How to Chose the Right Dropshipping Company

Hi everyone,

Great news, they always say that you can't keep a good man down. I am really pleased to tell you that Dave Bromley the original publisher and author of UK Auctionline and a great friend to me, is back. This is the first of a series of articles that Dave will be writing and I am very pleased that he has asked me to publish it. As always with Dave, it is a quality article and one I feel sure that you will all find useful.

Welcome back Dave

Regards
Steve H

Money is becoming tight for most of us. The credit crunch has started to bite and not everyone has enough spare cash to start up their own online business .Dropshipping offers a relatively low cost way to set up a business selling on Ebay . Additionally it allows you to set up e stores elsewhere on the web. .

Although this is a cheap way to start an online business there is a downside. Not all dropshippers are totally reliable and you really need to be careful before you start randomly selling things from any old dropshipping company. In this article I am going to give you a few tips on selecting a good dropshipping company http://www.ukonlineauctionnews.com

The first step is to find a genuine wholesale company that specializes in dropshipping. Be warned that not all companies who claim to be dropshippers are actually that. Some of them are little more than middle men who buy from true wholesalers and add a mark up before offering the products on the Internet! Even if they claim to be wholesalers on their webpage, you will need to check this out and compare their prices with other online wholesalers.

It is pretty easy to check prices, just pop over to Google and do a search on a few of the items that you are interested in selling. For example, if you want to sell iPods, you can look up the regular price at Buy.com or any other regular vendor and compare it to your so-called “wholesale” price on the dropshipping company’s site. This will give you a good idea within a minute or two of how the prices rate.

Having discovered a genuine dropshiper who offers fair priced items (and these can take some finding) you will need to check how good and reliable their product quality and shipping systems are. Although this can involve some work it is well worth the effort in the long run. Once you are set up the last thing that you will want is customers complaining to you and having to refund their money.

The only way that you can check the quality and shipping is to set up an account t with the dropshipper and order a sample of the product you intend to sell. Don’t worry about having to pay for it, since you will be selling it on Ebay anyway and shipping the first one from your home! This way, you get your money back without any problems, and you get to see if the whole system works.

It can pay to carry out a market test on two or three different dropshipping companies so that you can compare the quality and service and decide which is the best and quickest responder is. Check their websites for back ordering details as well, since this could affect you in the case of selling on Ebay. You will want to know basically how long items will be back ordered and what their refund policy is in these cases. This is another good reason to have two or more dropshipping companies then, you can always go with one when the other is out of stock.

Having chosen your dropshipping company you are ready to go. Most companies supply stock photographs that you can use in your listings but I would prefer not to use these. Take your own digital photographs of the sample items that you received and use these. This will set you apart from other dropship sellers and give potential bidders more confidence In your service.

Don’t go mad to begin with, just start with one or two auctions and see how things go. If you have no problems and your clients receive the product they ordered through the dropshipping company, you will have proved the system. Now you can go ahead, with full confidence and start expanding your product range.

Taking the time to find a reliable dropship company will pay you in the long term. If you choose a poor company and they let your customers down it will be you who is responsible and will be answerable for any customer complaints. Checking out your suppliers before you sell is a generally good business policy anyway, so get in the habit of doing it.

By Dave Bromley

Dave Bromley is the former publisher of UKAuctionline and is now a semi retired writer and Internet consultant. You can visit his blog at http://www.ukonlineauctionnews.com

Internet auctions boost UK wealth

Hi everyone

A great article to not only boost your wealth, but your outlook as well in these times of doom and gloom.

Regards
Steve H

Anything and everything is available in the cyberspace market

Selling goods via online auction websites such as eBay can boost the average UK household's wealth by about £3,000, says an economic consultancy.

Over 50,000 people currently generate a sizeable proportion of their income from buying and selling online.

More than £4bn of trading is likely to be carried out on eBay alone this year, said the Centre for Economic and Business Research (CEBR).

This is the equivalent of 1.3% of total UK retail sales, the consultancy said.

Confidence boost

Websites have increased the value of second hand goods by providing a cost-free platform for advertising them and maximising their sale price.

This has, in turn, boosted the value of goods lying around people's homes and consumer confidence in general.

"If people realise that they have sellable goods sitting in their cupboards, it ought to increase consumers' confidence just like any other unexpected boost to wealth," said Laura Phaff, one of the authors of the report.

In addition, the site could provide a hidden boost for retail sales, as sales from the auction house are generally not included in official figures.

And small niche traders are finding themselves able to tap huge national - and even global - markets, increasing the likelihood of making a successful and lucrative sale.

"Auction sites are increasing competition, widening consumers' choice and helping keep down inflation - both online and on the High Street," said Mark Pragnell, managing director of CEBR.

