Auction www.ebay.com attended by thousands of people who are interested in purchasing collectible items or goods at lower than conventional Internet shopping prices. Every day at the auction appear dozens of new vendors, offering rare thing. Any American, down to the library or music collection through a computer upgrade, moving to more sophisticated models of technology, may have put it unnecessary items for auction. Another category of vendors - small companies that are professionally involved in sales and use www.ebay.com to increase sales.

In an ever-growing number of proposals, it is important to be able to assess the reliability of the seller. If the seller will be unreliable, you are, at best, won the auction, the seller does not receive any communication in the worst - get a defective product or lose money.

To protect its members from unscrupulous sellers auction staff Ebay.com developed rating system (Feedback Profile): winner of the auction may leave a positive, negative or neutral feedback (feedback) about his partner in the transaction. This rating is available for viewing visitors www.ebay.com.

Without a doubt, posted comments are true, because the auction is very friendly atmosphere and with the slightest deviation from the standard procedure of the transaction, buyers always write about it to warn others of impending danger.

Based on the number of entries seller (and buyer) are assigned the following distinctions:

• Yellow Star - from 10 to 99 entries;
• Turquoise Star - from 100 to 499 entries;
• purple star - from 500 to 999 entries;
• Red Star - from 1000 to 4999 entries;
• Green Star - from 5000 to 9999 entries

etc.

Usually the number of entries shown in brackets around the name (User ID) seller.

Icon «Sunglasses» (now replaced by a “lighted lamp” - KF) next to the name of the seller means that the buyer or seller is registered for less than 1 month in the last month or change their User ID. After that time, the icon «glasses» lost.

In assessing the reliability of the seller, it is important not so much the number of transactions and feedback received, how many of them «quality».

To see the seller’s rating, you can click on a link view comments in seller’s Feedback Profile

On this page, the date of registration of the seller, the number of entries in the past week, month and six months.

In order to assess the reliability of the seller, you can use the following algorithm:

1. Evaluate the total number of entries (feedback).

The more feedback (feedback) from the seller, the better. If the seller has negative feedback - examine the causes, which they left, estimate their percentage in comparison with the total number. Acceptable is a 2-4% negative feedback.

2. Rate, who was your persona in the majority resulted in a bidding: Seller (S) or customer (B).

3. In Feedback Profile You can see links to descriptions of all lots that were sold or bought interests you personally for the past 90 days. Examine what was sold (the goods must be in the same category that interests you, the same price level or above).

4. Number of feedback over the past week, a month will allow you to assess the activity of the Seller at www.ebay.com.

5. Evaluate the number of ongoing auctions (view seller’s other auctions). The larger lots seller offers both - the better.

A convenient tool for the study of all lots offered by the seller within 30 days is the search for the seller here: http://pages.ebay.com/search/items/search.html

There have been cases where con artists trying to prove itself well at auction and ensure a sufficiently large amount of positive feedback on cheap goods and then exhibited for the sale of expensive things, and getting paid, nothing is expelled. However, such a respected auction, such cases are rare and usually the sellers are interested in obtaining the largest possible number of positive feedback that increases their rating and a growing confidence, and thus makes it possible to increase the number of sales.

Also, before you bid, you must explore ways of payment, which takes Seller: The more ways to pay it takes, the more confidence it inspires. If the retailer had negative feedback, and as payment, it takes only postal order for your mailing address (Money order), are - cause alert because the postal order - the least secure method of payment and return the money sent by mail, it is not possible, as well as to ascertain the fact of obtaining money.

The most reliable and rapid form of payment is paid through the American system of electronic payments PayPal. Each member of the system records the account for his e-mail address, and payment is done by transferring money from one account to another. Payment occurs almost instantly and paying on-line which can check the current status of payment: whether the seller his money or not.

If you doubt in the seller’s reputation, the company Pregrad.Net (as the auction www.ebay.com) recommends that you use the system Escrow.com, which is the guarantor of committing large transaction without undue complications. From our experience, the use of the Escrow is useful when buying the lot value of 500 cu When you purchase a CD or book the risk is minimal because few vendors dare to spoil its reputation as negative recall, because the buyer did not miss the opportunity to note this fact in the reviews.

You purchase something at www.ebay.com on a pre. This is beneficial to the seller, but risky for the client because it pays first, and then only receive their goods.

