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September 12, 2002

In this issue:
* Announcements:
1. In Memory Of September 11
2. Join Our Affiliate Program
3. If You Have A Website, You Might Want To Consider Linking
* Feature Article: Why You Might Want To Consider Multiple eBay IDs
* How To Know If You Spend Too Much Time On eBay
* eBay Changes
1. I Dread The eBay Take-Over Of PayPal
2. Your Zip Code Listing
3. New eBay Discussion Boards
4. Audio Help
5. Completed Auction Data Declines
6. Category Changes
7. eBay Australia and New Zealand Soon To Be Totally Owned By eBay
* What's Hot In The Antiques And Collectibles Market?
* Possibly The Most Famous Scam On The Internet
* Words From A Wise Woman

ANNOUNCEMENTS
1. In Memory Of September 11

The regular day for Auction Gold is every other Wednesday, but yesterday just didn't seem appropriate to me. Probably many of you were like me, and found it hard to work. I kept drifting over to CNN for a quick look, hoping with all my being that I wouldn't hear any excited voices reporting awful details.

I know that all of you join with me in offering prayers of thanksgiving that yesterday was a relatively uneventful day. We mourned our lost loved ones in peace.

2. Join Our Affiliate Program

We have a new affiliate program for the Auction Genius Course. It pays $75 for every sale, and $25 for every sale from every affiliate recruited by you. It has the possibility of earning hundreds – even thousands – of dollars each month.

If you would like to join, we would love to have you. Go here for information on the course:

http://auction-genius-course.com

There is an affiliate link on the left side of the page.

3. If You Have A Website, You
Might Want To Consider Linking

Everyone knows that one of the best ways to get traffic to your website is to achieve a high ranking in the search engines. If you haven't tried to do that, though, you may not know how ghastly a job it is. And the kicker is that the search engines can change their rules today. Translation: you can move from page one to page 283 overnight! Gag.

There is a way to get that high ranking, though, without devoting your life to the search engines. And that is to exchange links with a lot of other sites. It's a long term strategy, but a sound one. It is the most stable and dependable traffic there is.

So, we have set up a links page on auctionknowhow and would feel privileged to exchange links with any and all readers of this ezine. If you have a website, and want to participate, please go to:
http://auctionknowhow.com/links

All aboard!

Feature Article: Why You Might Want To Consider Multiple eBay IDs

You know how sometimes you can look back in your life at a particular event and say, “Now THAT was a turning point in my life!”

I had such a moment two-three years ago when I had an auction that attracted over 700 page views. It was a revelation to me. Why? Because I sold 20 items, and so had contact with 20 buyers. But, it made me wonder why I was letting all those hundreds of other people get away?

From that moment on, my auction strategy changed. I began using eBay as a lead generating site. After all, eBay claims 1 ½ BILLION page views each month. I paid a small fortune to have a software system developed just for me, and began generating mailing lists so that I could market to the same sellers again and again, rather than settling for selling one item to one seller, and then starting all over again. At this time, I have 25,000+ folks on multiple mailing lists, compliments mostly of eBay.

In response to many requests, my software developer is now selling the mailing list system that I use. You can see it here:

http://auctioneware.com

Since that time, I have made a career of being anonymous! There are lots of reasons for wanting to remain unnoticed on eBay, and we won't go into them here, because it's a complex subject that I teach to my Auction Genius Course students.

As far as I know, I seemed to be the only person on eBay who understood and used this strategy. It is the reason that I use the description “Triple Your Profits In Half The Time” for my course. I know that sounds like marketing bushwa, but it really isn't. In fact, I might even call my strategy the Lazy Woman's Way To Make More Money! It's really easier than running tons of auctions.

I have been recently surprised and delighted to discover that there is someone else who has the same idea, and has written a book about it called “Silent Sales Machine”. His name is Jim Cockrum, and although he does things somewhat differently than I do, our goals and intent are the same. Jim makes thousands of dollars monthly on eBay while only running a small handful of auctions at a time.

