Ebay The Mega Marketplace For Everyone

Writen by Lori Osenbaugh

eBay is one of the world's largest market places with over 35 million visitors per day. That first sentence is worth repeating because I want you to realize that eBay gives you the ability to reach a customer base of millions and millions of people which is beneficial to you. Say Goodbye to garage sales and hello to eBay.

You don't have to become a major power-seller or wholesaler to take advantage of eBay and what this mega marketplace can do for you. All you need is a computer with Internet access so you can setup auctions for all that stuff laying around the house you've been wanting to get rid of by selling it or giving it away, so why not eBay it?

eBay auction VS garage sale

First lets talk about garage sales. Holding a garage sale consists of getting all of your items ready to sell and placing them on display in front of your house or on your driveway for neighbors and lookers to purchase. You or someone you know and trust needs to be physically present at all times to sell the items as your front yard has now become a small storefront. In other words you have to sit at home all day after getting everything together and promoting your garage sale which is a lot of work especially considering what you can accomplish with less time and effort on eBay.

Time & Money

Just about everybody is looking to save time and money which is exactly what eBay does for you. eBay is a much larger market and can attract many more potential buyers than a garage sale can. The very reason that there are more potential buyers creates more of a demand for your product, toy or whatever you are trying to sell. eBay commands more dollar for your product than a garage sale for this very reason.

eBay also saves you time because once you have setup your auction it does most of the work for you. You don't have to be present to sell the item, you don't have to be home to get paid electronically and you don't have to be there for somebody to see your auction because your potential buyers can look at your item for sale from the convenience of their own computer which saves you precious time.

eBay also gives you the ability to accept different payment methods such as PayPal, money order, check or cash it is up to you what payment methods you wish to accept. Garage sales simply do not offer this sort of flexibility with time and money.

Quick tips

Shipping can be a hard one to get used to - so make sure that you either A. get a postal scale (about $20 at Office Depot) or B. have the post office weigh the packages before you list. Take it from me because I have lost so much money on shipping because I would just 'guesstimate' and that simply does not work. I would recommend always making the buyer purchase Insurance and tracking. I had an issue where a customer said she never got her package and I didn't insure it. We decided to wait a couple of weeks then figure it out, she actually wanted me to refund everything to her, which I didn't feel was fair but was willing to do it because I believe in customer satisfaction. Fortunately the package finally showed up after three and half weeks (and I sent it Priority Mail).

You want to only send to the buyers address if it is registered with eBay. A couple of years ago a gentlemen contacted me to buy a $250 wireless antenna, he said he was traveling and asked me to send it to his satellite office. He paid me through PayPal, I always thought that was safe and would automatically include coverage. Two months went by and then all of the sudden Paypal took $250 out of our account without warning or explanation, when we called them they said that one of our eBay transactions was fraudulent! It turns out the man used a stolen credit card, PayPal told us we were out of luck since we did not send to his confirmed address. Lesson learned.

Always state the terms of your auctions, it is good to come up with your terms to use at the end of every auction that states your policies, if you combine shipping, the payment methods you accept, etc. Also, think of a refund policy. I give a full refund, or for instance my sister-in-law gives purchase amount back but not shipping, those sort of policies are up to you as a seller.

I use Turbo Lister, a free software program, that makes it so much easier to get multiple auctions setup simultaneously. If you do it directly from eBay it seems like it takes forever to enter each one. Turbo Lister is a free download and is available in Seller Tools at eBay.

A way to save money; I always use the free template from eBay. It's not really anything fancy. You can choose to get those cute little borders and clipart on each auction but it costs more money. It's proven that ultimately it doesn't matter to people, they want what you are selling. Your first picture is free after that they are .15 cents for additional ones. So I always try, when possible, to use only one picture. Sometimes if it is a big clothing lot or a large dollar item I will only use more pictures. I also make sure to try and write a great description so potential buyers know what they are getting and are excited for their purchase.

Something that works; I will sometimes utilize the 'Buy It Now' features (they cost extra) but I put the BIN price higher than I would normally expect to get and when somebody really wants an item, they would rather pay the higher price than risk missing the auction end without winning the item. There are many times where this has benefited both myself and the buy it now bidder.

If you are doing a local pickup or have special instructions for your auction make sure you include those instructions ALL OVER your auctions. The mistake I made one time was only putting local pickup only on just the shipping description and the winning bidder did not notice that. Now I plaster special instructions like that everywhere.

Remember that people love fast shipping so when you do sell try to ship the item out as soon as possible after auction ending. Your customers will love fast shipping. I also include a note thanking them and sometimes I include a bonus item. That's just some of the fun and benefits of selling on eBay.

Lori Osenbaugh sells on eBay in addition to being a licensed Realtor® and Pampered Chef Consultant. You can custom search for Colorado homes at PreferredDenverHomes or search Lori's Pampered Chef Online

How To Find Items To Sell On Ebay

Writen by Ian Major

When it comes to eBay auctions, many people are unsure as to how to select items to sell – and where to find them. While figuring out which items sell best on eBay may be a little difficult, finding those items isn't difficult at all! You just have to be creative in your search, and keep an open mind!

Start your search at your own home. Clean out the garage, the attic, and the closets. You will most likely be very surprised at the items that you will find.

Don't make the mistake of throwing things out, thinking that they are useless.

What is useless to you may be very useful to someone else, and you should try to auction it off! Of course, items that are worn out to the point of not working are not useful to anyone – but if the item is old, and it still works, it can be auctioned off…in fact, it doesn't even have to be old or valuable!

Offer to clean out the attics and garages of older people as well.

Older people tend to hang onto things for years and years, and as that time passes, those items become more valuable. Offer to buy items that you find in their attic or garage. Most people don't realize the value of what they have, and you will probably pick up many high selling items very cheap. In fact, as a way of thanking you, the items may even be given to you at no charge!

Visit the yard sales and garage sales in your area.

People sell things for next to nothing at these sales. If it is in good shape, and you think you can sell it on eBay, buy it. Even if it turns out to be an eBay dud, you can always resell the item in your own yard sale to get your money back out of it. However, do some research before you start hitting the yard sales. Find out what items and brands are selling well on eBay.

Flea markets are also great for finding items to auction off at eBay.

Keep up with how much you pay for items at the flea markets, and when you post the items for auction at eBay, make sure that your reserve price is not less than what you originally paid for the items!

Go to storage auctions.

Most storage businesses auction off the contents of the storage units when people fail to pay their storage bills. This is a fabulous way to find items to auction off on eBay. Estate sales should also be attended to find high value antique items.

Another option is to use drop shippers for new items.

Setting up an account with a drop shipper is really quite simple. You can auction off brand new items using either the auction feature or the buy now feature at eBay. Just make sure that your reserve price for auctions is not less than what the item will cost you! Once your item is sold, the drop shipper will ship the item directly to your customer.

The most important thing about selling is that you need to make sure the items that you pick are in good shape and are saleable. This doesn't mean that the item has to be in perfect condition – but if it is in less than perfect condition, you need to convey this information when you set up your auction.

Use your imagination, and keep your eyes open constantly for items that you can auction off on eBay. Again, do your research and find out which items and brands do well on eBay. Make a list, and carry it with you wherever you go!

CopyRight Ian D. Major 2005

Ian D. Major makes it easy to understand and use eBay, quickly and easily. Learn all you need to know by visiting eBay Articles an entirely FREE source of information about eBay.

How To Make Money On Ebay By Buying

Writen by Dan Lim

Most people think you got to sell on ebay in order to make money. However, there are other ways to make money on ebay other than selling. One secret way is buying. What do I mean? Read on.

That secret method is called ebay arbitrage.

The term arbitrage has been around for a long time. It is a technique used in the stock market by large players who search (with powerful computers in real time) for price discrepancies from one market to another. For example if they see dealers in London trading IBM stock at 1/8th pt lower than in New York, even if it's only for a few seconds, they'll grab it at the lower price and sell it in New York where they'll make an 1/8th pt profit.

So how does that apply to Ebay?

The strategy is buying low in one central Internet market and selling in another more active market for a premium.

Ebay is a huge marketplace, and even though it's centrally located (in cyberspace) it is still a relatively 'inefficient' marketplace. There are several reasons for this : availability of detailed market information available to the participants being one, but the more common reason being the seller doesn't know a thing about the item he or she is selling

Here's where you can benefit. If you have intimate knowledge of a particular market, you probably already have a rough idea of how much an item listed on ebay is worth.

For example, I'm a IT professional who deals with computers all day long therefore it is easy for me to spot bargains relating to desktops, laptops, computer software etc.

Now, there can be many spins on this. I could simply buy the item and resell on ebay for a profit or I could buy the item and sell it locally either in my neighborhood.

Also, I could always do it the reverse way. Buying locally and then selling it on ebay or other auction sites.

By now, you probably realize in order for you to do ebay arbitrage, you need to have expert knowledge on the particular market you are interested in selling.

So do your homework, check out the discussion boards, ask your friends or consult shop owners which sells the items you want to sell. If you want to make more money on ebay, you have to do some research, there's no easy way out.

Dan Lim is an avid ebay fanatic who has been quietly earning a comfortable living online. For more ebay selling secrets and strategies, visit bestnzb.com

Seven Surefire Ways To Make Your Ebay Auctions Fail

Writen by Pamela Bruce

I don't know how many books there are by now that propose to tell you how to succeed on eBay, how to make lots of money on eBay, or how to become a millionaire through eBay. Here are a few of my tips on how not to make money with an eBay auction:

1. Use irrelevant titles. I have actually seen eBay auctions with titles such as "This is nice". I am sure that many people are going to look for such a title! It is inconceivable that something like "Vintage garden sundial, copper, 1930s" might lead more potential buyers to your auction.

