a capable pro gram, but there are commercial programs that offer additional functionality and convenience.......Page 226
Image Editing......Page 227
Image File Management......Page 228
Figure 10.1 Original photograph.......Page 229
Brightness......Page 230
Gamma......Page 231
Sharpness......Page 232
Batches......Page 233
JPEG......Page 234
8. Put it in your auction ad.......Page 235
Pricing......Page 237
Prices......Page 238
List Prices......Page 239
Advertised Prices......Page 240
Prices for Used Goods......Page 241
Analytic Research......Page 242
Offline Research......Page 243
Online Appraisals......Page 244
Trial and Error......Page 245
Setting a Price......Page 246
Buyer’s Research......Page 247
Special Auctions......Page 249
Craig’s List......Page 250
Separate Auctions......Page 251
Global Auction Sites......Page 252
eBay Motors......Page 253
Figure 12.2 eBay Motors homepage. ©1995-2004 eBay Inc.......Page 254
9. Agree to help arrange for shipment should the buyer decide to take delivery at home.......Page 255
The Half Zone......Page 256
Figure 12.3 The Half Zone. ©1999-2004 eBay Inc.......Page 257
eBayBusiness.com......Page 258
The Reality......Page 259
Craig’s List......Page 260
Froogle......Page 261
Drop Shipping......Page 263
Always Inquire......Page 264
Normal Operations......Page 265
Assembly......Page 266
A packing slip and a mailing label can act as a fulfillment order. Neither should contain any sensitive information such as a credit card number. Each can be attached to an email message as a text document and sent to your fulfillment site. O.........Page 267
If you use the US Postal Service for shipping, you will save time and effort by using a postage meter to print and affix the postage on packages in your fulfillment operation. You can rent a postage meter for as little as $15 per month. You c.........Page 268
Pitney Bowes......Page 269
Stamps.com......Page 270
Neopost......Page 271
Figure 13.2 Pelouze website. ©2002 Pelstar, LLC.......Page 272
Packing Materials......Page 273
Resources......Page 275
Couriers......Page 276
Shipping Services......Page 277
UPS Store (formerly Mail Boxes, Etc.)......Page 278
Consignment Stores......Page 279
Low-Value Items......Page 280
High-Value Items......Page 281
Pickup......Page 282
Ship by Truck......Page 283
Example Business......Page 284
Truck Shipping Service......Page 285
By Hitchhiking......Page 286
House Spouse Fulfillment......Page 287
Figure 13.5 IRS guidelines regarding independent contractors.......Page 288
Administration......Page 289
Inventory Control......Page 290
Customer Service......Page 291
Quantity Buying......Page 292
The Super Business Model......Page 293
Receiving Payment......Page 295
Costco’s Merchant Account Program......Page 296
Why Do You Need Good Credit?......Page 297
eCommerce Software......Page 298
If You Can't Get a Merchant Account......Page 299
My bank is a huge bank with branches in many states. Yet its money orders and cashier’s checks, generated by a computer on a laser printer with almost plain paper, look like they are counter feited-poorly counterfeited-even though they are pe.........Page 300
Another Point of View......Page 301
Checks......Page 303
4. You wait for the check to clear and then send the merchandise.......Page 304
PayPal......Page 305
Table 14.2 PayPal Fees for Receiving Payment When a Buyer Uses a Credit Card for the Source of Funds......Page 306
CheckFree......Page 307
AuctionCheckout......Page 308
Don’t Sell on Credit......Page 309
Consumer Credit......Page 310
What Should I Do?......Page 311
Auction Management Services......Page 312
Dealing with Buyer Fraud......Page 315
Payment Fraud......Page 316
When to Ship......Page 317
8. Use HTTP_USER_AGENT and REMOTE_ADDR code in your forms that gather crucial information on buyers.......Page 318
5. Beware of buyers who are not concerned with shipping costs.......Page 319
Credit Card Chargebacks......Page 320
Fraud with a Valid Credit Card......Page 321
International Fraud......Page 322
Fraud Statistics......Page 324
Remedies?......Page 325
Legal Remedies......Page 326
Criminal Complaints......Page 327
Feedback......Page 328
Unpleasantries......Page 313
Software Features......Page 331
Desired Features......Page 332
Auction Follow-Up......Page 333
Feedback Management......Page 334
Database Applications......Page 335
eCommerce Software......Page 336
