How to Reach Page One on eBay?

Reaching Page one on the eBay "Best Match" search is essential for any eBay business that wants to successfully make money on eBay.

Reaching page one on eBay for your specific keyword may seem an impossible task for any "newbie" seller. Hopefully after you have read this article, you will understand how the system works and it won't seem such a daunting task.

For those of you who have been living in a cave for the last five years, you may not be aware that eBay scrapped the old default search of "time ending soonest" in 2007 and now all searches are now automatically sorted by "best match"

If you are running "buy it now" listings, it is very important that you understand how the "best match" system works before you start your eBay business as this is the key to seeing your listing on the first page of eBay. Once you reach the first page of eBay for a particular keyword, you will instantly increase the visibility of your listings, which will lead to more sales and best of all, you will start to make money on eBay.

If you want to make money on eBay and take your eBay business to the next level, there are the five factors you need to take into consideration to ensure that you reach page one for your listing.

1. Title Keywords and Relevance

eBay's new search system will always send potential buyers to the listings with the most relevant keywords. For example, if hundreds of people searched for "iPhone cases" and found a a particular item and added it to their "watch list" and then went on to buy the item, eBay would see these keywords and item as being popular and relevant. As a result, it will have a positive effect on your listing and you will see a noticeable increase in your page rank. I remember years ago, I always used to see listings that had "LOOK" and "WOW" in the listing title. If you put these words in your listing, it won't go down to well with eBay's new search system as they will see these keywords as irrelevant. So, whatever you do, if you want to reach page one, don't use these keywords! If you do, you will be preventing your products from showing in the search results as your keywords will not match the search criteria. As a result, no one will view your listing and if you haven't got anybody viewing any of your listings, you won't make any sales! If you don't make any sales, you will slide further and further down the search. So please take my advice and avoid these words!

Always think carefully and the keywords you chose as you only have 55 characters to work with, so don't waste them! Before you list your item, think about what words you would add in the search bar? Look at your competitors listings and take note of the keywords they use.

2. Item and Postage Price

When deciding your postage costs, do a quick search on eBay and look at your competition. What is their postage price? eBay state that items with reasonable postage charges will feature higher in searches. By 'reasonable' this means that your postage charges should be similar to other sellers listing similar items. Try not to list an item with a really low price and a huge postage charge because this will not help your search placement and eBay's algorithm will see this as trying to avoid their fees and will punish you for it. (Remember you don't pay fees on your postage costs)

A product that is listed at £8.99 with £1.50 postage will be classed as better value and therefore a better 'Best Match' than a product that is listed at £1.50 with £8.99 postage. So, as long as you price your items and your postage costs at a competitive price you will achieve a high position in the eBay search. If you can, try and list items with free postage as eBay has started to favour items that offer free postage and will list them higher in the search. Obviously, your postage will not be free, so try and cover your losses by increasing you product price slightly. Also, if you offer free postage, you cannot get marked down on your detailed seller ratings for postage.

3. Recent Sales

Every time you sell an item on eBay, the "Best Match" algorithm sees this as a positive and your product will rise in the eBay search. I recommend that you run a 30 day or good till cancelled listing if you are able to re-stock without any issues. If you have an eBay shop, you can set up a "Good till Cancelled" listing that runs listings until you cancel them! This way, you can leave your listing running, let you sales build up and revise the quantity of stock available when you get more stock. If you use this method, you should reach page one within 10 or so sales if your niche isn't competitive. If you list your item for a 30 day period you can't change the title, category or the condition of your item as this will wipe out your sales history and you will have to start again. If you do manage to run out stock, make sure that you relist it within 7 days (without any changes as mentioned above) This will keep your sales history intact and your search standing unaffected.

4. Detailed Seller Ratings

Detailed Seller Ratings will also affect your search location. Try not to allow any of your detailed seller ratings to fall below a rating of 4.4 as your listings will appear lower in the search results. Try and provide good customer service, free and fast postage and answer any questions promptly to keep your ratings up so that your search position is not affected. I cannot stress the importance of maintaining high detailed seller ratings. If you do suffer with low ratings, I would suggest that you open up a new account and start from fresh. Having low detailed seller ratings not only effects your listing position, it also prevents you from reaching "Top Seller" status on eBay. Being a "Top Seller" on eBay entitles you to reduced eBay fees and many more perks, so it is essential to maintain high ratings.

