Posted on 24 June 2009 by Gary H
I am sorry to write that we lost a friend yesterday. Gary passed away about noon on Tuesday June 23rd following a massive heart attack with no previous warning.
We know that this sight and computer auctions were a big part of his life and so wanted to let anyone out there know what had happened.
The Funeral is Sat. June 27th at Stennes Funeral Home in East Grand Forks, MN with visitation starting at noon and aslo Friday from 5:00 to 7:00pm. The Obituary will be in the Grand Forks Herald Thursday June 25th.
Thank you for any part you may have played in Gary’s life.
–Gary’s Family
Popularity: 64% [?]
Posted on 29 April 2009 by Gary H
Roughly six months ago eBay launched Fixed Price Format listings. In eBay’s New 30 Day Fixed Price Listing Format I talked about two possible ways I saw to take advantage of the new format.
I’ve been testing both over the last six months. While both methods have proven to increase sales to a degree, a third approach to using Fixed Price Format listings has shown itself to regularly increase my profits with certain kinds of items on a regular basis.
This approach works best with items that appear fairly frequently on eBay in both the auction and eBay store format. I’m going to use an example of something I sold a couple days ago to show what I’ve been doing.
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Popularity: 25% [?]
Posted on 21 April 2009 by Gary H
In two weeks, on May 11, 2009, the US Post Office will be implementing rate increases for several classes of mailing along with extra services such as Delivery Confirmation and insurance.
Their new price list is available on-line in PDF format. It includes a lot of information that the majority of sellers will never use, but you may want to print out the sections that pertain to your business and keep them next to your computer for quick reference when writing auction ads.
You should also remember to begin using the new rate chart when writing any auction listing that will end on, or after, May 9th, along with any new store or fixed price listing you are getting ready to write.
Now might also be a good time to begin updating any eBay store or flat rate listings that will need to be changed to reflect the new rates.
Photograph by Kok Leng Yeo.
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Posted on 09 April 2009 by Gary H
There are many things you can do that have the potential to increase your profits on eBay. Here are six simple ones that will guarantee your bottom line increases.
1. Buy More Inventory - If you have been selling on eBay for very long you know what your sell-through-rate is. Increasing the number of items you have to sell will increase your sale resulting in more profits.
2. List More Items Each Week - One of the things I noticed during the 2008 Garage Sale Challenge was that some participants purchased a lot of inventory but never got around to listing it. Doubling or tripling the number of items you list each week will double or triple your profits.
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Posted on 30 January 2009 by Gary H
Fact - Some time ago I had sent a package by Priority Mail to Minot, ND which is approximately 200 miles from Grand Forks. It took more than three weeks to arrive at it’s destination.
Fact - Nearly fifty percent of the “when is my order going to get here?” emails I get come from buyers living in Wisconsin just two states away from North Dakota where I live.
Inquiries at my local post office regarding why this should be have never produced any kind of a legitimate response. Today a conservation I got involved in at our Post Office provided a somewhat comical (to me) insight into the fact the the good old US Postal Service isn’t nearly as efficient as they would like us to believe.
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Posted on 27 January 2009 by Gary H
No matter where you live, if you walk through the business district of the nearest town and ask each succssful business owner what their inventory turnover rate is, they will likely be able to tell you right off the top of their head. The answers will vary, but if they’ve been in business for very long they will know what it is and you will get answers such as 3.7, 4, 5.2, etc.
They know because inventory turnover rate can determine whether a business just survives or flourishes; succeeds or fails.
What Is Inventory Turnover?
Inventory turnover rate measures how quickly you are moving inventory through your business.
In the simplest terms, inventory turnover rate is your cost of the product you sell over a twelve month period divided by your average investment in the product over the same twelve month period.
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Posted on 15 January 2009 by Gary H
Today I want to talk about a few things that you can do to help your eBay business ride out the economic downturn that we are currently experiencing.
1. Don’t Panic
I know someone who began selling on eBay on a small-time basis a little over a year ago. He had some success and his business grew each month until the economy started going south. He became convinced that we were headed for a huge depression. He was convinced people would stop spending money for all but the bare necessities. He stopped spending money for new inventory and his growing business died.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t be concerned about what’s happening with the economy. But the solution isn’t panicking. Stay level-headed, look at the situation, and come up with a logical plan to keep your business profitable and growing.
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Posted on 12 January 2009 by Gary H
I want to take this opportunity to welcome The Auction Rebel’s newest sponsor Vzaar and to thank Vzaar for providing some thoughts about why you should consider using video in your eBay auctions along with some tips for getting started.
When you’re a seller, success doesn’t just depend on what you’re selling. Customers also judge you by how you sell and the techniques you employ to engage and persuade them. In an eBay context, this means that quality listings with winning titles, great pictures and amazing descriptions are as vital as setting the right price.
Indeed, better listings can often get higher prices than identical products from other sellers so it’s essential to review your listings regularly to make sure they’re working as hard as they possibly can for you.
The eBay marketplace is more crowded and competitive than ever before and, with the recent slew of changes, there’s never been a better time to make sure you have an edge over your competitors. On eBay, even a small change to the way you display your items make the difference between a browser turning into a buyer or looking elsewhere.
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Posted on 21 October 2008 by Gary H
If you combine all the recent changes eBay has made and the direction it now seems to be steering along with the negativity proliferating so many discussion boards, forums, and blogs, it’s easy to get frustrated or discouraged.
However, while most people aren’t talking about it, one fact remains. eBay is still the best place on the net to sell antiques and collectibles - bar none.
For the average seller of antiques and collectibles, all the talk about other venues is just that - talk. For anyone disagreeing, consider this.
On October 4th I had the opportunity to look at the estate of a former college professor who recently passed away. As a result, I purchased forty-one quality books. Thirty-seven of them were published by the Folio Society, three were from Easton Press, and one was a popular guide to birds. I paid a total of $183.00 for them all.
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Posted on 16 October 2008 by Gary H
Yesterday eBay announced their earnings for the third quarter of 2008. Since that time, the eBay section of my RSS reader has been flooded with blog posts about the announcement with a predominately negative slant. It seems as though everyone was just waiting, hoping they would have the opportunity to take shots at eBay.
My question is - What’s all the fuss?
Should it really matter to the average seller whether eBay’s stock is going up or down? Should he or she care if they miss their earnings projections by two or three cents a share?
I don’t believe it should and, personally, I could care less.
Much more important to me is how my business is doing financially on a quarterly or annual basis, not how eBay is doing financially during the same time frame.
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