You are here: Home / Archives for WAHM Business

Organize Your eBay Workspace

November 10, 2011 By Leave a Comment

A neat and organized workspace always makes me feel refreshed and ready to get things accomplished.
I thrive on a clean work area. For me there is nothing worse than sitting down to a mess of paperwork in front of my computer. Or having to step over piles of items that need to be photographed and listed to my eBay store. It is so UN-motivating.

Do you have piles of papers; packing slips and invoices that need filing, or articles that have been printed out and have yet to be read? Try this: It’s what I call the ‘paper game’. Take the pile of papers stacked in front of you and make them go away for good. And I don’t mean just throwing them in the trash.

Starting at the top of the pile, take the first piece of paperwork and don’t put it down until it has reached it’s appropriate place. Keep doing this with each piece of paperwork until you have made the entire pile disappear.

Now on to your eBay inventory. This can be a tough one for some of us – that’s OK. How you keep things organized may depend on the type of items that you sell. Storing clothing is easier than storing toys. I started out using the big rubber bin method:

So, yeah I’m 5ft. tall, and as my business grew so did my bins – all the way to the ceiling! I found this to not be the most effective way to organize. Nor a productive use of time when I had to spend time searching for an item to ship and it happened to be in the very bottom bin!
So I cleaned up my bins and switched to the shelving method:

I found this to be MUCH more organized. When I have an item sell, I can see it, just reach out and grab it in seconds, and ship it on to the buyer. I just feel much happier with an organized space. Oh, and the treadmill in the last picture – sold it on eBay.

How do you organize your space? Leave a comment below with your organizational tips and ideas.

Share
Filed Under: eBay Selling, WAHM Business Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Home Again in 2010

November 8, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Who doesn’t enjoy a good accomplishment?  An accomplishment I just HAD to reach.  A huge accomplishment that put a fire in me.

I had something that I was recently working towards.  It was so important to me, but at times I felt stuck.  A few years ago my husband’s job became unpredictable due to the fluctuations in the economy.  It was a scary time, and as such my natural instincts were to protect my family.  We spent a lot of time considering what to do in order for us to survive.  My work online helped a ton with our expenses, but it came down to needing health insurance.  So, I went back to working a “normal” job.  Even though I had not been in the working world for over 4 years, since the birth of our first daughter.  It was incredibly tough to leave her, even though I knew she was in good hands as she started Pre-K.  I also was secure in that we were prepared if anything should happen to my husband’s job, and that did wind up happening.

Jump ahead a few years – it was a tough ride!  We added another addition to our family, and my husband landed a job but makes half what he was making before.

That whole time I kept working on Boutique Bargains and selling on eBay.  I wanted to be back home so bad!  What did I do to accomplish this?  Late nights, early mornings, outsourcing, joint ventures, anything to keep my business growing.  Plus keep up with my two growing girls.

I love what I do, and I wanted to be home with my girls again and did anything I could to make it happen.  I knew in my heart that I would someday be able to leave my job and still feel comfortable that my family would have what they needed.
The biggest step to my being home full time again was my husband getting new health insurance through his job.

My goal was to be home again full time in 2010, and I made it!

 

Share
Filed Under: eBay Selling, Success Stories, WAHM Business Tagged With: , , , , , ,

How Do I Find Time for eBay Without Completely Neglecting My Kids?

November 3, 2011 By Leave a Comment

A concern that many eBay moms have. You want to do well selling on eBay, but no one wants to neglect their kids. When I first started on eBay about 10 years ago I didn’t have kids.

Well now I have two; one school age and the other a toddler – and things have changed. With the younger one I was trying to remember what I did with my older child when she was that young. For the most part, I try not to work when my kids are around. I need to be able to concentrate, so it is better for all of us if I focus on them.

Thankfully, I now have one in school full time – so it is a bit easier to manage. During nap time I can get through emails and make any phone calls, and also run around and get some housework done. I’m also able to get pictures taken and edited, ready to use in my eBay listings.

When my oldest gets home from school, I help with homework, cook dinner, and get them both into a bedtime routine. Work will not be on my mind again until they are both in bed. That is when I take the time to list anything that I’ve taken pictures of, write blog posts, and check email again before I head to bed!

