eBay Issues New Digital Product Rules

By: Michael Nalbone

Acknowledging higher demand for digitally delivered products, Mara Holian, from eBay's Product Marketing team said that eBay is tightening the rules for egoods in an effort to "improve the way these items are bought and sold on eBay".

Sellers will now be required to identify digital items during the listing process and provide additional information about each product.
Listings for digital products will now include:
*System Requirements.
*File Size.
*File Format.
*Details about any additional software that may be required to use the digital product, such as Adobe Acrobat Reader for .pdf files.
I know what you're thinking: "Shouldn't the listings already contain this info?"
Of course. But, have you ever browsed auctions for an ebook? Some sellers in fact, do not make this basic information prominent in their listings. Buyers will now find the relevant info in the same place and format in every listing, instead of it being scattered about or omitted altogether.
According to eBay's site, sellers of digital goods are now required to use a "PayPal Verified Premier" or "Verified Business" account or eBay's "Checkout Redirect functionality" in order to collect payments.
Does this mean that you can't sell digital products unless you use PayPal or set up complicated software using eBay's API?
Probably not. Third-party services may still be an option.
An inquiry to one of the largest auction checkout & payment services, Andale, was not immediately answered. But they, and others, are likely to make updates which include this new, required functionality.
eBay also said that buyers will no longer see "unnecessary information, such as shipping costs". Which leads one to believe that the days of a 99 cent ebook with $12 in "shipping and handling" charges are gone.
Some sellers have been known to list digital items with unnecessary charges like these, and many buyers, in their enthusiasm to purchase one of these products, overlook these fees only to be disappointed upon checkout.
In addition, sellers will now be required to state that they are "legally authorized" to sell the product.
Research shows that everything downloadable: ebooks, mp3 songs, whole music CDs, even movies, are being offered as illegal downloads via online auction services.
While the legitimate online auction marketplaces police these types of listings and remove them promptly when they are reported or noticed, occasionally an item may slip through leaving those involved open to legal action by the copyright owner.
So, will eBay's new policy have the effect of eliminating piracy on the auction site?
Don't bet the farm.
Often, sellers mistakenly believe that they have purchased "resale rights" to the digital products they're offering for sale. So naturally, they will agree that they have the "legal" authority to re-sell the product.
Many egoods do not contain a copyright notice or resale agreement.
An inexperienced or hasty ebook publisher may unintentionally omit the information or a "pirate" may have removed or edited the author's copyright/resale notice.
While the new guidelines are certainly not a foolproof solution to digital piracy, eBay should be commended for taking a step in the right direction.
For more information on eBay's new digital goods requirements, see: http://pages.ebay.com/choosingformats/digitalitems/faqs/

About the Author:
Mike Nalbone is the publisher of "The Essential eBay Seller's Guide" which is a FREE, complete e-course that gives those who wish to sell successfully on eBay a great head-start. For more information, or to sign-up, visit: http://www.thewholesaledetective.com/ecourse.html

3 Dropshipping Secrets For Making More Money on eBay

By: Jason James

Dropshipping is a very profitable way to make money on the auction powerhouse eBay. People all over the world are creating home based businesses by using wholesalers, or also known as dropshippers, to make money on eBay.

Dropshipping is simply selling products for wholesale companies, sending them the address of the person who bought from you, and they ship the product to them.
This is an incredible opportunity, most times for the cost of a meal at a restaurant, to start a profitable eBay business.
However, because of the ease and profitability of using a dropship company there is extensive competition. eBay abounds with people using this home based business model to create a living for themselves. So, how do you get by the rest and shine as the one to buy from? There are three distinct secrets used by prominent eBay Powersellers.
1. eBay Dropshippers Know What's HOT!
The top income producers, or Powersellers, on eBay do their homework. They find out what is selling. But, not only that they research deeper to find out what's selling at the top prices.
Let's say for example, you have set up an account with a dropship company and have started an eBay seller account. Now what? Start looking at what's selling. Computers are always hot.
Go back to your dropshipper, look up what computers they offer, get some graphics and pictures, upload them to the product listing page on eBay and you're now selling computers.
Don't waste your time on items that only sell a few times at low prices.
2. eBay Dropshippers Know A Little Copywriting
The Internet, no matter what site you're on, is all about the written word. In sales, that means copywriting. Writing in order to reach a sale.
If you look at the most successful sellers they don't simply upload a picture and a few facts about the product.
They write to sell the product. Why? It was stated at the beginning of this article that the competition is plentiful. Everyone selling on eBay wants that person to buy their product not yours. So, the emphasis on copywriting, writing to instill an emotional desire to want your product, must be a priority.
Take some time to learn a little bit about good copywriting and how to construct a short, but exciting, sales letter.
3. eBay Dropshippers Live To Follow.
The absolute key to making money on eBay, with dropshippers or any other type of business model, is to follow up with your customers. Once they buy from you, that should not be the last contact you have with them.
Follow up with them. How are they liking the product? Is there anything else you can do for them? Have they seen the other auctions you have listed similar to the product they already bought?
A great way to stay in touch with your customers is to start collecting their email addresses, with their permission, and send them a special "sales flyer" of products you have listed, or other non-listed dropship items.
Want to make it big with eBay? Want to make big money with dropshipping? Follow these three Powerselling secrets today and watch your profits climb!

