eBay Live 2008 Packaging Vendor Offers Air Bag Solution to eBay Sellers

Packaging and shipping is one of the most time and expense oriented parts of the eBay seller experience. Finding the right deals on packaging materials and making sure the goods an eBay seller ships to a buyer, survivesduring its journey, across town or across continents in one piece, is becoming more and more important with each new emphasis on the shipping aspect of the eBay buyer experience.

When a recent press release came to my office from Mini PAK’R , I started to think about the changes which have come to all of us at eBay in the last several years. In 2006 I went to eBay live in Las Vegas and one of the items I was looking for was a way to use Air Speed bags in my shipping department. Just two short years ago there was only one vendor on the solutions floor offering Air Speed bag equipment. Read more

Blog Profile – New Business Website/Blog Gets it’s Start With iBusinessLogic

I received a call the other day from the son of a nearly lifelong (at least it seems like a long time) friend of mine.

My friends son, Keith Bloemendaal is the sales manager of a local fence building contractor company in Raleigh Durham, North Carolina.

Carolina Custom Fences builds high quality custom fences and they are proud of the fact that they have some of the best installers in the area.

Keith Bloemendaal called iBusinessLogic to ask our opinion of the current Carolina Custom Fences website (follow the link above).

As you can see, the current website is a bit bland and really does not engage the public. This is web 1.0 at its best and is about 6-8 years out of date for website design. The owner of the company, Scott, did the best job he could with the tools his web builder gave him, but the results just do not compare with the state of the art today. Read more

Press Release Tools For Marketing – RocketPlace eBay Conference – PR Web Based Marketing

Do you use Press Release Marketing?

Press releases can be a very effective tool for online marketing. Using services like PRWeb, Express Press Release and more (just google “press release or online press release and you will have hundreds to choose from) can increase your online exposure, provide back links to your blog articles and web pages and much more. The odds of an online press release being picked up by a major news outlet may be slim but the everlasting exposure on the web is still worth your efforts.

You should write press releases in a newsworthy style. Simply repeating your marketing message will not cause many readers of press release material to linger long on your press release. Include current events which relate to your business or service and try to get quotes and references from outside sources. Your press release should look somewhat like what you might read in a newspaper, not like a brochure or web page for your business.

Here is an example of a press release I just sent out this morning. Tell me if you think it looks newsworthy.

All Business Auctions of Largo, Florida CEO Scott Pooler to Speak at eBay Powerseller Conference – RocketPlace – Orlando March 1, 2008
Scott Pooler of All Business Auctions to Speak at an eBay Selling Seminar & Conference (The first to convene after the recent fee and feedback changes at eBay). The focus of this conference is education and information sharing. Scott will discuss the addition of eBay consignment to existing small businesses and many other speakers will share insights about how to make eBay add to your bottom line.

Recent eBay news has been filled with negative reports about changes in fee calculation methods and seller feedback. These changes have just recently been introduced by eBay to the millions of current sellers utilizing the online auction service to present their wares to the world.
Rocketplace (formerly the As Was Conference) @ The Disney World Yacht Club Resort, February 28 – March 1, 2008. http://www.rocketplace.com/index.html Is the first conference of Powersellers and Solutions providers being held after these eBay changes were announced.

“We will discuss the changes in fees and feedback but we do not plan on adding to the present fervor by promoting sellers strikes or departures” Said Scott Pooler of All Business Auctions.com in Largo, Florida. “Our focus is and always has been, using eBay’s massive appeal and significant worldwide traffic pull to help small businesses succeed in online marketing”

Mr. Pooler is a 10 year veteran of online marketing via eBay. He has been a Powerseller, a Trading Assistant, eBay Drop Store owner and a Master Franchise Representative for one of the largest eBay drop store chains in America. “I have seen how changes can sometimes cause a stir among the eBay selling community in the past. It is important to remember as an independent seller, your focus should be more about how to use the site to your advantage, we teach those methods to small businesses every day”. As a certified eBay Education Specialist with eBay University, Mr. Pooler has transitioned his business into an Internet Marketing and eBay sales consulting firm. All Business Auctions is designed to first demonstrate and then implement advanced selling strategies and solutions for local small businesses. “We help small businesses with every aspect of getting online, from branding and web design to eCommerce and eBay sales”.

