| The Online Seller | Vol. 2, Issue 19 |
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Fine-tune your marketing plan to make it a 'green' Christmas.
by Janelle Elms
Many Internet marketing writers will be sharing with you all sorts of great and creative ideas for getting your business ready for the holiday season. Listen to them! You should already be listing like crazy, putting your listings in your eBay Store, getting them ready to pull out into the main search, fine-tuning your Terms of Service to include phenomenal customer service like gift wrapping and planning your go-in-the-box extra goodies. Those are all good and sensible points to talk about for holiday sales. Read story.
Your Personal Sales Consultant
Parting the curtain on eBay's Top Seller Account Management program.
by Brad and Debra Schepp
Touching Up Your Item Images
Enhance your listings without misrepresenting your goods.
by Dennis L. Prince
Give Yourself an eBay Makeover
There's nothing like a fresh coat of paint to help perk up sales.
by Danna Crawford
Unlocking 'Best Match' Mysteries
Learn what eBay's algorithm uses to return search results.
Get It in Writing
Create a consignment contract with confidence.
View more Articles.
Win Every Auction. Auction Sniper automatically bids on the items you want during the listing's closing seconds to ensure you're the winning bidder. Don't get caught up in bidding wars; just tell Sniper what you want and let it do the work for you. Sign up for an account today and get your first three snipes free. Learn more.
News Stories
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Auctiva Commerce waives monthly store fee through March 2010.
Auctiva Commerce has announced it will waive its $9.95 monthly store fee through March 2010 to make online stores more accessible to a wider range of sellers. Read story.
Counterfeit Ring Uncovered on eBay
Golf gear plot called 'largest scam of its kind.'
'Tis the Season to Budget
Holiday shoppers expected to think twice before buying.
View all News Stories.
Unique Items Online
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Have a sweet tooth, but don’t want the calories? This Dr Pepper will do the trick. The "100 percent empty" can might tempt you, but it won't wreck your diet, even if you give in. And it's a steal at 1 cent. But you'll have to look elsewhere if you need something to quench your thirst. This Dr Pepper won't take care of that.
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If your credit card has had it and you're looking for another way to pay for this year's holiday gifts, look no further than this treasure map. According to the seller, the map highlights real witch areas in Cape Cod, famous ghost areas and ship wrecks of "great value." You might just find the riches you seek, or at least have a guaranteed adventure. Just be wary, the map was created in 1990.
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Do you love autumn and hate to see it end? Why not keep it year round in your home and even store it in your closet if you want to enjoy winter, spring or summer a few days a year? You can with this seller's "autumn in a box." It contains rare fall leaves from West Liberty, West Virginia. We're not sure if the leaves will actually last year round, but they should at least make it into the winter.
Counter You Can Count On. Optimize your listings with valuable information from Sellathon. The counter lets you know what keywords attract buyers, how long visitors spend on your listings, the number of bids your items get and more. Find out which of your listings need some fine-tuning. Learn more.
Ask Auctiva
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Got a burning question about Auctiva, eBay or e-commerce in general? Through our Ask Auctiva program, you can speak directly to Auctiva's top managers. All you have to do is send an e-mail to "AskAuctiva" at the Auctiva.com domain. Selected questions will be answered by Auctiva managers and published in an article on the Auctiva Education tab. Read some recent Auctiva Q&A articles here.
Please do not submit inquiries requiring an immediate response. If you need a technical issue resolved right away, please file a support request and your case will be addressed by our customer support team.
View all Ask Auctiva Articles.
Auctiva User Profile
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With the bleak economy dampening online sales, many smaller merchants might be inclined to pull back or even bail out. But Ginger McSwain of The Dress Garden is seizing the opportunity to expand her business, both on eBay and off. "The key for me is you never say 'die,'" she says. "You keep learning and teaching yourself new things." Read more or browse The Dress Garden.
Get Featured Here
Got a success story you want to share? What amazing garage sale finds have you turned into monster profits online? How has using Auctiva's free templates and auction management tools improved your eBay business? Drop a line and tell us in 50 words or less about an outstanding e-sale experience, and perhaps we'll feature your story in an upcoming issue of The Online Seller newsletter. Submit your story here.
Auctiva Commerce Store Spotlight
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Bob Kennedy's Jersey Shore Gifts offers shoppers a little bit of everything, he notes."I try to have merchandise that I think buyers want and at a fair price," he says. "I am constantly doing searches comparing prices to make sure that mine are competitive with other sellers online."
Initially, most of his repeat customers snatched up the cakes Kennedy sells in his shop, but after Labor Day, he's noticed an increased demand for the NFL merchandise and candles he offers.
As with any business, Kennedy reports, his started out slow, but he e-mailed discount coupons to past shoppers to generate some buzz. And his marketing venture paid off. Accepting credit cards has also proven helpful.
"You would be surprised just how many people do not have a PayPal account and do not want to use one," he notes.
Recently, Kennedy added another incentive to venture into his shop: a counter that lets shoppers know just how much time they have left until Christmas. "[It's] a reminder to my customers as well as to me that Christmas will be here before we all know it." Browse Jersey Shore Gifts here.
Click here to set up your own comprehensive Auctiva Commerce Store and get complete freedom over your shop.
Feedback Forum
In response to "eBay Insurance Change Takes Effect," one reader writes: "Sounds like eBay is just putting the squeeze on small sellers even further. We were always liable for shipping the item safely to the buyer but for eBay to require all sellers to add handling fees (buyers just LOVE those) or 'move the [insurance] cost into' our item price is giving eBay bigger FEES, too, just by coincidence, of course." Read the entire thread, and post your response.
If you'd like to comment on this newsletter, any article contained within, or on topics you'd like to see us cover in the future, Auctiva editors would love to hear from you. Send us your feedback here.
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