Making It Work......Page 329
Software Assistance......Page 337
On the Desktop......Page 338
Management Software......Page 339
Turbo Lister......Page 340
Figure 17.1 Turbo Lister’s table list of items. ©1995-2003 eBay Inc.......Page 341
eBay Checkout......Page 342
PayPal Extended......Page 343
Andale......Page 344
eBay started out providing current statistics regarding eBay auctions on its home page. Over the years such information has gradually disappeared. Today we are stuck with the statistical information that eBay releases in its annual report in .........Page 345
Auctions......Page 346
What a Deal!......Page 347
Stores......Page 348
Another Chance to Save Time and Money......Page 349
In a Table......Page 350
Auction Management Services and Software......Page 351
Figure 17.4 Zoovy.com website. ©2003 Zoovy.......Page 353
Custom Programming......Page 354
If You Have Employees......Page 355
Expanding Your Market with Data Feeds......Page 357
Google......Page 358
Froogle......Page 359
If You Can’t Fight Them......Page 360
Froogle Requirements......Page 361
Amazon......Page 363
Figure 18.1 BizRate listing for a Canon i960 ink jet computer printer. ©2004 BizRate.com......Page 364
2. Use an auction management service that enables you to do data feeds automatically to a variety of major marketplaces including Froogle. You will also want the capability to do custom data feeds to specialized marketplaces you think will ge.........Page 365
Summary......Page 366
Selling Internationally......Page 367
Selling......Page 368
Shipping......Page 369
PayPal......Page 370
Make Your Peace......Page 373
Fraud......Page 374
Buying to Sell......Page 375
Figure 19.1 eBay France. ©1995-2004 eBay Inc.......Page 376
Merged Markets......Page 378
There’s a difference between buying and selling abroad for an eBay business. When you’re buying on a foreign eBay, you can take the time to purchase items you think might have potential to sell in the US. Using Babel Fish is practical. You ar.........Page 379
New Yankee Traders in Force......Page 380
Customer Service......Page 381
Feedback......Page 382
Guarantees......Page 383
Types of Product Guarantees......Page 384
As Is......Page 385
Payment......Page 386
Escrow.com......Page 387
Licensed Dealer......Page 388
Square Trade......Page 389
Communication......Page 390
Software......Page 391
Off the Ground......Page 392
5. Time of visit.......Page 393
Not Just This or That......Page 394
What Is a Storefront?......Page 397
Catalog......Page 398
Informal eBay Storefront......Page 399
Figure 21.1 eBay seller auction list. ©1995-2004 eBay Inc.......Page 400
Supplement......Page 401
Traffic......Page 402
Internal Marketing......Page 403
Reports......Page 404
Levels......Page 405
Dangerous Threads......Page 406
Figure 21.2 eBay auction ad featuring a Dangerous Threads leather hatband with conchos. ©1995-2003 eBay Inc.......Page 407
Dangerous Update......Page 408
Marketing......Page 409
Don’t Believe......Page 410
Participating in the eBay community is not a prerequisite to success on eBay. Neither is participating in a community relevant to what your sell. But at least the latter has the potential of generating some sales. Only you can decide the best.........Page 411
A Mall......Page 412
About Me......Page 413
Miva Merchant......Page 414
modStop......Page 415
Database......Page 416
In general, you can think of databases handling concurrent users according to the following estimates:......Page 417
Bonding to eBay......Page 418
About Me Webpage......Page 420
eBay’s Hidden Market......Page 421
The Hidden Market Exists......Page 422
Pursuing Off-eBay Sales......Page 423
Reintroduction......Page 424
Rules......Page 425
Advertising......Page 426
eBay Stores Again......Page 427
Summary......Page 428
Operate Smart......Page 395
Determining Your Profit......Page 429
Figure 22.1 Beach town in Florida. ©2002 CocoaBeach.com.......Page 430
Not Very Well......Page 431
Health Insurance......Page 432
Disability Insurance......Page 433
Rollover......Page 434
Independent Contractors......Page 435
Transportation......Page 436
Shipping & Handling......Page 437
Profit......Page 438
Developing a Strategy......Page 439
The Ideal Product......Page 440
Figure 23.1 The ideal product.......Page 442
Calculating Profit......Page 443
4. You should look for another niche on eBay.......Page 444
Not Derogatory......Page 445
