Hi everyone!,

I'm currently putting together a free report on the journey from complete novice to ebay expert.

I'd like to give some advice on the problems that people have found during there search for products/ wholesalers etc..

If you would like to contribute any lessons you've learnt (or how you overcame problems you first had) I'll be happy to include a section at the end with acknowledgement of your input (and a link to your own website)

It dawned on me that there's an enourmous number of new people joining Ebay everyday, so I've started writing a newbie guide in ebook form (I know there are already some - but I wanna do my bit aswell)
and I think a useful free gift (which you'll be free to offer to your website visitors/ ezine readers) would be a shorter report with the main items which anyone could easily read.

What do you think? -- Anyone want to make a difference???

I look forward to adding your names/links to the acknowledgement section.

Regards,

LennyT

It might also be worth floating the question on the eBay community sites, both USA & UK. There's a lot of useful insight and experience there. I guess you could also contact a few Powersellers who are usually pretty helpful, and like to see their names in print.

I can't comment on the wholesaler issues as I've used eBay to sell a number of collectables and other stuff cluttering up my domicile. I'd say in the vast majority of auctions, the eBay experience has been positive. And there's no real problem selling internationally as long as you get shipping and handling right. You should also make bidders aware that unless they opt for special delivery or similar guaranteed international service, their packages may go AWOL in certain countries (Italy by repute being a notorious example).

The key to eBay is excellent communication. Engage fully with your punter by providing as much information as possible in the auction listing and also in any emails they send you. State your terms and conditions of sale clearly, and always clarify your shipping and handling charge in the auction listing. Remember that shipping and handling covers not just the postage charge but packing materials, your time etc. - so keep it realistic according to those factors.

Contact the auction winner as soon as possible and give the a choice of payment methods (online payments are handy but getting a bit pricier). Ship the item to them ASAP, and make it easy for them to buy from you again. Build up your database of contacts and try to categorise them by what they have bought or expressed an interest in - an Excel spreadsheet works fine and can always be migrated to Access later on.

If you provide great customer service, people often come to you direct for more stuff, and you thus avoid eBay fees. You can always email them when you're listing some new items of interest, or when you've built your site. Then you can start producing targetted opt-in newsletters etc. eBay's a pretty good way to test a business idea or augment an existing business. It's also a good way to pick up stuff to resell, especially from newbies who don't provide pictures etc. and who don't know the value of their stuff.

It goes without saying that there will be some people you need to chase for the money. This should always be done politely but firmly - sometimes its better to give punters the benefit of the doubt, especially if a loved one has just snuffed it and suddenly the punter's win is forgotten. eBay's reminder service is useful and ultimately NPB works. But I've found most issues can be resolved by email - which is where effective communication comes in. I've never had to neg anyone so far, so I think there's some merit in patience - which isn't to say that punters should be allowed to walk all over you. There's a clear balance between your interests and keeping the punter happy, and an invisible line that shouldn't be crossed, but can change as a transaction unfolds.

Hope some of this rambling helps - best of luck with the report.

Hi Cyber-Magnus,

Nice reply.

The point about peoples personal circumstances is one I can relate to. I had a couple of items not get to the buyers when I had 'issues' and I assumed that because I'd sent them I could forget about Ebay for a while.

Cheers

Lenny

Thanks for tha feedback, Lenny. eBay and concomitant commitments tend to go on whatever else happens in one's life. I'll post anything else I can think of... when I actually manage to think of it. Let me know when your report's ready.

Stay lucky, Cyber-Magus