| Acknowledgments |
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xi | |
| Introduction |
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xi | |
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From Penniless to PowerSeller: Carving Out a Niche |
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1 | (26) |
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Trying to Do One Thing Well: Entertainment House |
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2 | (2) |
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``Being Broke Is a Great Incentive'' |
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3 | (1) |
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``From Small Things, Big Things Grow'' |
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3 | (1) |
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How Phil Leahy Chose an Area of Specialty |
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4 | (9) |
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``I Knew I Had to Work 16-Hour Days . . .'' |
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6 | (1) |
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``Staff Training Is Critical'' |
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7 | (1) |
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``We Are Going to Do Everything We Can to Cultivate Customers'' |
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8 | (1) |
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``Don't Try to Do What Everyone Else Does'' |
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9 | (2) |
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Sell Something You Can Supply |
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11 | (2) |
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Finding a Competitive Edge: NYC Designs For Less |
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13 | (14) |
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How Lori Baboulis Undercut the Competition |
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15 | (1) |
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``Finding Inventory Is the Hardest Part of Selling on eBay'' |
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15 | (3) |
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``eBay Stores Encourage Repeat Buyers'' |
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18 | (3) |
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Selling at High Volume for Big Profits: Sew VacDirect |
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21 | (1) |
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Providing Personal Customer Service: Abovethemall |
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22 | (2) |
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Setting Out to Corner the Market: Blueberry Boutique |
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24 | (1) |
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Lessons Learned in This Chapter |
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25 | (2) |
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Establishing Your Identity: Your Mission and Your Web Presence |
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27 | (24) |
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Pursuing a Mission: Shiana.com |
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28 | (13) |
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``The Human Touch Makes This Type of Silverwork Unique'' |
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29 | (1) |
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``We Want to Help Our Friends to Thrive on Their Own'' |
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29 | (4) |
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``eBay Gave Us Exposure to Customers Around the World'' |
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33 | (1) |
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``We're Such a Small Army'' |
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33 | (2) |
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``Our eBay Sales Market Our Web Site, Not the Other Way Around'' |
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35 | (4) |
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``We Wanted to Let People Know More About What Happens'' |
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39 | (2) |
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Promoting a Business Ethic: National Powersports Distributors |
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41 | (10) |
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``On eBay, We Can Make a Substantial Return on Our Investment'' |
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42 | (2) |
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``I Set Out from the Beginning to Build a Business'' |
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44 | (1) |
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``We Have a Core Philosophy: Tell the Truth'' |
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44 | (3) |
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``You Don't Have to Sell Something: Just Make It Available'' |
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47 | (1) |
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``eBay Can Put a Motorcycle in Front of 2,000 People a Week'' |
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47 | (1) |
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``The More People Become Comfortable With Us, the More Profits Go Up'' |
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48 | (1) |
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Lessons Learned in This Chapter |
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48 | (3) |
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Connect with Your Customers |
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51 | (22) |
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High Profits, Low Volume Equal Success: White Mountain Trading Company |
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52 | (9) |
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``If You're Going to Sell for a Living, You Might As Well Sell Something Expensive'' |
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53 | (1) |
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``You Pretty Much Have the World at Your Doorstep'' |
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54 | (4) |
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``Instead of Building a $60,000 Web Site, We Bought Inventory'' |
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58 | (1) |
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``Thirty Percent of Our Customers Make Another Purchase from Us'' |
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59 | (1) |
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``It's Still Dynamic, It's Still Exciting'' |
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60 | (1) |
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Interpersonal Skills Connect with Medical Buyers: Ready Medical |
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61 | (12) |
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``I Work the Chick Factor'' |
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63 | (3) |
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``In One Place We Have an Upholsterer, a Painter, and We Store Our Own Equipment'' |
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66 | (2) |
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``It's Like Gambling: It's All About the Action'' |
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68 | (2) |
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``Let Your Customers Think They're Your World'' |
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70 | (1) |
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Lessons Learned in This Chapter |
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70 | (3) |
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Think and Act Like a Businessperson |