About the Author:
Jason James website 'The Auction Resource Network' reveals his inside secrets and sources that help him pocket over $10,000 a month on eBay.

Claim your FREE 'Top 10 eBay Selling Secrets' eBook:
www.auctionresourcenetwork.com

Want To Be An eBay Millionaire? Have You Got What It Takes?

By: Darren Yates

Taking the leap to full-time as an eBay seller is living the dream: earning a real income, working at home, being your own boss etc. It's the promise of a million scams, but it's finally come true, at least for some.
What they don't always tell you in the success stories is that becoming a full-time eBay seller is not for everyone. You really should try it part-time before you consider taking it up full-time, and even then, caution is recommended. Before you go and burn your suit, here's a list of questions you should ask yourself.

How Much Am I Earning From eBay Now?
Calculate how many hours a week you spend working on eBay related things (be honest here), then divide this by the average profit you make in a week. If you were doing full-time hours, would you earn as much as you earn now?
Do I Have a Good Job?
Consider what you might lose if you quit your job to focus on eBay. If you're in a well paid job with good promotion prospects then it's well worth reconsidering: you might get a few years down the line and wish you'd stayed in your traditional job, as you'd probably be the CEO by now.
Can I Really Make Much More Money?
Unless you're selling a large quantity of small goods, most of what you do on eBay will be waiting for auctions to end and you can wait at work just as easily as you can at home. Whether you would make more money on eBay really depends on what kinds of items you're selling - for low value items, going full-time could be a good move. For high-value ones, the chances are you'll hit the limits of how much money you have to invest in inventory long before you hit the limits on your time.
Can I Handle Working At Home?
Apart from anything else, you might find that your dream of working at home is more of a nightmare in reality. Your family can start to depend on you to get things done during the day. If you have a wife and children then they can resent the fact that you're in the house but refuse to have anything to do with them for large parts of the day. Giving in to them and stopping work for a while will cause your profits to slide.
Would I Survive if it All Went Wrong?
Could you get by if you had a month or two where you sold nothing? Or would you be desperately looking around for a job and cursing the day you ever discovered eBay? That's the real test.
If you are not phased by these questions, then I guess you could be cut out for the eBay lifestyle - and even if you were phased, you'd be surprised just how far you can get part-time.

About the Author:
Darren Yates has discovered that Brandon Dupsky makes $22,000 a DAY! on eBay selling everyday stuff. Do you think you could too? -
http://www.how-to-make-money-online.inf/eBay-millionaire/

Using the Ebay search tool to see if a product will make money on Ebay

By: Jason James

That is the question that thousands are asking me every week. My email is also flooded with questions like: How do I start an Ebay store to make money on Ebay? What should I start selling on Ebay? Is there an affiliate program that will help me make money on Ebay? The list goes on and on.

