eBay Talk

Your Guide to Web Hosting

2007-11-23T00:05:00.000+08:00

Planning to find a web hosting plan for your blog but just can’t decide the best deal out of the thousands? There are too many web host companies offering almost the same webhosting plans? If this has troubled you, it troubles everyone else too, but webhostingchoice.com has the solution for you.

By consolidating hundreds of web hosting companies in one place, webhostingchoice.com promises to deliver you the best search-and-compare portal for you to compare web hosting plans of your choice. When you enter the site, you will see a quick web host search box from where you can start searching and comparing the recommended web host plans by simply keying in your basic requirements like Monthly Cost, Setup Fee, Diskspace and Bandwidth. For example, I did a test search to find the best deal that charged a maximum of $9.00 per month with zero setup fee, it returned with 675 results of the relevant web hosting plans, and webhostingchoice.com recommended HostGator among all of them. Of course, there’s also an advanced search option available if you want to compare some other features.

Besides allowing you to compare webhosting plans, webhostingchoice.com also provides a learning center that offers some essential guides to web hosting, I found the Dedicated Server guide very useful and informative especially when I’m planning to get a dedicated server soon.

There aren’t many easy-to-use websites like webhostingchoice.com, it is undeniably one of the best searchable web hosting directories that offers free guides and tips to finding the most suitable web host. The next time you wanna find an answer to web hosting, let the folks over at webhostingchoice.com help you out.

Too many credit cards?

2007-10-28T11:11:00.000+08:00

Nowadays, we are inundated with credit card offers everywhere we turn, it is no surprise that most people hold more than one credit card. Not all of us are financial experts and thus it's not easy to manage a credit card account if you don't understand how credit card works, not to mention handling several credit cards at one time. Why not consider a credit card consolidation? Mint credit cards from The Royal Bank of Scotland are able to offer help.

Mint credit card is currently offering a 0% balance transfer for 13 months, subject to a balance transfer fee of 2.5%. This unique card comes with a wide range of features and benefits that are significantly worth considering. By using Mint credit card from now until 1 May 2008, you can enjoy up to 56-day interest-free period on purchases. And what's more, there's no annual fee ever, you can also get a complimentary supplementary card for your loved one, even for a friend. Other necessary features and benefits like online statement, online fraud protection, chip and pin security and 24-hour customer service are all included.

The maximum credit limit you can get on a Mint Classic Mc2 card is up to £7,500. However, the card is only for UK residents aged 18 or over, with a minimum annual income of £10,000. Too bad, if the card were offered in my country, I would have gotten one and started consolidating all my credit cards. So, for those who are eligible, what are you waiting for? Go grab one today and stop paying for more interest.

All you need to know about craigslist.org

2007-10-10T00:01:00.000+08:00

Sure, eBay is undoubtedly one of the most popular sites on the Internet today by allowing people from all corners of the earth to auction their belongings on the Internet to earn some cash. However, there are other lesser known sites that are probably just as important out there as they too would help to improve our experience in the online world. For example there are certain "databases" around the Internet that catalogue a huge amount of information that helps us find what we want much faster. One such site would definitely be Craigslist.

For those of you who haven't heard of it, you obviously haven't been using the Internet long enough. Just like eBay, it was founded back in year 1995 - more than a decade ago. It basically catalogues a huge amount of information on the net and keeps them all very organised. Craigslist is essentially (as Wikipedia describes it) a centralized network of online communities, featuring free classified advertisements (with jobs, internships, housing, personals, for sale/barter/wanted, services, community, gigs, resume, and pets categories) and forums on various topics.

What's interesting to note is that Craigslist is in fact principally owned by a few companies, and among them is actually eBay, which is believed to own around one quarter of Craiglist. Considering how the revenue for the site in year 2006 was rumoured to be around 25 million dollars, it's not hard to tell why eBay would decide to purchase part of the company as well. It has become an extremely important and prominent site, even though it's surrounded by millions and billions of other sites.

For those who are interested in finding out more about Craigslist, I would highly recommend checking out a few sites out there which offer interesting information about Craigslist. One such site would be Craigslist Info (http://craigslistinfo.info/) which not only documents a large portion of the company's history, but also offers plenty of valuable tips about Craigslist. It offers information on simple things such as how to use the site in the first place to the probably more "advanced" features of Craigslist such as dating, housing, marketing, making money and even advertising on the site itself.

Craigslist has been around almost as long as the Internet has been and it's obviously not going away anytime soon. For those of you who have not heard of it and do not know what it's about, I would suggest that you check out Craigslist Info as soon as possible to find out all about it as the craigslist information it contains is much more extensive than one would find on a simple blog post. All in all, Craigslist Info will probably answer most of the queries you have about this decade old database site.

New to internet marketing or still trying to get it to work for you?

2007-09-02T03:07:00.001+08:00

You’ve probably created a decent website, submitted it to major search engines and hoped to make it the envy of the online world. Weeks go by, but there’s hardly a visitor to even see what you’re selling. How do you react to that? You start to throw in thousands of the same keyword into the meta tag, title tag and other closely related onpage optimization factors, hoping to rank well in the search engines. Again, you don’t see the results after a couple of weeks, only to discover that you get banned by the search engines for keyword spamming. You finally give up and conclude that selling on the internet isn’t your cup of tea. Does this sound familiar to you?

In order to get the satisfactory results, one website invariably needs a marketing strategy called Search Engine Optimization (SEO). SEO is the process of improving a website so that it ranks well in the search engines for a specific keyword or keyword phrase. SEO involves onpage optimization and offpage optimization, and it’s not as simple as we think.Therefore, we should assign the task to the internet advertising company and let the professional do the job for you. These great guys over at HTPCompany.com are able to offer their expertise.

HTP Company is a highly experienced internet marketing and SEO Positioning Company that offers the best quality consulting and solutions to help increase your traffic and grow your website. Although they charge for consulting, you can be assured of the value for money. From the available packages, you can choose to have only the ‘onpage optimization’, but why not beat your competitors and rank top in the search engines? You should also go for the ‘offpage optimization’ solutions, for example to buy text links. Apart from that, HTP Company also offers other Search Engine Marketing (SEM) strategies like ‘paid placement’ and ‘paid inclusion’. A tracking system is also included as part of the deal allowing you to easily monitor your results.

All in all, HTP Company is one of the impeccable internet advertising companies out there. You should start giving your website traffic a boost and HTP Company can help you accomplish it with consummate ease. If you haven’t a clue where to begin, then give these guys a call at 805-493-4450 today for detailed professional consulting and start seeing results shortest time possible.

New eBay homepage

2007-08-29T22:14:00.000+08:00

eBay has finally rolled out its new homepage. The new landing page is a fresh look giving you a simplified interface allowing quick access to 7 key sections, namely:

Recent Activites
Go right to your favorite finds and searches
My eBay at a Glance
Get a bird’s eye view of everything you’ve got going on eBay
Shop by Category
Shop your favorite eBay categories here
Start Shopping
Look here first to inspire your next winning adventure
Join the Fun
Tips to boost your winning ways and Connect to your eBay buddies
Meet Our Family
Visit other eBay companies
From Our Sellers
Seller’s featured items

The design is one of my favorite eBay designs in recent years. In the past, eBay homepage looked so much of a commercial site, but the current design delivers a community site feeling - a clever move by eBay. With its new landing page design, eBay is expecting to bring in more new members, be it sellers or buyers. Ahem! Why not reduce the fees too?

If you haven't seen the new eBay homepage, head over to eBay and have a closer view. Happy eBay'ing.

Relocation.com for all of your moving needs

2007-08-23T23:32:00.000+08:00

Once in a while, many people would definitely like to move to a new house, most of the time to experience a new environment and atmosphere. Undoubtedly however, many are often daunted by the task itself as it's definitely no small feat to completely move to a completely new environment. There are so many things to do, from things like moving your stuff to moving your vehicles. While moving is not an easy task, sites like Relocation.com has you covered.

It offers you help in terms of planning ahead and considering all the minute details to ensure that you are able to make a smooth transition to your new home. When the time comes, Relocation professionals will be able to help you make all the critical decisions and of course aid you with the task of moving itself.

For those of you worried about your vehicles, auto shipping is also available as a service so that those of you who want to continue using your current vehicle may do so even if you're moving across to a completely foreign land. Such people might also be interested in checking out international movers who are able to help you seamlessly move into a completely new country without much trouble at all. Being professionals, they'll be able to understand how to make the best decisions possible for you.

All in all, while moving to a new home is not an easy task, such services which can be easily found online have really made all the difference to people who are scratching their heads wondering how they should go about moving. Definitely check out the site if you plan on moving to a new house as it'd be a lot easier if you had some help.

* This is a sponsored post *

Princess Diana Gown for sale on eBay

2007-08-18T15:07:00.000+08:00

The WE Television Network is auctioning off a gown worn by the late Princess Diana on eBay. This elegant dress designed by Catherine Walker of London, was originally worn by Princess Diana to the Cannes Film Festival in 1987 and to the opening of Miss Saigon in 1989. In 1997, just a month before Princess Diana’s death, WE tv purchased the dress and started to display it along with other gowns purchased from auction in a six-city tour to raise money for the Princess of Wales Memorial Fund.

All proceeds of the sale will go to America’s Promise Alliance, a national non-profit organization committed to improving the lives of disabled children. At a starting bid of $125,000 , the dress is expected to fetch over $1 million. Although at the time of this writing, there’s no bid yet, the gown is already worth a great deal of money.

This classic event dress of Chiffon is preserved in excellent vintage condition. According to the auction listing description here, the dress will arrive professionally cleaned, wrapped in acid-free paper and muslin, and packed in a white box. This auction listing is limited to pre-approved bidders or buyers only and it is going to end on Aug-22-07 17:00:00 PDT.

The beautiful gown will eventually be sold and the money will go to the charity. I truly believe that is exactly what Pricess Diana would have wanted.

Share your auctions on RSVPBUY.com

2007-08-18T00:23:00.000+08:00

Not too long ago, I suggested you promote your eBay listings on RSVPBUY.com here. For those of you who have not seen that post or have not heard of this site, RSVPBUY describes itself as "a syndicated International Social Publication" that will allow you to "share your upcoming events, online auctions" in order to "discover a new audience". Thus, allowing you to advertise basically anything from an eBay auction to a local event you might be holding. RSVPBUY allows you to get the word out about such things.

New to auction marketing or still trying to get it to work for you? You should then try the free service offered by RSVPBUY.com. It's really quite simple to get the word out about your eBay listing on RSVPBUY.com. One is able to set it as a "private" or "public" auction so as to allow or disallow the public from viewing the particular auction. Also, just enter the date of your auction or event, be it a wedding, the starting up of a business and thus the need for a partner, your band doing a concert in the area.... Absolutely anything at all, the list just goes on forever. There's no limit as to the type of auction or event you would want to advertise, as long as it is family friendly. While the last post on this same site was done just a few weeks ago, I'm glad to say that it has recently introduced several updates that will undoubtedly make it a more attractive site to use.

For example, one of the latest and major upgrades they made was the ability to add video comments. In the past, anyone could comment on any of the events, but only with text. Now, at the comments page, one is able to add an embed video comment code from either YouTube, MySpaceTV, Flurl or LiveVideo. This makes for all the more interesting content on the website even if it's just the comments. It considerably makes RSVPBUY a much more interactive and impeccable website.

All in all, RSVPBUY.com is still a relatively new site, but with an extremely unique feature: it gives you the ability to get the word out about your latest and greatest event. For anyone out there who wants to attract more attention about their eBay auction or website, RSVPBUY would be an extremely useful site for them as well. If you want to promote your eBay auction listing, head on over to RSVPBUY.com, get the feel of the website and start sharing your auctions today.

