Auction Power Guide

Every year federal, state, and local government agencies find themselves with surplus goods that they no longer need. To get rid of this excess stuff they offer it at government surplus sales and auctions at big discounts. These sales and auctions are full of the same items you’ll find at any retail store with the only difference being price.

These surplus auction sales can be a great place to find office supplies for new and growing businesses. You can also find household items that you can use around the house. These sales can also be a good place to buy surplus items at a big discount that can then be sold at a profit on auctions sites like eBay.

All government surplus auctions and sales are free to the general public. As long as you are 18 years of age or older and have a valid drivers license. You will of course need money as well if you wish to purchase or bid on anything.

So why does the government have all this surplus it needs to get rid of ever year? The simple answer is that all these government agencies, from federal to local, buy billions of dollars worth of equipment, supplies, and sundries every year. This leaves these agencies with lots of older, slightly used, goods that still have a useful life outside of government use. Buy selling these items at surplus sales or auctions the government is able recover some of the cost and save the American taxpayer some money.

If you are wondering what you can find at one of these surplus sales the answer is just about everything. Cars, trucks, vans, and other modes of transportation can be had at highly discounted prices. Small business owner can find great deals on office furniture and supplies which can help keep operating expenses low.

One of the best ways to find government surplus sales and auctions is by using an internet auction website. These sites provide updated lists of times, locations, and the items that will be offered for sale. In some cases you can make purchases and bids right from your computer. It doesn’t get much easier to save money then that.

Andrew Bicknell
http://www.articlesbase.com/automotive-articles/government-surplus-sales-and-auctions-671154.html

I have 2 brand new LRG G-Shock watches I want to sell on eBay as auctions, but I’m not sure what would be the best way.
Would it be good to list them each on a separate auction at the same time?
I’d really appreciate a few tips.
Thanks.

you can list them as multiple items in 1 auction, just click "2" available, it will save you list fees & time.

What is the cheapest way but yet the most profitable way to go on ebay? doing auctions or just running a store. I have bought some things off ebay and have my paypal account but have never checked out the costs to get setup or how much time it takes. I’d love to hear from sellers on ebay to tell me what they think.

The basic eBay store subscription costs $15.99 a month. One advantage of an eBay store is the insertion fees for store inventory range from $0.05 to $0.10 for a one month listing. You can list multiple quantities of the same item for a single insertion fee. When you compare that with $0.20 to $4.80 for a single standard auction listing, it is a bargain.

The insertion fees may be cheaper, but the final value fee (FVF) charged when an item is sold from an eBay store is significantly higher. The fee is almost double the final value fee of a standard auction. For example, the FVF for a $100 item selling in an eBay store is $7.75. For an auction, the FVF is $3.75. This difference in FVF needs to be factored in when deciding whether to list an item as a store listing or as an auction listing.

The main disadvantage of using an eBay store is the store inventory only appears in the main search results when there are 30 or fewer auctions and fixed-price listings found. This means if you are trying to sell a very popular item in an eBay store, it will not will not be included in the standard search results. This makes it very difficult for buyers to find store items.

An eBay store works best if you have multiple quantities of the same item. The best strategy is to list one unit as an auction and list the rest in the store. When buyers see the auction listing, they may check the other items that are listed for sale by the seller. This list will include items from the seller’s eBay store. Buyers may chose to buy the unit out of your store instead of waiting for the auction to end.

Good Luck,
Bill
Visit http://www.newlifeauctions.com for more eBay tips.

For example:
Is it?
1.newpaper ads
2.on ebay
3.direct mail

The best strategy is to carefully examine your business goals (usually product sales), and identify ALL of the marketing channels that may bring you customers. This might include newspaper ads, eBay auctions, offering products through Amazon’s Marketplace, direct mail, banner advertising, free and paid directory listings (possibly including Yellow Pages), forum participation, classified ad sites, billboards, PPC search ads on Google and Yahoo, TV and radio ads, email newsletter sponsorships, bumper stickers, press releases, contests and give-aways, publicity stunts, a variety of "guerilla marketing" techniques, sampling, seeking reviews, targeting influencers, and a zillion other possibilities.