A key part of my strategy is to have have multiple eBay accounts. Jim wrote this article for his ezine, and I am happy to share it here:

You can keep your eBay feedback protected. You protect your feedback by separating buying and selling into at least two different accounts. That way if you buy something from a scammer you can leave them negative feedback without worrying about them retaliating with negative feedback toward you (as most scammers usually do). Having a little negative feedback as a buyer is no big deal. Having negative feedback as a seller can do some damage to your bottom line!

You can have a theme with each account. This concept is discussed at length in the book "The Silent Sales Machine Hiding on eBay". To summarize, you can benefit in many ways if you have a general theme going in each of your eBay selling accounts. Your account name, the items you sell, the contents of your about me page, and the 'back-end' offers you provide can all revolve around that same theme. You'll be perceived as an expert. Their are ways to make a lot more money if you have a theme... I encourage you to read "The Silent Sales Machine" book again for more tips on this idea.

Insurance against having to 'start all over'. eBay reserves the right to shut anyone down at any time. You could accidentally or even intentionally violate an eBay policy with your only account and be stuck with the gloomy task of having to establish a brand new account with NO FEEDBACK - it happens all the time to unfortunate sellers! Even if eBay doesn't shut you down, they can impose 'temporary' black outs on accounts that violate certain policies. This can be costly!

Sell your spare account! Currently eBay prohibits the resell of accounts from one 'owner' to another 'owner', but who knows what the future holds?! As 'credibility' becomes more of an required and rare asset on the internet, an eBay account with a lot of positive feedback could be worth its weight in gold!

Participate in eBay chats anonymously! If you aren't familiar with eBay chat rooms, you should check them out. There are some great tips, and you can ask just about any question you'd like and get an answer from other eBayers. Unfortunately, you can also attract unwanted attention from eBay 'prowlers' or from eBay police. eBay has recently started tightly monitoring the conversations on the chat boards and punishing those that violate chat policies. There have even been instances of eBay suspending the accounts of those that speak too negatively about other eBayers. It's best to have an eBay account set up JUST for chatting! We do!

Note: Although I've never encountered it some readers have reported that eBay required them to use a DIFFERENT credit card for their second or third eBay account. If that happens to you don't run out and open a new credit card account - it may not be necessary. You can just ask your current credit card company for a 'virtual' credit card number that you can use for the eBay registration. Many credit card companies are offering 'virtual' credit card numbers to their clients to ease their fears about buying items online. I know Citibank offers this feature as do many other major credit card companies. It's worth looking into.'

You can find Jim's book here, and you surely do NOT want to miss it:

http://silentsales.auctionknowhow.com

I have more reasons that I can add to Jim's which will appear in future issues.

How To Know If You Spend Too Much Time On eBay

10.  You refer to completed auctions as the graveyard
9.  Your neighbors hear frequent screams of delight or groans of dismay
8.  You consider a neutral and negative feedback as spamming
7.  You refer to eBay as MyBay
6.  You can't find an eBay site-Map at Wal-Mart
5.  You've been banned from selling your items on the community chat room
4.  You're arrested for disturbing the peace when you've been outbid!
3.  You only sleep during ebay maintenance hours
2.  You set your alarm clock for auction closings
1.  Your only name is your eBay ID

eBay Changes
1. I Dread The eBay Take-Over Of PayPal

eBay's not-so wonderful Billpoint system is back to the Better Business Bureau's “Unsatisfactory” rating. They briefly received a satisfactory rating, but ... zip. Gone again. What will happen to PayPal?

2. Your Zip Code Listing

ebaY will display the buyer's zip code on the listing page, after a listing closes. This will only be visible to the winning buyer.

In dutch auctions, the sellers will be able to see the zip codes of all winning bidders.

Also, the buyer's zip code will also now appear in End of Auction emails and the Send Invoice page of Checkout.

You still need to re-confirm with your buyer or seller, though, in case information has changed.

3. New eBay Discussion Boards

New eBay discussion boards are:

* The Front Porch and The Homestead
* Needle Arts & Vintage Textiles
* Health & Beauty.

