| The Online Seller | Vol. 4, Issue 19 |
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The Diva returns with more yard sale secrets in Part 2 of this series by Brad and Debra Schepp … Dennis L. Prince offers tips and resources for shipping large items … We continue our look at alternative marketplaces with a focus on eCrater … Plus, what to consider when deciding where to sell online, the latest industry news and more! |
Special Features: Auctiva Blog Weird and Wacky Listings Ask Auctiva Auctiva User Profile Auctiva Commerce Spotlight Feedback Forum |
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What to look for and some surprising places to find it
by Brad and Debra Schepp
We hope our last article about the Yard Sale Diva inspired and energized you to seek out even more treasures available at your local yard sales. In many parts of the country, yard sale season is beginning to wind down. People simply don't want to sit outside in the early morning chill of autumn in the hopes of getting customers. Plus, going from one yard sale to the next is much less satisfying once you have to don a coat or gloves.So, while you still have a few more beautiful weeks left to cash in, let's take a look at some more great tips from our Yard Sale Diva. With the sense of urgency that comes as fall approaches, you're bound to find some good stuff. Read story.
Shipping Big Items is No Big Deal
Here's what you need to know about shipping freight.
by Dennis L. Prince
Marketplace Focus: eCrater
Free marketplace and store builder aims to keep selling simple.
Where Should You Sell Online?
Consider these factors to determine the best marketplace for your items.
Tax Deductions for the Online Seller
Learn what you can write off for next year's tax season.
Get Green to Help You Grow. Kabbage provides cash to online merchants selling on eBay, Amazon and Yahoo. By looking at your seller history, seller rating and transaction history, Kabbage looks at more than just your credit score. Get the cash you need today to source inventory, market your site, update your technology or anything you need to grow your business! Learn more at Kabbage.com.
News Stories
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Sellers have until Oct. 1 to remove e-mail addresses and off-eBay links.
eBay sellers have until Oct. 1 to update their listings to remove any links or e-mail addresses that won't help customers complete their transactions. Listings that don't comply with this new eBay policy—which was first announced as part of eBay's Fall Seller Update—will not post or relist. Read story.
eBay Unveils 2011 Holiday Selling Guide
Site offers tips for discounts, boost in search and must-have predictions.
PayPal 'Re-imagines' Shopping
New services planned to give buyers more flexibility.
Amazon, California Strike a Deal
Legislators approve bill that delays sales tax collection.
eBay Buys Group-Gift Site
Marketplace plans to make a bigger push into social commerce.
Auctiva Blog
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According to the National Cancer Institute, one in six men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer. Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-caused deaths among men.
The men behind Septembeard.org believe a cure for prostate cancer can be found in our lifetime, given enough funding. That's why they've asked guys throughout the country to grow beards to raise money and awareness about prostate cancer. Read more.
Buyshield warranties protect your valuable purchases. One in five purchases fails within the first three years of ownership. Get a Buyshield warranty—at up to 40% off retail—to make sure that all of your valued items are covered. Cell phone warranties, laptop warranties, digital camera warranties—we cover all this and more. Get a Buyshield Warranty Quote.
Weird and Wacky Listings
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Never misplace a drink again with this beer pager. Just place a coldie in this koozie and toss its remote control in your pocket. Then, as the night rolls on and things get, well, a little hazy, just pull out the remote control and the koozie will let out a "satisfying" burp and flashing lights, letting you know exactly where you set your beverage down.
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Have a hard time convincing your guy to watch "Grey's Anatomy" with you? This iron ball and chain could help. Simply attach the device to your honey's foot, and the 8-pound ball should keep him in the room for, at least, half an episode. Want him to sit through the whole program? Add weight to the ball by pouring sand into the hole. Just a thought.
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Feel underappreciated when it comes to all the great trinkets and oddities you find at local garage sales? Don't fret. Now you can be a certified garage sale expert—and show it off proudly—with this Garage Sale University diploma! The seller will even personalize the certificate to show everyone that you really do know your bargains.
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 dot 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. Instead, please file a support request for technical or account-related issues.
Auctiva User Profile
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Scrapbooking has always been more than a hobby for Karen Jentry, an eBay seller of more than four years and a scrapbooker of more than 24 years.
"I'm a believer that scrapbooking can be a wonderful way not only to share family memories, but as the glue that helps hold a family together during the challenging years," explains the owner of treasuresandmemories7 on eBay. "I was the mom in the emergency room taking pictures of my kids as they were being stitched up. It helped distract me from the pain of the moment, but it also made them smile and laugh at me." Read story.
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 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.
Auctiva Commerce Store Spotlight
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For Pastor Dave Lincoln, selling online is a labor of love, in the most literal sense. Sales of kids' ride-on toys and other items at his store, Speedy Solutions, help to support his ministry, which helps those who are down and out get back on their feet.
It's a cause that's very personal to Lincoln. Ten years ago, after being laid off from his retail job as a regional manager and then suffering debilitating health issues, he and his wife began selling their possessions on eBay just to keep a roof over their heads.
"We slept on our floor for the next year," he recalls. "Funny thing was we were meeting people who had greater needs than us. We actually gave some of our furniture away during that time to help them. Then word got out that we were helping others with furniture and people started bringing stuff to our house."
Lincoln became more active in his church and, eventually, formed a non-denominational church to minister to homeless and addicted people.
Still in need of income, he took a chance and invested in some new inventory to sell on eBay: kids' radio-controlled toys. It paid off, and turned into a business that he now operates both on eBay and as an independent store on Auctiva Commerce.
Today, Lincoln's biggest sellers are kids' ride-on cars and motorcycles that parents can control remotely, though he continually watches market trends in search of new categories to expand his business. For example, having noticed that many of his buyers were women, he began offering women's handbags. That move was successful enough that he recently launched a second Auctiva Commerce store, PrettyPurses.net.
Lincoln has found the Auctiva Commerce software and support staff to be very easy to work with. "I have found that the response times and responses from the help team are excellent. I have been very pleased with them," he says.
Though eBay still represents the bulk of his sales, Lincoln is confident the coming holiday season will be a boon for his Auctiva Commerce stores.
Lincoln says his honesty and responsiveness in dealing with customers earn him a lot of referral business, and keep customers coming back. He even maintains spare parts for his products, just in case, and offers them at his cost.
"I always do everything I can to accommodate the customer, and will do refunds when necessary," he says. "I get referrals because of my after-sales customer service." Visit Speedy Solutions.
Set up your own Auctiva Commerce Store and get complete freedom over your shop.
Feedback Forum
In response to "Tax Deductions for the Online Seller," one reader writes: "Don't forget, if you drive to garage sales, flea markets and wherever to buy items you sell online, there is also a deduction there. Remember to note start mileage and end mileage. Keep these trips separate from non-business [trips]." 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.
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