Jim Cockrum
Why Listen to what Jim has to say about Internet Marketing?
Over 100,000 already do…
Jim Cockrum has been selling on eBay and the Internet since 1997. He’s sold multiple millions of dollars of products and services and has been helping others start successful eBay and online businesses since 2000. He earns his living from the Internet and he works full-time educating others on how to run successful Internet and eBay businesses.His free newsletter “Creative eBay Selling” is read by over 100,000 subscribers. He has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur Magazine, eBay radio, and in various news articles. He has been interviewed as a guest on several radio programs as an eBay business expert and has taught multiple seminars on eBay success. He is currently best known for his all time best selling eBay success eBook titled “The Silent Sales Machine Hiding on eBay” that has been read by more people than any other eBay related eBook on the web. It is constantly being updated and has been a top seller on clickbank.com since 2002 and is loved by creative eBay sellers around the world. See Jim’s other books here.
As parents of five, Jim and his wife Andrea stay very busy with family activities. Three of thier children are from International adoptions, although if you asked them which ones, they’d probably tell you they forgot! As a parent of an Internationally adopted child myself, I am in awe of their family and I fully understand.
Jim has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur Magazine, eBay radio, and in various news articles. He has proven himself in the Internet Marketing world and has built several successful websites.
Please visit them for more information about Jim, his products and services:
Creative Internet Income Strategies - My Silent Team
Silent Sales Machine Hiding on eBay
Turn Auction Traffic Into Cash
3 MUST Haves For Your Auction Listings
1. About Me page
Did you know that Ebay gives each of its sellers their own website? This is an incredible tool that many sellers overlook. Bidders want to know who they are ordering merchandise from and your Ebay About Me page is a way to communicate this information to them. Everyone uses their About Me page differently. Some have pictures of their families and discuss their personal interests, while others use the page to define quality of goods and how they do their measurements. As you create your About Me page, consider this:
Identify with your audience or customer base. If you are selling children’s items, make your About Me page identify with other parents or grandparents. Moms love to buy from other moms… and as a seller, I love to sell to other moms. Identify yourself as a mom. Explain how you love quality items for your own children and only provide those items you would buy yourself.
Getting Too Personal? You have seen them… or maybe you have one! An About Me page that is all about the seller. I guess it makes sense to list that kind of information on an About “ME” page – but, remember, this is a powerful tool to increase sales. Buyers come to your About Me page to get an idea of who you are – but, they really want to know what kind of a seller you are. You want to identify with your customers, but, you also want to communicate what you can do for them.
Let your customers contact you. Be sure to include some sort of contact information on your about me page. If you have a website – great! Include a link. In a high tech world, customers appreciate knowing they can contact someone they are doing business with. If nothing else, be sure to include your email address.
Determine what will benefit your customer. If you are selling clothing, include a list of how you take measurements. Include details about how your ship your products. You may even want to include a few bullets about how you determine clothing quality. If your customer base is other moms, maybe a favorite recipe or spot remover tips.
Use your About Me site to make more money. A great place to include affiliate programs you are a part of is on your About Me page. Last I heard, ebay had over 20,000 new members a day – that is an incredible potential for traffic to your auctions and About Me page. Do you ever get frustrated by the number of hits or watchers you have on an item… but, low number of bids? Many of those people will take a peek at your About Me page even though they may not bid. You can generate even more sales from these folks – affiliate sales. Ebay allows you to have a list of “favorite links” on your About Me page – so, if you are a part of an affiliate program, be sure to list it here… and you will be on your way to rolling in even more dough!
In case you missed it, I just got my eBook, Secrets to Profitable Auctions – List like the Pro’s, listed on Clickbank. This means that if you are signed up with clickbank (it is free), you can earn 40% of every sale you make of my eBook. Click here to find out more.
2. Power of Your Title
Your auction title is one of the MOST important elements of listing your auction. If you are missing any pertinent information in your title, your auction will not show up when potential bidders run their searches… and your auction becomes what I call a “hidden auction”.
When you are creating your title, think about your bidders and how they will search to find your item. How do you search? Do you search by size – 3? 3T? Do you enter in brand? Do you search for “cute” or “look”? Most buyers only enter in the criteria that is factual about the item (ie., size, style, type – pants, top, etc., and maybe brand). Although you want your title to flow nicely and stand out from the other listings, it is imperative that you include the information necessary to get the most search hits!
Here are a few tips from Here Comes The Stork:
> Always include the name brand (most important if it is a desirable name brand).
> Always include “NWT” in the title if it is new with tags
> Try to squeeze in the word “NEW” if it is new, because not everyone, especially new Ebayers, are familiar with “NWT.”