Finding a Niche......Page 446
Sales Tax License......Page 448
Predicting the Future......Page 449
1. You are waiting for it. You spot it quickly. And you close down your business and cheerfully move on (perhaps to another eBay business).......Page 450
Customer Service Again......Page 451
The Ultimate Strategy......Page 452
Handling Growth......Page 453
Mass-Produced Products?......Page 454
Unique Products......Page 455
To Add Value Takes Resources......Page 456
What’s Your Thing?......Page 457
Guarantee......Page 458
Not the Same......Page 459
Education......Page 461
eBay University......Page 462
Books About eBay......Page 463
eBay WBT Tutorials......Page 464
Business Seminars......Page 465
Web Development Tutorials......Page 466
Community......Page 467
Other eBay Business......Page 469
Selling Services on eBay......Page 471
Advertising......Page 472
What to Sell?......Page 473
But If You Can......Page 474
Packages......Page 475
Information Products......Page 476
1-2-3 Review......Page 477
Without a Fixed Price......Page 478
Task Packages......Page 479
Online......Page 480
Information......Page 481
Over the Years......Page 482
Auction Procedure......Page 483
Figure 25.2 Elance Writing & Translation Service Providers (948 total). ©1995- 2003 eBay Inc.......Page 484
Advertising......Page 485
Summary......Page 486
Integrating eBay with Offline Retail......Page 487
Accounting......Page 488
Write Once......Page 489
Data Transfer......Page 490
Customer Service......Page 491
Using eBay for Marketing......Page 493
The Plan......Page 494
Entire Collection......Page 495
Website......Page 496
Serious Auction......Page 497
Marketing, Not Retail......Page 498
Institutional Advertising......Page 499
Summary......Page 500
Consignment Selling and Other Businesses......Page 501
4. Full-time business on eBay working in a physical consignment store where you get walk-in traffic. The overhead is high. There are currently many franchise opportunities.......Page 502
Dedicated......Page 503
Storefront......Page 504
Ancillary Consignment Sales......Page 505
Operations......Page 506
Trade Assistants......Page 507
Picking......Page 508
Managing Communications......Page 509
Use Elance......Page 510
Buying on eBay......Page 511
Cost of Buying......Page 512
Extra Time?......Page 513
Business to Business......Page 514
International......Page 515
Accounting......Page 516
Payment......Page 517
Auction Tracking......Page 518
Feedback......Page 519
For Your New eBay Business......Page 520
We Have Stories......Page 521
Matters of Interest......Page 522
3. Profit Model Think through a product profit model.......Page 523
10. Customer Service Plan overall and specific customer service policies and programs.......Page 524
2. Auction Management Start using an auction management ser vice to run your business from beginning to end, unless you are already using something comparable.......Page 525
12. Expand Grow your market through data feeds to other online marketplaces.......Page 526
2. Cost-Effectiveness Do a study to determine whether buying on eBay is more cost-effective than other means of purchasing.......Page 527
8. Professional Services Check Elance when you need profes sional services.......Page 528
Appendix IV HTML Tutorial......Page 529
Spaces......Page 530
......Page 531
Typical Web Page Setup......Page 532
Markups Alphabetically......Page 533
......Page 534
Figure A4.2 A quote in the text.......Page 535
Figure A4.3 The
markup creates left and right margins.......Page 536
......Page 537
Figure A4.5 A list of terms and definitions.......Page 538
Figure A4.6 An unnumbered unbulleted list.......Page 539
Figure A4.7 A heading centered with the markup.......Page 540
Figure A4.8 Use the
markup to change the typeface and type size.......Page 541
Figure A4.9 Six different headings.......Page 542
Figure A4.10 Use the
markup to create a rule.......Page 543
......Page 544
Figure A4.11 A numbered list.......Page 545
......Page 546
......Page 547
......Page 548
Figure A4.15 A table with borders.......Page 550
| ......Page 552
Figure A4.17 A bulleted list.......Page 553
Figure A4.18 Use to extend spaces.......Page 554
......Page 555
......Page 556
Example Web Page......Page 557
Viewing the Web Page Source......Page 558
eBay HTML......Page 559
Summary......Page 560
Appendix V Cross-Promotion Example......Page 561
eBay the Smart Way......Page 562
Index......Page 563
