May 15, 2003
In This Issue:
* Spam Revisited
* Wholesale Prices And Fads
* The Deals Just Keep Coming!
* What, Exactly, Is A Mistake”?
* Don't Let Fear Rule Your Life
* When "Free" Is A Disaster
* NEews From eBay
1. Consignment Workshops
2. New Real Estate Rules
3. Planning To Change Your User ID?
* A Desperate Prayer
SPAM REVISITED
Last issue, I mentioned the issue of SPAM, that annoying, unwanted garbage that clutters our email boxes every day of the week. Everybody needs to be concerned about it because the anit-spam tactics are preventing legitimate mail from being received. Yes, your email, too.
To quote my mentor, Ken Evoy: “major ISPs, Yahoo! Mail and Hotmail are filtering more and more. Unfortunately, their filters catch innocent, hard-working marketers by mistake, much like dolphins in a tuna net.”
I decided to use the spam check filter that I mentioned two weeks ago for each and every important email that I send. This issue came out below a “2”, so according to my spam check, it's very safe to send.
The rating system works like this:
0-5 nice and clean, no problems except tiny ones below; no action required
5-8 the strictest may object; clean up the easy-to-find issues
8-12 getting into dangerous territory; clean up any big issues and the easy-to-find smaller penalties
12-16 likely over IPSs' limits; review and clean
16+ major problems; overhaul needed -- systematically clean, point by point and then re-test (this may require two or three SpamChecks).
This uses “Spam Assassin” software, which is supposedly very strict. But, even so, look at some of the comments:
(0.2 points) BODY: Message is 50% to 60% HTML
(0.1 points) BODY: HTML included in message
As I'm certain you're aware, there is no HTML at all in this email! I use a text editor and the only thing that could remotely be interpreted as HTML are the live links.
And how about this comment:
(0.8 points) BODY: Multi Level Marketing mentioned
What would you do if your subject was MLM?
Whew. Email is tough these days!
I totally and emphatically recommend this wonderful service. In case you don't have the instructions from an earlier issue, send your email EXACTLY as you will mail it to:
auctionknowhow-spamcheck@sitesell.net
Important: be sure to put the word TEST, in all caps, right before your email, like this:
TESTAuction Gold
WHOLESALE PRICES AND FADS
In my Auction Genius Course©, I am constantly preaching “Do your homework! Do your homework!” Of course, for most of us, the word 'homework' has some pretty dreary emotions attached. So, perhaps I need to find another word. (Can anybody think of an ... inviting ... replacement for that dread word? :-)
Nevertheless, the necessity for “due diligence” (whew! that's better!) is ironclad. Go out there hoping and wishing and you're setting yourself up for tremendous failure.
So many “wholesale” prices are not what we low enough to make money on eBay. For example, look at the now-famous Iraqi playing cards on this 'wholesale' site:
http://www.noveltieswholesale.com/
The price is $10 per deck.
Looking at eBay we see this auction:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?View Item&item=2174313718&category=36074
The auction closed at $5.50 and the bidding opened at one cent.
Does this mean there's no point in ever selling fad items like these Iraqi cards? Not at all! A student reported that the first deck of these cards sold for a mind boggling $2,000! The second and third decks went for $1,800 and $1,500. The point is that this fortunate seller was first, first, first! (If you were the person who paid two grand for these cards, wouldn't you be in the corner beating your head into the wall?)
Even after the first craziness some fad products can be 'sort of' profitable. The May 13 issue of the national magazine <Woman's World> mentioned a weight loss supplement called “estrolean”. A bottle of 60 tablets costs $29.99 on the home site (http://www.estrolean.com).
