The Bitch Ditch

Now, are you ready for the REAL TRUTH about selling on eBay?

It’s simple; don’t list too many items for sale using their auction format. Instead, set up one of their stores. The cost starts at just $9.99 per month.

Why is this a good idea?

Let’s do the math:

If you list an item for sale using the auction format, the cost is anywhere from $.35 on up to several dollars PER AUCTION. What’s worse is that the auctions are only good for 3, 5, 7, or 10 days.

BETTER WAY: Sell the item in your eBay store. The listing price is just 2 or 3 cents per item…and get this…They’re good for a FULL 30 days! For example, I recently sold a $500 item that I listed in my eBay store. The listing cost me a whopping 3 cents! The same item, if I’d sold it using the auction format, would have cost me several dollars!

Using eBay’s Auction format to list 500 items at a minimum of $.35 each = $175.00 (and these are only good for 7 days each so you’d have to list them 4 times each per month) $175 x 4 = $700.00

List the same 500 items in your eBay store @ just $.03 each = $15 + the $9.99 monthly store fee = $24.99 and they are listed for a full 30 days each!

You save $675.01 per month! HOLY SMOKES!

I’m sure you can clearly see the benefit here. Of course you will want to sell a few CHEAP items using the auction format to try to generate interest & drive customers to your eBay store where they will buy MORE from you. Make sure every auction listing contains a link to your eBay store & TELL THE CUSTOMER TO VISIT YOUR STORE. Sell 10 or so of your 3 or 4 or 5 dollar items as auctions…just enough to get some traffic to your store.

Now, what is it that the REALLY successful PowerSellers do?

They maximize the “back-end” sale.

What this means to you is that once a customer has bought from you, the hard part is over. Now having done business with you, they TRUST you to deliver the goods. You MUST & I REPEAT, MUST try to get that customer to buy again & again.

Never, ever, send a package to a customer without including a sales flyer, catalog or some other special offer in the package to try to entice them to make another purchase. Email them a special offer every week or so.

You NEED repeat customers. Going after the lone, one-time sale is a losing battle. You will not be successful unless you get them to buy again & again & do this with every person you deal with.

Send a thank-you note via postal mail or eMail to every customer & use that opportunity to SELL THEM SOMETHING ELSE.

Another tip:

Sell CONSUMABLE items. You know, stuff that people need to order fairly often. Like socks, t-shirts, work gloves, food items, towels & linens, printer ink cartridges, sell shipping materials to other eBay sellers. You will get REPEAT orders from these customers for months and even years to come.

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.

At a recent art show, I could not help but notice that not everyone’s day was going as well as mine! As I experienced a constant stream of people flooding into my booth and buying my artwork, my neighbors were sitting idle and waiting. Not only did I have people buzzing in and around my booth, but after they purchased my artwork, they told their friends to come to my booth and buy from me!

I had experienced too many art shows from the other side of the fence. I knew then that I needed to share my successful art show strategies with my fellow artists.

First, get rid of your director’s chair. Artists that avoid perspective customers always amaze me. You’ve spent so much time creating your art to sell. You’ve spent the time and money to exhibit at the show. Why hide? If you want to sell your work, you must interact with the public.

Put yourself out there! It’s very simple - you create additional value to your artwork when you interact with a perspective customer. Explain to them what makes your art work unique. Tell them how you came about conceiving and producing your artwork. Tell them the story, people are interested, and when they buy the piece they now own additional information about the piece to share with their friends.

It’s important to give a reason for someone to stop at your booth. Utilize a main focus piece on an easel or pedestal in order to draw interest from the crowd.

Using signage is an easy way to give someone a reason to stop at your booth. With signage, you can give suggestions for alternative uses of the artwork. For example, many of my sushi dishes sold as candle displays, soap holders, bread plates, etc.

Run a show special and use signage to promote the details. It’s important to give an added incentive to purchase something from you that day. Take one of your lower end products and create an easy way for people to purchase more of them - buy 2, get 1 free for example.

Invite people to sign up for a free drawing to win a piece of your artwork. This last step allows you to capture their name and email for future marketing purposes.