*This is a sponsored post*

Free Webinar for eBay Sellers

2007-08-16T22:20:00.000+08:00

The Professional eBay Sellers Alliance (PeSA) is bringing you a FREE one-hour webinar, "Benefits of Cause-Marketing: Put the Power of the Ribbon to Work for You!", on Thursday August 16th at 2pm ET (11am PT/eBay Time). In the webinar, Kristin Cunningham (General Manager, eBay Giving Works) and David Yaskulka (Vice President, Product Marketing, Kompolt) are going to give you enough information about:

How to differentiate your retail brand
How to attract new customers and improve customer loyalty
How to leverage eBay cause marketing to build your multi-channel retail brand

Apart from that, you can also expect the most sought-after special guest Elizabeth Bennett of Africa Direct, a Platinum PowerSeller and winner of the 2007 eBay Community Hall of Fame award, sharing her valuable tips and expertise.

As a eBay seller, one always faces a struggle to maintain and improve the business. We are all in the same boat. Don't miss this golden opportunity. This money-can't-buy webinar is open to all eBay sellers. You can register it here. It's time to learn from the experts. I'll see you there.

Advance Restaurant Finance

2007-08-11T00:20:00.000+08:00

Do we eat to live or live to eat? Either way, everyone needs to eat still no matter how bad the economy is and hence, F&B seems to be the most stable and profitable business until today. However, running a restaurant requires huge working capital for renovation, kitchen wares, furniture etc. Not everyone has that amount of working capital available, as a result, a business loan is definitely required in order for the merchant to sustain in the competitive market. Nonetheless, getting a working capital loan isn’t as easy, but these guys at Advance Restaurant Finance are able to assist you with restaurant finance.

Advance Restaurant Finance, a licensed lender, specializes in short-term working capital loans for small to medium-sized merchants like restaurants and retailers. For those businesses with poor credit history, it’s not a barrier at all as Advance Restaurant Finance specializes in that too and they make getting business loan a breeze.

Check out Advance Restaurant Finance today and experience the ease of restaurant financing.

*This is a sponsored post*

50 Cent's Chrome Lamborghini sold on eBay

2007-08-10T01:40:00.000+08:00

A custom-chrome 2005 Lamborghini Murcielago was recently sold on eBay for $310,000. What?! $310,000 for a used Lamborghini Murcielago?! Yes, for the same price the buyer could have gotten a brand new 2007 Murcielago, but not all eBay buyers are bargain hunters, some of them just hunt for big name items.

This luxury convertible sports car is rumored to be owned by rapper 50 Cent. In the listing description here, it reads "This Murcielago has had one celebrity owner, it has been the subject of numerous magazine articles and has been on television on several occasions." Although we wouldn't know if the Murcielago was belong to 50 Cent, the same car was spotted as he was pulled over in New York. There are pictures of 50 Cent and his Murchielago in circulation too. Anyway, he must have gotten himself a new ride, good for him too.

Buying big name items seems to be of a lifestyle statement nowdays. So if you're looking for new eBay sources, selling celebrities' trash ain't a bad idea. Let's go search their trash bins. "Paparazzi, it's my turn, gimme that trash bin." *giggling*

I signed up for PPP!

2007-08-10T00:35:00.000+08:00

You may have noticed that I’ve been writing sponsored posts during the past few weeks. Yes, I signed up for PayPerPost. Before signing up for PayPerPost, I used to spend a lot of time and effort on Blogsvertise, Sponsored Reviews and many other similar blog advertising programs. I wasn’t really keen on PayPerPost ‘cause I thought it’s hard to get my blog approved on this top-notch advertising community. I was wrong. When I found out a housewife from my country, Malaysia, was one of the top earners earning 4 figures a month from PayPerPost, I was stunned. If she could do it, why not me?! I quickly signed up for PayPerPost without further hesitation and added this blog for approval. Within 2 business days, I managed to get the approval to write sponsored reviews or posts offered by PayPerPost.

PayPerPost emphasizes on blog ethics and being honest to our readers is what PayPerPost always encourages. Therefore, a disclosure is always required when you post a review. In other words, you are free to write or say whatever you want according to your genuine thoughts, PayPerPost has no restrictions on how you should say about an advertiser’s product or service. Whereas, other similar programs require you to give only positive reviews about an advertiser’s product or service.

After a month of blogging for PayPerPost, I just got to tell you that I love PayPerPost. The user interface of PayPerPost is neat, clean, user friendly and colorful! Unlike other similar programs, PayPerPost has the largest advertiser base, meaning that you don’t need to wait ages to get a writing offer. However, as writing for PayPerPost is getting competitive, thus you are required to complete a post within an hour after taking the opportunity. I used to spend days to complete posting for other get-paid-to-blog programs, but now I can complete it in an hour. This not only makes me feel competent, it also helps to improve my writing speed.

I wasn’t really active enough in the first month as my schedule was terribly tied up, but still I managed to rake in about USD84 for only 7 posts done in the first month. I have wasted too much time, I should have started earlier. I will continue to support PayPerPost and contribute my best. About the USD84 that I earned, I already received the payment from PayPerPost, and I happily spent it on a pair of designer sunglasses. Yay!

eBay alternative: Start selling on Facebook

2007-08-09T02:35:00.000+08:00

Do you have a Facebook account? If you don't, better go get one today. If you do, there's a good news for you, you can now start selling on Facebook already. Buy.com announced a new Facebook application on August 7, letting Facebook users to buy or sell their stuff on Facebook.

For those who do not know what Facebook is all about, Facebook is a free social networking website that connects your network of friends. By creating your profile on Facebook, you can exchange private or public messages and join groups of friends. However, the viewing of detailed profile data is restricted to users from the same group of friends. Facebook also provides a platform allowing anyone to create applications that interact with Facebook core features, and Garage Sale is the latest application launched by Buy.com to provide a new era of buying and selling online. Facebook users can now directly post their personal items for sale on their profile page and buy items from friends that you already know and trust. To help users get their hands on, Garage Sale provides two online video tutorials showing you how to buy and sell using Garage Sale, check out the tutorials here.

Garage Sale will gradually become one of the best eBay alternatives, as they only charge 5% commission for every completed sale, considering eBay fees are the biggest challenge to selling on eBay. However, critics say eBay will not be endangered by this new service, simply because sellers on Garage Sale can't access to big base of buyers like eBay do. Only their friends are able to view the listings and buyers are still likely to hop on to eBay to do a quick search on prices.

Nevertheless, Buy.com has provided us, eBay Sellers, a new eBay alternative. If eBay continues to hike the fees, Garage Sale will be our new home.

Protect Your Writing

2007-08-02T00:25:00.000+08:00

Take it from a blogger, it's not always easy to come up with things to write, and even when you do it's even harder to turn out a quality post or article. This is also true for many other people, be it teachers or even students in schools, everyone will have to write an article once in a while. Thus, when so much effort is put into it, one would rather not see it being passed off as another person's work. Such plagiarism is rampant today, especially with the internet making it all the much easier for others to copy your work. However, thanks to sites such as iPlagiarismCheck.com, such a crime can be prevented.

iPlagiarismCheck is a site which will check all forms of media, be it online or offline to ensure that plagiarism doesn't occur. Its user base of more than 2 million people are able to submit their documents and let iPlagiarismCheck take it from there. The site will ensure that your work is not copied by others through a few patented approaches, for example they check websites such as blogs, directories, caches, etc. Also, they check all forms of publications, be they hard or soft, as their software is able to check books, articles and even journals. Thus, they are obviously extremely meticulous in the way they go through other pieces of work to ensure that your article is protected. They go so far as to check for sentence structures and even paraphrasing to ensure that even subtle attempts at plagiarism will not escape. The patented algorithm iPlagiarismCheck uses is obviously extremely impressive.

Furthermore, the prices at which the site sells its services for is extremely affordable. They have kept in mind that many of their users would most probably be students, thus the starter package goes for only $5 which allows you to submit one document. The student package is only $20 and will allow the user to submit up to five documents, this would obviously be the perfect package for students. There is also the $35 advanced package and the $65 Super-Saver package which allows unlimited submissions for one whole year. Thus, no matter if you're an occasional writer or an avid one who loves to write everyday, iPlagiarismCheck will have the price point that suits you the best.

All in all, plagiarism is an extremely serious crime whereby culprits will face serious consequences such as heavy fines or even jail-time. However, with technology advancing at such a rapid rate, it's becoming increasingly easy for anyone to commit this crime. Hopefully, with sites such as iPlagiarismCheck, more people will be deterred from copying other's work.

*This post is sponsored by iPlagiarismCheck.com - Click here to visit us today!*

Obares, real estate resources

2007-07-28T16:40:00.000+08:00

Dealing with real estate can be a real pain for many of us who have no idea how to approach it. There are simply too many factors to consider when you start to deal with real estate, and most of us aren't inclined to try and understand it. One of the most troublesome things to do is to find the real estate that is up for sale in the first place. It might sound silly but having to try and find out such simple details might be a pain for some. However, sites such as Obares will make this a bit easier for some.

Obares gives you the best resources to help you find real estate in the United States of America to buy and sell. This includes the entire process of purchasing your new home right up to the day you move. Let's take for example the real estate in Decatur for sale by owner. You're instantly able to view certain details about the town such as the a picture of it on google maps and also the percentage of each race living there. All this will factor in to your ultimate decision of choosing a new home or building which you would like to purchase. Of course, on that same page it will list the apartments for sale as well as some real estate agents whom will be able to aid you in your search for a new home. There are also links to several important aspects of the city such as public schools and libraries, hospitals, churches and even movers in Decatur.

All in all, this site will definitely help many people who have a tough time deciding where they should move to. For those of you who are in this exact predicament, check this site out, it might prove useful for you.

Promote your eBay listings on RSVPBUY.com

2007-07-25T23:32:00.000+08:00

eBay has certainly made it a lot easer for almost anyone to sell an item online, be it a unique antique of some sort or an unopened product that you wish to sell, eBay will allow you to sell your item in the form of an auction. However, setting up the auction on eBay is the easy part, getting people to know about your auction is the tough part of selling on eBay. It's almost a certainty that there will be quite a few other auctions that are selling the same item as you are, so it won't be easy for people to notice yours. However, thanks to sites such as RSVPBUY.com, you are now able to easily promote your auction online in the form of a new "post" or even video on the site.

RSVPBUY.com is a site that was just set up recently and is still in beta stages. On the homepage, it describes itself as "a syndicated International Social Publication" that will allow you to "share your upcoming events, online auctions" to "discover your new audience". Basically, this site allows you to "advertise" your project, video, workshop, online auction, etc. In fact, you can make use of this site to promote anything you want for free including your eBay listings. At the time of this writing, the posts on the front page range from a dance camp to an online auction for a car. The possibilities are endless when it comes to what you want to promote on this site. You can even attach a video to your promotion to attract even more attention.

Hhhhmmmm..... Come to think about it there aren't many sites out there that will allow you to easily promote your event or auction for free so that it can gain more publicity. RSVPBUY currently has a very small user base, but as it grows and as more people hear about this site, it'll definitely become the perfect place to attract more visitors. This site is definitely on the rise and there are many other features that are yet to come. Thus, one should definitely watch out for this up and rising site.

*This is a sponsored post*

Sell dropship products with Shopster

2007-07-20T02:32:00.000+08:00

Selling dropship products on eBay is growing exponentially as more and more eBay sellers realise how much more convenient and profitable it is. Many dropship providers are beginning to enter this relatively new and lucrative market. Some have been major failures as most of them are scams. However, one the other side of the coin, you have relatively reliable dropship providers that seem to do everything right where others go wrong, and one of these dropship providers is undoubtedly Shopster.com.

