If you already have a website, getting images into your eBay auctions for free is very easy. The simplest way to host your own images is to create a subdirectory on your site and call it “images” or “pics” or whatever you prefer. Then all you have to do is insert the address location of the image in the right place in your auction and you have pictures. One of the reasons that eBay charges a fee for using images is because eBay is hosting the picture. This is just one of the ways to get around this fee.

Using free eBay templates is another easy way to add photos to your listings. You can find these online at many helpful sites. With literally thousands of the same items being offered on eBay, using a template is a good way to stand out. In most cases, all you need to do is enter your item description and add the image address. The templates are pretty easy to follow and you’ll be up and running in no time. Just do an online search for free eBay templates and you’ll have lots of choices.

If you don’t have a way to host your own images, you can use an image hosting site such as Photobucket.com. There is a limit of around 10,000 images you can upload. That should be enough to keep most people busy. All you have to do is link the picture into your auction. No fee!

Signing up to Photobucket is free. Once you have your free account, you will be able to create albums and slide shows. If you have any personal pictures on Photobucket, keep in mind that anyone clicking on the image in your auction listing will go right to your Photobucket account. Once there, they will be able to view ALL of your pictures.

When you upload your auction images, you need to locate the code to paste into your auction listing. The code can be found right below the picture you have on Photobucket. Highlight the code, copy and paste into your listing. Nothing could be easier. There is also an option in Photobucket where you will be able to resize your pictures to be suitable for your auction listing. You can make various sizes and play around with them until you find the right one.

It’s easy to do a test run with your listing. Change the code, position, text etc. and then preview how your listing will appear when it’s live. If you don’t like it, start over. Tweak it until you love it!

There are a million different ways to find hot items on eBay, and one of them is to look at what other people are getting excited about ?items that have lots of bids and are looking at going high price-wise. Some dodgy sellers take advantage of this tendency in some people, and they shill bid.

Shill bid is bidding on your own item yourself, or getting friends to do so, to inflate the price, and make it look like there’s  a bit of excitement about it. If you see a bidder with zero, or low feedback, bidding on an item in small increments, that’s one reason to sniff a fish. Another sign could be a private auction ?since that way the seller can conceal the bidding history. Private auctions don’t necessarily mean smelly fish of course ?but it’s a reason to be wary ?try to determine why the auction may be private ?is there a reason bidders may not want to reveal their identities?

Another tactic some sellers are using is to go private with the auction, and set a high reserve, and also in some cases to bid on the item themselves. Then when the auction is over, they may offer a second chance?to a high bidder, at close to their top bid amount. Keep an eye out for this tactic.

Shill bidding is dishonest, and is also against eBay rules. Most will agree it doesn’t do much for the feeling of community on eBay either. Keep an eye peeled for it.

I had been selling in ebay since 2006 and achieved Power Seller Status since 2010. I obtained ebay education specialist title in year 2009. It was a great experience we gave seminar in Matrade Malaysia in year 10-10-2010 together with other ES (Education Specialist ). You can get to know more about me at this blog page.

However my sales dropped  when selling my own niche in ebay could ‘invite’ a lot of competators- especially paypal started recognized our Malaysia local bank and allow for local withdrawal.  This cause me lost my powerseller status. However I do not wish to lost my internet income stream so I must find another way selling my stuff.

I had heard of Amazon marketplace since few years back however I stopped myself ‘explore’ deeper as to me Amazon does not allow seller who do not owned a US bank account to sell their item. This make me think of initially ebay does not allow Malaysian to withdraw their fund in paypal- This is the nightmare to me. Try to image you made profit in your bank account but cant withdraw it, how painful is it right?? So my Amazon account is use only for purchase and not selling any stuff there.

Recently I am looking for a book with title: Get Rich Click.

Since the cost plus shipping is much lower from our local MPH bookstore, I bought it at Amazon.com and this make me feel good about Amazon.com and it is very convenient.

An idea came strike my mind, possible to sell my item in Amazon? Shall I give it a try? Sell first only buy the product as recommand in Get Rich Click book?

I log in to my Amazon account and started to look for my niche. Guess what?

 The selling price for my ebay item niche in Amazon is very encouraging.

So I listed my item in the same category and  put the price tag of USD159.90 with Shipping International cost USD2.98 (fixed by amazon- I guess Amazon does not know that the item ship from Malaysia. Joke!!)

