Eating And Thriving On-line

    



    


The Internet SHOULD be "the place to shop" for low-carb dieters, diabetics, celiacs, and anyone else on a special diet. The posted prices are well below those in retail stores, the variety is greater, you are dealing with firms whose specialty is dealing with your need, and the products for sale are described fully in type that is designed to be read (isn't that a pleasant contrast to the packages you see in your local store.)
The bad news, of course, is the shipping charge that is attached to every order. Shortly after being diagnosed with celiac disease, I ordered a box of breakfast cereal ($4.00) on-line and paid a $7.00 shipping charge. I learned from the experience that $11.00 box of cereal.
My solution stems from the fact that the cost of shipping items drops dramatically with the size of the total order. For example, the Gluten-Free Pantry charges $6.85 to ship a single but will ship $499.00 worth of merchandise for less than twice that much. At Bob's Red Mill, the shipping charge depends on the weight of the total shipment and depends on where you live, but in my particular ZIP code, a single item ships for $7.39. A 34 pound shipment would cost $13.43. You can probably find similar examples by browsing through the web sites you would like to patronize.
The strategy is to order as much as you can in a single shipment. Don't throw money away, of course, but do everything that you can to increase the size of the order and thereby decrease the cost of shipping each individual items. Work with people who share your diet. The only requirement is that the entire order be sent to the same place and paid for with the same credit card.
Good luck. Eat well. Obviously, internet shopping is easier for persons who are ordering big-ticket items where the shipping cost is largely insignificant. But the system I have just described works.
Paul Colligan is the webmaster at sugar-and-gluten-free.com, a site that employs the shopping system described in this article. Contact him at paul@sugar-and-gluten-free.com to share ideas.
I learned internet shopping out of necessity. I live in a small city and have a very restricted diet not to mention a retiree's budget. I established http://www.sugar-and-gluten-free.com to help others do the same.


    
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Easy Money On Ebay?

    



    

Ebay was only two years old when I discovered it.
A friend I worked with was also starting to sell on Ebay at about the same time, and we exchanged ideas and experiences constantly. Since we were already working together on our Ebay ventures, we decided to combine our resources into one company and grow it while we were still both working our regular job. We found our niche selling technical books and manuals as our little company began to grow and prosper. Our co-workers at the company we worked at during the day came to consider us the "Ebay Experts". We were answering questions about online auctions on a daily basis, but one coworker had the same comment every day.
"Hey, show me how to make easy money on Ebay!" he would ask. It became a standing joke between My partner and I that usually came up around two or three in the morning during a marathon packing or email answering session. One of us would look at the other and mutter in a disgusted tone "Yea, Easy money on Ebay.."
In January of 2002, we had more sales, and more auctions running than ever before. We were looking at 100 to 150 auctions a day closing, and enjoying a sell-through rate of close to 75%. Our shelves were piled high with books and manuals, the shipping area was well stocked with supplies, and we were ready for long hours of fulfilling our orders.
Then, as if fate stepped in to see just what we were made of, a huge ice storm hit our part of Oklahoma taking out large sections the electrical grid. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that online businesses can do without many things, but electricity is NOT on that list! On the third day of the blackout, we were able to learn from the radio (battery powered) that it wasn't just our area, but over HALF the state of Oklahoma. Worse yet, the damage was so extensive it was going to be at least TWO WEEKS before power was restored! A quick calculation and we almost panicked. We would have over two THOUSAND AUCTIONS END, and no way to contact the bidders! If we didn't keep up with the sales, payments, and shipping on a daily basis, we were in deep trouble... We couldn't imagine what a mess it would be in TWO WEEKS!
The fourth day into the blackout, I made an executive decision. I grabbed the company checkbook, and headed for our closest Lowe's Home Improvement center (about 70 miles away..). The little roadtrip turned into quite the adventure. Strange thing about a massive blackout is gas stations can't pump gas without electricity, and you are burning gas while you are driving around looking for a gas station that was open for business. I was running on luck and fumes before I finally found a station and filled up. With a full tank of gas, I made it to Lowe's and purchased a generator. We assembled the generator in record time, put oil in the engine and then realized... Uh Oh, we need gas for the generator. No local gas stations were open for business, and we didn't want to risk another road trip. Using an old trick I hadn't used since I was growing up on a farm, we were able to get enough gas out of my pickup truck to fuel up the generator.
The little generator fired up on the first pull, and with the help of a few extension cords and power strips, we had a computer network up and running at My partners house. It was then we made another interesting discovery. Cable internet connections do not work without electricity. I had a DSL internet connection at my house, so off we go with a partially charged battery in my laptop to test my internet connection. SUCCESS! DSL works off the phone line power so it was still functional. We made a quick drive back to My partners house to tear down the computer network and load the generator, then back to my house to set it all up again. At 4:30 the next morning We had the network online and a couple of lamps for light. We were self-contained, and open for business. Now we could get to work, and so we did, for the next straight 48 hours. We had a pickup truck load of packages ready for the post office when it hit us, "Is the post office open?". A quick phone call ( by the way, cell phones and cordless phones are useless during a blackout. The simplest plug-it-in-the-wall phones work great.) found us with another problem. Our local post office was closed (no electricity there either.) They did tell us the regional USPS hub had power, and was open 24/7. The bad news is, the regional hub was 75 miles away in Oklahoma City!
Meanwhile, back at the fuel issue... We were relieved to discover that two local gas stations had rented generators and were open for business. We gassed up and headed for Oklahoma City. With the load of packages on the way to customers and most of the other urgent tasks completed, we took a much needed break. We shut down the network and use the generator to power an electric griddle and make a hot meal. The little generator wouldn't power both at the same time without throwing it's breaker.
For the next two weeks, that poor little generator ran constantly keeping the computers running and the shipments going out, the questions answered, and our customers happy. Every other day I would make the 150 mile round trip to the USPS hub in Oklahoma City, stopping on the way back to fill the gas containers for the generator, and fuel up the truck for the next trip.
One evening we took a short break, and stepped outside for a breath of fresh air. We noticed something different.... THE STREET LIGHTS WERE ON! I ran inside and tried the lights... ELECTRICITY!
I went next door and asked my neighbor how long the power had been back on. "Oh, about four or five hours..". We had been so wrapped up working in our self-contained office, we hadn't realized the power had come back on!With our ordeal behind us, we couldn't resist the temptation to elebrate with a cold beer and a toast...
"Here's to "easy money" on Ebay!"
KL Bohn is an Industrial Engineer with a passion for technology and especially Ebay.
Ebay was only two years old when I discovered it quite by accident. 7 1/2 years, and over 85,000 transactions later I'm still hooked on Ebay as a seller, buyer, and shareholder.
    




    
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Earn Money Now From Selling Childrens Items On Ebay

    



    

Kids Items You Can Sell
Clothes, toys and videos are good money makers on eBay.
Go to eBay and look up a "lot" of size six girl's cloths. You will find they are expensive! The average price for a lot of 20good conditioned clothes is about $35.00.
When your kids grow out of their seasonal clothes do not throw them out. Bundle them into different lots by category. For example bundle girls dresses separate from girls play clothes, but only do that if you have at least six of each different type.
Lots of any item sell better than single items unless the item is unique or high priced. For example, a hand embroidered dress that you paid a lot for would sell better by itself instead of bundled with other basic dresses.
The next item to lookup on eBay is toys. Most toys in good condition will sell for a lot of money. One idea that works well is to buy hot items in October at Wal-Mart or Toys-R-Us and sell them on eBay. Busy people are willing to pay extra for the convenience of getting the items delivered to their home. For example, last year a Mega Power Ranger came out in stores around October and sold at Wal-Mart for about $45.00. The same item sold on eBay for up to $65.00 plus shipping. The Yellow Power Rangeris yet another example where the store price was about $6.00,while the same item was selling on eBay for about $20.00.
Have your children ever received duplicate birthday or Christmas presents? You can sell those on eBay also. Look at the eBay listings for items of interest to see if selling on eBay is worth more than returning the item to the store.
Kid's videos and DVDs are also good money-makers. Bundle about three of these together, and you can usually make about$7.00-$12.00 per bundle. Bundle more and the money goes up. Disney movies in hard cases can go for a higher amount. This also works for other types of movies as well.
Save those McDonalds toys. Some Kids Meals toys sell high. Take the new Star Wars toys from Burger King...very collectible. You will find them selling on eBay from $1.00 to $5.00, not including shipping.
Ebay has a whole section devoted to dolls and bears. If your daughter doesn't want her collectible dolls anymore sell them on eBay.
Kids Crafts You Can Sell
Around the holidays, especially, have your children place their hand in paint and make a print on some quality paper. Add a holiday related poem and you have a great craft to sell on eBay.
Have your kids make gift jars with ready made mixes. For example, hot chocolate mixes in a jar with a plastic spoon tied to it with a ribbon. Dip the end of the spoon with white chocolate.
Baby Items You Can Sell
Used baby items are very profitable. Baby items cost a lot of money, especially in their first year. Any "gently" used items are generally good sellers on eBay.
If you have baby coupons that you will never use, sell them on eBay! Left over diapers and formula sell well also. A lot of 35used cloth diapers usually sells for around $38.00 plus shipping. Four Fuzzi Bunz diapers (cloth diapers with hemp inserts) can sell for as much as $40.00.
There you have it. Plenty of ideas for selling those leftover kids items on eBay...and you can even make a nice profit while you are at it!
Simon Weaver can help YOU start your own profitable business on the Internet within the next 24 hours! To learn more, visit:http://www.YourOwnFreeBusiness.com/pips.html


