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How To Start Ebay Business Right

§ April 24th, 2010 § Filed under Marketing § Tagged , , , , , , , , Comments Off

Starting business is a huge step, even if the business is an internet business. These tips will help you decide if an ebay business is right for you.

Just like in the real world, business is business. The main goal of any business is to make a profit. Running an ebay business is no different, the main goal is profits. And just like any other business, it will take work and resources to make it successful. Simply listing a few items and waiting for the cash to roll in just won’t work.

First you will need to know what sells and how much the going price is. Listing a product that is in a category that gets no buyers or even bidders may not be a good idea. You’ll just end up losing money due to listing fees and such. Not to mention the work in preparing the description, taking pictures and such. If you want your ebay business to succeed you must find out if what you want to sell is actually selling.

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What’s the best way to find out what sells? Simply go to ebay and look at similar items. Just by checking on what other items are selling for will help you determine what you need to sell in your ebay business. And that includes checking regularly as some items may be more seasonal.

Now comes the part of stocking your ebay business. Where you get the products to sell in your ebay business is almost as important as what you sell. Of course, you may be forced to sell something in your ebay business that you would rather be something else or another name brand. This is where the supplier will help you find the right product to sell. You may want to sell a particular name brand, however, that supplier may have requirements that your ebay business can not meet. Because of this, most ebay business must settle for the normal products.

Another avenue you may want to consider when starting an ebay business is dropshipping. Dropshipping allows you to sell to customers without the need to carry inventory. You simply sell the products from your ebay business and the dropshipper will send those products to the customer. It’s an easy and affordable way to start an ebay business with very little startup capital. Be careful as some dropshippers may charge a fee for each product they ship to your customer. You will need to be sure you charge the customer for this fee and not your ebay business.

Take pictures of the products you are selling if possible. If you have a digital camera, take a unique picture of each product. This goes a long way and shows that your ebay business is serious about selling the product. Take for instance, if 20 items with pictures were listed and one was different that all the other pictures, a user would be more likely to click on that item. This is why taking unique pictures will help ebay business.

Lastly, if you are serious in making lots of “easy” money on eBay and without carrying the inventory & handle the shipping yourself, then work with legitimate drop-ship wholesalers. I personally use Drop-shipping Wholesaler to find the good drop-ship suppliers for my eBay business. You got to check them out!

How To Write An Appealing Ebay Description That Attract Bids

§ April 24th, 2010 § Filed under Marketing § Tagged , , , , , , , , Comments Off

Once you’ve drawn the buyers in with your title, the next thing to do is to tell them all about your item with the description. But just what should you write in your description?

At its heart, your item description is an ad. Without making it too obvious, you should be writing sales copy. You’re trying to get buyers excited about your products, and that’s usually hard – but on eBay, if you have the right thing to sell and give enough details, the buyers almost excite themselves.

Technical Details.

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Include every technical detail you know, including the item’s manufacturer, its condition, how big it is, where and when it was made, its history, and anything else special about it. Don’t be too boring, though: the best descriptions are written in friendly, conversational language, and show a real knowledge of the item. Whatever you do, make sure you tell the truth!

Remember that most of the people who’ll be buying your item will be just as knowledgeable about it as you are, if not more – this is their hobby, and they’re experts. Don’t feel like you need to explain the basics of the item: just go into as much technical detail as you can. As a rule, don’t write anything in the description if you don’t know what it means, as the chances are someone will, and if you’ve got it slightly wrong then you’ll look like you don’t know what you’re talking about.

Interesting Details.

You might find that you enjoy writing a few things about how you got the item, why you’re selling it, and who you think might like it. This isn’t strictly necessary, but it gives your auctions some character and a personal touch, and can make people more likely to trust you. People might wonder what you’re doing selling 500 CDs all at once, and if you tell them the reason, then they’ll feel reassured that nothing dodgy is going on. If you’re selling them because you’re having a baby and you need the space, just say so.

Write as Much as You Can.

