Business Link yorkshire Making eBay work for your business workkshop at Sedum House Yorkshire 17/12/09

Sedum House Doncaster set in a nature reserve

Once again we had a full house or rather it may have been over full as I run out of spare handouts  the course continues to be very popular throughout the yorkshire  region this was the last class of the year and was received very well by all delegates.

I thought it would be a good idea we mention some of the questions that popped up during question time for all to share.

The first topic discussed was postage and packaging charges to smaller items and that should they be offered as free shipping?

My response was that yes whilst eBay fees will be incurred on the inclusive postage charges your feedback will be high rated in this section and once you get to the bronze level power seller status you can achieve a discount of 10% on your fees anyway so you will more than be compensated for the additional costs.

This is an incentive put in place by eBay and in my opinion is a good one as selling say a £30.00 item for £1,00 and charging £29.00 postage in order to save on the fees is a sure-fire way in bringing down the on-line giant no company could survive that scam.

We also discussed whether adding the cost to the price of the item will make it look too expensive? I think in the end the customer always looks at the overall price anyway and as an example I purchased a netbook for my wife on the internet this week and being one who loves to save a bob or two I looked at overall costs including postage and still saved £25.00 on PC World prices.

Think about your own shopping patterns how do you look at totals? postage is part of the cost some clients like the idea of free shipping others like to see it separate I suggest you try both see which works best for any particular product then stick to it, Its all about trail and error until you discover the best postage methods for your items keep at it.

Live links to your websites was also on the agenda of questions and as a reminder you cannot put a link to your website on your listings this contravenes with eBay’s listing policies you can include URL’s in your email templates to clients and in a about me page which is identified with the letters me in blue and red this is where you can write a short bio about your business and also include you website address.

Also discussed was fancy website designs other than eBay’s own templates and whilst these do look very good you should keep away for the time being as any problems incurred could become quite a messy affair issues such as host server going down can and will affect your listings and are not eBay’s responsibilities, in fact the biggest sellers on eBay still maintain eBay’s own templates nothing fancy just a logo and thats it.

Also employing web designers costs a fortune and will not guarantee you success so think about this carefully before you spend your hard-earned cash

And until next time I wish you all a successful eBay business and don’t forget the videos on my website which go through the registration and listing process use the tools on my website its free. www.learn2sellonline.co.uk

Business Link Yorkshire eBay workshop at the Bridge hotel Wetherby 10/12/09

Yet another excellent turnout to this very popular eBay workshop delivered by myself on behalf of Business Link Yorkshire.

The turnout was once again very good proving how popular the subject of eBay is everybody seems to want to jump on the band wagon and why not after all eBay has to be the easiest and fastest way top hit the ground running as far as business start-up is concerned.

Having spoken to a few of the delegates before we kicked off I found there to be a good mix of different reasons of why they attended the making eBay work for your business workshop.

Most were new to eBay selling some were selling but had no success and needed to polish up their act others were already selling and were looking for new techniques.

I have to stress that our workshops are centered around the basics of selling on eBay and this is very very important if you don’t know the basics you will never be able to sell on eBay in a successful way so really when you have completed the workshop you will be able to sell like an eBay professional creating listings that attract buyers.

The class was very receptive once again asking good meaningful questions along the way and as I say on a constant basis if you apply what you learn at the basic level you will professionally and successfully.

We covered the usual range of topics such us opening accounts, researching products to see what true selling values are, taking and editing and up-loading pictures to eBay,and lastly putting it all together.

We concluded with finishing the sale by shipping and emailing our clients keeping them informed every step of the way.

And as a reminder in particular for the females it is not a good idea to invite anyone around to you premises to collect sold goods when you are on your own it’s a zero on this one.

And when accepting cash as payment its a good idea to have something like a pen or ultra violet light to ensure notes are not counterfeit you may even consider asking the buyer to follow you to the bank and bank the notes direct, and once again cash on collection should be treated with caution make sure there are 2 or 3 people with you never on your own Male or Female.

Some of you asked whether there will be an advanced course put on you should check this with business link its something we have spoken about but ultimately they will decide.

remember if you need my help you can reach me at www.learn2sellonline.co.uk where you can also have access to a range of videos that will help you get started on your eBay business.

In the meantime good luck to you all and a very merry XMAS keep in touch.

John

Selling On eBay On Behalf Of Others For A Fee

I have just won a small but lucrative contract selling hair and beauty equipment on behalf of a new client,the products are wide in range and sales have been good and in particular the more expensive items

It appears that there has been a rise in demand for second-hand equipment as sales have certainly been good.

With more and more the larger companies using the power of eBay to help promote goods and services it appears that the demand in used goods is on the up looks like a little fight back in getting back to the good old days of eBay.

What could you muster up in the used items market in order to generate extra revenue I feel very positive about the future on eBay and in particular as a trading assistant selling for others  it’s looking very promising.

Have you thought about becoming a trading assistant and sell for others on a commission basis? if you are interested and need advice contact me I have courses which can be tailored around your lifestyle.