    


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Earn Money Now From Selling Childrens Items On Ebay

Kids Items You Can Sell
Clothes, toys and videos are good money makers on eBay.
Go to eBay and look up a "lot" of size six girl's cloths. You will find they are expensive! The average price for a lot of 20good conditioned clothes is about $35.00.
When your kids grow out of their seasonal clothes do not throw them out. Bundle them into different lots by category. For example bundle girls dresses separate from girls play clothes, but only do that if you have at least six of each different type.
Lots of any item sell better than single items unless the item is unique or high priced. For example, a hand embroidered dress that you paid a lot for would sell better by itself instead of bundled with other basic dresses.
The next item to lookup on eBay is toys. Most toys in good condition will sell for a lot of money. One idea that works well is to buy hot items in October at Wal-Mart or Toys-R-Us and sell them on eBay. Busy people are willing to pay extra for the convenience of getting the items delivered to their home. For example, last year a Mega Power Ranger came out in stores around October and sold at Wal-Mart for about $45.00. The same item sold on eBay for up to $65.00 plus shipping. The Yellow Power Rangeris yet another example where the store price was about $6.00,while the same item was selling on eBay for about $20.00.
Have your children ever received duplicate birthday or Christmas presents? You can sell those on eBay also. Look at the eBay listings for items of interest to see if selling on eBay is worth more than returning the item to the store.
Kid's videos and DVDs are also good money-makers. Bundle about three of these together, and you can usually make about$7.00-$12.00 per bundle. Bundle more and the money goes up. Disney movies in hard cases can go for a higher amount. This also works for other types of movies as well.
Save those McDonalds toys. Some Kids Meals toys sell high. Take the new Star Wars toys from Burger King...very collectible. You will find them selling on eBay from $1.00 to $5.00, not including shipping.
Ebay has a whole section devoted to dolls and bears. If your daughter doesn't want her collectible dolls anymore sell them on eBay.
Kids Crafts You Can Sell
Around the holidays, especially, have your children place their hand in paint and make a print on some quality paper. Add a holiday related poem and you have a great craft to sell on eBay.
Have your kids make gift jars with ready made mixes. For example, hot chocolate mixes in a jar with a plastic spoon tied to it with a ribbon. Dip the end of the spoon with white chocolate.
Baby Items You Can Sell
Used baby items are very profitable. Baby items cost a lot of money, especially in their first year. Any "gently" used items are generally good sellers on eBay.
If you have baby coupons that you will never use, sell them on eBay! Left over diapers and formula sell well also. A lot of 35used cloth diapers usually sells for around $38.00 plus shipping. Four Fuzzi Bunz diapers (cloth diapers with hemp inserts) can sell for as much as $40.00.
There you have it. Plenty of ideas for selling those leftover kids items on eBay...and you can even make a nice profit while you are at it!
Simon Weaver can help YOU start your own profitable business on the Internet within the next 24 hours! To learn more, visit:http://www.YourOwnFreeBusiness.com/pips.html

Dropship Your Way To Success

    



    


Many people know they would like to start an Internet business, but they don't have a product to sell. The solution is often drop shipping.
Drop shipping is a business arrangement in which a company (often the manufacturer of a product) sells a product at wholesale prices to a reseller and ships the product directly to the reseller's customers. The retailer makes the company's products available to customers, often through a web site, collects payment, and then orders the product from the manufacturer. This arrangement works well for both the manufacturer and the seller. The manufacturer is able to make the product available to a large number of retailers. The retailers are able to sell products they would not otherwise have access to. Drop shipping allows almost anyone to start a retail company without needing to order large amounts of inventory. This eliminates the need to store the product and cuts overhead dramatically. The reseller only orders products after he has sold it, and in most cases only after being paid. For small businesses concerned about cash flow, this is very attractive.
There are two different philosophies concerning what items to sell via a drop shipper. You may choose whichever appeals to you. The first group believes that you should research the market to determine what items to sell. They say you need to find a high demand item, then locate a drop shipper that sells that item. The second group believes that you should sell what you are interested in. If you like knives, find a company willing to drop ship knives. If you like power tools, find a drop shipper for those. They believe that if you sell something you enjoy, you will do a better job selling. Whichever method you choose, an outstanding way to find a drop shipper is the web site, World Wide Brands (http://databuilders.net/wwb). The people at WWB work full time finding companies willing to drop ship their products for you, Their database is updated constantly to insure only the best companies are made available.
If you decide to go it alone and find a drop shipper yourself, look for a company that either drop ships exclusively, or requires you to register as a member before getting the wholesale prices. If anyone can log into the site and pay the same low price, why should customers buy from you? Many companies require you to provide a business license number before allowing you to register. This is to insure you are a legitimate retailer. If you do not have a license, you should get one. Ideally, the company will deal exclusively in the product you want to sell.
I also do not support companies charging for drop shipping. You may see some offers similar to "Sell hundreds of products for only $29.95 a month." They go on to tell you that you can make thousands of dollars selling their products on E-Bay, so the $29.95 they charge shouldn't matter. There are enough companies that don't charge anything. Avoid paying for the right to sell someone's product for them.
Perhaps the most difficult part in starting a drop ship business, is building the web site. If you have never built a web site before, it can be an overwhelming task. You must consider each detail, from deciding what software to use, to finding a host, and accepting payments. I recommend using osCommerce to build your online store. It is free software that can be modified to look like you want it to. There is an online knowledge base that can answer many of your questions about setting it up and configuring it, or you can let someone else set it up for you.
Thousands of people are making money using the osCommerce, drop shipping combination. It is a powerful, inexpensive way to get your business started.
About The Author
Jason Conley is the owner of Databuilders, a web hosting company for small and home office businesses. He has built a number of drop ship web sites using osCommerce, and contributes regularly to the osCommerce support forum. You can contact Jason at jkconley@databuilders.net, or visit Databuilders at http://databuilders.net.
    