2. Use ALL CAPS, ALL THE TIME. Everyone likes the equivalent of being shouted at, and long texts in ALL CAPS are so easy to read, aren't they?

3. Show your educashion. Nothing attracts buyers like spelling errors and grammatical goofs. If you really want to impress customers, misspell the name of the item ("Dell latpop for sale").

4. Skimp on descriptions. Why should you tell the buyer the size, age or condition of the item? All those details would just confuse people...

5. Forget Feedback. I am certain that eBay buyers will just flock to your auction for a $3,000 diamond ring, even though you have zero feedback. Some people may slowly build up their feedback by buying and selling before offering expensive items, but who can be bothered?

6. Harsh words sell. Of course every buyer loves terms of sale that contain such phrases as "Absolutely no returns" or "Don't bother me with complaints"!

7. Oh, say can you see? Naturally, people love out-of-focus pictures of your items, particularly when photographed against the background of a dark shag carpet. Who cares about the details of that diamond ring - they are going to trust you, arent't they?

Pamela Bruce lives in Austin, TX. She is the owner of Love Beads Unlimited and sells the bead jewelry she creates at http://www.lovebeadsunlimited.com

Auction Titles Keywords To Bigger Ebay Profits

Writen by Mason Hipp

Statistically speaking, the vast majority of bidders will find your auction by searching for it. The search is the primary interface on eBay, and the first step to getting customers. When a user searches for an item, say xyz, all auctions with xyz in the title will show up. Keep in mind that auctions with yzx or x y z will not be there. Each term the users puts in the search (xyz for example) should therefore be included in our title if we want to get the most bidders. More bidders makes for a higher final sale price, and that is what we are aiming for.

This means that you must, no matter what, include as many potential keywords as possible. In order to perfect these keywords we need to first pretend we are a buyer. Particularly, a buyer who would be interested in your auction. You should decide what search terms you would use to find the item. Start writing down a list of all potential search terms. When you feel that this list is fairly complete, we can move on to picking which terms to include in the title.

eBay limits the length of the title to 55 characters, so we have to choose each word very carefully. Deciding which keywords, or search terms, to include can be a daunting process. Luckily for us, there are probably a lot of other people who have sold the exact same item. Why is this a good thing? Because we can search for completed auctions.

Pick a keyword that describes your item and search for it on eBay: you will be presented with a list of items. Now, on the lower left navigation bar select "Search Completed Items." This will bring up a new list of auctions that have already ended. There will most likely be a lot of different items showing up, so you now want to refine your search to the point that only the exact product that you are selling shows up. Once that is finished, go to the top of the results. Click on the button that will sort items by price - with the highest prices at the top. What you've just done is created yourself a list of titles, with the ones that work best on the top. Compare the best titles with your keywords, and information about your item specifically (e.g. condition, color), and combine it all into a single line of keywords.

Undoubtedly, there will be more words then space to type them in. This is a challenge that happens with nearly every product or item that is listed on eBay. The key to winning out over the other auctions, and making more money, is to check your keywords over and over again. Keep looking at the completed auctions, you must learn to pick the 'hot' or 'best' keywords for your item. If you have narrowed your title down to the best search terms and it is all under 55 characters - then you are finished! Post your item for sale and watch as the price magically surpasses all of the other items in the category.

Mason Hipp is an eBay PowerSeller and a regular contributer to http://www.selladeal.com
For more articles by Mason, go to http://www.selladeal.com/guides

Selling Your Car Successfully On Ebay

Writen by Mark Kenny

eBay (UK) now sells more cars than Autotrader. If your not based in the UK, Autotrader is a dedicated weekly magazine which contains thousands of classified vehicle adverts each with a colour photo & detailed description.

Despite the massive success eBay have achieved with vehicle sales it's a fact to say a large percentage go unsold, as they do not attract enough attention, do not reach there reserve price or the sale falls though for an unknown reason.

So, if your considering selling a car though eBay what can increase your chances of a successful sale. As a car is a massive purchase for most users it's absolutely essential to include two elements to your item description.

Lets start with the description. Your item description should everything about the car including any known faults, scratches or marks. Is there anything in the car that should be working but doesn't? Any warning lights being displayed on the dashboard?

Don't think that because you've got use to a minor problem, the next owner will think it's acceptable. This attitude could cost you a sale. I've known someone recently, win a car on eBay - when they turned up it had no radio fitted so the winning bidder walked away from the deal.

The listing did not even specify the car had a radio fitted, but in reality we assume that almost 100% of cars have some kind of radio fitted. With the seller not specifying the lack of radio, the winning bidder felt he'd been lied to.

What's the mileage on the car? & is it still being used while until it is sold. If it is, then specify this in the listing as the mileage may be slightly higher when someone comes to view it.

Equally important are photos of the interior, exterior, & engine Bay. Don't be shy to use photos and don't limit it to just one or two - take photographs from every side of the car.

It is simply not worth listing your car without photographing it. If you do not have a digital camera, then try to borrow one from a friend or a colleague.

In a rare exception, when selling a car on eBay I strongly recommend using the Featured Plus option. This option will place your car at the top of the relevant category. I'm still testing many aspects of Featured Plus, though out eBay categories but my own sales in this area have increased bidding by upto 21% - well worth the upgraded listing fee of £9.95.

"We don't sell many cars on eBay, it's more of a platform we use to advertise cars and then conclude the sale away from eBay", an unnamed eBay powerseller tells me. eBay generally frown upon this practice as they lose revenue through final sales fees.

However, a car is a purchase that most users will view before bidding so a bigger opportunity exists to conclude the deal away from eBay, saving yourself money and time.

Finally, be sure to include a phone number in your listing, allowing interested parties the opportunity to contact you for a quick, easy sale.

About the Author

Mark Kenny has written two ebooks on eBay and hundreds of auction articles which have been syndicated worldwide. You can read Mark Kennys blog at http://www.Trading-Web-Solutions.com or visit his eBay forum at AuctionCUT.com

Wholesale Ebay Products For Ebay Sellers Find The Best Wholesale Socks For Ebay

Writen by Donny Lowy

Wholesale eBay products are a great way to make inroads on eBay. While the majority of eBay sellers are focused on selling items they find lying around in their homes, or on selling items they find at garage sales, you can develop a profitable eBay business by setting up a system to sell wholesale products.

If you are looking for a great wholesale product to sell on eBay you should consider wholesale socks.

Wholesale socks make a great eBay seller because they are a product which is desired by a large customer base.

And since you want to build a repeat business for in your eBay business, it makes all the more sense to deal with wholesale socks, since customers repeatedly will use them.

How can you find wholesale socks?

The following are the best methods for locating sources for wholesale socks.

1. Call manufacturers of wholesale socks, ask them for their overstock and discontinued inventory. This is a great way to purchase wholesale socks at below the list wholesale price.

2. Contact wholesalers and find out if they have wholesale socks from last season. Even if you have to hold the merchandise for another 6 months, the savings you will be able to obtain will translate directly into your profits.

3. Look for wholesale socks which were made for a specific occasion and are now sitting around collecting dust. While they might have a logo on or a distinct look to them, eBay buyers will look at them if the price is right.

Wholesale socks can be a perfect item for eBay provided that you have the right wholesale supply.

Donny Lowy operates the following wholesale sites: http://www.closeoutexplosion.com
http://www.wholesalequest.com
http://www.wholesalecloseoutforum.com

Five Great Tips For Becoming A Successful Dropship Seller On Ebay

Writen by Douglas Hanna

If you don't want to buy products, warehouse and then pack and ship them, there's a good alternative. It's called drop-ship selling. It doesn't require you to purchase anything, warehouse any products or spend hours packing and shipping goods.

Here's how it works: You find a wholesaler (or wholesalers) who will drop ship their products. You select some products, and put them on eBay. When they sell, you place an order for the items with the appropriate wholesaler, pay for them with a credit card, and the wholesaler packs and ships them for you. Your profit is the difference between what the items sell for and what you have to pay the wholesaler.

Here are five tips that can help you succeed as a drop-ship seller:

1. Get a sales tax license from your state. You will need this to prove to legitimate wholesalers that you are a real business and not just somebody trying to buy products cheap for your own use. In most states, you get the license from your state's department of revenue.

2. Find legitimate wholesalers. There are a lot of companies on the Web who claim they sell at wholesale prices and will drop ship their products. Unfortunately, many of these "wholesale prices" are just a bit below the normal retail price – which makes it hard for you to sell them and make any money. The company I trust most is Worldwide Brands (www.world-wide-brands.com). This company sells access to a great directory of drop shippers. I think the cost is about $65 which is very reasonable given the quality of its information

3. Find a market niche with RWA (Ready, Willing and Able) buyers. Many people start their business by trying to sell consumer electronics, household appliances or computer-related products. In one word, fogetdaboutit. This category is just too crowded and too competitive. Instead, look for a narrower market niche of people who are anxious to buy products designed specifically for them. For example, knitting is big right now which means the niche may be pretty competitive. But there might be a niche within this niche – for example, a unique kind of knitting material that appeals to a special kind of serious knitter.

4. Find a wholesaler or wholesalers whose products fit your niche. Then, make sure their prices are truly wholesale so you can "mark them up" and make a profit. Unfortunately, in some cases, the narrower the niche, the more difficult it may be to find a legitimate wholesaler. Before you buy any directory of drop shippers, try to "sample it" so you will know it includes wholesalers with your kinds of products.

5. Find your best wholesaler and stick with it. The more of its products you sell, the more it will value you as a marketing channel which in some cases, translates into lower prices for you.

Follow these five tips and you will definitely increase your chances for success as a drop-ship seller on eBay.