I listed the item on 11 August 2012 and the item sold successfully on 16  August 2012 which is only 5 days listing- Wow what a good deal!! The buyer is an American and he is a doctor. This make me feel that Amazon had higher reputation than ebay. Just my own lay opinion. No offence.

What a really good deal with profit 200% (This item cost me RM45.00) and this is the first listing in Amazon!!  With the little ‘hard work’ i research in Amazon, list the item and just wait for the result. yahoo!!

So I continue to list other item on Amazon,  wow the result is totally awesome, fantastic!! Another 2 more listing successful sold to america buyer too in 7 days time. Frankly speaking, I would not made such a high margin if compare to ebay marketplace platform.

However my number one worry started flash in my mind- How I receive the payment and how to withdraw in Malaysia with Ringgit Malaysia??

To my knowledge that there are many so called agent/ middle man who can ‘assist’ to open an US bank account to withdraw/ receive US dollar. However many of them are scam and request up front money USD5,000 to USD 10,000 admin fees/ commission. They disappeared when they received your hard earn money.

Now I had put all my method of withdrawal US dollar from Amazon.com into my special report. I must stress that this is legit way and I am still using this method.

If you would like to know on how I withdraw my ‘hard earn’ money in Amazon, please click the link below to download my report here.

With the example I provided in this blog post (which I will reveal in my report), you are able to recover back your investment into my report. I can assure you that.

Waste no time, click here to gain access to my full report here.

Stay connect.

Cheers,

Stanley Ng

Sellers can no longer leave negative or neutral feedback on eBay.

Why not?

Well, the buyer tells his friends about his crappy ?negative ?experience on eBay. He doesn’t come back, and neither do his friends. So being rude to buyers hurts the whole of eBay.

Another reason is that buyers are afraid of leaving negative feedback because they抮e afraid of receiving the same. That makes the whole feedback system a little unrepresentative.

Now, with the new system, feedback overall will surely drop, but it will be more representative ?and it will for sure better separate the good from the bad from the evil.

So it’s looking good overall, I reckon: eBay gets a better look at how buyers and sellers interact. Feedback becomes more representative. And buyers are less likely to get harassed by scammy sellers.

It’s probably lead to many of those bad eBay sellers leaving the site too ?and that’s all good for you and me ?us goody-two-shoe types. All in all I believe it抣l make a better environment in which to trade.

The actual physical delivery of products sold on eBay is probably the most time-consuming task you will have. Getting and keeping your eBay deliveries organised will cut down on the time you have to spend doing it once you have a system. It will also ensure that your buyers are happy when they receive their items in a timely fashion.

EBay has plenty of tools to help you keep on top of all of your delivery chores so that you can avoid any problems. If you know little or nothing about delivering your items when you first start out, you will love these tools. It’s very easy to prepare your packages and determine how much it costs to ship your item, even to other countries. There is information available regarding all of the big name delivery services.

When your eBay business gets to the point that you are shipping items on a regular basis, you will need to become much more streamlined. The key to any successful business is to be organised and efficient. Unless you want to spend the majority of your time in line at the post office, invest in your own shipping supplies and keep plenty on hand. Obviously, have on hand stamps in various denominations and a supply of boxes in assorted sizes.

Some of the major delivery services will supply you with boxes, labels and other items free of charge. For instance, FedEx will send you pre-printed labels with your name and account number so all you need to fill in is your customer’s information. For all delivery options and services, you should keep a good supply of shipping items at hand so they are there when the need arises.

The packing of the item is a consideration when it comes to cost. Shipping in cardboard boxes costs more than a well padded envelope. The padded envelopes are just as safe for delivery in most cases, but weigh less because it’s mostly air. This saves you postage and costs you don’t have to pass onto your buyers. The more cost efficient you are, the more you can save your customers, which keeps everyone happy.

As your eBay business grows and you become more successful, you’ll find that delivery of your items could be a major bother unless you get organised now. That could keep your business from growing and should be avoided.

Stay connect.

Stanley

This Iphone App tool kits help design for iphone applications. They are crafted and designed with care and made from durable materials. It allow you to quickly generate idea with simple, yet comprehensive set of icon and symbols. It release new version frequestly to stay connext with changes in OS and components.

Using a pencil and paper is often the best way to get ideas down. Revolutionary products have been conceived on a napkin before taking shape digitally. This tool kits pays homeage to the fact that ideas flow naturally with pencil and paper. The kits are designed to quickly sketch user interface, user flows, and ideas for how your app might work.