The principle of the system Escrow.com is the following: The system guarantees the seller that it will receive payment from the buyer for the lot immediately after the receipt by the buyer on the other hand, the system guarantees the buyer that he would receive the lot, and only after the buyer to take the lead, the seller will receive pay for it.

The scheme works with the system Escrow is as follows:

Stage 1

The seller and buyer agree on the use of Escrow, with payment and delivery of the lot, as well as to who will assume the obligation to pay for the use of the system (seller, buyer or parties share the cost equally). Prices of Escrow.com (6%). Buyer and seller are recorded in the system themselves and record the transaction, which allows each party to check at what stage is the implementation of the deal.

When registering, the seller and the buyer enter into details about you and your cards, which guarantees payment and delivery of the lot, even forcibly.

Stage 2

The buyer pays the purchase Escrow. Payment is verified and the money transferred to the account system.

Stage 3

The seller sends the buyer lot and communicate in Escrow parcel number. The seller already knows that the payment to the system implemented.

2 and 3 phases are carried out almost simultaneously.

4 stage

When you make a purchase receipt, checking that he was exactly what won, changing the status of the site that marks the beginning of the payment process, ie Escrow withdraw money from the card buyer.

5 stage

The system transfers the money from his account to another vendor.

As the online sector of Video is becoming increasingly mature, large and neizmeryaemye television campaign lost its appeal among advertisers - argues Tod Sakerdoti (Tod Sacerdoti), the executive director of BrightRoll. In his article for iMedia Connection, he examines the myth and reality of Video and give advice market participants about how they use the existing possibilities of the format without losing quality or audience.

Sakerdoti rehearse their dialogue with one of the media Bayer and so the question posed: «Will the advertising videoseti gather enough high-quality tools to reduce prices for customers who pay particular attention to indicators of CPM?». According to him, this approach to Video - wrong. The deterioration of video quality and lowering its price has already happened - just look at user-generated videos and other sites that do not happen redaktury content. However, this approach ignores some important advantages of online Video. This format is not designed simply to replace the television campaign as big and little measurable online campaigns.

«I will not argue that television does not represent value for advertisers - the expert observed. - However, it should be emphasized that this is a misunderstanding of how the television refers to the line of Video ».

Judicious marketing should enjoy the advantages of Video, as a broad audience, targeting and measurability of campaigns to overcome the disadvantages of television and fully take the best of both formats.

Sakerdoti debunk the myth, four television and gives the four council, which must demonstrate to the marketing, how to get the best of both formats.

Myth number 1: Telereklama more payback (cost effective), than video.

This is the most common misconceptions about pricing in the online Video, when compared with television - stresses the expert. Usually criticism of Video argue that the 30-second television spot has a CPM rate of $ 6 to $ 12, a 30-second online video, shown with the use of target - from $ 15 to $ 30.

In reality, such as «elected» online audience cheaper and attract her attention with the help of the Internet - most effectively. Clever marketing understands that the price of «access» to the audience «men aged 18 to 54 years and women aged 25 to 54 years» in the area estimated $ 18 - $ 35. But thanks to television is difficult to catch the audience «men aged 18-34 years old» and therefore access to highly valued - approximately $ 75. At the same time, the networks draw the attention of a certain demographic group is easy, and it can be done at a price below $ 25. Therefore, the price - the main advantage of online Video, and the development of targeted, it will become even more attractive.

Myth number 2: Effective able to replace declining television audience does not.

Sakerdoti it pointed out that although television is indeed a huge audience, many of its «of» have simply disappeared or are not greatly influenced. The first demographic groups such as adolescents, young men and women and so-called full-time female audience (housewives), who moved to the Internet. As a result, online video is for those groups most effective way «replacement». Experienced in marketing to balance the possibility of a broad teleauditorii with opportunities targeted online video and that is what will try to influence the most «uskolzayuschuyu» from advertisers, but most preferred to have an audience. Taken together, online video can be a relatively small part of total advertising budget, but when it comes to specific population groups, this type of advertising companies will have to allocate a greater share of funds - convinced the expert.

Myth number 3: impressions - a good way to measure the effectiveness of the campaign.

If the effectiveness of television campaigns can be defined as «effective subjunctive» (measurement by maybes) - that is, if this advertising saw so many people in the event with an online video campaign performance is determined by the specified rates. However, many marketing rely in this regard only to the criterion of the number of impressions, that is not enough. Indeed, not all impressions are made equal.

