GASP!  Of course there is life outside of eBay!  I’m not saying start something new or give up your passion for eBay.  Hey – stick with what works, right? 

I recently got an email from Phil Dwyer of Lifestyle Investors.  I was a guest on their Podcast a while back and we had a great time!

Phil shot me over a question and inspired me to share about it.

Hi Jenn,

Jake and I just returned from a conference in Atlanta and met a couple of eBay sellers, both into antiques.  These guys both expressed a little frustration with eBay in general and are looking to branch out into other online auction sites.  What is your take on that?

Anyway, thought about you so I figured I’d drop you a line and say hello.  I hope business is good, take care!

Sincerely,
Phil Dwyer

My answer:

Hey!
 
I think the more streams of income, the better.  Without eBay I wouldn’t have been able to branch out into other areas.  I would have never acquired Boutique Bargains, or be where I am today without eBay.  Some people like Craigslist, or blogging for example. (Did you know eBay owns half of Craigslist?). 
 
It’s totally normal to start out with eBay and “graduate” into something more.  Some people are die hard, devoted eBay fans and are perfectly content with sticking to eBay.  Why?  Because eBay provides so much for them automatically that you don’t get with your own web-site.  Let’s face it – a web-site is WORK!  Some people can do it, some can’t – or just don’t want to.
 
A few of my readers started out with eBay and now own there own Clothing Boutiques.    It’s a proud day when I can say “I knew them when”.

I hope you guys are doing well!

Jenn

Think about it, if you started out with eBay and have grown into much more – do you ever stop and think about where you came from or if you would have gotten to where you are today, without eBay?

Jenn Cangelosi is a dedicated eBay expert who has transformed her hobby into a stepping stone for other moms wanting to build a successful eBay business. She is now sharing her wealth of eBay knowledge with other moms who have the same desire to stay at home and build a successful eBay business through her web-site, Boutique Bargains.

There are a number of ways to get your eBay items more exposure.  Here are a few to get you started:

Showcase your new items when as soon as you list them.  If you have an eBay store, there is an option in your Store Manager that will showcase your store front.  This will show your newest items as soon as you list them.  If you need help with your custom pages you can read up on it here – Managing your Custom Pages.  eBay allows up to 5 additional pages that you can create!

Your About Me page – Highlight your specialties and anything that will entice someone to be drawn to what they are looking for.

Your own personal blog – Yes, your very own!  Not the one that eBay provides, but one that you can create using WordPress.  Don’t be scared – I know what you’re thinking.  It’s easier than it looks – TRUST ME.  If you need help, there is a wordpress orientation coming up that you shouldn’t miss!

When you’ve mastered the first three tips, let me know – I have a ton more! 

Have fun!

You can’t *assume* that eBay buyers are going to always find you.  Sometimes you have to find them!  I use Want It Now, with my own spin on it.       

A great F-R-E-E feature included with your eBay membership is Want It Now. Whether you’re buying or selling, it’s a good option to utilize the Want It Now feature on eBay. 

What is Want It Now??

“Want It Now lets buyers post requests for hard-to-find items and allows sellers to respond to those requests with eBay listings.” –eBay

If your primary focus as an eBay seller is to find a deal & make some money, you can use Want It Now to your advantage by creating posts to seek out inventory.

eBay Seller – If you sell items on eBay, Want It Now gives buyers the chance to ask for items they want or can’t find. And as a Seller, you can respond to these requests with your eBay listings. It’s a great way to boost your sales during the slow times.  You can seek out potential buyers for items that you already have on hand by doing a simple search.

IMPORTANT: Please only respond to posts if the item you have is an exact match to the description in the post. It is considered SPAM if you respond to a post and the item is not an exact match – and you can be reported.

Try to search Want It Now every once in a while. Maybe a few times a season, when you feel your sales are slowing down, or whenever you get a good chunk of inventory. Search back about a week into the posts. It does take some time, but it’s worth it for extra sales. It also gives you an idea of what to look out for as you’re looking for seasonal inventory.

Buying inventory on eBay – Want It Now are want ads, only better! You can create a post asking for specific items. As sellers search through these want ads, they respond with eBay listings. Now, I like this feature because as an eBay seller if I’m looking for clothing lots or something specific…it’s a good way to seek out extra inventory.

How does this help find inventory for eBay?

This actually saves me a lot of time searching through eBay for what I want! It allows many responses to go right to my inbox and I pick the ones that best suit what I’m looking for. My goal in doing this is to get clothing for my daughters and offset the cost by selling some of that same lot of clothing to a local consignment shop, to make money. Later, when my daughters outgrow the portion I kept for them – I am able to resell that lot as gently used making the rest of my money back…..in turn; this meant my daughters clothes were f-r-e-e and I earned a profit at the same time! I love it when it works out that way!

Be sure you know your consignment shops policy on buying clothing and their policy on payment. Some consignment shops work on a 50/50 basis. Meaning if you give them a pair of pants and they sell it for $10 you get $5. Some consignment shops will pay a percentage up front. It just depends on your area.

You can spend a lot of time on Want It Now and it is a great tool to utilize, for both eBay buyers and sellers. Start out slow. If you are already selling on eBay, start out by going through your existing inventory every season. You never know what you might have around the house that someone is looking for!

Utilize it for saving time buying your own lots of inventory for selling to consignment shops or stocking your eBay store.

Check out what people are looking for that you have similar taste in, for your own kids.

Seek out items that are higher priced or hard to find items to narrow down the hot sizes/colors that people are looking for.

I hope this helped spark some ideas to gain some extra eBay sales!

Have Fun! 

Ever wonder how eBay sellers get the products at just the right time to make a profit?

There is a method to the madness!

The answer is this: Watch & Learn.

Watch when the local retail stores mark down their items week by week and season by season. For example, toys may be marked down every Wednesday and at the end of the Spring and Christmas seasons they may hold a huge 75% off sale. It’s usually the same week every year. Keep a calendar marked with the previous years weekly and seasonal sales. This will have you one step ahead!

Learn when items start to peak at the highest price on eBay. Right now, Halloween costumes are in full swing! Want to know a little secret? Costumes start to sell well in August. By knowing this you’ll be able to set your prices accordingly and stock your store ahead of time giving you the advantage to be first pick. This will ensure more store sales, keeping listing fees down.

Watching the trends and learning what does well can take some getting used to. It’s what I do, so if you’re ever in doubt – just ask!

Happy Selling!

Jennifer Cangelosi is an eBay expert dedicated to providing networking and mentoring advice to others who want to find children’s clothing, toys and more to sell on eBay and other auction sites. Visit her and other eBay loving moms at Boutique Bargains.