HTML Codes, Auction Templates, eBook Tutorials, & Blog Tips Cool HTML Codes, Auction templates, eBay Tips, Ebooks, & Tutorials

As I listed a few items on eBay last month, I could hardly believe that it has been nearly 2 years since I walked away from my online retailing. The transition wasn’t easy–I gave up  nearly $20,000 in income (for my first full year in business), and decided that I would prefer blogging and writing over retailing. Of course, my blogging income has been much lower than that starting out, but I hope to soon boost it up by taking on some paid posts, freelance writing, and more.

Anyway, back to eBay. I just really don’t like eBay.  I still sell items there on rare occasions (personal items mostly), but I try to avoid them when possible.

It all started when the removed the ability to sell digital products. That really sucked because a small portion of my income came from a few eBooks I wrote. So that was strike one. That one made so many sellers angry.

Next, they alienated their sellers by removing the ability to leave negative feedback. Take it from someone who knows–some buyers absolutely deserve negative feedback. I had some buyers who were nightmares. The terrible experiences I had with them made me despise eBay, especially when I had no recourse and had to accept getting scammed. You would be shocked to read some of the absurd emails that popped into my inbox from people. eBay will do one thing for sure: They will let you know that there are nutters in this world.

Finally, eBay’s ever rising fees, and daily rule changes was enough to make me want to throw in the towel. So I did just that. Everything was a hassle anyway: Creating eBay listings, managing your inventory, dealing with 1,000 dumb questions per day (most of which were already answered if they had just read the listing), shipping packages, bookkeeping was a nightmare, etc.

I was earning an okay amount of money for just starting out, but it wasn’t worth the effort and frustrations that came along with it.

Since leaving eBay as a full-time business, I am so much happier. I don’t have to deal with rude people, silly questions, and get scammed by dishonest buyers looking to get free stuff.

Why eBay is Dying a Slow Death

I have blogged in the past about why I think eBay will die a slow death. I think this death process is already happening. People rarely use eBay anymore, and when they do, it is almost always an aggravation.

Even though I list about 5-10 items per year, it is still an annoyance dealing with people on eBay. The company is trying to compete with Amazon, which is kind of silly considering Amazon is completely different. What made eBay great was the novelty experience. You could find or buy  just about anything. Buyers could find unique items that they couldn’t find anywhere else. Sellers could  make a good living selling junk they didn’t need.

Now, eBay is targeting bigger business. What does this mean? Less unique, and more boring stuff we can find on any old website. To me, this strategy is silly. Rather than compete with Amazon, why not just be an auction site? Why try to be a Retail site? Doesn’t make sense.

If only a big company would come and challenge eBay. I would give anything if Google would do it. That would be amazing. I would actually consider doing some retail on the side again. But I will never do it full-time with eBay. Never!

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How to Make Money by Thinking Outside the Box:

“People are not lazy. They simply have impotent goals – that is, goals that do not inspire them.” -Tony Robbins

With all of the popular auction sites out there, there are plenty of opportunities to make money. Some great ways to make money on these sites include: making crazy auctions, mystery auctions, and of course selling your normal created or purchased products.

Making crazy auctions can be hilarious & profitable. It seems as if almost everyone has heard of some crazy auction that has sold for thousands on eBay®. Want to sell advertising space on your forehead for a year? Some people do (as well as on other body parts, cars, houses, etc.) and make a ton of money doing it. Or how about selling a grilled cheese sandwich that has the image of the Virgin Mary on it? Yes-it has happened and it reportedly sold for $28,000! What about a one hour chat with….you? If you use your imagination & a little creativity, you could create a wild auction that nets you thousands of dollars. As long as it is legal & complies with the auction site’s selling policies- who knows how much you could make? It may even get picked up by the media, which would increase your chances of making even more money!

Another great way to make money with auctions is by making mystery auctions. Mystery auctions can allow you to sale several products at one time, and make a profit in the process. To do this, just get a few items together, make a fun (and mysterious) auction listing, and see what happens. If you need some ideas of how mystery auctions work, look at some on eBay® by searching for “mystery auctions.”

They key to being successful with a mystery auction is to get some products for resale, make a great and entertaining listing, and throw in enough products to make the winning bidder happy, while still making yourself a profit in the process. Also, sites like eBay® have strict policies on their mystery auctions, so make sure you comply with these policies to avoid any problems.

UPDATE: eBay at this time  has discontinued Mystery Auctions, but there are still plenty of ways to generate cash doing similar methods.
Obviously, you will also want to take advantage of the popularity of auction sites like eBay® to resell any purchased inventory, or products that you have made. Just like with a website, you can sell practically anything as long as it is legal & adheres to selling policy guidelines.

Again, even if you don’t have a product to sell starting out, you can make your own or quickly buy some for resale. You could sell unwanted coupons or gift cards, recipes, cheat codes, information, home-made candles or t-shirts, pictures- anything you can come up with! Also, you can use different eBay User ID’s for the different types of products you sell.

Don’t have time to develop your own product? Who cares! You can buy ready-to-sell eBook rights, software, and much more. I have literally paid as little as $2.99 for an eBook with resell rights, and then turned around and made hundreds and sometimes thousands from just that one little eBook. That is a pretty good investment, huh?

Don’t Have money to start?

As the famous saying goes “it takes money to make money.” This is true in many instances, but the greatest part about making money online in today’s world is that it doesn’t always require a huge “out-of-pocket” expense. Of course, buying items for resale can cost money up-front, but most of the other methods in the e-Book can be done with little or no up-front cost.

To start making money fast & with no up-front cost, you can do 2 basic things: create & start selling your own products (crazy auctions, etc.) or start selling any personal stuff that you no longer want or need. For example, you could sell unwanted gifts, or some old DVD’s, video games, clothing, books, CD’s, etc.

When you list these items for sale on eBay, you will be charged a listing fee. This fee, however, is not due until your account invoice due date (usually eBay bills you for fees monthly). So you could make or find an item to sell, create a listing, sell the item, and make money- without even having paid anything yet. With the money you make, you can then pay for your fees, buy some resale products, buy a domain, or start building a website, etc.— and make even more money!

Also, don’t underestimate the amount of money you could make selling your own personal items that you no longer want. I was able to make about $3,000 just off of things I no longer needed/wanted. It is amazing how $5 here and $30 there can add up to hundreds & then thousands!

Final Word on Making Money Online:

Thanks again for viewing this online eBook on WildTips.com. You can succeed! There are almost unlimited ways to make money online. If you can learn to see all of the opportunities in the world with new eyes, then you can truly take advantage of all that life has to offer. Just work hard, learn from failures & mistakes, and never give up, and most importantly—HAVE FAITH!

Always remember the individuals who came from nothing, and defied all odds to make it to the top or to create enormous wealth (such as Thomas Edison, John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, Steve Jobs, Daniel Ludwig, Ross Perot, Richard Branson, etc). These people refused to accept failure, worked hard, learned as much as they could in life & business, and changed the world in the process!

Also, please remember to be honest, and keep the selling legal. Be sure to follow any applicable laws, regulations, auction policies, and to pay any potential taxes. Good Luck & God Bless!

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Posted under Make Money, Making Money, eBay, eBooks