In fact, measuring the number of impressions - this is just the beginning, I am sure Sakerdoti. Clever marketing look not only at the shows, but also on factors such as engagement, duration of castor (ad duration), the cost of view (cost-per-view), the level of clickable (clickthrough rate), what part of the audience remember the content of advertising ( recall), coexistence with other brands and improving brand position (brand lift and brand adjacency). Not surprisingly, in 2008, advertising budgets are rapidly moving to high-quality tools that will get high results on all indicators for brands, - the expert believes. At the same time, advertisers will care of low-quality video and videosetey.

Myth number 4: The quality of television commercials are much higher.

Supporters of this version appealed to that in the United States began high-definition revolution. For more than 30% of American households have the opportunity to watch HDTV. But the truth is that PCs now even more are designed to transfer high quality images. 75% points of entry in the network have broadband Internet access, as many users have LCD-displays. And clever marketing to understand that the content of campaigns, such as using trailers to movies or video games, use the highest quality videoformaty, such as HD.

Television advertising was once recognized as the most effective way to impact on a large and selected audiences. But innovation in online Video allows clever marketing and brands available from the format of maximum impact. It should focus on the strengths of online video - a price the audience, output and quality. And remember that every dollar invested advertiser in the online video, will give the maximum benefit, and the client expects success in the market - convinces Sakerdoti.

We start creating new website “Wholesale Electronics“  using Magento e-commerce application. After many years being with oscommerce, we are forced to move to new script, because  technologies changes, and grow. Magento is new generation, developers of well know system Zen-cart decided to build the new system on PHP5, and Zend Framework. I should admit it looks prommising, in point of design and functionality.

Especially the layout very flexible and userfriendly.
Let’s see how it goes…

According to a previously written blog (Communicating with Customers is a Must for E-commerce Sites, January 2007) I cited a few statistics about the state of American e-commerce, including its amazing 25.2 percent growth but only making 2 percent of total GDP.  I expect e-commerce to grow as potential buyers get used to conducting business transactions online.  The gist of that article was that we—retailers and customers—have a responsibility to ourselves and our customers (current and potential) to take the necessary security measures to ensure that people’s privacy is protected. However, the aim of this particular piece is to expand on the idea of attracting potential customers to your web site and enticing them to buy from you.  Assuming that you have taken all necessary security measures and have disclosed policies and other relevant information, what then?

Beyond security is to look at the products or services that you offer.  Do you have competitors?  If you do, how many are there online?  Have you taken the time to visit those web sites to see what they offer?  An effective way to assess the quality of your products and/or services is to do a “best practices” assessment of your competitors and unrelated companies.  Best practices assessments are not complicated and can be done with very little money but it does require that you invest some quality time to visit web sites.  Compare your prices with those of your competitors: are they underselling you or are you competitively priced?  Read their return policies, privacy notices, sales, specials, and promotions and compare them with yours; are there areas where you can improve?  Visit unrelated web sites for “best practices” that you might be able to adapt for your own web site without infringing on copyrights, or “borrowing” images or text.  Rather you can look for models that might inspire you to create or adjust your current or unwritten policies to develop original work and thus making them your own.

Conduct a “best look” assessment of your web site comparing it with your competitors and non-competitors.  Does your web site look sophomoric, cartoonish, and unappealing?  Do you have pop-ups, flashy banners, and/or animated cartoons dancing across your front page?  Ask yourself if you want to portray the serious side of your business or the silly side.  If you choose the serious side then you are on the right track to attract visitors.  If you chose the silly side, then expect a lonely online existence.  I may be wrong but the biggest turn-off for me is to visit web sites that are so visually busy with flashing banners, Google AdSence banners, and other annoyances, that the last thing I want is to spend longer than a second at that site.  Again, look for models that you or your webmaster might use as guideposts for creating original content and consider cleaning up your web site from clutter and make it appealing.

The final issue is to develop an action plan.  Lofty goals are usually unrealistic.  For example, a lofty goal such as “I want to lose weight” is likely not to be realized.  However, if you develop goals that are short-term, realistic, and achievable, then success will follow.  Thus, if you propose to lose weight and develop a daily, weekly, and quarterly exercise and nutrition plan then you are likely to lose weight.  The same applies for developing business goals: make short term goals that are realistic and achievable and only then can you develop a “lofty, but achievable” goal.  For additional details about appealing to potential customers read my first article (To Template or Not to Template: It’s a Matter of Survival, October 2006).