From that list, you’d develop rankings or priorities, and you’d consider how various marketing strategies might interact or conflict. Then you’d "test, test, test" and experiment until you find something that works, or until you run out of money.

There is no "best combination" that would apply to more than one company, and even if you identified the specific company and goals, if you hired 10 different agencies you’d get 10 different "combinations" (although there would certainly be overlap).

If you make money what are you selling and where do you get it for cheaper than you sell it? Give me some tips please. Thanks for being so sweet!!

Julie,

The real goal behind making money on Ebay is to find/sell those ‘items’ that a large consumer market are always ‘buying’, regardless of the market.

To find the ‘hot items’, for a lack of better words, that are sold month-after-month, check out these two (2) Ebay references:

* http://pulse.ebay.com

Here, you can find a LOT of GOOD information, such as what ‘categories’ on Ebay are hot and/or what the hot selling ‘items’ are as well.

* http://pages.ebay.com/sellercentral/hotitems.pdf

This second resource is a MONTHLY PDF File, composed and maintained by Ebay, which will tell you what categories/items have been consistent ‘hot items’ from month to month. While the PDF file will change with each passing month, the URL above WILL NOT! So, bookmark it and continue to review it every month.

The next thing to consider is finding ‘drop-shippers’ of some of these products. The benefit to having a ‘drop-shipper’ is that when your auction is over, you send the request to the drop-shipper, they then take over the ‘customer experience’ and will handle everything from shipping the product to the customer, dealing with charge-backs and most everything else you can think of that would be common place in any type of transaction.

Another key to being highly effective/successful with Ebay Auctions is understanding all the different types of ‘auctions’ there are and how each one can help increase your sales.

A great resource that I recently came across which outlines everything there is to know about ebay auctions and making money is found in an ebook I came across not to long ago and you can get a copy if you’re interested in taking your auctions from ‘somewhat profitable’ to ‘hugely profitable’. The link is here:

http://fhurl.com/b663

Remember though, nothing is ‘easy’ when it comes to making money on ebay. If it was, then everyone would be selling on ebay, but since we know that’s not happening, you CAN profit from these techniques!

Hope this helps?

Cheers,

Jack G.

This article assumes you have an eBay seller account. You may have tried to sell already, but so far your responses to those auctions were unsatisfactory or non-existent, and you are discontent about the entire experience. Read on, and gain essential tips for selling on eBay, to encourage more active participation, and to hopefully get higher final bids. eBay Auctions can be fun, and profitable.

Looking at the auction sites, you notice instantly that many listings are made by professionals. Either they have a regular existing business and are using the auctions as another way to move their inventory, or they are in business for the exclusive purpose of selling online. In recognition of that, some auction sites have set up a special section for ongoing sales enterprises; eBay calls them “eBay Stores”.

What can you do to get your auctions noticed, among all the “big-boys” who are out there? How can you put together an auction that will sell? The key for you is to brainstorm an overwhelming presentation and give a personalized description. Auctions are for everyone, including you, The little guy, so don’t feel intimidated.

It’s really not a secret. Just understand what is important to the audience and learn the best ways to show your items. Some sites, such as eBay, host in-depth discussion forums you may participate in, as well as tremendous help sections with many tips for improving your results.

Catch Their Eye

Gallery photos focuses attention on your auction immediately. These thumbnail images appear in search result listings, and can be used to make your auction stand out from the rest. You don’t always want to show the full-overview of your item in the small gallery pic; sometimes a close-up or specific detail can entice viewers to click and view your auction. A bit of “mystery” in the Gallery picture can be a positive thing.

Clear photographs in the listing itself are critical. Good lighting and sharp focus help to convey the essence of your item. Since the buyer cannot touch or pick up the actual thing, you must provide a “virtual tour” of each dimension. Do not forget to include a sense of size, possibly by including an object that is easily identified (a coin, for example). The more pictures, the better.

Headlines and Sub-Titles

Right at the top, tell the story. There is a limit on the number of characters you can type in one line, so maybe you’ll wish to add a second line to further describe the auction and provide important details.