4. Audio Help

ebay has new audio tutorials:

Learn to Buy:
http://altfarm.mediaplex.com/ad/ck/1065-4371-2357-1

Learn to Sell:
http://altfarm.mediaplex.com/ad/ck/1065-4371-2357-60

You have to have specific programs installed on your computer to use these, which is annoying. I was using my personal favorite browser, Opera, and had to switch to Internet Explorer to view the programs.

5. Completed Auction Data Declines

Unfortunately, eBay's “Completed Auctions” feature will soon begin reporting only 15 days of past auctions, rather than 30. Boo!

6. Category Changes

ANTIQUES & ART:
Antiques and Art are now separate rather than combined into one

COLLECTIBLES:
New: Japanese Animation Characters

Some categories have changed positions:
* Holiday & Seasonal
* Rocks, Fossils & Minerals
* Vanity & Shaving
* Vintage Sewing.

COMPUTERS & OFFICE:
Office Products has been moved to the “Computers” section

JEWELRY, GEMS & WATCHES
eBay has removed the brand name watches categories

7. eBay Australia and New Zealand Soon
To Be Totally Owned By eBay

eBay currently owns 50% pf eBay New Zealand and eBay Australia. Now they have paid $65 million in cash to get full control of the rest. This will occur this September or in October.

What's Hot In The Antiques
And Collectibles Market?

The following list is from TIAS.com. TIAS sells antiques and collectibles. Here are the most searched words in August 2002:

1. Plates
2. Dolls
3. Teapots
4. Carnival Glass
5. Rings
6. Cookie Jars
7. Lamps
8. Noritake
9. Clocks
10. Avon

Possibly The Most Famous Scam On The Internet

Probably the most famous scam on the net is the “Nigerian” scam. The sorry people who try this one have switched to other countries recently, simply because of the publicity and notoriety. I get this several times a week, and thought that if you had never seen it, you might want to take a peek:

ATTN:URGENT RESPONSE.

SIR, I HAVE BEEN TRYING SINCE TODAY TO CONTACT YOU WITH YOUR PHONE NUMBER BUT I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOUR PHONE NUMBER.PLEASE FAX THE ACCOUNT DETAILS.I HAVE MADE ALL THE NECCESSARY ARRANGEMENT FOR THE SUM OF 12MILLION DOLLARS TO BE TRANSFERED TO YOUR COMPANY ACCOUNT AS PLANNED .ONCE THIS IS DONE AND THE FUND ENTERS YOUR ACCOUNT WE WILL START THE SECOND PHASE OF THE TRANSFER ON INSTALLMENTAL BASIS TILL ALL THE FUND ARE TRANSFERED.PLEASE I WILL WANT YOU TO RECONFIRM THE ACCOUNT DETAILS YOU FORWARDED TO ME IMMEDIATELY BEFORE SUBMITTING THE ACCOUNT DETAILS TO THE BANK ,TO AVOID WRONG TRANSFER OF THESE
FUND.HAVE YOU RECIEVED THE CALL FROM THE FORIEGN EXCHANGE DEPARTMENT OF THE UNION BANK. PLEASE REPLY FAST. THANKS,

DR.BALA

Yeah, right. They're all a variation on the theme that some higher up in a devastated country needs help in getting his zillions of dollars out of the country. And, Lucky You have been chosen for this task – for a percentage of the zillions of dollars, of course. You can be certain that somewhere along the way you will be asked to put up some of your own money for expenses, or good faith, or whatever. Once you do that ... bye, bye money. So, beware of this sleazy con.

Words From A Wise Woman

Wisdom just flows from this story. Even though probably fictional, this woman is my heroine.

The 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud lady, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with her hair fashionably coifed and makeup perfectly applied, even though she is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today. Her husband of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary.

After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, she smiled sweetly when told her room was ready. As she maneuvered her walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of her tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on her window.

"I love it," she stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy. "Mrs. Jones, you haven't seen the room .... just wait."

"That doesn't have anything to do with it," she replied. "Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged ... it's how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it ... It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do. Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I'll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I've stored away ... just for this time in my life. Old age is like a bank account ... you withdraw from what you've put in .. So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories. Thank you for your part in filling my Memory bank. I am still depositing.”

Author Unknown