    
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Dropship Your Way To Ebusiness Success

    



    



Q: I would like to start my own eBay business, but I really don't want to invest in a ton of inventory until I can get a better handle on what might or might not sell. I read another column about dropshipping, but I'm still a little fuzzy on how the whole process works. Do you think using dropshipping is a good way to start an eBay business and if so, how do I get started? -- Candace M.
A: Dropshipping is a topic that I first addressed in my column way back in April, 2003, which is decades ago in Internet years. But with the continuing growth of eBay and it's positioning of itself as a viable way for anyone looking to launch an ebusiness, the topic of dropshipping is now hotter than ever. It is also now more misunderstood than ever.
Dropshipping has been around since Sears first started selling goods from its mail order catalogs over a hundred years ago. However, the idea of dropshipping still confuses many people who don't understand exactly how the process works.
By definition, dropshipping is a method of selling and distributing goods wherein the distributor or supplier of the product (the dropshipper) ships the product directly to the end user (your customer) on the retailer's behalf (that's you).
The process of dropshipping involves three parties who take a product from manufacturing to market. They are a manufacturer, a distributor, and a reseller.
Let's use a blue widget as a sample product to demonstrate the process: Blue Widget Manufacturing (manufacturer): This is the company that manufactures blue widgets. Blue Widget Manufacturing does not sell directly to the public or supply the retailers who ultimately sell the blue widgets to the end user. They prefer to use distributors to handle the task of taking their blue widgets to market. Blue Widgets sells blue widgets by the truckload to distributors who pay $5 per blue widget.
A1 Distributing (distributor/dropshipper): A1 Distributing is the company that purchases blue widgets in bulk from the manufacturer and supplies them to resellers at a cost of $7 each. The distributor does not ship blue widgets to the reseller, but ships orders directly to the reseller's customers as the widgets are sold.
Big Bob's eBay Widget Store: Big Bob sells blue widgets to the public from his eBay store. Bob orders the blue widgets from A1 Distributing as he sells them (usually one at a time) and has A1 ship the blue widget directly to his customer. Bob sells blue widgets to the public for $10 each, which means that for every blue widget sold he nets $3.
How The Process of Dropshipping Works
Here are the seven steps involved in starting a dropship ebusiness:
STEP 1: Choose A Product To Sell
The very first step in any sales process is deciding what product to sell. There are many factors that should be considered before deciding on a product to sell, but for now let's say that you decide to sell CD players on eBay.
STEP 2: Locate A Supplier Who Will Dropship For You
Using a research tool like Google, Thomas Register, or an industry-specific resource like The Ultimate eBay Dropship Power Pak, you search for and find a company who will dropship CD players for you. The company offers you a 35% mark up over cost, which means that they will supply the CD players to you for $100 each and you should be able to retail them for $135. You make sure that the dropshipper has a good stock of CD players on hand so you don't end up selling a product that must be back-ordered.
STEP 3: Set Up An Account With The Dropshipper
You contact the company that can supply the CD players and set up a reseller account with them. This can often be done online or by phone, but some companies will require that you complete and return a reseller application to open an account. Some companies may also require a tax ID and business license.
STEP 4: Advertise The Product For Sale On eBay
Now that you have your supplier lined up and know that the product is in stock, it's time to make a sale. You advertise the product using an eBay auction. Since you know what you must pay the dropshipper for the product, you know what the minimum amount you will take for the product. In this case you start your auction at $100 since that is your cost. If you are confident that you can get more than $100 for the product you can start with a lower price, but remember that if the product goes for less than what it costs you to fill the order, you will lose money. Also remember that the dropshipper will charge shipping, so you should figure that into your sale.
STEP 5: The Product Sells
Great news: your CD player sells for $135 and your customer pays you with a PayPal instant payment. I highly recommend that if you are selling on eBay you use PayPal or some other online processor to accept instant payments. This allows the customer to pay you faster, which lets you place the order with the dropshipper faster, which gets the product to your customer faster.
STEP 6: Place The Order With The Dropshipper
After your customer pays you, you should contact the dropshipper immediately to order the product on your customer's behalf. The dropshipper then ships the order to your customer under your company name and address.
STEP 7: Follow Up After The Sale
This is where many new ebusiness people drop the ball. Just because your customer has paid you and you've placed the order with the dropshipper does not mean that you are out of the loop. Quite the contrary, if there are problems with the order you are the one that will be held responsible in the eyes of your customer.
Be proactive in your customer relations. Follow up with your customer to let them know that the item has been shipped. Offer yourself as the personal contact for any issues that may arise. This is also a great way to sell that customer more products. Invite them to check out your eBay store or website if you have one.
Many people are afraid to use dropshipping as a method of sales due to the horror stories that fill the Internet about unscrupulous dropshippers who take the money and don't fill the orders, merchandise that is eternally back ordered, unscrupulous middle men posing as dropshippers, etc. Make no mistake, the dropshipping industry ? like most other industries ? does have its share of shady characters who would rob you blind given the chance, but there are also hundreds of honest dropshippers who can help you build a profitable eBay dropship business.
Dropshipping is a complex topic that can't be completely addressed here. For that reason I have written a detailed report on dropshipping that is available to Entrepreneur.com readers for free.Small Business Q&A is written by veteran entrepreneurand syndicated columnist, Tim Knox.Tim's latest books include "Small Business Success Secrets"and "The 30 Day Blueprint For Success!"Related Links:http://www.smallbusinessqa.comhttp://www.dropshipwholesale.net


    



    
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Drop Ship Your Way To Ebay Profits

    



    

One of the most difficult things to do when looking to start an online business is to find that elusive supplier that will supply you, put simply you need a source of real products to sell. Drop shipping is a perfect way to achieve this and lets you develop the perfect online business..
The perfect online business is one in which you are selling a product whereby you DO NOT HAVE ANY STOCK and you DO NOT PHYSICALLY HAVE TO DEAL WITH THE PRODUCT and all you do is COLLECT THE MONEY AND PASS THE CUSTOMERS DETAILS ON.
Sounds to good to be true! - well it definately is TRUE.
THIS IS DROP SHIPPING AND ANYONE CAN DO IT!
Read the following example :
You decide that you want to sell Mobile Phones, you then realise that to do this the traditional way you would have to hold a large amount of stock so that you have the range and product available for your customers. Without a massive amount of working capital you have no chance, also by the time you get your business noticed the lines you are carrying are out of date and not worth what you paid for them.
However, now consider this:
You sign up to a Mobile Phone drop shipper, they give you a list of products that they can supply. You now go away and advertise this list on your online store. You take an order from your website for a Motorola phone, you have this advertised at $200.. You then collect the customers details via your website, all good shopping cart software provide this feature, and then contact your drop shipper and buy the same phone for $150 and pass them your customers details. That is the end of the sales process for you, what happens next is :
The drop shipper SENDS THE PRODUCT TO YOUR CUSTOMER and usually it goes under plain packaging or some drop shippers can also put YOUR COMPANY DETAILS on the packaging when they send it to your customer.
Thats $50 PROFIT for VERY LITTLE WORK!
Just 10 orders a week will give you $500 profit.
Drop shipping is fast becoming the easiest way of starting your own online business because it offers a very simple formula for success :
The drop shipper sets the price that you pay, you then set the price that your customers pay and the difference between the two is your profit!
SIMPLE ISNT IT.
Because it is that simple a lot of people are jumping on the drop shipping band wagon and it is not unusual to see lots of different websites using the same pictures and sales copy to sell the same product, usually because they just simply publish the promotional materials that the drop shippers provide for them.
It is important at this stage to remember that the internet was based upon the ability to share information and content. It is this simple word, CONTENT, that will help you to distinguish yourself from the rest and will also ensure that your search engine rankings are developed to increase the traffic (ie. customers) to your website.
This is simply using information and content to ADD VALUE to your website, customers want to be able to learn about the product before they purchase and having content specific to your area will allow this distinction in the mind of the customer. In order to make a success of your online business you have to make your customers want to come back. Think of your favourite websites, why do you keep revisiting them? Simple, because they provide you with something that is of VALUE to you.
Drop shipping allows you to develop your business in this manner because instead of worrying about stock levels and shipping you get to focus on listening to the market and discovering the products your visitors want - and then being able to rapidly add them to your site.
Its CONTENT SPECIFIC TO A WANT.
Drop Shipping is EASY - Have I said that?
BUT, don't get carried away. When you see the products that the drop shippers offer you simply think I can sell that, that, that and that and before long your list of things that you want to sell is massive and this is counter productive. In order to make drop shipping successful for you I would suggest to
FOCUS ON ONE PRODUCT AT A TIME
Build this up, when this is established then it gives you the ability to go into other areas a lot easier and your current customer base will give you a good source of potential new customers straight away.
A great way is to focus onto a product that you like, know a lot about or use personally in a hobby etc. This gives you the opportunity to develop your website as an authority on the subject and as such ADD VALUE.
Like any business venture there are some points that should be raised before you build your online empire the easy drop shipping way :
Don't just use the first drop shipper you come across as they may not give you the best deal on this particular product. Like all things shop around a number of drop shippers to find the one most suitable to your needs.
Some drop shippers operate a handling fee over and above shipping costs, this is usually quite a resonable fee and needs to be factored into your pricing structure.
Some drop shippers try to charge you a monthly 'members' fee as another means to make money from you, in my opinion these should be avoided as the only time you should have to pay a dropshipper is in connection with a specific order. You will find that the majority that charge a members fee are the ones that offer no true value to your business anyway.
As with any developing business the question of credibility is key, unfortunately there are a number of con artists out there that are aiming to take your money for nothing in return. A key phrase to remember is :
IF IT SOUNDS TO GOOD TO BE TRUE - IT IS!
Research is key, for example :
How long have the drop shippers been in business?
Do they respond to your information requests quickly and professionally?
Do they offer buying accounts?
What payments do they accept? (if just Western Union run a mile)
This list is endless, that is why I only recommend two sources of drop shippers information. Both these lists are maintained by professionals that constantly update thier lists and only recommend the best, most reliable and trustworthy dropshippers. These sources can be found from the link in my signature box at the bottom of the article.
As you can imagine the idea of drop shipping fits in with online auctions, in particular eBay, perfectly as eBay will provide you with the traffic and all you have to do is make that ad stand out from the rest (my FREE resources on my site will help you) and all the rest of the work is done for you.
You just concentrate on developing your business and using ebays traffic to make money and you cannot lose.
Mike - webmaster at Online Auction Traders Resource
Visit ebay information central to use the FREE resources to develop your online business.

