Don't Throw That Trash Away! Sell it on eBay!

We have been having a blast over on my Facebook group discussing all the wild and crazy things you can actually sell on eBay - things that are considered trash or worthless items lying around your home or backyard. Here are a few of the items mentioned:

Empty toilet paper rolls
Empty paper towel rolls
Bottle caps
Pine cones
Acorns
Sea shells
Leaves
Gourds
Tumbleweeds

Shawn started the thread by posting this completed listing of empty paper towel rolls that sold for $16.95:

Talk about pulling money out of thin air! These items are often used for craft projects. Take a look on Pinterest and notice what people are  making with these types of items. Many craft and DIY enthusiasts go to eBay to buy their supplies.

There are opportunities all around you to make money, you just might not know it. Speaking of opportunities right in front of you, the next "How to Sell Groceries on Amazon" class will be held on Saturday August 17 at 12 noon Eastern time. Groceries are a great product to sell online because they are repeatable and customers often buy multiples. For example, an Amazon customer bought 5 of an item yesterday:

This item costs $8 at a grocery store 6 miles from my house, it sells for $25, and I can get as much of it as I want whenever I want. How amazing is that? The holiday selling season will be upon us soon - think about adding seasonal food products to your online offerings. Register for the grocery class here.

Also, my new online ecommerce school will be opening soon! I am assembling an amazing team of teachers to share their vast knowledge and specialties in the world of ecommerce. Sign up to receive email updates about teaches and classes here. There will be something for everyone regardless of experience level.

Related Articles:

Selling Gourds as Craft Supplies on eBay

New Online Class - Selling Groceries on Amazon

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Learn More About 1970s Vintage Items to Sell on eBay

Vintage items are gaining popularity on eBay as the population ages and more people are buying things for the sake of reminiscing. Maybe you lived through the 1970s and you remember these things. Or, maybe you lived through the 1970s but you don't remember this stuff for various reasons - we won't go there. The bottom line is that these items are still out there and if you know what to look for, you can find and sell some interesting pieces of popular culture on eBay. Here are a few things that have value on eBay but you might not realize it.

Remember CB Radios? Here is one that sold for $105. This is the kind of thing you can find at a garage sale cheap because the general public thinks they are obsolete and nobody wants it.

How about old Polaroid cameras? This one sold for $274. (This particular model was from 1982, but you get the idea.) The Polaroid film regardless of age is also an excellent seller.

Remember the original Sony Walkman that played cassette tapes? Those can sell for hundreds of dollars. Here is one that sold for $500. The owner was in Poland.

Vintage calculators can be a great find. This 1970s Hewlett Packard pocket calculator sold for $115.

You are showing your age if you remember the video game Pong. Extremely lame by today's standards, but those of us who grew up in the 1970s thought it was the coolest thing ever. Here is a vintage Pong console that sold for $192.50.

Vintage doesn't necessarily mean clothing, home decor, or toys! Keep your eye out for these types of items when you are out at garage sales and thrift stores. There are all kinds of goodies hiding out there!

Related Articles:

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Selling Vintage Typewriters on eBay

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Getting to Know Your Online Customers

Some food for thought. As online sellers, we have a challenge learning about who are customers are, since they are not standing right in front of us. We can't strike up a conversation about why they are buying a product, or ask them for their input on how we can serve them better. We have to use the resources available to us to figure out as much about our customers as we can, so that we can serve them better.

Pay attention to your eBay and Amazon sales, the customer addresses, and the quantity they buy. I have one grocery product that I sell on Amazon and buyers purchase 2-4 of them at a time. I've noticed the same customer ordering this food product every month around the same date. I Googled her address, to do a little detective work, and glean what I can from Google Maps since I cannot talk to this customer to learn how I can better serve her. The above photo is what I see on Google maps. Hmmm. Rural area, maybe limited supplies in her area, maybe a long trip to the grocery store. Maybe a campground, National Forest, or game ranch with guests. I will definitely add more flavors of this item to my FBA offerings, as well as more items like this one. Something is going on here and maybe I can sell more items to this customer, and others like her.

Moral of the story: This is how you learn about your customers. Sales rank, brand name, product trends, scanning apps,a and completed sales don't tell the whole story. This is not just a numbers game, it is a human game. Think. Pay attention.

Speaking to you as a coach, the best tip I can give you about improving sales on any venue is:
Pay attention to the information available to you, and do more of what is working.

Related Articles:

eBay Sales Slow? Try a Store Critique!

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eBay Sales Slow? Try a Store Critique!