> Include the size of your item in your title
> If there are different ways to list a size, squeeze in as many as possible.
Leave spaces between words. If there aren’t spaces, then none of the keywords will work.
> Do you have something that is size 6-12 months? Try writing “6-9-12” in your title, so that people searching 6-9 and those searching 9-12 will both pull up your auction.
> If you are listing something from a certain line, like Gymboree or Baby Lulu line, make sure to include it in your title. People do search for specific items from specific lines.
> Use all your space. If, and only if, you have included every searchable word that applies (NWT, BRAND NAME, SIZE, HOLIDAY, NR…) You can add interest words like “SO CUTE!”
Another technique for creating an excellent title is to search for the same item you are going to list on Ebay. For example, let’s say you have an adorable Baby Gap sundress with flowers embroidered on it. Run a search for “Baby Gap dress” and make sure you select “completed items”. You want to search only the auctions that have closed so you can get an accurate view of how the auctions ended. See what comes up. You can narrow your search by adding “embroidered” or “floral” and see what you get. Select, “view by highest price” – this will order the search results from highest price to lowest price. Look for an item that is similar to yours with a high ending bid. Click on it and study the auction. If there were multiple bids on the item and it got to a good price, see what you can glean and apply to your listing. Pay special attention to the title, category listed in, and starting price. Use their success as a template for your own!
3. Pricing
“How do I determine the auction starting price?”
This is the big question isn’t it?
A few things to consider when thinking about pricing… First of all, research! I ALWAYS look on Ebay for similar auctions to see how they are listed. The easiest way to do this is to type in (using the previous example) “Baby Gap Dress” in the search field. After it gives the search results, select “highest priced items” and see what is getting the most bids. You may be surprised by what you see!
Here is the strategy I use when considering price. If I KNOW the item is a hot, high demand item, I will start the auction at $.01 – yep! One cent! Try it a few times… the penny auctions get bidders because they attract the attention. If the item is hot and in demand, let the bidders make the price sky-rocket! I have seen auctions for the SAME item have completely different results because of pricing – in fact, I see this all the time! One auction will have started at $.01 and end at $32. The other will have started at $29.99 and not have gotten one bid! Test it out a bit – you may get addicted to those penny auctions like a lot of sellers do!
If I am not sure the item is going to do well, I will list it for the minimum I want for the item. This way, I am happy if I get just one bid
Although there are many things to consider when listing your auctions, implementing the tips mentioned above will get you started on the right track and potentially increase your bidding… and that means more profits!
Jennifer Hunt wants you to have a successful eBay business. If you’re ready to make money on eBay, check out her Secrets to Profitable Auctions Ebook and be sure to sign up for her free e-course about maximizing exposure to your ebay auctions.
The Potential of Your Ebay About Me Page
Did you know that Ebay gives each of its sellers their own website? This is an incredible tool that many sellers overlook. Bidders want to know who they are ordering merchandise from and your Ebay About Me page is a way to communicate this information to them. Everyone uses their About Me page differently. Some have pictures of their families and discuss their personal interests, while others use the page to define quality of goods and how they do their measurements.
As you create your About Me page, consider this:
• Identify with your audience or customer base. If you are selling children’s items, make your About Me page identify with other parents or grandparents. Moms love to buy from other moms… and as a seller, I love to sell to other moms. Identify yourself as a mom. Explain how you love quality items for your own children and only provide those items you would buy yourself.
• Getting Too Personal? You have seen them… or maybe you have one! An About Me page that is all about the seller. I guess it makes sense to list that kind of information on an About “ME” page – but, remember, this is a powerful tool to increase sales. Buyers come to your About Me page to get an idea of who you are – but, they really want to know what kind of a seller you are. You want to identify with your customers, but, you also want to communicate what you can do for them.
• Let your customers contact you. Be sure to include some sort of contact information on your about me page. If you have a website – great! Include a link. In a high tech world, customers appreciate knowing they can contact someone they are doing business with. If nothing else, be sure to include your email address.
• Determine what will benefit your customer. If you are selling clothing, include a list of how you take measurements. Include details about how your ship your products. You may even want to include a few bullets about how you determine clothing quality. If your customer base is other moms, maybe a favorite recipe or spot remover tips.
• Use your About Me site to make more money. A great place to include affiliate programs you are a part of is on your About Me page. Last I heard, ebay had over 20,000 new members a day – that is an incredible potential for traffic to your auctions and About Me page. Do you ever get frustrated by the number of hits or watchers you have on an item… but, low number of bids? Many of those people will take a peek at your About Me page even though they may not bid. You can generate even more sales from these folks – affiliate sales. Ebay allows you to have a list of “favorite links” on your About Me page – so, if you are a part of an affiliate program, be sure to list it here… and you will be on your way to rolling in even more dough!
