It’s about an uber-organized career thief who fences his loot on eBay using the persona of a middle-aged shopaholic named Barbara.

“Barbara’s” listings are highly descriptive, full of benefits, and loaded with personality – just the style we teach in The Insider Secrets to Selling on eBay…

… “Nice MESSENGER bag from IL BISONTE. BLACK LEATHER bag in very excellent condition. Another bag that I just had to have, much to my husband Gerry’s chagrin — and I did use it for a while — but not for very long and the bag is in very excellent condition. I haven’t used it for a long time and it is time for it to move on to someone who will use it and enjoy it. A bag like this will never go out of style and IL BISONTE just continues to make beautiful and practical handbags, as I’m sure you already know. It opens with a zipper across the top of the bag and there is a nice zipper compartment inside… “

Who could resist?

Matthew Dicks says the character’s eBay alter-ego is an homage to his mother-in-law: “My mother-in-law… is an eBay PowerSeller and the techniques and listings described in the book all come straight from her.”

Well, she’s got the salescopy down cold, so it’s no wonder she’s a PowerSeller!

Something Missing is a funny character study of a good guy who does bad stuff… but very, very well.

(By the way, even though we like the book, that doesn’t mean we encourage anybody to unload stolen goods on eBay. Just so we’re straight…

Got any other examples of fictional characters who illustrate smart marketing concepts (eBay or otherwise)? Tell us!

It looks like they’re finally clearing the way for small-to-medium-sized sellers to make money again. FYI, here’s a quick rundown of the changes they’ve just announced.
Starting in September you’ll get better exposure in eBay’s search results AND get a 20% reduction in fees if:

eBay Logo by Flickr user liewcf

• you’re selling $3000.00 a year with 100+ sales
• you don’t get 1 and 2 ratings on the Detailed Seller Ratings
• you maintain a 4.6 or higher DSR average

You’ll also be rewarded if your listings have a high conversion rate — in other words your listings may not get a lot of views, but they consistently sell your items. Good news for sellers who take time to write a good title and item description; bad news for the giant Diamond sellers that don’t bother because they’ve got so much inventory!

Our eBay Mentoring Team are really excited about these changes. They say the just-introduced Top-Rated Seller designation is “realistic and achievable” for people who follow our system and use our strategies.

Coincidentally, we’ve just released the brand-new, online version of our Insider Secrets to Selling on eBay course. It’ll cover all these changes (the big advantage of being online instead of in a book) and any new ones eBay comes up with.

So if you’ve been frustrated with eBay lately, NOW IT’S A WHOLE NEW BALLGAME!

After a couple of years of making it harder and harder to make money, it looks like eBay is rewarding the sellers who made it such a powerhouse in the first place.

What do you think? Is this what you’ve been waiting to see on eBay?

I’ve been feeling bad all day, because yesterday I may have broke a woman’s heart (don’t worry, Coralynn, it’s completely innocent!

You see, I was chatting to a woman while waiting for my car at the service center, when our conversation turned to business…

… and when she found out what I did for a living, she hit me with THE question (the one SO MANY people ask):

"I’d LOVE to make money on the Internet, but I really don’t want to waste any time on it…

What’s a FAST, EASY way to get online and making money – without doing any work?"

It’s my answer that broke her heart:

"There ISN’T one, and if you don’t want to do ANY work, then an online business isn’t for you!"

 I admit it… I was pretty blunt about it, but I just tired of people assuming that you can start an Internet business while sitting around watching television!

When I got back to the office, I began to regret being abrupt…

… and then I started thinking about the ways you actually CAN make money online quickly, without doing too much work (though you still have to be motivated, apply yourself, and spend a reasonable amount of time on it). (I need to say this again – you need to make sure whatever you sell has a market. That’s why a staple of my BeBiz business builder is the research tool.)

So here are THREE ideas for a FAST and EASY online business!

1. Have someone ELSE store and ship the products FOR you

One option for getting online and making profits FAST, is to sell products using a drop shipper.

Here’s how it works…

You choose a drop shipper who carries the kinds of products you want to sell on your site. Then, when you make a sale, you charge your customer, and send their shipping information to the drop shipper.

The drop shipper sends the product to your customer, then bills YOU for the order, at LESS than what you charged your customer. Your profit is the difference between what you charge the customer, and what the drop shipper charges you.

Drop shipping is one of the quickest and easiest ways I know to start selling online, because, with no stock to buy or store, there’s very little advanced setup required.

And there are other GOOD reasons to consider drop shipping:

• Affordability — There’s no product to develop, so no costs involved there, and because there’s no stock to buy, there are also NO storage costs.
• Flexibility — You can sell products you otherwise wouldn’t be able to stock yourself.
• Better customer service — Your buyers are still your customers, and you remain their point of contact.
  

Really, the only time-consuming part of setting up a drop shipping business is actually finding a good drop shipper where you can get the kind of products you’re looking for, at a price you can profit from.

Here are some resources I recommend to get you started:

• Worldwide Brands: www.marketingtips.com/worldwidebrands
  
• Doba: www.marketingtips.com/doba

There are also many companies online that provide extensive listings of drop shippers, like Aid and Trade (www.aidandtrade.com), and The Thomas Register (www.thomasregister.com)

2. Earn commissions recommending other people’s products

Recommending other people’s products is another great way to get started online quickly and easily.