Leave nothing out of your description, even if that seems to you like it makes it cumbersomely long. There is no way you can be too thorough: someone, somewhere will appreciate that you took the time to write the extra information.

Don’t assume that anyone who wants extra information will email you to ask a question: many buyers are shy and won’t do it. Think of questions that buyers might have and add the answers to your description, as people generally tend to ask the same questions over and over again.

Each time a buyer does email you with a question, you should both answer their question and update your description so that it will include the answer next time. If people ask questions that are answered in the description, try putting these parts of the auction on a line alone, or in bold, to make them easier to notice.

Lastly, if you want to be successful selling on eBay, check out The eBay Fortune! This is how I started my first eBay sales 2 years back by applying what I learned from The eBay Fortune. Today I’m selling full-time on eBay and making a very decent income. You too can make it, you just have to do it right!

An Honest Look At Auction Inspector

§ April 24th, 2010 § Filed under Software § Tagged , , , , , , , , , Comments Off

There’s one mantra for having a successful business and that is to concentrate on a profitable niche. This advice isn’t just perfect for those people who are thinking of entering the affiliate marketing world.

It’s also great for those who would want to sell online through eBay. In such an enormous market, it’s necessary to pick a certain niche.

The task of looking for a niche can be difficult and daunting at the same time. There are a number of softwares that can help you with that task though.

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Auction Inspector is one of those software. Auction Inspector will help you find products that have a high demand without any significant competition through eBay’s Want It Now.

EBay’s Want It Now listings is where users can list all the things that they are looking for and that they would be willing to buy.

It won’t do any user any good to come up with a niche from that list because everything is unsorted. It’ll take you hours just to go over all of those posts.

However, the Auction Inspector can make sense out of those listings. What it does is to go through all those Want It Now post and finds out which of those products have a huge demand.

Auction Inspector makes use of complicated algorithm to come up with the potential for each product. The software lists products as high potential if they have high demand but the supply is down.

Auction Inspector runs on series of sophisticated algorithm for it to gather everything and come up with a potential for each product. What high potential means is that there is great demand for that product at the same time the supply is low. Low potential is the opposite. It simply means that there is low demand and it’s already being satisfied by a seller.

You can also search for a particular product that you have in mind. All you have to do is to use a very specific keyword.

It takes a few minutes for the Auction Inspector to run through all those listings and come up with the results.

I hope you found this post helpful. To see how you can make money on the internet then checkout my website. Another site I recommend taking a look at is my friends hyper facebook traffic site.

How To Make Huge Money Working With Ebay Drop Shippers

§ April 24th, 2010 § Filed under Marketing § Tagged , , , , , , , , Comments Off

Since eBay hit the ground running just a few years ago, the service has millions of sellers with as many buyers. eBay has created a truly global market, where shoppers can find and purchase exactly what they’re looking for, without leaving home.

If you’re thinking of owning an eBay business, and making a lucrative career of it, you can easily make that dream come true. You don’t even require a product of your own to make a living by selling on eBay. eBay provides many opportunities to people who want to quit their corporate nine-to-five jobs, but don’t necessarily have a lot of start-up capital to invest in a new business.

Many eBay retailers are finding it easy and convenient to market merchandise with the help of ‘drop shippers’. eBay drop shippers don’t provide the merchandise for sale–they simply arrange to send merchandise to the customers of business owners.

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If you want to run an eBay store, it is possible to offer a huge variety of stock, without needing a warehouse to store all of those products. All you need to do is list the items for auction, and sell the products. When the sale is confirmed, the information is passed along to the drop shipping company. eBay drop shippers take over from there. eBay drop shippers will package, label, and ship the products that you sell, allowing you more time to set up more auctions and bring in greater profits. They’ll take care of all the shipping details, and will even use your company information, including your logo. When the product arrives at your customer’s home, they will have no idea that it wasn’t actually shipped directly from your company.

