1. Study the eBay Store Traffic Reports. With this information, you can make educated adjustments to your store that will improve sales.

2. Run low-reserve and 1-cent auctions to drive traffic to your store. Think of these auctions as “advertisements” that will drive shoppers into your store.

3. List your entire inventory in your eBay Store. Shoppers can’t buy what they can’t see.

4. Register and assign a domain name to your eBay Store. You can assign any domain to your eBay Store through your store manager.

5. Accept PayPal as a payment method. Over 80% of eBay users have Paypal, and use it as their preferred method of payment.

6. Do your homework regarding key words. Make sure you are getting the most bang for your buck and using those 55 characters in your title wisely.

7. Use your store categories wisely. eBay allows you to create up to 300 product categories for easy buyer navigation. This category structure not only insures that buyers will be able to find what they are looking for, but it also increases the likelihood that your store will be indexed with Google, Yahoo, and other search engines.

8. Have a fair return policy. Customers may not use it, but they may buy from you over your competition if you have a fair return policy, and the competition doesn’t.

9. Keep your shipping fees fair and competitive. Check on your competition to see what they charge for similar items, and make sure you are in line with the mainstream.

10. Use the promotion boxes provided on MANAGE YOUR STORE. Be creative and add a slide show or featured items.

[Image Source: Flickr]

Post from: EveryJoe

10 Tips for a Successful eBay Store

Today’s post is by guest blogger Kristine A. McKinley, CPA, and CFP® – an accountant who specializes in helping self-employed individuals who work from home and/or on the internet.

Tax tips in September? You may think it’s too early to think about taxes, but the truth is you need to do tax planning year-round so you don’t miss out on any tax benefits that you are entitled to. If you wait until tax season to think about taxes, you could miss out on tax deductions and credits that you would otherwise qualify for.

Here are some quick tips to help make sure you don’t overpay Uncle Sam this year:

1. Keep good records. Many people miss out on valuable tax deductions simply because they misplaced a receipt or didn’t record a business expense/purchase.

2. Know what expenses you can deduct. Another reason people miss out on deductions is because they don’t know what they can deduct. Here are some of the common tax deductions for eBay sellers: inventory, shipping, eBay fees, PayPal fees, office supplies, internet fees, computer software and equipment, contract labor (VA or eBay assistant), fax, and phone. You should keep an eye on new tax laws for new tax deductions and credits that you may qualify for.

3. Don’t be afraid of deductions because you’ve heard they are a “red flag”. Many people choose not to take the automobile expense deduction or the home office deduction because they are afraid of being audited. These deductions can be substantial if you travel a lot for your business or if you have a designated home office. As long as you qualify for and have proper documentation, there is no reason why you should not take these deductions!

4. Don’t forget the self employment tax. As a sole proprietor, you are subject to SE taxes (15.3%) on your net profits, and this is on top of your regular income tax! This can really sneak up on new business owners, so a good rule of thumb is to set aside 25-30% of your net profits for taxes. You may also need to make estimated tax payments to avoid interest and penalties.

5. Final tax tip, and this one is my favorite! Consider hiring your children to help in your eBay business. In addition to allowing your children to earn a little extra money, and teaching them about business, there are several tax benefits to hiring your children.

I hope you found these tax tips helpful! This is just the tip of the iceburg… for more tax tips for eBay sellers and other ebiz owners, please visit Internet Biz Tax Tips.

Kristine offers financial and tax planning on an hourly, fee-only basis. She specializes in helping online business owners understand and minimize their income taxes.

[Image Source: Flickr]

Post from: EveryJoe

Tax Tips for Home eBay Sellers

eBay selling as a home business can work in many situations: for stay at home moms, retirees, college students, young couples saving for a home, and even Alzheimer’s caregivers. Not that a caregiver of any kind needs more to do, that certainly is not the case. But, part of Caregiver Syndrome is stress, anger, depression, boredom, resentment, and loss of interest in life.

eBay is as a hobby or income-producing home business has become popular for the “sandwich” generation who are looking for other ways to bring extra income into the home. This income may be to supplement retirement or to care for a parent or spouse.

eBay can be a viable option for caregivers or the homebound because sellers it offers a link to the outside world, an interesting hobby, and a fun pastime. Sellers interact with customers on a daily basis, can participate in groups and forums and communicate with other sellers, and all of this helps with the isolation factor experienced by caregivers. Furthermore, eBay gives the caregiver another focus outside of their caregiving responsibilities, and many caregivers are able to manage both.