Many speakers and presentations will be available to attendees at RocketPlace. Subjects covered will include eBay and eCommerce solutions and resources in addition to utilizing web 2.0 applications and methods to effectively promote your business online. “This is not just a eBay centric conference, we will discuss many emerging technologies and methods to increase online sales” Says conference organizer Debbie Levitt of As Was Marketing in Tucson, Arizona.

“In my business I have seen the effectiveness of these new technologies and methods of promoting via social media/web 2.0, I want to share these techniques with other business owners and merchants. This conference is an amazing opportunity to do that in a face to face situation, I am very pleased to be asked to not only attend but speak at such a cutting edge and prestigious event”. Scott Pooler – All Business Auctions

Scott Pooler will be speaking about bringing eBay consignment services into existing businesses, how it works, and how to use these services to bring value to existing customers while promoting your own brand on a worldwide stage. Scott’s presentation is scheduled right before the amazing keynote address we expect to hear from Jay Berkowitz of TenGoldenRules.com in Boca Raton, Florida – “I know Jay Berkowitz will bring amazing insight and clarity to the social media topics he specializes in. Ten Golden Rules is a great concept and Jay is a fantastic speaker, we will all learn from his perspective”. (Jay Berkowitz is the former marketing director of Coca Cola, AT&T, Sprint, and e-Diets.com).

Worldwide Brands, eBay, Refund Retriever, Kyozou, Merchant Advantage, Channel Advisor, HammerTap Research, PPCSummit.com, Type Pad – Six Apart, Constant Contact, buySafe, & Blueberry Consulting are just a few of the major solutions and services providers presenting and available at the RocketPlace.com conference.
See:
http://allbusinessauctions.com/blog/2008/01/19/the-as-was-conference-in-orlando-2008-meet-and-network-with-the-pros-of-ebay/

All Business Auctions

12525 Walsingham Road

Largo, Florida 33774

727-596-6900

See Our Blog At: http://allbusinessauctions.com/blog

Read the Trading Assistant Journal http://allbusinessauctions.wordpress.com

As a small business owner – Why use eBay? re: Derek Gehl of IMC

Last month I attended an Internet Sales seminar in Miami put on by the Internet Marketing Center (IMC).

The seminar is geared towards selling a information product/course originally developed by Corey Rudl and now run by Derek Gehl. The sales pitch was a bit long and overdone but the information gained while sitting in the audience was well worth the endless pitch for an Internet Marketing course.

Most of what I learned was in the areas of SEO and keyword targeting for long sales letter websites. But there was a good explanation included about why businesses should look at involving themselves in eBay as a traffic generation technique.

Of course the “real” information is included in the course material (for sale at the unbelievable one time price of…)

The gist of what they teach and pitch is correct, although I would not consider most of the Derek Gehl eBay course information up to date or even advanced (Most of what they teach is basic techniques which can be found on the eBay help pages). But the Internet marketing information was valuable and informative. I would recommend anyone should attend the $99.00 seminar, even if the do not purchase the course (worth Thousands of Dollars).

The IMC course is “on point” with the concept that eBay is not a good avenue towards developing a primary source of income for anyone, not even a business…

eBay is a marketing tool which provides a revenue stream and an advertising venue with incredible SEO advantages…

What Derek Gehl says about eBay should be read and understood by every business owner in America…

This information is not widely known or even understood by business owners… If you are looking for the best way to get your business on track and selling product and/or information online, you should read and understand the information below.

