Today's Quick eBay Tips

My oldest favorite fr ee eBay newsletter is written by Jim Cockrum of Silent Sales Machine fame. Jim is very generous with fr ee information but, besides that, he’s a heck of a good guy, which is easy to tell when you’ve been following him for as long as I have. If you want to receive his tips or if you want to get to know Jim, sign up for his newsletter here. I also highly recommend his books, which you can find at the same link.

Jim’s latest newsletter includes a link to a page on AuctionBytes.com (if you don’t get their newsletters, be sure to sign up for them) with a comparison chart called “Auction Management Services at a Glance.” A lot of people use auction management services to help with their eBay businesses. I use and recommend two, Auctiva and Turbolister. If I needed another, I’d probably try Inkfrog first since I know successful sellers who use and love it. All three are listed on the comparison chart, which you can find here. It includes a long list of services, many of which I’ve never even heard of. A good resource.

EBay is having another special today and tomorrow (July 18-19, 2007). The Value Pack, which includes a gallery picture, subtitle, and listing designer, is available for just 25 cents. I hope you use a gallery picture in your listings; you should in most cases. That upgrade itself usually costs 35 cents, so you can save 10 cents per auction or fixed price listing today and tomorrow, and those dimes do add up. Be aware, though, that you MUST choose Value Pack to get the discount on the picture, even if you aren’t interested in the other two upgrades. If you choose the gallery picture alone, you’ll still be charged 35 cents. If you don’t want to use the subtitle or designer, that’s fine as you don’t have to, but be sure and choose the value pack option. If you do use the subtitle (and why not – at that point it’s fr ee), remember that those words do not show up in a search unless the search is for title and description. Another thing to keep in mind is that if the item doesn’t sell and you re-list it in the future, you’ll be charged the original 65 cents for the value pack, so you might want to change your options when you re-list.

Those are your tips for today. Have a great one!