How To Make Money Blogging From Home

The eBay Seller's News, September, 2009, Volume 9, No. 13

Tips, Tools, News and Resources for eBay, Amazon and independent Online Sellers
by: Skip McGrath

In This Issue:

Musings from eBay and beyond

How To Make Money Blogging From Home
Scan and Sell Books, Movies, Music, Tapes and Games
Coping With New Insurance Rules on eBay
Niche of the Month: Vintage Record Players
eBay Wholesale Sources for September 2009

"Success consists of going from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm." ~ Winston Churchill

Musings for September 2009

Well, the summer slowdown has finally ended. Not with a bang –but it’s over. I started to see my sales coming back about August 27^th. And each day I have noticed both my hits and my closed auctions increasing. Nowhere near as big as this time last year, but much better than late July and early August. And the first day after Labor Day was a really big day –the first one in over 2 months.

If you have been following my blog, you may have seen that I moved it last week. I used to host it on a separate server, but have now converted my blog to WordPress and moved it here onto the SkipMcGrath.com server. The new address is http://blog.skipmcgrath.com.

If you look in the upper left-hand corner of the blog, you will see a button that says Subscribe. If you click on that button and follow the instructions you can add my blog feed to your Yahoo, Google or MSN home page.

I am also introducing a new publication this week, How to Make Money Blogging From Home. Please see the first article to read more about my latest book.

Join me for a FREE Webinar on Thursday, September 17 at 6:00 PM Pacific Time (9:00 PM East Coast Time). I will be putting on a free 45 minute eBay coaching Webinar featuring eBay PowerSeller Coach Suzanne Well's who is one of our lead coaches at the Skip McGrath Coaching Program. The webinar will focus on the most common question I get: "How do I figure out what to sell on eBay?"

Space is limited so click here to sign up now. https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/799566483

Suzanne and I will give you a taste of what our coaching students get. The 45 minute lesson will be followed by 15 minutes of your Q&A and will cover topics such as:

Demonstrate the use of free eBay tools on the eBay website, using keyword tools on the internet, and demonstrating HammerTap and Terapeak.
Exact key words to use in completed listings searches
Special features of completed listings features
How to use free tools on the eBay site
How to interpret results on all types of research tools
How to uncover niche products using creative techniques
Where to find information on discontinued consumer products on the internet

If you are struggling trying to find profitable products to sell on eBay, click here to sign up now https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/799566483

I recently finished a new free eBook called the eBay Secrets Mini Course. I created this 30-page eBook as a new promotion for my newsletter and to use as a bonus item for my Complete eBay Marketing System. But I thought it was a little unfair that my current subscribers couldn’t get it, so I am offering it up to all of you through September 15^th, 2009. After that the only way to get it will be by subscribing to the newsletter or purchasing one of my books Click Here to download your copy of the eBay Secrets Mini Course.

Follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Skip_McGrath. I will send you a tweet whenever I post a new blog post or a new issue of this newsletter

I have just updated my best-selling eBook, How To Make Good Money Selling Used Books on eBay, Amazon and The Internet. The 2009 edition and a new bonus is available at the download link so previous buyers can download the latest copy. The changes weren’t huge, but this does bring the book right up to date with the latest eBay and Amazon policies.

The used book business has been booming as used books tend to do well in poor economic times. If you love books, selling used books is one of the lowest risk, lowest cost and easiest ways to make money online.

Don’t forget that many of the new eBay policies announced last month will begin taking effect in late September and early October. I published a free eBook that updated my complete marketing system last month that reviews all of the changes and recommends actions you need to take to remain compliant. Here is the link to get the free eBook, eBay 2009.

Let’s get started with this month’s issue:

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1. How To Make Money Blogging From Home

I have been publishing a blog for about four years now. Blogging is fun –and profitable. I enjoy writing short pieces about topical events and things that interest me –and I make a fair amount of money from it.

I have wanted to write a book about blogging for some time, but my knowledge of WordPress, the most popular blogging software was limited and I didn’t feel I had enough expertise to really help my readers.

But then I found someone who could help me. It turned out that my webmaster, Marsha Perry, was also an expert in WordPress Blogging. What I didn’t realize was how well she could write. So we decided to collaborate on a new book, How To Make Money Blogging From Home.

We divided the project into two parts.

I wrote the first part that explains how to blog and the various ways you can make money doing it. Then Marsha took over and wrote the second part that takes you step –by easy –step, how to get your blog up and running and how to get traffic to it.

Even if you are a raw beginner, or just bought your first computer last week –you can follow Marsha’s instructions to set up your blog --and you will be entertained while you do it.

Blogging is fun –and can be very, very profitable if you just follow our easy steps. Yes, it takes a little patience, the money won’t start rolling in the first week, but anyone with even the most basic writing skills can make a serious income blogging from home –or for that matter anywhere. I have written some of my best blog posts while I was on vacation.