5. Listing Duration

As discussed earlier, the longer your listing runs for, the better it will perform in the search. Always use 30 day or good till cancelled listings when listing your items and keep re-stocking and you will reach page one in no time.

So, here is a quick summary:

• Only use relevant title keywords. Don't use "Wow" or "Look"

• Use '30 day' or 'Good till Cancelled' listings at all times and keep re-stocking.

• Don't change the title, category or the condition of your 30 day listing as this will wipe out your sales history

• Offer free or very low postage and post quickly.

• Offer good customer service so that your detailed seller ratings stay high

• Check out your competitions keywords before listing.

Auction Storage Units and How They Work   Best Tips on How to Use eBay to Make Money Online   What Are Some Good Ways To Make Money On eBay?   Four eBay Money Making Ideas   More People Are Now Shopping At Online Auction Sites   

What Storage Unit Auctions Are

Storage unit auctions are open to the general public with most bidders buying valuables for the purpose of reselling them for profit. These auctions are a great way to buy secondhand merchandise for pennies on the wholesale dollar. If you are someone who sells at flea markets, garage sales or on eBay, you will probably find storage auctions to be one of your best sources for merchandise.

If you want to get into this fantastic means of making easy money, come to a scheduled action at least 10-15 minutes before the auction starts. By doing so, you will know the bidding rules and mechanics. The self-storage facility or auctioneer will have participants fill a sign-in sheet and then read the company's rules as well as the terms and conditions of the auction.

The terms and conditions will vary with each site. Most auctions are done verbally in contrast to sealed bids in other negotiated contracts in which documents are exchanged without a word. In storage unit auctions, cash is the only acceptable form of payment and sales tax will be charged if the buyer cannot show a valid resale license and proper identification.

Storage auctions are indeed very much different from most types of auctions. Here, you usually bid on the entire contents of a unit or lot. These units are viewed by bidders one after the other, which viewing is confined to the doorway entrance of the storage unit or container.

The bidding starts after all bidders have done their appraisal of the property. Bids sometimes start out as low as $1 and can go upwards depending on the property being sold and the interest of participants to place higher bids. Experience shows that the average price quotation for storage unit lots or units is $300. Once the highest bidder wins, he is expected to clean out all the content of the unit within the time specified by the self-storage facility.

You really never know what you will find in a unit. Most items are general household goods, furniture, electronic, clothing and personal records. Winning bidders sometimes find money, jewelry, antiques and collectibles at these auctions. It is not uncommon to find someone's whole household or business in a unit, which means that you could end up with someone's life collection. Remember, you are viewing the property from an open entrance into a storage unit or container such that boxes and plastics storage containers can yield almost anything. Some units are packed so tight that you won't have the luxury of getting a view of the items.

You can find out through various sources where storage auctions take place. There are legal notices in newspapers, web sites and auctioneers who all provide very limited schedules of self storage auctions. By using all these sources it is impossible to find out when and where all these auctions will be conducted. Calling the different self-storage companies will give you the best results.

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Think Organically, Not Pragmatically

Last year I spoke at a pastor's conference and my theme was "Think Organically, Not Pragmatically." The Church is a living organism. It is not something that was brought into being by the planning and strategy of man. Neither does it grow by carnal ambition or program-driven activity. Jesus said, "The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how" (Mark 4:26-27 - emphasis mine).

Whilst God uses us to sow and water the seed of the Word, yet it is He who gives the increase. Only God can impart spiritual life. Jesus said the wind blows where it chooses. We hear its sound, we know which direction it is blowing from, but we cannot determine when and how it will blow. So it is with those who are born again. It is the work of the Spirit.

And spiritual growth is not something that can be manufactured or manipulated. People do not grow because we tell them to or because we get them hyped into a frenzy. They grow because they have life. There's nothing more natural than growth. Growth is only an expansion of the life we already possess. Just like plant life, people grow when they are placed in the right environment. Peter says we are to, "Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Pet.3:18). A Christian may be stunted in their growth for years. But place them in an environment of grace where Jesus is constantly being unveiled through the Word, and then watch them grow!

