Only a Few Days Left to Fix Your eBay Listings

The eBay Seller's News, September 28, 2009, Volume 9, No. 14

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

In This Issue:

Musings from eBay and beyond

1. Only a Few Days Left to Fix Your eBay Listings
2. Save Time and Money on Postage and Insurance Using Third Party Services
3. eBay Photography Best Practices
4. Niche of the Month: Coffee Mugs
5. eBay Wholesale Sources for September 2009

"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure
is trying to please everybody." ~ Bill Cosby

Musings

If you have been following my blog, you may have seen that I recently moved it.  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.

My blog has been a very profitable portion of my business. Last week I released my latest book, How To Make Money Blogging From Home with co-author, Marsha Perry who is a WordPress expert.  I also found a great resource for more blogging information. It’s a free eBook from Blog Mastermind called Blog profit Blueprint. This is a great companion to my book.

I have been using QuickBooks for my eBay and website business for about 5 years now. I get a lot of questions from readers about bookkeeping systems and I always end up recommending QuickBooks, but some readers tell me they are intimidated by the program.

A friend of mine and fellow eBay PowerSeller, Cindy Shebley, has teamed up with CPA and online business expert Sheryl Schuff to produce a CD set that takes you through the whole QuickBooks experience. Here is the link to learn more. If you don’t have a bookkeeping system, you should read this page and watch the short video. I think you will become convinced that you do.  I see a lot of sellers fail because they don’t keep good records and don’t understand their expenses. So I definitely recommend you take a look at this.

Last week I held a free webinar on the topic of What Sells on eBay.  The webinar was just over 1 hour long and we had over 200 people attend.  If you missed it and would like to see the archived webinar, here is a link where you can watch it online.

If you have purchased my book, How To Make Good Money Selling Used Books on eBay, Amazon and The Internet, I have just uploaded a new bonus report: How To Make Money With A Book Scanning Device.  Just go to the download page you bookmarked when you purchased the original book and you can download the free report.

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

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1. Only a Few Days Left to Fix Your eBay Listings

Next week eBay will begin implementation of the announced changes they announced in August. If you haven’t done so, some of these changes require immediate action. In terms of changing new or existing listings, probably the two most important are removing any charges you have for insurance and making sure your Buy it Now price is at least 10% above your opening bid price.

The other big thing to work on is your DSR scores.  I was one of a few sellers chosen for the new Top Rated Seller (TRS) test and I can tell you that you want to get this designation. If you qualify for TRS designation, your listings will be favored in search and the little TRS logo will appear in the search results for your listings.  It will take the community a while to recognize the importance of this, but I predict the TRS rating will eventually outweigh feedback score as a determinant to build your business.

Other important issues to be aware of are that you must state your handling time and shipping policy in your listings.  Those changes have been required for a while, but eBay is beginning to enforce them.

Changes to categories and Item Specifics are also included with this roll-out. Find out if your listings are impacted.

Get a complete overview, including a seller checklist and best practices to take full advantage of these updates.

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2. Save Time and Money on Postage and Insurance Using Third Party Services

Most eBay sellers use the eBay/PayPal checkout shipping label system to print their postage for their eBay sales. But there are several third-party solutions that can save you both time and money.  All of them charge a small fee, but the fee is easily offset by the savings.  Probably the largest and oldest service is from Stamps.com.  Here are some of the benefits of using this service:

• Avoid long lines at the post office, print postage from your PC. The USPS will pick up your packages if you are using priority Mail.
   
• Get postage discounts on Priority Mail® & Express Mail. (We use Priority Mail on most of our packages, so this one feature easily pays for our monthly fee)
   
• Free Delivery Confirmation included on Priority Mail.® (this saves 50¢ per package)
   
• Save up to 10% on package insurance. (This is a nice benefit, but I would still use a service such as ShipInsurance as their insurance savings are even greater)
   
• Hide the postage amount on your shipping labels. (This is a great feature if you are adding insurance and/or a small handling fee to your shipping charges)
   
• Ship worldwide with USPS First Class International.  (The PayPal system forces you to use Global Priority
   
• Ability to import data from multiple sources including eBay, PayPal, Yahoo Stores, Google Checkout and Amazon as well as XML and ODBC connections for regular shopping carts.  PayPal only allows integration for eBay.

I spoke with Eric Nash, Stamps.com’s Director of Online Marketing and asked if he would set up a special offer for my readers and he agreed –however this offer is limited. He couldn’t guarantee how long they would be able to do it. Here is what you get if you use the link below to try the service:

When sellers sign-up for the 4 week no-risk trial offer, they will get:

• $5 in postage to use during the four week trial
   
• Free 5 lb scale ( There is a small S/H charge)
   
• Four $10 free postage vouchers, one $10 postage voucher can be redeemed each month customer pays bill (This is double the normal offer)
   
• Full version of the software
   
• As long as the customer cancels the service before the 4 week trial is over, they will not have a pay anything.
   
• If the customer doesn't cancel, they will be charged $15.99 for that first month of service.

This is a great deal. You can try the software for the first four weeks with no-risk (cancel if you don't like it and pay nothing), and the postage vouchers give you $10 back on your service for the next four months. Here is the link to get the special offer.

About the only downside to this offer is that Stamps.com doesn’t work with Mac. So if you are a Mac user, you want to look at Endicia.  Endicia also works with PC, but when I look at the two systems, I think the Stamps.com offer is a bit better, but if you have a Mac, Endicia will provide most of the same benefits.  Bottom line is that both systems save you time and money and the monthly service fee easily pays for itself.