We ordered this tool kit and received today- very excited!! ;o) This tool kits we had waited anxiously as we need it to help us in our recent project- Ipoh Perak City Portal. 

In this iphone app, it will contain home, hotel, place of attraction, night life Restaurant,  Map and more to come.

We believe this app is useful for tourist and local business owner as well as we as citizen in Ipoh. You are most welcome to have a glance at our:

Official website: Ipoh Perak

FB Page: Ipoh Perak

Your valuable idea and comment are most welcome.

Stay connect

Stanley Ng

IAC’s- Barry Diller

(Credit: CBS)

I came across this news and shocked me with the deal is on.

The New York Times Co. is expected to announce soon that it has reached a deal to sell the About Group, which includes Web site About.com, to Barry Diller’s InterActiveCorp, a source with knowledge of the deal told CNET.

IAC is expected to pay $300 million in cash for the struggling information site, with the deal closing in the next couple of weeks, the New York Times Co. confirmed in a statement late Sunday.

“About’s early expertise in search engine optimization, expert content and revenues from cost-per-click and display advertising made it a valuable component of our portfolio for the past seven years,” Times Co. Chairman Arthur Sulzberger Jr. said in a statement. “This sale will allow the Times Company to focus on the development and growth of our core brands locally, nationally and on a global scale.”

A guide that offers tips, advice, and information on nearly 1,000 topics, About.com’s content is designed to appear high up in search results.

The Times bought the About Group in 2005 for a little more than $400 million. However, tweaks to Google’s search algorithm in 2011 resulted in pushing About.com’s guides further down in search rankings. The company also faced declining advertising revenue. The group’s revenue for the most recent quarter was down 8.7 percent to $25.4 million.

The Times announced on August 8 that it was in discussions about selling its About Group but didn’t identify the interested parties. Diller’s holding company reportedly offered $300 million for the group last week to rival Answers.com’s $270 million bid. Answers.com President Peter Horan is the former head of About.com.

Statement from Times Co.

This remind me on the book get rich click where Marc Ostrofsky sold his domain name business.com for 7.5 million.

Stanley

The most successful businesses take branding seriously. That was true the day the first Kellogge cornflake rolled off the cornflake press, and its true today, in the days of Google. Successful eBay businesses are no exception. They stand out from the crowd, and they sell more. Is your business in that category? If you’re not there yet, you stand a lot to gain from taking the right steps to establish and strengthen your business and product identity.

Can you remember the name of the last seller you bought from on eBay? Most people can’t. And that’s because so many eBay businesses are not well-branded ?they’re ten-a-penny, and people will just as soon find a new buyer as buy again from one they’re bought from before. eBay businesses owners in general are less brand-aware than many other companies. And that’s where you can get one step ahead.

Your brand is the image projected by you and your business. It’s everything about your product, and it’s how your customers remember you. It is your logo and the visual elements and layout of your page. It is your eBay name. And it’s your business policies and your customer service. If you have a fair returns policy and you address customer queries and issues efficiently and positively, you’re halfway there: customers will be back ?they’ll remember the positive experience they had the last time they bought from you, their favourite seller. Your brand will be making a real and positive impression.

Think about this: who is your favourite seller? Why? Why does that seller stand out, and why would you go back to that seller? These questions are at the absolute crux of brand building. You have clear proof that their ways work ?they work for you after all! And they’re a ready-made model for your business. Look at your favourite seller’s listings ?what are they doing that you’re not. And think back to the experience of buying from that seller ?what made it positive? Follow their lead, and you’ll have more customers returning, fewer customer service issues to deal with, and?and this is the real winner?you抣l get referred more. That’s what really grows a business.

Some things you’ll be able to change yourself. Other things might benefit from a specialist ?consider hiring out your sales spiels to a copywriter, and your logo to a graphic designer. Professional work builds a brand. And successful branding builds customer loyalty. Start today, and sell more tomorrow?or maybe even this afternoon!

If you want to learn more from how to sell in ebay and make a fortune, join my personal coaching program here.

