This is a guest post by John Baxter

Christmas is an exiting time of the year and everyone always seem to be rushing around scooping up gifts for family and loves ones.  So, will your eBay listings be part of the Christmas commerce gold rush or will your sales be left dwindling in the dark?

When I first started eBay’ing I simply assumed that no one would be buying anything from my eBay stores because there are so many people in the physical high street shops at this time of the year.  And ‘Oh Boy’ was I proven wrong. The first Christmas my eBay store was open, was a booming success.  Sales were high leading up to the Christmas week and I was even making sales on Christmas day! (Yes I am a workaholic and I do check my email after the turkey has gone).

So what can you do to make sure that your eBay listings are making sales this Christmas?  Here are a few tips to make sure your store is seen in this festive seasons shopping spree;

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Are you excited??  I was out doing some shopping this weekend and I really noticed a huge increase in traffic around the shopping malls.  Could the Holiday Season already be underway?  I think so!  I’ve even noticed a nice upswing in sales from my eBay store.  I happen to love store sales, since it’s how I sell a majority of the year.    

It made me start thinking about double checking my eBay “TO DO” list.  Am I prepared for the holiday? 

Here is just a quick glimpse of what I like to do to prepare for the Holiday rush:

- List all remaining Holiday items – clothes, toys, gift items.  You can’t sell it if they don’t see it!  I always tell my readers to just keep listing to your store.  List all seasons, all the time.  Don’t ever wait and hold on to an item because you feel it is off season and no one will buy it.  Some of my best sales are from off season items. 

- Clean out the toy boxes!! We do this twice a year – before Easter and before Christmas.  Both times we list any sellable toys at least a month before the holiday.  Any earnings go towards new toys, it’s usually a great motivator to get my 6 year old to write a Christmas list so we have a solid goal of the money we need to raise.

- Stock up on shipping supplies!  I know a lot of eBay sellers get their supplies off of eBay.  Boxes, packing supplies, postage supplies, mailing envelopes, extra printer paper, ink…etc.  A couple of my absolute favorites for supplies and postage off eBay are, Uline.com and Stamps.com.  Stamps.com has a promo code – C-8RRH-ZNJ – if you’re interested in checking them out.

- Crock-Pot meals! – Nothing is more satisfying than sitting down to an already prepared meal after a busy day on eBay!  Prepare it when you wake up and it’s cooking all day.  Keeping a schedule is key to making sure your family is not neglected – and you need your down time as well.  Keep crock pot recipes handy so you can fix it and forget it.

Good luck this holiday season!

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As we wind up for the Holiday Season on eBay, there is one thing that you can prepare for to optimize your eBay store for the New Year, if you haven’t done so already.

Create Multiple Custom Store Categories

It makes total sense!    eBay lets you create up to 300 Categories AND Subcategories in a single store.  That’s a lot of categories!!  Make sure you are using relevant, popular keywords in your custom category names.  This will ensure you are placing on Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs).

GASP!  Of course there is life outside of eBay!  I’m not saying start something new or give up your passion for eBay.  Hey – stick with what works, right? 

I recently got an email from Phil Dwyer of Lifestyle Investors.  I was a guest on their Podcast a while back and we had a great time!

Phil shot me over a question and inspired me to share about it.

Hi Jenn,

Jake and I just returned from a conference in Atlanta and met a couple of eBay sellers, both into antiques.  These guys both expressed a little frustration with eBay in general and are looking to branch out into other online auction sites.  What is your take on that?

Anyway, thought about you so I figured I’d drop you a line and say hello.  I hope business is good, take care!

Sincerely,
Phil Dwyer

My answer:

Hey!
 
I think the more streams of income, the better.  Without eBay I wouldn’t have been able to branch out into other areas.  I would have never acquired Boutique Bargains, or be where I am today without eBay.  Some people like Craigslist, or blogging for example. (Did you know eBay owns half of Craigslist?). 
 
It’s totally normal to start out with eBay and “graduate” into something more.  Some people are die hard, devoted eBay fans and are perfectly content with sticking to eBay.  Why?  Because eBay provides so much for them automatically that you don’t get with your own web-site.  Let’s face it – a web-site is WORK!  Some people can do it, some can’t – or just don’t want to.
 
A few of my readers started out with eBay and now own there own Clothing Boutiques.    It’s a proud day when I can say “I knew them when”.

I hope you guys are doing well!

Jenn

Think about it, if you started out with eBay and have grown into much more – do you ever stop and think about where you came from or if you would have gotten to where you are today, without eBay?

Jenn Cangelosi is a dedicated eBay expert who has transformed her hobby into a stepping stone for other moms wanting to build a successful eBay business. She is now sharing her wealth of eBay knowledge with other moms who have the same desire to stay at home and build a successful eBay business through her web-site, Boutique Bargains.