Be careful not to underestimate the value of your Ebay About Me page. Many bidders are cautious and want to know all they can about the person/company they are buying from… provide them with the information they desire – invest in them, and they will invest in you.
Jennifer Hunt wants you to have a successful eBay business. If you’re ready to make money on eBay, check out her Secrets to Profitable Auctions Ebook and be sure to sign up for her free e-course about maximizing exposure to your ebay auctions.
Keep Your Customers From Shopping Around
Not too long ago, I read an article that was very fascinating… it was one of those things that I read in passing and didn’t quite think about how it could impact the way I do business until later.
It was talking about how customers are getting more comfortable with buying online… nothing new here. In fact, this is great news for eBay sellers because more comfortable buyers can translate into more sales, right? Wrong.
The article went on to explain the trends they are seeing with these more comfortable shoppers… like shopping around. This study pointed out that the more comfortable people are buying online – the more they shop around for the best deal. The competition just got more fierce.
Where online retailers (and resellers) use to have to just convince customers/shoppers to buy… now, we have to convince these shoppers to buy from us. We have to give them a reason why our items are better than the competition. They have discovered that they have choices – we have to help them understand why they want to choose our products… or our services… or our information.
As you can see, this can have a profound impact on how eBay sellers do business. If we have a good in-demand product but the customer is shopping around… that is even more of a reason to be sure our listings are all they can be!
The Auction Overhaul is designed to do just this… It is everything you need to give your listings a good kick in the pants. You don’t just get a list of things to check off — with Auction Overhaul you will get your hands on tools to do your very own ‘Do-It-Yourself’ auction critique.
Look at Skip McGrath said about the Auction Overhaul package…
“I just finished looking over your material and I am really impressed with the quality and the information.” ~ Skip McGrath (www.skipmcgrath.com)
Here is what is included:
** Auction Overhaul Workbook
** Report: 10 Mistakes to Avoid
** Report: 1079 Words That Sell Like Crazy
** Report: Descriptive Phrases
** Training Video: How to use photo editing software
** BONUS: Product Descriptions pack
Separately, this package would cost over $130… but, as a package, I have discounted it to $67 (saving you over 50 bucks) –
Click here to learn more about the Auction Overhaul
Jenni Hunt
Jenni Hunt has been successful with turning her eBay hobby into a real business with real profits. She spends hours every week researching trends of what children’s items are selling well on eBay and shares that information with her HuntedTreasure and MyToyGuide members. You might know her from the popular Holiday Toy Guide that has been published annually since 2004. Although she specializes in researching trends with selling children’s items - many of the principles she teaches can be applied to other markets.
She is a stay at home mom who decided to leave her high tech marketing position when her first child was born in 1999. Jenni enjoys applying her marketing experience to her eBay business and has figured out many strategies for producing profit from it. In fact, she has consistently doubled her profits every year since starting her eBay business in 2003. She has a passion for helping other eBay sellers do the same by introducing them to the idea of internet marketing and moving beyond just selling auctions.
Visit Jenni’s sites below:
Auction Overhaul - EXTREME MAKEOVER: Auction Edition
Are your competitors getting all the bids? Many sellers aren’t aware of the common mistakes they are making with their listings and they are sending their bidders to their competition. Perhaps it’s time for an Auction Overhaul!
Secrets to Profitable Auctions Ebook
More from Jenni:
Keep Your Customers from Shopping Around
Are your eBay sales pulling in as much as they should?
Do you want free, instant access to 59,624,000 new customers this month?
If you are a small to medium size eBay seller, you already have what it takes to double your online sales. And I’m not talking about selling on eBay - let me explain…
Former eBay Instructor, Steve Lindhorst, has just released a new ebook - “Selling on ‘the River’ - The eBay Seller’s Guide to Making Money on Amazon.com” with video tutorials
- Are your eBay sales better than they were a year ago?
- Have you wished there was another place to sell your stuff?
This is not a “bash eBay” ebook - it just shows you how you can maximize your profits by not relying only on eBay for your sales.
Find out more about what I’m talking about here!
Hot Wholesale Tips You MUST Follow!