You can create a very good income selling this way without risking large sums of money on stock it’s just like having free stock all you do is sell the goods collect the money pay your client and ship the goods to the buyer.

More information about becoming a trading assistant is available on our website

Tips for helping your eBay or Non eBay business survive economic downturn

Nice old town South of France

Its bad out there yes but its not the end of the world. I know that from my own experience because people are still buying products from me not as much but they are none the less. http://www.stores.ebay.co.uk/sold4youuk

I’m a realist. Like everyone else, and of course I am concerned about the state of our economy. And like most of you I tend to blame it on those who irresponsibly pushed world financial markets to the state they are in now But I have learnt to balance those feelings with a practical optimistic outlook. I know that, with the right strategies, my businesses can come out of this even stronger and so can yours

Is My Business Doomed to failure in these hard times? “ Not necessarily and as long as I am making good sound business decisions like cutting back making even better choices then my chances of survival are more than good.
In the past year,

My online retail business has dropped off around 6% in the past four months, a choice I made was to add lower priced items and bring in new types of client and keep existing clients with this tactic too as people are cutting back,

Of course my products will still be in demand to everyone who needs hair care I will move down a tag from expensive items to second best for now so I slow down on the dear and supply the not so dear its worked for me and it will for you plus I gain new clients and have a bigger variety of products when the economy picks up.

Some companies are even reporting growth: My theory is that purchase decisions, even during rough economic times, come down to buyers searching for value.

So what’s the best way for me to Sustain or maybe Even Grow My Business in This Economic Climate?

Whether your business is your primary livelihood or a means of supplementary income, you want to not only survive this economic stretch, but to emerge stronger.

Expect tough times to last at least one to two years
Save and Avoid Over-Leveraging: Savings can be cash or merchandise inventory.

Be wary of over-leveraging yourself; too much debt could wipe you out if sales revenues slip too far.

If you have some inventory built up, then you can spend less over the next six months working off your existing stock. Overall sales may be lower, but so will your expenses, netting a better cash flow.

Keep hold of cash and keep Inventory at Minimum: Make smaller and more frequent orders from your vendors. I now offer discounted postage on 3 or more items this allows me to keep more cash on hand and hold my inventory to a minimum level.

Focus on No- and Low-Price Points: Stock up on products with low price points. I find that hair care products retailing in the range of £6.00 to £8.00 sell best during tough times. If you look through my eBay store http://stores.ebay.co.uk/sold4youuk ,

Keep Marketing and keep trying see What Works Best: We know many will go out of business in the coming year. Survivors will be those that adapted to a new economic climate.

So it is imperative that you be creative and adapt to change – try new stuff its exiting! – And keep refining your marketing to develop new business. Unless you have 100% market share in your region or sector, there’s always new business to grab, including from competitors.

My final advice is to keep trying new marketing strategies. Even if only one or two of your efforts is successful, you will be in good shape to weather the financial downturn

eBay Workshop at Cedar Court Hotel Wakefield

What a smashing venue the cedar court hotel was for our latest eBay workshop from business link.

Another excellent turnout just goes to show how popular the workshops are even against the dreadful rain and strong winds pelting down all night.

Again we spoke about the added value that eBay can bring to businesses by offering a new route to market for both products and services.

I gt the impression that the online presentations using all current eBay material such us the sell your item form registration forms etc were very well received.

Group members were again involved and proactive during the presentation which for me is a plus as it reinforces learning during our session.

Delegates once again were interested in workshops for running and developing eBay stores which business link may look to in the future as a potential course to follow-on from te basic course currently running.

Once again I would like to thank all students for defying the elements and turning up this dedication and commitment is the quality of all successful entrepeneurs keep it up.

The next eBay workshop is to be held at The Bridge, Walshford, Wetherby, LS22 5HS on the 10th december if you want to book a place contact business link yorkshire.

Until next time

eBay workshop at the Deep Business Center Hull

What a fantastic day this was the delegates all superb could not wish for a better group well done to you all I hope that you learnt one or two things and remember put into practice what you have learnt nothing happens until you take action.

eBay can very quickly net you £200-£300 per week in a short period of time then you can build on that its a matter of getting organised and begin with zeal and zest.

Commit to listing 3 items per day minimum for 6 days per week thats 18 items listed in a week 72 in a month if you can do more great and start with unwanted goods until you become experts it wont take long but the important thing is begin now the sooner you start the sooner you will get there.

I felt the class was well received by you all and no doubt there will be questions about all things eBay I am here to help lets ask on this blog so that everyone can share the information.

Selling and buying on Ebay can be very lucrative you may even think about buying on other sites and selling on eBay check out eBid.co.uk and Bonanzle.com I often find bargains at these two places then sell them on eBay worth a look.

Dont forget you can refresh your memories with some videos on my website www.learn2sellonline.co.uk.

eBay Workshop In Sheffield South Yorkshire

The first eBay workshop was delivered at the Jury’s inn hotel in Sheffield South Yorkshire and went very well apart from the internet connection crashing and freezing had to adapt manually but was not to painful.

