There are many savvy eBay buyers who use automated bidding programs, which are referred to as sniping software. Sniping allows the eBay buyer to place an unseen bid in the last seconds of an eBay auction allowing them to win the ebay auction at a very low price if there was no reserve.

This simple method I will now outline to you in detail can be used in a variety of ways. I have even seen eBay sellers use this as a low cost advertising tool.

By preapproving your buyers, it will flush out any eBay snipers. The interested buyer will need to email you to get approval even to bid on your auction.

One of the advantages of this procedure is that it allows total control over the eBay auction, you decide who gets to bid on your ebay auctions.

Step 1 set up your eBay auction as you would normally

Step 2 Click this Link to add an eBay User to you preapproved buyer List
(Note, you can approve anyone you know with an eBay user ID that does not mean they have to buy it) http://pages.ebay.com/services/buyandsell/biddermanagement.html

Step 3 View you eBay auction it will state in Large Bold print this auction is only open to preapproved bidders).

Use this technique to gauge response on any new item you have for sale. Once an eBay Buyer emails you asking to be placed on the approved list, You should then go and check their bid history and feedback.

You can check to see what they purchased and for how much, it will give you the information needed to price the item correctly. This will also give you a profile of what the bidder buys and some great ideas of other successful ebay seller’s techniques.

Example
Start you eBay auction at 1Cent with no reserve. Immediately approve an eBay buyer you know with the link I supplied. To even bid on your auction the eBay buyer will need to email you, at which point you can check their feedback and decide if you want to let them bid or not. You listing Fee for this auction will only be 30 cents and you never have to sell the item, do not approve any bidders, it is your choice.(this is great for building inquiries to your sale, then once you have established you have some interest for your item relist without any approval requirement, you will have a bidding war ready to start!

Example 2
I have a laptop computer; I wan to generate some lost cost page views for this item.
I list the laptop in a 3-day auction format with 1 cent starting bid and no reserve. I then set up my pre approval with an eBay buyer.

Add bidders at any time up until your listing ends. Remember: It’s generally better to add bidders earlier rather than later for the best bidding results.
Do a Bidder Search - This will allow you to understand the bidding history of the potential bidder.

Any bidder who is not on your list will be asked to contact you by email. Once the bidder has been pre-approved and added to your list, the bidder will be able to place a bid.

You will be amazed at the opportunities that present themselves to you from this simple technique, Remember you can not solicit sales outside of eBay but if someone emails you regarding items you may have in stock, you get the picture!

How to Pre-Approve Bidders/Buyers

Add Item

1. Enter the item number you’d like to restrict to pre-approved bidders/buyers. You can copy your item number from my eBay in the Selling tab or from your item page.

2. Add your approved bidders/buyers in the box below. View tips to pre-approve your bidders/buyers.

Simply Enter each bidder’s/buyer’s User IDs. Place a comma between each User ID or just press the Enter key on your keyboard to display each name on a separate line.

Here is the link to preapprove buyers

http://pages.ebay.com/services/buyandsell/biddermanagement.html

Tim Gilberg is able to provide information and insight from a unique
perspective - that of someone who is actually doing what others just
talk about. Ebay Power Seller Platinum Status was Attained by Tim Gilberg, which is one of the highest sales levels attained selling on eBay. Tim is active on Ebay and liquidation.com as well as consulting
and working with other Top ebay Power Seller’s to give you real life
in use insight, not theories.Visit Tim Gilberg at his website Make Money on eBay

Share This

If you were to look through eBay, or any other online auction site for that matter, you would find that many people make some very basic mistakes. And, they repeat these mistakes over and over again. As indicated in my book “eBay Marketing Wholesale SourcePak” with a little common sense these mistakes are completely preventable. So to prevent you from making these very same mistakes I have put together the Top Ten Tips For Auction Success.

10. Shipping
Always state what your shipping price will be. And, Do Not try to rip off your buyers by inflating the shipping price to increase your profit. Believe it or not, people do have a fair idea of what shipping costs should be. If they feel you are inflating your shipping price they will not bid on your item and may not look at any of your other auctions either from fear of being ripped off.

9. Customer Support
You must respond to all emails regarding your auctions. Yes, responding to emails is time consuming. But, if you don’t, that potential bidder will look else ware for the product and you will have lost yourself a customer.

8. Reserve Price
Do your research on the price for your item. If you must use a reserve price keep it real. If you over price your item you will not get as many bids. And, while all good marketers know there is a time and place for the Reserve Auction, you may actually get more bids using no reserve pricing at all. Do your research to help you make this decision.

7. Item Condition
You must let bidders know what condition your item is in. Is it new and in it’s packaging, or used but like new condition. Does it have any imperfections they should be made aware of. A potential bidders will want to know what condition your item is in before making any bids.

6. Terms
This could come under the heading Customer Service. If you have terms on your auction page that read something like this “Not Responsible For Item Once Shipped” or “Item Sold As Is” you will get less bidders for that auction. Be a responsible eBayer, have insurance on the item that your buyer can purchase. And be sure to have some sort of guarantee on your products.