Many people do NOT comparison shop, but here are some of the prices on regular ecommerce sites:
1. http://milleniumfitness.com/estrolean
$17.99
2. http://www.bodybuildingdiscount.com /ProductDetails.aspx?ProductID=PIN9492
$17.75
3. http://www.a1nutritionproducts.com/pin_estrolean.asp
$17.99
4. http://www.nutritiondome.com/pines60cap.html
$17.44
5. http://www.vitacost.com/store/products/Product
Description.cfm?SKUNumber=087998794920
$16.49
6. http://www.fitnessfirstusa.com/details.asp?item=7867
17.95
What about eBay prices? According to my wonderful Deep Analysis software, one seller sold 14 bottles in the last 30 days, at an average price of $21.66 ($303.24) . If he bought those 14 bottles at the cheapest site mentioned above, he would have paid $230.86, for a total profit of $72.38. And since the vitacost site can sell their bottles for $16.49, they must be able to buy them for even less money than that, so there is probably even more profit available.
So, how can we, as sellers, figure this out? Simple ... homework! Without it, we're suckers waiting to get ripped off.
THE DEALS JUST KEEP COMING!
Perhaps you're thinking with despair, “How in the world will I ever find anything to sell for a profit???” This email from Genius student, Paul E., may help:
“Right after I wrote to you earlier today, I went to the post office and UPS to ship some things. All was well until I spotted the "MEGA-GARAGE SALE!" sign. Now, I'm not much for garage sales, but so many other students have been hyping the hidden deals, I thought I'd stop and browse.
All the way at the back, behind the baby clothes, toys and collectible bear figurines was a table with sports cards on it. Not just a few... some guys LIFETIME collection! 4 thick, 3 ring binders, a huge divided plastic box and an unopened cardboard display box with every football team from 1992 in it. I now own several thousand sports cards dating back to the mid-seventies. Man! I'm in trouble now... >:(
I have GOT to stop this! GEEZ! I now have enough stuff to carry me almost until the next millenium. I'm probably going to have to buy a new scanner because I'll wear out the poor old thing on my desk now. But, like I said in one of my posts, the deals just keep coming... faster than I can make them.”
Notice what he said: “the deals just keep coming... faster than I can make them”. That's my life story, too. I read comments everywhere about folks are wailing that they just can't figure out how in the world to make money on the internet.
Paul and I have the opposite problem. We have soooooooooooo many choices that we have to be very disciplined with ourselves not to lose our focus.
Now, why do you think that is? Are we just naturally lucky? Glenda the Good Witch put a magic spell on us? Our stars are aligned just right in our horoscope?
Nope. It's just at attitude. Pure and simple. Perhaps it might help if I include this quote from Paul on our Auction Genius forum:
“Those 'mistakes' you made? You obviously learned from them. Share them with us. Tell us what you did and what lessons you learned. What you did once and will never do again.
That's EXACTLY what we're for. Those little nuggets of wisdom... hard learned as they were. That's the type thing people are dying to know. "What will happen if I do this or that?" You may have made some mis-steps someone else is about to make and YOU can save them! Be a hero!
Learn from those of us who have gone before, but teach those coming along behind you! Your experiences can be a wealth of information to someone else. Sure, you may have felt foolish, but wouldn't you have liked to've had someone there telling you they've done it before and saved you the anger, frustration, heartache and expense?
Step up to the plate sweetheart, it's your turn at bat. Same goes for the rest of ya's with tales to tell. None of us were born knowing how this all works. All the informative posts here didn't come from someones imagination, y'know...”
WHAT, EXACTLY, IS A “MISTAKE”?
Another comment from a Genius student who made some costly errors and then decided she'd better educate herself:
“I made a HUGE mistake when I first started tiptoeing into the abyss of ecommerce. I wanted CHEAP. I wanted EASY. I wanted everything done for me so all I had to do was rake in the dough. Surely you've seen the ad?
I was an easy mark and signed a 48 month irrevocable lease for a credit card terminal and merchant account in August 2002 and have paid $79.65 per month since. I haven't made one sale with the terminal to no one's surprise.
And that's another problem with my uneducated interpretation - I joined that program which doesn't give any real details until after you join the irrevocable merchant account program. (Yeah, I know... how stupid can one person be, eh?) Turns out the whole program is to sell the program to others and they sell the program to others and so on. I saw it as bad form all around and complained to no avail.
