Special Product Alert: ProStores & QuickBooks

Just wanted to let our readers know that there is a special deal going on if you are interested in trying out eBay's ProStores product. Now you can try this product (which integrates nicely with the eBay auction site) free for one month. The other nice part of this deal is that you will receive a free copy of QuickBook Pro accounting software and two months free of QuickBooks Merchant Services. Some conditions do apply and the offer ends July, 31st.

Still, not a bad deal just to try out their software. Just click on the link below and be sure to check out deal by clicking on this section of their site:

Open your ProStores Web Store Today! ProStores - an eBay Company

How to beat the eBay Drop-off Stores

Many Trading Assistants get nervous when they see a new retail eBay Drop-off store come into the area. The typical TA mindset is that all of their potential customers will go to drop-off store instead. Well, I can tell you for sure that this is not the case. There will be the occasional client who will use the store for the convenience factor. But more likely, people are going to shop around especially when they see the store's commission rates (typically between 30-40%).

There are many ways to beat these guys at their own game. Many new storeowners must advertise heavily to bring in customers. Their advertising will help create a general awareness to the community about the eBay Trading Assistant business. This would be a good time to advertise your TA business with flyers, business cards and more.

Here are a few more things a Trading Assistant can exploit:

• Personal service: Stress to your clients your eBay skills and motivation as the owner of the business (not just some employee).
  
• Sell items that they Don't: Furniture and other large items are a niche area that most drop-off stores do no want to deal with. These items can be very profitable and usually leads to other items after they become your client.
  
• Lower Commission Rates: Drop-off stores have to spend a lot of money to keep their doors open. Their rates are usually higher due to the increased overhead. Any TA can charge a lower amount and still make a decent profit margin.

The success rate of eBay Drop off stores is dismal at best. Most are closed within their first year of operation. So don’t get nervous about competition…take advantage of it!

The Power of a Press Release

In my last post, I mentioned that any eBay Trading Assistant could take advantage of the power of Press Release. I just found this Press Release from a very creative eBay Seller and TA who truly knows how to market his auctions. I think you would have to see his Kool Aid Packet Auction to see what I mean. :-D

While eBay Seller: ezas123 may not be truly focused as a Trading Assistant, he does know how to create a marketing buzz! What can we learn from this seller?

Plenty…

• This seller uses Press Releases to gain awareness
• Professionally designed auction templates enhance the buyer’s experience
• Creative use of an eBay Store and multiple newsletter signup
• Excellent Feedback and Reputation
• A well designed Me/Store page
• Responds quickly to buyers questions and posts them to the auction
• and alot more if you look hard enough

I hope you are starting to get my point that you need to have a marketing plan as an eBay Trading Assistant (or for any business) to be successful.

Happy Marketing!
David Boyd - Trading Assistant

Barry Bonds Baseball - Trading Assistant Promotions at their Best

I just wanted to highlight the power of teaming up with partners to promote a high profile auction. The professional trading assistant company, Auctionwire will be auctioning off Barry Bonds 715 home run baseball for their client. Auctionwire has teamed up with Mpire (an online auction management company for eBay sellers and trading assistants) to help promote this auction via this special auction promotion page. Even eBay has jumped on the promotion bandwagon on this one and has created a unique URL, http://www.ebay.com/715.

This is an excellent example of marketing your client's unique items. Even smaller TA's can use marketing to highlight their unique auctions through Press Releases and teaming up with partner sites. A little marketing creativity can go a long way. I know I will be watching this auction to see what the final value ends at. It should bring in a nice commission! ;-)

eBay releases 'Safe Trading & Best Practices' for Trading Assistants

Hot off the digital press! EBay just released a 12 page PDF document guide entitled “Your Business and eBay: Safe Trading & Best Practices” which can be found on eBay’s TA Toolkit Page.

This is a very important document for all Trading Assistants and owners of eBay Drop-Off stores (including Trading Posts) and is definitely a must read!

Finally, eBay has put out a document that explains many of the policies that affect eBay trading assistants and sellers. Policies covered include Prohibited & Restricted Items, VERO & Shill Bidding. Other important topics that affect TAs include selling vehicles, real estate, auctioneer regulations, sales tax, charity sales and much more. The last few pages are more geared towards retail Drop-Shop owners.

I applaud eBay’s efforts on putting a document like this together. It should definitely help new and experienced eBay Trading Assistants alike understand eBay Polices and how it will affect their businesses.

Is your eBay User ID important for your TA business?

Yes and No. I know that seems a little contradictory but let me explain.

Yes…

Your eBay user ID is part of your branding identity of your business. While a user ID like “DarthVader” (my apologies to the eBay user that I used in this example) may be amusing to some and shows everyone you are a fan of Star Wars, it does little to brand your eBay TA business (unless if all you sell is Star Wars memorabilia).

Many TAs try and use an ID that is the same as their business name. This is smart because people can more easily remember you if your business name, eBay ID, eBay Store and website were all the same. It also looks more professional to potential clients.

If the eBay user ID that you want is already taken, you may want to add a geographical location to it so it will be unique. For example, if your NY business name is ‘We Can Sell It’ and the id ‘WeCanSellit’ is already taken, try and see if ‘WeCanSellitNY’ is available. Successful branding is keeping your message and name consistent to the public.

No…

Because eBay buyers really do not care what your user ID is. What they do care about is your reputation and feedback as a seller. The name of your eBay ID will have little to no impact on the final value of the items you sell (unless your ID is ‘I-Will-Neg-You’).

Choosing an eBay user ID is a personal choice and one that you should feel comfortable with. You can also change your user ID on an existing account if you wanted to. There are some eBay rules that apply to changing your ID that you can Read Here.

Let the fight begin, PayPal vs. Google Payments

Google has recently announced the creation of a new online payment system called Google Payments, which is similar to PayPal. As trading assistants, we should always be aware of the different online payment options available, especially when it is a part of Google. Many previous payment systems have come and gone (including Western Union’s BidPay) due to the dominating use of PayPal, which is owned by eBay. But Google Payments could be a real contender against PayPal and I don’t think Google will disappear anytime soon (at least not in my lifetime).

eBay has thrown out the first punch by revising their Accepted Payment Policy, which clearly states which payment methods sellers will be allowed to use. As you could guess, Google Payments is not one of them because eBay believes it does not meet the criteria defined by their Trust and Safety Policies. It seems a little hypocritical, since eBay trusts Google for the majority of their Pay-Per-Click advertising.

As a deterrent, any eBay sellers (including Trading Assistants) caught utilizing payment methods not approved by eBay could have their auctions cancelled, loss of Powerseller status and even account suspension. This is the type of control we really don’t need from eBay over how to run our businesses.

This heavyweight fight could get very ugly if Google decides to force legal action if they feel eBay is trying to monopolize the online auction payment world. I remember the days when eBay preached that everthing should be on an even playing field. I assume that does not apply to online payment services. ;-)

We will have to wait and see how Google reacts. This is not going to be a Tyson fight, so you better grab a chair and hold on to your mouse!

Welcome to the TradingAssistants.Biz Blog

Welcome to our TradingAssistants.Biz Blog! Our website is dedicated to educating online sellers on how to start an eBay Trading Assistant consignment selling business. This blog is where you will find out all the latest information, tip & tricks and other resources for Auction Sellers, Power Sellers & Trading Assistants. Be sure to visit often. Thanks!