Here's another great tip. Plan to vacation in Denver this year. A Denver vacation offers the best of both worlds. It has all the the fun things to see and do you find only in a big, bustling city and it's only minutes away from the spectacular scenary and vistas offered by our nearby Rocky Mountains. For more information on a great Denver vacation, just go to http://www.best-denver-vacation.com

Douglas Hanna has lived in the Denver metro area for more than 30 years and is an expert on both Denver and Colorado. He is also the author of more than 100 ezine articles on a variety of subjects.

Watch Out For Ebay Web Businesses

Writen by Dave Gammage

If you peruse Ebay a lot, you'll see a lot of members selling website businesses. Often advertising these as "Turnkey", they claim that the site has been making X dollars a month for the past X months. The businesses include expired domain name searches, online auction sites, credit repair sites, dating and adult sites, etc. Take a look at the current bids or prices - $1.99? What gives? If this site is making money, why would they want to sell it??? Here are some tips to help avoid buying a waste of time.

Take a look at the domain name. Do a Google search for it. Does it show up? Keep in mind how long the seller claims the site has been in business. Go to Internic and do a Whois on the domain name...how long has it existed? Chances are less than a month.

Are there any bids on it? the number of bids is generally a good indicator on how legit this "business" is. If there's only 25 minutes left on the auction, and there is one bid for a very low dollar amount, this one's most likely a dog. If it is down to 25 minutes and there are 60 bids on it up to 500 bucks, it's most likely a keeper.

Proof of income. Some sites show a screen shot of their payment processor. Visit the website. Is the payment processor the same? For example, is the screen shot on Ebay from 2Checkout, and Paypal is the only payment method on the site? Smells fishy to me.

Most of these sites claim to be "100 Percent custom hand coded by experienced developers". Do some Googling for "website templates". Look through some of the places that offer web templates for sale. You will most likely run across the design of the website that is for sale. View the source of the site that's for sale - you may find that the seller forgot to remove the comment code that states that "This site was developed by -some template developer-" . There are actually websites that SELL turnkey web businesses specifically for sale on Ebay, and they use these templates all the time, over and over again.

If you are still skeptical, email the seller with your questions. If this site is truly on the up-and-up, they'll be honest. If not, they'll dodge your questions like a bullet.

One more thing to consider: Often these sites will come with "Dirt Cheap Web Hosting", for something like $6.99 per year. Think about it - would a TRUE e-commerce site that was getting tons of traffic and sales rely on lowest-bidder web hosting? Nope.

Now, don't get me wrong - there ARE some good web businesses available from time to time on Ebay...but with the availability of so many free website scripts and templates, they seem to be few and far between. Caveat Emptor, my friends - let the buyer beware.

Dave Gammage is the founder of TheHomeBusinessLink, at http://www.TheHBL.com - an online community for Home and Internet business owners. His product, AffiliateManagerPro, can be found on internet affiliate marketers' computers everywhere!

Auctions

Writen by Virgil Baptiste

The rules of an auction

Whether online or offline, auctions are quite popular and have been a major attraction for businessmen as well as common folks and it existed as far as one can trace back in history. Auctions have existed since the dawn of time, and they simply continued evolving alongside its society. In case you are new to auctioning or if you want to skim through the basic rules, here are the basic steps that can be seen at a regular auction.

1) Person X wants to sell an object.
There is an object in which you wish to sell, but do not know how much it could go for; in that case, it may be better to have it shown to everyone. (It is also quite possible that you know the value of the object, but simply want to fetch the highest price possible.)

2) Person X brings the object to an auctioneer
After setting a base price for your object, it is then given to an auctioneer. This so-called auctioneer can either be a real person or a website that acts as a virtual mediator.

3) The auction opens; war rages on
The auction is shown to the public (which does not apply to a silent auction) people then bid on the object; if Person A bets $5, then any other individual wishing to acquire the object must bid $5 plus an increment.

4) The auction ends
The auction will end under at least three circumstance: if the auctioneer deems the current bid so impressive that he closes the auction, if the time allotted for the object has finished and finally, if one person bid and no other person decided to outbid him.

Offline versus Online

When the digital age came, it brought with it some very important auction-like websites that specialize in having items presented and sold exactly like offline auctions. Evidently, offline auctions end much quicker than online ones, since the later can actually last for days with bids flying left and right. As well, it is normally easier to navigate and get information about items up for auction on a nicely organized website. Where the offline auctions get the higher hand is when it is time to finalize the transaction with the exchange of good and money. In an online auction, you need to place trust in the seller to actually send you the item as they will normally wait until they received the money before sending the object to you; such problem does not occur in offline auctions

Techniques

Being Patient

Being patient is a key strategy in both type of auctions, but is probably more prominent in offline auctions, as everyone came with a set amount of money. It is quite possible that inexperienced buyers will be eager to participate in bid wars; waiting is actually quite a good option, if you are patient, you may see a clearer picture.

Sniping Sniping is a legitimate and quite popular technique used in online auctions. Since online auctions are timed, an eager buyer will be constantly watching over the item. If you bid an amount of money an hour before it ends, the eager buyer will definitely notice and bid higher. Sniping consists of bidding as close to the end as possible; although very frustrating, this technique allows you to bid higher than other buyers and blocks them from outbidding you as by the time the higher bid is noticed, the auction will have ended. Obviously if you are out-snipped, then you will have learned the risks of sniping.

Learn more about auctions. Gold Rush offers individuals challenging opportunities within the booming e-commerce industry.

How To Sell Santas Slipups

Writen by Donald Lee

Shoppers spent more than $15.5 billion this Christmas on gifts on the Internet alone. Just imagine how many millions went to unwanted polka dot sweaters, electric nose hair clippers, and thigh masters. That wasted cash piled up under the Christmas tree. We've all had it happen to us. In fact, you had it happen to you this year. You unwrapped the pretty red bow and tore through the shiny paper on that present from your Uncle Mortie, and immediately, you had to put on your best poker face.

How did you know I needed a sushi roller kit?" you exclaimed with as much excitement as you could muster through gritted teeth.

The problem is you don't eat fish sticks, let along raw salmon.

You can't be too sore at poor Uncle Mortie, though, and the other friends and family who gave you unwanted holiday gifts this season. Buying Christmas gifts is difficult work. Then again, getting rid of a doosie of a Christmas gift is no piece of fruitcake either. That is, unless you know how to use the Internet to return your unwanted gifts from the comfort of your own home or, better yet, sell them for better use.

You're probably wondering how it's possible to sell off Santa's slip-ups when you feel bad enough returning them. In most cases, your friends or loved one invested time and money into shopping for your gift. They browsed countless Web pages. They trudged through the mall. And they were sentenced to hard time in the cashier line. All of it they did to please you.

At the same time, however, your friends or loved one couldn't read your mind as Jolly Old Saint Nick supposedly can. They could never tell if you'd appreciate that coffee table book on coffee tables, or that matching set of plaid socks and necktie. They could only guess at your inseam or your blouse size, or whether you look best in blue or black. And they had no way of telling that your third cousin on your father's side got you the same exact gift. With no list of who was naughty and who was nice, Uncle Mortie and company added to the millions wasted worldwide.

This waste doesn't have to be. Your loved ones only wanted to make you happy with their presents. So it stands to reason that if their gift didn't do the trick-because it was the wrong size, a duplicate present, or completely off the mark-they would want you to fix the situation. Whatever it takes, they would want you to be happy, right?

That leaves you with two options. You could return the gift to the mega store or the maul-er, mall. You would join the thousands of your neighbors with the same idea, all of whom are cramming into your local stores and cash register lines to return their unwanted gifts. Then you would also have to face the thousands of bargain shoppers out there looking for those post-Christmas specials, a rush that lasts well through January.

What's worse, some stores won't let you return goods if you don't have the original credit card or receipt. That means you could at best be left with gift cards with expiration dates at stores that you may not like. At worst, you could be stuck with your gift, not knowing what to do with it.

Now you're seeing the light. No, it's not the light from the inflatable 12-foot Santa Claus and reindeer on your neighbor's front lawn. It's the light from your computer monitor: the Internet. Today's Web can link you with someone who will think Uncle Mortie's gift is a precious treasure. This person, whether they're in Peoria or Pawtucket, North Carolina or the North Pole, is willing to pay good money for it.

Classified Internet sites can link you to this person faster than it would take you to stow the sushi set up in your attic. The best classified sites out there will also be free of transaction and membership fees. What's more, they allow you to negotiate price directly with your buyer and plan shipping arrangements, all with privacy and precision in mind.

You'll end up with cash to buy that special something you really wanted. Your buyer will be pleased with Uncle Mortie's gift. Uncle Mortie, well, he'll be glad the gift he gave you, doesn't just sit in the attic.

Donald Lee is the public relationship manager for Buysellcommunity.com. Buysellcommunity provides free classified listing services for individuals and businesses to market their products and services online. For global and localized classifieds, please visit - Free Buy & Sell Classifieds

What To Expect From Your Online Auction Services

Writen by Richard Verker

When you've decided to enter the fast-paced, exciting world of online auctions, what should you expect from your auction services? How does it all work, exactly?

All auction services online will require you to register with a username and password, first of all. If you intend to sell a lot (rather than buy), you should choose a name that reflects what sort of merchandise you deal in. Or, if you have a wide variety of things to sell, choose something that inspires confidence. Avoid cutesy names, or names that suggest cartoons, pop stars or other things not usually associated with professionals.

Auctions services usually require credit card information, too, to confirm your identity. Since bidders and sellers aren't meeting face-to-face, the Internet auction site has to do what it can to ensure everyone is on the up-and-up.

Once you've registered, you can buy and sell according to the auction site's rules. The site's job is to provide a place for bidders and sellers to meet, a sort of online open market. As long as you follow the general rules, the auction site itself stays out of the transactions.