Finally, take a good look at your booth. The success of your next art show will increase when you create the successful booth. View your booth from the customer’s vantage point. Is it inviting? Does it create the “I gotta have that piece!” mindset? Attend an art show yourself. Go from booth to booth and see what draws you in to look further. See which booths the people flow to. What about those booths caused you to walk in? Keep notes, assemble that information, and apply it to your booth when you set up for your shows.

Keep your booth fresh throughout the entire show. Remember every time someone walks into your booth they are a customer meeting you for the first time and you always want to make a great first impression.

Steve Popkin, a veteran glass artist, makes it easy for artists to become successful. Learn the secrets most artists and craftsmen will never know about selling artwork in his complimentary e-course just visit Selling Artwork

In 2002, the eBay consignments business was born, referred to by eBay as the Trading Assistant Program.

It’s possible that eBay didn’t foresee just how much they would benefit form their eBay consignments program. Designed to unite experienced eBay sellers with people who want heir merchandise sold on eBay without having to do it themselves, the Trading Assistant program has enjoyed enormous success.

As big as eBay had become — larger than all other online auction venues combined — they were still missing out on a large segment of the population; the technophobes. These people would sell goods on eBay if they had access to a computer and a digital camera, and had the time and inclination to learn how to run an auction. But they either don’t have the technology or they lack the desire to become auctioneers, or both. Since they’re not on line, they’re not likely to learn about Trading Assistants who advertise primarily through eBay. And even if they saw the ads, they probably wouldn’t trust them.

You see, people active in the online community are already comfortable with the environment, which has an element of anonymity. But a non-computer person is more likely to want to deal with a real, brick-and-mortar retail business. They may not trust someone who runs auctions out of their home.

How to reach these people? Introducing the concept of the “Trading Post”…

A Trading post is to eBay consignments what the typical consignment shop is to the average community. It’s a drop off location that allows consumers to drop their stuff off and have it sold for them as a service. It’s a retail location that markets itself to consumers as a local, experienced ebay consignments seller — a Trading Assistant with a brick-and-mortar store.

While any ebay trading assistant can establish an ebay consignments service out of a retail location, only a Trading Post can put the eBay brand on their physical storefront.
(A trading assistant can only advertise inside their store). With this privilege comes a higher standard, ie, eBay has “raised the bar” on their requirements.

A Trading Post must meet the following additional requirements:

-Offers a staffed drop-off location or storefront with regular drop-in hours, so that clients can visit the location without calling ahead.

-Has a feedback score of 500 or higher

-Has at least 98% positive feedback

-Has sales of at least $25,000 on eBay each month

Online, clients can search for Trading Posts specifically, and Trading Posts may receive priority placement in search results. (Yes, even some online clients prefer the retail setting). Also, Trading Posts are displayed with a special icon next to their User ID. If you’re a Trading Assistant who also meets the requirements, you automatically qualify as a Trading Post and do not need to take additional steps.

Walt Duflock, Director of the eBay Trading Assistant Program and a real life trading assistant, has announced eBay’s intention of having “secret shoppers” and “customer satisfaction surveys” to see if there are certain Trading Post locations eBay would like to support more than others.

Regardless of your status on ebay, there are tools that everyone can use to build their success as TAs, available on the ebay site. I’ve found many of them quite valuable. For example, among their efficiency tools, they recommend using contact management software. eBay regards this as a great tool for getting “a better understanding of how many prospects it takes to actually create one new client and how long it takes for a client to go from initial contact to hiring you as a TA.”

And as far as support, some of the Trading Posts have become so large that they no longer rely on eBay for help. Some have developed their own proprietary systems for tracking customers and inventory, and managing their auctions. The largest and most successful ebay consignment business will even get you started with your own franchise which includes the use of their proprietary systems. All you need to come up with is $55 K plus operating expenses.

But, never fear. You can start your ebay consignment business on a shoestring, and this is how the majority begin. Since 1998, eBay and similar auction sites have been growing by leaps and bounds. eBay consignments are still in their infancy, but I predict a very bright future!