My oldest is now also able to help me get eBay items ready for pictures and even help me organize inventory for a small allowance. She has also become a great mommy’s helper at times when I have an urgent email to answer or an important phone call to take.
These are just the things that work for me ‘most’ of the time. I’m able to keep up with things. I find it much easier to do a little each day than fall totally behind. I have found it much harder to catch up once I have fallen behind.

I would love to hear how other eBay or work-at-home mom’s manage their business with kids at home, so please leave a comment below.

Share
Filed Under: eBay Selling, WAHM Business Tagged With: , , , ,

Time to Purge…Your Email

October 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment

From iGoogle WordMonkey Dictionary:
Purge: noun
3. the act of clearing yourself (or another) from some stigma or charge
4. an act of removing by cleansing; ridding of sediment or other undesired elements

I have recently began dreading opening my email inbox. This may surprise many of my blog followers. I truly enjoy what I do, and it requires a lot of communication, research, and follow-up. However, lately my inbox has gotten over-run with newsletters and offers that I signed up to receive from other online marketers and retail locations.

I can usually easily get through 300 emails a day. It may take me an hour to get through ONE email account, and I have three email accounts that I regularly use each day. One is for personal emails and the other two for business related email. While I think it is important to keep my personal and business emails separate – I no longer need to have two business accounts. Recently, I have found that I am spending more time deleting emails than actually reading the emails being sent to me! One day while I was feverishly deleting those extra emails – I realized I could just as easily be unsubscribing to all these emails, instead of wasting the time deleting them day after day!

So I am purging! I am trying to work smarter about what email I need to receive in order to help my business keep growing. I organized Google (Gmail) for business where I can set up folders for each email to be automatically sent to and filed. Each day I will be able to scan the ‘money maker’ folders and work on the ‘learning’ folders at my leisure. Taking this action is going to save me some time that I can then put into my business.

So if you are feeling discouraged by your inbox each day, go through and purge a few emails yourself. It’ll make you feel better about your email and save you some time in the future.

Share
Filed Under: Blogging, WAHM Business Tagged With: , , , , , ,

What Do You Do With Your Kids While You Work On eBay?

September 8, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Probably one of the toughest challenges for many moms (and dads) starting out on eBay. Every child is different. There are going to be different work schedules that work for each of us. My youngest is now in school. Raising both my girls while working from home is something I will never regret and something that I will treasure forever.

At first I had to learn my daughter’s schedule, I had to adapt to when I could work and when I could not. As an infant, when she napped in between feedings I would work in a frenzy on eBay related tasks. Here are a few tips I picked up with my girls:

Make a To Do List
It’s a MUST HAVE as a new mom. I’m still not sure what happened to my brain after my babies were born, but suddenly forgetfulness was a constant obstacle. Probably the lack of sleep had a lot to do with it. By making a list you guarantee that you have something to accomplish each day.

Patience Is a Virtue
Remember, your main goal for working from home is to be at home with your kids. If you find yourself in the middle of photographing items for eBay and baby needs to be fed – feed the baby! A happy baby equals a happy mommy. One of the best things about working from home, is that you can do things at your own pace. You are your own boss. As my daughters got older, learning independent play was a blessing in disguise. They would be right next to me in my office playing with their toys. Although I wasn’t interacting with her all the time, I could still be there if she needed anything. She was always content and happy with plenty to stimulate her mind.

The Toddler Years
Those toddler years seem to come fast, don’t they?! It may actually work to your advantage! They are now able to follow directions and even want to be mommy’s helper whenever possible. So, let them help!

Share the Photographing
We have a spare camera to let them ‘help mommy’ take pictures. It came in really handy when I had to get things to auction on eBay and my little one was determined to help.

Stickers and Balloons
I’m not sure why kids find these two things so fascinating. You know the small helium tanks that you can get at the party store? They even come with a bag of balloons, and maybe even stickers for funny faces. It is amazing how long a toddler will stay occupied when you blow up a few balloons and let them go crazy with a sheet of stickers! The helium tank lasts a long time, and is definitely something that can be used again and again!

Be Flexible
My second daughter was totally different than my first. I tried all the same tricks that I did with my first, and had to come up with a few new ones. I even had to change my work schedule from working early mornings to working late nights.