Most sellers prefer payment by Paypal, an online money-transferring system. It's less risky than a personal check, and is instantaneous, unlike waiting for a money order. If you plan to do much transacting through online auctions, you should set up a Paypal account first.

As a buyer, you should expect sellers to ship your merchandise promptly and in appropriate packaging (padded, if necessary). You should also expect the merchandise to be in the condition it was promised to you. If anything is amiss, you should not hesitate to contact the seller. With so many Web sites and so many people selling merchandise, a buyer has a right to expect quality.

Richard Verker has been writing business and auctions articles for 15 years. After studies in general economy and e-commerce, his work on online auctions make his articles top-rated by magazines and thousands of readers.

Get To Grips With The Quotebay Valuequot Of Your Product And Increase Your Profits

Writen by Ben Catt

Most people buy from eBay for one of two reasons; either to save money or to find a rare item which is unavailable anywhere else.

On the other side of the equation, sellers are constantly trying to find worthwhile, readily available products to sell at a profit.

The problem with selling on eBay is finding a cheap product which you can resell at a profit whilst at the same time attracting buyers who are looking for a bargain.

RRP or Recommended Retail Price means nothing on eBay. It is, after all, a worldwide marketplace and buyers expect either something out of the ordinary or rare, or rock bottom prices. If a buyer wants to pay RRP for an item they will shop at their local store, not on eBay.

And if you try to sell any old item, you will not acheive your major goal - profit.

Take, for example, all these "Wholesale Lists" that are sold on the internet. The vast majority are almost useless. It is fair to say that you can pick up a bulk load of items wholesale with a fair discount on RRP but what you will probably find is that these items go for less than the wholesale price on eBay.

Why?

Because the eBay buyer sets the price for any product - the eBay Value.

Your product will only ever sell for the price the highest bidder is willing to go to.

Let's say you have found a wholesaler that will sell you 1GB memory sticks for £40 a piece (a random example)

You may think this is an excellent price and snap up 20, fully expecting to sell them all on at £50 plus for a nice profit. The problem you will find is that when you do list your products there are 101 other sellers who are offering the same item for £30 + £2.50 P&P.

What happens is you quickly begin to realise that you cannot compete. You can then either sell the memory sticks at a loss or try and get your money back... and getting your money back will be pretty much impossible.

Before you even think about trying out a product on eBay, you must research and make yourself aware of the "eBay Value" of that particular item. This is nothing to do with RRP, nothing to do with how much you think it is worth and nothing to do with the price the product is available for wholesale.

The eBay Value is simply the price that similar products have sold for on eBay very recently.

The best way to get a good indication of the eBay Value of a product is to search for "Completed Items".

Quite simply, you search for the product and make sure the "Completed Listings" box is ticked. Sort the results by "Price: Highest First" and the very top listing will show you the maximum eBay Value of your product. If this value is lower than the wholesale price you have been quoted, dump the idea immediately.

So, how can you find products to sell which cost less than the "eBay Value"?

If I knew that, I would be a millionaire. The fact is that eBay constantly changes and you have to keep up with the times and keep your eye open for opportunities.

If you do find a product that sells well, start slowly and do not over-burden yourself with stock. Also, be fully prepared for other sellers undercutting your prices (which they will do). As soon as a pricing war starts, get out of the market. A pricing war is only won by one person - the buyer.

The best products to sell on eBay are rare or hard-to-come-by products. Rare DVDs were always a winner for me.

For example, I often used to buy Region 1 DVDs from Canada, Brazil and America and sell them on in the UK. The particular DVD titles were not available in the shops in the UK and I could make an excellent profit from UK eBayers.

One particular product I sold fairly regularly cost just £4.50 but would sell for £20 Buy It Now. I started off by buying just one and auctioning it off to find the eBay Value. When this first "tester" sold for £18 I knew I was onto a winner.

Of course, someone soon noticed what I was doing and started to undercut me but I was onto the next winner by that point.

You can beat the "eBay Value" problem by only buying and selling rare items or items that you know well. Find badly listed items on eBay or underpriced bargains on or offline, list them properly and you should be able to profit.

Ben Catt is an active eBay buyer and seller and runs an eBay Tips and Tricks website found at http://www.BenCatt.com. He also runs a business opportunity information site - http://www.BizOppsUK.com

How To Sell A Large Quantity Of The Same Item On Ebay

Writen by Donny Lowy

Most eBay sellers specialize in selling items for which they have small quantities. Since the average eBay sellers is a home based entrepreneur she has to work within certain constraints.

The limits the average eBay seller faces is a small budget and scarcity of space in which to store their merchandise.

So while most eBay sellers will only stock a small quantity of goods, there are times when an eBay seller will find herself with a large quantity of an item.

While some might see this as a disadvantage for the eBay seller, it can actually represent a significant opportunity.

If you are familiar with the phrase that "adversity creates character" you will understand how this situation can actually help the eBay seller to rise to a higher business level.

The eBay seller now has to devise a strategy for selling this larger quantity of merchandise.

Here is how an eBay seller can successfully sell a large run of an item on eBay.

For starters, the eBay seller should carefully inventory the merchandise he or she has.

The eBay seller would want to know what sizes, colors, and styles, he has.

After carefully noting the type of merchandise he has, he would want to start categorizing it.

This would entail the eBay seller listing every possible category and sub category that the merchandise could fit under.

For example, crew socks with a nice cartoon logo can fit in the following categories and sub categories: Apparel, socks, men's socks, children's socks, sport accessories, sport's apparel, athletic wear, novelty items, collectibles, licensed wear, etc.

The key is to be imaginative.

At this point the eBay seller would create multiple auctions and list them under different categories and sub categories.

The eBay seller will then be able to sell more of the same item, without over saturating eBay.

Donny Lowy is the CEO of http://www.closeoutexplosion.com, an online wholesale and closeout business, and http://www.wholesalecloseoutforum.com, an educational resource for the wholesale and closeout business.

How Ebay And Amazon Can Help You Sell The Most Popular Items

Writen by Donny Lowy

eBay sellers are engaged in a constant search for the hottest selling items.

Online auctioneers have now more auction sites at their disposal than ever before.

Sites such as eBay, Amazon, and Yahoo all offer selling opportunities for online entrepreneurs.

But having a place to sell your merchandise is only part of the battle.

The next step is knowing how to sell your merchandise.

Gone are the days when someone could simply place an item up for auction and expect to receive bids.

Now the same seller must be educated in terms of online selling to experience a decent level of success.

Sites such as ebaybusinessbook.com offer the type of information that an eBay seller can use to build their online auction business.

But the question that still begs to be asked is, "What should I sell?"

This is where both eBay and Amazon come to the rescue.

Both of these online giants share information on their sales with the general public.

Their purpose in sharing this information is to help sellers grow their business so that they can conduct more auctions and sales on their sites.

While it might be a self serving action, it can definitely benefit eBay and Amazon sellers.

For instance, Amazon and eBay announced that during Thanksgiving of 2005 their top sellers where electronics products.

As a seller you can use this information to gear up your electronic sales.

You can use wholesale search engines such as www.wholesalequest.com to find wholesale electronic sources.

Remember that staying on top of sales trends is the third and most important ingredient in your online auction business.

Donny Lowy runs a wholesale business geared towards eBay sellers at: http://www.closeoutexplosion.com

Four Ways To Set A Starting Price For An Ebay Auction

Writen by Douglas Hanna

One of the toughest questions facing novice eBay sellers is "how do I price my items?

Many eBay experts say the best price at which to start an action is at a minimum bid of one cent as this will attract the most bidders. This can be a good strategy if you know your item is particularly hot. However, it can also be a bit of a gamble, Suppose you put up an antique brooch worth, you believe, $150 with an opening bid of one cent.

Unfortunately, it turns out there just isn't much interest in the brooch and the final bid is $15.99. This means, like it or not, you're obligated to sell that $150 brooch for $15.99. Ouch.

A second way to price your items is with a reserve bid. You can set this at the lowest amount you'll take for the item. For example, you could start the auction for that brooch at one cent but with a reserve price of $100.00. This way, you won't have to sell until the bidding reaches at least $100 – keeping you protected.

The downside of a reserve price is that many bidders may pass up a reserve auction in favor of one where they believe they have an opportunity to buy a comparable item at a really great price.

A third option is to set the minimum bid at a price you know is fair but that will attract bidders. The best way to determine this price is to find an auction for a comparable item. Let's say you would like to sell Olympus Stylus 500 digital camera. Step one is to go to eBay and search on Olympus Stylus 500 five megapixel camera. When the page of listings opens, scroll down until you see Show only. One of the options below it is Completed listings Check this box and then select Show items.

eBay will then display a list of all completed auctions for the Stylus 500 in the past month, including the price for which each camera sold or didn't sell. If the listed price is green, this is what the camera sold for. If it's red, the camera did not sell at the stated price – usually because the reserve price was not met.

Make a list of say 10-15 of the prices for which the camera actually sold and then compute an average selling price. This will tell you about what you can realistically expect to get for your item.

This average selling price can also help you determine a Buy it now price, which is a fourth way to price an item. For example, if you find that the average selling price for your Olympus Stylus 500 is $199, and you can sell it at $170 and still make a nice profit, you might try a Buy it now auction at $170.

Here's anothe good answer. It's a new technology called HD Radio that enables AM and FM radio stations to broadcast their programs digitally. This is a tremendous technological leap from today's familiar analog broadcasts. These digital broadcasts provide listeners with radically improved audio quality, more radio channels through multicasting, and new data services. To learn more about this amazing new technology, just go my Web site, http://www.hd-radio-home.com, to get all the buzz.

Douglas Hanna is a retired marketing executive and the author of numerous articles on HD radio, the Internet and family finances.