Changes to VAT on 1st December 2008 - advice for eBay.co.uk sellers

Important update from eBay.co.uk.

Regards
Steve H

Effective 1st December 2008, the standard rate of VAT in the UK will be 15%. This rate reduction from the previous rate of 17.5% was announced by the UK Government in their Pre-Budget Report on 24th November.

We are making changes to eBay.co.uk so that the sites ready for the changes, and we would like to advise those affected by the rate change on how to amend their listings. Sellers should review all their listings to determine whether they need to amend their VAT information. Please consult with your tax advisors or HMRC for specific guidance on how this change affects you.

If you do need to amend your listing here is what you need to do:

Current listings with no bids or sales made yet:

If a listing has had no sales, sellers can edit it according to revision guidelines at http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/sell/edit_listing.html

Current listings with bids or sales made:

If the listing has already had sales, you can:

1. wait for the listing to end then edit it, or
2. end it manually, then edit it.

Whether you wait for your listing to end naturally or end it manually, the quicker you relist the ended listing, the less your recent sales score for that listing will be affected.

Change in item description factor removed from recent sales score calculation

Changing your item description will no longer affect your recent sales score, so if you need to change the item description to reflect the new VAT rate your recent sales score will not be affected.

We will be updating the FAQs at http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/find/bestmatch_faq.html to reflect the change.

We wouldd like to remind you that there will be no change to the application of VAT on your eBay selling fees. Your contractual relationship is with eBay Europel, based in Luxembourg and the rate of VAT there (also 15%) will still apply where applicable. For more information on how VAT is applied to selling fees please visit http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/account/vat-local.html

With strong competition and early discounting coming from the high street this Christmas season we know buyers are now, more than ever, being attracted to great value bargains.

Regards,

The eBay Team

New Category

Hi everyone

I have decided to add a new category to the site which I hope the UK Auctionline readership will find useful. The idea is to help generate some revenue from organisation's that wish to sponsor UK Auctionline and there-bye keep it going. As you are aware there is no hard sell on the site, and the revenue generated has been purely from our readership clicking on the ads that appear along side the articles. I hope you will take the time to look at the sponsor's links and consider them when making any relevant purchases. I will personally check out each of our sponsor's to ensure they are appropriate to our site and legitimate.

Thank you in advance
Regards
Steve H

Cheap Car Insurance.org.uk

When you're not spending your time looking around auctions and getting deals there, try looking for some cheap car insurance from somewhere like tesco insurance. You're bound to get some decent car insurance quotes and it's something that most of us need, as we all should have the protection that a proper insurance policy offers.

eBay.co.uk's Christmas marketing campaign launches

Hi everyone

Christmas is a coming, you can't avoid it but you can lessen the financial impact by shopping smarter. eBay launches it's Christmas campaign.

Regards
Steve H

We thought you'd like to know that today we're launching a new marketing campaign for Christmas.

The "Guess What" campaign communicates the great value sellers are offering on eBay this Christmas, especially on new and Buy it Now items, alongside auction and used items.

The campaign's main message is that eBay is on average 25% cheaper than the high street on like for like new items this was highlighted in a report earlier this year by European research firm Frontiers Economics, which tracked the prices of over 280 goods across 12 categories and compared them with identical items on the high street.

Look out for some of the advertising in newspapers, poster sites and online as well as some fun activity in main commuter stations in early December, all reminding shoppers that whatever they're looking for this Christmas, eBay sellers offer super gift ideas at great prices.
Regards,

The eBay Team

Mastering Your eBay Product Descriptions

Hi Everyone

I found another great article that you may find of value.

Regards
Steve H

If you have ever poked around eBay before, you have probably realized that there are quite a few businesses that count on eBay for a chunk of their revenue. That doesn't mean that there isn't room for your online store, but it does mean that you will have a bit of competition waiting for you when you decide to open your own online business. While price is always a good way to beat the competition, there are other answers. The easiest, and least expensive, way to set yourself apart from your competitors is with expertly written product descriptions. If you are thinking about selling wholesale DVDs and CDs, your product descriptions may be the final deciding factor that people take into account before picking the retailer they want to go with. Here are a few handy product description writing tips.

First, use colorful language. If your product descriptions are boring, chances are, you won't be moving much in the way of merchandise. If you can use exciting descriptions that point out the good points of every film you sell, such as great action, wonderful acting and amazing special effects, people will automatically be more likely to buy from you than from your competition.