Are you frustrated with slow eBay sales? Do you feel like you are doing everything right, buying great items for resale, working hard on your listings, spending lots of time on your business, and sales just aren't happening? Sometimes, another pair of eyes can help point out minor issues that can be easily corrected and result in more sales. A few minor adjustments can often turn browsers and watchers into buyers. I've been selling on eBay since 2003, and coaching clients since 2008, and I am constantly learning as the eBay landscape changes. Over the past few years, I have helped hundreds of clients improve their eBay business so I may be able to help you, too. I can usually to point out a few things that you can easily change to help increase eBay sales.

If  you feel stuck or frustrated with eBay, an eBay Store Critique may be the answer. I understand that not everyone can afford hourly private coaching sessions, so I have developed an affordable eBay Store Critique Service  This service includes a review of your eBay Store (or several of your listings if you don't have a store). I'll make recommendations about:

1.  Key words in title and body of listing. Key words are very important to for your listings to be  found in buyer searches and can drastically affect your placement in search results. If your listings are so far down on search results that shoppers can't even see your items, they certainly can't buy them! I'll give you suggestions for improving your keywords and understanding the process to creating winning titles.

2. Verbiage included in your listings. There may be some key phrases you can include that will increase your sales. On the other hand, there are key words and phrases that you never want to use on eBay and you may be turning buyers off and not even know it.

3. Seller policies and how they are worded. Successful sellers craft their policies to encourage the customer to do business and gain the trust of potential customers. Remember, you are asking people for their money and they see you as a stranger on the internet. A customer must trust you before he or she gives money to you.

4. Photos, backgrounds, and tips for improvement. A picture is worth a thousand words on eBay. Customers can't touch, hold, or examine the item up close. Your pictures on a computer screen are as  close as shoppers can get to the product in real life. Again, you may be losing potential sales because of issues with your photos.

5. Item pricing. When sellers feel sales are slow, they often drop their prices, hoping buyers will take action and purchase their product. This can be a counterproductive strategy!  In some situations, a higher price may indicate quality and buyers may choose a high or mid-range price over the rock-bottom price.I'll check item pricing on some of your listings to make sure you are in line with the competition.

6. Shipping fees. Are your shipping fees fair for the buyer and in line with competitors? Are you giving your customers the most cost effective shipping options available? When shopping on eBay, buyers sort search results by different criteria. You may be losing potential customers by over-charging on shipping and not realize it.

6. Everything else. If I see something else that could be improved, or any eBay policy violations, I will point it out.

The cost of an eBay Store Critique is $19.97, and comes with a money-back guarantee. If you don't feel the critique was helpful, your money will be refunded, no questions asked. Critiques will be completed within 3 business days. I'll compile a report with suggestions and email it to you.

Use the Buy Now button below to purchase your eBay Store Critique. Be sure to include your eBay Store name, or if you don't have a store, your seller ID. 

Your eBay Store Name or User ID

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Increase eBay Sales - Optimize Listings for Mobile Phones

You've been there, done that, right? The new great American Past Time - doing stuff on a mobile phone and ignoring the people in front of you. Let's face it, the world has about 6 billion cell phones (Huffington Post 10/2012). How many of those users are spending time on eBay Mobile? And how many of them are leaving your listings because the text is too small to read or they can't see the picture well enough? The good news is that you can optimize your eBay listings for mobile phones in just a few easy steps.


Listing types. Fixed price listings actually work better for mobile users because they don't have to go through as many screens to make a purchase. They can buy items in fewer steps. Now this isn't to say that you should nix auctions all together, because some buyers do prefer auctions. Just be aware that you may be missing mobile buyers who want a faster shopping experience. (Check out my podcast about listing types here - there are pros and cons to all listings types so you need a mix of different listing types to reach different types of buyers.)

Images. Eliminate empty space and make sure you have zoomed in tight on the product, edge to edge. If you are selling multiple items in a lot, use one good photo with one item in the lot as your gallery photo. Potential buyers might not want to even look at a tiny little picture of 25 pieces of baby clothes. Get their attention with a nice shot of 1 or 2 pieces, then include more in your listings. Everybody gets 12 free pictures now, so take the extra time to take more than just one photo of a huge lot of something.

Descriptions. Keep them short, sweet, and to the point. Succinct and concise. Include important information but don't clog up the screen with too much text and a zillion of your personal policies. Avoid using more than one color font. Some eBay experts even say to forgo the fancy backgrounds and templates because the extra graphics cause the listing to load more slowly (buyers might click away) or clutter up the screen to much. For eBay Mobile, less is definitely more! And use 12 point font or larger. Lots of Baby Boomers (there are about 76 million of them out there) don't always wear their reading glasses and may not even try to read your listing if the font is too small.