Shopster’s dropship services allow you to sell easily on eBay or any other online auction sites without having to store the inventory. Being a competitive dropship provider, Shopster makes dropshipping a breeze. With their integration of eBay Turbo lister, you can export your entire dropship list to eBay compatible file format including images and full product descriptions with just few clicks away.

Shopster is not just a dropship provider, it also helps you create your own storefront on your own domain complete with dropship inventory and services. With only $29.95 a month, you will get a fully customizable storefront, you will get to choose the products you want to sell from the 700,000 products available, and the real draw is you set your own prices.

Shopster offers a free 7-day trial allowing you to access to the internet’s largest inventory of dropship products and test drive the ease of selling dropship products on eBay with the help of Shopster.

Planning to sell dropship products on eBay? Looking for a reliable dropship provider? Planning to have your own online store? Planning to move your eBay customers to your own online store? Planning to be the next Amazon? You should try Shopster. Sign up now for a 7 day free trial. No commitment, all the upside!

Spence Diamonds

2007-07-05T23:46:00.000+08:00

Marriage is probably one of the most important moments in a person's life, which is why everyone should cherish the moment and make it as special as possible. However, one also has to consider the proposal itself as that moment is equally special. One of the things that will definitely make this moment extremely unique is the perfect diamond. In such a case, Spence Diamonds will probably help any guy touch his fiancee's heart.

Spence Diamonds was founded in 1978 and has constantly been selling one of the most unique diamonds since then. It takes a different approach to selling diamonds, as they specialise only in diamond jewelry, thus ensuring that one is able to get the best quality diamonds possible. You can either buy diamonds through their online store, or through Spence stores which are welcoming and are a comfortable environment in which you can purchase the most suitable diamond for your fiancee. Furthermore, Spence Diamonds also offers a comprehensive purchase protection which includes a 45 day Return Policy, Loss Protection and a Lifetime Trade-up Policy.

While there are many diamond retailers out there now, by patronising Spence Diamonds, one can be guarenteed that he or she will not regret the purchase. If any guy out there is pondering over what he should do about his marriage proposal, he should definitely not give Spence Diamonds a miss.

eCrater - eBay Stores alternative

2007-06-20T23:19:00.000+08:00

Today, with eBay’s doubled fees, you have to give half of your profits to eBay in terms of fees. Not only that, Paypal’s fees also eat up a significant amount of your profit. Most eBay Stores Sellers also feel the chain wrapped around their throats, and to beat the competition – or simply to survive – they often lower their prices, they have to get some sales rather than none. eBay’s continuously fee hikes have significantly pushed away its users and united sellers to make a big move somewhere else. eCrater.com has been building up a pretty strong following and it has become one of the best alternatives for eBay sellers especially eBay Stores sellers, even some of the PowerSellers can be found on eCrater.

Although eCrater is not an online auction site like eBay, the core factor is there are no fees on eCrater. eCrater is a 100% free online marketplace and web store builder. It definitely comes in handy for those who don’t like the fees from eBay. Buyers can easily browse and compare between thousands of products from all the stores available. On the other hand, eCrater allows sellers to easily create their own free online storefront in minutes. Sellers get free website hosting, a free subdomain and a powerful administration control panel to customise their free online storefronts integrated with Google Checkout – which is free for sellers too.

All products are posted to the world's most famous product search engine – like Froogle - as well. Best of all, your eCrater web store supports unlimited number of products. However, it’s not advisable to completely migrate your store from eBay to eCrater at one go, this way, you’re hanging your business to death. Diversify your business, and slowly redirect your customer base to your new eCrater Stores.

1800nodrugs Helpline

2007-06-17T15:57:00.000+08:00

There are several vices in this world: smoking, drinking, gambling. All of which are extremely addictive and once one gets caught in any of them, it's hard to get out. However, one of the worst vices that one can get caught in is drugs. It has extremely severe consequences and it's hard to stop this bad habit. However, sites like www.1800nodrugs.com will hopefully help some people stop relying on drugs.

1800nodrugs is a non-profit website that offers rehabilitation referral service absolutely free. Such a service is extremely important for anyone who wishes to quit drinking or stop taking drugs as it is not easy to find a drug rehab program that will fit your specific needs as they vary on a case by case basis. However, one can be sure that 1800nodrugs will help to find the appropriate treatment solution for every individual.

However, 1800nodrugs does not only help drug addicts, rather it also helps people find the appropriate program to quit alcoholism. While the consequences of drinking are not as severe as that of taking drugs, it still has certain detrimental effects as thus people having trouble with quitting drinking will also find this site extremely helpful.

All in all, drugs and drinking both have severe effects on both the life of the individual and the people around him. Therefore such individuals should seek help immediately, or their loved ones can also try and help them through 1800nodrugs.

*This is a sponsored post*

Sellathon, Solutions for Serious Sellers

2007-06-13T15:51:00.000+08:00

Webmasters place counter on their website to track and analyse traffic allowing them to plan for a series of marketing campaigns. What if you can place a counter too on your eBay auction listings? Are you looking for a tracking software for your auction listings? Sellathon has one for you. Top eBay sellers have used Sellathon for years to hone their auctions. Sellathon is a developer of auction tracking and analysis software that enables eBay sellers to track visitor’s behavior.

The innovative Sellathon’s ViewTracker 3.0 allows you to place a counter on your auctions and tells you, in real-time, exactly where your bidders are coming from and how they’re finding your auctions. Besides, you will also be able to learn what keywords your visitors searched for, what category they browsed, if they’re watching your auction, how much time they spend on your auction etc. If you wish to see more in depth statistics, Sellathon’s ViewTracker is able to give you the traffic data for individual listings and pages.

With the 2nd generation auction counter, you can easily generate sales and traffic reports helping you analyse your data and make informed business decisions. Driving visitors to your auctions is not easy but knowing your visitors wins you half of the battle. So go to Sellathon and get a 30 day free trial.

Stop Your Addiction

2007-06-13T03:03:00.000+08:00

Do you have a drinking problem? Alcoholism seems to be one of the biggest problems nowadays. Excessive consumption of alcohol not only causes financial losses, it also creates health problems not to mention marital problems. Many people with alcohol problems don't recognize when their drinking gets out of hand. It’s generally accepted that individuals seeking an early treatment for their alcoholism have very good probabilities of recovery.

However, it’s not easy to control and stop drinking, it’s not a one-day work, that’s why these guys at First Step Rehab are here to help you. First Step Rehab is a 28 day drug/alcohol recovery program based in Michigan, treating addicts from across the country. Remember the first step is always the toughest, but it’s imperative for you to take the first step toward recovery. Visit their new website at http://www.stopyouraddiction.com/ today or simply call them at toll free 866-663-7847 and find out how you can take up the program. It’s time to say bye to alcohol, people.

*This is a sponsored post*

Doba, certified eBay dropshipper

2007-06-13T02:01:00.000+08:00

There are dozens of dropshippers on the market ready to dropship products to your buyers, however, there are also dozens of fake dropshippers out there ready to rip you off. Therefore, it’s wise yet difficult to find a legitimate dropship company to provide the droshipping service. Reliable dropshipper like Doba can do the job right for you.

Doba isn’t just a typical dropshipper, they are in fact a premier online auction service provider and educator packed with valuable resources for eBay entrepreneurs. Doba is not only a product sourcing tool that gives you access to an incredible selection of wholesale products that are ready to dropship, they also provide the technology, tools, education, training and support to help you succeed in eBay selling.

Best of all, Doba is your trusted source for dropship products as they are the eBay certified service provider and you are always guaranteed the lowest wholesale price. Stop looking elsewhere for unknown dropshippers, check out Doba and start a 7-day free trial today to experience the ease of selling. Let’s sell on eBay the Doba way.

PayPerPost Funds $7 Million

2007-06-13T01:01:00.000+08:00

PayPerPost has just raised another $7 million in Series B funding making it the first get-paid-to-blog company with over $10 million in capital. This second round investment was led by Draper Fisher Jurvetson, an investor in the company's Series A and later joined the Board of Directors. Congratulations, PayPerPost.

Below is the Press Release:

The PayPerPost Revolution Accelerates, Sponsored Blogging Marketplace Secures $7 Million Series B
Draper Fisher Jurvetson leads round and joins Board of Directors

ORLANDO, FL – (June 12, 2007) – PayPerPost, the leading marketplace for advertisers to reach bloggers and other consumer content creators, today announced it has completed a $7 million second round investment led by Draper Fisher Jurvetson, an investor in the company's Series A and one of the world’s leading high-technology venture capital firms. The financing brings the total amount of capital raised by PayPerPost to over $10 million, giving the company considerable resources for further development as the industry’s leading Consumer Generated Advertising marketplace. Additional participants in the round include existing investors Inflexion Partners and Village Ventures as well as new investor DFJ Gotham. With this investment, DFJ Managing Director Josh Stein also joins PayPerPost’s Board of Directors.

“PayPerPost created this exciting new advertising space and has established itself as the industry leader,” said Ted Murphy, chief executive officer of PayPerPost. “Although we’ve only used a portion of our first round capital, this added support from investors unlocks significant growth potential. Our content creator and advertiser ROI metrics clearly demonstrate the upside for PayPerPost’s model. We intend to use this capital to build the infrastructure, visibility and professional expertise necessary to reach and retain a greater network of advertisers and content creators than ever before.”

Since its founding in June of 2006, PayPerPost has signed more than 6,500 advertisers to its groundbreaking service, which has enabled Consumer Content Creators to be compensated for their efforts discussing specific companies, products or services via blogs, videos or other media. The content creators are required to disclose relationships with advertisers on their blog, providing transparency for the end reader. Over 125,000 Internet postings, most in the form of blogs, have already earned money for their creators through PayPerPost’s innovative marketplace. PayPerPost recently released PayPerPost Direct, a disruptive new service that allows advertisers to contract and negotiate directly with individual bloggers they identify through a safe, managed system.

“PayPerPost has laid a strong foundation for the future,” noted Tim Draper, founder and managing director of Draper Fisher Jurvetson. “It continues to attract a critical mass of participants from both the advertising and blogging communities. Analogous to Overture’s sponsored search model, we believe PayPerPost’s business model holds disruptive potential and will enable the company to thrive in the evolving paid-content arena.”

To mark the $7 million dollar funding, PayPerPost has launched a new website detailing the company’s service offering at http://www.payperpost.com/. Bloggers and advertisers can easily sign up at the site and begin leveraging the self service marketplace.

The existing PayPerPost’s advertisers are mostly U.S. and European based, thus, personally I think it would be a smart move for PayPerPost to expand the market to other regions, for example Asia Pacific. With that amount of funds in capital, PayPerPost should really consider setting up offices in Asia Pacific region to sign up more advertisers from Asia Pacific as well, so that more and more advertisers and bloggers would benefit from the expansion.

For those who still don’t know much about PayPerPost, PayPerPost, founded in June 2006 by Ted Murphy, is the leading marketplace that connects advertisers with bloggers that pays you to write reviews, opinions or ideas about the advertisers’ products and services. In less than a year, PayPerPost already created buzz in the blogging world and has signed more than 6500 advertisers and growing.

In conjuction with the overwhelming funding results, PayPerPost rolled out a 7-day promotion called “Lucky 7’s”. This hot promotion is already rocking and it will end on the coming Tuesday (June 20) noon. During this period, PayPerPost will release several opportunities with pay rate of $10.77, $70 or $700!! These opportunites will not be segmented and are available to all registered users.