These people prey on internet sales newbies and I was ‘dish of the day’. I should have asked a lot of questions and I don't hesitate to do that now. I'm trying to rationalize with myself to go ahead and advertise the stupid program and let the buyer beware. My ethics have prevented me from doing that up to this point but my wallet is screaming "YOU'RE AN IDIOT! MAKE SOME MONEY!" Which will win? I don’t know. I’m trying to modify the messages in my autoresponder so they are more honest and upfront about the opportunity presented so I don’t snag completely gullible people like myself. I will probably test the program at least just to increase my writing skills if nothing else.
My next BIG MISTAKE was joining a nutritional MLM group. I knew better, I really did, but I felt desperate to be doing something and I justified my actions by acknowledging that SOMEONE was making money through MLM or it wouldn't be so prevalent. Understanding the way things work and interpretation of the facts are everything. I thought I could sell the great products (which I still use BTW) through opt-in email advertising alone. I got several replies to each campaign but it was costing me a fortune to buy the prequalified leads. And I hated calling all these people all the time to finish the sale – I wanted an online business that stayed online! I ended up with three solid people in my downline at the end of 45 days. I had spent a couple thousand dollars and made less than $500. I figured out I had been working for less than 25 cents an hour.
I chose to move on and they were downright bitter about it like my failure made them look bad. Well too bad. If I had wanted to stay chained to a phone and a desk I would have kept my last job. MLM can be very successful if you are willing to LIVE AND BREATHE marketing your product line to every person you come in contact with. I failed miserably because I was not willing to change my whole life to push a product line - no matter how good it is. It shouldn't be that hard to sell a great product opportunity!
In November 2002 I found Sydney and you readers. I no longer cry about my past mistakes – I’m getting tougher as my understanding grows. I do the best I can and when I know more I do better. I came to eBay in a circle of sorts. I first joined in 1998 to see if I could help my late mother-in-law peddle her crafts. It never happened. I came back in 1999 to see if I could do something with eBay but never had time enough to study it and understand it. Finally I came back in November 2002 as a seller and have had minimal financial success thus far but I've tested ideas and learned many skills.I have learned a great deal in the last 10 months and learning is most of what I spend my time doing – I call it Pauline U-Go-Girl! It’s been a very expensive private education in the school of hard knocks but yesterday I completed my first temporary webpage at my new domain and I taught myself everything from scratch. That is a real accomplishment for me. I'm looking into affiliate programs and establishing business practices to move me forward in leaps as I build my little empire. I've had to reinvent myself to get to the point where I can do what is required to succeed online and a large amount of that understanding came from Sydney and you all. It's not happening fast but its happening!
I hope the revelation of my summative stupidity will keep you all safe from repeating the same mistakes. I wish you all great success and happiness and I hope you are having as much fun at this as I am!”
So what is a “mistake”.
Part 1: We take action A, expecting result B ... and get C.
Part 2, The Mistake: We don't learn from what happened. Instead we wail and moan, blame the Universe, our partners, our buyers, bad luck, etc., etc.
Part 3, The Super Mistake: Then we quit, and run around telling everybody that it “doesn't work”.
DON'T LET FEAR RULE YOUR LIFE
Here is a rather sad email inquiry:
“I read your newsletter. I have wanted to become a seller on Ebay, but lack faith in myself in terms of being able to go thru the many steps to get myself registered properly (as a seller).
I know that this maybe asking to much, but could you recommended any person or program that will be helpful. I know I can do it, but for whatever reason I tend to back away from making the correct moves....even tried the Ebay instructional site.
I am a retired University Professor so I know that I am capable.”
Here is a man who is frozen. Getting registered is the very easiest part of the auction business. Clearly, anyone who can teach in college has the smarts to fill out a form!
The issue isn't the registration. There are two possibilities:
1. He is letting FEAR rule his life. Getting registered is such a trivial issue in the overall biz of auctions that it has to make us wonder if hhe can EVER make a decision about much tougher matters, like whether to buy two dozen widgets from an unknown supplier.