The one question that we are going to cover today and one that you should pay attention to is "I have a product but what is the best way to evaluate the product and find out how I should price it so that I can make money on Ebay?"
I have two words for you: Search Engine. No I'm not talking about Google, Yahoo, or any other of the major search engines. I'm talking about a search feature that is literally under your nose at this very moment. I'm talking about the Ebay Search Tool!
Did you realize that the Ebay search tools is the fastest and most accurate way to finding out if people are buying products like yours on Ebay? You will also be pleased to know that you can discover what sells best so that you can make money on Ebay and how to accurately price your products so they sell like hot cakes!
Using the Ebay search tool to make money on Ebay
Be sure to search the 'completed auctions' to find out how similar products like yours have been selling. The results that you will find here will also help you determine which categories to list your item in. Anone can make money on Ebay but you want you do not want to be just 'anybody'
Each item sold on Ebay has a particular type of buyer that shops for that item. If you were looking to buy paperback books on Ebay then you obviously would not be searching under the category of televisions, right? This line of thinking will help you better profile buyers and after you have analyzed their shopping patters by studying the completed auctions section of the Ebay search tool then you will better be able to become a 'power seller' to make money on Ebay.
Hot Tip: Use this completed feature to find out what 'time of day' that the high bidders snagged the sale and won. Are you getting the idea yet? Good, let's continue...
Most of the time new sellers like to jump in and make money on Ebay by selling a very common product. That is ok but you still need to do your homework. What kind of homework? Well for example you definitely want to check and find out how many other Ebay sellers are pushing the same product. In conjunction with this information write down what time their auctions close. If you you are the second or third auction to close with the exact same price then your profits will shrink to nothing, trust me.
Hot Tip: Space out your auctions that are similar to others to avoid being left in the cold.
Although it is not necessary now, it is advisable for you to learn the the Ebay search engine 'syntax' (shorthand) so that you will be able to location your items with precise accuracy. Of course you can make money on Ebay by by just finding your way around using the small search box that shows on each page, but eventually you will need to learn more. And, if you are really new to using the Ebay search features then by all means simply go to the search page.
5 parting tips
Last but certainly not least, I am going to leave you with a brief list of tips below which will help you get as much as you can from the Ebay Search Engine in order to help you make money on Ebay.
1. To better define your search be sure to check off the boxes next to 'search titles and descriptions' options
2. Do not worry about using caps when using the Ebay search engine. It is not case sensitive.
3. Using conjunctions and articles are not advisable when typing in your listing. The Ebay search tool may consider these conjunctions/articles (a,or,an,the,etc.) as part of your search and pull irrelevant listings.
4. When searching for a popular item then it is advisable to search by the full 'description' and not by auction titles and descriptions alone.
5. If you are interested in finding the history of pricing for an item then make sure that you check off the box to se

About the Author:
Jason James website 'The Auction Resource Network' reveals his inside secrets and sources that help him pocket over $10,000 a month on eBay.

Claim your FREE 'Top 10 eBay Selling Secrets' eBook:
www.auctionresourcenetwork.com

Discover the Keywords Secret to Making Money on eBay

By: Brian Mcgregor

If there's one thing that dismays me, it's that so many sellers on eBay are simply throwing their listing fees away!
First off, can we agree that there's little point in listing your item unless buyers are going to view your auction? Yes?
In which case, why do so many eBay sellers create auctions which are NEVER going to get viewed? There are millions of eBay sellers who do this.

What many sellers don't realise when they create their auction is that they've wasted their listing fee before they even get to filling in the auction description page.
They make a fundamental error earlier on in their auction creation. And that is in their auction title.

The reality is, if your auction title is not effective, it really doesn't matter how good your description page is - your auction won't get seen.
Here are some facts.
If you sell on eBay, learn them well!
1. To find items they want to bid on, 70% of buyers use eBay's search box first
2. Words keyed into the search box are compared ONLY with auction titles
3. Words keyed into the search box are NOT compared with auction descriptions
4. Words keyed into the search box are NOT compared with auction sub-titles
Which all means that your auction title must contain the keyed-in search words used by buyers, or your auction won't get brought back in search return lists.
And if it isn't in the search return list, it can't be clicked on by a potential buyer.
And if it isn't clicked on, how can the item get sold?
The harsh truth is that unless your item appears in search return lists, it isn't going to sell! And that's what will happen if your auction title is not effective.
How do you get your auctions in search return lists more often?
It's simple. You just make sure you put keywords in your auction titles which you believe eBayers will search on.
To decide on the keywords to use, you have to think like a buyer. What words would be used by a person interested in searching for an item like yours?
At this stage, just list them. Don't put the words into a sentence yet. Spend as long as you like on this exercise. The more effective you are with this, the less likely you are to have one of those sleepy auctions that rarely gets a visitor.
Having listed as many keywords as you can think of, you have to decide which are the strongest. Remember, you only have 55 precious characters for your auction title.
Taking your best keywords, you now create your auction title. It's not an English exam, so it doesn't matter if it doesn't scan like a sentence.
You can add a power word or two if you've space. By this I mean words like stunning, limited edition, unique, rare, new, one-off, exclusive, distinctive, dramatic etc. These are words which can influence buyers to click through to your auction description. They aren't keywords searched on by buyers, so use them sparingly. For the same reason, I don't advocate the use of "clever" words like l@@k or w0w!
Finally, do the words in your title convey what the item is? If so, that's it. You've created a powerful, compelling and keyword rich auction title. And your auction will appear more often in search return lists. And, that's the key!
Now you know how fundamental keywords are to your auction, why not review your current auction titles today? Get those keywords into your auction title and take it from me you'll get your fair share of the 79 million eBay daily searchers.