© Copyright 2004 Carolyn Schweitzer DDS. Dr. Schweitzer was a family dentist for 20 years and is now owner and editor of several websites. You can learn more about where to find specific links to the Trading Assistant and Trading Post programs by visiting her website at http://www.netbrainer.com/site/500041/page/449460.

A consumer will give you about three seconds, maybe 4 if you’re lucky, to get to your message across. To make it obvious that your brand is different, that your brand is better, and why they should take time to care. That’s it. You’ve got three seconds.

It’s imperative that you make it clear that you differ and deserve a languid look.
Three seconds isn’t much time.

Which means you better be different if you want to survive whatever with any degree
of relevance. We’re not talking 20% or even 50% different. We’re talking a complete
180. In a market where products try to be everything to everybody, where
everything gets pushed to the lowest common denominator, you’ve got to set
yourself apart, find a point of difference that can be turned into a point of genuine
differentiation. Then, you’ve got to put your branding efforts toward communicating
exactly how interacting with your brand will be a different experience, and why it
will actually be a better choice. You’ve got to make sure your brand is seen as a
clearly distinctive choice.

The fact is, the number one job of branding today is to get people to stop and look
and recognize in an instant that they’re seeing something they’ve never seen
before and that it meets a justifiable and relevant need, whether it be related to
corp. logo, service, to value, to functionality or fun. It also has to generate recall.

You have 3 - 4 seconds!

Find your point of differentiation. Do not focus on the lowest common denominator,
but rather spend your time and effort concentrating on what you don’t want your
brand to be. Then establish a point of differentiation between the two.

Consumers need all the help they can realizing that what they’re looking at is
actually new, you need to make it a crystal clear. My belief is that the only way to
make it clearly obvious what your brand is, is to make it clearly obvious what your
brand isn’t. To be different you have to start by looking at who you want to be
different from and why.

You’ve got to find yourself a unique opposing foundation with a strong rationale for
market acceptance. I’m not talking half-baked attempt here. We’re not talking Tim
Hortons with a larger cups. A Costco or Wallmart with a longer name or brighter
lights. In dealing with Branding is Everything and Everything is Branding, a little bit
different doesn’t cut through.

Evaluate your competition. Identify where the key emotional and rational
associations linked to this logo/brand is in the consumer’s mind. Who do they
appeal to and why. What sets them appart? Who are the customers and why. How
does the competition’s competition differ? What is their point of differentiation? It
does take real focus to evaluate all of this.

Travel off down that road not yet traveled. To determine which market needs are not
being met and how you can meet them.

We all know that brands help consumers make choices. In a world of branding, it’s
critical that you make unquestionably clear the different and relevantly better choice
you have to offer. This can begin with a strong Corp. Identity that functions on
different levels. (eg., http://www.bullseyelogo.com) That logo may be what opens
the door for you. Three split seconds goes by in an instant.

Umberto Micheli - Creative director - http://www.bullseyelogo.com

Anger comes from a sense, usually unconscious, of being small and lacking. This sense makes us cling to lower self qualities. Having lists of specific Higher and Lower Self qualities (like Patience, Kindness, Empathy, Compassion, Encouraging, Courage, and Gentleness vs. fearfulness, complaining, doubting, negative judging, shaming, and blaming) makes it easier to identify and shift our mood and state more effectively than just having a general idea like, “I want to be a higher state.”

I shared these with a client who was being challenged in their life by someone whom they perceived as blocking them from having something very important to them. It was going to be very important for the client to be at her best when they met.

The client wanted to be in a good state - no argument there, but when, I suggested that beyond picking Higher Self qualities to connect with, she would be more powerful if she envisioned and prayed for the other person to be in Higher Self qualities as well. This was initially resisted - until she saw how silly it was to try to be in Higher Self qualities while holding onto a bad opinion of the other person based on fear, blame and resentment - Lower Self qualities.

Important Tip - change your vision of self and other, not just self!

Her willingness was then established to pray for her adversary as well as for herself. However, when I asked her to wholeheartedly envision herself manifesting the qualities of her choice, she felt imposed upon - the word ‘wholeheartedly’ triggered a sense of impossible performance standard.