You can incorporate some common abbreviations:

* NIB (New In Box)
* N/R (No Reserve)
* BIN (Buy It Now)

Some sellers like to use ALL CAPS, while others elect to Capitalize Each Word. It is a matter of personal preference. In general, the best headlines are a mixture of both. You may like to use a lot of !!!!Exclamation Points!!!! or use other ways to make the headline ***stand out***

This is your main introduction. This is your big chance to get buyers to click on the auction. Spend some time and give a lot of thought on the headline: Write a few different versions (and maybe have other people in your office or home take a look at them and offer advice). No matter the style you adopt, keep the headline direct and to the point, letting the searcher know exactly what you have.

If they are curious, they will click on the auction.

Item Description

Once you have landed the potential bidder to open your auction main page (with your Stunning Gallery Photo and Punchy Headline), now there is another major task ahead of you. That’s right, you need to describe the item in detail.

This part can make or break the auction. A good rule of thumb is to provide as much information as possible, and give the good, the bad and the ugly. Tell it like it is. Before you type up the description to post, begin with a blank wordprocessor document and put down the features, the history, the defects, the benefits, the uses, the unique attributes, and, yes, the problems. Add anything you can think of which helps the buyer in his/her decision-making process. Then use this document as the basis for your final description text.

Try to avoid putting the entire description into one solid block of text on the webpage. While you may wish to learn a bit of basic HTML to “spice up” the overall look of your auction, the most basic thing you can do is to put in the paragraph tag. This breaks up the text into more readable segments and allows for clearer comprehension.

Start the Bidding

Take a peek at other auctions being conducted for similar items as yours. This will give you an idea of the prices and the level of interest (measured in actual bids or even page-views displayed at the bottom of many auctions). If a chess set you have to sell is a rare antique, it might not be such a great idea to offer it at $1.00 with no reserve.

On the other hand, you do not want to chase away people with a starting price that is too high. Let the market forces work their magic and encourage people to get involved at a level that is comfortable for them. Be realistic, be aware of what is going on with other auctions, be fair, and start the bidding at a point that is alluring and enticing to the public.

Remember that “Buy It Now” is an option with some auctions, and if you know exactly what you want to sell something for, go ahead and place the price at this fixed mark. In general, you will find buyers using the “BIN” on an item that is a great value to them at this point and you achieve an immediate sale with no hassle, no waiting.

Go ahead, look through your closets, clean out the garage, and get up those eBay auction listings! Everybody wins!

Michael Warren

I have heard some eBayers saying that they are using MY SPACE to promote their store and seems to be very effective and get lots of sales.

I just started my shop and traffic is slow, I hope any one with experience in using MySpace to increase traffic can give me some tips.

However, since my business is really new and I still trying to make ends meet due to very high eBay fees, I do not have money to pay for any ebook guide.

I sell ebay I also belong to alot of groups yahoo that you can advertise on email me for a list. Also check out this site:

I just joined posh points and got 15 free points just for joining!
You can even list your ebay items on there for free! Hey more free advertising for your items!

All you do is post one thing for sale on posh points ands link your ebay auctions! Vola’ Free advertising!

http://www.poshpoints.com/default.aspx?ref=10058

http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZrgian1977QQhtZ-1

I also post on my personal myspace as well.

Auctions on eBay are inherently boring, with nothing more than black text on a white background, and maybe a few photographs of the item in question. Sellers can get lost in a sea of boring auctions, as buyers skip from item to item with nothing really sticking out in their mind. For stay-at-home moms running their own home business from eBay, using HTML is a cheap and easy way to give their auctions a little burst of life.

HTML stands for hypertext markup language, which is the “language” of the internet. Every single website you visit using HTML to work. There are many different things you can do with HTML, and additional languages that work in conjunction with HTML to make some presentations that really pop online. HTML in and of itself, however, is not hard to learn. There are a few basic tags that you can use over and over again to spice up your auction pages, and it won’t cost you but a few minutes of your time to do it.

The best way to learn basic HTML is by surfing the web. Thousands of websites online offer free tutorials on the basics of HTML. Find one that focuses strictly on HTML for eBay, and you’ll find everything you need to know about working with HTML on eBay. Basic tags, like bold and italic, can help you build a better auction. You can also find codes for changing font and background colors, adding in your own images, and creating links so that buyers can e-mail you directly from your auction, or visit your website.