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Post from: EveryJoe

eBay Selling for Alzheimer’s Caregivers

Possibly yes and possibly no. There are many ways you can make money on eBay, but keep in mind that eBay is like any other business. It takes commitment, persistence, and a hard work ethic to make a profitable business. If you don’t consider eBay selling as a business, you can very well lose money. Here are some benefits to having an eBay business:

1) Tax advantages for a home business. Many of your expenses such as internet access, supplies, mileage, and a portion of your mortgage can be written off on your personal income taxes.

2)You can make money by selling used items that you already have in your home. You don’t necessarily have to buy any inventory to make money. (At least not at first.)

3) You can shop for inventory while you do your regular shopping for your family. Many items from drug stores, grocery stores, and the mall can be sold on eBay for profit. You don’t necessarily have to go out of your way to find products to sell for profit. You can pick up items when you are out running your normal errands.

4) You can make money selling a service. If you are a graphic designer, artist, web designer, or consultant, you can make money on eBay selling a service and you won’t have to buy any inventory.

5) eBay selling must be managed like any other business. You must pay attention to expenses, cash flow, accounts receivable, and profit margins.

Post from: EveryJoe

eBay FAQ #10 – Will I Make A Lot of Money Selling on eBay?

This is a common question from new eBay sellers, and the answer will vary from seller to seller. So, I will answer this question with a few other questions.

How much time do you have to dedicate to listing items each day? 30 minutes, one hour, or more? Once you are selling on eBay, you will also need time for shipping your items, answering questions, shopping for new items to sell, and other home office duties. eBay is much more than just listing items.

Do you have a room full of items ready to sell, or will you have to go out and buy inventory? If you have a stash of items ready to sell, you can go on a listing rampage and knock out quite a few in a day. If you have to buy items to sell, you will gradually list items as you acquire them.

Do you have a store yet? You can put unsold auction items there for a fixed price with the best offer feature for about 5 cents for a 30 day listing.

The bottom line: Llist as many items as you comfortably can. Don’t let eBay take over your life. But, people can’t buy what they can’t see if it isn’t listed! Find the balance and do what works for you. There is not a magic number of listings per day that will generate a certain amount of sales. As your business grows, you will constantly be adding items to your store and your inventory will grow.

[Image Source: Flickr]

Post from: EveryJoe

eBay FAQ #9 – How Many Items Should I List Per Day?

As a continuation of my post titled, “How to Reduce eBay Shipping Costs,” let’s look at some other ways to reduce eBay costs and increase our profit margin. You may have to do some analysis, but you can find ways to trim your expenses and therefore increase your profits.

1) Use caution with listing upgrades such as bold, highlight, gallery plus, and photo enhancements. Do your own research to determine if these upgrades affect your sales. Upgrades are expensive – do you really need them?

2) Pay attention to eBay Insertion Fees and the tiered pricing. Pricing an auction item between $1 and $9.99 costs 35 cents in listing fees. Pricing an item between $10 and $24.99 costs 55 cents. Study the insertion fee costs and decide if it is more cost effective to set your starting price in the lower tier to save money on your insertion fees. So, assume your item sells for $10. You have just paid 20 cents to make a penny. Doesn’t make much sense, right?

3) When shipping USPS Priority Mail, consider using the Tyvek envelopes instead of a box. The envelopes weigh less, and you will pay less for shipping. (This isn’t always possible if you are shipping fragile or breakable items, but something to think about.)

4) Use generic or recycled printer cartridges. eBay sellers print a lot of shipping labels and invoices. Consider trimming this expense by investigating recycled printer cartridges.

5) Take advantage of relisting credits. From the eBay Help Index, ” if your listing ends without a winning buyer or ends with an Unpaid Item (UPI), you may qualify for a credit by relisting the item. If the item sells the second time, eBay will refund the Insertion Fee for relisting.”

Read a complete list of 12 suggestions for increasing your profit margin on eBay. A small leak can sink a large ship. Pay attention to the little things, they can add up in a hurry.

[Image Source: Flickr]

Post from: EveryJoe

A Small Leak Can Sink a Great Ship – Reduce Your eBay Expenses