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3. eBay Photography Best Practices

In the early days of eBay, I used to take photos with my 35mm camera and scan the photos into eBay. And when I ended up with a no-so-great photo, I would often use it anyway because it was just too expensive and took too long to shoot over, get the film developed and scan it in.  Digital cameras changed all that. With digital cameras the film is free and you get instant results. So there really is no excuse to use a poor photo in your eBay listings or on your web site.

Bad photos are the leading cause of unsuccessful listings and that’s a shame because the fixes are very simple.  Here are the four main photo mistakes I see on eBay every day and how to fix them:

1. Blurred photos – this is the easiest one to fix. Digital cameras typically shoot at a low shutter speed when you are shooting indoors. Therefore you must use a tripod if you want sharp photos.
   
    
2. Under-exposed photos – This is another easy fix.  The light meters in digital cameras are often fooled by the amount of ambient light. If your photos look a little dark you need to adjust your exposure.  Almost every digital camera made in the past three years comes with automatic exposure compensation. Typically this is a setting that you adjust the exposure in steps of plus or minus.  If your photos are dark, try setting your exposure adjustment on +1. If that doesn’t work, try +1.5.  If you don’t know how to do this, just look in your camera manual for the words “exposure adjustment” or “Auto-Exposure compensation.”
   
    
3. Cluttered background – Anything in the background distracts from your object. I have actually seen photos of a piece of pottery on a dining room table with dirty dishes in the background. Use a piece of cloth or paper to create a backdrop. If you are shooting something large like a bicycle, motorcycle or car or boat, take them somewhere other than your driveway like a local park where you can get grass or trees in the background.
   
    
4. Using Flash or Direct Sunlight – Flash and sunlight are harsh lights that create dark shadows and reflections. If you are shooting indoors, shoot near a window where you get indirect window light or use a pair of photo lights. If you can’t afford them, try a pair of student gooseneck lamps. If you are shooting outdoors, shoot in open shade or on a cloudy day where you get soft indirect light.

You can get more free photo tips from the website where I sell my line of EZ Cube Digital Photo Light Tents at www.ezauctiontools.com.

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4. Niche of The Month: Coffee Mugs

I was on eBay Radio last week speaking with Uncle Griff about my newest book, How To Make Money Blogging From Home.  While I was waiting to go on I was listening to the segment ahead of me, which was Lynn Dralle talking about some of the fun stuff she sells on eBay. She happened to mention coffee mugs. When I heard the prices she was getting I was really surprised so I started doing some research.

I have been selling Starbucks mugs for several years so I know about those, but it turns out there are lots of other valuable coffee mugs.  Here are some screenshots for some other valuable mugs I found:

These are all pretty expensive, but they can be found at garage sales and thrift shops if you have a sharp eye.  Below are some that are easier to find. Although they sell for less, when you consider that you can usually find these for 50 cents or a dollar, that is a great markup.

In any price range, one of the most popular and easy to sell brands are the Fire King mugs.  Also look for any mug that has something to do with a movie or popular TV show. I couldn’t find an example currently on eBay, but last year a mug from the TV Show Hawaii Five-O sold for over $700.

One thing to keep in mind; when selling to collectors, condition is very important. Never buy a mug with a chip in it. And, also look for stains. Light stains from coffee use are OK, but if there are strong dark stains, then forget it.

Lastly you can also make good money buying Starbucks coffee mugs from your home town or when you travel. The older mugs are getting hard to find and the prices are going up, but more recent mugs are affordable, easy to find and can still bring a nice profit.  The current city mugs sell at Starbucks for $9.95. Here are some shots of recent city mug sales.

Besides buying new mugs from Starbucks stores, you can also find them at thrift shops, garage sales and by advertising. I once took out a classified ad saying that I bought Starbucks mugs and got several replies including a lady who had a Starbucks Checker Cab mug from New York City that sold for $250. I paid $20 for the mug.

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5. Wholesale Sources for September 2009

Be sure and check out our Free Wholesale Search Engine –but please read the instructions on the page before starting your search. Remember, it is a search engine. I cannot control the search results. Just because it’s on my site doesn’t mean I endorse the results that come up.  However, you can use this search engine to find some great wholesale sources as long as you are careful.

This is the time of year when clothing and fashions are hot, so I have researched some wholesale fashion suppliers in this issue. Be sure and read eBay’s policies about selling brand name products.  Also, photographing clothing can be a challenge, so you might want to invest in a dress form if you are going to sell clothing.

Overstock Avenue specializes in purchasing overstock merchandise from the nation’s leading upscale department stores and specialty retailers.

Fashion House bills themselves as “The latest fashion and brands of women clothes, wholesale clothing, juniors clothing, and women’s apparel.”

Spring Imports - In this economic environment, lots of people are hurting –but they still need clothes. I saw this company at the last ASD/AMD trade show and was impressed by how good the quality of their really low-priced clothing was.

Tasha Apparel sells wholesale off brand, high fashion clothing.

The Adair Group features overstock and new men’s clothing. The website is undergoing a revamp but should be back up in a few days. Meanwhile you can call them at 404.346.5702.

Here are a few other general wholesalers for this month:

Only Hangars – When you own clothes you need hangars and yes there are people selling them on eBay. This could be an interesting niche.

Cala Products is a large national distributor of beauty supplies to stores, beauty salon and spas.

Jack Levy Sales carries a wide range of closeout general merchandise. They specialize in giftware, house wares, collectibles, novelties, and licensed items including Coca Cola, John Deere, M&M and NASCAR.

That's it for this month.  See you soon.

Skip McGrath
The eBay Seller's News

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

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