Show 09-10-06: How Many eBays Are There?, Canadian eBay Profitability Thread, Google Video,Wikipedia Gray Marketing, eBay Diamond Sellers, Blog Money, Free Excel SS, Wholesale Cosmetics

Posted by Michael Donahue on 09/10/06 in Podcasts, eBay News, E-commerce News

eBay’s Express advertising campaign launches with 20+ iterations of a message that only serves to further muddy the brand…auctions, stores, Buy It Now, Pro Stores,Half.com and now Express…there appears to be no end to this “IT”

eBay Express advertising campaign launches with multiple ad presentations…of course, sellers are confused but imagine the buyers; this iteration of eBay, Express, is different from stores, is different from auctions, is different from BIN and is not to be confused with ProStores…all of this confusion further muddies the brand, making “it” about who knows what. We’ve got the link for a PDF detailing the 6 or so prerequisites for inclusion in Express as well as a buried portion of the site with an alphabetical index of help topics. eBay Canada opens a thread concerning seller’s profitability.

Of all the free on-line video hosts, good ‘ol Google might just be the one to use..for some very practical marketing reasons. Why pay for an auction video host for your auctions? Why, indeed. How-To videos offer creative sellers an opportunity to network, market and sell. Gray marketing on Wikipedia..its your decision. Inc.com reveals that the majority of new business owners would like to have more money to start…I, for one, am stunned.

An interesting page on a jewelry site that ranks diamond sellers on eBay; not only the Top 10 sellers but also some pretty good advice re on-line diamond purchases. Micro Persuasion reports an A-Z list of ways to make money on your blog…that is, in addition to the auction items you’re selling. A site that will generate passwords for you that are far safer than most you are currently using. StumbleUpon offers a great way to find niche sites in addition to being a good source for targeted traffic to your auctions or store.

A free site for Excel business spreadsheets. A personal shopper service where you can make a few bucks doing what you do best or as a template for transforming your Trading Assistant business. A wholesale site for natural cosmetics that offers low minimums for custom formulations and private labeling. A wholesale site for customized cookies that are definitely a step beyond the Girl Scouts. A wholesale site for 20,000+ jewelry findings and beads. A Wiki style directory for domains…yours is probably there already so why not make the most of it?

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Links from this week’s show:

eBay’s Express Ads - Explaining nothing, explains it well.

Express Explained - An explanantion why your items are not in Express, why you are Expressionless.

eBay’s Canadian Forum on Seller Profitability- In sum: we should all move to Canada but we couldn’t afford the postage.

eBay’s Alphabetical Help Index - Forget about “Express”; it ain’t there…but “Community Values” are.

Millions of Americans Want to Go It Alone - Relax. You are already alone and about to get a whole lot lonelier…for help, see, “Community Values” above.

Google Video - Simple video hosting.

AuctionVideo.com - Pay us and we’ll do what Google will do for free.

VideoJug - Get paid for How-To video’s.

Wikipedia’ External Links Page - Read this and then do what you need to do.

Murray’s Diamond Stars of eBay - Murray dispenses some practical advice re jewelry purchases as well as a Top 10 list of sellers.

Making Money With Your Blog - Steve Rubel’s A-Z .

SafePasswd.com - Generate far better keywords than your birthday + your pet hamster’s name.

Free Business Excel Spreadsheets - Invoices, break-even analysis…

Personal Shopper - Doing what you do best for a fee.

Organic Custom Cosmetic Formulations - You too can be a Burt’s Bees.

Custom Cookies - Wholesale site for custom cookies.

Supplier for Jewelry Findings - 20,000 items.