For bloggers who have yet to sign up for PayPerPost, what are you waiting for? Sign up today and join the celebration, who knows you could be the Lucky 7’er who grabs the $700 opportunity. For advertisers who are not familiar with PayPerPost yet, PayPerPost provides a handy blogger directory from where you can find a blogger for hire to review or promote your product, service or even website.

Personalise Your eBay Listings with SitePal

2007-06-12T23:55:00.000+08:00

Are you tired of finding ways to bring more attractions to your eBay listings? Are you planning to make your eBay listings more personalised? Thanks to SitePal, eBay auctions have now become more interactive. SitePal offers an innovative way of integrating a talking character into your auction listings on eBay. Just follow the 3 simple steps to publish the animated speaking character of your choice and you can create a better eBay auctioning experience.

Sometimes, it’s nice to see a face and hear a voice when shopping online, considering there are millions of auction listings on eBay. It definitely makes bidders feel more confident in the purchase. Jesse Gonzales, a Platinum Power Seller, strongly recommends it to every eBay seller as it incredibly increased his sales by more than 700%.

Recording your sales pitch on SitePal is a breeze, you can record it by phone, by mircrophone, text to speech or even upload an audio file after designing the appearance of your animated sales agent. To experience the power of the speaking character, SitePal now offers a 15-day free trial, head over to SitePal today to test drive it today. It's time to personalise your eBay listings, fellow sellers.

Drug Rehab

2007-06-12T23:50:00.000+08:00

If you are looking for a drug addiction treatment or if you know someone who might need a drug-free life, these guys at Stone Hawk drug treatment center are able to offer help. Stone Hawk is known as the most successful drug treatment program in the country as it continues to deliver a success rate of 76%.

Unlike other drug treatment programs, Stone Hawk uses a drug-free approach called Narconon® program. Narconon® program basically uses a behavioral approach instead of a medial model to educate participants to overcome their substance abuse problems and it is the only program adopted by Stone Hawk as other programs failed to deliver results.

Stone Hawk also provides a drug treatment information packet, you can download it here for free. Alternatively, you may reach them at toll-free 1-888-227-9193. Do not wait no more, let the experts at Stone Hawk help you live an addiction-free life today.

*This is a sponsored post *

74 Tips for Selling on eBay

2007-06-10T20:44:00.000+08:00

If you have not heard of Skip McGrath, he is one of the eBay's Gold Power Sellers. He is a registered eBay Trading Assistant, and has lectured at eBay's annual convention and training event, eBay Live. Skip McGrath is also the author of Titanium eBay and Three Weeks to eBay Profits.

For those of you who are in look for reliable and professional eBay selling tips, Skip McGrath has unveiled an in-depth “99 Tips for Buying and Selling on eBay”. 74 out of the 99 tips are the tips for eBay sellers whereas the other 25 tips are about buying on eBay. Basically, this valuable professional article tells you what to do and what not to do while selling on eBay.

Below is just some of the tips taken from the article:
1. The best types of products to sell on eBay
2. Increase sales by putting audio in your auctions
3. Automate your auctions
4. Building a High Feedback Rating Quickly
5. Create attractive backgrounds for your auctions
6. Package your eBay shipments professionally
7. How to keep your customers happy and generate lots of positive feedback
8. How to get something for free on eBay
9. What to sell and finding a niche market on eBay

In order to succeed in eBay selling, it is always a wise move to learn from experts, learn from their experience and mistakes. Although there's no such thing as a free lunch in this world, these 74 tips are available to you free of charge.

Click Here to get your FREE 74 Tips for eBay Sellers. You can copy and save it however you want, and make sure you read through, study and follow what it tells.

Spy Sweeper

2007-06-08T17:46:00.000+08:00

Everyone hates spyware, and there’s no guarantee that our PC will be completely free of spywares. I used to experience the worst spyware attack ever. I didn’t manage to find out the name of the spyware and I still don’t know the name of it even until today. However, what happened was this spyware invaded my computer and I got pop-ups saying things like “adults” “casinos” “poker”, and when I closed them, it redirected me to some stupid search engine look-alike sites, the nuisance didn’t just stop there, the pop-ups just kept coming up every 2-3 minutes! Besides, the spyware also slowed down the whole computer while online.

After hours of consulting my buddies, I quickly installed a free-trial Spyware Doctor hoping that it would solve the problem. When I finally got the Spyware Doctor up and scanning the whole computer, I got annoyed once again, ‘cause it took ages for the software to scan and locate the spyware. Hours passed by but the scan meter showed only 45% scanned, not even half of it. What did I do next? Without second thoughts, I immediately uninstalled Spyware Doctor and reformat the whole computer. Reformat doesn’t seem to work sometimes. Although the pop-ups did not come up that frequent anymore, it still came up once in a while. I hated it.

Ever since then, I always make sure that I have a reliable anti-spyware software installed to get rid of spyware threats and infections. There’s an award-winning anti-spyware on the market, called Spy Sweeper. One key feature of Spy Sweeper is the real-time Smart Shields which continuously monitors and blocks sophisticated spyware threats before they even intrude your PC. You can also expect advanced detection and removal capabilities for stubborn spyware or malware. Furthermore, with Spy Sweeper, you won’t have to worry about the software being outdated over times, it provides automatic defense updates and keeps you protected from the latest spywares. Better still, you’re backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee.

With Spy Sweeper installed on your PC, you are assured of the real-time protection against spywares. You should give it a try today.

MarketBlast

2007-06-07T23:59:00.000+08:00

Enhance listings, control inventory, handle customers, deliver post-sales activities etc. Just so many things one has to deal with when it comes to selling on eBay. Having said so, Acclivity released a powerful auction management software called MarketBlast (http://www.marketblast.com), designed to help eBay PowerSellers sell more, spend less and save time.

MarketBlast is a relatively new eBay auction management software and no matter what you sell on eBay, MarketBlast helps you do it faster and easier. Of course there are many other similar eBay auction management softwares out there, but MarketBlast trumps a lot of them because of one major feature - MarketBlast is aimed exclusively at Power Sellers who post from 100 sales a week up to 100 listings a day or more on eBay — and those who aspire to grow their eBay business to these numbers. Nonetheless, it doesn’t mean that low volume sellers can’t use it. Everyone should consider this amazing software if you’re serious about selling on eBay.

MarketBlast allows users to set general preferences in the control panel with eight primary groups, namely Inventory, Listings, Transactions, Contacts, Consignments, Questions, Feedback and Disputes. They are easily accessible from the control panel or independent windows. The great thing about MarketBlast is that images in Marketblast may be tagged or watermarked to protect the images from being pirated.

From inventory management to consignment, customer relationship management to business analysis, MarketBlast is packed with everything you need to succeed. With its recent PayPal integration for payment processing and Endicia for postage, MarketBlast is definitely a useful eBay tool that you should check out if you want to simplify the selling process.

Download a free trial today, get a rundown of all MarketBlast features, compare them to what you're currently using to sell on eBay and find out more about what MarketBlast can do for you!

TheNewsRoom

2007-06-07T23:22:00.000+08:00

The above video is one where Walt Mossberg, who is a Personal Technology Columnist for the Wallstreet Journal whose opinions are highly regarded by everyone, talks about certain unknown aspects of Apple's music jukebox software iTunes. It is an extremely interesting video as there are definitely a lot of things that the general public wouldn't know about that he talks about in this 5 minute long video.

It was really easy for me to embed this video into the blog here, thanks to The News Room, which is a site that has a huge collection of news content in the form of countless number of videos on a variety of subjects such as business, politics, entertainment, sci-tech, etc. All the videos here are all extremely informative and will indeed be interesting for anyone who watches them. Best of all, all this content, including the ability to embed videos, is totally free. Embedding the video onto a site is easy enough as well as all one has to do is to copy the HTML code and paste it into the appropriate part of the site. Sure, Youtube has been around for a long time and also allows you to embed videos onto your own website for free, however it has a few drawbacks, especially when you compare it to The News Room. First, Youtube doesn't give you a choice of what type of player you would like to embed, one can only embed the default video player. However at The News Room, there are various styles of video players to choose from, such as a one column or two column one. This allows one to customise the video player in order to fit into the site's design. Second, and more importantly, many videos at Youtube are amateur videos which do not contain much substance, however you'll find none of those types of videos at The News Room as it only promotes news from credible, licensed content sources. Therefore the quality of videos that one will find at The News Room is obviously very high as compared to other sites where anyone is able to upload a video.

However, The News Room is not simply a site that has a collection of videos, rather one can also get paid when the content embedded onto the site is viewed, and the payment rates can be found here. Furthermore, one also stands a chance to win prizes such as electronic gadgets, vacations and even cars when you register and participate in The News Room. Such added incentives will definitely draw even more people to participating and checking out The News Room as it is a pretty easy way to earn some money and one also stands a chance to win big prizes. As compared to other video sharing websites, The News Room has all these incentives which are absent in more popular sites like Youtube or Dailymotion. Therefore, there really is no reason why one should not at least give The News Room a try.

To top it all off, The News Room has an extremely professional looking and clean site design, which makes browsing through its huge collection of videos a breeze. Also, as the name suggests, the latest news can also be found on this site, for example at the time of this writing the story on the front page was about the G-8 Summit which has been on the front page of many newspapers around the world recently as discussions continue. One will be able to keep track of the latest happenings around the world in the form of videos provided by The News Room instead of it being in the form of boring old articles again.

While the general concept of The News Room is nothing new, as it is merely another site that has a collection of videos, the quality of these videos, the ease of use of this site, the added incentives that it has and various other features and functions really make it better in many areas as compared to other similar sites.

Free Calorie Counter

2007-06-06T07:44:00.000+08:00

It's everyone's dream to have a perfect body, what with stars and models always appearing on our TV screens, it may seem that they've set the standard for what the perfect body should be. However, not all of us are lucky enough to be born with a slim figure, and it's not easy to lose all that extra weight so that one can look as good as any of those models. However, MyFitnessPal (http://www.myfitnesspal.com) is a site that will definitely help everyone achieve their dream figure.

MyFitnessPal is a free diet and fitness website which contains a free calorie counter and a diet & excercise journal. The journal allows you to track all your meals and exercise easily, which is extremely important as various studies have shown that such diet journals play an important role in helping various individuals lose weight easier. Once the required information has been recorded, one may then use the calorie counter to calculate the amount of calories, carbohydrates and other nutrients gained or lost. The best thing about all these services is that they're all absolutely free!

Such features will definitely help many people both keep track of their diet, so that they can make sure that they have a balanced diet, and will also help others to lose weight if necessary. The site's features are definitely extensive, with a searchable food database of over 6000 items and a forum that lets you discuss and interact with others just like yourself. These features are far from amateurish as a lot of thought has obviously gone into designing them.

All in all, this is definitely a site that everyone should check out. No matter if you hope to lose weight, or if you simply want to keep track of your diet and exercise activities, this site will make it a lot easier for you to do so.

eBay To Go

2007-06-04T19:11:00.000+08:00

eBay has launched its first widget called “eBay To Go” allowing to promote eBay listings on blogs, social networks and websites. Meaning that, you can add a neat little auction listing to your website.

eBay To Go widget is especially useful for eBay sellers who also have their own blogs. With just a few clicks, sellers can have their auction listings directly advertised on their own blogs. Simple yet cost-free. The widget itself is attractive and informative as you mouse over certain areas it reveals more information about the item, and you can even conduct an eBay search query using the built-in search tool. Best of all, you also have an option to list up to 10 items if you think 1 item is not enough to spotlight your listing.

Inputting eBay To Go widget is incredibly simple as it requires only four easy steps, and you can easily copy-and-paste the code snippets from eBay to your websites or blogs after customizing the widget.