2. Or, he is deceiving HIMSELF about his desire to have an auction business. After all, if he doesn't take any action because he “can't” register, then he never has to find out what he can do.
Either way, there is a lesson here. Emotional fears always fall apart when we confront them, so we shouldn't let fear stop us from doing anything at all that we really want to do.
WHEN “FREE” IS A DISASTER
My Genius course students know that I strongly recommend using the very best email servers - which does NOT include the freebie stuff. Today, I got another perfect example of why we should pay for some services.
Someone has been asking me to join their newsletter group, so today I decided that I would. Here is what they are offering for subscribing:
* Access to the MEMBER'S ONLY Section!
* FREE eBooks & reports!
* Useful tips for increasing your auction profits!
* Humorous eBay tidbits!
* Lots of insider information!
* Ideas to expand your business off-eBay!
* Innovative ideas to boost your bid-to-buy ratio!
It is obvious that she put a lot of time and effort into her "bait" to sign up subscribers. So, I filled out the name/email part and clicked the subscribe button, and here is what I got:
http://auction-genius-course.com/listings/freeauto.shtml
(If you're not on the net, it's a page telling users that they're not on line, and don't know when they will be.)
And, guess what? It's a free service.
Too, too bad. She just lost – how many? - subscribers?
We need to very carefully consider what is worth paying for, and what isn't. An email server IS worth the money, which is why I use
http://auctioneware.com
It's crazy to work so hard to build up such a enticing list of benefits for an ezine list - and then have it all fall apart when someone tries to subscribe. She will never in a million years succeed with this kind of bad service.
Beware some of the freebie stuff - we get what we pay for!
NEWS FROM EBAY
1. Consignment Workshops
eBay is obviously hyping their “Trading Partners” program. It's a way to build business by selling for non-eBay folks (are there any?) and they're offering workshops to help peoplle learn how.
Here is a great article on Business Cards and Networking as they relate to consignment, by author Terry Gibbs.
“I am updating my list of other collectors and dealers in the Phoenix area. I do this for networking purposes. I tell people who to call when they have items I am not interested in. The other dealers and collectors also refer people to me. My list contains all kinds of collectors. Collectors of dolls, dishes, coins, stamps, cameras, comic books, basically anything a collector wants.
Most of these other collectors also refer sellers to me. This is a great way to find items. When someone invites me into their home to buy their trains, they are a ready seller. They are either downsizing and moving to a smaller home, or just getting rid of items they no longer want. Some of them need cash due to financial set backs. Whatever the reason they are selling, they are very likely to sell other items. Sometimes I pay for the referrals, sometimes I do not. It depends on the arrangement I have with the referrer.
In a future issue, I will share more information about setting up a referral network among other collectors in your area. One thing I will share now is I only deal with pleasant people. This is VERY important. My reputation is on the line when I do a referral and I am not willing to risk it by referring incompetent people!
This month I am going to share some information about business cards with you. I have been going to antique malls and picking up every card I find. Then I call the people and sound them out- more about that in a future issue. Most of the business cards I found are worthless. They are poorly designed, and have no usable information. Some of them are really bad. I sorted them into three piles. Cards that are well done, cards with promise, and cards that are hopeless.
All the well done cards are SPECIFIC. They say exactly what the person is interested in. I can look through the stack and see exactly what they want. Most of them have pictures or graphics on them that match the message. By specific I mean they are interested in one area of collectibles like dolls and teddy bears, or military items, or toy trains. Some are even more specific and want items by one manufacturer like Marx toys or Lennox dishes.
The cards with promise are either specific with design issues, or cramped. There is a blue card with blue lettering. It’s very hard to read. There is a white card with red and blue lettering over a background of parachutes landing. Like in the D-day photos. He is a military collector so the parachute background is relevant, but it makes the card hard to read. Another problem with this card is it is a homemade card with blurry printing and perforated edges. It does not look professional. It looks CHEAP. A cheap card might lead sellers to believe you are offering them low amounts. The cramped cards have too much small text on them. Business cards should not have text smaller than 10 pt. Especially if you are trying to buy items from seniors. Rather than listing all the different makers of items a general statement will serve the same purpose and look better. It will also generate more calls.