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73 | (22) |
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Planning for Success: Sands-o-Time |
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74 | (7) |
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``It Helps to Have a Formal Business Plan'' |
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75 | (1) |
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``I Built Up a Huge Reference Library---Anything and Everything I Could Get My Hands On'' |
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76 | (2) |
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How Melissa Sands Takes Advantage of Multiple Sales Venues |
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78 | (3) |
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Roll Up Your Sleeves, Put In Long Hours: Alan Warshauer |
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81 | (14) |
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``I'm Always Looking for New Products'' |
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82 | (1) |
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``They Are All Being Made in China'' |
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83 | (4) |
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``Most of the Profit Is in the Shipping and Handling'' |
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87 | (2) |
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``I Don't Put Much Stock in Being a PowerSeller'' |
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89 | (1) |
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``I Average 1,000 to 1,500 E-Mails a Day. I Go Through Them Real Quick.'' |
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90 | (2) |
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``It's Become Too Difficult to Manage by Myself'' |
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92 | (1) |
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Lessons Learned in This Chapter |
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92 | (3) |
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Identify Sources of Merchandise |
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95 | (18) |
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Turning a Wholesale Business Public: Robert Zanger |
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96 | (10) |
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``You Get an Item You Have a Lot of, and You Keep Relisting It'' |
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97 | (4) |
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``People Call Me to Say, `Are You for Real?''' |
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101 | (1) |
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``It's Easier to Sell a Suit on eBay Than Through My Store'' |
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101 | (2) |
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Hiring a Designer: ``A One-Time Expense Yields Rewards for Years to Come'' |
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103 | (3) |
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Seek Out New Products and New Suppliers: MemoryQueens.com |
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106 | (7) |
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``We're Always Looking: It's All About the Research'' |
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106 | (1) |
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``There's a Level of Trust with Family That You Don't Have with Other People'' |
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107 | (1) |
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``I Have Been Searching High and Low for Trade Shows'' |
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108 | (2) |
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``You Have Cash Outlays Just Like Any Other Business'' |
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110 | (2) |
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Lessons Learned in This Chapter |
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112 | (1) |
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Reach the Widest Possible Audience |
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113 | (20) |
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Franchising eBay for Maximum Market Share: Auction Safari |
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114 | (9) |
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``There's So Much Learning and Collaboration'': Teaming with Experienced Sellers |
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116 | (2) |
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``The Name of the Game Is: How Do You Drive Shoppers to Your Store?'' |
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118 | (1) |
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119 | (2) |
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``Partner with Shopping Engines to Pull People into Your eBay Store'' |
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121 | (1) |
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``We're Going to Be Working More with Retailers'' |
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122 | (1) |
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Reaching Out to Customers Around the World: Tony Cicalese |
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123 | (10) |
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``Buying CDs from My Van with My Kitty Was a Great Opportunity'' |
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124 | (1) |
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``I Thought Using My Business to Raise Money Was a Good Idea'' |
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125 | (1) |
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``Is Tony a Mental Case?'': Using Humor and Personality Sells |
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126 | (1) |
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``I Want to Be Seen as Approachable, Friendly, and Fun'' |
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127 | (3) |
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130 | (1) |
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Lessons Learned in This Chapter |
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131 | (2) |
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Diversity Your Business Presence |
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133 | (24) |
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From Wholesaler to eBay Mogul: David Hardin |
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134 | (6) |
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``All of a Sudden a Light Went On'': Shoetime |
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135 | (1) |
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From Shoes to Fashion: Fashion Outlet Mall |
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135 | (3) |
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``I Went from Shoe Salesman to Software Developer'' |
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138 | (1) |
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``If You've Got a Computer and a High-Speed Internet Connection, You Can Do This Out of Your Home'': eSAVz |
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138 | (2) |
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Open a Brick-and-Mortar Store: Ellen Navarro and Amy Mayer |
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140 | (17) |
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``We Decided That This Is a Destination Business'' |
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141 | (1) |
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``People Get Caught Up in the Romance of Selling on eBay, and They Don't Do the Business Projections'' |
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142 | (3) |
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``I Am Selling More and More Machines Lately'' |
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145 | (3) |