Cheers,

Stanley

My trash is your treasure. And your trash is my treasure. Well it might be anyway. In the worldwide market that is eBay, there is a buyer for almost any item. If it’s  gathering dust, you might want to consider selling it; and go the right way about selling it, and you’ll make a tidy profit. Before you list your item, go through the checklist below to ensure you get the basics right. If you don’t focus on these basics, however hot your product is, you’ll be getting less cash than you can.
1. Compare your product

Search for items of the same type that you’re selling on eBay. Note the features, the condition, and the price-tags. You抮e looking at your competition ?and you need to compete! That doesn’t mean you have to undercut the prices you see ?just make sure you’re selling at market-value. Get the price right, and you’ll shift products more quickly ? Meaning that you can sell more!

2.Know your product

And place it in the right category. Those categories are the routes that bring the right buyers to your product ?they’re the signposts ?and if you’re ever got lost on the roads, you’ll know how important they are. eBay can help you find the right category, or you can search for similar items on eBay to see what category they’re in. If you place your camera in the Cars section, it will get ignored ?they抮e not the right customers for cameras ?surprise, surprise. Place your camera in the camera section and?well, you get the idea.

3.Honesty is the Best Policy

Be honest about what the customer can expect from your item. Every sale should be seen as an opportunity to make more sales from that customer and their contacts. If you under-deliver, those future sales won’t happen, and your business will not reach its potential. Be clear on all terms and conditions, state accurate shipping charges, and always include your contact details ?your email and phone number, or your postal address.

4. Display your Product in its best light

Your title needs to tell the customer what the product is, and it needs to return in a search for that type of item. If you抮e selling spare parts for cars, what would somebody looking for your product search for? Don’t title your item  real smooth with this cool thing??that may not be incorrect, but it will not going to return in the searches, and it’s not going to tell the customer much about the item. Brainstorm keywords, and keep your title relevant to the search. And always post a photo of the item. People like to see what they’re buying ?it makes the whole thing real in their mind, and gives a better idea of the condition of the item. Take photos from different angles so the customer can get a good look ?just like they would if they were in a shop. You’ll sell faster and you’ll sell more.

5. Offer as much as you can

Make it easy for the customer. Not everyone has Paypal. And people may not have credit available on their credit card. More options means more potential customers?means more sales.

Underpin your marketing strategy with these basics, and skyrocket your profits!

Your comment are most welcome.

For more information on how you can start selling in ebay you can check out my personal coaching programme here.

Cheers,

Stanley

A fairly newish eBay “toy” is the blog option. It is also the most visited spot on eBay. That certainly makes it worth investigating to find what possibilities may be available for your own eBay business.

Probably the first question a lot of people ask is – what is a blog? The word blog is actually short for the coined term “web log.” It is mostly used as an online journal that lets others know about you and your views on things. In the case of the eBay blog, it can also let everyone know about your auctions and eBay store on a regular basis. A blog can be both personal and business. It will help you connect with other sellers, potential customers and regular buyers.

Getting more people to visit your auctions is the only way to boost your eBay sales. That may sound obvious, but the question is precisely how is this done? Don’t underestimate the drawing power of eBay blogging. If you do, you’re going to miss a lot of potential visitors to your auctions or store. You can get your very own free blog on eBay so long as you are an active member. Once you do, you will find some amazing prospects for creating an endless flow of visitors for your business. More visitors means more business and therefore more profit!

Using EBay’s own blogging platform will allow you to easily get started taking advantage of this valuable resource. When you use a program that is backed up by a powerhouse like eBay, it is very easy to start communicating with a real global audience. If you provide interesting content on your blog, visitors will keep coming back. Returning visitors are potential customers for your eBay business. Once you have actual customers who drop in on your blog, you then have a loyal following that will pay attention when you let them know about the latest sales and products in your store and auctions.

As you gain a basic understanding of the blog structure, take the time to explore what you need to include in your blog to keep people interested in reading and coming back for more. Once you get into it, you will soon find out what appeals to your visitors and what information they want. Tell them a little about your eBay store and your auctions. Let them know the kinds of products you have and the focus of your business. As your visitors what other products in the same area they may be seeking and try to supply them. You want your customers to be happy with the information you provide and to be eager to read every new post to your blog.

You should concentrate your blog mostly in giving away lots of real information. You want your readers to view you as an expert in your particular area. Occasionally you can write a blog post that tells your customers about a new item you have for auction or in your eBay store. But don’t blast your readers with sales pitches every time they visit.

Visiting other blogs and leaving relevant comments is another way to direct people to your blog. Keep exploring and you’ll find yourself addicted to blogging for the information sharing as well as your increased visitors.