We can easily forget that the Church is a living organism and when we do we tend to operate pragmatically. We think we have to do things to make the Church grow. When this happens, in a subtle way, the living organism becomes an institutional organisation.

A Living Organism, Or An Institutional Organisation?

What's the difference between the Church as an organism and the Church as an organisation? Here are some distinctions:

1. As an organisation the Church is an institution governed by the appointed board. As an organism the Church is the Body of Christ directed by Jesus the living Head.

2. As an organisation the system determines the way we will function. As an organism our spiritual gifts determine the way we will function.

3. In the Church as an organisation, growth may be measured in terms of numerical increase and facility expansion. In the Church as an organism, growth is measured by conformity to the image of Christ.

4. The power of the Church as an organisation is in the rules of the system. The power of the Church as an organism is the life of the Spirit.

5. In an organisation the leadership control the people. In an organism the leadership empower the people.

6. The Church as an organisation encourages co-dependency. The Church as an organism encourages Christ-dependency.

7. The Church as an organisation emphasizes the event. The bigger, the better. The Church as an organism emphasizes the journey.

8. In the Church as an organisation the leader is the anointed superstar. In the Church as an organism, there are no superstars, but everyone is anointed.

9. The people are responsible for building the Church as an organisation. Christ builds the Church as an organism.

10. In the Church as an organisation, success is measured by results. In the Church as an organism, success is measured by obedience.

I am certainly not suggesting that every local church is like the organisation model, or that your church is; but I am sure that this is what Jesus encountered at the self-made church in Laodicea. He said to them, "... you say, 'I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing'-and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked" (Rev.3:17). This church had everything - except Jesus. He was on the outside, knocking at the door! The Head was detached from the body! Someone once said that if the Holy Spirit was taken from the Church, 80% of it would carry on as normal.

When we were first saved it was all about Jesus. If you have made it all about the organisation, and you are weary of empty, hollow activity, He is standing at the door of your heart today. He wants to come in and make it all about a relationship with Him. The door handle is on our side. Your call.

What Is the Soul?   Christmas the Religious Day Observed By Both Christians and Non-Christians   Shuffled Priorities   Love Is an Act of the Will, Not a Burst of Emotions   Abraham's Thoughts While Preparing to Sacrifice Isaac   There Is A Civil War Coming In The Church!   

3 Models of Christian Mentoring

For those interested in growth over the lifespan there can be no better aid, notwithstanding a relationship with Jesus Christ, than mentoring. When we consider that we either grow or regress in life, it pays to plan for growth. Growth is true success. But growth is such an abstract concept.

Because it is impossible to chart our progress, mentoring helps simply chart the journey. It makes nothing of measuring the immeasurable. It works on the observable, on opportunities for strengthening our strengths, and on honing what is identified by the person being mentored as problematic.

Mentoring involves the assistance of a discipler, spiritual guide, coach, counsellor, teacher, sponsor, and hero. And these roles can be combined into three modes of mentoring: intensive, occasional, and passive.

1. INTENSIVE MENTORING

This concentrated variety of mentoring encompasses the roles of discipler, spiritual guide, and coach. This intensive process involves equipping those being mentored with the basics for following Christ, engaging them for accountability and for the provision of direction and insight, and for motivation and skill development.

The style of mentoring is likely to be frequent, targeted, and possibly directive. This is the most deliberate style of mentoring. We can imagine those involved in this mentoring meeting fortnightly.

2. OCCASIONAL MENTORING

With less directive mentoring the roles of counsellor, teacher, and sponsor come into effect. What is less directive is less deliberate. The mentor under this regime is more of a wise friend than an accountability partner, though wise friends will always step into the breach.

The counsellor provides the subtleties of timely advice and correct perspectives on views of self and others, circumstances, and ministry. The teacher will help with knowledge and understanding in a particular subject. The sponsor provides career guidance and protection as the person being mentored moves through organisational strata.

Being less directive and less deliberate, those engaged in this mentoring would meet 4-6 weekly. It is intentionally a hands-off process and it's typically driven by the person being mentored.

3. PASSIVE MENTORING

Role models or heroes best suit the idea of the mentor in passive mentoring.