    



    

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Drop Shipping Your Way To Increased Profits

    



    

Drop shipping, for those who are unfamiliar with it, is a system whereby you promote the products of a particular manufacturer, take orders directly, and the manufacturer/source handles all the inventory and fulfillment functions for you.
In a nutshell, here is the drop-ship system:
>You generate and accept the order.
>You take your profits out of the sale price.
>You forward the order and the wholesale cost to the drop shipper.
>The source factory ships directly to your customer.
The benefits of this arrangement are probably obvious:
* No inventory cost to you.
* Substantially higher profits to you over what most regular affiliate programs allow.
* The ability to quickly set-up inexpensive, highly targeted, niche or mini-sites to test and promote diverse products.
This process has been around for years and has been responsible for many highly successful mail order dealer relationships in the past. Many of the top catalogers and other direct response marketers, have been using this system to increase profits for decades. If you have ever ordered a high priced item from a mail order catalog and been told that the product was being shipped from the factory... then you have experienced drop shipping first hand.
Drop shipping is, I believe, a virgin un-tapped storehouse of profits for todays internet marketer.
On-line directories exist [http://www.dropshipprofits.com] which reveal essential contact information for drop shippers of over 2,000,000 products and 4,000 brands. Most legitimate drop ship sources will require that you have a state tax reseller number in order to approve you to sell their products and give you the wholesale pricing you are looking for.
Beware of any drop ship source which requires you to pay a fee in order to become a drop-ship dealer... or requires a membership. These are generally organizations which make their money selling "drop ship licenses"... and are, for the most part, scams. Legitimate drop shippers and factory sources never charge you any fees other than the actual wholesale cost & shipping costs of the products you sell.
Another caveat... always make sure that you have a written agreement with the source factory that you own the customer! The factory or drop ship source should agree in writing not to solicit your customers in any form. This is very important to you. Your customer list is one of your most important assets. If the factory you are dealing with balks at this request... use another source who will agree.
Almost every conceivable type of product is available from a drop shipper willing to ship products in single units under your companies name. Pick your interest area... electronics, consumer products, agricultural & industrial products, office equipment & supplies, hobby gear, recreational / sporting goods, clothing, furniture, etc. The list of available products from drop shippers is almost endless.
The products actual source is invisible to the consumer. The seller (you) is able to build a database of customers that he/she owns and controls (by agreement with the manufacturer) and has all the direct marketing advantages that accompany that arrangement... while eliminating the need for maintaining expensive inventory.
This arrangement offers maximum flexibility and cost savings for the seller. If a product does not sell well online you can pull the advertising (web page or mini-site) instantly with very little cost to you outside of the actual time it took to build and test the web marketing effort. Or, since this type of page/mini-site is so inexpensive to maintain and host... you can simply leave the pages online and take whatever orders trickle through... while you move on to the testing and promotion of new drop ship products. A quick marketing test can be done on eBay or other auction site to determine if the product sells... and at what price.
The manufacturer benefits from this relationship by gaining a legion of active marketers promoting their products... at little or no cost (other than those small costs involved with supporting the marketer with online marketing materials like product images, sales materials, etc).
As a marketer you are looking for several key components in developing the drop-ship relationship with a source factory or distributor:
** High Quality Products
** Blanket Product Liability Insurance (if applicable)
** A clear guarantee and return policy
** High Quality Marketing Materials ... product images (gifs, jpegs, etc.), selling copy, other suitable web graphics, etc.
** A Customer Service Department that will work with you to develop the best selling situation for you.
If you are a manufacturer seeking to expand distribution (or an inventor with a new product ) you will find the willingness to drop ship in single units will give you a strong competitive edge while you carve out increased market share at little cost.
If you are an online marketer interested in offering high profit products to your niche market (your website visitors) without incurring high front-end development or inventory costs... then drop shipping is for you.
Internet marketers are uniquely positioned to take profitable advantage of the drop ship arrangement and should give this system a serious look.
(c) Copyright 2005 Thom Reece
Thom Reece is CEO of Online Marketing Resource Center [http://www.E-ComProfits.com] and publisher of "Thom Reece's Web Marketing Strategies & Techniques Newsletter". You may subscribe free at: http://www.WMSTDirect.com, mailto:thom@e-comprofits.com

    



    

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Drop Shipping Secrets And Sources Revealed

    



    

