Hello <$firstname$>

I am afraid that this issue of UK Auction Line is a little late. It has been a pretty busy couple of weeks for us both on and off eBay. I hope that you have all had a chance to have a look at the revamped web site www.ukauctionline.co.uk. As you will have seen I have added a Blog and a RSS feed to the site. This means that I can add any news to the site as soon as it becomes available.

I have been speaking to some subscribers over the last couple of weeks who have either been threatened with or actually suspended. Most of the problems revolve around selling information products. In one case the problem involved the fact that one item contained a mixture of original material but also included some free or shareware products. In this case the member had an Attorney represent her and got the suspension rescinded. The lesson seems clear though if you are selling information material on eBay make sure that you study the eBay rules on the subject.

What I found strange was that eBay seem ready to suspend members for minor infringements and yet ignore more blatant offenders. The other day I was browsing eBay looking at golf clubs and I found someone with a feedback of 76%. The seller from the Far East was offering a very well known and expensive putter for about a third of its normal cost. It was obvious from the feedback that what he was actually selling was a replica and not the real thing. And yet he was still able to list on eBay?

Has anyone found an eBay Buyer or seller with a feedback percentage of less than 76%, if you have I would love to hear about it.

This month I am including an article by UK Auction Line subscriber Jane Fazakely in which she tells us how she has built up her eBay business. Contributions from subscribers are always welcome.

by Sydney Johnston

Auction templates are simply a must for successful online auction selling. One day I spent approximately 45 minutes writing a listing for an item that would make me about $5 in profit! I suddenly realized the stupidity of what I was doing. Here I was scheming and plotting to become a net millionaire - and I could work at WalMart and make more money than this!

It seems as though you are selling products on eBay, but really you're not. What you have to sell is:

* Your time
* Your knowledge

And you must maximize the use of your time, rather than spend it constantly writing listings. The best way to do this, of course, is with a template. A template is a pattern that you can use again and again, without having to write news listings every time you have an eBay auction.

Here is an example of a template that I used when I was selling ready-made websites on eBay:

http://auction-genius-course.com/listings/template2.shtml

I only had to make a few changes on the page, such as ...

* The picture at the top left
* The website name
* The appraised value

... and my auction was ready to list. Time spent: under five minutes!

Personally, I make my own templates, but if you do not want to do likewise, you might consider eBay's management service which offers templates as part of its package.

http://pages.ebay.com/sell/tools.html

Naturally, there are many off-eBay auction templates as well.

Free template sources:
http://auctionsupplies.com/templates

http://nucite.com/templates

http://web.thenetter.com/free_templates_and_graphics.html

http://www.firstauction.com/template/template_generator_others.htm

http://www.antique-central.com/tips1.html

http://auctioninsights.com/practice/auction-template.html

http://desacs.com/downloadtemplates/auctiontemplates.htm

http://woowoodesigns.com/collection1.html

Paid template sources:

http://www.auctiontemplatecentral.com

http://www.auction-resources.com/templates.html

http://www.pc-limited.com/ebay.html

http://www.auction-lizard.com/lizard

http://zoovy.com

Without auction templates my eBay success would have been much less than it is. If you are selling the same items repeatedly, you must use templates or you will waste far too much time in repetitious, tedious tasks. Success isn't about killing yourself working 20 hour days, but about managing your time to make maximum profits.

About the Author

Sydney Johnston, the AUCTION QUEEN, was one of the original sellers on eBay and has been selling on eBay since the winter of 1996. She is the originator and teacher of the famous Auction Genius Course, a powerful 16 hour multi media seminar on the Internet that teaches her students how to sell on ebay.

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by Tom the Webmaster

Note: If you would like to view this article, along with step-by-step instructions and detailed pictures, visit my online auction tutorial guide at:
http://www.auctiontongue.com/com_ebay/index.html

Like many folks, you have heard of online auctions. Heck, even non-computer users have heard of Ebay. Everyone starts out as a bidder. The brave move on to be sellers. Little, by little, you learn the ropes.

One of those “ropes” that seems to always give people problems is working with their auction photo. Previous photo experience may have only been limited to the seller’s children or pets. Suddenly, they find themselves wading thorough terms such as “pixel,” “uploading,” and “compression.”

Sure, Ebay has tutorials, but it’s not the whole story. Isn’t it frustrating that “help” files are always “streamlined?” Doesn’t it seem like the step-by-step details are missing? I pondered this one day, trying to look through the eyes of someone who’s never heard of “image hosting” before.
For example, did you know that there are 5 screens that you have to pass through before you get to the screen for uploading your pictures to Ebay? Did you know that you can practice uploading pictures without making an actual auction listing? I’m sure you feel braver already!

Just make your way to the fifth screen and don't continue after that - (because the listing was not completed, it will not be listed. If you go to sell a real item, your "mock" listing will be there - your choice will be to start a new listing or finish your last (mock) listing - …starting a new listing will delete any drafts or “mock” listing.)

I bet you’re really mixed up when you find out there are 3 choices when you get there: “ebay picture services,” “basic picture services,” and “picture manager.” Who wouldn’t be confused? I clearly outline these choices in my free online auction tutorials including which one you need and why (hint: it’s not the same for every person).