For this process to work to your benefit, you need to establish relationships with several different drop shippers. Until you’ve cemented a trusted working relationship, eBay drop shippers will likely require you to pay for the items that your customers order before they are shipped. Orders need to be filled and shipped in a timely manner, so it’s in your best interest to pay for the items with a credit card for speedy service. Eventually, your eBay drop shippers will be confident in filling your orders right away, and billing you for them later.

When you set up your eBay auctions, make sure that your reserve price is set higher than the drop shipper’s cost. Don’t forget, your primary goal is to earn a profit! Depending on the item you’re selling, your reserve price should be about 10 percent higher than the price charged by the drop shipper. It will be beneficial for you to research to see if the item is selling for a lower price in another eBay auction, or through other online sources.

Running an online business using the eBay drop shippers presents almost no financial risk. The product will be sold before you actually pay for the item. This is one business where you can actually turn a profit before you have to pay any expenditures.

Millions of buyers are ready and waiting to buy your products. Use eBay drop shippers to your advantage, and cash in on the world’s favorite way to shop.

Lastly, you have to find the legitimate drop-ship wholesalers in order to succeed on you eBay business. I personally use Drop-shipping Wholesaler to source for good drop-shippers to work with. Most drop-shippers in this directory are genuine wholesalers, not a middle-man, and they work with eBay seller.

Ebay Business Opportunity – When The Money Comes Rolling In

§ April 23rd, 2010 § Filed under Marketing § Tagged , , , , , , , , Comments Off

Why are so many people turning to the Ebay business opportunity in hope to turn their lives around? Let us take away the word hope and replace it with – how the Ebay business opportunity has helped people worldwide and is still continuing to do so with their offerings of a no risk Ebay business opportunity.

Living day to day struggling to make ends meet – wondering how the next bill is going too paid has caused many people unnecessary stress forcing them to pill pop to rid headaches. Well if you have decided enough is enough and going to make a stand to put all that in the past- then your choice to run your very own Ebay business was a wise one.

No up front fees – no 9 to 5 commitment – no refusal from an employer for extra overtime to help with the bills – well no kidding believe it or not all the above mentioned are omitted from your Ebay business. If you are serious about being in control with no boss to answer too then the only way forward is the Ebay way. Are you willing to do what it takes to change your life – then if so it is commitment and determination that are the main factors to up hold? After enforcing these two important issues – then there is no reason why you can not achieve the success like other Ebay entrepreneurs.

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To become part of the offerings from an Ebay business opportunity all that is required is internet connection a product or service. Read up on all Ebay`s guidelines rules and regulations to get an overall picture of how the system works – and once you have done this then abracadabra Hey Presto your in business.

Start your business as you mean to go on and that is to succeed – have a test run by selling a book a piece of Jewelry or even a car – whatever you choose is up to you. A dummy run is all that you need to familiarize yourself with the ins and outs. After accepting the Ebay business opportunity and you are up and running with your first listing then let the excitement begin. Remember to categorise your product accordingly then make sure to set a time and date you would like the auction to run for and wait for it – watch the bidding rise each day.

An Ebay business can escalate to heights beyond belief and if you believe in yourself then Ebay can make it happen. Once you have sold your first item then you have found success but to become successful you have to sell more. Good quality products and a dedicated service from you may just well give you repeat custom (depending on what you are selling) what products to sell should be researched into – make sure there is a demand for it? For example don`t try selling bikinis to an Eskimo – get my drift.

If what you are selling entails quantity then ask a friend to help with organizing the postage and packaging till you get on your feet. An organized business is a step in the right direction in achieving success. In time you will find that your Ebay business opportunity has become reality when the money comes rolling in.

Now that you have a slice of the worlds biggest online market place then it is up to you how you conduct your Ebay business opportunity you have started up. Your new found venture is like that of any other businesses undertaken by entrepreneurs, so keep it strictly business at your scheduled times and dates you have planned then all should be Hunky Dory.