Written by SaleHoo.com © All Rights Reserved
1. Thorough market research is the foundation for success
Meticulous market research doubles your chances of making a tidy profit from the wholesale goods you buy. Start off with a list of 5-10 different ideas. Then check completed listings searches on eBay to see what the item generally sells for and the sell-through rate for each one. Use Yahoo’s free keyword tool http://inventory.overture.com to find out how many people are searching Yahoo for your product per month. You can double this figure for Google. Add the numbers together. If there are ten thousand or more searches per month for an item, this indicates a healthy market.
2. Calculate the REAL cost of your item
One big reason why people fail at the wholesale game is that they don’t do the numbers. In other words, they don’t treat wholesale like a real business. To accurately discover your true profit potential on an item, you need to add the shipping cost and insurance, eBay fees (or equivalent for other advertising), Paypal and/or credit card fees (these can be a real profit killer), packaging costs and labor involved packaging, and any storage costs to the cost of your item.
3. Verify ALL suppliers found on the Internet
Getting caught out by scammers is a common stumbling block for people new to wholesale. If you are searching for suppliers off your own bat (rather than using a wholesale directory like SaleHoo), it is CRITICAL to check authenticity before making a purchase.
Always take the time to:
- Check that the website gives a full business name and a registration number.
- Check for a legitimate contact telephone number - this will involve ringing the number. Do not accept a mobile phone number alone. All real companies should have a land line number.
- Go to http://www.whois.sc/ and search for the name of the website. A legitimate company will have a domain expiration date in several years time. Most legitimate companies reserve their domain names for 3-5 years or more at a time.
- AVOID suppliers who won’t agree to use secure payment methods such as Escrow.com, Credit Card and Paypal Verified.
- Still uncertain? Ask other sellers what their experiences have been with the company you are interested in on eBay forums.
4. Chinese suppliers give the competitive edge
Chinese suppliers are an essential source for anyone wishing to make money selling online. Manufacturing costs are currently extremely low in China, thus it is the secret to gaining a competitive edge. Dealing with China does have risks, but these can be alleviated if you place a small order first, use secure payment methods, get shipping insurance for 110% of the cost of the items, and use suppliers with a good reputation.
5. A common stumbling block for liquidation and closeout
Always obtain the reasons for liquidation and closeout sales before you buy. Liquidation and Closeout sales can be a fantastic source for cheap products, but you usually have to buy by the pallet load and these can sometimes include broken or returned goods that aren’t in saleable condition. To be safe, ask specifically whether broken items and returns are included before you buy.
6. Negotiate on shipping and save
Shipping economically is critical to importing success. Profits can easily get swamped in shipping costs, so take time to get a good deal on shipping. If possible, negotiate CIF (Cost, Insurance & Freight) or DDP (Delivery, duty paid) shipping terms with your supplier as this takes much of the risk - not to mention organization - off your shoulders. FOB (Freight on Board) is the most common shipping term, but don’t be afraid to negotiate for better.
7. Drop shipping - can you really afford it?
Drop shipping sounds great in theory - someone taking care of packaging, wrapping and postage - but it can be difficult to profit from this method. Think about it, drop shipping can add another $2-10 to your costs - sometimes even 10% of the cost of the item. By the time you add in eBay fees and any other costs, you may find it is not worth it.
8. Warehouse storage checklist
Asset management is the most important consideration when locating warehousing to store your items. Believe it or not, items can go missing while in storage, causing massive disruption for you. When comparing warehouses, ask questions specifically on how you will authorize the release of stock (by phone or fax?), what will happen if you need to cancel an order, frequency of damage claims, dust management, and whether there is an area you can use to photograph items.
9. Powerseller wealth
It’s a fact - eBay powersellers are able to command higher prices for their items than ordinary eBay sellers. To get the best profits on your wholesale items, you need to aim to get and maintain powerseller status.
10. Growth with a website and eBay store
The way to increase profits from wholesale is to build your own website and/or open an eBay store. This allows you to cross sell items plus it also makes it easier for people to find what they are looking for. For example, if you sell shoes, then customers can easily navigate to browse all black shoes in size 9 and so on. Always include a sentence at the bottom of your descriptions encouraging visitors to check out your other listings - most people will.
If you are looking for genuine and trusted wholesale suppliers then look no further than SaleHoo! SaleHoo’s directory contains over 4000 drop ship, wholesale and closeout suppliers that are independently reviewed and rated by eBay Powersellers and Industry experts. SaleHoo also purchases off them and reviews each supplier in depth afterwards.
About the Author: SaleHoo is one of the fastest growing product sourcing portals on the internet. It contains a database of drop ship, wholesale, closeout and manufacturing suppliers offering thousands of product suppliers to consumers! Located at http://www.SaleHoo.com, visitors are allowed to sign up for unlimited and lifetime access to the completely searchable database of products and suppliers. The database is regularly updated, ensuring that the latest retail products are always available for purchase and SaleHoo carries the BBB Reliability Seal!