Is Selling On Ebay Just A Hobby Or A Real Business

Writen by Tim Knox

Q: I made extra money selling things on eBay last year. These were items I picked up at yardsales mostly. My husband says I am responsible for paying income tax on the money I made, but I disagree. This is just my hobby, not a business. What do you think? -- Gladys A.

A: With so many people selling on eBay these days this is a question I get all the time. To many eBay sellers the thought of running an actual business is about as appealing as getting negative feedback, so they go out of their way to convince themselves that selling on eBay is really "just a hobby" and therefore, should not be susceptible to income tax laws.

While you might think selling on eBay is just a hobby and the extra money you're making is not reportable as income, depending on the circumstances, the IRS just might disagree with you.

The IRS rules are clear: you must pay taxes on all personal and business income and that includes money you make selling on eBay.

In its most basic sense, the IRS rules mean that if you buy a vase at a garage sale for $10 and sell it on eBay (or elsewhere) for $20 you made a $10 profit and therefore must report it as income and pay Uncle Sam his fair share.

In reality, if you are a casual seller who only sells a few items on eBay every now and then it's doubtful the IRS is going to lose much sleep over the few bucks you make.

However, if you consistently sell on eBay the IRS may deem your activities to be business oriented and you will be required to file a Schedule C and claim the income.

The IRS uses a number of factors to determine if a hobby is really a business. These factors include:

1. Do you carry on the activity in a business-like manner?

If you conduct your eBay activities in a business-like manner, i.e. you keep business records, track profit and loss, keep a separate checking account, etc. then whether you think so or not, your hobby is really a business.

2. Do you spend considerable time working on your hobby?

If you put considerable time and effort into your eBay sales, the IRS may contend that you do so for profit and not fun. It seems the folks at the IRS don't believe in doing things strictly for pleasure. My guess is, neither do you. If you weren't making money selling on eBay I doubt you'd bother getting up at 4 a.m. to hit all those yardsales.

Then again, maybe you would... :o)

3. If you depend on income from your eBay activities for your livelihood?

If so, it's a business, not a hobby.

There are a number of other factors the IRS uses to determine if a hobby is really a business, but that covers the basics.

You can learn more at the IRS website at www.irs.gov.

What's eBay's take on all this?

eBay is vehemently opposed to anything tax related (especially the forced collection of sales tax, which is a whole 'nother issue). It's understandable that eBay is not a fan of the IRS since trying to enforce tax rules on buyers and sellers would undoubtedly be detrimental to the way eBay does business.

eBay does not does not issue 1099 tax forms to sellers, nor does it report seller's sales figures to the IRS. eBay considers itself a faciliator, i.e. they provide a marketplace in which buyers and sellers come together to do business.

However, since eBay is not directly involved in the transactions that take place between buyers and sellers, it would be impossible for eBay to report sales figures. Furthermore, eBay does not track if a seller actually gets paid by the buyer, so they have no idea how much money actually changes hands, making it impossible for eBay to issue accurate 1099s to sellers.

On the bright side, if you do sell on eBay as a business you can deduct a number of business expenses, including the cost of inventory, listing fees, shipping, envelopes, packing materials, etc. You might also be able to deduct things like the purchase of a computer for business use, office space (even if it's a home office), office supplies, and more.

I'm not accountant (nor do I play one on TV), so please do not take any of this as tax advice or legal opinion. Talk to your accountant if there's any doubt as to whether you should or should not be paying taxes on your eBay earnings.

Here's to your success!

Tim Knox

Small Business Q&A is written by veteran entrepreneur and syndicated columnist, Tim Knox. Tim serves as the president and CEO of three successful technology companies and is the founder of DropshipWholesale.net, an online organization dedicated to the success of online and eBay entrepreneurs.

Related Links:
http://www.prosperityandprofits.com
http://www.smallbusinessqa.com
http://www.dropshipwholesale.net

How To Add Unlimited Pictures To Your Ebay Auction Listing For Free

Writen by Thomas Haselhorst

I get a lot of questions from people wanting to know how to add more pictures to their auction listings. Do you know that eBay charges for additional pictures? Yes, that's right. Pay attention when you launch your next eBay listing. Only the first picture is for free. For any additional photos you will be paying $0.15 per photo. This does not sound much but you will be surprised how these figures add up: Imagine you add 3-4 photos per listing. This will end up to an additional $0.50 – just for hosting of your photos. Let's say you have 3-5 listings a day at the end of the year you might have paid $400-600$ just for picture hosting. The fees can add up very quickly. Do you know that you can add as many pictures as you like – For Free and even without using eBay's image hosting service? Well, you could use one of the so called "auction management" services. You pay a monthly fee and hosting of all your item photos is included. But do you know that these services are expensive too? Fees are ranging between $20 and$70 per month – depending on your selling volume. This easily adds up to $400-600 a year – maybe even more.

So, what can you do to avoid these additional costs? Of course, you can add only one picture per item, but guess what?? Right, the chance that your potential customer/bidder quickly moves to another listing is high. In fact, VERY high!! Because people like to see first what they are buying and do you think that one picture is enough? I don't, because we live in highly visual world…people want to see the product or item they potentially want to purchase. Yes, the even would like to "touch" it - if they could. What about you? Do you take the product you want to buy in your hands and "touch" it? I bet you do. Imagine you are in a shop and want to buy a birthday present for a good friend. If one special gift catches your attention you take it from the shelf and you carefully look at the product, don't you? You "touch" it and turn it around to get a "feel" for it. How can we add this "feeling" experience to our eBay auction listings? Yes, by adding a couple of good photos. Take pictures of your item from all sorts of different angles. The potential buyer will get a good "feel" for the item and it's more likely that they place a bid. As mentioned above: You can add as many pictures as you like – For Free. How can you do it??? The answer is simple: Host your own pictures! Not sure how to do it? Here are some ideas:

1.It's very likely that your Internet Service Provider offers you also free web space. I have used (and still use) the 10 MB web space my ISP gives me for free. Check the policy of your ISP – maybe an email to them is a first try.

2.Find a free or cheap web host – but be careful! Some of the free webs hosting companies do not allow that their service is being used just for data storage. Read their policy carefully before you sign up.

3.Search for some image hosting services. There are a couple of free image hosting companies out there allowing 'hot linking" to eBay auctions.

4.In case you own a website you can make a special "ebay" directory for your auctions pictures.

Upload all your photos and item pictures BEFORE you design your auction listing and copy and paste the image URL into the source code of your auction description. http://www.auction-design-for-free.com has put all the important steps into one step-by-step guide.

Oops! Nearly forgot to mention another important point: the file size of your photos. Make sure that your 3 – 4 pictures of your item are NOT 1 MB big each. Can you imagine how patient your potential buyers/bidders are to wait until all pictures have loaded? That's right! They are not very patient at all. If the pictures are not loading within 20 seconds your visitor leaves your site and moves on. There are maybe other listings offering the same – with pictures loading faster. So, make sure that the file size is in manageable range.

You'll be amazed how more pictures will add more credibility to your selling practice and gives the potential buyer/bidder the feeling that they can almost "touch" your item.

Thomas Haselhorst is webmaster of http://www.auction-design-for-free.com and
http://www.monster-ebook-sale.com

Ebay Buying How Poor Spelling Delivers Great Bargains

Writen by Keith Longmire

If you ever want to sell anything on Ebay Auctions make sure you take the time to read the excellent guidance published by Ebay itself.

Fairly high up the list is the pretty commonsense idea that, before you commit to posting your advertisement, you spell check it thoroughly.

Commonsense?

You'd certainly be forgiven for thinking so. But strangely, many people choose to ignore it.

The great news for you, as a street wise ebay buyer, is that this inattention to detail can be source of some incredible bargains.

How so?

Well let's imagine you want to buy an Armani suit. Chances are you are going to spell Armani correctly. In fact, the chances are most people searching for Armani will use the correct spelling. As Armani is a very famous and popular brand there will be lots of people viewing each of the suits on offer on EBay. Competition will be tight. Prices will be high.

Now a little time ago I had a ferret around on EBay. I found the following spellings for Armani (not all for suits):

Amani

Amarni

Amarne

Armane

Armanie

I am sure if I had spent a little more time that I would have found many more spelling variations.

So what?

Well if most people looking to buy Armani products use the correct spelling, yet sellers occasionally get their spelling wrong, it stands to reason that the auctions using the mis-spelt versions will get fewer visitors. Fewer visitors mean less competition. And, all things being equal, fewer visitors mean lower prices.

Finding mis-spelt words is easy. You can take the easy but time consuming option of just trying a few variations for yourself. To get started this is almost certainly the best option.

However, it's not true to say there are always bargains hidden in mis-spelt words. Searching out the tastiest morsels would require patience and persistence. Not surprisingly therefore, there are a number of software packages that search out the mis-spellings for you. As you get more advanced you will certainly want to check out one or 2 packages with this feature.

Anyone for Gucci, Guichi, Guiggi,…?

Keith Longmire is extremely enthusiastic about EBay Buying. He has collated his research on his Ebay Buying Blog

Win The Best Buy Of Artworks On Internet

Writen by Shandilya Singh

The discouraging part of the art market is that most of the times you reach an art gallery, good artworks have already been given a banner "sold out". In other instance, the offered selling price may be high but being a collector, you know that it worth buying. The demands for artworks like Oil Painting, Home décor craftworks, sculpture, wall hanging etc. has increased in recent year. Earlier art collectors were supposed to be the rich people of society but now days it has come into the trend. A hotel, home, restaurant, office, community hall, club, shopping mall, everyplace is getting more sophisticated with different looks.

Winning the best buy of an artwork is not an easy task and needs some prior readiness. Many of the top artists put their artworks on auction. But in this article, we will concentrate on buying artwork from Art Galleries or from Online Art Galleries and NOT from an auction.

