Here is a link to a Wholesale Search Engine that will help you find wholesale sources for eBay and your web site.

eBay Glossary

Have you ever been confused by terms and abbreviations on eBay. Here is a new page with a free eBay glossary of over 75 terms.

77 Tips and Tools for Selling on The New eBay

This is a free document that you can read online or print out.  It contains some of the best tips and tricks for selling and selling on eBay

Click here to access

Drop Shipping on eBay

Forget all of those stupid drop shipping companies that claim to have thousands of products you can sell on eBay and make a fortune. They make their money off of membership fees because their prices are higher for most items that the same items are selling for on eBay.

If you want to make money drop shipping you have to buy from the same manufacturers and distributors they do. There is only one source I know of that can connect you with those manufacturers and distributors who will drop ship.

World Wide Brands is the single best solution to the drop shipping problem. Their drop ship solution actually puts you in contact with manufacturers instead of using a drop ship middleman. They have the added advantage of being the only drop ship source that is an Official eBay Solutions Provider.

I have personally used their service to find manufacturers who drop ship for me. To date I have over $8,000 in sales from just one manufacturer I found on their site.

Automate Your Auctions

Automate your auctions with an auction management service. These services provide auction templates where you type in your headlines and text, insert your images, set your price, terms, starting/ending time, etc. You can schedule your auctions at any time or day you specify. These services also track your inventory and sales, send automated emails to customers, provide a PayPal or credit card gateway and automatically post feedback once payment is received.

There are over a dozen companies providing eBay and other auction automation services. Here are my two favorites:

Vendio. I have used Vendio successfully for over three years. They offer a two-week free trial.

A great eBay Auction Management System for eBay consignment sellers is inkFrog.
 

Free Digital Photo Tips

I have just posted my FREE Digital Photo Tips at my other web site where I sell the EZ Cube Photo Light Tent.

Here is the page where you can read the Free Digital Photo Tips. If you want to print them out, simply highlight them, and hit Print. When your print command box opens, click on the button that says: "print selection." That will print just the tips and not the images on the page.

If you struggle to take good photos, take a minute to look at the EZ Cube tents and complete systems. I also sell these in My eBay Store.

I have used this tool for the past two years and it allows anyone to take professional-looking photos even with a simple digital camera.

Internet Marketing Course

My first year selling on eBay I made almost $30,000 profit after expenses. In my second year, I made about $58,000 on eBay, but I made an additional $40,000 selling directly from my web site. My web site business now accounts for 40% of my sales --but 65% of my profits.

I used the information in The Internet Marketing Course, by Derek Ghel, to build my web site business. There is also tons of information in his course that you can apply to building your eBay business

I cannot recommend this course enough. Derek has just released version 3.0 which you can order as an E-Book to print out or he will mail you two volumes, over 1,000 pages of information.

One word of caution. They also sell an eBay course that I have read. It seems a bit overpriced for what you get. Internet Marketing has always been this company's forte, and those materials are very good.

Add Audio to Your Auctions

I have used Seller's Voice for over a year now. It has increase both the sell through rate and the average final value of my auctions for my firepits, Starbucks collectibles and my EZ Cube light tents.

It is easy to use and pays for itself many times over. I have arranged for my readers to get a three-week trial for only $1.00.

Get Out of Debt and Stay out Of Debt

Years ago Karen and I found ourselves in deep debt due to some business reversals that I had not forseen. It took a long time to work our way out of it but we did. (Finding eBay really helped). I wish I had know about Leo Quinn then. He is a debt counselor. His system really works. If you are struggling to reduce your debts, check out his book: Own Your Own Paycheck Again.

Government Auction Guide

Here is an explanation of how US Government auctions work, and links to Government Auctions with registration information. Don't pay for this information. Its free!

Click here to read the Government Auction Guide with links to Government Auction Sites.

Who Are The Top Sellers on eBay

I like to learn from my competition. If you can see what the top sellers are doing and apply their techniques, you can improve your eBay titles, descriptions, policies and selling techniques.Here is a link that will connect you with the cream of the crop:

The Top 500 Sellers on eBay
 

HammerTap Research Tool

Product research is essential to building a successful eBay business. I have used all of the research tools over the years, but the new release from HammerTap is without question the best research tool I have used.