The instructions for how to put picture on ebay can be found here:
http://www.auctiontongue.com/com_ebay/instructions_on_how_to_put_picture_on_ebay.htm
Ebay suggests that there are four ways to “capture” your digital photo for your auction listing: digital camera, regular camera and scanner, film-to-digital image service, and video camera and VCR tape – that’s where Ebay leaves you hanging.

Please don’t give up yet! Remember – we’re all in this big internet mess together, and together we’ll figure it out. There’s no way around learning to use your digital devices, except sitting down and reading the owner’s manual. From there, you may find additional help on the internet. You have to do your part, first.

If you decide to buy a digital camera, read my “How to Buy a Digital Camera for Auction Use” http://www.auctiontongue.com/com_ebay/index.html It tells precisely what features you need to look for and what will cause you trouble.

If you do buy a digital camera, it’s a whole other story getting the image onto the computer. I thought you would enjoy some step-by-step photos of that process, too, so I included them at http://www.auctiontongue.com/com_ebay/index.html

If you have a regular camera and scanner, or a friend has a scanner, try my tutorial “Scanner overview.” I even put together “Navigating Your Computer” so anyone could find and locate their auction pictures with ease.

I hate to tell you this, but there’s more for you to worry about. Ever go to an online auction and you wait and wait for it to load and nothing happens? Usually the culprit is a large file-sized auction photo. It’s the number one mistake beginners make. It makes your auction look unprofessional. The chances are slim anyone will hang around to place bids at that auction.

What’s that? Do I have a tutorial to solve that? Why yes I do! If you can’t tell already, I like helping people learn about the internet. I like to see people getting excited about their auctions. Believe me, your despair will be short-lived, and you will soon be an auction pro with some great auction stories to tell.

– See you at the Auctions – Renee from AuctionTongue

About the Author

Renee Matt maintains AuctionTongue.com, a review site of auction tool, free auction templates, auction software, auction sniper and image hosting services. AT focuses on auction websites outside of Ebay. Sign up for their FREE Auction Freebies newsletter at http://www.auctiontongue.com/

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by Jane Fazakeley

One of the best way's I've found for buying and selling online is to use the eBay.com site especially with the exchange rate being so favorable at the moment. I usually look for batches of items, not necessarily wholesale lots but batches of five to seven items, which are a mix of, rare and the not so collectable. I always get these for a good price because I’ve found whilst people will pay a lot of money for a rare item on it's own, they won't spend a lot of money if it's mixed in with other items. I can then break it into lots and make a profit that way. A while ago I brought five items for £25.00, I sold one for £48, another for other £10.00 and the rest of the items for £26.00. Another factor that can effect the price realised is the time of day an auction ends. I find if I buy from any of the sites during the afternoon I can always get items far cheaper and then resell them simply because there are less people visiting eBay in the afternoon it's going to go for less.

Sometimes you'll find people on the .com site or other overseas sites who say they won't ship overseas but it's actually worth asking if they will especially if they accept Pay Pal. I recently asked a seller if he would consider sending the items to me even though he stated in the item description he wouldn't ship overseas. They agreed and I brought a lot of six items for just £4.20 for which I can get £6-10 each. This isn't the only seller who has agreed to do this and sellers who don't ship internationally or say they don't never get as good a price. Failing that, you can always use www.parcel2go.com new service where they will set up a US postal address for you.

Another method of buying that I’ve found more recently is to buy wholesale. The UK site isn't nearly as good for wholesale lots but after learning what will sell and what defiantly won't I find it easier to spot bargains. I normally buy on a Friday or a Saturday night, I’ve found from experience this is the quietest time for bidding so I get them cheaper and I also use Auction Sniper so I don't need to place my bid too soon and let other bidders push the price up. I recently won a batch of 50 items for £11, I've sold one item for £4, another item for nearly nine pounds. I've already got bids on two of the other items listed on eBay and I still have another 40 plus items to sell- and I am already in profit.

Another discovery I have made is that some eBay sites are quieter than others especially the Australian, German and Canadian sites. It might just depend on the kind of items you bid for but I nearly always win the items I bid for on any of these sites and at a far lower price. Another thing I do is I always look at what else the seller has on offer so I can make savings on shipping by getting combined postage.

Baroness Thatcher's Shoes For Sale on eBay

Anniversary lessons from eBay Anniversary lessons from eBay

This Months Special Offer

eBay.co.uk have announced that they will be permitting the sale of LIVE 8 concert tickets on eBay.co.uk. To ensure that they are not accussed of profiting from what is a charitable event they have offered to make a donation to the LIVE 8 charity at least equivalent to the fees they will collect from the sale of LIVE 8 tickets.

They are allowing the sale of tickets in the belief that people can make up their own minds about what they buy and sell. The reselling of charity concert tickets is not illegal under English law and eBay believes it is a fundamental right for someone to be able to sell something that is theirs whether they paid for it or won it in a competition.

eBay Live is the big eBay Exhibition, Conference and Meeting which this year will be held in the San Jose McEnery Convention Centre between 23rd and 25th June.

Earlier this month eBay lauched ebay.ie a site specifically for Ireland. It could well be worth keeping an eye on this site as there could well be a few bargains to be had.