eBay and Drop shipping – Getting the Product to

Your Customer

If you hope to own an eBay business, and make a

full time living at it, you can easily make that dream

come true – even if you don’t have a product of your

own to sell. eBay provides many people who want to

quit their corporate nine-to-five jobs with a way to

make a good living, without having to put up a lot of

start up capital. This is made possible with the help

of drop shippers. Drop shippers send merchandise to

the customers of business owners. If you have an

eBay business, you are a business owner. This will

allow you to offer a wide variety of stock in your

eBay store, without having the need to warehouse

all of those products!

All you have to do is set up your auction, and sell

the product. You then pass the customer’s

information on to the drop shipping company. The

drop shipper does the rest, and they will even use

your company information, as well as your company

logo if you have provided it to them. When the product

arrives at your customer’s home, they will have no idea

that your company didn’t send it. The drop shipper

will package, label, and ship the products that you

sell, allowing you more time to set up even more

auctions, for greater profits.

You must establish a relationship with several drop

shipping companies in order to become successful.

In the beginning, most companies will require you to

pay for the items that your customers order before

they are shipped. You need to fill orders in a

timely manner, so you should pay for the items with

a credit card for speedy service. Eventually, you will

be able to have the drop shipper fill your orders, and

then bill you for them later.

When you set up your eBay auctions, make sure

that your reserve price is set higher than the price

that the drop shipper will be charging you for the

item. The idea, of course, is to earn a profit!

Depending on the item you are selling, a markup

of about 10% should be about right, but you should

do some research to see if the item is selling for a

lower price in another eBay auction, or through

other online sources.

By starting an eBay business using the drop

shipping method, there is essentially no financial risk

involved. The product will be sold before you pay the

drop shipper for the item. This is one of the few

businesses where you can actually turn a profit

before you have expenditures!

Buying On eBay: The Importance of Checking Feedback

Are you interested in using eBay to shop online? If you are, you are definitely not alone, as eBay is one of the most popular online marketplaces. As you likely already know, eBay is an online auction website; an online auction website that allows internet users to post items that they have in their possession, but not longer want or need, for sale. While this tends to give you a large number of products to choose from, it can make getting scammed on eBay relatively easy; however, there is a way that you cannot fall victim to some of the most common eBay scams. That way involves checking feedback.

If this is your first time using eBay, you may not necessarily know that buyers and sellers are able to leave each other feedback; in fact, they are encouraged to do so. Now, if another eBay buyer, just like you, were to have a positive experience, like they got their item in a timely matter and it was what they expected, they would be likely to leave a positive feedback. Positive feedbacks are marked with green circles with plus signs in them. On the other hand, if an eBay buyer has a negative experience, like they never received their item or it was in poor condition, a negative comment may be left. Negative comments are market by red circles with negative signs in them. In addition to positive or negative comments, eBay buyers are also able to leave neutral comments, which are commonly used when a problem arose, but the seller in question fixed it in a timely matter. Also, next to the positive, negative, or neutral markings, eBay buyers can also leave comments.

Although you might not necessarily think about it, the feedback that an eBay seller has can give you insight into the type of service that you may receive. As a way, this feedback serves as reputation for an eBay seller. When shopping at a traditional retail store, there is a good chance that you wouldn’t shop at a store that is known for selling poor quality products or a store that has poor customer service. The same thinking should be applied when using eBay. You don’t want to business with an eBay seller that has a number of poor feedback ratings, as it is a sign of what may come.

If you are interested in examining the feedback of an eBay seller, you can easily do so. When visiting an online auction listing page, say a listing for a new set of hair clippers, in the right hand corner there should be a “Meet the Seller,” section. That section has information on the seller’s eBay feedback, as well as a link that you can click to see each individual feedback rating. You are urged to click that link. When examining an eBay seller’s feedback, you need to remember that it is not uncommon for a seller to deal with disgruntled customers; customers that may leave negative feedback for no reason at all. That is why it is not uncommon to see a few negative feedback ratings; however, be on the lookout for any eBay seller who has an excessive number of them or a new eBay seller that has a large number of negative feedback ratings, as they are someone you should try and avoid.