This usually involves no relationship at all, as the 'mentor' is a contemporary or historical figure we simply admire, observe, and try to be like. We emulate what they do and teach by reading what they wrote or listening to what they say or said. This sort of mentoring has influenced every single one of us. Every one of us has had a hero we looked up to.

***

Growth is our opportunity to advance in the faith, enabling us to love and serve others better, to live more hopefully, and to worship God more fully. Mentoring is central to growth. It is a very wise and godly thing to come under the charge of good mentoring.

© 2012 S. J. Wickham.

Further Reading: Paul D. Stanley & J. Robert Clinton, Connecting: The Mentoring Relationships You Need to Succeed in Life (Colorado Springs, Colorado: NavPress, 1992). The three models proposed above are sourced from this text.

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Are Muslim Immigrants Humble Guests Or Aggressive Invaders

With all the uproar about how the world is changing to conform with the demands of immigrant Muslim demands, I felt it was the right time to make a statement. Feel free to distribute this article as you wish.

There are many examples such as creating special time slots for swimming pools and sports games, and the rescheduling of university exams because they were on a Sunday, which was a time for Muslim prayers.

What about the rights of the Christians, Jews, Hindus, Sikhs, and other various religions who had no objection to taking the exam on a Sunday yet had to rearrange their lives to suit the Muslims. This is Canada, not a Muslim country but a Christian one. They do not make exceptions for the Jews when some events are held on a Saturday, their holy day.

Europe is even worse, although Australia is standing up to a degree. With all the animosity that is brewing, we must consider some very important facts about the religion of Islam.

The koran, like other religions, teaches the basic morals and good ethics required to be a decent human being. One very important principle is Adab. This very profound quality of character that must be cultivated covers too many english words to describe, but the basic principle is good conduct. Adab teaches how to be a good guest conforming to the rules of the host and culture.

Adab is a main tenet of the Islamic tradition and the demands that the guests are making on the host countries are in total opposition to its principles: Respect your host, respect all beings, do not disturb others in their way of life.

The importance of adab is beautifully summed up in the words of Ibn A'rabi, the greatest of Sufi saints and teachers, when he said; "100% of your spiritual growth is dependent on your adab."

Anyone who does not follow or agree with this principle, or would follow the muslim tenet that everyone must be converted to Islam or die, is not coming as a guest but rather is coming as an invader to conquer people in another land.

The point I would like to make is that immigrants either conform to the customs, laws and culture of the host country or be treated as invaders and deported. Anyone who goes to another person's home or another country and says; you must do it my way, should be treated as an invader, if not simply as too rude to be welcome in your home.

Since the changes being demanded concern religious regulations, such actions could be compared to a form of Jihad, a religious war. You generally do not grant citizenship and bestow all the benefits of citizenship to an invader who has declared war on you, but that is exactly what is happening in so many generous democratic countries.

I am not saying that anyone should not have the right to live as they choose, but rather that if you elect to emigrate to another country, you should know and accept and adapt to the new environment you have chosen to live in. For example, you do not take a trip to the Antarctic to see the penguins and pack only bermuda shorts and a t-shirt.

You know what you are getting into, and if you want it to be like home, then do not go where life is different, unless the entire purpose of your trip is to change the place you are going to. Again this is the behaviour of an invader, not a guest.

I call upon all non-muslim countries in the world to join together and adopt the attitude that every citizen or visitor should be allowed religious freedom, but anyone who demands a change of the way a country and its citizens function in favor of a newly arrived guest should be deemed an enemy infiltrator, establishing a position inside the country to which an attack is being planned. We were here first!

We must learn from history. How many countries have been invaded by the British and other European countries. Look what has happened to the indigenous people, they were massacred. History is repeating itself, but I hope that this time we can wise up and prevent the inevitable.

Of course no country will take affirmative action for the simple reason that they are very scared of violent repercussions, and rightfully so. This valid fear itself justifies my point.

Why is it that the Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jews and many other religions who have immigrated do not make demands on the host country to change the way the hosts live? Another more important question is why no changes have been made to accommodate those religions?

The reason is very simple, they do not pose the threat of violence if the host country does not conform. Here again we have further evidence that these are not grateful guests but rather violent aggressors, which need to be put in their place for the sake of the natives of the land.

