A vendor having 2000 satisfied customers is a good one to buy from. Check that the ratings go back years. Some scammers can get lots of good reviews by selling cheap items. Then they start selling the expensive rip-off stuff to the marks.
2. Look at completed listings.
These give an idea of how much the going rate is for an item. Whatever the price is now, the item will likely hit the standard second-hand value, so don't get too excited about how cheap it seems.
Everyone bidding knows the true second hand value of the item. They've done their homework. So can you.
3. Buy name brand items.
No-name cheapo brands will lose their resale value fast. It's all about marketing. A name brand will likely have more support and be more reliable. This is especially true of electronics. There are cheap Third World knock-offs of every successful Western good you can think of, even batteries!
4. Look at independent reviews.
Go to a search engine and type in the item name, model number and the word 'review'. You may find that you're onto a good thing, or that there's a better model available. Product comparison sites are good for this. You can read what real purchasers of the item think about it.
5. Pay by credit card.
PayPal is useful for buying on eBay. It puts an extra layer of protection between you and the vendor, and it makes purchasing easier.
6. Save time, use 'Buy It Now'.
Save yourself time and emotional energy. Just buy the thing if the likely winning bid, on a regular auction, is near the 'buy it now' price offered by another vendor. It's not worth getting hyped up about winning or losing an item you can easily buy elsewhere for the same price, with less fuss.
7. Avoid buying from abroad.
The postal costs will be high. They are more likely to be scams. So you're offered a top-of-the-range cellphone or laptop from China, at a steep discount? Be _very_ wary.
You'll not be covered by your country's consumer laws. You'll have to wait weeks for the item. You may have to pay import duty. If you have to post it back, it'll cost a fortune. If it's damaged, and you have to post it back, you'll have a long wait before you get a refund. If you get one at all.
Buying on eBay is great fun. You snag a bargain, and wait like an excited child for the postman to call. Using the tips above, your purchase will more likely be a happy one. Good hunting!
Sure, you can set up a website with some great content and plaster it with banners and links to pages that pre-sell products and then link through to the products themselves.
You can even succeed in making a nice little income this way, provided you are driving enough targeted traffic to your site.
But how much of the traffic drives off again without a trace, never to return?
And how many of the people who do click through and buy the product return to you to buy again?
If your site is well designed and targeted then it is quite possible that some people will return and buy again.
But, how much better would it be if instead of trying to get people to part with their cash as soon as possible, you actually focused less on the quick sale and more on building a relationship with the customer?
By focusing on your prospect's need for trustworthy advice you would stand a much bigger chance of turning your prospect into a life-long customer who trusted you, was eager to hear from you and bought your recommended products time and time again.
Sounds great, doesn't it?
Here is a list of the steps you need to take to move towards a method of marketing that places the customer's needs at the centre and turns the relationship into a dialogue rather than a shouting match!
1. Focus on gaining people's permission for you to contact them about their needs.
Do this by making a squeeze page (or several) and also by adding a form to each page of your website. Include an incentive for people to sign up, like a compelling free report about stuff they need to know but haven't seen elsewhere.
2. Link the form on your page to your autoresponder, which has been pre-loaded with a series of messages that will now go out to the subscriber.
3. While you might like to include a link or two to your products, don't over-do the sales at this stage of the game. Instead, bear in mind that you have yet to win the trust of your reader.
What you have to do in the early stages is set up a dialogue and also provide useful services and recommendations.
To do that, your email newsletters should be packed with useful information that is written in a lively and personal manner and focuses on the customer.
Also, provide free resources, tips and information that are genuinely useful. Don't be afraid to include links to sites other than your own - subscribers will appreciate your generosity and return for more.
4. From time to time make your subscribers a new opt-in offer. Give them a good incentive and require that they give your some more information that you can use to focus on their needs more closely.
Remember that those who opt in to the second list should be removed from the first one.
The customers on your second list are the ones who you have developed a deeper trust-based relationship with and they will be pleased to receive your product recommendations.
That is the list you make your money on in repeat sales and sales of your primary products and services.
But remember, it is also the list you must look after most assiduously. The subscribers on the list have learned to trust you and building trust online with your customers is the key.
If you are tempted to sell them short at this stage for a quick profit, you will soon find that you have succeeded in undermining your credibility and your hard work will have been wasted. Remember, you are seeking to build a long-term relationship of mutual benefit, so don't muff it by succumbing to short-term greed.
I have only described a couple of stages of this "permission marketing" model.
Moving your customers "up the permission-marketing ladder"* is the key to success. It does not have to be just a one-step move. You can implement several steps, each one moving the customer relationship to a higher and more personal level.
This is where you can further categorize your customers through the use of sub-niches. As you talk to your list and invite a response, you should also be prepared to place different responses on different lists at the higher level.
With fewer subscribers on each niche list, you now have the opportunity to get to know each customer more personally and open up several lines of 1-on-1 dialogue with subscribers who are now repeat-buyers.
Because they have moved up several rungs of the permission-marketing ladder you know a lot more about them and are now in a position to offer them exactly what they need, and they are in a position, based on experience to trust your offers and enjoy your mailings.
They are customers who are eager to hear from you and willing to buy from you, so treat their trust like gold-dust.
== NOTE
*See Seth Godin's "Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers into Friends, and Friends Into Customers" (available on Amazon.com)
Both T. O Donnell & David Hurley are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
T. O Donnell has sinced written about articles on various topics from Personal Finance, Fitness and Personal Finance. T. O' Donnell is an entrepreneur publishing , and. T. O Donnell's top article generates over 9900 views. to your Favourites.
David Hurley has sinced written about articles on various topics from Business Loans, Email Advertising and Internet Marketing. David Hurley is based in Japan and is the owner of , which focuses on. David Hurley's top article generates over 27100 views. to your Favourites.