1. Reason for buying an art:

Make up your mind before buying an artwork. As mentioned earlier, buying an artwork is completely different from buying a product. The reasons may be different from buyers to buyers. Some people buy because they are art collectors, some buy because of trends, some for style, some for decorating their home, hotels, restaurants etc and for many other reasons. Let the reason be anything. Be specific with your requirement to win the best buy for artworks like paintings, sculptures, craftworks etc.

2. Be informed about the upcoming Art Exhibitions:

Buyers simply hate "sold out" sticker kept near artwork in the art galleries. As a collector you might have felt that whatever you like in an exhibition are already sold out. Prior information about upcoming events will help you grab the best buy in an art exhibition. There are some good websites which keep you updated with this information. Many of the budding artists are finding Online Art Gallery very useful because it gives better return on investment and exposure. From buyer point of view an online art gallery is one of the best places to get the real offbeat art work from budding artists.

3. Creativity has no relation with artists name or fame:

Visiting an Art Gallery is a pleasant experience, unless you visit with an open mind. Many art collectors visit only top art galleries with a mindset that they are going to get some of the best creations. They are right up to some extent because top galleries keep only quality artworks. But, this is also a truth that creativity is not the property of top artists. Just take an example of an artist from Spain, Vincent Van Gogh. There were none to praise his paintings during his lifetime. But now his paintings are considered as priceless. You can get good artworks from anywhere. Many of the budding artists can not afford an exhibition in a good city but this does not mean that their creations are bad. It is suggested to keep the eyes open before buying good artworks. There are some websites which keep the art buyers or collectors updated with the current art exhibitions in the city and around the world. They provide online art galleries where art buyers can take a look for general ideas prior to buy.

4. Have a discussion with the artist:

Artist is the person who know his/her artwork more than anybody else therefore if possible, have a discussion with the artist before buying. Artists need not required to be present physically but telephones and e-mails has made communication very easy now days. Discussions help buyers in understanding the concept and idea behind that artwork. Further buyers may negotiate the price during discussions. There are incidents when a buyer expressed his opinion to the artist about the artwork which he was interested in. Buyer also expressed that he liked his art but the artwork does not come under his buying capacity. Surprisingly, artist has gifted that art to the buyer within minutes. Discussion helps a lot and that is for sure.

5. Quality and present condition of artwork:

Visiting an art gallery will help collectors see the artwork physically and hence collectors can judge the artwork in a better way. But in case of an online art gallery, seeing an artwork physically is difficult. However in most cases, artist community is fairer enough and mentions the present condition of their artwork honestly.

6. Trends:

Many collectors like to go with the current trends and keep themselves updated. It is good. But, how about going beyond the trend, i.e. creating a trend? So, buying offbeat artworks may be a better option and of course, it varies from buyers to buyers. Offbeat artworks have their own values attract more than commercial artwork.

7. Prices Vs Value:

Art prices verses Art value is an equation which only artists and collectors understand in most cases. Remember, quality costs and creativity costs even more.

8. Authenticity:

Always ask for the Authenticity Certificate from the seller because there are many reproductions available in the market. This will give you a feeling of being a proud owner of original artwork. Also ask for some technical data like year of creations, list of previous owners (if any) etc.

Best buy in Art depends on many other factors also but a little readiness will definitely help a collector to win the best buy of art.

The source of this article is http://www.artilysis.com

Disclaimer: Winning the best buy in artworks depends on many other factors also. Readers may or may not agree on the content of the article submitted.

This article is written and submitted by Shandilya Ajay Singh, a freelancer from India.

Be Realistic When Selling On Ebay

Writen by Richard Grady

As some of you know, I spent many years buying and selling both on and offline and several of my products are based upon my own experience in this area. I know that the vast majority of my customers and subscribers have an interest in trading whether it be on eBay or at the local market but more and more I am seeing people with completely unrealistic expectations of what they will be able to do. Most commonly these unrealistic expectations are in respect of how much it actually costs to purchase specific products and what they can then be sold on for.

I regularly get emails from people who want to know where they can purchase products such as mobile (cell) phones, new release DVDs, Playstation games and similar at, say, a 50% discount to resell on eBay. The fact is that such a thing is not available - it is a simple case of supply and demand and competition.

Take DVDs for example, most people think that these are excellent products to resell on eBay because they are very popular, not particularly expensive and easy to package and ship. Unfortunately, they could not be more wrong. The DVD market is one of the most competitive that there is - take a look for yourself and see how many auctions there are on eBay for DVDs at any one time. I have just looked and counted almost 300,000! At any one time there will only be a certain number of buyers wanting to purchase a particular DVD and if you take into account the numerous different places there are that each buyer could purchase from, it is likely that in general, there will be more copies of an individual DVD available than there are buyers to purchase them. This situation causes prices to fall. The other factor that forces prices down is the fact that one DVD is the same as another. By this I mean that from a buyers point of view, there is no difference to a new DVD purchased on eBay to one which is purchased from their local DVD store. Often the only way to differentiate is on price and of course, the only way to make the price more attractive to a buyer is to lower it.

The above reasons help to explain why the wholesale discount on a new release DVD is just £1 or £2 at most ($2 or $3 roughly in the US). When you take into account the fact that the large retail chains can purchase thousands of DVDs at a time and receive a bigger discount than individual traders, you soon see why it is very difficult for a small business to compete in such a competitive industry. You simply cannot purchase new release DVDs at 50% discount and even if you could, it wouldn't be long before prices were forced down as there is always someone willing to sell a little bit cheaper than the next man.

It isn't just DVDs that fall into this category. Take mobile (cell) phones. Here in the UK you can walk down just about any high street and get the latest phones either free or for a minimal token payment. The stores are relying on making their money from the line rental contract that you will have to sign in order to get the phone. Of course, the actual cost of the phone is not free - most new mobiles are actually worth £200 or £300 which means that if you want to buy a batch of phones at wholesale, you are going to be looking at a pretty high unit cost. As with most electrical products, the market is competitive and prices have been forced down which means that the difference between your wholesale buying price and your retail selling price is minimal.

There are numerous products that suffer from the same market conditions as DVDs and phones and new/small traders really should avoid trying to sell such items at all costs because it will usually be frustrating and ultimately not financially rewarding. When trying to decide what products to sell, you need to be thinking about the type of market that a particular product is sold in. If there are already numerous sellers and many large companies selling at considerable discounts this is far from ideal. The exception to the rule is if you are able to add value in some way to make your 'offering' more unique. I wrote about adding value last year in one of my newsletters - you can read it here: http://www.thetraderonline.com/jul2204.html

At the end of the day, it is all about research, being realistic and having an understanding of the market that you want to operate in. Whilst it would be great to be able to buy and sell new release DVDs (or whatever) all day long, doubling your money every time, I am afraid that this is just not going to happen.

Copyright 2005 Richard Grady

Richard Grady has been helping ordinary people earn online since 1998. He writes a free newsletter which is published every two weeks. To subscribe (and claim your free gifts), visit: http://www.thetraderonline.com/newsletter.html

Online Article Auctions Online Article Submission Sites And Possible Futures

Writen by Lance Winslow

The world of innovation is interesting indeed. We see innovation in so many industries and market sectors, as it seems there is no end in sight to what possible futures lie ahead. Indeed one interesting new trend on the Internet is the Online Article Submission Websites. And a battle is brewing over Amateurs and Professional Writers as to whom is better?

Well few would disagree that a professional writer with 20-years experience is a better writer right? Indeed, but some do and do not believe that an old-timer writer is necessarily better, but they should be. Some online article authors are total amateurs, but their writing is also quite good.

Now then many professional writers are now complaining that the amateur authors who post free articles on online article submission websites are breaking the backs of professional writers who cannot sell their writing due to the flooding of the market of free articles. Yet is it really the amateurs and the online article submission sites that they are filling a void in the marketplace?

If online article submission websites wish to cater to professional writers more, then perhaps they might open an online auction clearing house for what is posted on this site and highest bidder wins. Writers get paid, everyone is happy. But surely that will drive supply up and demand will show the true price points of the market place which will be downward albeit with a slight upward bias hedge due to the competitive bidding factor in auctions. Competitive psychology 101, predicts this. Consider this truth as well.

Lance Winslow

Ebay Selling Books Find Out Which Books Sell Amp How To Find Them

Writen by Christine Mitchell

Selling books on eBay can be a very lucrative business! There are eBayers who sell only books and make a nice little income doing it. Where do they get these books to sell? At thrift stores, estate sales, flea markets, book fairs, yard sales, library sales, grandmas attic, etc. You see, many of these books are just sitting on the shelves getting passed up because they aren't anything special to look at, they're not sparkly and shiny, they don't stand out on the shelf like that Tiffany & Co. crystal & sterling silver vase sitting on the housewares shelf at the Salvation Army. By the way, if you EVER find one of those grab it! -that's a no brainer.

These little hidden gems however, are not that easy to spot just by scanning the shelves- unless you know what to look for. So, how do you know which books will sell? research, study, research, study....

Actually, it's not that hard to get started. I've been researching hot selling books on eBay for a year now. Below is a sample list of my findings:

Wizard and Glass by Dave McKean, Stephen King (1997) Donald Grant First Edition Winning bid: US $207.50 History: 5 bids (US $50.00 starting bid)

The Bourne Identity Robert Ludlum FIRST EDITION HB Marek, 1st edn, First Printing Hardback, RARE!!!! Winning bid: US $140.27 History: 15 bids (US $40.00 starting bid)

THE DAVINCI CODE DAN BROWN FIRST ED. FIRST PRINT TRUE FIRST PRINT,NO RESERVE,FINE UNREAD CONDITION Winning bid: US $123.00 History: 20 bids (US $3.00 starting bid)

Night Probe by Clive Cussler (1981) ~ HC ~ DJ Winning bid: US $77.99 History: 12 bids (US $4.99 starting bid)

The Al Kaline Story Winning bid: US $127.90 (Reserve met) History: 14 bids (US $1.00 starting bid)

Are you surprised? I bet you've passed some of these up before and didn't even know it! Think about it, used books is the perfect product. You may have noticed that it's getting harder and harder to find products to resell on eBay and make a decent profit. Why? because there is a lot more competition as eBay gets more and more popular.

