| During good and bad times, the experts will tell you | | | | out untested eBay country sites, making special |
| exactly how to make your business more profitable. | | | | offers to test profit potential, and so on. That is |
| But the experts are not always right, in fact very | | | | selling! |
| often the experts are totally wrong. You must judge | | | | * Remember There Are Always People with Money |
| their advice and get second opinions, especially when | | | | to Spend and Focus Your Efforts on Them. Perhaps |
| talk turns to cutting back on advertising when the | | | | the most important aspect of selling is looking for |
| economy slows down. | | | | people with money to spend and finding products |
| Let me tell you why I don't always believe the | | | | those people might want to buy. An old marketing |
| experts, based on personal experience. Consider the | | | | maxim says it's far easier and takes much less time |
| well known fact that when economies go into freefall | | | | and effort, also less money, to sell to people who do |
| the majority of businesses call in their debts, cut | | | | have money as to sell to people who don't. You just |
| back on advertising, stop investing, and other | | | | have to find those people with money to spend. |
| counter-productive practices. | | | | You do it by researching the eBay marketplace, |
| That advice bears great similarity to mail order and | | | | preferably completed auctions, and you look for |
| direct mail, where experts tell you never to mail or | | | | products that rarely go unsold on eBay. It helps to |
| advertise in June and July, people don't buy during | | | | start with a specific product theme, preferably one |
| June and July they'll tell you, everyone's on holiday | | | | you are familiar with, and once you have a list of, |
| during June and July! | | | | say, 100 high profit items, you focus your business |
| Years ago, when I sold business manuals by mail | | | | around obtaining and selling those items. I do it with |
| order and direct mail, my best selling months were, | | | | vintage postcards (a truly recession-proof product), |
| you guessed it, June and July. That's because with | | | | some do it with craftwork materials (in recessionary |
| the competition snoozing, I was one of very few | | | | times people begin making more of whatever goods |
| people targeting the huge business opportunities | | | | they need in order to save money on buying those |
| market and capturing the Lion's share of a huge and | | | | items ready made), some sellers focus on tight niche |
| ever-hungry marketplace. Hungry, even in June and | | | | markets (especially eager buyers with money to |
| July! | | | | spend). |
| This means when others stop advertising, you should | | | | Collectibles tend to weather economic turmoil, |
| continue. When others promote less when their | | | | especially globally as on eBay. Also from personal |
| profits drop, you should promote more. | | | | experience from several years ago, when I sold at a |
| Do it like this: | | | | few local flea markets, most traders in collectibles |
| * Start Selling, Don't Just Take Orders. Just because | | | | made more money when the recession hit hardest. |
| you have auction listings running seven days a week, | | | | The reason was, while less affluent collectors sold |
| just because you have an eBay Shop packed with | | | | their goods way below value to make fast cash to |
| products, that doesn't mean you are actually selling | | | | pay the bills, sellers bought those items much less |
| anything. If you're continuously relisting the same | | | | expensively than before, so their profit margins were |
| items, even if they are proven best sellers, you are | | | | higher. Because they were selling to people with |
| not really selling in the real sense of the word, all you | | | | money and secure employment, many antiques and |
| are really doing is taking orders. | | | | collectibles dealers found no need to lower their |
| Selling is a pro-active experience, it means | | | | prices, in fact many increased their prices and often |
| continuously seeking new items to sell, testing those | | | | doubled their previous profit margins. Bear in mind, |
| products, and promoting whatever of those items | | | | sellers were trading locally, long before eBay |
| generate reliable profits, while abandoning any that | | | | appeared, which can only mean potentially far higher |
| don't. Selling means looking for new markets, listing in | | | | profits for post-eBay slowdowns. |
| eBay categories you haven't tried before, checking | | | | |