One Woman, 39 Bras, and a Cause

What do you get when you take one driven woman with a cause and add a group of friends and 39 bras? You get a month's worth of eBay auctions for charity.

The woman is Beth Cherkowsky of Depression Glass Warehouse on eBay. The cause is Susan G. Komen for the Cure. The occasion is the 25th anniversary of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, this October. The 39 bras are fantasy bras created by a group of Beth's friends and supporters for her "Bling My Bra" project to raise money for the Komen organization. And bling those bras is what they did! Take a look.

Each day in October, at least one fantasy bra auction will end and 100 percent of the proceeds will go to the cause. The first auction launched on September 24th and will close October 1st. You can check out the auctions running now in Beth's eBay store.

What a great time to choose a collector's item and support a great project. Look for Halloween themes, peacock feathers, autographs from a certain eBay celebrity, autumn leaves, and flowers galore. Each is truly a unique masterpiece.

Shop now, have fun, and support a great lady and an even greater cause.

Product Sourcing With Close-Out Deals

I'm ready to reveal my sources. Well, one of my sources.

When I was actively selling products from my own inventory, one of my favorite places to find liquidation sales and close-out bargains for resale was Graveyard Mall, "Where high prices come to die!" (Gotta love their slogan.)

I've found great deals in their collegiate products department, health and beauty, home improvement, and more. I could name several items that I purchased in bulk then practically gave away on eBay but still doubled or tripled (at least) my investment.

The best tip I can offer about buying on Graveyard Mall is to research the items first, before you get carried away because of a low price. Remember, these are close-out type items and sometimes they're being closed out for a very good reason: nobody wants them. Nobody. And that means your customers won't want them either, so do your due diligence before you buy. You will find some bargains, though. For instance, I see one particular item priced at $1.99 that's selling for $9.98 right now at Amazon.com. Seems someone could turn that one around and make some money, wouldn't you think? (I'll give you a hint: It's in the Dollar Store category.)

Sign up for the newsletter to to keep up with their specials and visit the site daily to check their Deal of the Day. Hope you find some great bargains!

For more ideas for product sourcing, check out Where to Find Stuff to Sell on eBay.

How Your Friend's Blog Can Benefit Your Business

Here's a tip you can implement today.

To get more exposure for your online store/selling venue, trade blog posts with a friend. (You do have a blog, right??) Ask a friend with a blog if she'll write a guest post for you and offer to write one for her. At the end of the post include a brief bio, including a link to your own blog and, perhaps, to one of your online stores. (Leave it to one or two links; don't make it look tacky.)

Simply share a great tip or selling experience, something that will appeal to the audience of your friend's blog. You post hers, she posts yours and, voilà, you both have new readers and, hopefully, new customers.

It's a win-win situation!

P.S. I love Darren Rowse's blogging tips. Here's a book full of them: ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income Read the reviews and consider buying the book if you want to learn how your blog can benefit your business.

In Appreciation of Bubble Wrap

Fastpack Shipping Supplies is having their annual Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day (BWAD) coming up on Monday, January 26th.  Hooray!  Another holiday in January!  Anything to beat the cold weather blahs. 

You might not get the day off, but if you ship packages for your eBay business or otherwise, be sure and check out their annual one-day sale for free shipping on select bubble wrap and other items.  I've bought bubble wrap from Fastpack and have gotten a good deal and maybe you will, too.  Always comparison shop, though, and do it before the 26th so you'll be ready to stock up if you decide this is the best deal for you.  Anticipate your needs and order enough to last as long as is practical, factoring in room for storage, too.  Bubble wrap is light, but it does take up a fair amount of space.  

Find out what items will be included in the sale and more information on this page, but remember to wait until January 26th to place your order.   In the meantime, beat the blahs with some virtual bubble wrap.  Bet you can't pop just one! 

How to Get Buyers to Read Your eBay Newsletters

Are you a store owner on eBay? Do you use your mailing list capability, the one that eBay provides along with your store? I hope that you do as it can be a very powerful tool. Speaking as a buyer, I enjoy receiving newsletters from eBay store owners - occasionally. The majority of the time, though, I simply delete them without opening because I know they're going to be a waste of my time. How do I know that?

When I see these subject lines, I don't ask questions, I just delete:

"eBay Seller Email: Check out my Newly Listed Items"
"eBay Seller Email: Sale! Shop my eBay Store for Big Savings"

Those are default subject lines, the ones that eBay supplies for you. They're the lazy seller's way of sending a newsletter. Inside, I can expect to see a list of items for sale and little else, sometimes not even a personalized message from the store owner. In fact, unless I scroll to the bottom of the page, 99 percent of the time I have no idea who sent the email. Why? Because eBay's default does not supply the store name at the top of the email. The only place I might find it is on the feedback section that is (by default) plugged in at the very bottom. Sorry, but I have too many other things to do than search an email to see who it's from. I'd rather shop with sellers who catch my attention with subject lines such as these:

"eBay Seller Email: Birdhouse Books - New Year's Sale"
"eBay Seller Email: 25% Off Selected Flat Wallets & More"
"eBay Seller Email: Happy Holidays from Handmade by Martha"
"eBay Seller Email: New 2 Day Sale Fun Stuff from Annie Star"

Aren't those subjects more appealing? Absolutely! Don't they make you want to see what's inside? Of course!

Note that the "eBay Seller Email" part is always provided by eBay, identifying that the mail is not s-p-a-m, so that's okay. However, it leaves you, the seller, a limited number of characters to work with, so be creative and use the space wisely.