I am asking all Muslims to be respectful guests and respect the rules of the host country who has welcomed you, provided you with a better quality of life, the benefits, services and privileges that come with having a western passport, and stop asking your generous hosts to change the way they live. This is very poor adab and will return bitterness and hatred, as you can see.

This article may sound like I am trying to incite non-Muslims against Muslims, and that may happen of course, but rather, my goal is to bring peace and harmony to our world.

We should all have the right to live as we choose, and if your way means that other people cannot live the way they want, and have been living for hundreds of years, then something is very wrong with your way.

The greatest supporters of this article should be Muslims who simply want to live a better quality of life in a new country, peacefully. It is they who are suffering the most by the radicals making unreasonable demands. A person should not be hated because they are born into a religion or wear a head scarf. But they are, simply by association to the radicals. This is unjust to everyone and is caused by the people who are demanding so called justice and freedom to live as they choose.

I am asking Muslim immigrants globally who are integrating peacefully in their new home to reject the demands of the fanatics and entreat the those who are demanding changes to back down and fit in, or go back to where they came from.

We should welcome with open arms any guest who immigrates and wants to share their culture as they settle in their new home. I am not saying to reject all Muslims, but only those who demand that the host country and people change the way they live.

If this article insights some fanatic to kill me, I am very happy to die as a martyr, just in case they are right and I get a plethora of perpetual virgins, I just hope they are all young and gorgeous. However, I would even be satisfied with the koranic promise of the Beautiful Eyes. Yes, that is the truth, the koran does not promise any virgins.

The gift to the martyr is Hur al Ein, the Beautiful Eyes. But no one knew what that meant, so men, as men do, translated that into something more enticing. Please refer my article entitled; "The Beautiful Eyes, God's Gift to the Martyr", on my web site.

May all people on earth be happy and stop telling other people how to live and what to change so they can have it their way. The world is not Burger King!

What Is the Soul?   Christmas the Religious Day Observed By Both Christians and Non-Christians   Shuffled Priorities   Shutting the Door on Shame   

Taking Control of Your Life, Today

The practical considerations of taking control of our lives shouldn't be thought of as thwarting God's purposes to the end of our disobedience. On the contrary, we ought to take control of our lives, making out of them testimonies of glory to God's faithfulness. We do this by receiving our call and living it out as God's workmanship, created to do good works (Ephesians 2:10).

The opportunity, then, is to take control of our lives; to not be swept along by the currents of ambivalence and indifference (James 1:7-8).

That is, with courage, we wrest control from the would-be thugs commanding our attention and dictating our response. And we don't underestimate the power we, also, exert over ourselves to inflict a merciless level of thuggery to satisfy our own fear for exposure - especially before others. Why would we be both master and slave, where the slave is both abused and neglected? Why be master when we can, otherwise, follow the perfect Master? Following the Master, Jesus, we are thankful slaves and fully in control of the lives God now gives us. Following the Master is about seeking and knowing our purpose.

Taking control of our lives is, first, about knowing where we stand.

KNOWING WHERE WE STAND

Almost as important as being in control of our lives is in knowing where we stand. If we are floundering it's best to know. It's only when we acknowledge the issue we can do anything about it.

We can begin to plan; to schedule an assault on the wresting of control.

Knowing where we stand is a critical input in planning the better way; in knowing what needs to be done.

We have everything to live for; to make the most of life. But we also know when to apply patience - to not lose sight of the overall picture of what God's doing in and through us. We keep the faith regarding that vision.

Knowing where we stand is also crucial in not getting ahead of ourselves.

We most probably have a humble role to play - but we play it as well as we are able. This process of existence from birth to death seems long, yet it doesn't compare with the scope ahead for eternity. Even in a life requiring less of us than we are prepared to give, we give - and gratefully, to boot.

MAKING A STAND - RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW

Taking control of our lives is probably most accurately about a repetitive practice.

Over and again we will be required to take the reins and rise in ascendancy. Upon each day, and many moments throughout, is borne the opportunity. We prepare and we wait, for the time comes unexpectedly and urgently.

Making a stand is the requirement. Knowing when and how to make that stand is the key. Only we, guided by our discernment of the will of God, can know these things.

Only we can choose.

God is with us, not against us.

