Show 05-21-06: Overstock Auctions New Stores, Symantec & McAfee Software Crackdown, Interview with Ken Walton, author of “Fake; Forgeries, Lies and eBay”, Fund Raising, Free Flyer Publisher, e-mail Spiders Squashed

Software pirates defy industry giants..
Overstock.com Auctions announces Store feature to be added to the site. Symantec & McAfee join forces in crack-down on sellers of illegal copies of their software on eBay. Imagine: all the information ever composed (written word, film, audio & web) compressed and available in a tool the size of an Ipod…now imagine that you are a book publisher fighting the scanning of books by Google…conclusion? Someone is on the wrong side of history.

Listen in to our interview with Ken Walton, author of Fake; Forgeries, Lies and eBay. The coverage of the book so far has concentrated on the caper..there are, however, very interesting lessons to be learned that every eBay seller or buyer should be aware of. In addition, we track down a current eBay auction employing the very same tactics that brought the FBI knocking at Ken’s door.

Ever thought of fund raising as a way to leverage your auction expertise? There are many opportunities here and loads of potential clients. Another British solution that should be copied here: rebating affiliate commissions through a shopping co-op. We’ve found an interesting blog that details your many options for creating & publishing your book or journal. A retail website with 1 million visitors that is opening up to individual sellers. A 5 point business plan for every auction item.

An easy, free on-line brochure / flyer publisher that you should be using for every shipment. An auction seller who should read his own book. A simple way to avoid spiders harvesting your e-mail address that won’t leave your customers guessing.

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Links from this week’s show:

Symantec & McAfee behind effort to prosecute 3 sellers of pirated software, totaling some 15,000 items.

Power Press Web Site Marketing Strategy - Very powerful tool for getting publicity & traffic as well as links to your web site or even your auction.

NY Times Article on digital technology and the printed book. Turns out that not only will the revolution be televised, the entire studio will fit in your shirt pocket with room left over for everything else.

Kenneth Walton’s Book on eBay Fraud - After reading Fake; Forgery, Lies & eBay, I was struck by the fact that here was, ironically enough, a book about the on-line auction market that was more instructive re the tactics and psychology of buying and selling than any of the slew of how-to books being published.

Overstock.com’s Oasis at eBay Live - What happens at eBay Live, stays at eBay Live.

Fundraisers.com Auction Blog - Instructive blog on fundraising that can serve as an idea generator for sellers & selling assistants interested in new clients.

Quidco.com - Shopping site where all the affiliate commissions go in your pocket.

DIY Book Publishing Explained - Good overview of publishing options.

KarmaLoop Kazbah - Retail site with over 1 million visitors opens the door to sellers.

MyBrochureMaker - Easy site for creating professional looking enclosures in your shipments.

HideText - Keep those pesky e-mail spiders guessing what your e-mail address is.

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