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September 6, 2006

In this issue:
* Yeah! It's Autumn! (Sort of ...)
* New Auction Genius Course Begins September 30
* eBay Allies Itself With Google & Yahoo
* Do You Love eBay - But HATE Shipping?
* NEW, NEW, NEW: The Niche Report - Concrete Floor Finishes

Yeah! It's Autumn! (Sort of ...)

If you live in the US, I wish you a very joyous Labor Day. It's always an exciting time for me because it's the beginning of fall - at least in my mind. (What does the calendar know, anyway?) After Labor Day kids are back in the classroom and glorious autumn weather can't be far behind.

Also, activity on the Net picks up dramatically since Labor Day usually signals the end of the summer doldrums. This is always cause for good cheer.

We're heading for Merrie Olde England on September 7th and it's definitely cool there. Wahoo! If you'll be in London the first weekend in September, drop by the Renaissance hotel and say hello.

New Auction Genius Course Begins September 30

On Saturday, September 30, I'm beginning the 21st "live" Auction Genius Course. Amazing that I've been doing this so long. Four each year - which tells you how long the Auction Genius Course has been around.

It's a very structured class. We go step-by-step, with class participation and even ... homework. (I really need to come up with a new word for that, don't I? :-) We have a SYSTEM. Why is a system important? Because it gives you a pattern, a blueprint, that you can use again and again and again.

Example: "finding something to sell" is the #1 question from eBay sellers. The reason it's so hard is because folks don't have a system, they don't know how to go about it. Once you do understand, it's not hard at all.

Here is Auction Genius Course student Mark McClean covered in product information from wholesale suppliers. Mark says:

"I was hesitant to believe in the beginning of the ‘Auction Genius Live Course' that I would actually get this kind of response from wholesalers. I doubt I'll ever purchase any wholesale directories from anyone online . Why should I? I know how to create my own wholesale directories thanks to the ‘Auction Genius Live Course'. It's a very secure feeling indeed!"

If you'd like to join us, you'll be most welcome!

http://www.auction-genius-course.com

eBay Allies Itself With Google & Yahoo

Earlier this summer, eBay announced an alliance with Yahoo that was heralded as possibly THE most important Internet deal of the year.

On eBay:

* Yahoo will provide graphic ads and search results for eBay USA

* PayPal will be the exclusive payment provide for many Yahoo services, including the Yahoo Publisher Network

Yet in a later deal announced this summer, eBay has also formed an alliance with Google. This surprised many as Google and eBay have been ... well, less than friendly. Their deal specifies:

* Google will be the exclusive provider of text advertising outside the US

* And, in an intriguing new plan, eBay and Google plan to launch a "click-to-call" program. Details are unclear but eBay-owned Skype and Google's message service, called Google Talk, will combine to allow buyers to click on auctions and ads to talk with the seller.

This is an ironic deal since most analysts agree that eBay only acquired Skype to prevent Google from obtaining it.

Apparently, the way it will work is that if you are a participant in the program, you will have an icon or button on your auction. If a potential buyer has a question, she can click on this symbol and talk with you in person. Calls would be made either through your computer or through a handheld device like a cell phone or blackberry.

"The click-to-call capability will allow a user to click on a link or icon within a product or service advertisement to initiate an Internet voice call to participating eBay merchants or Google advertisers directly from either company's respective sites". eBay and Google described the approach as an "emerging e-commerce model" that would bring buyers and sellers together via the Web, and added that plan already are afoot to integrate Skype into Google's toolbar and its Google Talk system.

What a deal for eBay: Yahoo promotes Paypal and Google promotes Skype.

How It Will Affect eBay Sellers

Many of the terms of these deals aren't available to us yet, so any speculation on its effects on us eBay sellers is only that - speculation. However, I am willing to make a few wild guesses ...

1) I see the appearance of ads on eBay pages as only bad for us sellers. It will take buyers away from eBay - and our auctions. Text ads (Yahoo in the US, Google outside the US) can only benefit eBay and not us sellers although eBay has promised to only provide these ads when there are no relevant auctions. So far, they seem to be keeping their word.

{There were no such ads on those auctions that displayed results for my keyword search.}

2) Certain eBay ads will appear on Yahoo and Google. Which ads? Currently, featured ads are all over Google, which is the engine I use for search. I rarely use Yahoo so just checked out their results and don't see eBay anywhere. This might be a big plus for some sellers.

3) The phone contact is quite intriguing. Google Talk and Skype are free phone services and it might certainly increase sales to talk with prospective buyers. I can't see spending time on the phone for a $5 profit might personal contact certainly might be worthwhile with more expensive items. Personal contact seems to be a major importance these days.

