Re: No negs to buyers

On Tue, 12 Feb 2008 03:35:07 GMT, "Waters" <privacy@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

I'm guessing that you're selling some type of
electronic book or downloadable software.

I'd never sell anything of that type. As soon as you do that,
somebody steals your product and begins selling it themselves. Most
e-books are rip-offs in any case.

What I do is find a common item, locate a niche for it that isn't
being served, and add value that makes it worth a lot more, and then
either import it or get it on close-out from an importer for pennies
on the dollar. Competitors can't match my price or my value add.

Here's a totally imaginary example. Suppose I found a tiny hard drive
I could buy for 95 cents apiece, and then discovered a way to make
them compatible with Apple's iPod, if you had some special tools and
detailed instructions on installation. The special tools and other
materials cost me 25 cents. I can mail everything in a 6 x 9 envelope
for 92 cents. I could sell the package for $19.95 plus $2.99
flat-rate postage anywhere in the world.

That's a heavily over-simplified version of what I do (in addition to
being imaginary) because my actual product line is like a Taco Bell
menu: various combinations of the same ten or so items like that which
can be purchased in packages costing $15.95 to $36.95.

In the early days, I spent a lot of time researching niches and
developing new products and combinations, but the last couple years
I've just fulfilled orders with little actual work on my part.

Either that, or your claims are
fluff that you hope will increase sales of your book. I'm guessing that each
time you post on this newsgroup, someone reads your byline and at least
considers buying your book.

If that were true, I'm the world's worst marketer, because I often go
three to six months between posts. I really should be posting daily
if I want to sucker people in. I make more on eBay in one week than I
make from the book in six months.

My recent spate of posting was prompted by eBay's decision to
eliminate the ability of sellers to leave feedback. Since I've never
felt the need to use feedback as a weapon, I had the misguided idea of
pointing out that those sellers who do post feedback as soon as they
are paid (and there are lots of them) are not unilaterally disarming
themselves. So now that eBay is disarming us itself, there's really
not that much to fear. Usually, I don't speak up, because those who
are most upset won't listen, and those who agree don't need to be
preached to.

Incidentally, those who think my book will show them how to implement
my super-secret "system" themselves should save their money. The book
is not a get-rich-quick guide, and doesn't offer any step-by-step
system. It's simply a description of various useful marketing ideas I
compiled from selling on eBay since May, 2006, and which newbies might
find useful to have all in one place. No formulas, no "systems." Just
useful techniques. You'll find a lot of them right here in this forum
if you read the posts regularly. The problem is sorting out the myths
("Sunday night is the best time to close an auction") from the
reality.

For example, back in 2003 I made a lot of money searching for certain
items on eBay with misspelled brand names, and then reselling for
three or four times what I paid. Nothing new or amazing there, but I
include tips on how to do that for people who haven't tried it. I
show how to add value to commodities, create a "brand" so you're not
selling the same thing as everybody else, and how to sell under more
than one eBay ID so you can offer a "basic" line of products and a
"deluxe" line to "compete" with each other, while upselling buyers
within both product lines. (A friend of mine "invented" the Mr.
Spritzer plant watering system ages ago, and then "knocked off"
himself with a cheap imitation so he could sell to multiple types of
customers.)

I also use the book to promote my particular no-stress, no conflict
marketing philosophy:

* Your information is better than their information. Don't apply
rules of thumb, including mine. See what works for you.

* EBay is marketing. (D'oh) Every concept from "steak/sizzle," "loss
leaders" "selling up" and the "quality, service, price" triangle work
just as well on eBay. Especially since your competitors aren't using
them at all.

* The customer isn't always right, but there's no percentage in
telling them that. What many sellers seem to overlook is that a
transaction is not a war. Your trading partner is not your enemy. It's
not a "I won; you lose" situation unless you make it so. You needn't
fear your trading partner unless you provide a reason to.

A kind word, giving your trading partner a break, issuing an
occasional refund, sending a free replacement for a lost shipment
(even though you insist that your buyers NOT pay for insurance -- you
personally guarantee they will receive what they paid for), and
ignoring something that's less than a positive feedback. These are
all things you can deal with, and then move on.

I mean, really, how many sellers try to wash their hands of
responsibility if the buyer refuses to purchase insurance? When you
place an order with Buy.com and it doesn't show up, do they say,
"Tough luck?" Insurance benefits only the seller, anyway, so if
you're selling something that's valuable, why not pay for the
insurance yourself?

You never succeed by telling someone he or she is wrong. You succeed
by showing him or her you're right.

I don't rarely post not because I find the "another foreign moron
buyer bid on my auction!", "I'm going to neg the ***!" or "How can
I convince this buyer to..." posts horrifying. I don't post because
nothing I say is going to convince them that they're roiling in bile
that they created themselves.

Dave
-------------------------------------
Everything I know, and then some:
http://www.auctionmyths.com
.