5. Feedback
One of the most important parts of your eBay Business. Feedback is a method eBay uses to allow buyers and sellers to record their experiences with each other. Then, others can check out the feedback of any eBayer they wish to deal with, to see if there has been any negative comments left. Therefore, it is extremely important to keep your feedback rating positive.

4. Auction Start/Close Time
You must plan your auction start/close time around the bidders you wish to attract to your auction. If the product you are selling appeals to the working woman, the best time to start/end your auction would be in the evening or on the weekend. Always create a profile on your product and what group of the population you are selling to.

3. Item Description
Not enough information or too much rambling of information will discourage people from bidding. So too will to many typos. Your item description must be clean and concise. Succinctly provide all the information required to describe the item sufficiently and create buyer interest.

2. Image
You need to use an image on your auction page. Remember a picture is worth a 1000 words! Potential bidders will want to see what the item looks like before they make a bid. With digital cameras, being so affordable these days adding a image to your auction page is easier then ever. But, make sure the image is clear and well lit to show it’s detail or any imperfections it may have. Also, keep the image at a reasonable pixel size so your auction page
doesn’t take to long to load.

1. Headlines
This is the most important issue for getting more bidders to your auction page. You must include words that people will search on eBay. And, you must make your headline enticing, so potential bidders will click it. If you are selling an antique make-up table a headline saying old vanity table would not pull in a lot of bidders. But, if you said something like “Vintage Vanity Table - Mint Condition - Collectors Item” not only would you get more potential bidders to view your auction, you would also be using
words people would search eBay for. Your auction title would appear in searches for Vintage, Vanity Tables, Collectors Items. Therefore, allowing even more potential bidders to see your headline.

Happy Selling!
Joe Clare

Joe Clare is an active Netpreneur and eBayer! He is the author of numerous articles on how to make money online and be successful on eBay! Check out his latest Best Selling eBook “eBay Marketing Wholesale SourcePak” Your Passport to Success! at http://www.ebooksnsoftware.com

Share This

You may be in the market for a new website. Perhaps you may be looking for a new logo or a database constructed for yourself or a small business. There are plenty of freelancers out there that are just itching to help you out. These freelancers canvas eBay-like environments and bid on your job. Of course there will be those who will bid relatively low, just trying to get the job, as well as at a relatively higher price. There are several good websites you can find these coders and at a substantially reduced price. You can save up to 75% without batting an eyelash.

Rent-a-coder or rentacoder.com is one of the best freelance sites on the web today. If you are a buyer looking for quality technical support, Rent-a-coder or RAC is a great place to start. You post an online auction by selecting the field that your project relates too and set a maximum bidder on your project. Upon approval from a reviewer, your auction is begun and will run the duration you set it too. Once you are notified that the auction begins, your mail inbox will start to receive emails from various professionals and gurus who are more than qualified to get the job done.

Like eBay, these professionals have a feedback rating that tells the world at large that they can meet deadlines and perform quality work. Your decision is based in two parts; one the rating that the coder has as well as the bid price. Should both of these meet your criteria, you can select the coder to begin the project for you. You will escrow funds for the coder via credit card or paypal and wait for the confirmation letter for the coder to begin work.

Once your contact information has been established, the coder will work until the job is completed to your liking. Once you approve, you can accept the job as 100% and your project is complete. If you are not happy you can have the coder continue to rework the project until you are satisfied. Once you are satisfied with the quality of work. You can exchange feedback with the coder. The coder’s feedback should commensurate with the quality and timeliness. You can expect a good reference to the coder will garnish a positive reference for yourself. People will want to work with buyers who can describe the project and let them get to work. There are over 80,000 coders on Rent-A-Coder today.

If you are a freelancer looking for work, this place is for you. You can earn up to 85% of the auction fee by doing simple to complex assignment for various businesses and people around the world. You can gain a positive reputation as well as steady repeat business by performing the work as efficiently and quickly as humanly possible. As you receive more feedback ratings your rank will shoot up higher depending on the point system. Rent-a-coder, provides a unique experience that does not cost the coder a dime to join. They will pay a percentage of the completed job at the end of the transaction. The coder can also be paid by Paypal or check every 15th and 30th of each month.

Another popular site which mirrors Rent-a-coder is E-Lance.com. E-lance provides a wide range of services in the market place today. However the only major difference between E-Lance and Rent-a-coder is that Rent-a-coder does not charge a quarterly service fee depending on your specialty.

The pro of joining Rent-a-coder is getting quality work done at rock bottom prices and the cons are some people cannot complete assignments awarded to them. You will need to ask as many questions possible when it comes to selecting the right coder. Their ability to get the job done is your primary concern!

About The Author

Jakob Jelling is the founder of http://www.sitetube.com. Visit his website for the latest on planning, building, promoting and maintaining websites.

Share This