In return for promotional consideration, I have recently made a great deal for my readers. Instead of a 7-day free trial and then $24.95 a month, you can get try HammerTap3 for 14-days and subscribe for only $17.95 a month.

AuctionBytes

AuctionBytes is a great free resource for auction sellers. They host an auction calendar that gives the best and worst days to launch an auction, an auction Yellow Pages, articles for auction sellers and a great FREE newsletter.

Affiliate Marketing

Did you know you can legally earn affiliate commissions by using your eBay listings to drive traffic to your About Me page and from there to your website or various legitimate affiliate earnings offers. My good friend, Jim Cockrum, explains how to generate income with his best-selling book, The Silent Sales Machine Hiding on eBay.

Sniping Tool

Some of the best bargains to be had on eBay are those items you can snipe at the last second when no one is looking, or items that end during the day and late at night when very few people are on eBay. I use a really neat and very inexpensive sniping tool from:

BidSlammer

eBay Store Design

If you open an eBay Store it is important that it be set up correctly so your items are found by search engines and Froogle. Also a nice store design will help your sales.

I found a great designer on eBay. His name is Anthony McMurray and his company is called ProImpulse Design.

eBay Reading List

There have been over 100 books written about eBay over the past ten years and new ones continue to come out all the time.

Here is a list of My Top Recommended books for eBay Sellers. You will find several of my books, plus others that I highly recommend.
 

Best Digital Cameras
 for eBay

I am always asked “what is the best digital camera for taking product photos for eBay?” There are a lot of digital cameras on the market but many of them do not have the right features you need for product photography. There are so many cameras that will work and I can’t list them all, but here is my list of Great Digital Cameras for eBay in three price ranges: Budget, Intermediate and Pro.
 

Free Shipping Supplies

If you send your items via USPS priority mail the post office will give you free envelopes, tape, and boxes. Think this through. If you are sending something across the country that weights less than two pounds. If you pay the priority mail fee and get free boxes that is sometimes close to what UPS charges when you add in the cost of a box. You can even get free boxes with the eBay Logo printed on them. Here is the link to get Free eBay Co-Branded Boxes.

Another source for free supplies is your local gift shop or kitchen shop. These merchants receive merchandise in good boxes everyday with plenty of bubble-pak and Styrofoam peanuts that they simply throw away or pay to have recycled. Get friendly with your local gift shop and you can have access to tons of free shipping suppliers. Believe me they are happy to have you take it off of their hands.

There are common terms used to grade collectibles, antiques, coins, stamps, books and toys at on-line auctions. Here are some common terms and their descriptions:

MINT - This is the top grade for any item. It means the item is in new original condition such as a book that has never been read, or a toy that has never been played with. If the item is packaged or boxed it is usally listed as Mint-in-box (MIB), or Mint-in-package (MIP), etc.

NEAR MINT - Just what is sounds like. Perhaps it is a book that was carefully read only once, or a coin that was never used, but has been handled.

VERY FINE - Now the description gets a bit subjective. Very Fine primarily says the item is in premium condition and still highly worthy as a collectible. You often see descriptions such as "Mint item in very fine package," indicating them item is mint, but perhaps the package has been opened or had some wear and tear.

VERY GOOD - Now we are dropping out of the fine collectible category. A Very Good item might be one that is in great condition for its age or use. An antique piece of furniture in very good condition may be a great piece. A depression glass pitcher in very good condition, however, may have chips or cracks or a toy may have scratches in the paint.

GOOD, FAIR & POOR - These words speak for themselves. You would only want a good, fair or poor item if it was exceedingly rare or used to fill a hole in your collection. These items appreciate in value very slowly, if at all. Various items have their own grading systems.

Here are some websites that offer information about grading specific collectibles. Grading Coins for coins. RTF for toy figures. Ask Phil for stamps. Glossary of book collecting terms. We are researching further links for this subject and will post them as we find them.