Item specifics. You know, those little boxes you check with size, color, brand, style, etc. Make sure those are filled out. The mobile app displays them on a perfectly formatted screen and many buyers may not even look past that point. 

Think through these issues when you are creating your listings, and remember that everyone isn't sitting in front of a huge flat screen monitor when shopping on eBay. Sometimes, it is better to think small.

For more information on this topic, listen to my podcast here.

I can check your listings and make sure they are optimized for eBay Mobile. For a store critique, click here.

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eBay Coach's Top 5 Thrift Store Tips

This video is a bit long (20 minutes) but gives you a head start if thrifting is new to you, or if you have been thrifting a while and still feel lost or overwhelmed. Top 5 categories discussed:

1. Sweaters
2. T-shirts
3. Athletic wear
4. Toys (plush, games, and puzzles)
5. Anything new in the package or new in the box

Get the eBook here ($19.95 instant download) or for Kindle here ($9.97)

Email me at ebaycoach@yahoo.com for information on thrifting workshops - let's go shopping for inventory!

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Recognizing Spoof or Fake eMails from eBay

Even though I have been selling on eBay since 2003, I still get a little nervous when I receive emails that say my account has been suspended, or some other threatening message. Most of them are fake and should not cause any concern. Here is a quick video about how to recognize if the emails are really from eBay, and a few tips on how to handle them:



Summary:

1. Never click on any links in these emails! If it is real, the email will be in your eBay My Messages folder. Go there and check.

2. The email usually has a return address with a slight variation of eBay.com.

3. The grammar, spelling, sentence structure, and punctuation will usually be poor.

4. The language will be threatening and call for immediate action on your part. The idea is to scare you into clicking on something so the unscrupulous person sending the email can gain access to your account.

5. If you get one, report it to spoof@ebay.com 6. See the eBay Help page about this topic here.

I've been slack on my YouTube videos for the past year, however, I will be making more of these short tutorial-style videos on a regular basis. Click here to subscribe to my YouTube channel so you can receive updates in your inbox as soon as they are posted.

Be safe online!

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New Podcast - Selling Coffee Related Items on eBay

Another episode of "You sold WHAT on eBay?" is live. This episode focuses on used coffee related items (other than the obvious mugs) that you can find used and cheap, then resell on eBay for profit. Did you know you can flip parts from used or broken coffee makers for a pretty nice profit? Some of these parts sell for up to $30. You might be able to buy a broken coffee maker at a garage sale and sell the parts and accessories for 3-4 times your investment.

Learn about other coffee related garage sale, estate sale, and thrift store finds that can be good sellers including thermal carafes, grinders, sugar and creamer sets, storage containers, and vintage items. Let's face it - eBay is already over-saturated enough with the obvious. Learn to find profitable items, hiding in plain sight, that other resellers might be passing by because they don't "look" valuable. Opportunities are everywhere - it just takes some education to learn what they are!

Listen to the podcast here.

Related articles:

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eBay Seller Success Story - Affliction T Shirt

Aaron sent in his success story:

"I recently discovered your site and it inspired me to start selling on eBay again. I used to sell stuff around the house and dabbled in garage sales. Now I started frequenting the thrift stores and picked up this Affliction t-shirt for $3.99 and sold it for $55. It was up to $42 on the first day it was listed!"

Here is a closer look at the shirt Aaron sold:

Impressive sale, Aaron! There is good money in t-shirts. Also look for Hard Rock Cafe, Life is Good, Lucky Tees, Mutts Organic T-shirts, and Harley Davidson. T-shirts can be overlooked gold. You don't have to know everything about t-shirts to find good sellers - just learn a few brands and as you are shopping look up those you are not familiar with. It takes time to learn but if you are ready, willing, and able, the money will come!

Do you have an eBay success story to share? If so, email me at ebaycoach @ yahoo dot com or come share your sale on our Money Making Mondays thread on my online sellers' Facebook Group. Also, check out my podcasts here or on iTunes for my episodes titled, "You Sold WHAT on eBay?" where we share other overlooked items you can sell for nice profits on eBay.

Related articles:

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New Pinterest Marketing Facebook Group

Time for another experiment! Some of the members of my Facebook Group Stay at Home Moms Selling on eBay, were brainstorming of ways to help each other promote our eBay, Amazon, and Etsy items. We came up with a Pinterest Marketing Exchange Group where we can pin each other's items.

