Monthly Archive for January, 2006

According to CNN, the future of auctions may very well be “classified”.. will eBay’s dominance continue in light of MSN & Google’s plans to compete for ads & search? eBay announces major changes for listing violators, a revamping of policy language and an easier way to turn the bad guys. Are your e-mails to your customers being read..or even opened? A new study reveals insight as to why they aren’t and what steps you can take to make sure they are.

The $100 Business Idea Generator..10 steps to zeroing in a a profitable niche. Are you missing out on an excellent up-sale that can make a serious addition to your bottom line? Its been there all along and we’ve got an example of a source for the tools you’ll need to make it happen. Three practical hints for helping stem identity theft that you probably hadn’t thought of. A new site for new CD sales that offers a new spin on downloading…they keep the CD, you get the music and you have the right to resell the CD; all without the CD ever having left the site.

The story of Shuffilicious; an excellent study of how to design and build a unique product; the pitfalls and lessons learned. Ringfo quietly “rings in” just how comparison shopping works with a cell phone….and this, trust me, is only the beginning. Listen in to hear an example of how it works.

Scanned images and pictures from old books; a site that offers an excellent design source and a template for how to do it yourself. Jargol has fresh product ideas from all over the country as well as helpful tips from industry pros on how they find items for resale. How retail sites can often be wholesale goldmines…two examples of how to shop the competition for profitable bargains. A cheat sheet for corporate phone numbers that has the tricks you need to reach a “real” human.

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The very popular lady from the “Big O”

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Mike Colegate with endicia.com describing how quick, safe and economical on-line postage can be for sellers: Mac support, easy insurance, priority mail, global postage…and wait till you hear how cheap it is!

 Standard Podcast [14:43m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Listen to Brian Lawe, CEO of MyStoreCredit.com as he describes MyStoreMaps and how you can increase eBay sales by adding a customer map to your auctions.

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Listen in to our tribute to the late, great Shelley Winters…who may or may not have been an on-line seller but whose attitude is instructive for those that do. Overstock Auctions announces O-Auctions Checkout beta and O-Minders. eBay announces support for digital items as well as a change to listing options for stores. Million dollar Home Page reaches goal and suffers DDoS Attack..*sigh*..into every life some rain must fall.

Penny auctions are an open invitation to game the feedback system, listen in as we name names and tell you how its done (unabashedly!). An old site with information that is still valuable for those interested in LP collecting and selling. Speaking of which, how about a site where you can buy limited edition re-releases of classic R&R?

Got SiteMap?..even if you don’t know XML from DSL, you need to incorporate one into your site today or risk being invisible on the web and we’ve got just the place to get yours. Was the Million Dollar Home Page simply another flash in the internet pan or something more? Listen in as we talk about a spin on this idea that just might make your traffic soar.

An eco-friendly site that has a directory of very interesting wholesalers. A site that focuses on the wide world of collecting: news, sources, information, auction results and collectors showing off, what else?..but their collections. A source for all things pin related including lapel pins,coins,wrist bands & dog-tags. Vintage snapshots; strangely evocative and even better, strangely salable.

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Auction Safari shuts its doors…a good idea on paper fails trying to solve the wrong problem. Listen in as we discuss the important lessons to be learned and how sellers on eBay need to understand that serious attention needs to be paid to marketing outside of eBay.

There are auctions and schemes for “Positive Feedback” on eBay that only serve to further weaken the system. How about an auction site where the bidders pay to bid? Not so far-fetched as it might sound. Speaking of gambling, there’s a “player” on eBay who’s using auctions to drive his advertising by offering a Vegas-style payout. “The answers are always inside the problem,not outside”…and other insightful gems from Marshall McLuhan.

A great little site that offers a clever way to legitimately print all the money you’ll ever need. A step-by-step example of how you can use retail sites to uncover manufacturers eager for your business. Are you using cross-selling and up-selling in your sales? We can all take a lesson from a merchant in Japan.

A tool that taps into the power of multiple search engines and combines their distinct strengths into one result. Love those Google Maps? We found a site that lets you generate a full fledged Google Map, complete with photos and then provides you the HTML. A must for real estate sales. Outsourcing beyond Alibaba; how about Korea? One of the most imaginative next generation auction sites we’ve seen..one that might just tempt you to reconsider whatever it is you’re currently selling.

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Listen in as Gregg describes LiquidXS’s great selection brand new closeout and overstocked products significantly reduced from their original wholesale prices. Items have fixed, volume based prices so the more you buy, the more you save.

 Standard Podcast [10:41m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

On-line spending tops $18 billion in 2005 and the rankings will surprise you…and one, unique to on-line sales, that should be charted but isn’t. The Million dollar Home Page is down to its last 1,000 pixels and, guess what?..they’re up for auction. A 2 trillion dollar market that I guarantee you have not given sufficient thought to.. (Hint: its the highest spending demographic there is).

The 5 cardinal rules for auction copy and e-commerce web design…what you think you’re doing right might just be all wrong. Website and auction usability for seniors..the easier it is, the more likely the sale. Could the problem with your sales be that you are simply not communicating what exactly you are selling? A surplus site that may well be worth your time to investigate.

A new search site for eBay that has fraud protection built in. How about a web site package that is very easy to use and does all of the hard work for you? What is an “M-Bag” and why, if you sell books overseas, you could be saving loads in postage by using one? AntiRebate for those who need to find the best deals or some interesting leads.

A cool site with cool products that might also have the next hot item you’ll be selling. NerdyShirts; clean design and sensible navigation equals a good lesson in web design. UJeans show us how going the extra mile in customization can put you miles ahead of your competition. A site for Hard-to-Find toll free numbers for, among others, eBay and PayPal. A listener suggests a simple tool to foil fraudulent customer returns. E-Auction-Air was listened to in over 20 countries last month!…maybe we should demand a seat on the Security Council.

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download