I quickly realized I often met this response to this word and also to the words ‘persistent’ and ‘constant.’ Spiritual instructions often use these words: pray constantly, make wholehearted effort, be persistent in your remembrance of God. I remember when I would get discouraged hearing such instructions, taking them as admonitions to uphold an impossible standard that I know I was incapable of.

Then one of my teachers explained that to be wholehearted, constant, or persistent meant to make a concerted focused effort for even just 5 minutes daily and relax and let go. The key was doing it daily for at least 5 minutes, and if you could do it in the same place and at the same time, so much the better. But then relax and let it go. If your affirmation or object of contemplation returns to your mind during the day, fine, but you don’t have to try to hold on to it every minute. She felt much better when I explained this.

So here is your invitation: Pick a short affirmation like, “I am healthy and happy,” or “I succeed with grace and ease,” or whatever works for you - refer to the Higher Self list of qualities and pick one you wish to be planted and growing within you.

Four more tips: Make your statement short and positive. Don’t be concerned about it being “true.” Just repeat it for 5 minutes, not 15 seconds, daily for one month - for 5 minutes and then let to go. But daily! Enjoy the results.

Have an exuberant day, every day! (Hey, that could be your affirmation!)

Copyright 2006, Jack Elias, All Rights Reserved.

http://www.findingtruemagic.com/emotions.shtml#angermanagement

In many instances you will want to put your email address on your website, even if you provide a form as a contact method. This is useful because it increases the number of ways that someone can contact you. Why is that important? Because presumably if you have a website you are attempting to communicate with the world - and communication goes both ways. If you have a commercial site then the answer should be obvious - someone may want to purchase something.

Another reason to put an email address directly on your web page is for people to request information via autoresponder. These allow your visitors to click a simple mailto link and get your promotional materials or articles in their email inbox.

The problem with directly including your email addresses on your page is spam harvesters. These a programs created by scum and run by ignorant or unethical fools. What they do is search through the internet, looking at web sites and pages for email addresses to add to those million email address collections that you see advertised (mostly in spam) all over the place.

There is really no ironclad way to prevent these bottom-feeders from scanning your web site for email addresses. There are a number of techniques, however, to make it a little more difficult for them.

One of these is to code your email addresses in something called Unicode. This is a “language” for encoding special characters on web pages. All modern browsers support Unicode as it’s primary intention is to allow languages all over the planet to be represented.

For example, the following email address:

webmaster@internet-tips.net

will be shown in Unicode as:

webmaster @internet -tips.net

As you can see from the table below, using Unicode characters is simple. Just substitute the Unicode sequence in the table for the corresponding character. Then use all of those sequences wherever you want to put that email address.

@ @ E E M M U U c c k k s s . . F F N N V V d d l l t t - - G G O O W W e e m m u u _ _ H H P P X X f f n n v v A A I I Q Q Y Y g g o o w w B B J J R R Z Z h h p p x x C C K K S S a a i i q q y y D D L L T T b b j j r r z z

I suppose it is inevitable that the scum spammers will eventually make their spam robots smart enough to understand these codes. Until then, however, it is a reasonably effective technique for reducing spam in your inbox.

Imagine a time when mankind was young. Migration led many to the land of Shinar. It was during that time, that man came together and decided to build not only a city but a tower that would reach the heavens. Seeing the structure, the Lord was not very pleased. In fact, He knew what trouble this could lead to, so He confused mankind with different languages and scattered them across the face of the earth. Thus, is the story of Babel. (Babylon, the remains of an ancient city, is now located in Iraq.)

Eerily, times of a rich, historical past parallel today’s society. The familiarity to modern civilization is uncanny. In the biblical tale of the tower of Babel, men came together with one language and one common goal: the desire to control the land and all that lay beneath the tower. Making the impossible - possible to Human nature.

The construction of the tower of Babel tells a story of man and its amorous lust for greed and power. To build such a massive structure that led directly to the heavens, what a marvel it must have been. Though the tale is simple, its meaning is vast. Herein lies the virtue of society itself. With the industrialized world at its peak and infinite computerized technological advances, we have reached the brink of Babel. In this day and age, mankind has the means to communicate to the far outreaches of all the earth. With mere strokes upon a keyboard, we can speak with persons of different languages, cultures, race, religion and region. There are no boundaries to the human initiative.