What Not to Sell on eBay
Written by SaleHoo.com © All Rights Reserved
1. Items under $10
It sounds like a great idea - after all, everyone likes a bargain don’t they? But items that sell for under $10 have one big problem: Shipping. It’s quite likely that the shipping for the item will cost more than the item itself and this can be very off-putting to buyers. For example, if the item costs $4.50 and shipping costs $6, the total cost for the item is $10.50. If the buyer can purchase the item at their local store for $8, then this suddenly becomes a much better deal. For small items and accessories, the way to get around this problem is by grouping the items together, such as sets of 6 golf-balls or 5 tea towels.
2. Products everyone else are selling
Many sellers think that the best way to get started on eBay is to sell items that everyone else is selling. Surely those super hot items such as ipods, cell phones, psps and so on will be a quick route to riches? Well, no. The sellers who are already selling these items are not only more established on eBay - and thus familiar to and trusted by buyers - but they will be able to buy wholesale stock in larger bulks lots than you will, so their prices will always be better. Thus it will almost certainly be very difficult for you to make a profit in a market that is already well supplied.
3. Things you love…but no-one else does
Hobbies can be a great way of making money, but only if plenty of other people are interested in them too.
Another scenario is when you find a product that you think is absolutely wonderful and could be the next best thing…but no-one seems interested in buying it. Oh well you think, it’s only short term, eventually they’ll learn about my item and start flocking to buy it. Ah, no they won’t. It’s lonely work trying to educate people on the benefits of a product all on your own. As fabulous as the product might be, it’s nigh-on impossible to start a trend on your own. To make money from a trend, you need magazines and newspapers, word of mouth and television to do some of the work for you.
4. Difficult items to ship - e.g. fragile china and plants
Now I’m not saying that these are bad items to sell altogether. Many sellers do very well from these items. But I don’t suggest you sell such difficult items when you are first starting out. Both these items have an above-average shipping risk, particularly if not packed properly. As a new seller, any negative feedback you receive at this early stage could be especially damaging to your career.
5. Very large items
Thinking of starting with furniture or pianos? Unless you already have experience selling and shipping these items, then it might be wise to start with something smaller. Shipping such large items is a major operation. Not only that, these items will sell less often than mid-priced items as they won’t attract the same number of impulse buyers.
About the Author: SaleHoo is one of the fastest growing product sourcing portals on the internet. It contains a database of drop ship, wholesale, closeout and manufacturing suppliers offering thousands of product suppliers to consumers! Located at http://www.salehoo.com, visitors are allowed to sign up for unlimited and lifetime access to the completely searchable database of products and suppliers. The database is regularly updated, ensuring that the latest retail products are always available for purchase and SaleHoo carries the BBB Reliability Seal!
Join SaleHoo Today for their Special Startup Offer!
Best Selling eBay eBook
Back around 2004 Jim Cockrum first released his ebook, Silent Sales Machine Hiding on eBay. Since it was first released it has sold like crazy. Why? Because, it’s that good!
After much editing, creative input and long hours of hard work Jim Cockrum has released the latest and greatest version (version 6) of this best selling ebook.
If you don’t have this ebook yet, you need to get it now! There is too much great information in this ebook to miss it!
This is a definite must read for any eBay seller!
This eBook really IS that good!
Get it here
Turn Auction Traffic to Cash
Top selling eBay expert and author wants to show you…
“How to easily turn your auction traffic (visitors) into a lifetime stream of income.”
Most people think it’s hard to have success with an online business. What’s your excuse?
The problem is that most people haven’t seen eBay.com the way I do…yet.
THIS BOOK SHOWS YOU HOW! Every visitor that your auctions get is a potential lifetime automated source of income for you. Not all visitors buy, but they are all priceless!
It’s a simple concept! One of the most visited websites in the world is eBay.com. ANYONE can learn the basics of eBay in about ten minutes and be in business the next day. With millions of customers already registered and 80,000 per day jumping on eBay.com for the first time every day you don’t have to worry about getting traffic - the traffic is swarming.
-
Sponsors
eBay General Announcements- Category Updates
- A Message from Dinesh Lathi -- 50% off 1 and 3-day Auction-style listings in January
- Coming Soon - Changes to Item Specifics in Video Game Systems
- Join your host Griff (Jim Griffith), Dean of eBay Education, for this week's Best of eBay Radio and Ask Griff Shows
- Consumer Product Safety Commission - Children's Items Recalled This Week