So if you would like to have some fun and make some money working just a few hours a week from home, click here to read more about How To Make Money Blogging From Home.

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2. Scan and Sell Books, Movies, Music, Tapes and Games

I recently updated my best-selling book, How To Make Money Selling Used Books on eBay, Amazon and the Internet. While I was researching bar code scanners used with PDAs to find book prices, I came across a unique product by Ben Mannino, one of my colleagues on Jim Cockrum’ s Silent Team program.

Ben’s product is called Scan Lister. Scan Lister is actually a combination of three products, A bar code scanner, software that reads the scan and automatically creates a listing and photo and a great eBook by Marijo Jilek where she explains how she made $4000 her first month selling used books, movies and music on eBay’s sister site, Half.com.

Scan Lister is a great companion to my book because it goes beyond just books and shows you how to source and sell all types of used media –and it focuses on Half.com. If you haven’t sold on Half.com, you should look at it. There are no listings fees or fees of any kind unless you sell something –and then the fees are competitive with eBay and Amazon.

But the best thing about Scan Lister is the automation. With this system, listing any book, CD, DVD or Video Game involves 3 steps:

Swipe the barcode
Set the condition and price
Click the LIST button

That’s it. Once the book sells, just ship the book or CD and you are done. The software program is high-tech in performance, but low-tech in operation. You can learn to use the program in about ten minutes. I played around with it the other evening and couldn’t believe how fast I could list books –and how good the listings looked.

When I first saw the price, I thought it looked a little pricy –but once you realize everything you get, it’s a really good deal. This is something that can put money in your pocket quickly. But I wanted to make it better, so I contacted Ben and asked if he could do a special discount for my readers. He agreed to give $10 off for the rest of “September. If you decide to purchase, just put the word TEN in the discount coupon box when you check out. Click here to learn more about Scan Lister.

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3. Coping With New Insurance Rules on eBay

On September 22, a new eBay policy will go into effect that prevents sellers from offering insurance to their buyers as an option or pricing insurance separate from the shipping cost.

Here is the policy statement from eBay:

Optional buyer charges for shipping insurance removed: The insurance option creates the perception that buyers need to purchase shipping insurance as a protection on eBay, an experience they're not accustomed to on other ecommerce sites. In fact, sellers have always been responsible for their items until they arrive safely in their customers' hands. That's why shipping insurance will no longer be included in the purchase flow as either an option or requirement for buyers.

Of course you can choose to purchase insurance on shipments, but not ask buyers to buy insurance separately. In some categories like Antiques, Collectibles, and Jewelry, shipping insurance for sellers is essential. When appropriate, you can include the cost of insurance in your item or shipping price.

Of all the eBay policy announcements that eBay made last month, this one has probably generated the most email.

Basically once the policy takes effect, you can still purchase insurance on your shipments –and you can build that cost into your shipping and handling fee, but you cannot break it out separately, offer it as an option paid by the buyer, or charge separately for it.

There are three ways to handle insurance:

Purchase from your carrier. On UPS and FedEx, the first $100 is already insured. On USPS it is not and you have to buy insurance on the whole dollar amount.
You can purchase insurance from a discount insurance provider. I use a company called ShipInsurance. Their rates are about 50% less than you would pay with UPS or USPS.
You can self insure. This is what many large sellers do.

Remember that insurance is a profit center for the shippers and independent insurance companies. Therefore I usually self-insure dollar amounts under $200.

Even though I don’t actually purchase insurance I tell the customer that the delivery is guaranteed to arrive in good condition and I will replace it if it is not. Notice, I don’t say I am self-insuring or buying insurance when I am not. The reason you cannot say you are self-insuring is that you are technically offering insurance and you don’t have an insurance license. And if you say you are buying insurance and you are not, then that is dishonest. But when you “guarantee” the safe arrival, you are essentially self-insuring by offering to pay the replacement and shipping cost of the item if it arrives broken or simply disappears off the face of the earth.

This may sound risky, but in ten years on eBay I have only had one item that was totally lost and two or three that arrived broken. The cost to cover those items was far less than what I would have paid for insurance on the thousands of items I have sold over the past ten years.

On more valuable items, I do purchase insurance, but I buy it from ShipInsurance which is far less expensive than UPS or the post office. Besides their claim process is shorter, faster and easier –and when you have a claim you can actually speak with someone.

The biggest problem with the new policy is with auction sellers. When you sell in the auction format, you don’t know what the final value will be until the auction ends. So you don’t know how much insurance to purchase. But I honestly don’t think this is a huge problem.