There are a number of ways to get your eBay items more exposure.  Here are a few to get you started:

Showcase your new items when as soon as you list them.  If you have an eBay store, there is an option in your Store Manager that will showcase your store front.  This will show your newest items as soon as you list them.  If you need help with your custom pages you can read up on it here – Managing your Custom Pages.  eBay allows up to 5 additional pages that you can create!

Your About Me page – Highlight your specialties and anything that will entice someone to be drawn to what they are looking for.

Your own personal blog – Yes, your very own!  Not the one that eBay provides, but one that you can create using WordPress.  Don’t be scared – I know what you’re thinking.  It’s easier than it looks – TRUST ME.  If you need help, there is a wordpress orientation coming up that you shouldn’t miss!

When you’ve mastered the first three tips, let me know – I have a ton more! 

Have fun!

You can’t *assume* that eBay buyers are going to always find you.  Sometimes you have to find them!  I use Want It Now, with my own spin on it.       

A great F-R-E-E feature included with your eBay membership is Want It Now. Whether you’re buying or selling, it’s a good option to utilize the Want It Now feature on eBay. 

What is Want It Now??

“Want It Now lets buyers post requests for hard-to-find items and allows sellers to respond to those requests with eBay listings.” –eBay

If your primary focus as an eBay seller is to find a deal & make some money, you can use Want It Now to your advantage by creating posts to seek out inventory.

eBay Seller – If you sell items on eBay, Want It Now gives buyers the chance to ask for items they want or can’t find. And as a Seller, you can respond to these requests with your eBay listings. It’s a great way to boost your sales during the slow times.  You can seek out potential buyers for items that you already have on hand by doing a simple search.

IMPORTANT: Please only respond to posts if the item you have is an exact match to the description in the post. It is considered SPAM if you respond to a post and the item is not an exact match – and you can be reported.

Try to search Want It Now every once in a while. Maybe a few times a season, when you feel your sales are slowing down, or whenever you get a good chunk of inventory. Search back about a week into the posts. It does take some time, but it’s worth it for extra sales. It also gives you an idea of what to look out for as you’re looking for seasonal inventory.

Buying inventory on eBay – Want It Now are want ads, only better! You can create a post asking for specific items. As sellers search through these want ads, they respond with eBay listings. Now, I like this feature because as an eBay seller if I’m looking for clothing lots or something specific…it’s a good way to seek out extra inventory.

How does this help find inventory for eBay?

This actually saves me a lot of time searching through eBay for what I want! It allows many responses to go right to my inbox and I pick the ones that best suit what I’m looking for. My goal in doing this is to get clothing for my daughters and offset the cost by selling some of that same lot of clothing to a local consignment shop, to make money. Later, when my daughters outgrow the portion I kept for them – I am able to resell that lot as gently used making the rest of my money back…..in turn; this meant my daughters clothes were f-r-e-e and I earned a profit at the same time! I love it when it works out that way!

Be sure you know your consignment shops policy on buying clothing and their policy on payment. Some consignment shops work on a 50/50 basis. Meaning if you give them a pair of pants and they sell it for $10 you get $5. Some consignment shops will pay a percentage up front. It just depends on your area.

You can spend a lot of time on Want It Now and it is a great tool to utilize, for both eBay buyers and sellers. Start out slow. If you are already selling on eBay, start out by going through your existing inventory every season. You never know what you might have around the house that someone is looking for!

Utilize it for saving time buying your own lots of inventory for selling to consignment shops or stocking your eBay store.

Check out what people are looking for that you have similar taste in, for your own kids.

Seek out items that are higher priced or hard to find items to narrow down the hot sizes/colors that people are looking for.

I hope this helped spark some ideas to gain some extra eBay sales!

Have Fun! 

Ever wonder how eBay sellers get the products at just the right time to make a profit?

There is a method to the madness!

The answer is this: Watch & Learn.

Watch when the local retail stores mark down their items week by week and season by season. For example, toys may be marked down every Wednesday and at the end of the Spring and Christmas seasons they may hold a huge 75% off sale. It’s usually the same week every year. Keep a calendar marked with the previous years weekly and seasonal sales. This will have you one step ahead!

Learn when items start to peak at the highest price on eBay. Right now, Halloween costumes are in full swing! Want to know a little secret? Costumes start to sell well in August. By knowing this you’ll be able to set your prices accordingly and stock your store ahead of time giving you the advantage to be first pick. This will ensure more store sales, keeping listing fees down.

Watching the trends and learning what does well can take some getting used to. It’s what I do, so if you’re ever in doubt – just ask!

Happy Selling!

Jennifer Cangelosi is an eBay expert dedicated to providing networking and mentoring advice to others who want to find children’s clothing, toys and more to sell on eBay and other auction sites. Visit her and other eBay loving moms at Boutique Bargains.

Happy Monday!  I hope you enjoyed your weekend.  We were under Tornado warnings last week, and now today it’s gorgeous!  Go figure!

How did you make out last week with your Monday Motivation? 