I buy many kinds of toy trains. There are some I do not want. My card says Toy Trains Wanted By Collector. It doesn’t say, “I buy Lionel, Ives, American Flyer, Dorfan, Kusan, and Marx trains, but do not buy Bachmann, Tyco, and Life-Like trains.” I want people to call me regardless of the type of trains they have. I qualify them on the phone, and find out if they have other items I want. The hopeless cards are really unclear. There is one that says “Always Buying.” Always buying what? There is one that says “Name Antiques” with persons name PO box and phone number on it. That is just a billboard card. It needs more information. Here’s a really awful one. Says “Sports Collectables.” Collectibles with an I is the proper American spelling. He also has his telephone number scratched out and a new number written in over it. Business cards are cheap. Have new ones printed when you change your telephone number.
Here’s another worthless card. It is in French. It has a neat picture of a pig on it. I picked this card up in Scottsdale Arizona. The address and telephone are local. Maybe he collects French pigs? I have heard of Canadian Bacon and Danish Hams, but not French Pigs. Maybe it is a truffle sniffing pig? Who knows?
That is enough examples. Think about your business card. How does it fit in with cards above?
Is it clear and concise? Is it specific? Would someone know exactly what you are interested in, or be left guessing? For a lot of these cards I could tell by looking at the items the seller was offering where their interests lay, but once I put them in the stack with the other cards this was lost.
Here Are Some Quick Business Card Tips:
Quality paper makes you look better. I use a light brown textured stock for my cards with black raised lettering. My logo is a 1917 toy train logo modified to suit my needs. The card looks vintage. Be specific. Say exactly what your interests are. A picture will help with this. Provide a minimum of contact information. My card has only my train line telephone number on it. No fax or email. No website. These cards are for buying trains. Not showing off my toy train website. Use both sides of the card. I just flipped over all these cards and none have printing on the back. A few have stickers or rubber stamps with the antique mall locations on them. My cards are old so the back is blank. My new cards will have a list of other types of toys I collect on the back.
Two last tips about business cards. If you work for a company and have a company business card put your collecting message on the back of you work card. I have a friend who was an air conditioner salesman. He is now retired. He rubber stamped I collect Toy trains on the backs of his work cards. He bought a lot of trains because people saw the message on the back of the card.
Never write an amount on the back of your card when you make an offer. Many times I have been looking at trains and found business cards with offers on the back. Knowing what the other offers were makes it much easier to buy the trains. Using both sides of the card will prevent people from writing your offers on the back.
Terry is the author of a great consignment package that you can see here:
http://consign.auctionknowhow.com
What I like best about his book is the consignment contract that he uses with all of his customers. It's worth the price of the book, all by itself.
2. New Real Estate Rules
Formerly, winning a real estate auction was NOT considered a binding contract on eBay, which always seemed a tad strange to me.
Then, auctions were declared binding in New York, California and Texas.
Now, the auctions are “binding” in all 50 states and Washington DC, in the Land, Timeshare, Residential and Commercial categories.
To read more about binding auctions go to:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/community/Bindingauctions.html
Also, there are new price changes for several sections, listed in the updates above.
3. Planning To Change Your User ID?
If you've ever changed your user ID, you will know that next to your new moniker is a picture of a pair of sunglasses.
Apparently, eBay has received complaints from sellers that “the icon is not a positive reflection of their eBay reputation.”
In a couple of weeks, eBay will have 2 new icons: one for new members, and another for those members who have changed their User ID. It will be displayed next to the member's feedback score for 30 days just as the shades are now.
If you want to see a picture of the new ones go to:
http://pages.ebay.com/useridiconspreview.html
A DESPERATE PRAYER