In short, examining the feedback ratings or comments of an eBay seller will only take a few minutes of your time, but it may end up saving you a considerable amount of money. When shopping on eBay, it is advised that you use your best judgment. A number of negative feedback ratings may be a sure sign that an eBay seller may be out to scam you, in one way or another.

How to Find Great Deals at eBay

Everyone loves a great deal! Many people spend

quite a bit of time searching for good deals on the

items that they want and need – and when they find

those deals, they experience a certain amount of

satisfaction. These people typically haunt garage

sales, stores that are holding sales, wholesale

warehouses, flea markets, and especially online

and offline auctions. With the incredible number of

auctions that are constantly going on at eBay, it

can be difficult to find the items you want, at the

price you want to pay. But it isn’t impossible to find

great deals!

There are steps you can take to ensure that you are

getting a great deal on the items you purchase

through eBay. In fact, these same steps will also

help to protect you against fraud. Participating in

online auctions is a great deal of fun, but you must

use caution as well. This caution entails doing your

research before you place any bids.

Start with the auction in question. Make sure that

you read every word of the description and the

auction details. You can never have too much

information – especially if that information is

about an individual that you may be doing business

with. Pay special attention to what the description

and auction details do not say. For instance, is a

guarantee mentioned? Is the item new? Is it

authentic? Is there proof of authenticity? Look for

auctions that provide the right information – and

the right amount of information. Avoid those that

do not.

Who will pay the shipping and handling costs? Often,

the buyer pays these costs, and sometimes, the

seller tries to charge more than the actual shipping

and handling costs are. Beware of high shipping

costs, especially for items that will be auctioned

off at a very low price. Also note when the item is

supposed to ship after the bidding has ended.

Depending on what you are trying to purchase the

item for, it may not arrive in time.

Don’t make the mistake of bidding on an item simply

because it is a ‘good deal.’ It is only a good deal for

you if the item is something that you really want or

need. Many people simply bid for the sake of

bidding – or winning – without having any real need

or desire for the item in question. Before bidding on

items that you do want or need, check prices

around the Internet and the prices available from

offline sources as well. Just because it is on eBay

does not guarantee that it is the cheapest price

available!

Finally, learn more about the seller. Can you trust

them? What is their rating? Read their feedback

page! Failure to learn more about the seller can be

costly. Not everyone is as honest as you are – and

the seller may be trying to take advantage of people

that simply don’t know enough to find out more

about them. Sometimes scammers make their

auctions sound like really great deals. Beware of

prices that seem extremely low!

eBay University – What Is It All About?

eBay University is the learning program that eBay

established to help people become successful eBay

merchants. For convenience, eBay classes are held

in many locations throughout the United States, and

classes may also be completed from home, using

your computer.

You should note that all of the information you will

learn through eBay University can be found on the

website – for free. However, understanding that free

information isn’t always easy. eBay University will

teach you how to open a seller’s account, how to

conduct research and create listings, how to improve

listings for greater success, how to integrate Paypal

with eBay, how to monitor your auctions, and how to

complete transactions.

Once you’ve finished the Selling Basics course, you

are ready for the ‘Beyond the Basics’ course. This

advanced course will teach you how to start and

grow an eBay business, how to choose and create

listing formats that sell, how to use all of the eBay

resources, how to market your business, how to

pack and ship your items, and much more. Both

courses are reasonably priced, and well worth the

short amount of time that it takes to complete

Increase Your eBay Profits Without Relying on

eBay!

While it is possible to earn a full time living on eBay,

it is a mistake to depend solely on eBay for your

income. You could be using your eBay auctions to

generate a huge amount of business for other

products and services! Many people, however,

fail to fully utilize eBay’s resources to this end.

eBay has over 100 million members, and they

gained those members by continually running major

marketing campaigns. Essentially, they do your

marketing for you. But you have to help yourself as

well. The key is to drive people to your auction page,

which in turn can be used to drive traffic to your

website.

You can sell many different items on your website,

including items that are up for auction at eBay! This

is a fabulous way to earn income that does not rely

on eBay auctions. You can easily accept website

payments with a Paypal account, so there is no

need for an expensive merchant account!