One big hazard that everyone who sells wholesale DVDs and CDs needs to watch out for is that they are selling a 100 percent authentic product to their customers. It is possible to make cheap knockoffs of some DVDs and CDs on your home computer and people are going to need to be reassured that your product is not one of these. When you write your product description, make sure you include a line that reassures the customer that they are only buying authentic, studio issued DVDs and CDs and not copies.

One thing that always puts a customer's mind at ease is routine. When you see products for sale on sites like Amazon.com, you notice that the same format and page style is used for every single product. It is a good idea to adopt this style for your online store. Start with a general description of the product, maybe follow it with a professional review that you give proper credit for and then finish with what critics had to say. No matter which format you choose, make sure you use the exact same format on every CD or DVD you sell. It will reassure your customer base that you are on the up and up.

Finally, you never want to make a habit of intentionally navigating customers away from your web page, but it can also be a good resource if you post a link or two about the movie or product you are selling, simply have the link open in a new window, which allows the customer to stay on your ordering page. Customers will like having an Internet Movie Database link for every film, but you need to protect your interests, as well.

Your product descriptions can make or break your business, so put in some extra effort and sit back and watch the cash roll in.

About the Author - by Brent Crouch

Dvd Movies Wholesale. Buy dvds at wholesale prices and resell for a profit.
http://www.jillianentertainment.com/support/

The Myths and Magic of eBay Drop-shipping Vendors

Hello

I came across a good article today which I thought was well worth reproducing for the UK Auctionline readership, especially as Xmas is approaching and people are looking to expand their Internet auction enterprises.

Regards
Steve H

If you've never heard of drop shipping, then prepare to be impressed - it sounds like every eBay seller's dream. With drop shipping, you don't have to keep any stock at all. You simply list auctions for what your drop shipper sells, without actually seeing it yourself.

Each time something sells, you let them know, and they deliver it for you - directly to the customer. They'll charge you a near-wholesale price for the item they delivered, you charge the customer whatever price you agreed, and then you pocket the difference as profit.
http://marinerfan.cgherman.hop.clickbank.net/

The Magic.

Just think of the sheer amount of trouble this takes out of eBay selling. You don't have to find space in your house to keep your stock in, or money to buy it with. You don't have to take any risk by buying things that might not sell. You don't have to deal with suppliers. You don't even have to pack or ship the auctions yourself. Wow! Can you imagine how good this would be if you could pull it off?

But, as with all things in life, if it sounds too good to be true then it just might be.

The Myths.

Drop-shippers don't do deals with just anyone - any drop shipper who says they'll take orders from unregistered businesses is likely to be a scammer. They might not send out anything at all to your customers, or you might send out very poor quality merchandise that they will then return to you for a refund.

Also, beware of companies that claim they will put you in contact with drop shippers for a fee - they are inevitably rip-offs. At the end of the day, the best way to find drop shipping companies is to contact them in the 'real world', not by typing 'drop shipping' into a search engine.

Doing it for Real.

If you want to make a profit with drop-shippers, be prepared for it to be quite a small one: you're not going to make sales on eBay at a big mark-up from drop shipping prices. You will also have to accept that you can't inspect stock before it gets sent out, and some of your descriptions might not be as good as they could be.

You should also be prepared for a few frustrating experiences with your drop shipper, as they might not share the same customer service values as you. The first time you'll realize they never sent something to one of your buyers is when you hear about it from the buyer a week later, and that's just not good.

If you can accept all these things, though, and find a reputable drop shipper, then there's money to be made. So go get 'em
http://marinerfan.cgherman.hop.clickbank.net/

About the Author

Clint Herman is a successful eBay seller with over 6 years experience selling on eBay. He also loves teaching others how to sell on eBay. He is the author of "How to Get Started Selling on eBay," which is a beginner's guide to selling on eBay designed for people who are new to selling on eBay. The guide is available at http://www.beginnersauctionguide.com/ar.html

eBay are obviously feeling the credit crunch!!

Hi everyone

Looks like eBay are getting short of funds and are trialling another revenue stream, utilising the page that you pay for to advertise your item's. If like me you don't like the idea, let them know.

Regards

Steve H

Trial of new advertising placement on the item details page

From today we're testing a new advertising placement on selected item details pages (also known as View Item Pages) on eBay.co.uk. The placement will be a short clickable string of text clearly labelled as a sponsored link. A click on this link will open a new browser window and will sometimes lead to on-eBay content and sometimes to off-eBay content.

Goods and services promoted in this sponsored link will not compete with the item for sale on the View Item Page and will be complementary to the View Item Page item whenever possible.

This test will account for less than 1% of View Item Pages in the following categories only:

* Musical Instruments
* MP3 Players
* Home Audio / HiFi

Depending on the results of the test, we will expand the placement to View Item Pages in other categories.

Regards,

The eBay Team