This widget may be a disappointment to webmasters who strive for affiliate earnings as it is not enabled with affiliate revenue links yet at this point in its very early stage. I think webmasters who do not sell on eBay might not consider eBay To Go as an alternative to AuctionAds. Nonetheless, it’s still a very useful tool for eBay sellers as a value-added marketing tool. You should consider getting one on your blog or website today.

Hotel Reservations

2007-06-03T00:50:00.000+08:00

Once in awhile, I'm sure all of us would like to go on a vacation just to kick back and relax, hoping to get away from the hectic everyday life that many of us lead. Of course, the desire to do so is easy, the planning is the hard part, what with plane tickets and Hotel Reservation to think about, sometimes it's a real pain to even want to go on a vacation. Thankfully, there are sites such as Hotel Reservations that will hopefully make the planning phase of any vacation a lot easier.

Hotel Reservations is a site where you are able to completely plan your entire vacation from. From the plane tickets, to hiring a car to pick you up from the airport, and of course it helps you book a hotel room, all from one site. The site also offers various types of lodging, from hotels to motels to resorts to vacation rentals, thus at least one of the plans will fit into the budget of anyone who wishes to go on a vacation. And speaking of prices, the site also offers extremely competitive rates as compared to the rest of the web, with great discounts which they offer. Thus, price is definitely not an issue when one considers using this site.

Needless to say, this is obviously an extremely convenient way for anyone to plan a vacation, as everything they would need to consider can be found on one site. Best of all, the internet makes it so much easier, as compared to in the past when one had to go through a multitude of phone calls before one could finally finish planning a vacation. By the time the vacation was finally planned, one would already be so beat from that experience itself. However, with the advent of the internet, one no longer has to go through that tedious task anymore.

This site is definitely one which will help every single holiday goer, as it just makes it so much easier for one to plan their vacation. With everything in one site, it's hard to imagine why anyone would not want to make use of a site such as Hotel Reservations.

Home Mortgage

2007-05-27T20:17:00.000+08:00

Creditor, debtor, freehold, leasehold, legal charge, mortgage deed etc. Just so many terminologies one has to familiarise oneself with when it comes to dealing with mortgages, not only are the terminologies confusing, but the various aspects that one has to consider are really mind boggling. It's at times like these when the people at Bayfield Mortgage Professionals are really able to help you with mortgages.

Bayfield Mortgage Professionals specialises in residential mortgages and has been operating for 25 years already, serving both British Columbia and Alberta since 1982. It has access to hundreds of Canada's leading mortgage lenders, so they will be able find the best mortgage rates at absolutely no cost to you. The thing about Bayfield Mortgage Professionals that sets it apart from many other similar agencies is that it is not affiliated with any one lender, this means that they are able to offer anyone totally unbiased advice, thus allowing one to find the best mortgage interest rate possible. At their website, you're able to easily find a mortgage consultant according to which area you live in, in order to get yourself started.

However, finding a mortgage consultant is not the only thing that you're able to do at their website. Rather, they also provide mortgage calculator and payment calculator, so that you're able to estimate your mortgage payment or the maximum mortgage amount you are qualified for. This makes it all much easier for one to handle mortgages as it's easier to plan your next steps. These calculators will definitely come in handy for anyone who is unsure of how much a mortgage payment is going to cost or how much they are allowed to mortgage.

Being knowledgeable in this area is not something that all of us are capable of, considering how complex mortgages can get at times. However, with the help of mortgage brokers from Bayfield Mortgage Professionals, hopefully you'll be able to complete your next mortgage without much hiccups or problems along the way.

Advertise Your eBay Listings and Stores

2007-05-22T13:33:00.000+08:00

You have the most unique item to sell on eBay, and you have done the research, set the best starting price, got your listing a beautiful template and even written a killer listing title, however, at the end of the day, you get zero sale because nobody ever noticed your listings. Does it sound familiar? Yes, it is no doubt a common problem most eBay sellers are facing, even Power Sellers encounter the same problem at times.

Solution? All you need is advertising and BidVertiser has a state-of-art solution for you. BidVertiser is a site-targeted advertising network allowing you to run advertisement of your eBay listings and Stores on other people’s websites. Not only you can choose the sites to place your ad on, you can also target your audience geographically. You are only required to pay when someone clicks on the advertisement and visits your eBay listing or eBay Store at a minimum cost of 5 cents per click.

Advertising drives traffic, traffic boosts sales. To let you experience the power of pay-per-click advertising, BidVertiser is now offering eBay Sellers a free $20 worth of clicks, that’s approximately about 400 visitors. Do you often get 400 visitors to your eBay listings and Stores? Isn’t it already a good deal to try it out? Wait no more, and stop wasting your time hoping for someone to come to your listings while there are millions of auction listings on eBay. Visit BidVertiser today and start receiving new targeted prospects in less than 10 minutes.

Designer Gifts

2007-05-22T10:02:00.000+08:00

Ever wanted to give the perfect gift, but either you couldn't decide on one or you were simply too lazy to go pick one up? Well with the advent of online shopping, it has become much easier nowadays to select gifts for friends or family members, and Designer Gifts (http://www.designergifts.com) is one such site that hopes to make it a little easier.

Designer Gifts is a new gift store from OnlineStores.com, a leading online retailer with several other stores. The store sells a wide range of gifts of all types, including birthday gifts, Christmas gifts, Father's day gifts etc for men, women, children and babies. They sell practically everything that could act as a gift, from gift baskets, to greeting cards, and even digital picture frames. All of them are extremely cheap gifts that are well worth your money. It being an online store, it's also much easier to browse through the products using the menu instead of wasting hours at a time window shopping, trying to search for the perfect gift. Now you can do so from the comforts of your own home.

However, this is not merely an online store for gifts, rather, Designer Gifts also offers gift ideas for men, as men are usually criticised for being "insensitive" and not knowing how to give a proper gift, so hopefully this site will help give them some idea of what they should get. Of course, such advice is not limited to men only, as at the time of this writing, Designer Gifts is offering Father's Day Gift ideas, helping everyone get the perfect gift for their Dad on Father's day. There's also advice on what to get children or babies even, therefore everyone would be able to find the perfect gift for anyone else with the help of Designer Gifts.

By offering such gifts at such a low cost, and having the entire site focused around gifts, Designer Gifts could really give bigger sites like Amazon a run for their money when it comes to special occasions such as mother's day or even birthdays. With great advice and an easy way to browse through the products, Designer Gifts is definitely a site that everyone should check out when the holiday season approaches, as it will save us all a big headache on what to get for our favorite relative or friend.

Flag of the United States

2007-05-22T09:38:00.000+08:00

No matter where we are in the world, we're bound to meet the red, white and blue sooner or later. The flag of the United States of America can really be found all over the place, and next to everyone will recognise it immediately. That's the impact that the star spangled banner flag has on the world, and United States Flag Store (http://www.United-States-Flags.com) is selling these flags and flagpoles so that everyone can have one.

United-States-Flags.com is the leading online retailer of American flags and flagpole kits. There, you're able to get a variety of US flags - be it an indoor flag, a garden flag or one that's hung on outdoor flagpoles, this site has them all. However, despite the name, they not only sell American flags, but they also stock state, country and military flags, indoor flag pole kits, pins and other patriotic decorations. Thus, you're bound to be able to find something here to show your patriotism, no matter where you're from, since they not only sell US flags.

This is also the largest online vendor of flags and flagpoles, with approximately 50% of the entire online market. They have over 500,000 flags in stock, and ship within 2-3 business days to all US states, US territories and Canada only. It would definitely gain them a bigger market share if they could ship internationally. Their service is obviously also top notch, as they even have customer service available. Their products are also of top quality, as they are from top manufacturers including Valley Forge and Eder, two of the largest US makers of flags.

United-States-Flags.com is really anybody's one stop shop for everything to do with flags, or patriotic items. You can even consider selling the flags on eBay, try negotiating with them if they could offer a wholesale deal. Looking for a flag? United-States-Flag.com is the site for you!

Debt Consolidation

2007-05-18T23:21:00.000+08:00

Being in debt is never a good feeling, it's pressurising to have money on your mind almost all the time. One usually can't wait for the day that he or she is finally out of debt, sites like Destroy Debt will hopefully help that day come faster.

Destroy Debt basically tries to help you do 2 things - Get out of debt and stay out of debt. It offers a wide range of advice on various topics to help you understand how to do those 2 things. For example it offers tips on debt consolidation loan, debt counseling and also helps to explain what bankruptcy is all about. Such valuable information is definitely hard to find on the net, at least now you know where to find it.

Furthermore, there is also a debt forum on the site, which is basically a place where you can talk all about debts. From any general questions you might have, to even stories about your debt and of course how to avoid debt. There are a wide range of topics that people are discussing about in this area, which will definitely help anyone who wants to talk about how to destroy your debt.

All in all, Destroy Debt is an extremely valuable site, offering important information for people who are in debt, and also providing a place where everyone can both receive and give help regarding debts. Hopefully, with the help of this site, more people will be able to get out of debt and lead a more carefree and easier life, instead of having to constantly think about his or her own finances.

Shopping Cart Software

2007-05-09T23:59:00.000+08:00

Online shopping is really becoming much more popular nowadays as more and more people realise how much more easier and convenient it is. However, seldom do shoppers realise how complicated it is to set up an online shopping site and get everything working, but it's times like these when Ashop Commerce step in to make it so much easier.

Basically, Ashop Commerce is a leading provider of hosted shopping cart software that offers a complete solution for merchants to sell online. It allows anyone to set up a virtual shopping cart that allows shoppers to easily organise and pay for purchases and it's where everything he or she would like to buy is temporarily stored in before being checked out. It is relatively easy to install this shopping cart software and one requires absolutely zero programming skills to be able to install this shopping cart software. The entire set up of this ecommerce software takes only roughly 10 minutes, after which shoppers can start making use of this software.

Ashop Commerce software offers a 10 day trial, after which merchants are required to pay for this service which starts at just US$69 per month. This ecommerce shopping cart software is definitely well worth the money, as there are countless benefits to it, such as the fact that your business can be open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, you will be able to track purchases and use data to improve your offering and most importantly you can reach a much wider audience as you will be able to be contacted by people worldwide, giving you the ability to increase sales. These benefits do indeed justify the price, no doubt about that.

All in all, Ashop Commerce is definitely one of the better ecommerce shopping cart softwares which offers easy-to-use features at affordable prices that allow any internet savvy business person to run their own online store, since the only experience actually needed is to have browsed the web!

Digital Frames

2007-05-09T23:31:00.000+08:00

Technology is really taking over many parts of our lives. In the past we had Walkmans, now they got iPods. We had radios now we have Hi-Fi sets. Now, even the traditional photo frames are getting an upgrade and have now gone digital, and the folks over at digitalframez.com are offering them for sale.

Digital frames are a new and innovative way of displaying pictures that makes it much easier and convenient. It's basically shaped like a regular rectangular photo frame, but in place of the photo itself is a high resolution LCD screen that is able to display pictures. It's real easy to get your own photos on it however, just 3 steps:
1) Take the photos.
2) Transfer them to a memory card.
3) Insert it into your digital photo frame and enjoy your favourite slideshow using a remote control.

It's just that simple. Not only are these frames able to display photos, but you can play music in the background or even watch movies, all without the need for a computer.

This makes it much easier to show off a slideshow of pictures taken on a holiday or your son's graduation video to friends and families, instead of going through the entire process of booting up a computer and then having to search for the specific file. Digital photo frames are also much more flexible than your traditional photo frames as it can display a whole variety of pictures and present them in the form of a slideshow, instead of just staring at a single unchanging photo.