If you want to do more with your auction than what HTML offers, then the next step is to do some research on CSS. CSS stands for cascading style sheets, and gives you more control over the look of your auction. CSS isn’t much harder to learn than HTML, but it lets you change your link behavior, scrollbar, cursor, and even add a background image to your auction. Be sure to adhere to the rules of eBay, however; CSS generally applies styles to the entire webpage, and eBay requires than any style changes made may only apply to your auction.

Once you have gotten a grasp for the basics of HTML and CSS, you can go as far as making your own auction templates. Design an auction template that you would like to use for all of your auctions, and then you can simply copy and paste your auction information into the template every time you list a new item. This can save you time, and give your auctions a more uniform and professional look.

If you are having trouble working out the kinks with your auction’s template, you can always visit eBay’s forums, right on their website. There is a section dedicated entirely to helping sellers set up their own customized auction templates, and they are more than willing to help you figure out what you’re trying to do, for free. As you work with HTML more and learn how to appropriately apply it, you’ll soon become a master of it yourself, and then you may find yourself helping others who are just starting out as well.

Vickie Sayce

When i first started selling at auction on my eBay store, i made god sales. Now i have not had sales for a while. I did not change much to affect the market and the goods are still the same. I sell alot of imports from Africa and am thinking of adding other marchendise but am not sure yet. I have the inventory but thought of sterting a difrrent store but am alowed only one on eBay, should i try yahoo auctions?. Am desperate and looking for anyone with a solutin or tips or any way to help, i will post a few links here to help get to my page. Please help. Size enlargement.

Competition may be why your sales have dropped. Also the time of year?

Check the key words you are using. If there is a way to check the most popular selling items on ebay – check that out to see if any terms of those are similar to items you sell.

Also – look for similar items to yours and see how much they are selling for.

Good luck!

What is the best eBay selling technique you can implement? Giving high quality customer service. In this digital world of buying and selling, customer service on eBay could make or break a sale for you. Because your feedback is a crucial feature of your online storefront, providing prompt and polite customer support is as consequential as the items you are trying to sell.

If you operated a brick and mortar business, how would you behave toward your customer while they were standing at your counter? You would be helpful and respectful of course! You would do everything that you could to make certain that customers return to your shop in the future. You would do all you could to make sure that their buying experience with you was both satisfactory and enjoyable. Why would you do any less at the close of one of your eBay auctions? Providing excellent customer service on eBay is the same as in any other retail store.

First, act quickly at the close of your auctions. Get in touch with the winner, and congratulate them. Give a product description on the item they have won and how the item will be shipped, even if this information is already part of the description for the auction. Send them their winning bid amount, and give them payment options and instructions. Tell them when the item will be shipped.

Conclude your email by thanking them for participating in your auction. You may take this encounter to inform them about additional open auctions that you have as well. Think of this email with the winner as a talk that you are having with a customer who is standing at your counter in that imagined brick and mortar store. This is the Number 1, best eBay selling technique you can employ.

Once the payment and shipping details have been handled, contact your buyer for another conversation. Tell them when the item was shipped–the exact date and time–and when it is expected to arrive at their address. In this communication, let them know that if they have any problems or questions with the transaction, they should contact you through your eBay site, and make sure that you answer any questions immediately. If they do communicate with you in the future, make sure that you do all that you can to make them happy with their purchase, even if it means sending them a refund.

Yes. You should be open to issuing refunds, depending on the circumstances. Furthermore, you should issue refunds immediately. Naturally, it is sensible to expect the buyer to return the item to you, at your expense, before the refund is issued. Once you get the item, issue the refund at once. This is just good business! The best eBay selling technique is the same on line as in any storefront- be reachable, listen to your customers and solve problems rapidly when they arise. Customer service on eBay is the recipe for your business success, and will guarantee that all feedback you experience will be golden.

Ron King
http://www.articlesbase.com/e-learning-articles/best-ebay-selling-technique-make-yourself-accessible-364222.html