As an affiliate, you promote another company’s product or service on your website (or to your opt-in list using email marketing), and for every paying customer you refer to the company’s site to purchase, you get paid a percentage of the profits in commission!

And the BEST part is that once you’ve done the research to find a solid market, it only takes SECONDS to set up an affiliate relationship, and start earning commissions!

Other reasons to consider starting an affiliate site?

• It runs itself — Once you’ve completed the setup, you can automate the entire process, so you can earn commissions day and night, year round!
• You can earn MULTIPLE commissions — Because there’s no customer service or payment processing required, you can get away with spending very little time working on the site, so you can easily set up MANY affiliate sites to MULTIPY your earnings.
• As with drop shipping, you have to do your research and find a good program (or programs) relevant to your business.

There are a number of web-based resources for locating affiliate programs. The best include:

• www.associateprograms.com
• www.refer-it.com
• www.affiliatematch.com
• www.cj.com (Commission Junction)

Of course the more traffic you send, the more money you make, so you do need to put some work into creating a site that gets lots of visitors.

3. Join the world’s LARGEST online marketplace

If you REALLY want it FAST and EASY, there’s no better way I know of to start making money online (potentially thousands of dollars each month), than to start your own eBay business!

$2,000 worth of merchandise changes hands on eBay every SECOND, so you’ve got a built-in market just waiting to buy what you’re selling! This is actually my FAVORITE way to start making money online as quickly as possible, because, unlike drop shipping and affiliate programs…

… you don’t even need a website to start making BIG profits!

There are other reasons to consider eBay if you’re looking to start making money right away:

• No start-up money required — You can easily create an account with eBay, get your first listing up, and start making serious profits, for just a few dollars
• No business experience necessary – You don’t need to know ANYTHING about running a business to get started on eBay, so it’s perfect for people who are just beginning to work for themselves
• You don’t need to be computer savvy — If you know how to check your email, you have all the computer skills you NEED to start making profits on eBay!

ANYONE can start making money quickly and easily on eBay…

… but to make really BIG money, it helps if you understand the more advanced strategies (the ones that very few other "eBayers" actually even know about).

I’ve been working with my in-house team of elite eBay mentors to develop a three-step system that anyone can follow to start making money on eBay…

… and I’ve put them into an online video training series that you can watch FOR FREE!

In the videos, I’ll show you how to AVOID the number one profit-killing mistake that nearly every new eBayer makes… my secret three-step formula for determining if ANY product will be a HOT seller… and review how to use eBay’s new rules to outsell even your TOUGHEST competitors!

You can get instant access to the FREE videos right here.

To your success,

Derek Gehl

In the keynote Address, John Donahoe was quick to address the recent controversial changes to the marketplace. "Change is hard, but essential."

The rationale?

• Attract more buyers, so sellers – and eBay – succeed
• Create a healthy vibrant "people’s" community

The new feedback system is meant to "do right by people who do the right thing" and reward behaviors that give buyers what they want.

And eBay says the new system is working. Average DSRs are higher across the board:

Sellers who make buyers happy as reflected by high DSRs get more visibility in search and higher Powerseller discounts.

2) eBay pays more attention to marketing

There was an increased emphasis on marketing at eBay Live. Besides eBay store marketing and tools classes, renowned Internet marketers Seth Godin, Jay Berkowitz, and Andy Sernovitz also contributed.

Looks like they’ve finally caught on to what we’ve been teaching our clients for years: Actively promoting and marketing your eBay business is the ONLY way to grow and achieve real online success.

3) eBay is becoming a contained system

eBay’s introduced a number of new policies that are making it pretty much impossible to promote your off-eBay website.

• No linking off eBay: Linking from any eBay page (including your About Me page or eBay blog) to an off-eBay page is no longer allowed.

  You CAN still link to a web page with more information about an item you’re selling on eBay, however, that page can’t have any navigation links on it – period (even if the navigation links to another information page).

  Meanwhile, eBay is displaying Yahoo PPC ads at the bottom of the search results page – driving traffic away from YOUR listings and off the eBay site (while offering eBay a new revenue stream). Those sponsored links directly contradict eBay’s own rules!

  When questioned by one of our Advanced eBay Mentors, eBay said only that they were testing the ads, and would be looking into ways for eBay sellers to purchase this type of advertising on their site.

• No giving out your email address.
  Starting in September, emails between buyers and sellers will rerouted through eBay’s system and given an anonymous email address. The only exceptions are those related to actual transactions.

  And as part of this new email system, you’ll no longer be able to include your email address in your listings.

  According to eBay, "anonymous email addresses are becoming an industry standard that adds an additional level of safety."

  This makes some sense for buyer to seller communications sent through the eBay system. But not allowing sellers to provide a contact email address in their listings seems to be more about making sure all emails are confined to the eBay marketplace.

There was a lot of talk at eBay Live this year about eBay being a platform for sellers’ growth. Clearly, this is restricted to growth on eBay only.