Best of luck and keep at it!

Share
Filed Under: eBay Selling, WAHM Business Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Ideas for Marketing Your eBay Auctions

August 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment

As with most selling on eBay you want to make a profit. Since everyday more and more people are selling on eBay, you may need want to try a little extra marketing to help make a good profit on your auctions.

Most of us thing of online retail stores and online websites when considering internet marketing. Although you may not be running your own online retail store, you are trying to make a profit online. This makes you similar to other online retailers. Just simply listing your items on eBay will get you exposure for those items, but you may want to take it a step further. There are several ways to market your eBay items online, without spending any money.


Join the eBay Community

Possibly one of the best ways to market you eBay items is by joining the eBay community or eBay message boards. When you chat with other eBay community members the screen name used in the community is the same as your eBay seller id. When you post in the eBay community forum your name is posted with it and it is linked to your main eBay webpage, the page that shows all your currently listed items. This works whether you are posting a new message or just responding to an existing message. Many eBay community members will click on other member’s pages just out of curiousity and they may very well see something that they may be interested in. So simply starting a few conversations with other eBay community members may up your eBay exposure, even if you only do it occasionally.

Post on Other Message Boards

This is another relatively easy way to get more exposure to your eBay listings. Many message boards allow members to post information on items that they are selling both on and off eBay. Placing a link and a short description of an item or items that you have for sale can increase your auctions’ exposure and help increase your chances of getting a sale. An important note if you choose to try this internet marketing approach, only advertise in areas designated for doing so. Spamming is not permitted on many message boards and may even get you a bad online reputation.

Use Your Signature

Many online message boards and forums allow you to have a custom signature. Signatures are commonly used by people to leave their name or a favorite quote, but some message boards allow members to use their signature as a space to promote products or businesses. Before you start posting a link to your eBay auctions, be sure to take a look at the online message board’s policy concerning signature advertising. If it is allowed, take advantage of this free internet marketing. Your link should go to your eBay sales page, but make sure clickers know that they will be going to eBay.

“Check My Other Listings”

My last easy way to market and promote your eBay auction listings, especially if you have multiple auction listings, is by putting a “please checkout my other eBay auctions” message at the end of all your eBay listings. Link this to your eBay sales page. As with all the internet marketing ideas, it is easy and free to do.

Share
Filed Under: eBay Selling, WAHM Business Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Cashing in on Weird eBay Auctions

June 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment

To start with eBay and other online auction sites had been frequented by thrift shoppers and bargain hunters looking for surplus or cheap used products. However, in the last few years a new type of eBay seller has been coming up with very unique and unusual eBay auction listings.

Encouraged by the recent auction sales of the online casino GoldenPalace, and a grilled cheese sandwich that has the image of Virgin Mary that sold for $15,000, and the sale of advertising space on a pregnant woman’s tummy, sellers are taking a second look at eBay’s ‘Everything Else’ category. They are especially looking at the subcategories or ‘Advertising Opportunities’ and ‘Weird Stuff’.

Not just a few of those sellers have been successful. On August 23, 2005, GoldenPalace casino paid $18,000 to be able to shave a woman’s head and put a permanent tattoo of the website address for their popular online poker room, on her bare head.

Molly Demers, the eBay seller, agreed to wear the casino’s brand on the top and back of her bald head for an entire year.

Another woman from Utah, now known as “ForeheadGoldie” on eBay, was paid $10,000 for agreeing to permanently tattoo the website address on her forehead. Using eBay’s ‘Buy It Now’ option, GoldenPalace purchased the right to place a permanent ad tattoo on Karolyne Smith’s forehead, thus making her the first female to have a casino leave their brand mark on her for life.

There are also several unique and odd items such as tushy-shaped apples, dead flies, haunted items, and even change-my-name auctions that have been sold for outrageous prices by little-known buyers who were looking to make news for themselves.

Weird auctions have become more popular because of websites that have started up just to feature these auctions, all hoping to cash in on the potential revenue from sellers’ advertisements and eBay affiliate commissions. There are even some humor websites that created auction pages to catch the bandwagon.

