Online Auction eBooks
Here is a list of well known eBooks about online auctions:
- 101 Auction Secrets by Tim Campbell
- Auction Explosion by Maria Vowell
- Auction Prophet
- Auction Hints by Jim Wilson
- Auction Money Machine
Most of these books can be bought on eBay itself.
Here are just a few things to think about when running your own business selling things on eBay.
- Designing attractive ads
- Deciding on the best products to sell
- Good online business practices
- Dealing with customer queries efficiently
- Customer payment methods (like PayPal)
- Setting up your own merchant account
- Using Listing Management Services (such as Andale)
- Dealing with Spam eMail (i.e. using an secure email service like Eudora)
- Saving time at the post office
- Avoiding bouncing cheques
- Best Listing times
- Using pictures on your auctions
- Customer care
- Listing descriptions
- Terms and conditions
- Shipping charges
- Leaving negative feedback
- Dispatching your order
- Care with spelling
- Professional Selling
- Insuring Valuable Items
- International Payment
- Best ways of starting out
- Use of eBay's Listing Enhancements
- Pricing Tips
- Promoting your listings outside of eBay
- Readability of your ads
- Sales Killers - what not to do
- Using Free Counters for your auction listings
- Packaging
- Improving your advertisements
- learning and using HTML for your ad design
- re-lising strategies
- Creating and selling your own e-books
- Understanding and using Dutch Auctions
- Best Days and periods to begin and end your listings
- creating you own "about me" page
- Foreign Currency considerations
- Starting auctions at too high a price
- more help from auction newsgroups and message boards
- using ebay community sections
- Logistical concerns
- Dealing with difficult people
- Organizing your business
- Managing your time
- Using Auction Reserves
- Selling on behalf of other people
- Testing your auction ads
- notorious auction personality types
- using clip art
- saving time and money by using re-listing options
- Making your listing titles stand out
- Making your products searchable
- Finding sources of products to sell
- Making use of search engines
- Newsletters and mailing lists
- Choosing appropriate listing categories
- optimizing graphics for your pictures
- protecting your data
- Keeping track of your auctions
- Tax matters
- Using a web site with your auctions
- Selling Information products
- Boosting your profits by up-selling
- realizing your customers lifetime value
- Useful software and programs to use
- Using eBay's Turbo Lister
- Saving time at the post office
- Best Times to ship your items
- Dealing with disputes and leaving good feedback
Most of the books above give very good advice on these topics.
For buyers and volume sellers here are a few things to consider
- Item Alerts
- Sniping tools (bidding at the last minute)
- Using seller tools like Selling Manager Pro
- Detecting dishonest sellers
- Detecting dishonest buyers
- Developing your own selling tools using eBay's API's