According to a 2004 U.S. Census report about the state of e-commerce in America, retailer’s commercial activities grew by an amazing 25.2 percent, faster than any other economic sector and crushing even the most optimistic figures of economic growth when GDP peaked at 7.2 percent in October 2003 (CNN, 2003).  However, a more sobering finding is that despite its 25.2 percent growth, the share of total retail sales via e-commerce grew at a modest 2 percent ($71 billion), up from 1.7 percent ($53 billion) in 2003.  Notwithstanding these findings, there is money to be made in e-commerce (who wouldn’t want a piece of the $71 billion?) and no doubt that technological advances, internet connectivity, and increased comfort to buy online by consumers will contribute to the growth of e-commerce.  One way of contributing to the comfort level for consumers to purchase online is to ensure that your customers and potential customers feel reasonably safe to navigate, register, and use their credit cards to make purchases.  As a conscientious and lawful e-commerce merchant you have a responsibility to ensure that your customers’ privacy is protected.

Most e-commerce retailers have stepped up to combat online fraud.  According to an article by Merchant Fraud Squad in About.com (2002) 72 percent of polled merchants reported fraud rates of less than .5 percent of annual revenues, while less than 20 percent reported fraud rates higher than 1 percent.  These numbers are amazingly low despite the increased sophistication and aggressiveness of criminal elements that engage in spamming, phishing, and fraudulent credit card transactions.

If you are considering e-commerce or are in e-commerce, you might consider the following tips to help fight fraud and protect consumers:

1. Be clear about your privacy policy.

Review your privacy policy and if you don’t have one, write one!  Ask yourself the following questions: is my privacy policy as thorough and clear as possible?  Am I committing myself to protecting customer’s information against fraud, unsolicited emails, or the transfer or selling off of customers’ information to third parties?  Have I clearly stated how I will use customers’ information once I have it?

1. Don’t get annoying

Do you want to keep customers and attract new ones?  If you do, consider cleaning up your website by removing annoying pop-up windows, flashy ad banners, and visually painful cartoonish and sophomoric looking animations that make your website look less like legitimate e-commerce sites and more like a bad version of Cartoon Network.

1. Publish an “About Us” page.

Write a short bio about your company, how it got started, and what it stands for.  Write a mission statement which includes your business ethics (which can be tied to your privacy statement).  Include, for example, a subheading such as “Why buy from us” and give persuasive reasons why potential customers should buy from you.  You could include a short summary of warranty and return policy benefits, generous discount offers, security measures you have taken to protect customer’s privacy, and even naming the reputable companies you might be in business with to make your e-commerce possible.  Here’s an example:

Secure Transaction:
We utilize Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption protocol. SSL protects customer information such as credit card numbers, names, and addresses during the exchange between your computer and our server…

Our secure payments are backed by:

·         PayQuake (FDIC insured), one of the premier online Merchant Account providers.

·         Authorize.Net, the leading secure payment management company.

·         Ipowerweb.com, one of the highest rated Internet Service Providers

·         Equifax Secure Inc. (a subsidiary of GeoTrust, Inc., a leader in trust solutions for the Internet security infrastructure).  Simply click on the lock symbol on your browser to view the certificate.

(Source: www.oceanusgifts.com/about.php)

1. Clearly publish your warranty and return policies

Ethical and honest e-commerce sites will clearly publish reasonable return and warranty policies.  Don’t be so restrictive that it becomes a disincentive for potential customers to buy products or services.  Be thorough and direct but not so wordy that people won’t read your policies.  Be mindful of the tone and language that you use to write your guidelines by not coming off as preachy, condescending, or patronizing.  Avoid CAPPING words (rubs off the wrong way and it usually gets interpreted as yelling).  Do not overuse exclamation marks (!) (in fact avoid exclamation marks altogether).

1. Invest in SSL certificates

Take reasonable steps to secure your site with SSL certificates.  There are reasonably priced certificates out there that will not break the bank.  Make sure that SSL certificates are up-to-date.