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``If One of Us Didn't Get Yelled At, It Wouldn't Be a Normal Day'' |
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148 | (1) |
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``We Compare Our Business to a Dry Cleaner---People Choose the Place with the Best Service'' |
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149 | (6) |
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Lessons Learned in This Chapter |
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155 | (2) |
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Provide Instant and Personalized Service |
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157 | (22) |
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Where Customer Service Is the Most Important Product: Abovethemall |
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158 | (15) |
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``Take the Good from the Good Sellers and Make It Your Own'' |
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160 | (1) |
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``I Want People to Know That They're Dealing with an Individual'' |
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161 | (5) |
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``It's Hard to Sell Items If People Can't See a Good Picture of Them'' |
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166 | (4) |
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Make Your Descriptions Do the Selling |
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170 | (1) |
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``I Want Buyers to Know My Name and Phone Number'' |
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171 | (1) |
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``Don't Forget Where You Came From'' |
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172 | (1) |
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``Keep the Stress Away from Your Family'' |
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172 | (1) |
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He's Got the Key to Finding Buyers in eBay Motors |
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173 | (6) |
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``eBay Took Us in a Direction We Didn't Plan to Go'' |
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173 | (2) |
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Key to Fast Shipping: ``Location, Location, Location'' |
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175 | (2) |
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Finding the Right Selling Tool: ``It's the Holy Grail'' |
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177 | (1) |
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``It's Harder to Start a New Business Now'' |
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177 | (1) |
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Lessons Learned in This Chapter |
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178 | (1) |
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179 | (16) |
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Reach Number One in Your Field: David Yaskulka |
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180 | (8) |
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``Reputation Is Everything'' |
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181 | (1) |
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``Reinforce Your Brand Every Chance You Get'' |
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182 | (1) |
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``We Are Good at Making Sure Our Customers Are Protected'' |
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182 | (2) |
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``Build Your Reputation as a Socially Responsible Business'' |
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184 | (3) |
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``Go on Discussion Boards and Really Help People'' |
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187 | (1) |
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``We Try to Have a Core Value for Our Company'' |
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187 | (1) |
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Building Good Feedback: David T. Alexander |
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188 | (7) |
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``I Had a Lot of Customers Already from My Existing Business'' |
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189 | (1) |
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``People Buy from You Right Away If You Have High Feedback'' |
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190 | (1) |
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``I Can Walk a Hundred Yards to My Office'' |
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191 | (1) |
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``When Something Doesn't Sell on eBay the Work is Lost'' |
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192 | (1) |
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``If One Person Leaves Me Negative Feedback, It Isn't Going to Change My Percentage'' |
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193 | (1) |
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``Having a Good Reputation Sells'' |
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193 | (1) |
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Lessons Learned in This Chapter |
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194 | (1) |
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Acquire and Keep Your Customers |
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195 | (18) |
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Using Your eBay Store to Acquire Customers: Creative Paper |
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196 | (7) |
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``The Whole Purpose of eBay Is to Get Customers'' |
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198 | (1) |
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``We Do a Blast E-Mail to 20,000 Customers'' |
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198 | (3) |
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``We Do Give People the Option to Opt Out'' |
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201 | (1) |
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``I Had a Lot of People Requesting Patriotic Stuff After 9/11'' |
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201 | (2) |
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Upselling and Cross-Promoting: Dallas Golf |
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203 | (10) |
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``Golf Is Almost the Perfect eBay Product'' |
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204 | (1) |
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``It's Like Tapping Them on the Shoulder and Saying, `Would You Like to Buy Something Else?''' |
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205 | (2) |
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``We're Sourcing Through Our Competitors'' |
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207 | (1) |
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``If We Can Get Customers to Trade in Their Old Clubs on eBay, We Can Sell Them on eBay'' |
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208 | (1) |
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``We Do a Daily E-Mail That Highlights Auctions That Are About to Close'' |
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209 | (1) |
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``We're Always Trying to Say, `If You Don't Like This, Here, Look at This''' |
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210 | (1) |
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``Be a Salesperson: Tell People What They Really Need on the Phone'' |
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211 | (1) |
