Is it possible for one small eBay account to have this kind of feedback?

What if I told you just two full-time guys were running this account? Is that crazy?

So far in 2006 these 2 guys have done over $2.2 million in business.

I can’t tell you what they are selling out of respect for their account…but I can tell you that this is a verified eBay account THAT I HAVE SEEN IN ACTION and I’ve spoken at length to the guy that’s running it with his Dad. I told you about him a few days ago (see the Oct 15th, 2006 post). Here’s a link to his whole story and Rob’s new book that has JUST been released!

CLICK HERE: http://www.jimcockrum.com/robsbook.html

Get ready to get inspired!

Click here to read it 

In this issue of the free newsletter:
1. Is consignment selling worth it?
2. Question from reader:
    The best way to sell a collection of similar
     items
3. Quick Tips
   - Record airplanes landing…and sell it?!
   - My problem is your opportunity
   - Not too late to cash in on hot Christmas
      toys!

Hope you had a great weekend. I watched a lot (too much) football myself, but who can blame me when the games are good and weather is cold?

I have a little problem and a possible opportunity for you though.

For a VERY short time you can get all three of my books in a “combo pack” for a steal.

Visit:

http://www.silentsalesmachine.com

…and click on any order button for full details on the “three book combo” offer.

Here’s the scoop:

I’ve gotten many requests to combine all three of my books into one “discounted” package.

I’m talking about:

1.  A Part Time Plan for Massive Success Using eBay and the Internet
    http://www.PartTimePlan.com
    (My latest top seller)

2. The Silent Sales Machine Hiding on eBay
    http://www.SilentSalesMachine.com
    (The all time best selling eBay eBook in the world)

3. How to Turn Auction Traffic Into Cash
    http://www.AuctionTrafficCash.com
    (Use eBay and autoresponders to grow a HUGE mailing list fast)

The problem:

It seems my order processing company (clickbank.com) has a standard $50 limit on ebook transactions.

Since each of my three books sell individually for just under $30 each ($30 X 3 = $90) how can I bundle and sell them for less than $50?

It would be a steal at  $75 or $80, but $50 is ridiculous!

I’ve applied for a higher limit and I’m sure clickbank.com will grant my request very soon, but for now the most I can charge for any single transaction is, like I said… $50.

Your short term opportunity…

…you know it’s only a matter of time before you’ll own all three of my books. It is hands down the best, most current (and frequently updated) eBay success series you’ll ever get your hands on.

The testimonials and success stories roll in daily.

Once Clickbank.com increases my transaction limit the price on the “three book combo” is going up.
It’s only a matter of days (or hours).

If you get this too late I’m sorry. It simply couldn’t be helped.

To get in on the VERY short term discount on all three books visit:

http://www.silentsalesmachine.com

…and click on any order button for full details on the “three book combo” offer.

P.S. I’ve just updated the testimonials page…I’m amazed at some of the results and great feedback these books get. check it out here:

The best part of helping people succeed on eBay and the Internet is hearing back from people that I’ve helped in some way. It’s even better when they agree to help others succeed too!

I recorded a phone call Friday with THE MOST SUCCESSFUL SELLER ON EBAY that I’ve ever met.

You’ve never heard of Rob Frechette before. He’s been behind the scenes (no interviews, books, training seminars etc.)

CLICK HERE to listen to the call I recorded with him - it’s free to listen in.

(If you can’t get through to the page check back later-a lot of people are hitting the page! Also if you’d like you CAN download this audio file to your own computer for smoother listening. To do this put your mouse on the word “click here” above and then use the RIGHT CLICK button on your mouse and choose ”save as” from the drop down menu. Save the file to your computer.)

I consider Rob the most successful seller on eBay for a couple reasons.

First he did $2.2 million on eBay last year. That’s not all that unusual until you consider that he did it with only one other full time employee (his dad).

My favorite part of the call is when he credits my SilentSalesMachine.com book for helping him! (Sorry I had to throw that in there…)

I bet you are wondering what he sells and what his advice is for other eBay sellers or beginners? We address these and many other fantastic issues in a great 22 minute call.

Since this recording is taking up a TON of bandwidth (with 120,000 potential listeners!) on my server could I ask you a favor? Tell a few friends about it and tell them to visit:

http://www.jimcockrum.com/robf.html

…so they can get updates about Rob’s business and his unique yet simple approach to eBay success. This way I get a few new subscribers to my newsletter in exchange for the HIGH bandwidth bill I’ll be getting!

Also - LEAVE ME FEEDBACK by clicking the comments button below. What do you think of the call? What else would you like to hear from Rob…?

Click to read it

In this issue of the free newsletter:
1. A business lesson from a hilarious video
2. Steady stream of items to sell on eBay
3. Quick Tips
   -Resource page
   -Print your self published books one at a time

THE QUESTION FROM A READER:

I have been selling on ebay for the past few years. My only expertise, if I have any, is in old pocket watches.

I have purchased the watches from an ad I placed in a local newspaper. I did great for a year or so, then business dropped off. That is, the availability of the product dropped off. I was a Power Seller for awhile while my volume was up, but I’m having trouble getting inventory now.