The class size was around 30 and only 2 people were already selling on eBay which I found astonishing and goes to confirm that there are countless individuals all looking to the online giant as a way into selling or promoting goods and services on the internet.

The feedback was very good too from satisfied to very satisfied and a couple of dissatisfied probably because the class was the basics of eBay selling and we had a couple already using eBay and may have expected advanced techniques.

All students were keen to learn how to sell on eBay the right way and a few of the issues that were brought up were listings did not look good could not sell products did not look professional enough or simply it looks very complex.

eBay is a great way to start an online sales business without the need for expensive websites or webstores which can run into thousands of pounds and finish a business before it starts.

Our course encourages students to start their business from the bottom up selling unwanted items getting used to the workings and mechanics of eBay and generally understanding other business factors such as fees and costing items for profit.

The classes run for two hours and be booked through your local business link in Yorkshire.

if you are thinking of starting your on-line business eBay has to be the best way to start as customers are already there waiting all you have to do is learn how to apply the techniques used by all top sellers to help drive them to your listings and note there are 300 million registered uses each month browsing through eBay and countless hundreds of thousands more unregistered ones too when these see something they like they register to buy.

On the other hand Should you opt for your own e-commerce store or website you have no one there at all it is your responsibility to drive traffic to your products and services and can cost thousands upon thousands of pounds to get to get a reasonable amount of traffic to your business.

My advice is use the power of eBay to begin and when you are generating a decent revenue then graduate to a webstore off eBay and use both to drive traffic back and forth this is the way of all successful top eBay sellers.

Until next time my old faithful happy ebaying

Organise Your eBay Business and Your self For Success

If you want your eBay business to succeed you will need to get organised because without any form of organisation there can be little or no success.

If you are to succeed as an eBay business you will need to cultivate the habit of doing only what is important,you will need to understand what to do and what not to do you have to do only what matters and stop doing what does not matter.

And strangely enough the things that don’t matter are the things that are enjoyable,Watching the TV or browsing the net playing games an so on you have to delay gratification if you want to succeed full stop.

Once you develop the habit of putting everything into your ebay business you will do things with ease and reap the rewards don’t be led astray from achieving financial freedom instead you will learn how to develop the habit of concentrated focus which will home you in on your goal for sure.

Take a look at this presentation it has some very good tips and tricks on how best to organise yourself and your business for succeed http://docs.google.com/present/view?id=dfh6cm64_60cxrrcjdr

www.learn2sellonline.co.uk

Marketing your eBay Trading assistant business

Like any other business you will need to promote your eBay trading assistant services to local businesses or private individuals which ever one you decide to work for.

There is no need to spend a fortune on advertising or promotions and the best way is for you to be proactive cold call on clients hand out business cards which you can get very cheaply on vistaprint and attend all local network events most of these are free check chamber of commerce and business link.

At these events you have the opportunity in presenting your services to all exhibitors and others who are just visiting you will also find that quite a few will be new start ups that may have cash flow problems and your service may be just the ticket they need to help them generate additional funds to help their business.

You could start with family and friends household items are always good sellers just to get into the swing of things and then graduate on to businesses.

You could even do a car booth sale and generate customers that way, I did this at the begining stages and got quite a lot of work out of it all I did was have a black and white poster made up with the services I offer and was supprised at the number of people that that wanted me to sell on their behalf

Also bear in  mind that private customers will pay up to 50% in commissions for your services.

I suggest you begin with family and friends and build a portfolio of your work asking each person to provide you with written references to use as levers in helping you gain business customers.

Once you have one or two and providing you do a good Job others will follow suit.

This is an excellent way to profit on eBay without investing money in stock low risk business is defiantly one of the ways forward nowadays.

Carry your business cards with you at all times get into conversations wherever you are let everyone know what you do and belive me you will find that first client after the first one the others follow quickly.

Dont forget to add your details to the eBay register so that others will find you there too.

Good luck for now fellow trading assistants dont forget that more information is available on my website at www.learn2sellonline.co.uk

Selling for others on eBay

This week I negotiated a deal to sell an antique solid oak table and chairs on behalf of a new client for the agreed commission rate of 50%.

Taking into consideration eBay and Paypal fees and with my powerseller discount the fees will be approximately 10% leaving me with a 40% net profit.

And this is repeated for all my customers my rates vary between 35%-50% depending on client and volume.

The beauty of this system is you dont have to carry stock nor lay out  any money for it, it’s a great deal for both parties the customer gets a bigger audience for his products and your risks and pretty much zero you could say its free stock for your business.

All you would need to do is go round to your clients premisses take the photos write a description list and sell, deduct your dues arrange shipment and pass on the balance to the client.

If you want to know more about becoming an eBay trading assistant take a look at how I do it here http://www.learn2sellonline.co.uk/trading_assistants.htm

Hasta La Vista