Source: Free Articles from ArticlesBase.com

About the Author:
Brian McGregor is an eBay specialist. He is creator of the unique software product eBay Keyword Pro, which tells you the most popular keywords on eBay. Get your free version of eBay Keyword Pro from www.keyword-pro.com/kpdemoversion.htm

Avoid the eBay Scams

One of the biggest fears people have over eBay is that of being scammed. Whether you are a buyer or a seller there is always a slight risk that all may not be what it seems. eBay tell us that only 0.01% of transactions ever have any problems but that is no compensation if you are that 0.01%. So what can you do to avoid being scammed?

There are some very obvious points if you are a seller such as never sending out the product until the cash is safely in your bank or Paypal account. One point that is often raised by UK Auction Line subscribers is whether you should wait to confirm that any cheques you receive have been cleared through your bank before sending the items.
Personally I usually dispatch goods as soon as I receive the cheque. This is pertly because most items I sell are fairly low value, under £30 and prompt dispatch of goods encourages good feedback.

However, if you deal in higher priced items it would only be common sense to wait. I can say that in all the time I have been selling on eBay I have never had a cheque bounce but maybe I have just been lucky. Again with higher priced items you should use a delivery service that offers some form of tracking system. For lower cost items I simply use the Royal Mails Recorded Delivery service. It provides compensation up to £28, requires a signature from the recipient and only costs 65p. If nothing else it stops the “I never received it” con.

If the item you are selling an item that could be broken or damaged in the post you should consider offering insurance and pointing out that if the buyer does not want it then the item is shipped at their risk. This way you cover yourself from people that may take advantage of you. It is also a good idea to clearly state your return and exchange policies to avoid disputes later.

As a buyer the best method of payment is through Paypal or if you are buying an expensive item you should consider using an escrow service. But you have to be cautious with these as many fake escrow services have been set up purely to swindle people. The only escrow service you should use is eBay’s own www.escrow.com. because this is a guaranteed and totally trustworthy. Do no send money by wire, bankers draft or Western Union because you will have no recourse if something goes wrong. I recently e-mailed subscribers of information about a free gift from Dave Guindon of his latest software program Feedback Analyzer Pro. This is a really good and useful tool for anyone who uses eBay but the reason I mention it here is because also included with the download are two videos on eof which is on the subject of avoiding being scammed on eBay. You could find this interesting. To download it go to http://findv.com/x.php?3e5

THE BIG PROBLEM FOR WOULD BE EBAY ENTREPRENEURS

There are no end of articles, books and courses that tell you how easy it is to make big money selling items on eBay and the other online auctions. What many of these do not tell you is how difficult it is to find suitable products to sell. Most people start by selling off surplus items that they already own, a great way to clear the loft or garage of all that junk. But eventually that source of supply dries up.. and then what?

There are thousands upon thousands of products that you could sell. You could find them at flea markets, wholesalers, dropshippers or even advertised on eBay. But the truth is that many of them will not give you a good enough profit in return for the time effort and money that you will have invest in the project.

The solution to the problem is research. You need to discover two facts. First what is actually selling on eBay and secondly where you can source such items at a reasonable price. The first is comparatively easy. All you need to do is to search through all the auction categories.

One of the great advantages of eBay is that its operation is very transparent and it is very easy to discover what is actually selling and for how much. All the information is there and you can easily see if a particular type of product is selling well and how strong the competition is. It is difficult to imagine any other market place where it is so easy to research the supply and demand for any specific product.

The second part of your research can be more difficult finding your product source.
Quite honestly it can be a jungle out there. Many wholesalers and dropshippers are little more than middlemen who are just out to take a chunk of your potential profits.
You will also see advertised lists of wholesalers and these can often prove a complete waste of time. If you want to find details of wholesalers go to www.yellowpages.com
(www.yell.com in the UK) and type in the word wholesalers and you will get details of as many wholesalers as you will ever need.

Many sellers are lazy and will not leave their computers when searching for suppliers and you can benefit from this. One of the best places to find new products to sell on eBay are trade fairs and shows. Most industries have trade fairs and you can find out dates and details for many of these events at http://www.eventseye.com or http://www.exhibitions.co.uk for the UK. A big tip if you do attend trade fairs is to get a supply of business cards produced. Many trade exhibiters will ask you for one and not only does in establish your credibility it is a sure way of being added to their mailing list.

Despite what you may hear many eBay sellers make pennies on the dollar purely because they are not prepared to do the work it takes to find the right products and suppliers. If you are then you too can start earning the big money that all those articles, books and courses talk about. It really is up to you.