Here was last weeks list:  COMPLETE!

1. Work on mailing my list the latest and greatest of what is selling on eBay right now.
2. Take pictures of ten items to be listed on eBay. Crop, edit and upload to picture host so they are ready to be listed on Tuesday.
3. Prepare a ‘back to basics’ coupon & email my affiliates to send out this week.
4. Pack up sold eBay items & ship out first thing in the morning.

It’s motivating to say the least and it really keeps things moving along.  This week is all about streamlining my eBay listing process.  This is what works for me.

1. Email my list the latest and greatest items selling on eBay right now – Daily
2. Take pictures of 10 items to be listed on eBay – Monday
3. Edit, Crop and upload to picture host – Monday
4. List 10 items to my eBay store and/or 5 day auction – Tuesday
5. Prepare Blog Posts – Tuesday & Wednesday
6. Prepare Hot lists for my new joint venture – Wednesday
7. Prepare and drop off 15 items to the consignment shop – Thursday
8. Day off ! – Friday, Saturday
9. Prepare for Monday! – Sunday

Of course, my weeks will vary, but that just the beauty of working from home! 

How are you going to streamline your week?

Sparkplugging is starting a new tradition called Spark an idea Thursday. As part of this tradition, I will be sharing with you my experiences and interpretations for each weeks topic for those of you who sell products or services online.

I invite you to grab our image over there to the right -> and carry the tradition through to your own blog. If you do, please link back to this post so we know where you were inspired!

The theme of this week’s Spark an Idea Thursday is: Spark an Idea About Purging.

From iGoogle WordMonkey Dictionary:

Purge: noun

1. the act of clearing yourself (or another) from some stigma or charge
2. an act of removing by cleansing; ridding of sediment or other undesired elements

Recently, I’ve started really dreading going into my inbox.  This is something that may take my readers by suprise.  I truely enjoy what I do, and it requires a lot of research, follow up and communication.  But lately, my inbox is getting out of control with newsletters and offers from other online marketers and retail locations that I’ve subscribed to. 

I can sift through 300 email a day, easily.  It will take me an hour to get through ONE email account.  I have 3 email accounts  that I actively use daily.  One for personal and two for business.  While I feel it’s important to separate business and personal – I no longer feel the need to have two business email accounts.

I find that recently, I will spend more time deleting email than actually reading what is being sent to me!  One day while feverishly deleting email – I thought to myself – “DUH, I could just be unsubscribing to all of these, instead of wasting my time deleting day after day!”   

 So, I’m purging!  My thoughts are to work smarter about what email I need to receive in order to help my business grow. I’m oganizing Google (gmail) for business where I can set up folders for each email to be automatically sent to and filed.  Each day I will be able to scan the ‘money maker’ folders and work on the ‘learning’ folders at my leisure.  This is going to save me much needed time I can put into my business.

Take time to relax. With kids is that really an option? Kids keep you hopping as they are always growing and needing new clothes as time goes by. The need for new clothes gives you the opportunity to shop ‘til you drop by finding everything your family needs. The Back to School shopping list is completed, but now you’ll want to focus on what you need for the next season. By staying organized and stocking up on the next size for your son and daughter, you will be ready and prepared. 

Have you thought about what they may need for this winter? You can continue to shop after the Back to School Rush and find amazing savings.

Sales and Clearances – all help you save money! First, make a list so you won’t forget! Make it a detailed list….for example, your son needs at least 2 shirts, your daughter will need new socks by this winter and so on. There are plenty of Summer Clearance at this point, especially at consignment shops.

It’s taken me some time to learn the in’s and out’s of these stores, but here is a healthy nugget of advice worth its weight when you’re a penny pinching mom:

A question that is commonly asked when shopping for gently used clothing is what do you look for or how do you know when the deals are going to present themselves for a decent profit on eBay?

Make sure you know the policies, payouts, best drop off days and especially when the sales are. This is key when you know that you are going to resell your kids clothes on eBay.

We are fortunate to have one very popular consignment shop the next town over. It’s actually one of the only remaining consignment shops in this area. The owner only accepts top brands – a big plus when you’re only looking for the best quality clothes. She also holds sales every season. Not only are the remaining items high end boutique and popular designer brands, they are already marked down considerably because they are second hand and still in excellent condition. Usually, they are 50% off of the already reduced price OR you can stuff a bag for $15! How is that for stocking up on eBay inventory!

By stocking up on clothing for your kids, you will be ready for when they need the next size. The best part is what they have outgrown you can begin to research to see what each clothing item is selling for on eBay. When researching I have seen some clothing items sell for about the same price or more than what the item was selling for when it was on the store rack. Recently, I found a complete Oilily set for my daughter for $15 and when I got it home I realized the pants were still NEW with tags and retail for $109! Can you say Cha-Ching! My small amount of time of searching equals a great reward to the savings I have just achieved.  It’s like getting my kids clothes for free!