What began as an oversized “brain” made of wires, metal and countless conductor boards, has evolved into the modern PC. We have at last designed the perfect mechanism to do our bidding. It thinks for us, supplies and stores information, and now with more and more technology, we can even speak to other peoples by means of a computer translator. The small screen that sits atop our office counters, our workbenches and our personal desks at home has become the brainchild of society’s modernization, and has revolutionized the way we do and encounter most things.

Although it is just a machine, it has served a wonderful purpose. Through the use of computer equipment, time is no longer a challenge. Messages, tests and reports can come back to us in a matter of seconds. Physicians, technologists, mechanics, archeologists, biologists, and so many other career paths have endless uses for this manmade tool. It has rewarded us richly with its knowledge, as we have enriched it with ours.

But, the question still remains: At what point does the tower of Babel (figuratively speaking) collapse? When has humankind reached its boundaries and at what interval will all be lost because of modern technology? The world is our oyster - but what we must never forget is that the pearl of an oyster is created by disease. Just a thought to ponder.

© 06/2003

C. Bailey-Lloyd
aka. LadyCamelot
Public Relations’ Director &
Staff Writer for Holistic Junction - Your Source for information on Healing Arts Schools

Philippines surfing is not quite a destination that would conjure up images of brilliant surfing breaks. Truth be told surfing in the Philippines can be fickle, but if you are after an adventure, are willing to go off the beaten track and are not afraid to try something different, then surfing in the Philippines will not disappoint you.

With 7,107 islands, the roaring Pacific Ocean bordering the eastern coastline and the South China Sea on the western coastline and attracting more typhoons than most neighboring countries, Philippines surfing is alive and well. In fact the Philippines are not a new surfing destination, with surfers enjoying the waves here since at least the sixties, maybe even earlier. Let’s face it who wouldn’t want a perfect left or right hander all to yourself!

Philippines surfing can be both temperamental and seasonal, it is important to know when the best time to come is or you may be disappointed, nothing worse that a surfer without surf.Best Time To Go?

You can either surf the east coast or the west coast. The east coast probably gets the better surf.

The east coast - which is the Pacific Ocean side gets it’s swell from the monsoons, low depression tropical storms and typhoons. The first monsoon to hit the east coast is the south west monsoon which arrives in May and lasts through to about October. Philippines surfing is not that reliable even during the monsoon. The better and more consistent surf is during the north east monsoon or the amihan, during November to April. On top of the monsoons throw in a typhoon or many and you can imagine that surfing in the Philippines can really pump. The typhoons usually come in from the east of Mindanao and head in a north westerly direction hitting the southern Luzon and the islands between Luzon and the Pacific.

The west coast of the Philippines is more inconsistent than the east coast, it relies on the winds through the Taiwan Straights during the north east monsoon. This wind created swell hits the west coast of Luzon. The swell can also be really good when the odd typhoon heads towards Hong Kong. The swell that hits Palawan can be hard to pick, but you are guaranteed to have fantastic waves if you leave your surf board at home, typically if you bring it the surf will be flat!

So when is the best time to go surfing in the Philippines? Well your best to try the east coast during the north east monsoon. But like everywhere surfing the Philippines is inconsistent, however on it’s good day, totally unforgettable.

Where To Go SurfingSurfing in the Philippines, most popular surfing spots are:

1. Baler, Aurora Province. East coast of Luzon
2. Catanduanes, Island province off east coast of Luzon.
3. Daet, Camarines Norte Province. East coast of Luzon
4. La Union Province. West coast of Luzon.
5. Samar, the east coast of Samar Island
6. Siargao Island, north east of Mindanao
7. Vigan, Ilocos Sur Province, west coast of Northern Luzon.
8. Zambales Province. West coast of Luzon.

Philippines surfing has many spots that catch waves, true sometimes you may need to be a bit lucky. Your access to waves is really only limited by your own imagination and how keen you are to head off the beaten track.

Brett Jankowiak is the owner of http://www.philippines-travel-guide.com, Philippines Travel Guide, his passion for the Philippines is reflected in his writings and articles on his information based website.