As of May, sellers will no longer be able to leave negative feedback for buyers. So how can you protect yourself from, and warn other sellers about, bad bidders?

eBay has promised to overhaul the way it handles bad bidders.

Seller help systems, like filing Unpaid Item disputes and reporting buyers who try to cheat the system, are already in place, but sellers are apprehensive. These dispute processes have traditionally been very slow, and not terribly sympathetic to the seller.

eBay has said it will deal with problem buyers more quickly and effectively under the new system. All those resources that eBay now uses to resolve feedback disputes will be redirected toward removing non-paying bidders and users who try to abuse the feedback system.

So eBay has really started to encourage sellers to use the proper dispute mechanisms to report problem buyers.

These are the ripoffs you can report:

• Unpaid items: Buyers who bid on an item but never pay are one of the biggest headaches sellers have. You can file an unpaid item dispute from 7 – 45 days after the listing closes. Or you can file one immediately if a) both you and the buyer want to stop the transaction or b) the buyer is not a registered user. Negative feedback and Detailed Seller Ratings left by unpaid bidders will be removed. For more on the process, go here: http://pages.ebay.com/help/tp/unpaid-item-process.html.

• Feedback extortion: When buyers threaten to leave negative feedback unless the seller cuts them a better deal or reduces the shipping charge, eBay will ban them on the first offense, if the seller provides enough evidence. You can find out more at http://pages.ebay.ca/help/policies/feedback-extortion.html.
• Feedback abuse: Buyers who leave malicious or dishonest feedback to try to harm a seller’s reputation should be reported. eBay may not ban them immediately, but putting it on their record opens them up to further action if this behavior continues. Learn what constitutes feedback abuse here: http://pages.ebay.ca/help/policies/feedback-abuse-withdrawal.html.
• Transaction interference: Sellers who have their bids cancelled and then bid again, or make any kind of bid designed to disrupt a seller’s auction are breaking eBay policy. Here’s where you can go to know more: http://pages.ebay.ca/help/policies/transaction-interference.html.

If a buyer tries any of these tactics on you — or any violation of eBay policy — report it immediately to http://pages.ebay.com/securitycenter/reportproblem.html.

Would really like to hear what you think on these changes… are they good for business? Or bad?

While eBay has given with one hand — by lowering insertion fees and eliminating the basic Gallery fee — it has taken away with the other, by increasing Final Value fees.

As you’ve seen, there have also been changes to the prices of more advanced features, such as Featured Plus!, Pro Pack, and Homepage Featured.

eBay says the changes will reduce the upfront risk of listing an item and reward successful sellers. But many sellers believe the changes, particularly higher Final Value fees, will hurt their profits.

Here’s a breakdown.

1. It will cost you less to list your items for sale on eBay

Basic insertion fees have been reduced by as much as 50%, depending on the type of listing and the starting or reserve price.

For example, here’s what the insertion fees for auction-style listings look like now:

Click here for full details of the new insertion fees.

2. It’s now free to include a picture in your listings

eBay has eliminated the basic Gallery fee for all types of listings and it has lowered other Gallery fees such as Gallery Plus and Picture Pack.

Click here for full details of this, and the fee changes for advanced options.

3. You’ll pay eBay more when you sell an item

Here’s what’s got eBay sellers up in arms: higher Final Value fees.

The amount you’ll pay will continue to depend on the type of listing and sale price, but eBay has increased its cut dramatically.

For example, if you sell an auction-style or fixed-price item for $25 or less, you now pay eBay 8.75% of the closing value — up from 5.25%.

Click here for a full breakdown of the changes.

Let’s see how all this works in practice…

Suppose you sell a pair of shoes for $60 in a fixed-price listing that includes a picture.

Before:

$2.40 (insertion fee)

$0.35 (Gallery fee)

$1.31 (5.25% of the initial $25.00 of the closing value)

$1.14 (3.25% of the remaining $35.00 closing balance)

$4.90 (Total amount you pay eBay)

After:

$2.00 (insertion fee)

$0.00 (Gallery fee)

$2.19 (8.75% of the initial $25.00 of the closing value)

$1.22 (3.50% of the remaining $35.00 closing balance)

$5.41 (Total amount you pay eBay)

Media sellers pay less

Although eBay is lowering its insertion fees for almost all types of listings, the biggest percentage reductions are for Books, Music, DVDs, Movies, and Video Games. (Perhaps eBay is worried about sellers moving to Amazon.)

Suppose you sell a CD for $15 in a fixed-price listing that includes a picture.

Before:

$0.60 (insertion fee)

$0.35 (Gallery fee)

$0.79 (5.25% of the $15.00 closing value)

$1.74 (Total amount you pay eBay)

After:

$0.35 (insertion fee)

$0.00 (Gallery fee)

$1.31 (8.75% of the $15.00 closing value)

$1.66 (Total amount you pay eBay)

What’s your reaction?

Some sellers reacted by boycotting eBay last week. This appears to have had some effect. The number of eBay auctions dropped from 14.5 million on February 18 to under 11.9 million on February 21, according to Medved.net.

How will the changes affect your business on eBay? Did you take part in the boycott? Let us know.

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