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Lessons Learned in This Chapter |
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211 | (2) |
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Automate to Ramp Up Sales |
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213 | (18) |
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Doing eBay Bigger, Better, Faster: Kevin Harmon |
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214 | (6) |
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``You Need a Solid Breadth of Product to Sell Well on eBay'' |
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214 | (2) |
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``Our Model: Virtual Inventory We Don't Own Until It's Sold, and National Distributors'' |
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216 | (1) |
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``We Are Plugged in Directly to eBay with Our Own Software'' |
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217 | (1) |
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``I Never Buy Anything Unless I Research It First on eBay'' |
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218 | (2) |
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``Everyone Gets Burned Trying to Find New Suppliers'' |
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220 | (1) |
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Managing Sales with Special Software: Jon Stein |
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220 | (11) |
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``Start with Something You Really Love'' |
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222 | (1) |
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Choose the Right Solution Carefully |
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222 | (1) |
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``Time and Time Again, We Look for New Eyeballs and New Customers'' |
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223 | (3) |
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``I Think the Best Is Yet to Come'' |
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226 | (2) |
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Lessons Learned in This Chapter |
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228 | (3) |
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APPENDIX A Web Resources for PowerSellers |
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231 | (10) |
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232 | (1) |
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232 | (1) |
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232 | (1) |
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232 | (1) |
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233 | (2) |
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233 | (1) |
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233 | (1) |
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233 | (1) |
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234 | (1) |
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234 | (1) |
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234 | (1) |
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234 | (1) |
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234 | (1) |
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Tools for Finding and Selling Merchandise |
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235 | (1) |
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235 | (1) |
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Association of Independent Information Professionals |
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235 | (1) |
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``How to Find Wholesalers'' Workshop |
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235 | (1) |
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Multistate Tax Commission |
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236 | (1) |
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236 | (1) |
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eBay Sales Reports Discussion Board |
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236 | (1) |
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Professional eBay Sellers Alliance (PESA) |
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236 | (1) |
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Seller Central Discussion Board |
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236 | (1) |
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Tools for Tracking Income and Expenses |
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237 | (1) |
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Microsoft Money 2005 Web Site |
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237 | (1) |
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237 | (1) |
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Peachtree Office Accounting |
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237 | (1) |
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238 | (1) |
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238 | (1) |
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Other Places to Sell Your Merchandise |
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238 | (1) |
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238 | (1) |
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239 | (1) |
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239 | (1) |
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239 | (1) |
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E-Commerce Hosting Services |
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239 | (2) |
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239 | (1) |
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240 | (1) |
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240 | (1) |
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APPENDIX B Becoming an eBay Millionaire: The Twelve-Step Program |
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241 | (8) |
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Step 1: Find Something You Love---and Sell It |
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242 | (1) |
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Step 2: Set Out to Build a Business Rather than a Hobby |
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242 | (1) |
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Step 3: Do the Research Up Front |
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243 | (1) |
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Step 4: Develop a Steady Supply of Merchandise |
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243 | (1) |
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Step 5: Know Who Your Customers Are and What They Want |
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244 | (1) |
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Step 6: Don't Be Afraid to Grow |
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244 | (1) |
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Step 7: Find People---or Software---to Help You |
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245 | (1) |
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Step 8: Act Like a Salesperson |
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245 | (1) |
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Step 9: Market Yourself and Your Business |
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246 | (1) |
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Step 10: Sell in More than One Venue |
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246 | (1) |
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Step 11: Make Your Customer Your King or Queen |
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247 | (1) |
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Step 12: Be Prepared for Really Hard Work |
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248 | (1) |
| Index |
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249 | |
Other versions by this Author