Unfortunately for those just breaking into the wholesaling business, drop-shipping source information is jealously guarded. With a firm understanding of the service they offer, it isn't hard to see why. As opposed to the typical wholesale resource, drop-shippers offer a myriad of benefits to their buyers:
? You have no excess merchandise to house between orders.
? You're saved the hassle of calculating shipping, packaging orders, and standing in line at whichever postal service you may use.
? Drop-shipping is a great resource for people who own and run web-sites out of their spare time.
? Drop-shipping doesn't require you to make any out of pocket expenses.
As you can see, drop-shipping is pretty attractive. One of the biggest arenas for wholesalers who use drop-shipping sources is eBay, but it can work with any type of online presence. In an ideal situation, a drop-shipping transaction works as follows (assuming that you already have a customer relationship with a drop-ship source):
First, you'll select which product(s) you'll offer for sale on your website, email ad, auction listing, etc. For each item, you'll need a good quality color photo in .gif or .jpeg format. You'll also need a product description, retail price (giving yourself a margin of at least 25% profit), and check out/shopping cart features.
Then, once the information has been uploaded and is ready for public viewing, a buyer will place an order and make full payment for the item.
After this, you'll place an order with your drop-shipping company and they will locate, package and ship the item to your customer, while (usually) at the same time keeping your cash saving secret safe using unlabeled boxes and invoices, or shipping it using your business contact information. You'll send whatever the wholesale price payment is to them, keeping the extra as profit for your company!!
With the smoothness and ease of this, it's no wonder that people out there are charging outlandish prices for directories, lists and memberships to drop-ship sources "clubs". These packages can run from the low $10's well into the hundreds of dollars.
But not anymore.
Today, I'll reveal to you ten great drop-shipping companies free of charge! While these companies may charge fees for their service, the information is completely free! So don't miss out, get your wholesale business up and running the smart way!!!
1. http://www.qualitybooks.com/dropshippers.htmAll of the information that you'll need to open your own online bookstore!! They also offer a Webpage CD that provides you with products, sales page templates and more. They have a one time, lifetime membership fee of only $49.95, which is covered by a 30 day money back guarantee.
2. http://vistawholesale.zoovy.com/The source for wholesale products such as novelties, general merchandise, novelty lighters and more. They supply eBay sellers, flea market dealers, retail outlets and the general public with the hottest products on the market today, at below wholesale pricing. In addition, there is no minimum order, volume discounts, world wide shipping, no fee drop-shipping, and no membership fees!!
3. http://www.usdropshippers.com/Now you do! With USDropshippers.com, just find the manufacturers you would like to work with on their categorized pages. The manufacturers will look at your store and decide whether or not they would like you representing their products. After the manufacturer accepts your store, you will receive a password to download the manufacturer's product database and digital artwork. And best of all, you set your own prices, It's your store. As orders come in to your web based store, you fax the orders to the manufacturers and they drop-ship to your customers using a generic invoice with your store's information. With USDropshippers.com, your customers are always your customers!
4. http://www.crystalquest.com/dropshippingprogram.htmMake money drop-shipping water filters and related products. Quoted from the website, "It is very easy to resell our products. We work on a "Per Order" basis. Basically, you make a sale, collect payment from your customer then place the order with us. We will ship the order directly to your customers."
5.http://www.optimumdiscounts.com/catalog/wholesaledropshippingcatalog.phpThis website offers a lot of great categories and prices for products that they'll drop-ship. However, they don't guarantee that all products will be in stock. Their shipping costs are based as a percentage of your order price. Categories include: As Seen on TV, Cameras, Electronics, Radar Detectors and more!
6. http://www.information-entertainment.com/Business/dropship.htmlThis website is AWESOME!! They offer an extensive list of companies and their contact information of sources where you can find great drop-shipped products. It'll take a little effort, most of the listings don't include website or email addresses, but the list is amazing and well worth the time and postage.
7. http://stealthwholesale.com/Stealth Wholesale Inc. is a wholesale/drop-shipping company that specializes in products such as tools, electronics, furniture, models, lighting and more. You'll need to open an account, and as best as I could tell from their website, there isn't any charge to open one!!
8. http://www.securitywholesaler.com/A great site that offers security based products (home security, personal security, safety weapons, pepper spray, child safety) for sale and offers drop-shipping at a cost per address of $2.00 or $2.50 if you'd like to include a catalog. Definitely worth checking out!!
9. http://www.ewis.ca/onlinestore/scripts/dropship.aspThis link takes you to an electronic product wholesaler and drop-shipping company. Benefits include no minimum order and no drop-shipping fees. Check out their wide selection of electronic products in the toolbar to the left.
10. http://smartvitamins.com/Cash in on the growing trend in the health and wellness industry! This website offers you the chance to open your own online or auction vitamin/supplement business. Click the link provided to view the many benefits they offer.
Armed with this information, you should have more than enough resources to help you get your online presence up and running. Without the risks of high inventory and overhead, you're giving yourself an even better chance of success. No longer will you have to suffer sitting in the dark while others are reaping the profits of drop-shipping!!
Jennifer Gibbs is a successful freelance writer who lives in South Georgia with her husband and her son. If you're looking for high-quality writing at very reasonable rates, check out her website at http://www.jennifergibbs.com, or send an inquiry to info@jennifergibbs.com.



    



    

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Dropshipping On Ebay, Does It Work?

    



    

eBay offers any business owner a new global market to sell his products or services on. You are no longer constrained by geographical positioning. Your small local businesses, when taken online, can become one of the biggest players in the industry. While eBay is a great potential resource, one of the best tools for maximizing your efficiency, and profit, is dropshipping and eBay is the perfect place to start.
Dropshipping basically works like this: a merchant offers a certain good on the market. He has large quantities of that product and needs dealers to advertise the merchandise and bring in buyers. You can become a dealer for a certain product, study the product's specifications, price and quality, take a look at demand and competition and offer it on eBay. Doing business on eBay, especially if you're using dropshipping as a method, requires some careful planning. The more you know about this constantly changing environment, the better are your chances of achieving the success you are looking for.
OK, but where does the profit come from? Well, the dropshipper usually bills you, the trader; only about half of the retail price you sell their products for. If you sell something to a buyer and get $100, about 50% of that will go to the dropshipper, who then has to package the product, label it with your name and return address and mail it to the buyer. This is an excellent way to make some profit.
Of course, you will have some additional costs and won't get to keep half the retail price. eBay charges are one of the fees that you will have to pay. You also have to send your labels to the dropshipper, so that they can attach them to the product. You will also have to pay for your own advertising. This can be done by attracting people to visit your listings on eBay from outside the actual web site. You can get buyers from forums, discussion boards or through your own website. These are all costs you will support on your own, as it is your responsibility to attract paying clients.
As an answer to the title ? YES, dropshipping on eBay can work for you! However, as with any business, you need to invest time, energy and money in order to put it on the right track. You have to find those products that sell well and area easy to find by customers. You also need to know how to employ advertising secrets in order to grab attention and bring more buyers your way. Dropshipping on eBay is just a tool, an amazing one, true, but without proper management it can turn into a bad idea. On the other hand, if you keep connected to the dynamics of eBay and the dropshipping process you may see your profits increases steadily.
Steve Dawson is the editor of the online Freelance Network magazine which focuses on eBay, Dropshipping and Homeworking. Forums and a comprehensive wholesale and dropshipping directory are many of the features available. Find out more at http://www.freelance-network.net


    



    

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Drop Shipping Is Your Perfect Home Based Business Solution

    



    

Drop Shipping Is Your Perfect Home Based Business Solution
Drop shipping is one of the greatest businesses to operate from home. With drop shipping you sell another company's products, use their warehouse and shipping facilities, and they provide you with the sales tools you need like product descriptions and images and more - free of charge!
Drop shipping is great for small businesses because you can start with literally nothing & gradually increase to higher levels of success. Drop shipping allows you to leverage other, much larger company's resources!
Any business owner who needs the an inexpensive & efficient means to market items online should look into drop shipping. Drop shipping allows you to sell almost any type of product you want with no warehouse & no inventory.
No inventory = low risk! You only purchase an item from the dropshipper after you've already made the sale! You never get stuck with a garage full of products that won't sell.
Drop shippers packages all of the products for you, they place your name on the return address of the package & then they ship it to your customer. You'll look like you're a multi-million dollar outfit to the customer!
In order to do business with a real wholesaler, some of them (not all) may require proof that you're in business & not just some consumer looking for great prices. So, you may need to file for a Resale Tax ID for your State. It's easy to do I filed my application online in just 10 minutes & even received a temporary certificate that I immediately printed out. I was literally in business within 10 minutes!
If you're SERIOUS about running a business you MUST have one! No ifs, ands, or buts. And, it's so easy to get one, there's no excuse not to.
If a wholesaler doesn't request a Resale Tax ID from you, they're a very small company or they're not real wholesalers, just middle-men.
When you find wholesale companies that drop ship many different types of products, everything from toys to electronics, and they don't request your Resale Tax ID, be aware that probably aren't a real wholesale company. Most legitimate wholesalers focus on a specific product type, like electronics or toys alone.
These middle-men companies just forward your order to the real wholesale company. You won't be able to compete on a level playing field with your competition if you do business with these guys. Chances are your competitors have Resale Tax IDs.
So be aware that you're dealing with a middle-man wholesaler who will have the real dropshipper dropship your products for you. Do yourself a favor & avoid dealing with the middlemen and get a Resale Tax ID. You'll save yourself a lot of money by be able to compete with the big-guns.
After your account is set up with the real wholesaler, you'll get a printed catalog and possibly a CD-Rom with product descriptions and images that you can use.
Middle-men usually don't provide these "bonuses". You just upload the image & description to your web site, decide on the price & wait for the orders to come rolling in!
Drop shipping will allow any person to run a successful & competitive business from home regardless of a lack of start-up funds.
Mike Nalbone is the creator of "The Wholesale Detective" http://www.nalbone.org/detective/ which is a complete resource for people seeking to utilize drop shipping to start or expand their own business.