How Do You Benefit…

If you have a website or online business, this could be an opportune time for you to look into these weird auctions and see how they might benefit you. Here are a few ideas:

- As an eBay seller, you could list a weird auction and have it featured by sites like WeirdBids.com or BuyWeird.com. This would drive traffic to your other more “usual” auction items. This is a strategy utilized by some eBay stores who see the potential traffic that these weird auctions can bring.

I have even seen sales for some eBay sellers skyrocket as a result of the number of people viewing their weird auctions, who were curious and looked at their other auction items.

- As an eBay member, you can get free promotion by just bidding on these weird auctions. Your name shoes up on the frontpage if you place the winning bid, or on the Bid History if you get outbid. Curious viewers may then check out your About Me page, where you of course have mentioned your business.

- Develop your own auction-related website and then contact the sellers of some weird auctions to see if they will mention your site in exchange for free advertising of their auction. Take advantage of eBay’s affiliate program and the possibility of direct advertising on your site. Before doing this, be sure to offer value services on your site to keep your traffic going.

There are many many possibilities, you don’t even have to be an eBay seller to benefit from these weird auctions.

Share
Filed Under: eBay Selling, WAHM Business Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Use eBay to Build Your Online Business

June 21, 2011 By 1 Comment

Most people who are making money on eBay don’t primarily get all their income from eBay. They have found that there are many ways you can use eBay to give your existing business a boost.

Stock for Sale

You can sell leftover stock or used items from another business on eBay. This can create a great solution for eliminating those items that won’t sell. For example, items that you have found to no longer be in demand in the city or town that your business is located, or items that just didn’t sell in your shop.

If you know what you are doing, this can be a great way to make some extra money. A plus is that you are already an expert in the items you are selling, as you use them everyday in your business. You can also be assured of the high quality of the items you are selling since they come from your own stock. Think of eBay as just a new market for you to sell your old inventory.

On top of that, every time you sell something helps you build a good eBay reputation that can help you as a buyer. Also, if you should ever want something for your business, there is a good chance that you will be able to get it on eBay for a discount.

Sales and Advertising

This is where the power of eBay truly lies. As an eBay seller you are given an “About Me” page, where you are allowed to write anything you would like and link to anywhere on the internet. Meaning that you can use it to build traffic to your website. You just link to your website from the “About Me” page and link to your “About Me” page from every auction you list.

To get started creating your “About Me” page, click on “Community” in the toolbar. Then scroll to the bottom of the page and click “Create an About Me page”. You will next be given the option of entering your own HTML or letting eBay guide you through the process. All you need to do is describe a little about your website, add a link to it, and you are done. You will notice an immediate increase in traffic to your site.  To learn more about utilizing your eBay “About Me” page, check out my posting all about why you should have an “About Me” page on eBay.

Thousands of people swear by this technique to drive traffic from eBay to their website. Include a little persuasive sales copy on your website, and you may be able to sell directly to buyers, eliminating the eBay middleman. Even better is that all that traffic is targeted, as those who click through were already interested in your auction to begin with.

This technique can be especially beneficial to anyone who already has an e-commerce site. Even if you don’t already, you may find it worth your time to set up a website that does nothing more than list your eBay inventory with a few dollars discount on each item and a PayPal “Buy Now” button for each item. Then make sure you have a link that reads “Visit my website for even more bargains” on your “About Me” eBay page and you are all set.

Hope these techniques to help grow your business bring you success in your online business endeavors.

Share
Filed Under: eBay Selling, WAHM Business Tagged With: , , , , , ,

eBay Sellers – Why You Should Accept PayPal

June 2, 2011 By Leave a Comment

In the past few years eBay has become an online marketplace where almost anyone can make money. It is even possible to make enough money on eBay to support yourself and your family financially.

It may be somewhat easy to make money on eBay, but as an eBay seller there are a several things that factor into your success. For example, having good quality items to sell, providing detailed descriptions of the items, and including accurate pictures of the items. These may be some of the most important parts of being a successful eBay seller, but there is another part that can be just as important, the methods of payment you accept. For the best chance at getting bids on your auctions you will want to accept a range of payment options, including PayPal.

