As the online auction model of business continues to evolve toward a more commoditized, corporate marketplace, it is time for online auction sellers to seize control of their business, before it’s too late.

In this article we will highlight some effective steps you can take to shift control back to your own business.

Why is it so important to seize control?

There are three Mega-trends that have the potential to hurt online auction sellers:

1. Increased expenses across all services that cater to online auction sellers. eBay recently increased their fees, Yahoo Auctions recently began charging fees for listing auctions with them. The U.S. Postal Service recently raised their postage rates. Auction Management services are increasing their fees. Free photo-hosting services now charge fees to host photos on their sites. Payment processing services have also increased their fees. It is a post dot-com-bust reality that most services that used to be free, aren’t anymore. Everywhere you look, expenses are going up. Taken cumulatively, they can eat away profits that used to be there. This fact alone is reason enough to consider developing your own online presence - apart from the online auctions.

2. Restrictive policies by eBay. The online auction community is in an uproar over eBay’s recent strengthening of their linking policies. These rules essentially eliminate a seller’s ability to advertise their site and / or develop clickthrough traffic from eBay. The links rules were only a precursor to the new “eBay Stores”, eBay’s way of providing idealistic havens of e-commerce for their community. The new eBay Stores allow eBay sellers to set up online storefronts, which of course, have their own fee schedule! These storefronts have opened to mixed reviews. There really is no comparison between having an eBay Store and having your own online storefront. An eBay Store is like having a shop open inside of a gated community. The only traffic you’re likely to get is from other eBay members. Having your own website with an online store is like opening up shop on Main Street. You have all the traffic you are able to create and more important, you have freedom to decide exactly how you run your business. You see, in the gated community there are a lot of rules, rules designed to benefit the community at large.

3. Corporate and institutional involvement in online auctions. This is a growing trend. Many large corporations are taking advantage of the eBay auction concept to liquidate unwanted or overrun merchandise to the masses. Even the U.S. Postal Service is involved in eBay auctions! They use eBay to liquidate items that were undeliverable or lost in the mail. Police departments are selling off seized goods on eBay. Corporations are getting on the eBay bandwagon and creating a hyper-competitive environment for some of the “smaller sellers”. Basic economics dictates that the greater the supply of goods, the lower the price of those goods.

This triple whammy of higher expenses, a restrictive selling environment and increased competition will have the effect of squeezing sellers out, unless they take action to prevent their demise.

What are some steps you can take to avoid being an Online auction casualty?

1. Begin today to “think outside the auction box”. That is, develop an attitude that the online auction goldmine might end tomorrow, so you are going to take the right steps TODAY to secure your future. This is especially important for those sellers who depend 100% on their online auction income!

2. Begin today to make plans for developing your online presence, away from the online auctions. Developing your own website is only the first step towards online success. Getting traffic to your site is really the key that many people ignore, to their dismay. Developing traffic takes time and knowledge.

3. Build, manage and maintain a customer list. Every marketing expert worth his or her salt will tell you that your customer list is EVERYTHING. Maintaining your customer list and staying in contact with your customers is one way to explode your sales. (even if you are selling items not related to what your customer initially purchased!) So much of selling has to do with breaking down that trust barrier. Once you’ve established a successful relationship with a customer, most of your battle is won. The worst thing to do would be to drop the ball and not re-contact that customer in careful, but constant ways, always affirming the original purchase and informing them of new opportunities.

4. Find the tools necessary to take your business to the next level. This step will take some research, but it will be well worth it. Today, you can find software that will dramatically simplify your life, from autoresponders (automated e-mail response) to bulk e-mail programs (that help you do a mass e-mail to your customer list) to search engine submission programs. (that help you increase your positioning on the search engines) If you are in any type of business that requires continuous education of your customers, a Newsletter program (which not only mails out your Newsletter, but handles unsubscribes automatically) would be a great benefit. Having a Newsletter is one of the best ways to stay in constant contact with your customers and keep them informed about new trends in your industry and new products that have debuted.

5. Learn. learn and learn some more! When I first got online a few years ago, I was intimidated by everything Internet. I knew I wanted to bring my collectible toys business to eBay and I had some theoretical knowledge about it, but had never done it before. As I threw myself into books and websites related to what I needed to know, I came to a very profound discovery. It’s all there! Everything you could ever want to know about making your business successful on the Internet is available all over the Internet! Some of the information was free, some of the information cost money and some of it was downright expensive! But one thing was always true - it was all there. Even more important, I found out that there are all kinds of people that are willing to help you with any type of problem or roadblock you may face, you’ll find them in the appropriate Message Boards. Everything you need to know to become successful is there, waiting to be discovered!

You will only lose at your online business if you fail to take the steps of

• learning

• testing

• implementing and

• improving

As the three Mega-trends of increasing costs, restrictive policies and corporate involvement in online auctions continue to invade the once-safe world of the online auction seller, the people that take the steps outlined above will be the winners in the online business world.