    



    

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Drop Shipping Increases Profits

    



    

You would like to increase your income by selling other peoples` products but you just don`t have the money to stock inventory.
On the other hand, perhaps you have lots of your ownproduct and would like to increase your sales, but youdon`t have a lot of money for advertising.
The solution to both problems may lie in drop shipping.
1. Sell Products You Don`t Own
You would like to sell a variety of products but you don`t have very much money. Don`t worry! Your customers willsupply you with the necessary capital. You don`t have to stock inventory. You can drop ship orders.
For example, you receive a credit card order for a product retailing for one hundred dollars plus five dollars shipping. You now turn around and fax (or e-mail or phone) your order to your dropship supplier. You pay the fifty dollar wholesale product cost plus five dollars shipping using your own credit card.
Your dropship supplier now ships the order to your customer. With no investment in inventory, your gross profit equals fifty dollars.
2. Sell Products You Do Own
Would you like more sales of your own products? Consider drop shipping your products for other dealers.
As an example, you may have a product that sells for one hundred dollars plus shipping. Every time you sell that product yourself, you will have a sale of one hundred dollars. However, how many one hundred dollar sales can you make personally?
Now consider the situation where you offer your dealersa wholesale price of fifty dollars. You could have hundreds or thousands of persons selling for you.
It is true that each product sale now only brings you only fifty dollars in sales. However, these are sales that you wouldn`t otherwise have. What would it cost you to obtain these sales through traditional advertising channels? Would your advertising even bring you the desired results?
Keep in mind that with this drop shipping arrangement, you pay only for results. When a dealer retails your product for one hundred dollars, he is really receiving a fifty dollar profit for selling your product; you could view it as a sales commission. You receive only fifty dollars per product sale but sell way more than without drop shipping.You ship directly to the customer for your dealer.
So, whether you sell other peoples` products or your own,drop shipping can increase your sales, preserve capital, and maximize business profits.
RESOURCE BOX:
J. Stephen Pope, President of Pope Consulting Inc.,has been helping clients to earn maximum business profits for over twenty-five years.
For valuable Work at Home Small Business Ideas, visit http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/
For additional information about drop shipping, visit http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/dropship.html

    



    

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Drop-ship Or U-ship: That Is The Question

    



    


For small Internet retailers, drop-shipping is one of the best innovations since sliced bread. How else can a start-up offer a wide variety of products and convince customers that they have a fully-stocked warehouse-while investing virtually nothing in inventory or warehousing? Before you jump right onto the drop-shipping bandwagon, however, there are some pitfalls to avoid.
While a quality drop-shipper is truly a dream come true for the Internet retailer, there are plenty of painful pitfalls to avoid. Things can get embarrassing and costly in a hurry when a drop-shipper:
? sends products out late
? forgets to process your orders
? sends out poorly packaged products
? double-bills your credit card for orders on a regular basis
? provides cheaply made products and/or shoddy workmanship.
A Matter of Credibility
In addition to the above drawbacks, many customers are not very impressed when they find out you retail drop-shipped products. This is especially the case with the rustic log furniture I sell on the web. Many phone customers ask if we make the products ourselves, or are "merely" drop-shipping.
They are relieved and impressed when they find that we manufacturer, finish or pack most of the log furniture we sell at our warehouse. We sell to a lot of people with expensive vacation homes, and quality is of utmost importance. It's always easier to testify to the quality of furniture when you have seen it yourself, and we are able to offer a more unique line by going to Amish suppliers whose products aren't sold elsewhere on the Internet.
Advantages of Drop-Shipping
With this said, there are still some sizeable advantages to drop-shipping. As the volume of our orders grows, it becomes more and more difficult to package all of that furniture. Fortunately for us, our largest supplier is only two miles away and we have a pretty good deal going: we finish all the log furniture they want finished, and they drop-ship the unfinished furniture. So they make it, we finish it.
That means if somebody orders unfinished furniture, it can go directly from the factory. This might have made me nervous about quality control at one point, but I have developed a high degree of confidence in our log furniture manufacturer. In the five years I have been associated with them, they have never let me down. They fill orders with a high degree of quality and accuracy, which makes our job easy.
Choosing a Drop-Ship Partner
Unfortunately, not all drop-shipping companies are as reliable as the one I have found. This is why it pays to do your homework before choosing a drop-shipping company. If you align yourself with fly-by-night operations, your business will most likely suffer as a result. If you are wildly successful, which you no doubt hope to be, a small start-up may not be able to manufacturer or ship product fast enough to meet your needs. A drop-shipper that is unstable as a business may be happy to take your cash but fail to fill orders on a timely basis.
Any business who drop-ships your orders will affect your reputation as a company one way or another. As a result, it's important to make sure any drop-shipping companies you partner with meet the high level of customer service and quality control standards you set for your business.
Copyright 2005 Log Cabin Rustics
Cari Haus is webmaster for http://www.logcabinrustics.com, an online retailer of quality log furniture.

    



    

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Do You Sell Tires By Mail? Maybe You Should Ebay

    



    

I just received an interesting email from eBay and it got me thinking... Do you sell tires by mail? Maybe you should 'eBay' (yes it's now a verb as well as a noun)
I know, if you're in the retail business ? you have a shop, staff, overhead and all that a physical location requires. But what would you say if I mentioned that [at the time of writing this] eBay had concluded over 8,275 auctions for tires and tire related products in the last 90 days. That's about 91 transactions per day. And that number doesn't include other completed auto part auctions which totalled 1,581,529 ? that's 17,573 auto-part auctions per day.
A Retail Sales Dream
Now I'm not suggesting that eBay is the sales answer to your retail dreams, and some of those auctions never resulted in a sale ? but a lot did. Those are online adverts that cost pennies to post and resulted in a great deal of traffic and visibility for your product.
Here's a little known fact ? I'm a registered eBay Trading Assistant. What this means is that amongst all the other things I do, I am 'qualified' to show people how to best sell things on eBay.
An Online Garage Sale
Now this all started a few years back, I had some junk to get rid of, and just for fun I decided to see what this eBay thing was. Well, let's say that a garage sale is never likely to happen again in my household, and I cleared out all the things I never figured I could. I was hooked.
And here's the neat part. Being The Practical Marketeer?, I wondered how I could use this to my advantage ? and here's what I learned.
If you have a website then you should sell on eBay ? and not for the reasons you'd normally think. The main reason is search engine rankings.
Purple Widgets
While I was active on eBay, my adverts and auctions were consistently being indexed by the Google? Search Engine ? I was always showing up in the top 10 searches for the items I was selling. If I was selling purple widgets, and someone went onto the Internet and typed 'purple widgets' thanks to eBay I'd show up ? usually in position 3 for some reason.
Web Traffic For As Little As $0.30
Now pause for a moment?think about this. For as little as $0.30 (the base price of an eBay advert) you can post an advert on eBay and within a few seconds, hundreds, maybe thousands of people will see your advert.
eBay lets you link back to a page on your own website for more information ? trying to cut eBay out of the deal by offering your products on the referred page is not allowed. They frown on that practise and the eBay police ? yes, there are people who police eBay ? will shut down your account.
But if you play by the rules and post adverts for products and services you'd normally sell in your store ? and you offer them online for either the same price or less, you'll get exposure. And lot's of it if you do it right.
A Virtual Retail Store For Pennies!
You might think what's the point of someone 700 miles away seeing my advert ? they'll never become a client. You're probably right about them not driving over to pick up their purchase ? however 'eBayers' are used to paying for shipping and handling, so you would mail out your products.
So for pennies you get a virtual retail store, you'll get good search engine rankings, you'll get web traffic, and you can even expand your business operations by adding a mail order department (that'll impress the bank manager!)
So, as the title of this article so aptly asked... Do You Sell Tires By Mail? Maybe You Should eBay...
AUTHOR BIO: James Burchill is a freelance marketing consultant and author. He's also the editor and associate publisher for two of the automotive aftermarket industry's leading print publications and he's the publisher of http://www.CorrectLink.com - a new Internet publication for the automotive aftermarket in Canada.
In between all that, James helps people 'Sell more stuff, and make more money!' and publishes a series of informational and Internet products about advertising and marketing. His main website is http://www.JamesBurchill.com
    



    

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Do You Pay Taxes On Ebay Income?

