PAULUSS's musings of the past 6 months .................. and where he's at now
Well shipmates, the time has come to put pen to paper again and let some 'new' cats of the bag to help the ship and share my pearls of wisdom
Firstly, I am not going to claim all this info as my own, info I have read and used by other forum members has been awesome
I have been especially glad of ebayhateluv isitjustme and powerbid who have all added some great new info and value to these boards
Well those of you who have been on board over six months will have realised what my situation was then, MANY IDs lost through my own neglect/errors and many more thousand positive feedbacks lost down the plug hole
But life goes on and you re group...........
Well, since my last update I am very please to inform the ship I have lost a grand total of losses since my last update is
.......................ZERO eBay IDs !
and in addition to this I have had a grand total of
.......................ZERO PayPals IDs !
This is wonderful news for me and I am very pleased, and business is now on par to what things were 6 months ago
So this goes to show, I am hopefully doing things right and any beginner errors I have encountered along the path to where I am now have now gone
To sustain this in the past three months I have been putting my focus into the FINER details of preserving an ID and how to keep out of eBay/PayPals sights
Now, hopefully given the number of IDs I have used this on (will be approaching 30 active selling IDs I rotate around now)
1. TYPE & NATURE OF PRODUCT
My range of items I sell is quite diverse and covers a few eBay broad fields
I would advise keeping alike products on a single selling ID
i.e. if you seller of shoes - focus on a specific BRAND
If this mean dividing your inventory over x5 SHOE selling IDs - so be it. vero has certainly stepped up a gear this past six months and things aren’t as they used to be
By going to brand specific - should the vero beast bite you - you loose one ID only - rather than, the reaming x4 which are sat pretty still live and unconnected to the vero'ed suspended IDs
2. USING AUCTIVA TO LIST
By using this wonderful free tool for management - it cuts you 'hands on' contact with eBay to practically zero and the best way to
A neat little tip I have found, is using Auctiva will alert you listings, that would normally generate a warning alert if you listed on the main eBay site
The guide ebayhateluv was very good
http://www.aspkin.com/forums/ebay-to...save-time.html
I would advise to get 100% familiar with using it first - once set correct it will save you many many hours
3. SELLING LIMITS
This seems to be a definite bone of contention on this board - so have listed lots, some small. IMO I think it is totally down to the TYPE of product you are selling
in the background I am sure have the algorithms in place to weed out the HOT categories that fraud/chargebacks/customer dissatisfaction occurs from
I know for a fact a brand new zero feedback ID can list x100 items and survive - I have did it as a test
These were celebrity ''TV photos'' I had listed
I know listing x100 sounds a lot but when they (eBay know) the mean/average selling price for these is just £1-£2.50
Why pull the pull on the listing
If however I was to advertise x100 iphone at 99p start prices what do you think the system will do ??
or listing x100 Armani jeans in all sizes and all colours ??
A little logic and common sense to your product will go a long way
With all new IDs I have began by listing straight away on day one - and it has always been a minimum of x5 items listed up to a max of x10 on day 1
Conclusion to all this is I don’t think there is a golden number or limit to what you can or cant list but more so it is dynamic to what it is you are listing
4. NUMBER OF DAYS TO LIST
As I have not tested listing items on a fresh new ID for x3 day auctions - I se this as a HOT selling period so have avoided it
I have always stuck to 5 or 7 day auctions
Now I know this may seem a long time BUT remember that the day after you list the same 5-10 items on your next NEW id
By the time you have done this for the week - the first lot have ended and thereby the circle of listing continues
5. BUYING FEEDBACK
A neat trick I have adopted to help aid a newly born ID I have found is buy packing material or stationary relating to the stuff you have listed
i.e. you are listing CD albums - you purchase x20 pack of padded CD envelope mailers
Sellotape from another seller
Dymo labels from another
TRY TO MAKE YOU PURCHASES OF A DECENET VALUE (i.e. over £10)
After all buying a 99p role of sellotape is nearly just as bad as buying a 1p eBook in yesteryear
There you have an immediate x3 feedback you have to and stuff you will ALWAYS use in the long term
6. LESS SELLERS IN THE MARKET
Now it come as a surprise but despite eBay getting a harder and harder place to deal with this can work to your advantage
Things have definitely changed in a massive way this past year there is no going around that
But just take a moment to look at your market and your competitors
I have done this in very great depth and have noticed a good few are now missing, in one particular field I sell in, there used to be dozens of sellers
now using the eBay sieve back then, I could single out x5 who were selling the same quality and service as me
Now I look and three of them are now NONE REGSITERED USERS (NRU)
REMEBER that the eBay sweep to get out the bad sellers did not just affect YOU it has affected many many more
For those who are as learned or diligent to research HOW to get back on and avoid getting suspended again
Long story short I have compare my sales of this past 6 months and I am now selling 85% more units than I was this time last year AND at a higher price because the competition isn’t there now uncutting
7. OUTLOOK
Having read what is on the horizon for this year for eBay, specifically two things spring to mind
I) Feedback from BUYERS only
ii) Postage packaging charges relating to product placement
I/ - Who knows what this going to entail long term but it has been decided and they are rolling it out soon
ii/ - as BUYERS will be able to rate your postage/packaging charges and rate it accordingly the score will determine where your products will appear in eBay search listings
NOW these two combined will generate moans and groans for most sellers and say it’s wrong
But taking a step back it gives you chance to shine and improve over your competition
Every ID I have ran on eBay I have always strived to attain and keep 100% feedback on each and every one (best I got to was 5,400 at 100% before suspension last year)
and in every other case I have never had a overall percentage lower than 99.9%
To achieve this you need to stand out from the crowd and offer that little bit extra
As I have ALWAYS did this even before these new rules come in it is 2nd nature to me
Things like
1. State you ship same day, payment is rec'd
2. Pen and automate your email - that are not the STOCK generic eBay ones - add some humour and fun in there to
i.e. ALTHOUGH WE LIKE TO THINK WE ARE BETTER THAN MACHINES, OCCASIONALLY MISTAKES HAPPEN SO GET IN TOUCH IF ALL IS NOT AS IT SHOULD BE
3. I always include a small chocolate wrapped sweet in a small envelope with soft goods (clothing)
4. A follow up mail a good few weeks down the line, just to check all is OK and if you are interested in anything else or have a wants list
5. Including a hand written not instead of formal invoice on gift goods
Now adding this section 7 OUTLOOK together with Section 6 LESS SELLERS IN THE MARKET I see this as a REAL chance to SHINE as a seller and elevate yourself up above the others
8. POWERSELLERS
I am lucky on several IDs to be selling suitable numbers where I have had the eBay offer to become a power seller :( no thanks
I am quite happy as a domestic seller, for UK powersellers it is now essential to register your selling ID a 'business'
Now as eBay has merged with PayPal and now PayPal is doing a great job linking its system to the Royal Mail and postal system
I personally see it only as a matter of time before eBay will be data sharing with our beloved government and HMRC
Not so much a domestic level but this MANDATORY business sign up for powerseller certainly gives cause for concern long term