Lastly, if you want to be successful selling on eBay, check out The eBay Fortune! This is how I started my first eBay sales 2 years back by applying what I learned from The eBay Fortune. Today I’m selling full-time on eBay and making a very decent income. You too can make it, you just have to do it right!

9 Reasons To Do Joint Venture Deals On eBay

§ April 20th, 2010 § Filed under Marketing § Tagged , , , , , , , , Comments Off

eBay is the most popular home business in the USA, but it’s not without its problems. Many have tried to succeed but have failed due to confusion over what products to sell, giant numbers of competitors, picture theft from other sellers, and Paypal that eat into profits.

One way to avoid this swamp, though, is to do a Joint Venture with established eBay sellers. This allows a JV partner to build her own mailing list and sell products off eBay.

There are multiple advantages to this way of doing business on eBay:

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1. The biggest uncertainty for would-be eBay sellers is what products to sell. Sometimes vendors risk large sums of money on untried products, only to lose their investment, become sour and give up. With a Joint Venture there is no risk except for a few hours of time.

2. Since there are no auctions listed on eBay, no one can steal copy or pictures from JV sellers – because there is nothing to copy. In effect, we become invisible – no one even knows we exist and this hidden aspect has many advantages.

3. eBay JVs are usually done with a digital product that can be instantly downloaded. This is great for any entrepreneur because inexpensive auto-responder mean that her entire business is handled via autopilot. Contrast this with the usual way of doing business on eBay which involves mailing dozens, hundreds or even thousands of boxes.

4. eBay and Paypal have lots of rules. It’s easy to break some unwittingly, and even the most honest seller does so from time to time. A JV merchant isn’t answerable to eBay, however, but only to her customers.

5. A JV seller never directly lists on eBay, thus avoiding eBay and Paypal fees.

6. Successful Powersellers have large numbers of customers and there are lots of administrative details involved. Implementing a sales system can cost time and money because without attention to detail packages won’t be mailed in a timely fashion, payments won’t be accurate, items will be sent to the wrong buyers, and so on. A JV partner eliminates all of that because all transactions can be funnelled through a hands-off system.

7. eBay selling lives or dies through the ‘feedback’ system. Negative feedback can kill sales instantly and lack of feedback causes buyers to hesitate and choose other sellers. Feedback is totally irrelevant to a Joint Venture seller because she is using the reputation of carefully chosen other sellers. She knows in advance that their feedback is high quality or she doesn’t do deals with them.

8. Inexperienced sellers sometimes drag wiser merchants into price wars. In a panic over sales, they foolishly slash prices, beginning a chain reaction that results in bare bones bids that allow no one to make any money. A Joint Venture seller floats serenely above such hiccups in the marketplace.

9. Best of all, a JV seller doesn’t settle for a one time sale. She concentrates her efforts on a mailing list of happy customers that she can sell to again and again and again. In this way, not only is she ensuring repeat profits, but she gets paid for creating this list, rather than having to pay someone else for names.

With its 147,000,000 registered users, eBay is the best source of targeted, Net-savvy buyers on the web. By putting together Joint Venture deals with established sellers, anyone can add large numbers of qualified buyers to their database efficiently and inexpensively.

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19 Free eBay Secrets For Your Success

§ April 19th, 2010 § Filed under Marketing § Tagged , , , , , , , , Comments Off

Gaining success through the eBay selling business may not be as complicated as you think. You only have to know where to find free eBay secrets that count. Once you get hold of free eBay secrets, start applying them in order for you to put up a successful eBay selling business.

No need to look high and low for free eBay secrets, we’ve got them compiled here for you. You can use these free eBay secrets to create a booming business on eBay.

Once you decide to become an eBay seller, choose the user ID you will have to use, carefully. Choose a User ID that represents your business or the items you sell. Your User ID automatically becomes your eBay identity to potential buyers.

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Look up the “How to Sell” Tour and watch the eBay selling demonstration video. Then learn of free eBay secrets in starting up at the eBay Learning Center.