You are not allowed to include the website address

of an outside website on your auctions – you are,

however, perfectly welcome to place a link to your

website on your eBay ‘About Me’ page. Invite your

bidders and potential bidders to view your about me

page, and watch the website traffic roll in!

eBay Scams – Steps to Take if You Have Been

Defrauded

eBay is a relatively safe marketplace. Unfortunately,

like most online marketplaces, it is vulnerable to

scams. eBay tries to keep instances of scams

occurring, but with more than 100 million members,

and approximately $40 million moving through the

site on a daily basis, this can be a little difficult.

Sometimes, scams occur.

If you have been scammed, there are certain steps

you need to follow to report the incident, and to try

to come to a resolution. If you paid for the item

through Paypal, the first step is to login to your

Paypal account and open up a dispute for the

payment. If you did not pay through Paypal, contact

your credit card company. In most cases, if you have

used one of these two cases, you will recover your

money.

The next step is to use eBay’s dispute process to

report the seller. This is specifically for items that

were not received, or items that were significantly

different than what was described in the auction.

eBay also has a purchase protection program to

further protect buyers. If a settlement cannot be

reached with the buyer, the next step is to make

an eBay buyer purchase protection claim.

Pros and Cons of Shopping on eBay

Are you a relatively new fan of online shopping? If you are, you may have not yet had the chance to examine eBay. Even if you have never shopped on eBay, there is a good chance that you already know exactly what it is. eBay is an online auction website that allows internet users to sell items that they own, but not longer need or want to have. This is what makes eBay the largest online market place, as just about anyone can buy or sell there. However, with just about anything else you find online, shopping on eBay has its pros and it cons.

One of the biggest pros to shopping on eBay is the large selection of products that you will have to choose from. You can find just about anything on eBay, within reason of course. It is not uncommon to find cars for sale, baby toys, clothing, home décor items, computers, gaming consoles, and much more. Items found on eBay can be purchased in either new or used conditions. It is also important to note that many eBay sellers end up selling the same or similar items. For you, this also enables you to compare prices; to get the best deals.

Another pro to shopping on eBay is that it is relatively easy to do. Once you have registered for a free account with eBay, you are able to start shopping on eBay. When shopping on eBay, you can easily find what you are looking for. In fact, that is another pro of shopping on eBay; the ease of finding what you want. With a simple eBay search or even an advanced search, you could find a number of products that fit the description as to what you are looking for. By viewing those items, you can then decide if you want to purchase them or not.

Speaking of making purchases on eBay, you will also find that it is easy to do. As stated above, eBay allows internet users to post items for sale that they no longer need or want. While still following eBay’s rules, these sellers have a little bit of flexibility, such as how much money they want to charge for their products, as well as what methods of payment they accept. Although some eBay sellers are limited on the methods of payment that they accept, you will find that most are fairly flexible. For instance, common forms of accepted payments of eBay include PayPal, money orders, and personal checks; making it easy and safe to buy on eBay.

Although there are a number of pros to shopping on eBay, it is also important to mention the cons, as there are some of those as well. One of the biggest cons or downsides to shopping on eBay is that eBay is home to a number of scammers. While eBay works hard to eliminate these scams and shield buyers, like you, from them, there are some that get past security. With that in mind, if you proceed with caution, you should be able to safely shop eBay, without any problems. The few eBay scams that you will want to be on the lookout for involves sellers that advertise they have products that they don’t really have, sellers who claim products are in excellent condition when they are not, and others along those lines.

In connection with eBay scams, another downside to eBay is that just about anyone can become an eBay seller. This means that someone who has every intention of taking your money, but not delivering a product can register for an account with eBay and start selling. Of course, eBay catches onto these sellers pretty quickly and, most of the time, their accounts are disabled. With keeping that in mind, you just need to watch who you do business with. Be on the lookout for any sellers with a large number of negative feedback ratings or sellers who are new to eBay.

As you can see, there are a number of pros and cons to doing your shopping with eBay. For the most part, most eBay buyers have a positive experience with eBay. If you watch what you are doing, namely what you choose to buy and from whom, you should also be able to have a positive experience on eBay; one that will likely bring you back for more shopping.