In our last issue, we reported on software and a course that allows us to make video auctions

http://video.auctionknowhow.com

and next month we will introduct a product that makes it cheap and simple to include audio on your auctions. One thing is for sure ... those folks who neglect technology are going to suffer from reduced sales in the future.

Do You Love eBay - But HATE Shipping?

I don't blame you! I hate it, too. After mailing out a hundred zillion boxes in my life, I feel outraged when I have to mail anything these days. I can't really complain, though, since I haven't mailed any auction goodies in years. That's because we have this marvelous, wonderful FULFILLMENT HOUSE that does everything for us! It works like this:

1. Order comes in
2. Somehow (magic?) the order goes directly to the database of our fulfillment house
3. They package it up, mail it and send the tracking info to our customer
4. The money appears in our business bank account within 24-48 business hours

What does it cost for this service?

Not much, really. We pay $2.00 for our eight CD Auction Genius Course. We pay another 25 cents for them to include a flyer. They supply the box, too.

My only responsibility is to keep an eye on inventory and when products are almost sold out, I order more.

It's incredibly cool. But I really don't have any idea how it works. My brilliant tech partner Jeremy has set it up and manages the entire thing - not that there's much management to do.

There have been many requests for Jeremy to teach how he does this - because it isn't easy. Our order system has to somehow talk to their database. Even though I don't have a clue about how it's done, Jeremy does and he's finally going to put together the "how-to" for anyone who's interested.

If you want to know about this when it's ready, you can sign a notification list here:

IHateShipping.com

NEW, NEW, NEW:
The Niche Report - Concrete Floor Finishes

In this issue, we begin a new feature in our Auction Gold publication and that is a report on an eBay niche. And this issue it's about concrete floor finishes.

So often I see would-be eBay success stories talking about what they want to sell and it's always the exciting, glamourous, sexy stuff:

* "As Seen On TV" products
* Cell phones
* mP3 players & iPods

But the truth about those kinds of wildly popular niches is that they are:

1. Extremely competitive
2. Because they're so "hot" it's tough to find products that can be resold at a profit

Part of the reason I've been so successful on eBay is that I haven't looked for the obvious niches. In fact, unless someone called me up and offered me a fabulous deal I wouldn't even consider the 'hot' products above.

So, if we're going to look for obscure items, how about this one ... concrete floor finishes. Huh? Why in the world would I want to do that?

Well, first there is no competition. I mean that almost literally. For instance, my market research tools show no results at all. Nada. "Not enough data".

Yet, there are quite a respectable number of searches, according to my keyword tools:

• concrete floor: 129 per day
• concrete floors: 57 per day
• concrete floor paint: 72 per day
• painting concrete floors: 54 per day
• concrete floor coating: 49 per day
• concrete floor coatings: 40 per day
• concrete floor repair: 39 per day
• concrete floor finishes: 32 per day
• basement concrete floor paint: 29 per day

Here are the eBay auction numbers:

• concrete floor: 26 auctions
• concrete floors: 1 auction
• concrete floor paint: 4 auctions
• painting concrete floors: 0
• concrete floor coating: 0
• concrete floor coatings: 1 auction
• concrete floor repair: 0
• concrete floor finishes: 0
• basement concrete floor paint: 0

That is clearly a niche where the demand far exceeds the competition.

What about the profits in this niche? Well, one of the reasons for my interest is that we recently used a concrete floor finishing compound in our basement. It cost $67 a bucket at Home Depot and they didn't have any for approximately three weeks. According to one of the clerks, they can't keep it on the shelf! He told us that whenever they got in an order of this particular brand, it was usually gone within about 3-5 days.

Can I find a source for this product? I took a quick look (about 10 minutes) and didn't locate the product I found at Home Depot, although perhaps I could find it if I spent some time. But I did find two other brands, both from famous companies. In addition, there are many other products that can be sold in this niche besides just the basic covering compound.

As you can see by this picture, concrete is more than just an ugly old floor. In fact, I was astonished by the beauty of this floor. Apparently this stuff is wildly popular in lofts. I don't personally want concrete floors anywhere in my home except the basement and garage. But that isn't the point, is it? It's not about what I want. It's about making money in my business.

Am I suggesting that you rush out and immediately start a concrete floor finishing business? Not at all. This example is much more about a new way of thinking. Forget what everybody else is doing and find smaller niches that aren't so competitive. You will find it much easier to succeed.