Get your ID verified by using the ID Verify option when setting up a Seller’s Account. This gives you an ID Verify icon in your feedback profile thereby giving the eBay community more confidence to buy from you. Don’t let this free eBay secret go unheeded.

Make sure to get computer backup disks in order for you to store up valuable data. A free eBay secret of using accounting software will help you know how your business is doing so you can make it more profitable.

Look for a good place where you can put your inventory and shipping materials. It’s a free eBay secret that they need to be in a safe, dry place nearby. Writing a daily To-Do List will help you organize your schedule. It is also the free eBay secret for you to manage your time on normal tasks and follow up on opportunities that aren’t part of them.

Taking eBay’s fees into account may be the free eBay secret you need that’ll guided the pricing of your items.

Find the best category where to list your products under. This free eBay secret is probably known by everyone. From eBay’s home page, click the Buy button, and browse the categories to find categories that apply to your items. Another free eBay secret that’s necessary for your products’ success is checking where competing items have been placed. It’s a good idea to choose two categories for your listings to reach more buyers.

Even if you have to pay additional fee, spotlighting your title is a practically free eBay secret that’s guaranteed to grab buyers’ attention when they search for listings.

Hiring a Trading Assistant can free up the time you need to let you focus on the more important aspects of your eBay business. Constantly monitor My eBay for your listings performance and other activities on the site. Keep track of your eBay correspondence by using My Messages. Surely, this free eBay secret will be a great help.

Attending trade shows is not only a free eBay secret advice it is also a great opportunity where you can get product trends preview and connect with manufacturers and discuss the opportunity of selling their products on eBay. Make sure to bring your business cards and be ready for discussions/

Protect yourself from potential fraud. Be wary for unusual buyer requests and consider it as a fraudulent sign if such requests come to light.

eBay consultants are available for advice and even free eBay secret tip offs. Once you know how to sell on eBay and checked out the eBay Community, your head will be buzzing with new business ideas.

Subscribing Chatter may get you not only feature articles, tips, helpful links and member interviews but maybe also free eBay secrets to success. Signing up for the PowerUp Newsletter can get you advanced notice of upcoming events and promotions. You’ll get to know free listing days, feature discounts, seller sweepstakes and more.

There’s nothing wrong in promoting your eBay store. In fact it is another free eBay secret that you design marketing materials to promote your store.

Once you made a final sale price, donate part of it to a Nonprofit Organization of your choice. Remember that the ultimate free eBay secret to success is passing on the blessings and knowledge you acquire!

Last but not least, also check out The eBay Fortune if you are serious in making living on eBay successfully. We have followed exactly the methods outlined & now our eBay business is growing day by day!

An Introduction To Ebay Drop Shipping – The Easy Way To Start An Ebay Business

§ April 19th, 2010 § Filed under Marketing § Tagged , , , , , , , , , , Comments Off

The term ‘Drop shipping’ has become a popular method for selling goods on eBay. This method allows the seller on eBay to sell goods without the need to have an inventory or the necessity to ship the goods. Many companies also allow the user to purchase their goods and then have them blind drop ship the product to the winning bidder. The company uses the eBay seller’s name or company details as the return address to make it appear that the item actually came from them and not the true goods supplier. The true supplier will however, handle the packaging, the shipping, and any return of items.

It is very easy to start a drop shipping business on eBay. You do not need to make any huge investments when starting your ebay drop shipping business and your initial costs will be negligible. Remember that this is a virtual business and does not need heavy startup costs, unlike an offline business that can expensive to start.

Drop shipping has gained in popularity because you do not have to pay for and stock inventory the upfront. Once the buyer makes the payment, the order is sent to the drop shipper and they complete the procedure including sending the tracking number for the shipment, which is then forwarded to the buyer – You do not pay until you have sold the item! This method ensures that you earn money and the risks are minimized for the sellers.

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But make sure that you find legitimate drop shippers to work with and avoid the “middlemen” that can cause problems with shipping and your profits. Stay clear of drop ship guides that just list companies and addresses. These guides lack any substance and, if you want to find “middlemen” you will not need to look any further. A good source for finding your ideal drop ship partnership is at alibaba.com.