While these tips might not be all-inclusive, they provide starting points for developing policies and standards that clearly portray your intentions as a retailer.  Your potential for economic success will be improved with these tips because they will help to create a safe and pleasant online environment for your visitors.

References

About.com (2002).  E-merchants are successfully fighting fraud despite rising sophistication of fraudsters.  Retrieved on January 11, 2007 from: http://retailindustry.about.com/library/bl/02q2/bl_mfs061702.htm

CNN. (2003, October 30).  U.S. economic growth sizzles:  Third-quarter growth of 7.2 percent is strongest in nearly two decades; will job growth follow?  Retrieved on January 11, 2006 from:

http://money.cnn.com/2003/10/30/news/economy/gdp/index.htm

U.S. Census.  (2004).  E-Stats.  Retrieved on January 11, 2007 from:  http://www.census.gov/eos/www/papers/help 2004/2004reportfinal.pdf

As per spokesmen James Griffith, in July of 1997 eBay had 6,500 officially registered users, shown on the site alphabetically by his or her email addresses. Nowadays, email addresses are no longer user ID’s, and listing all eBay users would be hard work— being as how eBay has grown to over 153 million officially registered users world wide, making it maybe the seventh or eighth largest ‘nation’ on the planet. Basically, according to A.C. Neilson analysis, there are almost 750,000 USA traders who intend to start a part-time or permanent working on eBay. Is it possible to increase on this tremendous growth?
eBay believes so. To grow its traders and expand trade and income, eBay started the latest version of its traveling road show known as eBay University in July 2005, teaching three courses on how to notably trade on the site. Since after that and through the rest of 2005, eBay University will have visited 43 cities, and is going to continue the program in 2006.
eBay University is promoted to registered eBay users through emails and a link on the eBay site. The three, day-long courses are “eBay Basics,” “Beyond The Basics” and “eBay For Business,” all taught by a group of eBay and common business experts, many of whom have written how-to guidance on notably trading strategies for the site or their areas of expertise. The payments are moderate —59,9 USD for each course, with a ‘package’ payment of 89,9 USD for the ‘Basics’ and “Beyond the Basics’ classes.

The moderate prices can’t start to cover eBay’s costs for running a program such as this, but after that eBay’s agenda here is to promote the site, and the eBay University program does merely that. In addition to the “eBay Basics” course — which is aimed to segue eBay purchasers and non-users into the trader mode — the two advanced courses strongly promote PayPal, selective features, egg on International trading, and propose strategies designed to propel puny volume and occasional eBay traders into Power Trader status.
This reporter caught up with eBay University at the Jacob Javit’s Convention Center in New York City in late October and sat in on the “eBay For Business” and “Beyond The Basics” courses. Though trading on the site starting from 1998, I expected to find cues and tips that were effective in future trading. These I found, along with much basic business and mail order data and insights that would be helpful for anyone trading online.
Each course is accompanied by a 100-plus page guidance covering in detail what the presenters discuss. Some course experts can be exuberant, by using demonstrations sprinkled with such adjectives as “awesome” and “very awesome” (whatever that might be), but they are all skilled speakers, and the offer problems are demonstrated by a 20 foot projection screen, emphasizing and summarizing each point.

eBay for Business
In comparison with the other two courses, eBay for Business is presented once rather than twice over the three-day program, possibly because of the schedule of its tax/legal issue expert, attorney Cliff Ennico, a nationally syndicated columnist and author on the subject. Issues include selecting from the different types of business entities, that which suit’s the individual situation — such as sole proprietorship, partnerships, “C” and “S” corporations, and limited liability companies — each presented by using the pros and cons in a clear, concise manner.
The demonstration moves on to legal liabilities for trading on eBay — warranties, express and implied, legal disclaimers, refund and return policies, etc. Under dealing with deadbeat bidders, you can call and threaten to sue, but it’s advised that you can’t imply that the debtor has committed a crime, call in the midnight, or threaten to attach a debtor’s wages or property — unless you really intend to do it!
The final suggestion is to consult an attorney before calling a deadbeat bidder.