This digital picture frame is no doubt a new concept and it will take time for people to get used to them, as some people might still prefer the traditional frames. However, once people realise how much more versatile their digital counterparts are, we'll begin to see them in almost every home.

You may consider selling this unique item on eBay.

Compare Credit Card Offers on CreditorWeb

2007-04-25T14:03:00.000+08:00

The ubiquitous credit card is becoming bigger part of our daily lives. As a matter of fact, we are inundated with credit offers everywhere we turn, thus, looking for a credit card that best suits your needs is getting more complex. Furthermore, who has the time to check out and compare the credit offers? Not only we need to find a right card that suits our needs, we also need a right card that matches our spending and borrowing patterns.

CreditorWeb has the best solution for you. CreditorWeb has sorted through mountains of credit card information to find the best cards out there. They check out the credit cards available, compare the offers and provide you with the professional ratings and in-depth reviews. So, how do you use the comparison tool provided by CreditorWeb? Simply select a category, and it will show you the comparison and reviews for all the credit cards under that category. For example, if you’re looking for a business credit card, by selecting “Business” category, it shows you all the business cards available on the market. Alternatively, you may choose to browse it by card issuer. For example, by selecting “Advanta”, it shows you the comparison, reviews and ratings for all Advanta credit cards.

Start comparing credit card offers today on CreditorWeb to find a credit card that suits you best.

Masterseek

2007-04-24T22:55:00.000+08:00

Looking for more products to sell on eBay but don’t know where to get the supply? You can count on Masterseek. Masterseek is an useful search engine that provides quick and FREE access to international business directories and even import/export companies worldwide.

Currently, there are more than 44 million international companies and businesses in the database, more will be added soon. You can easily locate a wholesaler or supplier by entering a product name or company name. It’s time to look for cheaper wholesale products so that you can make more profit selling on eBay. Masterseek is one of the FREE eBay tools that you should stick to, thus, start searching on Masterseek.

Get paid to blog with Bloggerwave

2007-04-24T22:29:00.000+08:00

Get paid for blogging is getting hotter these days, and it’s become so much easier. Again, I discovered a new get-paid-to-blog programme, called Bloggerwave. Like many other get-paid-to-blog programmes, Bloggerwave pays bloggers to write original and unique reviews on websites, products, services and companies.

I’ve signed up and submitted my blog to Bloggerwave, and it's got approved within a day. Their user interface is so much interactive and outstanding, with many features that you don’t get to see on other similar programmes. Although Bloggerwave is just starting out, it definitely has huge potential to grow as big as PayPayPost and ReviewMe. So, don’t wait till it’s too late, grab this golden opportunity and start blogging for money with Bloggerwave besides selling on eBay, not bad for a side income.

AM ONLINE SHOPPING

2007-04-22T15:01:00.000+08:00

I made few hundred bucks recently selling on eBay, and am thinking of buying a gift for my mom as Mother’s day is just around the corner. Since the money is lying on my Paypal account, I then look around to find an online merchant that accepts Paypal payment. It’s not easy to locate one though. However, I managed to find an online retail store, AM ONLINE SHOPPING, that sells genuine and authentic watches. I’m a watch lover, and getting a watch as a gift for my mom isn’t a bad idea too.

AM ONLINE SHOPPING, based in Adelaide of South Australia, sells Nixon Watches, Casio Watches including G-Shock and Baby-G, Seiko Watches, Timex Watches and more brands. All prices listed are in Australian Dollar. Best of all, AM ONLINE SHOPPING accepts both Paypal and credit card payments. AM ONLINE SHOPPING makes purchasing online a breeze, by just a few clicks and a Paypal payment, it saves me a lot of time and unnecessary costs.

Besides watches, more products will be added soon, for eg designer sunglasses. The next time you hunt for a gift, consider Nixon Watches from AM ONLINE SHOPPING.

Get paid to blog with Smorty

2007-04-21T23:39:00.000+08:00

Do you like to get paid for blogging? I recently found a new get-paid-to-blog programme, Smorty. It works just like Blogsvertise, Payperpost, ReviewMe and other similar programmes. What struck me the most is Smorty is the only one of its kind offering weekly payment to Bloggers, no more waiting for weeks.

There are two ways of getting offers from Smorty. First of all, Smorty will send you an email notification when there’s a campaign offer available and suitable for your blog. Besides waiting for offers, you are also able to view open opportunities in the user interface. Having said so, Smorty has a clean and easy-to-use user interface. Not only that, it also has a feature that allows you to see how many more units of an advertiser’s campaign are available. You don’t see this unique and useful feature on other similar programmes, do you?

Smorty also has its own blogger ranking system like many others, and the higher Smorty ranking you stand, the more campaign offers and higher priced campaigns you are going to receive.

After registering and making a post myself, I think I just love what makes Smorty different from the rest. Overall, Smorty is one of the best newly emerging get-paid-to-blog programmes that you should join too. Blog for money with Smorty today.

Twenga, UK Shopping Search Engine

2007-04-16T00:06:00.000+08:00

I recently came across a wonderful online shopping search engine, called Twenga. I’m particularly impressed with the clean layout and eye-catching design of the website, as well as what they have to offer. I think I should recommend it to all of you especially those who like to hunt for best deals online.

Twenga, a next-generation online shopping search engine, provide a user-friendly and easy-to-use system making shopping online a breeze. Not only it allows you to search for the products that you’re after, it also lets you compare the different prices and offers from available merchants. Besides, you are also able to view the consumer and expert reviews on the products before purchasing to help you make the right purchasing decision. The beauty of Twenga doesn’t just stop here, it also provides price alerts. With this unique service, you get an email notification from Twenga when the prices drop, so that you can easily monitor and grab your favorite products.

Unlike other online shopping search engine, you can search a product either by name or brand, or you can just browse through the categories on Twenga. There are many categories that you can choose from, namely, Computers, Fashion, Health & Beauty, Audio & Video and a lot more.

Frankly speaking, I’ve used other online shopping search engines before, but they aren’t as good as Twenga. You should go check out Twenga today, registering on Twenga is fast, secure and free.

SpoonFeeder

2007-04-14T19:13:00.000+08:00

Sick and tired of the same auction listing template over and over again? Looking for a professional-looking template for your next auction listing? Check out SpoonFeeder. SpoonFeeder's templates help you create a listing that will stand out from the pack, it comes with 50 predefined templates if you don't want to create your own. SpoonFeeder uses a tabbed interface that helps you select the appropriate category for your item, create a compelling description and add images to your listings makes them stand apart from similar items. SpoonFeeder is offering an unlimited image hosting service (included in the Basic version), you can easily save up to $1.75 per listing compared to using eBay's image service. Besides, you can also schedule when your listings will be posted to eBay. This can be particularly useful when you have a large quantity of identical items to list. Being able to list them over time helps avoid flooding eBay with a multitude of items.

SpoonFeeder works well with eBay auctions, eBay fixed-price auctions, eBay Stores, and eBay Motors. It has recently integrated the following added-on features:

1. Tracks auction status from start through fulfillment.

2. Automatically sends e-mail invoice and winning bidder notification within seconds of auction close.

3. Can automatically add shipping charges to invoice for both single item and dutch auctions.

4. Sends payment received notices, and notices of shipping by e-mail with a single click.

5. Provides a feedback database for easy selection.

6. Will automatically reciprocate on positive feedback, if desired.

7. Automatically Sends late payment notices by e-mail.

8. Automatically files Non-Paying Bidder Alerts.

9. Automatically files Final Value Credit Requests to recover fees for incomplete auctions.

SpoonFeeder is one of the most wanted eBay tools on the market, it boasts a wide array of features that will help you create listings that will sell your auction items. Click here to grab a fully functional 30 day trial and discover the power of SpoonFeeder, the number one auction listing and management Software for selling on the internet.

Research your competition

2007-04-01T12:49:00.000+08:00

In my previous post "Research before you list" I emphasize why it is imperative to research before setting a start price, applying sales strategies and listing your items. However, carrying out a research ain't an easy task, you need a good research tool to simplify the whole process, and it will be perfect if the tool doesn't cost much to you.

eSellerStreet has an affordable and easy-to-use pay per search tool for you. They offer 90 days of market research, using official eBay market data in all categories except eBay Motors and Real Estate. You will get information packed reports covering statistics in several different areas and features a full analysis on items and sellers. You can view sales by brand, keywords, category, day of the week and more. Below is the sample of a research report generated by eSellerStreet service:

Research should pay for itself with at least a 10x return on research cost. So how much does it cost? 35 cents! Yes, it's a mere $0.35 flat fee for each research report, with no monthly service fees nor hidden charges. Furthermore, if you sign up for the service now, you will get 10 free credits that can be used for sales reports on your own listings as well as other eBay sellers and products.

Knowing competitors' sales and product market prices are the key to earning profits, thus, visit eSellerStreet to get your free reports today.

"The Secret" Science of Getting Rich

2007-03-26T07:52:00.000+08:00

Sponsored Review

Everyone is talking about The Secret and it has quickly become the hottest topic on the internet today. For those who haven’t heard of it, The Secret reveals how to improve your life by focusing on the positive and attracting great things, with the help of The Law of Attraction – or Intention Manifestation as some call it. It is said to have opened eyes of many people to greater possibilities for their lives, thus, The Secret is automatically propelled to the #1 Bestseller DVD and book on Amazon.com with over 2 millions of The Secret book sold. Besides that, it was also featured in Oprah Winfrey, Larry King Live, The Wallstreet Journal, NY Times, TIME and Newsweek. Isn’t that impressive achievement already a secret of success that you need to pay attention to?

In response to the overwhelming demand of The Secret teachings, the three big name teachers of The Secret - Jack Canfield, Bob Proctor and Michael Beckwith recently launched a how-to home seminar program that reveals in-depth “The Secret Science of Getting Rich” (SGR) for those who are really serious about learning the science of wealth building. This program is based on a book called “The Science of Getting Rich” by Wallace D. Wattles, written in 1910. SGR teachers are targeting $100 million within a year for those who take advantage of this program.

SGR also offers the most comprehensive affiliate program that allows you to earn $500 per sale. Go to the website Official Secret Seminar to find out how you can benefit from this program. With a tag of $1,995, it is definitely not a cheap program, yet value for money. If you still hesitated, why not go to the website to get your 7 lessons for FREE?

Writing auction listing title wisely

2007-03-17T19:35:00.000+08:00

Auction listing title is one of the most important elements in driving potential buyers as it contains keywords buyers are searching for. I believe you are aware that eBay listing title only allows 55 characters, but most sellers do not use it wisely. The title is what potential buyers see when they perform a search or browse through the categories, not by description. Meaning that, your title should immediately attract potential buyers to your listing, and eventually place a bid on it. Thus, writing a keyword-rich title is essential if you wanna make money selling on eBay.

Imagine yourself as a buyer, when you come to eBay looking for specific items, you find these items by entering keywords into the search box, because you think it helps you find what you want by using the terms that you thought. Therefore, use words that will help your buyers find your listing first, it doesn’t have to be a sentence, because you will have enough space to effectively describe your item in the description box, why waste the title space? Moreover, buyers get annoyed at meaningless title like “@@BARGAIN!!!@@”, and do you think buyers will enter keywords like “@” or “bargain”? These characters do absolutely nothing to educate potential buyers about the item you’re trying to sell and entice them into bidding.

Think about the search terms your buyers would use when looking for your item and develop keywords relating to them. Although these keywords may not be the same as you would expect the buyers to use, take advantage of all 55 characters you’re allowed and make sure you’ve covered all the keywords. Also make sure your title is as descriptive and informative as possible, and it’s most advisable to include the brand name, model number and any other major detail of your item, in order to maximize exposure and increase the odds of potential buyers actually finding what you have to sell when they conduct a search.