    



    


Q: I read your last column about paying income tax on eBay sales if you are doing it as a business, but as someone who only sells on eBay occasionally I'm still confused if the IRS rules apply to me. Can you tell me more?-- Norman L.
A: Last week's column on whether you were required to report income earned from eBay sales to the IRS sparked a number of additional questions and comments from eBay sellers who were hoping that I could somehow validate that their eBay activities were mere hobbies instead of actual businesses and therefore not susceptible to IRS taxation.
Several folks argued that just because their little eBay hobby generated a little cash, that didn't make it a full blown business. It seems they consider the income from their little hobby to be financial manna from Heaven and thereby not taxable by earthly tax collectors. I've always been amused by folks who try to impress me with talk about their "little side business" but when the subject turns to taxes they suddenly refer to it as "my little hobby."
All kidding aside, the conclusion that I came to after reading each email was always the same: while you may think selling on eBay is just a fun pastime and the money you're making is not reportable as income, depending on the circumstances, the IRS would probably disagree with you.
It seems that everyone likes making money, but hates carving off a piece for good old Uncle Sam. Welcome to free enterprise, folks. If you're going to come to the dance you have to pay the fiddler.
The IRS rules are clear: you must pay taxes on all personal and business income and that includes money you make selling on Ebay.
In its most basic sense, the IRS rules can be interpreted to mean that if you buy an old vase at a garage sale for $10 and sell it on eBay (or elsewhere) for $20 you made a $10 profit and therefore must report it as income and pay Uncle Sam his fair share.
In reality, if you are a casual seller who only sells a few items on eBay every now and then it's doubtful the IRS is going to let loose an army of agents to collect taxes on the few bucks you make. However, if you consistently sell on eBay the IRS may deem your activities to be business oriented and you will be required to file a Schedule C and claim the income.
As mentioned last week, the IRS uses a number of factors to determine if an eBay hobby that generates sales revenue is actually a business.
These factors include: - Do you carry on the hobby in a business-like manner? - Do you spend considerable time working on the hobby? - Do you depend on income from your hobby for your livelihood?
If the answer to any or all of these question is yes, you're running a business, not carrying on a hobby, and you are responsible for paying taxes on your income.
What's eBay's take on all this? Naturally eBay is vehemently opposed to anything that might rock the eBay boat. eBay does not does not issue 1099 tax forms to sellers, nor does it report seller's sales figures to the IRS.
Ebay considers itself merely to be a facilitator, meaning that they provide a marketplace in which buyers and sellers come together to do business.
Furthermore, under it's current system it would be impossible for eBay to issue accurate 1099s to sellers. eBay does not track if a seller actually gets paid by the buyer, so eBay has no idea how much money - if any - actually changes hands at the end of each transaction.
On the bright side, if you do sell on eBay as a business you can deduct a number of business expenses, including the cost of inventory, listing fees, shipping, envelopes, packing materials, etc.
You might also be able to deduct things like the purchase of a computer for business use, office space (even if it's a home office), office supplies, and more.
Talk to your accountant if there's any doubt as to whether you should or should not be paying taxes on your eBay earnings.
Here's to your success!
Tim Knox
Tim's latest book is "The 30 Day Blueprint For Success!" We asked 58 Top Internet Money Makers: If you lost is all tomorrow and had to start from scratch, what would you do to be back on top in the 30 days? Their answers just might make you rich!
Related Links:
http://www.prosperityandprofits.com
http://www.dropshipwholesale.net


    



    

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Dont Sell Grandmas Jewelry At A Yard Sale...get More Money

    



    

Have some vintage jewelry? There are several ways you can sell collectible or vintage costume jewelry. How much your vintage jewelry is worth depends on several things. First and foremost, you need to know what you have and the condition it is in. Refer to our first article for helpful tips on old jewelry research. You may consider taking your jewelry to a dealer. If so, first you need to find a dealer, preferably one with experience in old jewelry. Look in your local phone book and get on the phone. Investing time by calling ahead and talking to them will give some idea on who you are dealing with and how comfortable you will be. Don't expect appraisals over the phone, a dealer usually needs to see and touch it. Here are some other things you should know about dealers:
Dealers
When taking your jewelry to a local dealer, keep in mind there are important considerations about dealers:
1. Be respectful of their time and knowledge.
If you are only interested in information and not planning on selling your vintage jewelry, tell them upfront (ideally on the phone). Offer to pay them for an hour of their time. Some will politely refuse compensation, others will charge you a nominal fee. It depends on the individual. Remember, they have most likely spent years collecting knowledge and expertise. And sadly, too many people expect them to "share" that information openly. Good manners and building relationships will reap far more rewards for you in the long run!
2. Dealers seldom pay more than 30% of market value.
An honest dealer is going to give you a fair appraisal, they are not trying to take advantage of you. Remember, not only do they have business costs but they are taking risks too. It may not sell right away, it may not sell for a long time. It may not sell at all. They are often more willing to give you more if they think it will sell quickly. Retail must "turn" their inventory within certain amounts of time to stay profitable. Consider you own expectations. Know who you are dealing with and the reputation of their shop; if you can't agree on a price, don't sell your vintage jewelry or ask about consignment options. Consignment can be a "win-win" arrangement for all. The dealer limits their risks and you get closer to the price you want.
3. Take notes.
Even if you only bring in one piece of jewelry, you are probably not going to remember everything you learn. It's ok to jot down information and ask questions.
4. Have fun!
Researching old vintage jewelry can be fascinating! You never know what you may find out and it's quite possible you just may be hooked for life!
This is second in a four part series entitled "Don't Sell Grandma's Vintage Jewelry at a Yard Sale". All copyrights are owned by Junky Jewelry at http://www.junkyjewelry.com





    



    

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Dont Be A Victim Of Online Auction Fraud

    



    


The Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC) reported that last year 7.7 million dollars was lost through online auction scams. The actual losses are much greater. Most auction scams are not reported because they involve only small amounts of money.
Most auction Web sites are aggressive at fighting fraud. eBay has a fraud investigation unit that has helped them hold down fraud to only .01% of its transactions. If you paid for an item and never received it, or if you received the item but it was less than what was described, eBay's Fraud Protection Program will reimburse you up to $200, minus a $25 processing charge. In order to qualify for Fraud Protection coverage, you must submit an Online Fraud Complaint with eBay after 30 days and before 60 days from the time the auction ended.
After making a purchase, buyers can leave feedback about their experience with the seller. Before you bid on an item, check the seller's feedback profile by clicking on the number next to the their User ID. There is also a feedback forum and discussion board.
Below are a few actions that you should take to protect yourself from Internet auction fraud.
For a high cost item use an escrow service.


Avoid sellers who request payment by electronic transfer.


Never provide your Social Security Number or Drivers License Number.


Verify the delivery data and the sellers return policy.


Review the online feedback on a seller.


If the seller is a business, check with the Better Business Bureau www.bbb.org.


Prefer sellers who accept credit card payments. When you use a credit card to pay for a purchase, federal law limits your liability for an unauthorized charge to $50. You can also request your credit card issuer to make a charge-back.


Be cautious about buying from a seller in another country. If you buy from a seller in another country, understand the difference in laws governing auctions between that country and the US.
If you become a victim of Internet auction fraud, you can submit a complaint report with an online form at the IFCC Web site www.ifccfbi.gov. The IFCC will review your complaint and refer it to the proper law enforcement agency.

Internet Auction fraud is a large and growing problem. Take the measures outlined above to prevent yourself from becoming a victim.
Copyright(C)2004 Bucaro TecHelp.
Permission is granted for the below article to forward, reprint, distribute, use for ezine, newsletter, website, offer as free bonus or part of a product for sale as long as no changes are made and the byline, copyright, and the resource box below is included.
About The Author
Stephen Bucaro
To learn how to maintain your computer and use it more effectively to design a Web site and make money on the Web visit bucarotechelp.com. To subscribe to Bucaro TecHelp Newsletter visit http://bucarotechelp.com/search/000800.asp

    



    

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Doing It Ebay: An Ebay Business Means Fun And Profits In A Global Marketplace

    



    