In these circumstance, what would you suggest?

Thanks in advance.

Basil
JIM’S ANSWER:
First, congrats on finding a niche! It sounds very promising to me.

Regarding your issue:

No matter what you are selling on eBay sometimes inventory issues arise.

I have a few suggestions that I think will get you as much inventory as you can handle!

SUGGESTION ONE:

Since you were able to get an inventory of watches from many people in your area consider contacting your customer base and tell them that you are expanding into other areas.

Some hot areas to consider are:

-old magazines
-old cameras
-jewelry
-antiques (try to specialize)
-old vases

SUGGESTION TWO:

Use simple creative partnerships that I call “consignment holding shops”.

Here’s how “consignment holding shops” work:

First, you widen the advertising area where you find watches and advertise in cities once thought too far away for your “drive up” consignment business.

DON’T have the watches hand delivered or mailed to you. Instead, use “Consignment holding shops” to smooth out the process.

What are “consignment holding shops”?

In your case it might be a jewelry shop in a “far off” town where you run your classified ad. You’ll need to find a “friendly jeweler” and ask them to hold your customers watches until they sell - that way the customer doesn’t have to mail the watch to you, but the watch is secured while on auction (the first rule of consignment selling - hold the inventory).

Have a couple of simple written agreements made up. One agreement says that you (or the “consignment holding shops”) are taking possession of the watch until the auction is over. The other agreement is between you and the “consignment holding shops” and spells out the terms of your relationship (pay rate, responsibilities etc.)

Another benefit - the watch is shipped once instead of twice (you never touch it).

You’ll have to pay the jewelry shops for their time of course. This may also lead to a good partnership with jewelers who will allow you to be their eBay expert and sell for them.

Trouble finding “consignment holding shops”?

Another option for a “consignment holding shop” partner is any independently owned pack and ship facility. A lot of them are doing a lot of business because of eBay - and they understand the process of securing packages, taking digital photos, and waiting on successful auction transactions to close. A simple yellow pages search should lead to plenty of possible partners.

Another possible use of “consignment holding shops”: I’ve been talking lately with a very successful powerseller who sees the consignemt opportunity as a great way to run a general consignment business on eBay, but the store front businesses that sell items on eBay for you seem to be struggling. They struggle because they spend a lot of time talking to customers about their “junk”. Consider this idea though: instead of spending your days talking to a steady stream of people bringing you “yard sale” junk you can simply pick up the “good stuff” once per week at your “consignment holding shop” partner site and all other customers have to come back and pick up their own junk without any difficult lengthy conversations. Once you have a successful relationship with a consignment partner why not try to expand and sell other “high ticket” items?

Last tips:

As you’ve been doing, research and be a bit of an expert on the items you solicit and continue to grow your mailing list. Only good things can happen when you have a large mailing list!

If you do start to expand into different areas of expertise I suggest you have a different and distinctly themed eBay account for each specialty. Position yourself as “The number one used watch seller on eBay” with your current account - this will help you approach your partners with confidence and a professional image.

Finally, consider getting a website where you explain your business and grow your mailing list. Taking that step is certain to pay off in many ways.  My buddy Terry Gibbs started out selling model trains on eBay using many of the ideas mentioned above. He’s now grown that business into a HUGE online empire.

There’s a new book out called “Project X“ that’s getting a lot of attention right now. Click here to check it out.

…you may have heard one or two of the PROVEN strategies in this new book, but I haven’t seen a book SPELL OUT HOW TO AFFILIATE MARKET like this before EVER. It’s full of great ideas that are clearly explained and PROVEN.

Does it deserve all the hype?

I’ve been depending on the Internet for my families income for about 4 years now. It’s how I pay the bills and feed my family. I pick apart “new ideas” very carefully and only tell you about the best of the best. I read several new books every week - the books and ideas that make the cut are rare.

Here are some questions you might have before you go drop your hard earned money on this book:

Q. Does the book tell you the best products to promote?
A. YES - it spells out in a very systematic way EXACTLY how to find the best products to promote. You’ll be looking at things like alexa.com rankings, Google PageRank etc. to determine the “sweet spot” of products to promote.

Q. How much money can I make using affiliate marketing and  Project X concepts?
A. If you don’t work the system you won’t make a dime. If you do steadily implement the concepts you could grow a full-time level income. I personally know many people that make a living promoting other people’s products. Rosalind Gardner earns over $400,000 per year doing this - without promoting her own products at all. Many eBay affiliates earn tens of thousands of dollars every month just sending people to sign up for an eBay account. The beauty of this type of income is that it is VERY RESIDUAL. Work once get paid over and over…you are setting up a system that runs by itself.

Q. What are the “ground breaking” concepts the the author reveals?
A. This is not a comprehensive list, but some of my favorite concepts include:
- How to find and “copy the best” and most successful affiliates.
- The best Keywords to use when affiliate marketing
- Using squeeze pages to affiliate market- make money on the front end and make money on the back end
- How to “monitor” adwords to see what’s already working for others
- Link cloaking to protect your commissions

Q. Will I have to buy traffic (pay per click)?
A. Some, but not all of the techniques require you to buy traffic, but the pay per click ideas in this book are very inexpensive to test and once you are making $2 for every $1 you spend you’ll be happy to spend more on pay per click right?

