Uk Auction Line News. Issue 8

UK Auction Line News. Issue 8

The leading ezine of users of Ebay.co.uk...

29 September 2003

Editor's Note

Welcome to the eighth issue of UK Auction Line News.

I would like to say a special hello to all the new subscribers. The purpose of this newsletter is to give help and advice to anyone who uses the Ebay.co.uk on line auction site. Any contributions from subscribers whether in the form of hints, tips questions or articles relevant to our subscribers interests are welcome.

The first good news this week as far as I am concerned is that the negative feedback that I received from a customer has been withdrawn. It is not easy to get a negative feedback cancelled but fortunately as I am a member of Square Trade I was able to apply to them for a mediator who by talking to both parties was able to resolve what was essentially a misunderstanding on the part of my customer.

It costs $7.50 cents a month to be a member of Square Trade but you can have a free 30 day trial. Having been very impressed with the service that I received from them I would recommend that you at least have a look at their service. . By displaying the Square Trade seal you are showing potential buyers that you are a seller committed to high selling standards.

To learn more about Square Trade go to eBay.co.uk site map and click on the link at the bottom of the centre row.

In response to some requests I have received from this issue I am going to include a review of software programs designed to help us all make the most out of eBay. You have only got to surf around the Internet to see what a big business it is providing such programs. For this issue I have been looking at Spoonfeeder.

Don't forget, we would like to hear of your experiences with Ebay or any questions that you may have. Also if you fancy yourself as a budding writer and think you have something of interest to say to our readers we would welcome your articles. (No more than 600 words please).

The run up from now until Christmas is usually one of the busiest periods on eBay and I have notice a considerable increase in my sales during this month so if you have not started selling online yet, now is the time.

Good Luck

Dave Bromley

Contents:
1. Keep your Buying and Selling Separate.
2. Spoonfeeder
3. Final Thoughts

Content section 1

Keep your Buying and Selling Separate.

by Dave Bromley

Readers who have listened to UK Auctionline Tutorial CDs will know that I suggest you buy a few items in the early days to build up your feedback rating. And this is a very good tactic in the beginning, but once you have become established you might consider opening a second eBay account dedicated purely to buying.

There are two reasons why I would suggest this. The first is that if you are using only one Ebay ID you could find yourself in an awkward situation. Imagine that you have just made a purchase and all has not gone well. You are going to be in a dilemma, if you submit a negative feedback there is always the risk that the other party will retaliate by leaving one for you.

Whilst no negative feedback is good it is far less damaging for a buyer than it is a seller. So what are you going to do submit the feedback that the person deserves or just let it go for fear of retaliation.

If you buy items on Ebay to resell then it is also advisable that you have a separate ID for buying and selling. It is quite easy for a potential buyer to go back through your history and it may not be a good idea for them to see where and for how much you purchased the item you are trying to sell to them.

Remember that if you do set up a second ID you will have to register this with Paypal if you want to use their services.

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Content section 2

Spoonfeeder

One of the first major online auction software companies to sow any interest in the UK market was Spoonfeeder. Gene Chandler the CEO of Spoonfeeder is very keen for his company to become a major International player. As a result they are continually updating and improving their program.

To give it its full title the software is called Spoonfeeder Professional Management System and the developers claim that it is designed to make the lives of on-line auction sellers easier.

Currently the system has many unique features such as the ability to generate professional advertisements, auction listings, and items for sale listings using pre designed, eye-catching templates. It also includes an integrated free picture hosting .

Other useful tools included in the program is a photo enhancer, a facility to load, save, print, organise and reuse listings. It also has a spell checker and thesaurus included.

At first I found the program a little daunting but thanks to the ring binder manual that comes with the program I quickly got use to it. There have been a lot of new features added lately and I am seriously thinking of making it main submission tool. If you have a lot of items listed on eBay you will find the managements tools particularly useful.

You can have a chance of trying it out on a 30 day trial to see how you like it. If you would like more details or download the 30 day trial version. CLICK HERE

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Deep Analysis

At US$179 the Deep Analysis software is not cheap but if you are a serious eBayer you could find it invaluable for carrying out market research. The other good news is that you can have a free 30 day trial which gives you plenty of opportunity to put the program through its paces.

Deep Analysis is a powerful piece of software that can analyse any eBay market sector and produce detailed market research reports. If you select a category, seller or search term the program will generate a pile of information for you. Among other things you can discover the most popular items, the highest priced and average number of bids. Discover information about other sellers, total sales, average bids per item or find out who are the most successful sellers The software can scan both current and completed auctions.

So why use Deep Analysis?

You can analyse a particular item to see how much it might sell for, and find the best technique for selling it.

See which sellers are doing really well, and analyse their techniques and product line.

Find out how much your competitors are really selling in your market place. Some sellers list a lot but don't sell much.

Strategise which categories would be best for your items by viewing bid data, sell-through rates and average sales.

My own opinion is that this program is a very useful tool if you are looking to become a serious player on eBay. If not then try the 30 day free trial and see if you can justify the 110+ that Deep Analysis costs.

For more details Click Here

Content section 3

Final Thoughts

I know that we have only just got through summer but Christmas is not far away and now is the time to start thinking about the kind of items potential customers will be looking for. A friend of mine, Joy Healey, tells the story of how her brother and his wife managed to cover a large portion of the cost of their children's Christmas presents by selling their discarded and unwanted old toys on eBay.

At no other time of the year are people so ready to spend their money and you should look upon it as your duty to help them. So start looking for Christmas related items now.

I have just be browsing through this months issue of The Money Master magazine and once again there are several interesting items about eBay and online auctions. One correspondent raises the point that Charity shops can be a happy hunting ground for finding items to sell on eBay.

My own view is that a real eBayer keeps their eyes open everywhere for an opportunity. I will give you an example. On a visit to my local library I noticed that they were selling off some old books and audio books. I bought several unabridged"talking books" for £1 each and a copy of the "Bradbury" Directory of Newspapers and Magazines which costs £280 per issue for just £5.

I leave you with a final thought from management expert Tom Peters.

"If a window of opportunity appears... Don't pull the blinds down".

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