Blog
eBay Advises “Be Patient” with Volcanic Delays
Eyjafjallajokull? At first glance, it may look to an English-speaker like someone was trying to smash a bug walking across a keyboard. It’s actually the name of an ice volcano that has been all over the headlines due to its large ash cloud that poses a risk for jet engines.
Intercontinental flights are resuming across the Atlantic after eruptions from a volcano in Iceland has stranded thousands of travelers. Canceled flights have been a financial disaster for airlines and losses of up to $2 billion USD have been reported. The volcano is still visibly active as of Thursday, according to the Associated Press, content provider of the video above; however, the magma boiling at the surface is preferable to the ashy eruptions and flights are resuming for the first time in a week.
Stories abound about the emotional toll of being stranded. One man, determined not to miss the birth of his child, bought a used vehicle on eBay and drove 1200 miles to avoid the ban on air travel. See story here.
Among the tales of divided families and canceled vacations, the halting of flights filled with commercial cargo may seem of secondary importance. No doubt that passenger planes will be competing with jetliners that ship goods for valuable space on crowded runways across Europe.
An announcement was posted on eBay Monday, advising users to be patient. In a global marketplace, we take for granted the infrastructure that allows people to ship goods from one end of the world to another. Being able to list an item for sale on eBay and attract bids instantly from shoppers across oceans is one advantage that previous generations could hardly fathom. But online consignment stores like easysale.net–with 5 locations in the Dallas metro area pricing, listing, and shipping goods worldwide–may also be affected by this prehistoric force. At this time, there is no way to predict whether further volcanic activity will continue to put international air cargo at risk.
Thinking About a Garage Sale?
Like a car wash or lemonade stand, the garage sale has long been a fixture of the American entrepreneurial spirit. Whether the goal is to make money or get rid of old stuff, it may be time to reconsider this tired practice.
Time is Money
First, consider that you’re signing on for a nearly full-time job for the duration of your sale. Bargain hunters are generally early risers. No matter what you put in your advertisements, “early-birds” will show up before you’re ready for them. You’ll be wearing many hats at once–in charge of set-up, supervision, cash handling, pricing, customer service, loss prevention, and cleaning up what doesn’t sell.
Not to mention the preparation! Signage, print and electronic advertising, maintaining an adequate supply of change, recruiting help… It’s possible to end up with even less money after you set up shop than before.
Even if you’re willing to put in all the work, there are so many factors beyond your control. A rainy day or even an unpleasant wind could make your neighbors reconsider. You may end up choosing a weekend too far from payday or be competing with some television event that’s had a much larger advertising budget than you do. Unless you live in a medium-trafficked area and choose a nice weekend when other people in town are having sales, you’re bound to have a limited amount of customers. The fewer people that see your goods for sale, the less chance you’ll get what it’s worth.
“One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”
This old adage translates very well to the digital age. Considering the options available, it’s no wonder that eBay consignment stores have caught on. At a garage sale, customers can haggle prices down to pennies on the dollar. At an online auction, buyers compete to pay as much as possible for your goods. This can make up for commission, still typically lower than traditional consignment stores.
It’s quite possible that no one in Carrollton on the weekend of your choice has room in their hearts (or living rooms) for your lime green, faux-leather couch; nevertheless, a Hollywood props department may consider it the perfect addition to the set and be willing to pay top dollar at an online auction. Fads long outgrown by your children may be making a comeback somewhere in the world. You may not even know what your disregarded possessions are worth.
Leave it to the Professionals
To be sure, there is a learning curve to starting and streamlining an online presence to actually make money. It may be worth it to consider an eBay store, like Easysale.net. There are five locations in the Dallas / Fort Worth area-Addison, Arlington, Dallas, Plano, or Southlake. The thorough service is worth the commission. You benefit from professional appraisal, photography, publicity, service, and shipping. Success at an online marketplace is often determined by one’s reputation, or seller rating. By choosing a brick-and-mortar store with an online presence such as Easysale, you piggyback upon their reliability and trustworthiness in order for worldwide exposure.
Sure beats taping cardboard to telephone poles at intersections!
Profitable Technology Upgrades
One of the smartest strategies for eBay sellers these days is using the site as a way to profit from upgrades to new technology – whether it’s a personal “tech toy” like the latest e-reader or a mission-critical piece of business equipment. How? By timing the moment when existing technology is “retired” and sold on eBay while it still has a high value, especially to overseas bidders.
For instance, the launch of Apple’s new iPad has sparked a bidding war for Kindles, the popular electronic book reader from Amazon.com. This week, Kindles are selling for an average of just over $200 on eBay. See here
That’s a great deal for American’s looking to pick one up – about 20-25% off the retail price of a new Kindle – and a good return on investment for anyone who is willing to part with one. More importantly, it’s an even more significant savings for a foreign buyer wanting to buy a Kindle.
At North Texas eBay consignment store Easysale, this kind of “upgrade sale” isn’t news, says marketing vice president David Goldstein. In fact, one of the things that has distinguished Easysale from other companies is its strategy of helping businesses upgrade their equipment by selling current inventory at the right time.