The group can be found here. Just request to join and an admin will give you access. You don't have to be an online seller, just willing to pin items for others. Here is a summary of how it works!

The purpose of this group is to pin each others items on Pinterest to help market our products for sale - your items will get exposure to more people.

This is a group marketing effort. Every day, there will be a thread of items the members want repinned. We just ask that you give more than you take. The daily limit of items to post for repinning by group members is 5.

List up to 5 items on the daily group thread - these can be anything you want promoted, not limited to eBay, Amazon, Etsy, etc. You can submit blog posts, pages from your website, or whatever you want to promote. Repin twice the amount  that you submitted from the links on the list. You can pick and choose what items you want to repin - it does not have to be the person directly above you - just any items from the daily list.

Participation will take less than 10 minutes a day and could result in more traffic, and hopefully more sales! Only time will tell.

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Is fear limiting your success?

Is your fear of trying new things preventing you from reaching your potential? Are you avoiding growing your business because you are afraid of the consequences of doing something new or taking a risk? As an eCommerce and business coach, I hear statements like this on a daily basis:

I'm scared to ship internationally. (Get my eBay International Shipping Tutorial here!)

I'm afraid I will make a mistake.

I'm scared to sell things I haven't sold before.

I'm scared to try that.

I'm afraid I will lose money.

I'm scared of what people will think of me.

If statements like this are your common self-talk, it is time to change them and face these fears if you want to take your business to the next level. There are really only 2 ways to deal with fear:

Let it control you.

Let it pass right by you.

Here are a few ways to deal with fears when it comes to your online business.

1. Do your research and understand the thing you are trying to accomplish. This strategy works for business and for life. What if you went to the doctor today and were told you had a terrible life-threatening disease? What would you do next? Sit and home and feel sorry for yourself waiting to die, or start doing research about how to live? You would go online and read about the various treatments, find another doctor to get a second or third opinion, talk to others who have dealt with the illness to learn their experiences, read books written by survivors, or find support groups to attend.  Information is power. Learn about what you want to do - whether it is shipping internationally, selling in a different marketplace, sourcing inventory in a different way, or working with a new product line. Educate yourself.

2. Understand the risks and create a safety net for yourself or just accept the consequences of taking that risk. All risks have consequences, but not all consequences are paralyzing. People fear what they do not understand. Many people are afraid to try something new because risk is involved. Name those risks. What is the worst thing that can happen? Let's use the international shipping example again. People new to global shipping are usually afraid the package will get lost. So to work around that, insure it. If it gets lost, your money is refunded and you can refund the customer. No big deal. All you are out are a few fees. In the days before international shipping insurance, the worst thing that would happen is the package would get lost and we would have to refund the buyer out of our pocket. If you are selling thrift store items that cost around $5, shipping might be $10, that is a loss of $15 plus a few fees. So what? 1 out of 100 items might get lost. It doesn't make good business sense to walk away from 99 good sales because 1 might go bad. When you hear "I'm scared to" thoughts in your head, the next thought needs to be, "What's the worst that can happen?" Then make a plan to handle that "worst thing," It isn't so scary anymore. (Note: When shipping globally, you are just dealing with people. Those people are just like you they are only in a different location. Global shipping is wonderfully fulfilling once you realize that you are helping connect people around the world with products they want. You are providing a service for which they are very appreciative.)

3. Change your mindset. Sometimes, the the problem is you - your own thoughts and behavior patterns, not the thing you are afraid of. We tell ourselves that our comfort zone is the only safe place to be - the unknown should be feared. Fear keeps us stuck in one place and prevents growth. Fear is the biggest obstacle we all face - everything else is just an excuse. Fear is a natural human emotion - we need it to survive. But we don't want to allow it to control our growth as people and our success in life. Changing the way you think about fear will help you deal with fear in more productive ways. Many times we are just afraid of an illusion - what we think will happen. When in reality, those things don't happen at all. Overcoming fear is often the gateway to opportunities and brand new fulfilling experiences.

The next time fear shows up, stop and think, "Where is this coming from? What am I really afraid of?" Maybe you had 1 bad experience that is causing you to shut down. Can this fear be transformed into an opportunity for growth? What is the worst that can happen if you deal with this fear, and what are some ways you can deal with that "worst thing" if it were to happen? Are your old beliefs holding you back?

Mark Twain said, "Courage is the mastery of fear, not the absence of fear."

