Are you a fan of the upscale home store, Crate & Barrel? If you have a coupon lying around, now is the time to list it on eBay. According to completed listings, the 15% off coupons are selling for around $50 on eBay. Not a bad profit for a piece of paper you got free. Click here to see completed eBay listings for Crate & Barrel 15% off coupons.

You might be thinking, “Why would someone buy a 15% off coupon?” Hey, the stuff in that store is expensive. 15% off a $2,000 worth of furniture equals $300. Net savings after someone buys the 15% off coupon is $250. (Note: According to eBay policy, you are not actually selling the physical coupon, but your time to sort and mail the coupons to the buyer. Please read the coupon and if it states anything about “non-transferrable” or any other legal jargon regarding sale of the coupon, don’t sell it.)

You can also look at this scenario in reverse. If you are looking to make a major purchase from Crate & Barrel, look on eBay for coupons. Many of the coupons are a percentage off your entire purchase – which could mean some big savings.

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Post from: EveryJoe

Crate & Barrel Coupons on eBay Mean BIG Profit!

If you have been selling on eBay for any length of time, you will quickly become accustomed to fee changes and / or increases. Unfortunately, the price of your inventory won’t decrease, so you will need to take proactive steps to keep your profits from falling as fees increase. The answer isn’t always to raise your prices. Here are some suggestions for reducing other expenses that you may incur as you operate your eBay home business.

Pay close attention to eBay Insertion Fees and the tiered pricing. For example, pricing an auction item between $1 and $9.99 costs 35 cents. Pricing an item between $10 and $24.99 will cost 55 cents. Study the costs and decide if it is more cost effective to set your starting price in the lower tier to get the lower insertion fee. Assuming your item sells, pricing the item at $9.99 will cost less in fees than pricing it at $10.

Watch your packaging. Make sure you aren’t overpackaging your item and adding unnecessary weight by using too much packing material. One extra ounce and boost your shipping fee into the next tier, and add up $2 or more per package. If you ship 100 packages a month, and you are paying $2 for unnecessary packaging, that’s $200 in shipping fees you are paying for no reason! (Especially if you are shipping clothing, adding tissue and ribbon is going to add weight. Do you really need it?) Experiment with different packaging options and packing materials to determine the least expensive option without sacrificing quality. Click here for more ways to reduce shipping costs on your eBay orders. Click here for ways to get free shipping supplies!

Pay your eBay fees with a credit card that offers cash back. If your fees are $1,000 a month, and you pay them with a credit card that offers a 1% cash back program, that is $10 a month you can save – or $120 a year.

Use paper and clear tape instead of labels for shipping. Labels can get very expensive.

Reduce Paypal fees by applying for a merchant account. Furthermore, if you use a Paypal debit card as a credit card at POS terminals, you can earn 1% cash back.

Do whatever you can to increase your DSRs so that your items will be placed higher in Best Match, thus increasing your sales.

Click here to learn more ways to increase your profit margin on eBay without increasing the prices of your items.

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Post from: EveryJoe

How to Squeeze More Profit From eBay Sales

Part of running a business is knowing your expenses, so that you can then track your profit. Do you really know how much you make per item per sale? eBay and Paypal fees are always changing, so you must take these factors into consideration when calculating your profit.

If you look at the numbers regularly, you can make educated business decisions about pricing adjustments and when it is time to stop selling an item and move on. I came across this free spreadsheet on the eBay Groups board. eBay member unclejoeadamson has it all figured out based on listing type, insertion fees, add-ons, promos, and Paypal fees. If you currently are not tracking your expenses and costs, or want to try a new system, download this spreadsheet for free and give it a try. The spreadsheet is in Excel, so it is very easy to work with.

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Post from: EveryJoe

Free Spreadsheet for Tracking eBay Profits

The recently released eBay Coach Hot List paid off for this seller.

“Hi Suzanne, your Hot Tips book paid off for big me. I found 36 of the [ITEM FROM HOTLIST] at the first store I went to, and sold 3 lots of 12 for $99.99 each in within 10 days. That’s almost $300.00 for an $18.00 investment because I only paid .50 cents per item! You gave us excellent leads in your book and I’m looking forward to the next issue.”

Want to know what the item is? Visit the SAHMs eBay Seller Group on Facebook and look on the wall for the post by Linda on October 17. Then go out and find some and list it!