Tax difficulties are complex and covered in detail, starting by using the basics of tax compliance such as Federal and local tax ID’s, filing on time, tax payment schedules, requirements for trade tax collection, and the same. Deducting home office space used to automatically trigger an audit, but this is no longer the case, though home office space must be precisely measured, and a baby’s stroller or any other non-business item in the space kills the deduction.
Accounting and bookkeeping difficulties are also covered at length, including what to look for in an accountant or bookkeeper. Also covered are the legal aspects and responsibilities of hiring and firing employees. Under the delicate topic of firing a worker, it is advised to lock he or her out of the computer before the meeting, fire on a Monday, instead a Friday, have a viewer present, keep emotions out of it, and, strongly emphasized — the less said, the better.
In all, Ennico’s demonstration should provide highly useful data to all but the most experienced and savvy entrepreneurs.
The Business course after that transits into operating an eBay business, beginning with creating objectives, and the first of several pitches touting Power Trader status and why and how to accomplish it. (Power Trader status starts at ‘Bronze’ with trade of at least 1,500 USD a month, and extends into the stratosphere to ‘Titanium,’ at 200,000 USD a month.)
There are common sense suggestions, like avoiding the use of music in listings and keeping image sizes reasonable (since 50% of the U.S.A. still uses low-speed dial-up connections,) taking in account your competition, avoiding spelling errors and combative trader terms, and, in general, doing an attractive demonstration in your trade.
The section on Analysis Tools should be useful to many eBay traders. Trading something without making analysis the past performance of item is a way for wasting time and, often, losing or leaving money on the table. eBay presents several services that provide insight into what moves on the place by using a link in it’s Marketplace Research page, accessed via web browser at http://solutions.ebay.com
The first of these is the “What’s Hot” page linked through Trader Central. By clicking on “Trade By Category,” then “In Demand,” a trader can resolve prevailingly popular items in most categories.
Relatively new to the area is the “Want It Now” page linked through the eBay home page. There, purchasers post items they would like but can’t find on the site.

For those who wish to tie his or her trade to eBay’s promotions, there is the “Merchandising Calendar” linked through Trader Central that gives advance notice of offers — one tool particularly effective to Store traders.
The course segues into common sense solutions for finding merchandise to trade on eBay, suggesting the usual suspects — garage and estate trade, flea marketplaces, thrift shops, auctions and the like, as well as cueing traders into the “Whole Sale Lots” category on the site, then using search words such as ‘bulk,’ ‘pallet,’ ‘case,’ ‘lot.’ The problem with this strategy is that many traders are wholesaling goods for some reason and it is basically because the item can’t be sold individually on the site. In the “Beyond The Basics” course, finding independent eBay certified wholesalers is dealt by using in detail.
The afternoon sessions offers micro detail cues on how to begin, create and expand an eBay business in the auction and Stores formats — from pricing, listing, keyword strategies to shipping advice and virtually every issue in within. Interspersed throughout are touts for eBay product or services such as PayPal, payments that are offered by a huge majority of eBay traders. eBay claims that traders who demonstrate PayPal average 5-6% higher trade-through costs than those who don’t.

eBay — Beyond the Basics
There’s a particular amount of redundancy between the ‘Business’ and ‘Beyond the Basics’ courses, but deeper detail and additional demonstrations, such as International Trading, add to the worth of this course.
International Trading covers an untapped source of income for many eBay traders. The truth is, eBay claims that 48% of his or her trade are now international, and that cross-border trade average 6.5 % higher than domestic trade-through payments. The demonstration whets the appetite of the audience by using the fact that someone in Germany was willing to pay 79 USD for a 3.99 USD five-pack of Oreo cookies. Whether anyone else will ever again pay 79 USD for the same cookies on eBay is another matter, but the point that many products in USA can do well overseas, is reality.
The demonstration covers the basics of how to fill out a customs form, legal issues including accurate and honest declarations, the most price efficient shipping (ordinarily USPS), language and money conversions, and foreign purchaser- friendly ways to list. And, again, pushing traders to use PayPal. eBay claims that foreign traders who use PayPal payments average 16.5% higher trade-through prices. This makes sense because transferring funds from overseas can be costly and troublesome for international purchasers who don’t have an expedient such as PayPal, Bidpay or Western Union checks payable on banks of U.S.A. For anyone who trades principally or exclusively to overseas purchasers, PayPal is a necessity.
In the “Beyond the Basics” course, eBay screams the following: Grant the purchasers what they expect to have! To this effect, huge number complicated search and marketing report tools that help in nailing down what is hot and when, are covered. One such pay-for, eBay certified site is Terapeak, which demonstrates sophisticated data on category results, key ratios, listing features and successful duration times, among other features. Free and choicely eBay features like “Trade Report Plus,” are also covered in considerable detail.