One good example is “Dell Inspiron 640m Laptop Notebook 14.1” 667MHz”. If you know computers well, you’ll know immediately what it’s selling. It gives you the manufacturer (Dell), the model (Inspiron 640m), the screen size (14.1”) and the processor speed (667MHz). I believe you noticed that it also includes “notebook”, as buyers might use “notebook” instead of “laptop”.

Sometimes, we just can’t come up with any additional keywords to put it into the title, it happens. On these rare occasions, ask someone else to look at your item and say a few words that come to mind, you might be surprised to see what keywords they could think of. Last but not least, always remember to revise your title before listing it.

Wirefly Store, a Power Seller

2007-03-10T05:16:00.000+08:00

Wirefly Store, a successful eBay Power Seller with over 2,260 positive feedbacks, is one of the leading online retailers of cellphones and wireless plans. Wirefly offers branded cellphones, big names like Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Samsung and many more. Wirefly is also an authorised online agent for Verizon Wireless, Cingular Wireless, T-Mobile, Sprint and Nextel. Besides cellphones and wireless plans, you can also purchase cellphone accessories, for eg headsets, bluetooth etc, from Wirefly.

Wirefly accept returns and most surprisingly, they guarantee lowest prices in the market. At Wirefly, your application for the wireless service will be processed automatically once your order is placed, and your cellphone will be delivered to your doorstep within 2 business days by free FedEx shipping througout the United States. One of the greatest services offered by Wirefly that really impressed me is that, they deliver on weekends too, and you are able to check your order status using the tracking number given by FedEx.

Wirefly is a member of Square Trade too. I believe you should be impressed with Wirefly by now. Therefore, if you're looking for a great deal, stop looking up and down from one seller to the other, buy from a Power Seller, buy from Wirefly.

Visit the Wirefly Store today to shop for the best cell phone deal with or without a wireless plan.

Free eBay fee calculator

2007-03-08T01:20:00.000+08:00

In order to make a real profit on eBay, you will need to know the costs of your auction listings, especially the listing fees. Budgeting or simply calculating your eBay fees ain’t an easy task, because there are so many fees involved, namely “category fee”, “gallery fee”, “final value fee” etc, and sometimes you might forget the fees incurred. Therefore, to help you better calculate your potential eBay fees, I recommend you three FREE eBay fee calculators.

Sellathon’s eBay fee calculator
I like this one personally, simply because it’s easy to understand and more user friendly. You’re only required to key in the Starting Price, Reserve Price and Approximate Final Value, and tick the extra features that you’re planning to use and click “Calculate Fees”, there you go, you get the total eBay fees right away.

eB Calc’s eBay and Paypal fee calculator
Although I’m satisfied with Sellathon’s, sometimes I need to know the Paypal fee that’s going to be incurred too. eB Calc’s is simply a masterpiece. Not only you will get to know the eBay fees, you can calculate Paypal fees and it even shows you the net profit of a successful listing. Besides that, this fantastic calculator has been developed for International eBay sellers too.

eCal’s eBay fee calculator
I only use this one when I’m not able to access to eB Calc’s, you might need it for backup purposes. It can be used for International eBay fee calculation too.

2007 Online Auction Sites Report

2007-03-07T23:18:00.000+08:00

TopTenReviews has recently released a '2007 Online Auction Sites Report'. The report gives a detailed review of and rating for top ten leading online auction sites.

Needless to say, eBay topped the review, followed by Overstock and Yahoo! Auctions. Other sites like Amazon, ePier and uBid are in the list too. The report compares and reviews seller fees, process flow, features and benefits, help and support etc, of each online auction site.

If you are considering an eBay alternative, I strongly suggest you to have a look at the wonderful report before making your move.

Include a free gift for your customers

2007-02-23T10:32:00.000+08:00

One of the smartest auction strategies to draw new customers or maintain the return customers is giving away free gifts. Consider including a free gift with every successful sales, not only it gains you the clientele, it also helps boost up the loyalty of your existing customers.

The free gift doesn’t have to be a high value item, but if you’re a little tight on budget, consider using promotional items like pen, key chain, calendar etc. When choosing promotional items, try choosing something relevant to the item you’re selling. For example, if you’re selling books, a bookmarker will be sweet.

You may consider attaching promotional gifts in the following circumstances:

1. Every successful transaction to show appreciation to your customers.

2. Every return customer.

3. Multiple purchases done by any buyer.

4. When your customers are not happy with the bought item/service.

5. When a customer refer you to a friend or family.

Of course there are many other situations when you can include a free gift too, just remember to follow this good business practice at every opportunity.

Happy Chinese New Year

2007-02-17T21:24:00.000+08:00

To my fellow Chinese readers,

Happy Chinese New Year, 恭喜发财，新年进步，事事如意!

Business Financing

2007-01-16T22:26:00.000+08:00

Have you ever grown your business only to find you didn't have the accessible capital? Cash drives business. Cash flow is one of the most important indicators of a business's financial health, and it's definitely the key to the success of a business.

However, what do you do when your business is short of cash? Fund it, of course. I came across this wonderful company the other day, by the name of "Premier General Finance, Inc."(PGF). One of the funding options offered by PGF that really caught my eyes is "Merchant Account Cash Advance". What's so special about this funding option? Merchant Account Cash Advance can assist you in acquiring cash based on your future credit card sales. You can get up to 150% of your monthly credit card processing amount, for example, if you process $10,000 a month in credit card transactions, you can get a cash advance as much as $15,000. Imagine what you can do for your business with this additional $15,000 cash.

There are many other funding options available as well, pay them a visit today. It's worth visiting and knowing them, rest assured. Click here and visit them now.

A better cash flow management will definitely help you create and grow a healthy and strong business. Happy business'ing.

Being Accountable

2007-01-11T21:46:00.000+08:00

I came across this wonderful post "Risk Management Made Easy…". Don't panic. It’s about ACCOUNTABILITY. I would like share with all of you ‘cause I think it’s very useful, you can definitely apply it to your eBay selling business.

Define accountability. Accountability is all about:
1. Assuming full responsibility for the consequences of one's behavior
2. Following through on commitments to buyers
3. Demonstrating reliability and dependability
4. Keeping the service promise
5. Admitting mistakes and taking responsibility for correcting

In other words, accountability simply means responsibility. Read the great write-up by N2Growth. Apply accountability to your eBay selling, automatically you will build up the trust, the positive ratings, the name and most importantly the sales.

Learn the eBay Jargon

2007-01-08T01:24:00.000+08:00

Do you speak eBay’s language? Or, do you speak like an eBayer? There are eBay jargons that many people don’t understand still. Here I include a simple list of them. These buzzwords or acronyms can be useful to help draw in a potential buyer but remember to only use them if they are relevant. Many people on eBay are not experienced buyers and you will lose them if your listing is full of jargons, thus, avoid using it unless you really need to (for example, when you run out of space in an item’s title).

It’s good to be able to understand others’ jargon, so let’s learn.

The Buzzwords
Bid- offer an amount of money for something at an auction
Dutch- an auction where more than one of an item is available
Feedback- comments in the form of opinions about and reactions to other users on eBay
Mint- in perfect condition
Non-paying bidder- a bidder who wins an auction but does not then go on to buy the item
Reserve- the lowest price the seller will accept for the item
Shill bid- a fake bid placed a seller trying to drive up their auction's price
Snail mail- the postal mail, as distinct from the faster email
Sniping- bidding at the last second to win the item before anyone else can outbid you

The Acronyms
BIN- Buy It Now. A fixed price at which you can buy the auction
BNIB- Brand New In Box and never opened
BNWOT- Brand New WithOut Tags. An item that has never been used without its original tags
BNWT- Brand New With Tags. An item that has never been used and still has its original tags
BW- Black and White. Used for films, photos etc
CONUS- Continental United States (for sellers who don't want to ship items to Alaska/Hawaii)

FC- First Class. Type of postage
HTF- Hard To Find
LTD- Limited Edition
MIB- Mint In Box
NBW- Never Been Worn
NPB- Non-Paying Bidder
NR- No Reserve
OB- Original Box
OOP- Out Of Print
PM- Priority Mail
PP- Parcel Post
SH- Shipping and Handling
VGC- Very Good Condition. Not mint, but close
VHTF- Very Hard To Find

If you think the list isn't enough, and that you wanna learn more, you may refer to eBay Acronyms or eBay Glossary for detailed breakdown.

eBay fee hikes again

2007-01-04T22:43:00.000+08:00

eBay is raising the fees again. That's the first bad news of year 2007. eBay's President, Bill Cobb, announced the fees hike on January 03, 2007.

The new fee structure will go into effect on January 30, 2007 and the fee adjustments are as follows:

1) a five-cent increase in Insertion Fee to forty cents

2) Final Value Fee for the $25.01 to $1,000.00 level will be increased to 3.25% from 3%

On the other hand, eBay Motors is also seeing fee hikes. The Transaction Service Fee (TSF) for motorcycles and powersports will increase from $30 to $40, and from $40 to $50 for cars, trucks and trailers. The Motors Reserve Fee (MRF) will also increase to 0.1% of the reserve price ($5 minimum, $10 maximum) from a flat $5 charge.

Sellers are definitely going to switch over to other alternatives (some are already doing so), if eBay continues to raise the fees. Let's wait and see how eBay is going to retain its market share.

Set the right starting price

2007-01-02T00:08:00.000+08:00

A starting price generally depends on how valuable the item is and how much of a demand it currently has. It is advisable to set your starting price or Buy-It-Now price in the neighborhood of what you expect your item is worth, raise it a little for high-demand or scarce items; or just take a few dollars off if you want to move your item fast.

$0.99 is the best starting price, as it draws people in to bid who otherwise wouldn’t, and items will almost never finish at such a low price. In a brief survey, auctions with the lowest starting prices generate the most interest. Therefore, setting a low starting price not only encourages healthy bidding, it also raises the perceived value and the final closing price.

DO NOT make your starting price lower than you are willing to sell you item for, unless you have a reserve for a higher amount. Most likely at least half the time, you will be selling items for the initial starting price. A reserve is your best bet if you believe that too high a starting bid will prevent you from having any sales, but it can also be a turn-off for some buyers. However, do set a minimum price for the item that you will be willing to accept, and which is realistic.

Since you have learnt how to do research and find out the average selling price in my previous post, you won’t have to worry about your item selling for too little, you should have no problem getting what you want for it. If you haven’t, refer to my previous post, “Research before you list”. Anyway, don’t worry too much about setting a starting price, if the bids are way too low, you can always withdraw the listing before the auction ends, but the listing fee is still chargeable. This method isn’t a good practice to repeat many times, thus, only use it as a last resort. However, there are bids placed in the last few minutes, why not hold on to it if your listing received plenty of interest?

Reminder: People always don’t pay attention to the listing fees when they set the starting price. They either totally forget about it, or perhaps they think the fees don’t matter. This is totally wrong. You better change that if you used to be like that. Let me show you why we should pay attention to the listing fees involved. For example, if you start your item out at $50.00 instead of $49.99, you unintentionally incur an additional $1.20 fee. This amount may seem tiny, but what if you list 10 items a day? It costs you $12 additional. This can definitely be prevented by lowering the price one cent, thus, study the eBay fees schedule regularly and be more alert to fee changes.

Happy New Year

2007-01-01T07:55:00.000+08:00

I just came back from the countdown celebration, that was tiring. I'm going to pop into my bed and have a long nice sleep.

Anyway, Happy New Year 2007!!! May you have a wonderful and prosperous 2007.
Have fun! Cheers!