More resources:

Listen to Podcasts while you work

Join my Facebook group for motivation

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Sure Max Deodorant - Discontinued Item to Sell on eBay

Thanks to Tanya for posting this tip on the Facebook group! Sure Max deodorant has been discontinued and is showing up at Big Lots for $1-$2 each. According to Terapeak, This product has an 86% sell through rate. This means that out of 100 listings for items with the keywords SURE MAX DEODORANT, 86 of the listings sold the first time being listed.



Here is a listing for a lot of 7 that sold for $29.98:



So you can see at a price of $1-$2 each, you can make a nice little profit on this item. Also look at dollar stores, CVS clearance, Walgreen's clearance, and your grocery store. Keep those tips coming!

This is the kind of thing that Terapeak can really help with - understanding how well and item will sell before you try to go out and find it!

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Natural Search Optimization on eBay - Keywords!

Every eBay seller wants to know how to beat the competition. Should I lower my price? Do I offer free shipping? Why are my competitors offering the same product getting sales and I am not? The answer: natural search optimization.

Also known as organic SEO, natural search optimization means using keywords that will help your audience find you. As the following video demonstrates, using the right keywords results in your listings being found by buyers. This is more than copying the title of the product off the box or naming it the way YOU think it should be named. You have to think like a buyer. Take a look:



Summary:

1. Find a competitor successfully selling the same product you want to sell. Note the keywords they are using that you aren't. (Don't copy their title word for word, this is text theft and you can be reported.) Find somebody doing it right and put your own spin on it.

2. Always include the brand name, but also think "category." Many buyers don't even know the brand names, they are just searching for a certain type of product. As in the example, the unsuccessful seller did not use terms like "tanning bed, indoor tanning, sunless tanning." The successful seller included the generic terms to catch shoppers who may not even know the brand she is selling.

3. Fill in all the item specifics. This will help you place higher in Best Match.

4. Use Terapeak to help you choose keywords to help with natural search optimization. Remember that your items will show up on Google, not just eBay. Better keyword choices means more buyers finding your listings which means more sales. If you aren't using Terapeak, get it now. Try it for a month and see what you have been missing.

Happy Selling!

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Free Version of Terapeak

There has been a lot of discussion on my Facebook group about Terapeak, if it is worth the $25 a month, how to use it, and how to get a free trial. There is actually a free version of Terapeak you can use by following these steps.

Click here to go to Terapeak.

Scroll to the bottom and look on the left. You will see this:



Click SAMPLE REPORT. Then you will see this screen:



Click the SIGN UP button. The free version only gives you access to 14 days of history and you don't get access to the hot categories or hot searches. But it is enough of a trial so that you can determine if you want to try the paid version. Terapeak is what I use to create my Hot Lists of discontinued items, research drop ship products, and determine pricing on every single item that I list.

Click here to try Terapeak and start making more money on eBay. the $25 a month will come back to you many times over.

For information on personal coaching to learn this process, click here for a free consultation.

Happy Selling!

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eBay Shipping Insurance

Alix sent in this question:

"I was hoping you could help me with something since I can't find any information about this on ebay. I am trying to add a shipping insurance option to all of my ebay listings. Ebay used to have it on the template, but I can't seem to find it anymore. Do you know where I can go to add shipping insurance to all of my listings (for domestic deliveries only)? Any help would be greatly appreciated."

According to the eBay Seller Best Practices Policy, "Insurance: You can't charge a separate fee for insurance, although you still need to make sure your item arrives as described. Tip: You should incorporate any insurance fees into an item's price or handling cost."

So, yes, Alix, the shipping insurance option is gone. I am guessing this is an attempt by eBay to prevent sellers from making money using unnecessary charges.

Do you have an eBay question? Feel free to email me at ebaycoach (at) yahoo. Or, post your question on my Facebook group where other sellers can help you out.

Happy Selling!




Find sloppy listings and resell the items for way more than you paid for them! Click here to see my personal examples.

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Tory Burch Ballet Flats - eBay Seller Success Story

Andrea sent in her success story:

"Hi,I am one of your blog lurkers and just wanted to share with you my great Goodwill find. Tory Burch leopard ballet flats. I bought them for 6.99."

Here is Andrea's listing:



Andrea's price at Goodwill: $6.99
eBay selling price: $114.50
Profit before fees: $107.51

Whoa! You go Andrea! Fantastic sale - you've been doing more than lurking! Thanks for sharing with us and showing us how it is done. If you have a success story, send it in to ebaycoach (at) yahoo.com.

Want to know about more thrift store finds to sell on eBay? Check out Thrift Store Goldmine, which contains 61 pages of items just like this. Learn what to look for at thrift stores to make this kind of money.

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