9. Broadband Dial Up & Dongles !
Now to maintain several selling IDs take a lot of due time care and attention to detail
The IP address log is ABSOLUTLEY 100% ESSENTIAL to preventing linking accounts
You NEVER want to log into your eBay or PayPal account on an IP address that has been associated previous on another eBay/PayPal
This log you keep will be roughly like this
IP address Accessed? Sell ID Date Start Time Dial/BB/Dongle
94.278.175.161 ebay/PP beast 07/11/2007 07.43am Dial
94.165.188.108 ebay/PP fragr 08/11/2007 09.45am Dial
94.123.169.190 ebay/PP beast 09/11/2007 09.48am BB
94.222.175.161 ebay/PP fragr 10/11/2007 11.53pm Dong
94.115.18.136 ebay/PP beast 10/11/2007 09.45am Dial
94.212.188.141 ebay/PP SHOES 11/11/2007 11.53pm Dong
94.185.188.108 ebay/PP fragr 12/11/2007 11.59pm BB
94.149.179.190 ebay/PP SHOES 13/11/2007 07.43am Dial
94.149.169.203 ebay/PP SHOES 13/11/2007 09.45am Dial
94.222.175.163 ebay/PP fragr 14/11/2007 11.53pm Dong
94.129.169.181 ebay/PP beast 15/11/2007 07.43am Dial
94.105.178.79 ebay/PP SHOES 16/11/2007 11.53pm Dong
94.199.169.33 ebay/PP fragr 17/11/2007 09.45am Dial
94.139.179.62 ebay/PP SHOES 17/11/2007 07.43am Dial
94.125.188.242 ebay/PP fragr 18/11/2007 11.53pm Dong
94.195.188.226 ebay/PP beast 19/11/2007 09.45am Dial
94.145.178.102 ebay/PP SHOES 20/11/2007 07.43am Dial
94.169.167.15 ebay/PP fragr 21/11/2007 09.45am Dial
94.189.169.255 ebay/PP SHOES 22/11/2007 11.11am Dial
94.802.177.193 ebay/PP beast 22/11/2007 12.42pm Dial
Now using site like
www.whatismyip.comor IP Burger - What is my IP Address? Find Your IP Address! get you all the info for your IP
Couple with cookiemonster and CCcleaner for backup
You can erase cookie super quick and easy
ALWAYS do this before ANY eBay or PayPal access
Note you NEW IP - use Control + F tp 'find' the ip address in your document, if you get an IP match check which ID you accessed eBay/PayPal under
Now I use x3 ways to change IPs through my daily work
Using broadband for what I will be doing the bulk of my work on
Then moving to the USB Dongle Modem via must for work out on the road
Then moving to dial up to do my few bits and pieces relisting on eBay or submitting 2nd chance offers
Now that 3G has been rolled out in UK the speeds on mobile broadband is very good now
the UK network have a great off of £10 per month or they have just launched a PayAsYouGo (PAYG) version for £99 for the dongle modem and then you pay per gb you download
£25 for 7gb download is the price being quoted
10. PayPal
I will finish my updates today with PayPal
It actually pains me to say, but I have not had a single issue with them in the past 6 months, no limits or chargeback no nothing
I now have x7 fully verified and functioning UK PayPal in different names and all selling consonantly smallish value items
No news is good news - so sticking to the Aspkin guides for PayPal will see you ok
Just remember COOKIES and IPaddress and you’ll be fine
11. Karma
Gonna end on a nice note - like google says 'be nice'
If you have competion in your chosen field - do it better than them - dont VERO or stoop to underhand tactics because i believe it will come back to thaunt you
It is hard enough trying to get things done right jumping through eBay and PayPal's hoops - if you spot a vero item - let eBay staff find it
Dont be their secret police/gestapo..............
if no one reported items to them they may have to start firing Trust & Security staff !
Right ill sign off - nice now 2008 is looking good again and hopefully my next post in a few months will be just as encouraging as this
Be lucky guys !
PAULUSS