Used, collectible books are the perfect niche. They're everywhere, they're cheap and hardly anyone knows about them!

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Get the complete list of HOT SELLING BOOKS on EBAY
http://www.moodykitty.com/ebaybooks

What's Selling on eBay, Find Out What to Sell and How to Sell It eBay Blog

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Drop Ship Your Way To Ebay Profits

Writen by Mike Ralph

One of the most difficult things to do when looking to start an online business is to find that elusive supplier that will supply you, put simply you need a source of real products to sell. Drop shipping is a perfect way to achieve this and lets you develop the perfect online business..

The perfect online business is one in which you are selling a product whereby you DO NOT HAVE ANY STOCK and you DO NOT PHYSICALLY HAVE TO DEAL WITH THE PRODUCT and all you do is COLLECT THE MONEY AND PASS THE CUSTOMERS DETAILS ON.

Sounds to good to be true! - well it definately is TRUE.

THIS IS DROP SHIPPING AND ANYONE CAN DO IT!

Read the following example :

You decide that you want to sell Mobile Phones, you then realise that to do this the traditional way you would have to hold a large amount of stock so that you have the range and product available for your customers. Without a massive amount of working capital you have no chance, also by the time you get your business noticed the lines you are carrying are out of date and not worth what you paid for them.

However, now consider this:

You sign up to a Mobile Phone drop shipper, they give you a list of products that they can supply. You now go away and advertise this list on your online store. You take an order from your website for a Motorola phone, you have this advertised at $200.. You then collect the customers details via your website, all good shopping cart software provide this feature, and then contact your drop shipper and buy the same phone for $150 and pass them your customers details. That is the end of the sales process for you, what happens next is :

The drop shipper SENDS THE PRODUCT TO YOUR CUSTOMER and usually it goes under plain packaging or some drop shippers can also put YOUR COMPANY DETAILS on the packaging when they send it to your customer.

Thats $50 PROFIT for VERY LITTLE WORK!

Just 10 orders a week will give you $500 profit.

Drop shipping is fast becoming the easiest way of starting your own online business because it offers a very simple formula for success :

The drop shipper sets the price that you pay, you then set the price that your customers pay and the difference between the two is your profit!

SIMPLE ISNT IT.

Because it is that simple a lot of people are jumping on the drop shipping band wagon and it is not unusual to see lots of different websites using the same pictures and sales copy to sell the same product, usually because they just simply publish the promotional materials that the drop shippers provide for them.

It is important at this stage to remember that the internet was based upon the ability to share information and content. It is this simple word, CONTENT, that will help you to distinguish yourself from the rest and will also ensure that your search engine rankings are developed to increase the traffic (ie. customers) to your website.

This is simply using information and content to ADD VALUE to your website, customers want to be able to learn about the product before they purchase and having content specific to your area will allow this distinction in the mind of the customer. In order to make a success of your online business you have to make your customers want to come back. Think of your favourite websites, why do you keep revisiting them? Simple, because they provide you with something that is of VALUE to you.

Drop shipping allows you to develop your business in this manner because instead of worrying about stock levels and shipping you get to focus on listening to the market and discovering the products your visitors want - and then being able to rapidly add them to your site.

Its CONTENT SPECIFIC TO A WANT.

Drop Shipping is EASY - Have I said that?

BUT, don't get carried away. When you see the products that the drop shippers offer you simply think I can sell that, that, that and that and before long your list of things that you want to sell is massive and this is counter productive. In order to make drop shipping successful for you I would suggest to

FOCUS ON ONE PRODUCT AT A TIME

Build this up, when this is established then it gives you the ability to go into other areas a lot easier and your current customer base will give you a good source of potential new customers straight away.

A great way is to focus onto a product that you like, know a lot about or use personally in a hobby etc. This gives you the opportunity to develop your website as an authority on the subject and as such ADD VALUE.

Like any business venture there are some points that should be raised before you build your online empire the easy drop shipping way :

Don't just use the first drop shipper you come across as they may not give you the best deal on this particular product. Like all things shop around a number of drop shippers to find the one most suitable to your needs.

Some drop shippers operate a handling fee over and above shipping costs, this is usually quite a resonable fee and needs to be factored into your pricing structure.

Some drop shippers try to charge you a monthly 'members' fee as another means to make money from you, in my opinion these should be avoided as the only time you should have to pay a dropshipper is in connection with a specific order. You will find that the majority that charge a members fee are the ones that offer no true value to your business anyway.

As with any developing business the question of credibility is key, unfortunately there are a number of con artists out there that are aiming to take your money for nothing in return. A key phrase to remember is :

IF IT SOUNDS TO GOOD TO BE TRUE - IT IS!

Research is key, for example :

How long have the drop shippers been in business?

Do they respond to your information requests quickly and professionally?

Do they offer buying accounts?

What payments do they accept? (if just Western Union run a mile)

This list is endless, that is why I only recommend two sources of drop shippers information. Both these lists are maintained by professionals that constantly update thier lists and only recommend the best, most reliable and trustworthy dropshippers. These sources can be found from the link in my signature box at the bottom of the article.

As you can imagine the idea of drop shipping fits in with online auctions, in particular eBay, perfectly as eBay will provide you with the traffic and all you have to do is make that ad stand out from the rest (my FREE resources on my site will help you) and all the rest of the work is done for you.

You just concentrate on developing your business and using ebays traffic to make money and you cannot lose.

Mike - webmaster at Free Ebay Templates and Ebay Sellers REsource Site.

Visit our Ebay Forum to use the FREE resources to develop your online business.

How To Make Money Fast On Ebay

Writen by Brian McGregor

I guess you might have seen those adverts where people offer to show you how to make oodles of money online. I know I have.

You might have tried things yourself, but not yet come up with a solution that works for you.

Well, here is a formula to make some quick money online. It may not be a fortune, but it costs you nothing and it should help to pay the bills.

In brief, with this formula you'll be finding out the most popular searches being made on Google. Then you'll generate a short report on that subject. And then you'll sell the report on eBay - hopefully many times over.

Here's the formula:

1. Visit http://www.google.com/press/zeitgeist.html and see what are the hot searches at this moment in time.

2. Select one of them, ideally one in which you are interested or at least curious about.

3. Research that topic online, and gather information on the subject. This will be the basis for your e-report. What you need to do is develop something which will be wanted by people searching for this topic. (Some examples are shown later)

4. List your e-report on eBay. And keep re-listing it as long as it is selling.

5. Do it again, with another subject.

What you're doing here is riding on the crest of a wave of public interest, and this is a tried and tested way of making money!

I know of one person who produced a report with questions and answers about the film, "The Passion of the Christ". The report came out around Easter to coincide with the launch of the movie when there was a frenzy of interest in it and in Mel Gibson.

Another timely report was produced based on the Donald Trump TV program "The Apprentice". It was called "You're fired!", and did great business especially when the program became highly popular.

A top 10 gainer this week on Google Zeitgeist is Emma Watson. For the oldies amongst us, Emma is a star of Harry Potter films. You could compile a directory of the main websites showing pictures of her. Or you could create an Emma Watson cookbook, beauty tips, joke book or anything else depending on what your web searching turns up. Or you could be contentious, and produce a report on "Why I Hate Emma Watson!".

I hope you get the idea.

Your report can simply be a Word document, which you attach to an email to your eBay buyers.

Now I know that not everyone reading this will act on the idea. But those who do have a good chance of making some quick eBay money!

Brian McGregor is an eBay and internet entrepreneur. He recently created the 'eBay Master Class' for eBay sellers. For your free copy, please go to http://www.workwinners.com/ebm-request.htm

Exciting Ebay Auction Ideas

Writen by Donny Lowy

eBay sellers are always in search for new items to sell on eBay. Since most wholesalers are now advertising online, it can become difficult to have a product that will be unique on eBay.

Here are some exciting eBay auction ideas that will definitely make your eBay auctions unique.

eBay Exciting Idea #1

Is there a unique rally taking place in your area? Is it a rally that has strong political meaning for people living in other places? Then attend the rally and collect items such as signs, leaflets, banners, and other items related to the rally. You can then auction them on eBay to people who would love to have an item by which they can remember the rally.

eBay Exciting Idea #2

Think about how many people look up to movie stars. People love original memorabilia related to their favorite movie stars. The next time a movie is being filmed near you make plans to attend the shoot. If you are polite, and wait for the right time, most directors will allow you take pictures. You can then auction your original pictures on eBay.

eBay Exciting Idea #3

Do you live in a historical or otherwise popular location? How about looking for souvenirs that are only sold locally. People living in other places who once lived or traveled in the place where you live would be interested in those souvenirs.

You can also take this strategy and use it regards to colleges, sport stadiums, and religious institutions. Just make sure that the items you sell on eBay are genuine, and are only available locally.

Include these ideas in your eBay auctions and you will soon have many eager buyers.

Donny Lowy runs http://www.closeoutexplosion.com an online wholesale and closeout business that supplies eBay sellers, retailers, and flea market vendors.

Time Is Precious How To Maximise Your Time To Make More Money On Ebay

Writen by Avril Harper

I reckon most people waste at least three minutes every hour, probably a great deal more. Taking phone calls from sales reps. selling something you just don't want, for example, creating all eBay listings from scratch rather than using 'fill in the blanks' templates for repeat products, checking how many of those 100 emails in your box today are genuine and how many are spam or scams, arguing with unreasonable buyers whose sold aim is to ruin your day. And so much more.