“Many of our business clients consign their IT, office, warehouse, or medical equipment to us,” Goldstein explains. “By timing the sale so that the used equipment still has value, you can significantly reduce your cost to acquire the new equipment.”
Who buys used medical office equipment on eBay? Veterinary clinics and overseas medical practices, Goldstein says. “Vets use much of the same equipment as human doctors, from sonogram machines to x-ray machines, but they charge lower prices for procedures. So buying used equipment makes good fiscal sense,” he points out.
For more information on how to sell on eBay, visit Easysale’s website, and check out the “How it Works” section. To see what savvy consignors are selling on eBay this week, click on the “Shop” link at the top of the Easysale home page.
And if you’re among the millions of consumers thinking about that new iPad, or the latest cell phone or game console, consider consigning your older technology on eBay. This week’s hottest searches on eBay include iPod, iTouch, iPod docking stations, and iPhone, along with Android, Blackberry, and Sidekick.
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/43602175@N06/ / CC BY 2.0
eBay Mobile Makes Selling, Buying Easy
Just three weeks after eBay launched its new eBay Mobile apps for buying, selling, and paying for items on the global marketplace, over two million customers have downloaded the new apps for Android, Blackberry, iPad and iPhone.
Over one million customers have downloaded eBay’s new PayPal Mobile iPhone app since it was released on March 15. The application is available for iPhone, Blackberry, and Android smart phones, and lets users pay for online auctions (or other items), collect payments, and manage PayPal accounts from the phone. PayPal Mobile supports 15 different languages, and features a global currency calculator.
Android and iPhone users can use the bump feature, licensed from Bump Technologies to exchange money by simply “bumping” phones.
The new PayPal application is available to download for free at the Apple iTunes store online or the Apple App Store from any iPhone or iPod Touch. For more information on PayPal Mobile, visit https://www.paypal.com/mobile.
It’s all part of a new strategy that eBay expects to generate $1.5 billion in sales from mobile platforms in 2010. That’s more than double its revenue from mobile platforms in 2009, according to columnist Damon Kiesow.
“That’s great news for Easysale buyers and sellers,” said Easysale vice president David Goldstein. “Making it easier for customers to shop while they’re on the go means that customers can bid more easily, especially in the final minutes of a competitive auction, and that results in higher overall sale prices.”
iPhone users can download any of three different applications — one for buying, one for browsing deals and one for creating listings.
One of the inherent challenges for eBay sellers as more and more customers begin to use smart phones to browse eBay and pay for auction purchases with PayPal is the need to make sure that each listing displays well on the new platforms. That’s where the experienced photographers and listings experts at Easysale can make a difference for occasional eBay sellers.
“There’s an art as well as a science to creating an eBay listing that helps your items sell well,” Goldstein says. “And the new platforms really highlight that by putting the emphasis on high-quality photos that look good on multiple devices, and informative headlines that include the key words buyers search for most often.”
For more information on how to sell on eBay, and the many ways that using an eBay consignment store can boost the selling price for collectibles, antiques, and other household items, visit any of the Easysale locations in Addison, Arlington, Dallas, Plano or Southlake or visit the Easysale website.
Photo credit: These photos were released to bloggers and the media by eBay, Inc.
eBay Launches iPad App
On Saturday, April 3, when millions of people were lining up to pick up the Apple iPad, eBay was busy launching its new iPad application. eBay for iPad is a free application is available in English, Spanish, French, Italian, and German, and is available now for download from the iTunes Store.
According to tech guru and journalist Harry McCracken, eBay decided not to duplicate its existing iPhone version or bring all the features from eBay.com to the new platform. Instead, they decided to focus on a new user interface that is optimized for browsing the site on an iPad.
The eBay iPad application does away with the classic eBay list of items. Instead, there’s a large gallery of images, and users scroll through a procession of product photos and short descriptions (no more multiple pages of listings). To bid, or read all the details, a tap of the finger brings up the full listing, or you can display a full-screen version of the image.
Included in this article are some screen shots of the new application that eBay supplied to journalists and bloggers late last week, showing how the new application works. From the top is the main eBay application page, where users enter their search criteria, followed by a gallery of images in a specific category, and details of one item. A full-screen view of the main gallery image is also available in the application, but is now shown here.
The new focus on graphics and high-resolution photos means that the quality of photos used in eBay listings is going to be increasingly important, according to David Goldstein, vice president of marketing at Dallas eBay consignment store Easysale, Inc. “We use studio-quality photography equipment to shoot up to 25 photographs of each item that we sell on eBay,” Goldstein noted. “The quality of our photography has always been one of the reasons that the items we sell get higher bids than similar items listed by individual sellers, and we think the new platform will increase the importance of high-quality images.”
With industry analysts projecting that iPad sales will be between 1.5 million and 6 million units between its launch and the end of June , the new platform could begin to affect eBay sellers quickly, Goldstein said.
For more information on how to sell on eBay, and the many ways that using an eBay consignment store can boost the selling price for collectibles, antiques, and other household items, visit any of the Easysale locations in Addison, Arlington, Dallas, Plano or Southlake or visit the Easysale website.
Photo Credit: The images included here are press photos released by eBay, Inc.