Archive for the ‘Excerpts’ Category

Ebay, the number one auction site in the world, lots of fun and often a place to score some great bargains. But, can you really make an income from being an Ebay retailer?

What you sell on Ebay is not nearly as important as how you sell it. The art of making money on Ebay is all about the pitch and the customer service you provide as a seller.

How much you can make on Ebay is just as much up to you as it is in any retail business. There are thousands of listings posted everyday on Ebay and in order to get your product sold you of course have to get them noticed. That does not necessarily mean paying extra fees to eBay for featured listing banners and bigger photos though. A well worded ad with a catchy headline works just as well. Photographs are a must, as most people will simply bypass an auction that does not have a visual representation of the merchandise on offer.

Price is key on Ebay and not just the cost of the item but, shipping and handling too. Keep shipping costs to the buyer as low as you can to attract more bidders. You can always add a more expensive option for a winner who wants their merchandise shipped quickly if they request it but, if not stick to the most economical option available.

These days the Ebay system is completely geared towards using PayPal as the preferred method of payment for an auction. Although you may be tempted to accept a check or money order to avoid PayPal fees it is not the best idea, as such transactions are hard to dispute if something goes wrong.

When shipping any item, even a very small item, always use a tracking number. In the event of a dispute when a buyer claims they have not received their merchandise from you, if you do not have a tracking number to prove you sent the item Ebay and PayPal will almost always decide in the buyer’s favor. There are quite a few dishonest people out there willing to take advantage of a seller’s lack of documentation to claim an item that they received was lost and receive their money back too.

Good feedback is critical to an Ebay seller’s success. Create a simple thank you email to send to your buyers and include a handwritten note of thanks in the package too. Little things like that really make a seller stand out in Ebay buyers’ minds and can improve the quality of your feedback immensely.

Twitter is the “buzzed up” social network these days, and just as with MySpace and Facebook before it, small businesses and individual entrepreneurs are trying very hard to put it to good use in the marketing of their products and services.

But how useful is it really? Well everyone and his granny is on Twitter these days, so you or your business probably should have a presence as well.  In order for it to bring you sales or web traffic though you need followers, and lots of them. Many people begin by following the followers of a business rival or someone in the same field in the hope that those who were interested enough to follow the competition will follow them too (boy that is a lot of following.)

Once you have achieved a decent number of followers like any other web page you will need to provide interesting content to ensure repeat visits. The beauty of Twitter is of course that the updates are so short, so that often a simple link to a relevant or interesting article, review or product will suffice.

Do not expect a big flood of business right away from your Twitter page. In other words do not neglect your other promotional techniques in order to devote a huge amount of time to Twittering. But with one or two interesting tweet outs a day it can be a quick and easy way to gain more than a few extra customers.

You can claim a number of quite valuable tax deductions for a home office, but in order to do so it has to meet certain guidelines set by the IRS. For most the IRS will never come anywhere near their house, but in the event of an audit everything needs to be in order.

According to IRS rules your home office must be a part of your house that you use on a regular basis for the exclusive purpose of running a business. That means setting aside a room, or even a part of a room that is visibly set up as an office of some kind.  You must also be able to demonstrate that your home office is your principal place of business or at least that you regularly use it to meet with clients.

If you can meet these guidelines you can then claim part of the general expenses associated with your home such as utilities, rent, homeowners insurance, mortgage interest and even general repairs. For more information on IRS guidelines visit: http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=108138,00.html

Even if your home office does not meet the IRS standards for “exclusive use” it may qualify as “regular use” and a portion may be tax deductible. In addition, there are various business expenses the self-employed can claim. These can include: Internet connection, a separate telephone line that you use for work, equipment (computer, fax, copier, etc.), basic supplies, office furniture, computer software,  Social Security taxes (1/2 of self-employed contributions), and health insurance premiums. Of course there are certain stipulations to qualify for deductions. Those operating a daycare out of their home or who are not self-employed but, a telecommuter also can benefit from certain deductions. Consult your tax professional and visit the IRS website for additional details.

Have you ever seen a t-shirt or a mug in a store and thought to yourself “I could design something better than that”? Did you ever think of slogan or catch phrase that you would love to wear but no store has anything like it? Thanks to the advent of internet sites like Zazzle and Cafepress you can create your own t-shirts, sweatshirts, nightdresses, even underwear and what’s more you can actually make money by selling your designs for others to use.

Both sites allow budding designers to upload their designs for sale on their sites, which are growing in popularity every day.

Zazzle allows artists and designers to build a store on their site and when customers choose your design to be printed onto one of the company’s products you receive a percentage of the sale. You can set your own royalty rate but unless you are Stella McCartney it is perhaps best not to set it too high right at the start.

Other sites like Cafepress work much in the same way. How much you make will of course depend upon the popularity of your work but some of the simplest amateur designs have actually become cult like in their popularity.

Selling your designs will probably not net you a steady income in the beginning, but if you have an artistic bent it is a great way to combine a hobby with a way to make a little (maybe even a lot of) extra cash.