Ebay is the biggest e-commerce portal in the world today and is providing a livelihood to thousands of people worldwide. According to a survey by AC Nielsen in 2009, 724,000 Americans have confirmed that their livelihood depends on their auction ebay site store. Apart from this number, at least another 1.5 million people have said that they make an extra income by selling their products on e-bay. Last year 150 million registered users sold their products on eBay and transactions amounted to over $34 billion. This makes e-bay the biggest online market place globally.

You do not need any special skills for starting a drop shipping business on eBay and although there are certain products that you cannot sell on an auction ebay online shopping store, you can sell virtually anything else and don’t forget that you will have an existing database of over 150 million customers to sell your product to. You will however, need to carefully assess the pros and cons to ensure success, read as much as you can on the subject and learn from those that know. A good resource can be found here.

Ebay gets somewhere around 1.5 billion page reviews every month. You can imagine therefore the kind of traffic that can visit your auction ebay site store – just be sure to check out what is selling and what isn’t before you start and just remember this, a little time and effort is all that will be required to get started and after that just sit back and watch the bidding. Even while you are sleeping, on holiday or doing whatever else, ebay is still working for you, day and night.

How to find genuine & legitimate drop-ship wholesalers? I personally useDrop-shipping Wholesaler, they have a good list of legitimate wholesalers & quite a number of them offer drop-shipping service to eBay sellers. You got to check them out!

10 Sure-Fire Ways To Kill Your Ebay Business.

§ April 17th, 2010 § Filed under Marketing § Tagged , , , , , , , , Comments Off

It’s surprisingly easy to kill your eBay business, if you’re not careful – sure, you can start over from scratch without it costing you anything, but do you really want to? Still, if you want your business to end up dead in the water, here are some simple ways to do it.

Lie about an item: Say it works fine when it sometimes doesn’t work. Say it’s in perfect condition when it has a scratch. Your customers will hate you!

Post whenever you feel like it: Make sure to leave your customers hanging around, wondering when their item is going to turn up. This makes sure they buy from someone else next time.

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Let items end anytime: Few people will be around to care about your auction if it ends in the middle of the night. Why go to the trouble of working out whether auctions will end at a good time?

Don’t bother with email: Customers are just timewasters anyway. eBay businesses are supposed to run themselves! Never give informed responses to questions about your item.

Sell rubbish: Really, it’s just eBay. You can just sell any old tat from the market for a 200% profit. Let quality be someone else’s concern – I mean, really, what do they expect for that price?

Refuse to give discounts: You know what your items cost, you know what your profit margin is going to be, and you’re not going to negotiate. Remember that giving customers special deals might make them feel good and come back to you again.

Make your listings ugly: As many colours, flashing lights and animations as possible will really give those customers a headache. Write as much in CAPITALS!!!! as you can. Preferably big, red capitals. Be sure to use the fonts Impact and Comic Sans. For an extra special touch, see if you can figure out a way to add some music.

Don’t take photos: It’s such trouble, after all. If buyers are picky enough to actually want to see items before they bid on them, then screw ‘em, that’s what I say.

Write short descriptions: Be as brief as possible, and use lots of mysterious abbreviations. This obviously makes you look very cool. You can even just write the title again in the description box. Think of the effort you’ll save!

Use reserve auctions: Now, this is a fairly controversial final choice, but it really is one of the best ways to scare away your customers. They’ll see ‘reserve not yet met’, and click that ‘back’ button before you know it. Luckily, they can always bid in a normal auction for the item somewhere else.

Now that you know the ten ways to kill your eBay business, how about we explore what to do if you want to do the opposite, and make a success of it?

You got to check out The eBay Fortune that will show you exactly how to run a successful business on eBay. I have really benefited from it & now selling full-time on eBay making a decent income.