If you've been taking the lazy way out by using the eBay default subjects, check your stats to see how many subscribers open your newsletters now, then try it my way a time or two and see if that opening rate increases dramatically. I truly believe it will. If I'm on your mailing list, I can guarantee it will. Then come back here, leave a comment and let me know if it worked for you.

Happy selling and prosperity to all in the new year!


P.S. It's tax prep time. Need advice? The eBay Seller's Tax and Legal Answer Book: Everything You Need to Know to Keep the Government Off Your Back and Out of Your Wallet

Are Your Black Friday and Cyber Monday Sales Ready?

Have you planned one-day sales for Black Friday and Cyber Monday for your eBay store or other online selling venue? If you haven't, you may be missing out!

Many of the major retailers have already started pre-Black Friday sales this week (think amazon.com) and online shoppers already have the opportunity to pick up some great deals. It's only going to get better between now and Cyber Monday, so don't be left out!

Have a mailing list? Get a newsletter out now, then a reminder the day before wouldn't be a bad idea either. Someone I follow on Twitter announced her Black Friday sale this morning and is taking pre-orders for her etsy store. Great idea, and a great way to advertise!

If you're planning to do some shopping on eBay, check your homepage for a coupon. There's a 10% off coupon on my eBay home page and that's something I need to take advantage of soon, before it expires. Bet you have one, too.

With all these sales popping up, seems to me that it would be just as productive to stay home on Friday to do your bargain shopping online. Unless, of course, you just love those crowds and, oh my, that Black Friday traffic.

Happy Thanksgiving, and happy selling (and shopping)!

EBay Seller? Diversifying? You Need This!

If you're one of those savvy sellers who has been diversifying your selling venues beyond eBay, have I got some great news for you. It's called EveryPlaceISell.com and the name alone should give you a huge hint about its purpose.

Steiner Associates (as in AuctionBytes.com) has created EveryPlaceISell.com as a user-generated directory for online merchants to list and tie together every venue on which they sell. Do you sell on eBay? Amazon? Etsy? Your own site? List them all here - f r ee - and help your customers, as well as new shoppers, find you at all of those locations. Besides the obvious benefit of having all of your sites available in one place, the backlinks this will generate for your sites should make the search engines very happy.

The fact that this new site is owned by Steiner Associates should give you confidence in its future; the Steiners know their business and do it well. The site is beginning to boom, so don't delay in getting your registration process started. Policy states that every registration is verified within 24 hours though may take longer due to high traffic; my initial registration was confirmed within minutes.

By the way, you don't have to be an eBay seller to use this site. You are allowed to list 10 different sites and there's a long list, alphabetically from Abebooks to Wibix, of venues to select from. With EveryPlaceISell.com you have nothing to lose and everything to gain, so give it a try, then let me know how it works for you.

P.S. Here's my link.


My52cents-Susan52 Online

Selling on eBay? You Need All the Help You Can Get!

When eBay sellers think of eBay these days, the one word that comes to almost everyone's mind is "change." Change in policy, change in fees, change in rules, changes here, changes everywhere.

While it's simple enough to go to eBay's site and read the rules (well, maybe it isn't all that simple), perhaps it would be easier to have a team of people, experts, to help you understand and interpret all these changes and help you understand how they affect you and your business.

If you're not sure what to do about your eBay business, whether you should hang tight or jump ship, I can tell you that doing the same things you've been doing for years, working hard and having little to show for it, may not be the right choice. There are alternatives. There are changes you can make in order to succeed online and, specifically, on eBay.

Do you have about six and a half minutes? I'd like to suggest that if you can spare that small amount of time, click on the banner below and watch the video. Take a look and listen and evaluate if this membership site might be right for you. Maybe it will, maybe the monthly investment is more than you believe your future is worth. That's fine, but I love to see people succeed and I love to see people enjoy what they do, rather than working more than full-time hours and seeing little to no results, and I think this is something worth checking out. Really, you have so little to lose to just take a look. How about doing it now, while it's on your mind.

P.S. Remember, the busy holiday selling season is coming up. Check this out before you miss out on information that could make a huge difference in what happens to your eBay business the rest of this year.

Didn't Make it to eBay Live? No problem.

So, you didn't make it to eBay Live in Chicago this year. Neither did I. Sorry that you missed all the great teaching that went on there? So am I. Well, we're in luck! Now we can access many of the seminars and presentations that were made in Chicago at eBay Live 2008, online and all in one place.

The EBay Live Presentation Download Center contains 80 downloadable presentations (PDF downloads) in six different categories, including topics for buyers and sellers at every level. Want to learn how to pack the unpackable? They've got you covered. Want to find out how to market your eBay business? Of course you do and you'll find that topic covered as well.

While it doesn't include t-shirts, pins, and the party atmosphere of eBay Live, the topics that you need to help you succeed on eBay are all there. Dig in and help yourself!

EBay Store Seller Quick Tip of the Day

When you send out eBay store newsletters, be sure to personalize the Subject line rather than using the eBay default for the style of newsletter you've chosen.

I have received a dozen or more store newsletters this month with the same subject line: "Sale! Shop my eBay Store for big savings!" Knowing who sent the mail (the From field always says "store-newsletter" by default, so that doesn't tell me) goes a long way in my quick decision as to whether to take time to open and read that email or to trash it.

Don't know about you or your customers, but I would be much more likely to open a message with this subject line (for instance) "Hurry! All BIN On Sale Now at my52cents on eBay!" than one with the default. Remember, think like a customer!