Let's say you waste just three minutes every hour and you work an eight hour day, five day week. Let us see how all that wasted time adds up.

Three minutes lost each hour is 24 minutes per day, 120 minutes each week. Two hours.

Two hours each week is eight hours a month (actually more because this figure is based on four weeks - 28 days - whereas most months include 30 or 31 days).

Eight hours is an entire working day lost each month.

One working day lost each month is 12 working days over the whole year.

MORE THAN TWO WEEKS you lost, just because you did things you should not have done, you failed to create systems to shortcut repetitive tasks, you responded to emails and phone calls and letters you really should have ignored.

Did that surprise you? It certainly surprised me because in reality I waste far more than three minutes each hour, it's more likely ten, or fifteen. Because I daydream a lot (a.k.a. researching on eBay), I continue replying to difficult people who are never going to buy from me (at least I hope they never do), I watch the final few minutes of auction endings like a hawk to see just how much my listings fetch.

We must all begin to value time, and remember that time really is money!

Let me tell you where most of my time is wasted. It's with difficult people, they're the bane of my life, I get them every day.

They email saying: 'Your download page isn't working!!!! Get it sorted or I'm leaving negative feedback'.

I reply saying: 'The page is fine, perhaps you are using a search engine to find the site. I try to keep download pages free from search engine directories to avoid unauthorized access, so important people, like yourself, are the only ones to receive my products. Please try the browser instead, that will work'.

They reply: 'Don't be sarcastic with me. I know you don't think I'm important, if you did you wouldn't hide the page. I repeat, get it sorted out or I will leave negative feedback'.

And so if goes, often for most of the day, until finally I refund the payment and the individual goes away.

That same procedure can take twenty minutes out of my day, several times a day, over the week that makes ….. you get the drift I'm sure!

So, now that I've analyzed the problem, just for this article, I'm shocked at how much time I'm losing. And from today I will stop selling downloadable products on eBay and process them on CD instead. All-in-all, that will save at least three hours a week, thirty six hours a year!

Let me treat you to a few more ways to cut down on wasted time and help you spend more time listing items to sell.

TIME SAVING TIPS

* Make a 'To Do' list at the start of each day. Divide it into three lots: 'Urgent', 'Important', 'Only if Time Allows'. Allot each task to the appropriate section and mark items 1, 2, 3 and so on, ranked most important to least important. Start on 'Urgent' items and work your way through these, in number sequence, from 1 to however many tasks time allow. Don't even consider doing 'Important' and 'Only if Time Allows' items until all 'Urgent' tasks are completed.

* There is an allowed exception to doing all Urgent tasks before commencing less important tasks. If Urgent tasks are tiring, and you really are beginning to jade, it's better to focus on less important tasks for a while rather than make mistakes on Urgent matters.

* Make a new 'To Do' list at the start of each working day, beginning with all outstanding Urgent tasks ranked, again, in order of importance. Add any earlier 'Important' and 'Only If Time Allows' tasks that might have gained urgency. You'll be amazed how many tasks you once considered Important, even Urgent, no longer need your attention, because they're no longer important or they've been resolved elsewhere.

* If the phone isn't an important feature of your business, put it on answer and monitor calls as you work. Pick up on important ones, let photocopier salesmen waffle on in the background.

* Learn to type faster and therefore list more items each day. QWERTY is the formula used by the world's fastest typists and it isn't difficult to learn. Anyone can reach 35 wpm - words per minute - in short time and knowing how to use the QWERTY system means your fingers will never get tangled and you'll make fewer mistakes. Ask about courses at local Adult Training Colleges or learn to type online free of charge at http://www.senselang.com or http://www.learn2type.com

* Use Turbo Lister to list items in bulk and upload your listings while you're relaxing, so you'll won't tie up the computer at any time during working hours. You can download Turbo Lister free from your eBay account. It saves lots of time and also allows you to create custom templates and so cut time normally spent listing items individually.

* Add a signature file to your PayPal email address, telling buyers you have received their payment and that their goods will be despatched very soon. This saves a lot of time normally spent contacting buyers individually and no one will ever guess it's coming from an auto-responder and not a real person.

Avril Harper offers Internet Marketing Articles to help new and experienced marketers and also offers a range of downloadable free reports including 103 EBAY POWERSELLER TIPS at http://www.toppco.com

How To Make Money On Ebay Using Dropshippers

Writen by Paul Middleton

Dropshippers are used by entrepreneurs who want to sell a product but don't want to keep their own stock or perform delivery. The whole delivery process is performed via the 'dropshipper'. The entrepreneur after making the sale will contact the dropshipper with the delivery details of the end customer. The Dropshipper will then deliver the product to the customer.

Example of Making Money on eBay Using Dropshippers.

You've seen a market to sell Gold Watches via eBay and found a drop shipper that offers a good quality Gold Watch at a price that you think you can make a profit on.

You set it up on eBay with a starting bid of $70 with $7 postage and packaging. Someone buys it and you receive the money via PayPal.

You pass on the buyer's details via email to the distributor (dropshipper). The distributor then packages up the watch and puts your shipping label on the package and then sends it via recorded courier to the address of the customer you provided in the email.

You are then billed via the distributor for the wholesale price of the gold watch that is $50 plus $7 for postage and packaging.

You have made a net profit of $20 for setting up an auction on eBay and sending the distributor an email!

You don't have the risk of having unsold stock as you only purchase from the dropshipper after you've made a sale and received payment.

Paul Middleton is a successful Internet entrepreneur. He shares some of his secrets on his website where he shows people how to make money online working from home. Included are details of how to make money with dropshippers on eBay.

Is It Antique And Is It Worth Anything

Writen by Joy Pearson

Is it an antique and is it worth anything? Would you know?

At some point in our lives most of us are going to put in a position where we have to ask ourselves the question- Which of my treasured possesions should I keep because they might be worth something and which can I throw away?

Would you know??

We start our own homes full of enthusiasm and with all the lovely clutter that makes up our lives and that of the family, but as time goes on, the children leave home, we decide to move to a smaller house or maybe we decide to live abroad. At that stage we have to decide what to keep and what to part with.

As an antique dealer for many years I'm often invited into homes to assist customers with just that question - or with a cry for HELP!!

Well, we all have items we wouldn't part with for a million pounds, precious bits and pieces passed down from parents and little presents from partners, children and grandchildren. Then there's the layer of semi-precious items that, to make a bit more room, we could part with. Put these to one side and we'll come back to them later - our second best treasures.

But the 'cupboard fillers' are quite a different matter! How many teas services, lace cloths and glasses do we need? In fact, be really honest, when was the last time you set the table with a starched cloth and all the cutlery amd glassware matching?

Call me a slut, but I usually serve friends with tea in china beakers. Wine is poured into glasses that are dish-washer friendly and the crockery and cutlery is an interesting ........... mish-mash. It's the company and stimulating converstion that's important I tell myself.

So what should we keep and what should we part with? We've carefully put our special treasures to one side and now we must invite the children in to look through the 'second best' treasures.

Make sure they have a chance to refuse any bits you're thinking of parting with. An old scruffy chair to your way of thinking might be a favourite to them and the comfy setting for many a bedtime story.

On a personal note after my mum died, my sister and I were clearing her things and we found an enamelled dish of little value. Ir was put on one side to give to the charity shop when my son asked if he could have 'the money dish'. "Which money dish" I asked. "The one that gran always kept the pound coins in to give us when we visited". Luckily the 'money dish' was passed on to a very happy grandson.

So now the children, and possibly the grandchildren, have had their pick. Time to decide what to do with the rest. Space might determine how thorough the pruning must be, but it's worth knowing what you could sell and what you may have to give away.

Even antiques come and go 'in fashion'. At the moment the style is minimalist. One carefully placed figurine, one item of polished glassware, not the over-the-top, not an inch of wall showing, style of the Victorians!

Anything that needs polishing, ie, copper, brass, silver and silver plated items are unpopular especially with the younger generation who manage to juggle a full-on family/working life. Equally, if it won't go in the dishwasher, it's a bit of a no-no!

So we're narrowing the field of what we can easily sell.

Small, exquisite, exciting little pieces are desirable. It's easy to get good prices for antique sewing items, silver thimbles, old needle holders, silk winders, buttons, even wooden cotton reels and pin cushions.

Another highly collectable area is - drinking! Old cork screws, bottle openers, wine and spirit labels, champagne taps, spirit measures and the pub water jugs for serving up with a glass of whisky.

Check through your drawers for old fountain pens and pencils and boys will be boys so hang on to any sporting memorabilia. Would you believe that a feather filled golf ball fetched £6,000 and old golf clubs, tennis rackets and snooker cues and balls are highly collectable.

Smoking acessories are politically incorrect, but old silver vesta cases, cigar cutters and interesting cigarette lighters can fetch a tidy sum.

Don't neglect the children's toy cupboard. Early tin toys, lead soldiers and more recently Star Wars and James Bond can raise much needed cash. Would you fancy parting with over £1,000 for a Victorian marble? Well it's happened with a German end-of-the-day onionskin marble, so sift with care.

So there's a few tips when planning a bit of a life laundry. Lots more advice to follow because I have a little corner of the shop at present where I'm selling vintage clothing, shoes, handbage and costume jewellery and it's going down very well, especially with the younger age group.

Until then, happy spring cleaning!!

Loads of similar articles and a newsletter and resources for Antiques and Collectibles at: http://www.architus.com

We run a small but beautifully formed General Antiques Shop which is situated in Kirkby Lonsdale In the Yorkshire Dales/Cumbria Border.