About The Author

David Espino is the author of “Beyond eBay - How to build a Home Based Internet business and make more money, working from home”

To receive a FREE sample from this breakthrough book, click here: www.HomeBasedBusinessowner.com

Email: dave@HomeBasedBusinessowner.com

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An Ebay drop ship business is a great way for new home business entrepreneurs to get their feet wet with working from home. Selling online has become one of the easiest ways to earn extra income. Websites like Ebay, Yahoo Shopping and many others allow individuals to become online auction sellers. The majority of sellers on eBay are homemakers, college students, and even people who work full-time but sell their products during their spare time.

Selling on Ebay has become more popular because the costs involved for selling in the basic auction format are minimal, as is setting up an Ebay store. With increasing cost of living expenses, people all over the country are looking for ways to make some extra cash, and since practically everyone has access to the internet, selling via online auctions has become the choice method for selling online.

Once an individual has sold all of the ‘collectibles’ and other stuff they no longer need in their home, how can they still find items to sell online that people want? Drop shipping is a great alternative to traditional wholesale buying. Wholesale buying is when you purchase items at wholesale prices then sell and ship them to your customers. When you utilize drop shipping instead, you do not have to purchase products to sell upfront, and you never have to stock merchandise or ship them to customers. It’s all done by the drop ship resource that you’re working with. Often times, your customer never knows that you use a drop ship supplier because the company will ship using your company name or the term ‘distribution center’ will show on the return label.

With drop shipping, practically anyone can start an online auction business with Ebay or other auction resource. Drop shipping as a merchandise supply source can be very lucrative, and many sellers have become ‘power sellers’ and are very often able to quit their jobs and support themselves totally from auction sales. Risks are minimal if you find a good supplier that you can work with. Keep in mind that like any online business, there are good drop ship suppliers as there are lemons. Thorough research is required to sort through all of the thousands of options available online.

Selling online via auctions is an easy way to supplement or replace your income once you have done the foot work and get the ball rolling. Many stay at home moms are making a good living selling children’s clothing and toys. There are worlds of options available to a motivated person. Get your feet wet with online auctions by using a drop ship supplier.

About the Author: Sherry Frewerd is an avid online auction seller, and has experience developing money-making websites to help your online auction business soar. Learn more about building your professional website yourself and get your hands on free e-books and reports at ‘Website Building Mom’ http://websitebuildingmom.com

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The rules of an auction

Whether online or offline, auctions are quite popular and have been a major attraction for businessmen as well as common folks and it existed as far as one can trace back in history. Auctions have existed since the dawn of time, and they simply continued evolving alongside its society. In case you are new to auctioning or if you want to skim through the basic rules, here are the basic steps that can be seen at a regular auction.

1) Person X wants to sell an object.
There is an object in which you wish to sell, but do not know how much it could go for; in that case, it may be better to have it shown to everyone. (It is also quite possible that you know the value of the object, but simply want to fetch the highest price possible.)

2) Person X brings the object to an auctioneer
After setting a base price for your object, it is then given to an auctioneer. This so-called auctioneer can either be a real person or a website that acts as a virtual mediator.

3) The auction opens; war rages on
The auction is shown to the public (which does not apply to a silent auction) people then bid on the object; if Person A bets $5, then any other individual wishing to acquire the object must bid $5 plus an increment.

4) The auction ends
The auction will end under at least three circumstance: if the auctioneer deems the current bid so impressive that he closes the auction, if the time allotted for the object has finished and finally, if one person bid and no other person decided to outbid him.

Offline versus Online

When the digital age came, it brought with it some very important auction-like websites that specialize in having items presented and sold exactly like offline auctions. Evidently, offline auctions end much quicker than online ones, since the later can actually last for days with bids flying left and right. As well, it is normally easier to navigate and get information about items up for auction on a nicely organized website. Where the offline auctions get the higher hand is when it is time to finalize the transaction with the exchange of good and money. In an online auction, you need to place trust in the seller to actually send you the item as they will normally wait until they received the money before sending the object to you; such problem does not occur in offline auctions

Techniques

Being Patient

Being patient is a key strategy in both type of auctions, but is probably more prominent in offline auctions, as everyone came with a set amount of money. It is quite possible that inexperienced buyers will be eager to participate in bid wars; waiting is actually quite a good option, if you are patient, you may see a clearer picture.

Sniping
Sniping is a legitimate and quite popular technique used in online auctions. Since online auctions are timed, an eager buyer will be constantly watching over the item. If you bid an amount of money an hour before it ends, the eager buyer will definitely notice and bid higher. Sniping consists of bidding as close to the end as possible; although very frustrating, this technique allows you to bid higher than other buyers and blocks them from outbidding you as by the time the higher bid is noticed, the auction will have ended. Obviously if you are out-snipped, then you will have learned the risks of sniping.

Learn more about auctions. Gold Rush offers individuals challenging opportunities within the booming e-commerce industry.

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