This is what the Internet Marketing Center publishes regarding the use of eBay as a business tool:

Derek Gehl who is one of the top internet marketing experts, has answered the top 3 questions regarding eBay. If you already have internet auction business particularly eBay (successful or not) or a newbie who is planning to start an eBay auction business, this will surely help you.
Question #1: Why eBay??? I want to make ‘real’ money, not just make a few dollars selling junk for pennies!

Here’s a news flash… Selling “junk” on eBay is never going to make you rich and it’s not something I’d ever recommend.

The secret to eBay success is using key research tools to discover what people are buying on eBay and how much they’re willing to spend. Then all you have to do is find a cheap source of that product so you can buy it for less, then turn around and sell it at a generous mark-up on eBay.

It’s not rocket science… and there are no tricks and gimmicks involved, just steady, reliable income, and the chance to grow a huge opt-in list of people you can sell other products to in the future.

It might not be as SEXY as the one-in-a-million chance of launching a website that starts making 1000s of dollars overnight. But it’s way more of a sure thing and personally, I find a guaranteed extra $1,000 a month sexier than a distant longshot any day of the week.
Question #2: I’ve been pouring all my free time and money into my online business, now you’re saying I need to start all over again with eBay?

For goodness’ sake, no. If you’re smart, you should use eBay to help you grow your “regular” online business, not replace it.

Not only is eBay an excellent place to do valuable market research, you’ll also know what your potential buyers are buying. It also allows you to grow a huge opt-in list of people you can sell to, before your off-eBay site is even up and running.

Imagine that being able to drive thousands of interested buyers to your site the very same day you launch it.
Question #3: I already have a profitable online business. Why should I bother with eBay?

My answer is, I guess it depends on how happy you are with your traffic numbers.

If you’re getting so much web site traffic that it’s crashing your server and you literally don’t know what to do with it, then you probably don’t want to use eBay to send more visitors to your site.

BUT, if you’re getting less than 500 visitors a day, or if you’re getting more than that but your visitors aren’t converting to sales. Then, you should seriously consider eBay auction. It’s a great way to drive highly targeted visitors to your site.

Remember, these are people you’ve found on the world’s largest marketplace, which means they’re enthusiastic online shoppers. They’re exactly the kind of people you want to introduce your products to..

eBay Sellers need good accounting practices – Quickbooks Pro Advisors can Help!

As entrepreneurs, most of us (not all) dread the meticulous and repetitive tasks which are the basis of real accounting. There are many ways to handle the task and more reasons to do so in an efficient manner. My solution involved hiring my own accountant and keeping her safe and well cared for within the confines of my offices. Having a QuickBooks Pro Advisor as a part of my company is a very good thing for a sales and marketing type like myself.

I believe in the advantages of having these invaluable resources available so much that I have added an accounting services division to my iBusinessLogic group of businesses. This accounting services division is set up to help other small business owners and eBay sellers. AccountingLogic is a result of a realization and understanding of the challenges which face any small business start up or any business entering the e-commerce realm or eBay. The accounting tasks are challenging to say the least. AccountingLogic, headed up by my accountant Kathy Naranjo is designed as a service for just these types of businesses.

AccountingLogic helps any business set up the books and import data from eBay, Amazon, or your own shopping cart. Part of the service includes designing specific macros for most listing software packages, so the day to day accounting requirements of online sales joined with the normal brick and mortar accounts is done smoothly and with little effort. Kathy’s team relies mostly on the power of Quickbooks to help her set up different businesses for online sales accounting but she has many tools at her disposal.

If you do not have this kind of resource in your office or home based business you should really start thinking about what you will do to make sure your business accounting is handled properly. Either you will “Do it Yourself” or will you hire an accountant? Finding an accountant to set up and do the day to day bookkeeping tasks of a small business is sometimes difficult and never inexpensive. This realization tends to lead most small business owners to either ignore the task or to try to do it themselves.

Should any true business person ignore accounting tasks? I believe we all know the answer to this question… Read more