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Post from: EveryJoe

eBay Hot List Pays off Big for One Seller – $300 Profit!

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.

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Post from: EveryJoe

10 Tips for a Successful eBay Store

I have recently released my Fall 2008 HotList of items to sell on eBay. This list provides detailed information on hot products to sell on eBay right NOW, where to find them, how much they cost, and how much profit can be made selling these 13 specific items.

I received an interesting comment from a seller who purchased the book. She seemed to think that the book was going to give her a secret location to drive to and purchase these items all at once and make hundreds of dollars on eBay in one day. (I never promised that.) The items are located at places like WalMart, drug stores, grocery stores – places you might drive by every day. Her complaint was: “It is not worth my time and effort to spend $20 on something just to make $10. I would rather spend $2 on something and make $50.” Wouldn’t we all?

Excuse my sarcasm, but good luck with that. You may find the occasional thrift store or garage sale item that falls into this category, but as a general rule, $48 profit on one item isn’t the norm on eBay. One of my pet peeves are these “internet people” who spread around the idea that eBay is just sitting in front of your computer taking orders for your drop shipper to send out – then watching the money roll in. Nothing could be further from the truth.

eBay is work. eBay is doing research, looking for items, listing items, shipping items, and corresponding with your customers. eBay is a convenient lucrative way to make money from home, but it is a job and requires dedication and hard work to see the profits.

My question to you is, how much do you normally spend on an item to make a $10 profit? My general rule is that if I can’t make at least $10 on an item, I’ll pass. Some sellers will spend $200 to make $50. Others won’t spend more than $5 on anything. What is your rule?

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Post from: EveryJoe

How Much Do You Spend to Make $10 on eBay?

New podcast! 20 minute podcast explains how to sell common WalMart items for profit on eBay. Click here and then click the orange LISTEN icon next to Episode 19 – WalMart Items to Sell on eBay.

For the condensed article version, click here.

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Post from: EveryJoe

Walmart Items to Sell on eBay for Profit

“eBay Secrets” is an oxymoron. There aren’t any. eBay is like anything else – you just have to do your homework, keep your eyes and ears open, and pay attention. Everything you need to know is out there already.

For example, Join eBay groups on social websites like Facebook, MySpace, StumbleUpon, and Yahoo Groups. Network, network, network, and read what other people have to say. You will always learn more by listening (reading) than by talking.

You can also attend free eBay seminars in your community. Look for these at the local library, recreation center, churches, senior citizens center, or YMCA.

Search completed listings on eBay to see what items have sold at what price. Use sites like Terapeak to research completed eBay sales.

Listen to free eBay podcasts through iTunes. All kinds of sellers are out there talking about eBay selling.

Read more ways to unlock the so-called eBay Secrets” that internet marketers want you to pay for.

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Post from: EveryJoe

eBay Secrets

Post from: EveryJoe

Grow Your eBay Business – Use Your About Me Page to Generate Leads

As an eBay Power Seller since 2003, I have sold over 15,000 items. I have experimented with many, many, different products along the way. Most of my inventory has come from garage sales, thrift stores, and consignment stores. My eBook, “Thrift Store Shopping for eBay,” contains information about how to find items to sell at thrift stores, what sells for the best profit, and how to get additional discounts when purchasing items to resell.

For example, did you know that you can get additional discounts by shopping on certain days of the week, or just buying items with certain color tags? You would be amazed at what the store manager will tell you if you just ask. I go to one thrift store that puts ads in a free newspaper, but the paper isn’t delivered, you have to pick one up at the grocery store. I never even knew about this until I saw other shoppers with coupons and asked where they were getting them. The coupon is for 50% off the entire purchase, with a $200 limit – so it is an incredible deal!

Another tip, certain colors of clothing should be avoided. Learn what they are and why they don’t sell well on eBay. Learn what vintage items to look for, even if they aren’t in stellar condition. Learn about clothing, household items, shoes, collectibles, and toys.

My eBook contains several pages of specific items that you can sell on eBay for profit.

To receive your eBook, just leave a request in the comments section below. Be sure to include your email address in the space provided – I am the only person who will see your email address. I’ll email your eBook to you within 24 hours. What do you have to lose?

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Post from: EveryJoe

Free eBook – What to Buy at Thrift Stores to Sell on eBay for Profit