In 1995, when Pierre Omidyar introduced an online business venue that was essentially a virtual garage sale with auction pricing, no one knew a retailing revolution was about to occur. That site became known as eBay, and it's hard to find someone today who hasn't at least heard about the popular online auction company.
What's important to understand from the start is that eBay is a sales channel that you can use exclusively or in addition to selling through a retail operation, mail order catalog, independent Web site, or network of direct salespeople. You decide the type of business you want to have, what type of merchandise you're going to sell, and how you're going to operate.
To sell on eBay, you'll pay a listing fee to post your merchandise and a final value fee (a small percentage of the sale price) when the item sells. For the current eBay fee schedule, check the eBay site.
What can you sell on eBay?
Though eBay is a popular place for the sale of used items ranging from high-dollar antiques to second-hand junk, it's also a venue for brand-new, up-to-the-minute merchandise of all types and in all price ranges. Deciding what to sell on eBay can be particularly challenging because your options are virtually limitless. Some of the more popular categories of items are cars, computers, consumer electronics, books, movies, music, sports items, collectibles, clothing and accessories.
As you take the first step of deciding what to sell on eBay, keep these points in mind:
· Have an interest in the product. Don't choose a product based on potential profits alone; be sure it's something you'll enjoy working with.
· Cost and sale price. How much will the item cost you and how much can you reasonably expect to sell it for?
· Availability. Is the merchandise readily available or will you risk having to deal with supply problems?
· Storage. Do you have room to store the merchandise?
· Packing and shipping. Consider what is involved in packing and shipping the merchandise. Even though the buyer typically pays the shipping costs, think about your labor, time, and potential breakage.
· Seasonal issues. Will the item sell year-round or be subject to seasonal fluctuations?
How do you sell on eBay?
You have a variety of ways to sell on eBay. In addition to the traditional basic auction, where you post your item with a starting price and wait for bidders to drive the price up, you can use a number of other pricing features and auction types. In addition to auctions, you can also set up your own eBay store, which will allow you to sell auction and fixed-price merchandise from your special location on eBay. You'll pay a monthly fee based on the level of store services you want, plus additional fees for items listed and sold.
The technical side of eBay
eBay has evolved into one of the most user-friendly sites on the Internet. Getting set up as a user is a simple process that you can complete in just a few minutes. You will be required to provide your name, address, e-mail, and telephone number, as well as a credit card number and your checking account information. eBay uses this information to confirm your identity, which protects the integrity of their operation, and to collect auction fees. If your contact information changes, be sure to notify eBay immediately.
You must register to buy or sell on eBay, but you can browse around the site without registering. Before you do any business on eBay, take the time to get to know the site. Set aside several hours to get online and browse around, study listings, read the help pages, understand the various tools and how you can use them, check out the forums, and get comfortable with how the site works.
Once your business is up and running, you'll probably want to consider using supplemental auction management software, which will save time and money, make you more efficient, and improve the level of customer service you offer.
Getting started as an eBay seller
Start off by buying a few things, then start selling, posting just one or two auctions at a time until you're comfortable with how the process works. You'll make mistakes, especially in the beginning, but if you learn from them they'll be worth the cost.
Keep in mind that eBay is ever-changing. As the economy cycles, you'll experience changes in pricing and demand. And as more people start operating on eBay, the competition will increase and prices may decline slightly (great when you're buying, but not when you're selling).
If you plan to make selling on eBay a full-time business, expect to work hard. Though there is plenty of money to be made on eBay, it's not a get-rich-quick or easy deal. You'll invest as much time and energy as you would in a traditional retail operation--but your potential for profits is greater.
Don't be intimated by the sheer size of the operation, and keep in mind that eBay has reached less than ten percent of its potential market-which means there is plenty of room for you. So find your eBay niche, get online, and watch your business grow.
Jacquelyn Lynn is the co-author of Make Big Profits on eBay: Start Your Own Million $ Business (with Charlene Davis, Entrepreneur Press, 2005) and the author of Start Your Own Business on eBay, plus nine other titles in Entrepreneur's Start-Up Guide Series. For more information, visit http://www.jacquelynlynn.com

    



    

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City Police Auctions Of Personal Property And Autos

    



    


About City Police Departments Auctions

The City Police Departments handle and store all evidence and property that is seized or found until it is needed for court, returned to its owner, or can be destroyed. Destruction, disposal, or return of property is determined by the property and evidence officer in accordance with federal, state, and local law. Destruction, disposal, or return of evidence is to be determined by the officer who is assigned to the case.
Evidence, once vouchered and received by a unit, can no longer be removed or even physically examined without an authorized person signing for it. Evidence Unit personnel are responsible for writing court orders for destruction of drugs and for the burning of same in the City incinerator, after all appeals have been exhausted.
The City Police Departments also conduct public bicycle/ property auctions as well as seized and abandoned vehicles auctions. They will also sell miscellaneous items (small electronics, computer equipment, household items, cell phones, automobile accessories and jewelry). These auctions will be conducted on either the Internet and/or LIVE in person to interested bidders. The dates of these auctions vary depending on the amount of property that is inventoried. Sometimes there is a full or partial list of available items that are up for auction. They reserve the right to remove any items they choose up to and including the day of the auction before the auction commences.
Rules and information concerning auctions vary with each Police Department.
Direct Access to the Most Complete InformationSome of the more common auction items include:
used autos ? marine vehicles ? jet skis ? aircrafts ? homes ? real estate ? commercial property ? farm equipment ? industrial ? business ? electronics ? computers ? antiques ? art ? coins ? stamps ? appliances ? guns ? travel ? collectibles ? clothing ? crafts ? boats ? bikes ? motorcycles ? mobile homes ? jewelry ? toys ? cars ? trucks ? mopeds ? bicycles ? cameras ? televisions ? clocks ? furniture ? unclaimed property ? abandoned property ? personal property ? office furniture ? condominiums ? town homes ? commercial property ? vacant land ? single family homes ? machinery ? tools ? hardware ? building suppliesand much, much more...
Http://DEAauctions.COM the leading Nationwide POLICE and GOVERNMENT Agency AUCTION information site, is redefining how you use the internet to search and locate these incredible auctions.
No longer will you have to search multiple sites that offer either Police seizures or Government auctions. This dynamic site brings them both together in ONE incredible, comprehensive, and interactive location.
Our innovative site delivers the most reliable and up to date, valuable information that you will find anywhere. By utilizing this unparalleled site, you can start saving and making money today, tomorrow and forever from these amazing auctions at Local, State, and Federal levels.
http://DEAauctions.COM is an UNCHALLENGED LEADER in the Auction information Industry and will transform the way you search & locate the Billions of dollars in property that is auctioned off throughout the country every year.
    

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Can You Really Make Money Selling New Release Cds & Dvds On Ebay?

    



    


Being an active eBayer, I am often being asked about products to sell. A common question is "Where can I purchase products such as new release CD's DVD's and Video Games for Playstation and X box at a 75% to 100% discount. Well folks, this sort of discount on this type of merchandise is not available from Wholesalers or Dropshippers. The reason being, the competitive nature of the electronics industry, and simple supply and demand.
Still with the tremendous popularity of these products and their ease to package and ship, people want to sell them. So where can you find these products at a great price? Liquidators! Yes that's right, Liquidators! What exactly are Liquidators? You Ask. Well, as explained in my book "eBay Marketing Wholesale SourcePak" a Liquidator is a company who buys surplus, over runs, bankruptcies,and going out of business inventory etc. They purchase this merchandise for pennies on the dollar and in turn pass this saving on to you. There are many Liquidators who would have just what you are looking for. There are General Merchandise Liquidators who basically purchase and sell all sorts of general merchandise. And, there are Liquidators who specialize and only purchase and sell merchandise in a specific niche - say electronics.
An Electronics Liquidator would purchase products from music stores or department stores with an electronics dept or movie rental stores or electronic stores that are going out of business, declaring bankruptcy or who have overstock. From that inventory they would have some of the latest CD's, DVD's and Video Games.
Liquidators are similar to Wholesalers and Dropshippers in that you will have to become a member to have access to their inventory. Most require no fee to become a member, while others may charge a nominal fee. However, Liquidators have a set number of units you must buy in order to get a great price. A Liquidator will purchase inventory in bulk and therefore will want to sell the merchandise in cases or lots.
So, Yes You can make Good Money Selling New Release CD's, DVD's and, Video Games and the likes on your eBay auction by choosing the proper supplier. And remember that selling on eBay is all about research. You must research the product you are interested in selling. What is the best price for the item? What is the best selling price you can get for that item? Also, research that item's market to see just how manypeople are selling this product.
Happy Selling!
Joe Clare
Joe Clare is an active Netpreneur and eBayer! He is the author of numerous articles on how to succeed on eBay! Check out his latest Best Selling eBook "eBay Marketing Wholesale SourcePak" Your Passport to Success! at http://www.ebooksnsoftware.com

    

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