***

The greatest obedience is to take control of our lives; to align our thoughts, words and deeds to the will of God. When we do so our hearts pound with passion, our minds are stimulated, and our souls are nourished. We live by faith in accord with the truth. And, what's more, we please God.

© 2012 S. J. Wickham.

What Is the Soul?   Christmas the Religious Day Observed By Both Christians and Non-Christians   Shuffled Priorities   How Can We Walk on Water?   Love Is an Act of the Will, Not a Burst of Emotions   

Do Not Worry

"Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?" (Matthew 6:25 KJV)

Do not worry? All too often when considering the idea of "taking no thought" in the sense of not worrying, people tend to toughen up, stiffen the lower lip, and become more determined that they are not going to do whatever they have been told not to do. I am not so sure that actions which reflect a hardening reflect an accurate understanding of this command. To not give something a second thought can easily be misrepresented as either a callousness or a laziness. Our delima is that when we hear "take no thought" we draw the straightest line we can to "take no involvement in". We think we need not worry because we think we will escape that which causes the worry. Somehow we will remove ourselves (or be removed) from the turmoil of a situation. This is a natural thought process for people who distance themselves from situations that they cannot manage. A school boy told not to worry about an impending fight with the bully concludes that either the bully will not be there or his dad will be there in time to pick him up. Naturally very few want the work of either brushing up on diplomatic skills or discovering a new found reason to take a self defense class.

There are dozens of very real and present needs that we have. We all want to secure them as best that we can and many want to insure that his neighbor has the chance too. In the process of securing your needs for food, shelter, a friend, etc... is Jesus your first stop in making these requests? No one is denying the realness of the need and no one wants to deaden your sense of touch and sensitivity to an otherwise brushed off toughen up lesson. So what does it really mean to "take no thought for your life"? The first big irony is that the quickest way to meet your needs is to take no thought for them. I am not sure how much that helps the first time hearer, but it begins the suggestion of trust. You are a uniquely important and wonderfully made individual that God cares about very much. Even on the days that you do not feel it.:-) In order to best realize this, you must have an understanding that the closer you are to Him, the more you are going to see what He puts in place for you. This is not to be confused with a prosperity doctrine as that is your attempt to manage your provision by how close you think you are. To be able to not worry about the supplies you have or do not have is a direct function of trust bathed in surrender to your provider. In this case (and all others), Jesus.

A very revealing couple of questions to ask yourself would be, does relying on the Lord's provision make you more or less likely to obey and follow when prompted by His Spirit? Would managing a little more of your sustenance change your ability to obey or would it simply reveal whether obedience was there to begin with or not? These questions can be revealing in the same sense that if much is given much is required (see Luke 12:48). When Jesus provides illustrations of birds and flowers, He is not merely pointing to something smaller than us, but to others who are in the employ of His Father. Similarly David sites God's work in defeating a lion and a bear as evidence of God's potential success with the giant. Jesus is reminding us that God has other successful projects that we can reflect on to know that He is worth working for. The tools that we need to accomplish His work are worth asking for and in so doing they will be provided in His timing. The trick is not to separate yourself from the work because it appears unmanageable, but to surrender and get to it. The rewards are always well worth it in the end!

"Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." (John 20:29 KJV)

What Is the Soul?   Christmas the Religious Day Observed By Both Christians and Non-Christians   Shuffled Priorities   Shutting the Door on Shame   Abraham's Thoughts While Preparing to Sacrifice Isaac   

Penny Auctions: The Future

What is the future of the penny auction industry? This is a tough question to answer, but let us look at trends and future possibilities. The last few years have seen the rise and subsequent bust of penny auctions. When they started in the United States, they took the online world by storm and had a huge surge in the number of members joining each day. That was the honeymoon phase for the industry. Obviously it didn't last.

A lot of sites began using unethical techniques to advertise. Worse, some were outright scams by employing shady business practices, shell-bidding to drive up prices and deny their members a chance to win or just outright misleading advertising. This gave a bad name to the industry as a whole and didn't do any good to the ones that were legitimate and genuinely run by people who wanted consumers to save while making a profit. Plenty of penny auctions closed shop in this phase.