Under the topic of search engine marketing, there’s also an interesting demonstration on the necessity of having a ‘top-30′ search result placing on Google and Yahoo!, as well as ways of achieving the top five results, or “before the fold,” which yields the greatest results in search engine queries. This is achieved by bidding on a pay per click (PPC) basis for top placement on the search engines. Bids or costs paid per click-through range from a few pennies to 100 USD. Also covered in detail are important keyword cues for linking with purchasers and many other aspects of search engine marketing. This should be a fascinating demonstration for all those, who like myself, are semi- to totally clueless on the process and its worth.
While many aspects of the “Beyond The Basics” course are covered elsewhere, here they’re covered in marvelous detail. Under finding merchandise to trade, for example, eBay certified but independent wholesalers who don’t trade on the site (and thus don’t, theoretically, compete against you) are offered, as are others. (The rub here’s that basically you have to buy BIG: one speaker contacted wholesaler on the minimum order for an item and was told it was five shipping containers — for 150,000 USD.)
eBay claims that it takes 20 minutes to manually list a trade, and if you list one-of-a-kind-items as I do, this can precisely be the case. eBay demonstrates a variety of absolutely free and selective charge automation tools like Turbo Lister, which can be useful for any trader who deals in bulk listings. File Exchange, a new eBay tool that’s platform independent, allows medium to high volume traders to record o eBay auctions, fixed-price or Stores by using a single application from an MS Excel spreadsheet, MS Access or other software.
Cross-merchandising and offers are covered, as well as linking to stores and external web pages by using free and selective eBay tools.
The rest of the course demonstrations advanced suggestions and solutions for virtually every other aspect of eBay trading — from photography, headers and descriptions through packing and shipping to feedbacks and trade and inventory management. It is mentioned that the dreaded task of packaging isn’t thankless: well-packed goods give a sense of professionalism, and do lead to more positive feedback — not to mention that the item doesn’t spin back because it broke in transit.

The demonstrations are lively and upbeat, interspersed by using anecdotes and eBay success stories by using examples that would incite greed in a hermit, like the absolutely free box at a garage trade which contained a fish lure that sold for 33,000 USD. (On the screen we see a rather silly looking lure, in our hearts we feel money passion.)
eBay University is also offered online, but the live demonstrations are recommended. For most people, the impact of the live demonstrations accompanied by a 20-foot square projection screen and frequent question and answer periods should enhance and ease the teach yourself experience over just reading a downloaded guidance or PC screen.
Overall, eBay University by using its moderate prices constitutes a bargain in today’s ecommerce solutions marketplace, and should prove itself valuable for many, if not most, eBay traders.

Virtually, we count everyday activity as part of shopping context. Put variously, ecommerce now becomes an integral part of our daily deal, rather than a distinctive activity. There is no more need to accumulate or remember a long list of things to buy, nor make separate trips to the mall or Web sites.

Consumers became more demanding; they also become the agents or personalized expert for the products they use. Our family and friends influence on us than those terms of what to buy. This has some interesting business implications. For example, if you buy a shirt because you like it when you see your pal Edward wearing it, Edward might get a commission. To retailers, their ecurrent product owners now become chain for marketing and sales. And those owners are caused to wear or use the merchandise so as to increase their commissions.

For most homeowners, home is probably the one most important physical asset and the biggest investment in their life. It is also the place where they spend many of their hours spending in a broad range of activities. Thus, it comes as no surprise that the home is a big market for technology products and services, including phones, TV, fax machines DVD players, game consoles, PC, cameras, cable modems, and so on. Despite of the high perviousness of such technologies and the growing availability of wireless home networks and broadband Internet access, direct online services to consumer homes still bdirectly exist.

Imagine a landlord trying to install a lighting fixture. It doesn’t work normally, and he needs get an expert assistance. What should he does? First, he would seek for help, probably in phone book or possibly through a keyword search on the Google, or ask a his friend. He would assess the possibilities (an example - home improvement and hardware stores, private contractors) and make a selection. Then he would make a call, try to describe the problem, and decide what to do. Perhaps he would take notes and go return the ladder to give it another attempt.

The above circumstances shows a common call for micro service –customer services that come at a highly granular level.