Research before you list

2006-12-30T02:05:00.000+08:00

It is imperative to know your market. In order to do that, you need researches(and I mean more than one research). Perform a quick search using the Advanced Search function available for eBay users(normally on the top right-hand corner of every eBay page) to look for completed auctions. This function provided by eBay is totally free and relatively painless process. Key in the name of your item, for example, you are planning to research on Sony Ericsson Z610i mobile phone, instead of keying in “mobile phone” or “Sony Ericsson”, why not key in "Sony Ericsson Z610i"? This lets eBay search engine narrow down the results to a specific model of Sony Ericsson’s.

When you get the results page, click on Completed Items(under the display heading) and sort the results by Highest-Priced. Ignore the listings that never received bids, those are failures. Scrutinize the most successful sales and see what the starting price and selling price were, at what price range the item was normally sold, in which category the item was listed, as well as find out how the sellers have described and promoted their items so that you can learn from them and apply it to your listings, but DO NOT copy and paste, make sure you write your own description, because buyers tend to look for a listing with an unique and different description.

Research is a challenging task, but it is definitely imperative. Not only a research helps you in setting an attractive price, it also gives you a better idea of which category suits your item more.

Clean and clear listing details

2006-12-27T20:24:00.001+08:00

People always asked me to recommend a good payment gateway to accept online payments. Besides Paypal, 2CheckOut and StormPay have been doing a great job to secure certain percentage of the market share. Not forgetting the newly emerged Google Checkout. We all know they are good, that's why I'm not going to recommend any good payment processor today.

However, I'm going to NOT recommend a new payment gateway that I've recently come across. The name is AdvantageProcessors. When you enter the site, everything looks just fine, but when you wanna find out more information about the products and services they are providing, you get peanuts. Let me just rephrase this, before you purchase a product/service from a company, you definitely find out who they are, where they are and how to contact them. There’s NO company name, NO address and NO contact number. AdvantageProcessors is so not convincing that makes me doubt their trustworthiness.

The only way to get in touch with them is by submitting the contact form, hey, they can’t even afford to hire a customer service personnel? And we are talking about business here, of course we need to be serious.

Therefore, stick to your current payment processors. Why turn to a payment processor like AdvantageProcessors? I love Paypal and 2CheckOut.

So what have we learnt today? The moral of the story is, provide as much details as possible in the auction descriptions. Among the vital are the item, payment and shippping details. The clearer, simpler and easier to locate the listing information, the less likely you are to confuse, disappoint and send off the bidders. If your listings make bidders think twice, you already lose half of the battle.

Get paid to blog

2006-12-25T13:33:00.000+08:00

Forget about eBay for a moment. "Getting paid to blog" is the recent trend in the blogging world. If you like blogging/writing, why not get paid for doing so? I love getting paid to write.

The service is called Blogsvertise. Sign-up is particularly simple. Just fill out the form and submit your blogs for review and approval. Once approved, your blogs will be placed in the queue, and Blogsvertise will email you the tasks to write about in your blogs. You can write anything about the advertiser however you want, even complain. You won't be penalised.

How do you get paid? Paypal definitely. I believe you have been enjoying the great Paypal features and you know it well. Payments are made only after 30 days you accomplished your assigned tasks.

The current payout rate is ranging from $5 to $10 per post. Not bad for an additional side income, besides eBaying.

What are you waiting for? Stop writing and blogging for nothing, let's do it for money. Cheers!

Season's Greetings

2006-12-24T18:01:00.000+08:00

It's been a long time since I last updated this blog. I was terribly busy with work and personal issues. I've finally got myself reorganized and I'm back. Stay tuned for more updates and tips.

May the Love, Peace, and Joy of Christmas be yours always.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

eBay Sources of Wholesale Merchandise

2006-09-16T14:06:00.000+08:00

People always wonder where eBay Power Sellers obtain the low-cost merchandise from. The answer is here. Below is some of the popular sources for merchandise at wholesale prices, eBay Power Sellers often buy from these wholesalers.

Liquidation

Liquidation is a Liquidity Services, Inc. marketplace where eBay sellers can source commercial surplus inventory and government surplus assets in an online environment. Liquidation offers wide variety of product categories includes apparel, computers, electronics, housewares, industrial equipment, vehicles, and much more.

Lik Sang

Lik Sang is one of the largest Hong Kong-based wholesalers offering video games and accessories for consoles like PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Sony PSP, GameCube, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS and Xbox 360.

*Tips* You have to create and log into the account to get the wholesale prices.

*** Please note that Lik Sang is already out of business ***

Updated on 21February'2007- Lik Sang was forced to close down due to multiple legal actions brought against it by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Limited and Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

Via Trading
Via Trading deals in department store returns, overstocks, surplus goods, closeouts and liquidation items.
Product categories: electronics, apparel, tools, footwear, fashion accessories, cosmetics, hardgoods and softgoods.

LiquidXS
LiquidXS is a multi-channel wholesaler who sells brand name closeouts to resellers of all sizes all over the globe. LiquidXS is offering merchandise from leading brands such as BOSCH, LEGO, LG, ONEIDA, PLAYHUT, CONAIR, BARBIE, FARBERWARE, SALTON, MAISTO, OHIOHUT, BANDAI, BRATZ and many more.

Buylink
Buylink was born from a small community of vendors and retailers in 1996, Buylink was the first B2B exchange for specialty consumer goods. Buylink is experiencing continuous growth since its inception, and the Buylink Marketplace is currently offering thousands of products.

Luxury Brands
Luxury Brands is offering authenticity-guaranteed products with highest quality. You can get low prices for prestigious brand names like Giorgio Armani®, Gianni Versace®, Valentino®, Gucci®, Hermes®, gucci®, Ralph Lauren Polo®, JP Tods®, Loro Piana®, Gianfranco Ferré®, Fendi®, Givenchy®, Ermenegildo Zegna®, Iceberg®, Moschino®, Burberry® and Prada®.

Madison Avenue Closeouts
Madison Avenue Closeouts is a leading supplier of off-price wholesale clothing and apparel to retailers, distributors, and online sellers of all sizes. They buy directly from the nation's leading upscale department stores and World Famous Catalog retailers and can offer you First Quality designer apparel, shoes, and lingerie at prices well below original wholesale cost.

Children’s Wholesale
Children’s Wholesale is offering great children’s clothing including formal wear, communion dresses, outerwear and all the great styles. They are a store opening service and resource for fill-ins year round to independent retailers, selling over 100 name brands of kids clothes, that you know and trust, all at or below wholesale prices.

Teeda
Teeda is a family-owned and operated wholesale jewelry business. Their commitment to outstanding customer service, quality merchandise, and attractive pricing has remained the same throughout our 30 years of doing business with retailers and volume purchasers across the United States and around the world. Their products feature wholesale silver rings, earrings, bracelets, necklaces, chains, pendants, charms and much more.

Dragon Distributing
Dragon Distributing is a leading, non-competing wholesale distributor who specializes in the distribution of consumer electronics to independent dealers and chain store operations. They are offering Mobile Video Products, Car Audio Products, Motor Sport Accessories, Neon and Auto FX, Car Audio Accessories, Radar Detectors, CB Radios, CB Antennas and Accessories, Scanners, Power Inverters, 12-volt Travel Accessories, Auto Security, Portable Audio and much more.

HammerTap

2006-09-07T17:37:00.000+08:00

Hammertap Deep Analysis 2 is an invaluable research tool for eBay sellers. By sorting through the multitudes of auctions, the program identifies top-selling items up for bid in your particular niche of the eBay market. Deep Analysis allows you to drill down and narrow your search to find the most successful brand or product feature within a category of merchandise - information that will help you effectively evaluate your products' sales potential.

This software can also uncover auction trends that will yield higher sell-through rates in your own auctions. For instance, use the data available on Deep Analysis 2 to discover which day of the week is best your end your auction listing, assess whether or not you should use a reserve, choose starting prices that attract more bids, and much more.

In addition, Deep Analysis has an "Auction" tab on its search results page that enables you to investigate successful auctions via a variety of factors, including their popularity, starting price, total sales, number of bids, seller's reputation, reserve sell-through rate or category. It is a great way to learn exactly what determines an auction's success.

If you are looking for an eBay market research tool, Hammertap Deep Analysis is definitely the one that you cannot miss. Now that the Hammertap3 is released, it is undoubtedly an unbeatable eBay research tool on the market.

101 Ways to Boost Your Fortune on eBay

2006-08-31T15:07:00.000+08:00

101 Ways to Boost Your Fortune on eBay: Easy Ways to Get More Money for Everything You Sell
by Dennis Prince

From the Publisher
Bestselling authority on eBay Dennis L. Prince shows anybody how to make a king's ransom in sales

In 101 Ways to Boost Your Fortune on eBay, eBay guru Dennis Prince offers 101 proven strategies to help you become the star of your own eBay success story. Prince covers all the hot topics online you need to know through a series of concise "Fortune Boosters" -- no-nonsense articles packed with fast facts and ready-to-apply strategies. He explains everything from increasing your profits -- even when eBay increases its user fees -- to using eBay's Meta-Data to determine what products to sell and increase sales.

Product Details
Format: Paperback, pp. 288
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Companies, The
Pub. Date: July 2006

eBay Keywords Program Discontinued

2006-08-28T08:43:00.000+08:00

eBay will be discontinuing the eBay Keywords program at the end of September. The program, which allowed eBay sellers to bid for keywords for text ad placements, will be phased out as follows:

- 1. The week of September 5th, existing eBay Keywords text box ad placements will be removed from search results pages. eBay Keywords customers will still have access to larger graphical ad placements through the end of the month.
- 2. On September 30th the program will close. (No ad placement inventory will be available for the eBay Keywords program.) The eBay Keywords program has been used by a very small percentage of eBay members since its launch in 2003.

Sellers who have participated in the eBay Keywords program will receive an email with more information about the closing of the eBay Keywords program.

News announced on August 23, 2006 01:00PM PST/PT

Link to this announcement

Terapeak

2006-08-26T21:20:00.000+08:00

Terapeak, licensed by eBay through the auction site’s data licensing program, is one of the best eBay research tools on the market.

The Victoria, British Columbia based company provides pricing, keywords, category and many more types of research data on the eBay marketplace. The research statistics and marketing data are generated from Terapeak's "smart seach" data-mining tool which accesses data from closed eBay auctions in most of the major product categories.

Terapeak helps eBay sellers sell more effectively by giving them the information they need to accurately understand and predict the performance of their eBay listings. It also helps determine the best time to list products.

If you are looking for answers to the following questions, Terapeak is the tool that you need to succeed in eBay sellings.

How is my competition performing?
What is the real value of my goods?
When should I list my items?
Which is the best category to sell?
What was the highest price this item sold for?
What is the most frequent end price?
Is Bold or Highlight worth it?
What do top sellers use?
Does Buy It Now truly help?
Should I list Bid or Fixed price?
Which day of the week the buyers shop?
What are my competitors secret? etc

Click on Terapeak to go to the website and find out more.

My first blog

2006-08-26T18:13:00.000+08:00

This is my 1st blog ever in my life. How am I feeling? I'm just getting a bit nervous, excited and don't-know-where-to-start... duh!

Who would think that an online trading community created by Pierre Omidyar in Sep'95 has now become the unbeatable auction site with more than 200 million users? I bet nobody did. Well done, eBay!

The Old saying "If you think you can, you can" does not apply to 21st century anymore 'cause Pierre never thought he could, but he made it. :)

Anyways, this blog talks anything about eBay, the greatest online marketplace ever.

So, feel free to drop a line or two. Make yourself at home.

Cheers!