Look at an example. If you were selling an expensive piece of pottery and you thought it might go for about $300. If you use Shipinsurance you would pay approximately $1.50 to insure that amount. Now let’s say, you had no idea the vase was really valuable and it ended up selling for $1000. OK – now you will have to pay about $5.00 for insurance instead of $1.50. But heck –if I sell a product for $1000 that I only expected to get $300 for, I don’t really care about the extra $3.50. I will take that deal any day of the week. Remember also, that you buy insurance in increments of $50. So if you thought something would sell for $75 and it sells for $90, the insurance cost is the same.

In the real world, sellers occasionally sell something for $100 or more than they expected to get for it. So when this happens you will have to pony up an extra 50¢ or 60¢ for insurance. I know every penny counts –but again this is not going to break you.

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4. Niche of The Month: Vintage Record Players

Record players go back to the 1900’s and are still around. They are not used very often anymore, but they turn up on eBay fairly often. Finding vintage record players in good shape can be a challenge, but they are out there. I often see them at flea markets, thrift shops, garage sales, and estate sales.

Here is a screen shot of some recent closed auctions on eBay for record players:

As you can see they go for pretty good prices.

Baby boomers and older people seem to like the things they had as a child and often times will look for these types of items. With the computer becoming a part of life, they are learning how to use them as well. This means they may search for the antique things they had when they were kids.

When you think about the baby boomers and older people searching for items like a record player, make sure you include terms that they will use. Find out what it used to be called and some of the slang words that were used and you will have a better chance of including them in your auction.

Record players have many parts and pieces to them so when you find one you want to list you need to make sure it’s in good condition. If you find one that is broken or missing pieces, you may still be able to list it for people who are looking for parts. Make sure you put any shortcomings in the description so buyers know exactly what they are going to receive and the condition it is in.

Often when you find a record player it will come with records. This is a plus that you can include in your description. Unless they are rare and in very good condition, the records are not worth much, so you’d be better off including them rather than trying to sell them by themselves. Include the titles and singers on each record in your description for an added benefit. You can also include these in your keywords when you are setting up your auction.

Whenever you sell a used or vintage item your photographs are critical. Take pictures of the record player itself, the needle, the records, and anything else you see that would be of interest. If the player has damage, you’ll want to include pictures of the damage and explain what it is, how it happened (if you know), and if it effects the performance or is just cosmetic.

Use a tripod and good lighting to take clear sharp photos.

Shipping your record player can be a challenge, so make sure you search for a box and the proper packing materials ahead of time. Always tape the arm and turntable down so it doesn’t flop around and become damaged during shipping

The weight may also be a challenge so you’ll want to take that into consideration when you look for the box and packing materials.

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5. Wholesale Sources for September 2009

One of my readers created a site called Buy Wholesale Lots that compiles wholesale lot listings on eBay. The site is a little slow to load so you need some patience, but this is a good place to find wholesale lots in reasonable sizes.

Another reader sells small wholesale lots from DGP Wholesale. I haven’t personally used either of these two sites, but they appear to have some good values on them.

With the recession, people are keeping their cars. Car parts and after market accessories are pretty hot areas on eBay now. The other hot area is anything related to Do It Yourself – called the DIY market. So let’s take a look at a few suppliers:

Car Parts Wholesale sells discount auto parts, truck parts, and car parts for Ford, Chevy, Honda, Toyota, Dodge, GMC, Mazda, Nissan, Chevrolet, Pontiac, BMW, and more.

Performance Center has performance parts for cars and trucks for less online at Performance Center.

Smart Blonde distributes Wholesale License Plates - Wholesale METAL Vanity Novelty License Plates -Wholesale METAL Signs - Huge Selection - Over 1500 wholesale goods novelties. Wholesale novelty items for Resale - including convenience store items, eBay products, flea market wholesale items wholesale metal street signs and license plates.

Jafrum sells Motorcycle Helmets, Leather Jackets, Chaps, Pants, Saddlebags, Sissy Bar Bags and Accessories.

Sasser Distributing for Specialty Merchandise, auto and DIY

KnockOutDeals sells covers for trailer hitch receivers. . All of their products are made in the USA.

Family Wholesale Distributors has been in the Closeout Distribution business since 1988 and often carry closeout automotive parts.

Homier Distributing has a wide variety of products ranging from gas and diesel powered equipment, hand and power tools, compressors, woodworking tools, lawn and garden, seasonal and many more products.

FireHawk has a great line of really unusual products that you might not find much competition selling.

The Rag Company is the home of the finest microfiber cleaning products for janitorial, household, auto detailing, spa and personal care.

Supersportz Inc carries a line of Wholesale ATVs, Dirt Bikes, Go Karts, Scooters, Mopeds, & Utility Vehicles. Low Wholesale Pricing On Brands Like Roketa, KMD, BMS, Lance, Seaseng, Motobravo and More.

Skip McGrath
The eBay Seller's News

P.S. If you missed the last issue, click here to read it.