Q. Can I get my money back if I don’t love or use the ideas in this book?
A. It won’t take long to test these ideas out. I’ve seen some of my affiliates already selling more of my book as a result of using these ideas and the book just came out a few days ago. As with ALL programs and products I promote I require the product owner to offer a 100% money back guarantee and I personally also back it up. That means that if for some reason you don’t get a refund when you request it I’ll refund your money and then pursue the product owner for you to get my money back. You are double covered.

Q. The price of ‘Affiliate Project X’ is supposedly going up…is that just hype?
A. The author Chris released the book just a few days ago and has already raised the price. It’s likely that he WILL raise the price again as he states on his website, but I have to way to know for sure.

Q. Will I need to set up a website to use the Project X concept?
A. No website is needed for most of the ideas, but some of the ideas will require a simple website.

Q. Is this book a magic bullet that will stuff money in my pocket just because I bought it?
A. While I realize that no one is actually asking that question I have to say that the strategies in this book do require some set up time and you will have to actually read the book and then do some work, but if you are ready to start generating more (or any) affiliate income then this book has some very creative, prove, and step by step ideas that DO work.

Q. Are you making money selling this to me?
A. YES the link I’m providing you is an affiliate link and I will get paid if you buy this book. Wouldn’t you like to start making money that way too? That’s what affiliate marketing is all about!

Click here to check out the new Project X book      

If eBay had a time machine…they’d fix a leak called the “about me” page. But I think I’ve found proof that it’s too late for eBay to fix it now…their loss, our gain.

The “about me” page is the free feature that surprisingly few eBay sellers take advantage of. In my experience the “about me” page is literally a money machine feeding my wallet - and eBay not only allows it, but encourages it under current policy!

You’ve likely noticed the little red and blue “me” symbol next to some eBay user ID’s. That’s a link to the eBay members fully customizable “about me” page.

The “about me” page is that magical place where eBay allows you to “tell the world about yourself”. That wonderful moto has lead to countless fortunes for many an eBay seller.

Those that understand the “about me” page and the marketing potential understand the eBay profits don’t stop at the end of an auction.

When eBay first invited account holders to “tell the world about yourself” I think they intended to see pictures of pets and long dry ramblings about vacations and grandkids etc.

Then those of us with marketing creativity started using the “about me” page as marketing space!

Fast forward a few years and the “about me” page leak has grown to a raging river that eBay can’t stop.

Why can’t they stop it? Because even the most loyal of eBay users DEMAND the ability to add their own personality, links, marketing and images to their eBay accounts.

EBay knows that the angry roar that it hears with each new minor fee increase is NOTHING compared to the blast of anger they’d get if they took away the “about me” pages.

Who would lead the angry charge if eBay dropped “about me” pages?

It WOULDN’T be the creative marketers like me or those that have read my best seller “The Silent Sales Machine Hiding on eBay”.

Instead it would be the average eBay users with pictures of grandkids and links to their favorite recipe blogs that would really go nuts and curse eBay.

So the leak remains…but is eBay up to something?

EBay is introducing a new feature called “MyWorld“. It just came out a few days ago. Here’s a link to the MyWorld info page on eBay: CLICK HERE

Clearly this is an attempt to tap into the “MySpace.com” phenomenon, but when I first heard about this new feature my intuition immediately told me there was more to the story.

If you aren’t familiar with MySpace.com just ask ANYONE between the ages of 14 and 18. MySpace.com is the MOST VISITED non-search engine website on the planet - right up there with eBay.

The problem with MySpace.com is that it isn’t making anyone much money yet…but that’s a different article for a different day.

Let’s focus on eBay.

The new “MyWorld” feature is (to put it kindly) rigid and boring right now. By rigid I mean you have very limited choices, two preset layout templates, and perhaps most frighteningly NO opportunity to add your own links to outside websites or “subscription” boxes like you do with “about me” pages.

Another scary bit of info… eBay is calling “MyWorld” pages your chance to “tell the world about yourself”. Sound familiar?

Apparently I wasn’t the only one that suspected that the new sterile “MyWorld” page might be a sneaky attempt to fix the “about me” page leak and eliminate the “about me” page altogether.

Breathe a sigh of relief…it’s not going to happen.

The “about me” page is here to stay according to eBay representatives currently responding to a barrage of inquiries. You can follow the action on the MyWorld chat board.

I could go on and on about this but I won’t.

The bottom line is that the opportunity to generate consistent income from eBay as a marketing tool is as strong as it has ever been and the long term prospects look very positive that it will remain that way.

To learn what others think of my best seller that teaches you how to treat eBay as a marketing machine click here.

May I make a prediction?

One of the features you can expect to see out of “MyWorld” is the ability to link to your “friends” MyWorld page to your own. This is what has made “MySpace.com” so popular and I suspect eBay will open up the floodgates on this concept soon. What’s the marketing value? None that I can see yet, but I’ll keep an eye on it for you.

Bottom line: EBay is trying to copy MySpace (not sure how that helps us yet) and the About Me page is here to stay.