PayPal is one of the most routinely accepted payment methods on eBay. Despite the popularity of buyers using PayPal, there are still several sellers who don’t accept it as a form of payment. If you have not already set up a PayPal account in connection with your eBay seller account, you may want to take some time and do so now. It is still possible to make money on eBay without accepting PayPal for payments, but you increase your chances of success by including it as an option. That is why I strongly recommend you at least look into setting up a PayPal account right away.

When you do decide to set up your PayPal account, you will notice that you have a choice between having a personal account or a business account. The best way to make the most out of eBay and PayPal is to get a business account, this enables you to also accept credit cards as a payment method. The only difference between getting a personal PayPal account and getting a business PayPal account is the fees. The fees from PayPal will vary, but you are charged a small fee every time that someone (an eBay buyer) sends you a payment.

Don’t let the idea of these extra fees from PayPal put you off – by also accepting PayPal as a payment method, you are likely to get more sales, as well as higher ending bids on products you sell. Especially, since more and more eBay buyers are coming to depend on PayPal to shop online. This will make those fees seem nominal, as they easily pay for themselves over time and you continue to make more profit. Not to mention that from a business standpoint those PayPal fees can be a tax deduction.

Of the many reasons that eBay buyers like to use PayPal, the most important is the sense of security they get by using the service. When a buyer uses PayPal to buy an item from you on eBay, they do not have to directly provide you with their debit or credit card number or their bank account information. This information is stored in the secure PayPal system. It’s also easy for eBay buyers to use, they simply follow the instructions on the invoice you send them from eBay or through eBay’s checkout service, enter their PayPal sign in information, click a few confirmation buttons, and they are done. Without having to exchange any important information.

If you have not already begun accepting PayPal, you will want to consider the various benefits of doing so. To get more information about PayPal, go to their online website at PayPal.com.

Share
Filed Under: eBay Selling, WAHM Business Tagged With: , , , ,

eBay Consignment Centers – How Do They Work?

May 24, 2011 By Leave a Comment

You may not be familiar with eBay consignment centers, but don’t worry lots of people aren’t. The concept of eBay consignment centers is still fairly new. The idea behind it is that you drop off anything you want sold, and then the consignment center will sell the items on eBay for you and then share the profits. This is somewhat similar to the eBay trading assistant.

Sell at Consignment Centers

Find something that you no longer want and take it to a consignment center. They will sell it for you on eBay, they handle the listing, description, and even ship the item for you.

However, by selling through a consignment center you do give up some of the the profit, not to mention the loss of control over your auctions. There is no way of knowing if they got the best price possible. Chances are they will only give you a fraction of the item’s real value. eBay consignment centers are a risk, but if you don’t want to do the work, worth looking into.

You Can Be the Consignment Center

A better option may be for you to begin your own eBay consignment center for the non-eBay using public where you live. After you have began selling on eBay for yourself, have had some experience doing so, and told a few people about it – you may have a friend approach you about selling something for them on eBay. Go ahead and give it a try. If you enjoy doing it, then you may consider starting up your own consignment center business.

Put an ad similar to this in your local newspaper, craigslist, or anywhere you think appropriate:

Have too much stuff? Clear some space and make some money! I will come and help clean out some of your old stuff that is taking up all your space, and then give you cash for the lot. I am currently seeking items to sell on eBay and would love to sell your stuff. Contact me at [your number and/or email].

Stop by a few people’s homes and select a few things that you think are sellable, giving the items’ owners a sensible amount for them. Be careful not to give them too much, as they don’t know how much the items are worth. It’s best to try and take things that are part of a set or collection, so you can sell lots of the same kind of items. You are in a strong position: why would they say no when you are offering them money for their items that they no longer want.

The best way to be successful doing this is to know what you are doing. You want to be able to spot high-value items when you see them, regardless of what it might be. You may also want to consider opening a new eBay seller account to sell the items you get from others. You can’t guaranty quality, and you want to use your regular account only to sell the kind of items that you decided to be an expert in selling.

Many sellers don’t realize that when they sell some items they may need to change their strategy depending on what season it is. Some things sell for different prices depending on the time of year. I’ll try to cover this in a future blog post.

Share
Filed Under: eBay Selling, WAHM Business Tagged With: , , , , , ,
« Older Posts
Newer Posts »