10 Ways To Save Time And Money With Shipping & Handling On Ebay

§ April 17th, 2010 § Filed under Marketing § Tagged , , , , , , , , Comments Off

One problem with eBay is that unless you are careful you can end up spending far too much time on routine tasks such as packing and shipping. Not only is there the time spent wrapping the items, but also when you take them to your local post office to have them weighed, stamped and posted. As someone who never seems to have enough time I have adopted some time saving measures which frees up my time to do other things.

1.Buy Stamps in advance. Many of the items that I sell are similar, CDs , audio tapes and books. Therefore I know exactly what the postage is for these items and I buy in advance a quantity of stamps for the various denominations that I use. I can then pack, stamp them and just drop them into the post box without the need to wait at the post office counter.

2.Get a set of scales Of course one really helpful piece of equipment is a set of postal scales. Not only does this save you time by allowing you to pre stamp packages but it is also very useful when you are listing an item. You can quickly and accurately calculate the exact cost of postage for each item. This can save you making those errors of under estimating the true cost of posting an item or having to make a special journey to the post office just to find out what it will cost to post.

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3. Buy packaging materials online A thriving industry has grown on eBay offering packaging materials. It really is a case of selling spades to miners, but as a result the competition in this field is very fierce. This means that you can make considerable savings if you go to the Business, Office and Industrial Category and look in Packing and Postal supplies. Also many of the major stationers such as Staples and Viking offer a good 24 hour service and often have some attractive special offers or gifts to make an even better deal. Most offer free postage for orders over a certain quite low amount.

4. Whenever possible use padded bags. If it is suitable for your products one of the great time savers is the use of padded envelopes. They come in a big range of sizes and thickness and are suitable for a wide range of products. It is much easier and quicker just to pop something into an envelope and seal it than putting something in a box, put in padding and using tape to seal it. Also these days padded envelopes can work out cheaper than other forms of packaging.

5. Hold a stock of Post Office Forms These days forms control our lives and it is no different with the postal authorities. Normally if you are a regular postal user your local post office will be happy to supply you with a stock of the forms that you might need. The ones I keep handy are customs declarations, recorded International and national forms and supplies of airmail and fragile stickers. Completing these and applying them to your packages before you go up to the post office can save considerable time.

6. Use Rubber stamps I also have a selection of rubber stamps with First Class Mail, Do Not Bend, Small Packet Rate, This saves the time rather than writing these phrases over and over again.

7. Pre print return labels I would never send out a packet without a return address on it. Over the years that I have used eBay I have had about 5 parcels come back to me because they were undeliverable for one reason or another. If I had not had a return address label on them they and the contents would have been gone forever. You can of course order a pack of name and address labels from the local printer but I have found the most cost effective is to use the sheets of plain labels such as Avery, the 65 labels to a sheet are ideal and print them off as required a sheet at a time. I then just stick one of these on to every packet I send out. And of course it also makes you look a little more professional with your packaging.

8. Pick the time that you go to the post office There are always some times in the day or days in the week when your local post office is liable to be more busy than others. If you ask the counter staff I am sure they would be happy to tell you when these times are likely to be. Also they would also be able to tell you the times they would expect to be less busy. If you use this information you can cut down the time you spend waiting in line at the post office.

9. Copy addresses from Paypal notification. Whenever you get payment notification from Paypal it will contain the name and address of the buyer. I always highlight and copy this and using my labelling software I paste this into the label template this saves having to write or type the information in. I always print my labels on the AveryL7160, 21 labels to a sheet paper.

10. Compare prices There is plenty of competition to ship larger items and it is worth comparing prices for the various shippers and couriers to get the best deals. In my experience with smaller items it is difficult to beat the Post Office but for items that need to be shipped fast or weigh over 2 Kgs (4 1/2lb) it is worth looking for the best deal.

If you do not want to handle the tedious shipping & handling, simply use drop-shipping service provided by wholesalers. I personally use Drop-shipping Wholesaler to find the legitimate wholesale suppliers to drop-ship the items I have sold eBay directly to my customers!

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