After this, only the best survived. Today, there is a clear downward trend in terms of number of new bidders. As a result, businesses don't see this as an easy money-making scheme anymore and they are forced to see that penny auctions are a genuine business opportunity and like any business, need initial capital, time and commitment from the owner. This is the only way to attract shoppers who will remain loyal.

This new phase has also given rise to a number of new innovations. For example, the rise of the so called "timerless penny auctions" has been a good sign for bidders who don't like traditional auctions and the concept of timers that are employed. These help cater to another class of bidders who will spend more and be more assured of a win, so that overall they can save money instead of losing.

So where does the future of the penny auction industry lie? I believe it lies in genuine businesses that survive through a reputation of being good for consumers and who are in it for the long run. Look at Quibids, which is now the largest penny auction in the world. It didn't opt for short-cuts at all, and while some times overtook it for a small time, in the end, it was Quibids which reigned supreme. This is how businesses win in the long term.

For smaller sites, they need to consider innovating. How are they different from other similar sites? If your idea is like Quibids, why should I ever go to your site with trust issues when I can do the same at a site I trust more? You need to think in terms of the users, not your own profitability alone.

The positive thing is that a few new penny auctions are indeed innovating, especially the ones that are looking to make the timerless penny auction model become more popular.

From a bidder point of view, you need to understand all the different types of penny auctions that are out there, so that you really know and understand what is best for you. What do you like? What is your bidding preferences? What is your risk tolerance and how much risk do you like to take? These are just some of the questions that you need to answer before going ahead with joining new sites and trying out the waters again. Remember to study the new models as well.

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'Fair Warning' - 7 Legal Risks of the E Auction

Online auctions (or e auctions) are big business and can catapult the regional auction house onto an international stage with access to new and dynamic global markets.

Companies such as eBay have added all kinds of auction capabilities to their websites in order to attract users and add excitement. But running an online auction - an auction which is held over the Internet - raises many legal issues both for the seller and the buyer.

This article looks at ways to mitigate the organisation's risks which come from adding an auction to a company's website. The information does not constitute legal advice and organisations considering an online auction should always seek expert opinion.

1. What kind of auction?

You might think that an auction is a sale where buyers bid the highest price for an item and the fall of the auctioneer's hammer confirms the deal. This English auction is the most common type, but there are others and each carry their own legal risks and responsibilities, including:

Vickrey auctions - the highest bidder obtains the item at the price offered by the second highest bidder;

Dutch and Yankee auctions - auctions formatted to handle a situation in which a seller wishes to sell multiple, identical items;

First-price sealed-bid auction - a single bid is made by all bidding parties and the single highest bidder wins, and pays what they bid. The main difference between this and English auctions is that bids are not openly viewable or announced as apposed to the competitive nature which is generated by public bids;

Reverse auction - where the roles of buyer and seller are reversed. Multiple sellers compete to obtain the buyer's business and prices typically decrease over time as new offers are made. They do not follow the typical auction format in that the buyer can see all the offers and may choose which they would prefer. Reverse auctions are used predominantly in a business context for Procurement.

Bidding fee auction, or penny auction requires customers to pay for bids, which they can increment an auction price one unit of currency at a time

2. Bidder terms and conditions

Sophisticated auction websites such as eBay publish several policies that cover the variety of goods intended for auction. Less sophisticated sites will still need to carry bidder terms and conditions which include:

the method by which bids will be processed; how winning bids will be handled; how winning bidders will be notified; the use of "reserve" prices (a secret price below which no bid is accepted); how disputes between bidders will be addressed; how merchandise and payments will be shipped; refund and return policies; information on fees, membership eligibility requirements, and feedback mechanisms; which country's jurisdiction and laws will apply.

The rules may also include a list of prohibited items due to their potentially hazardous or unlawful nature (e.g., firearms, chemicals, or fireworks). Some countries may also prohibit certain products, such as France's ban on the sale of Nazi memorabilia.

The European Distance Selling Directive does not apply to online auctions so bidders acting in a private (rather than a business) capacity do not have the right to a cooling of period, as consumers generally do when purchasing products 'at a distance'.

3. 'Sale of goods - as seen'

Offline, items are sold in auction 'as seen'. Companies that are auctioning off their own goods (as opposed to merely creating a forum for third party transactions) should be particularly aware of the legal issues that auctioning specific items may pose, such as rare wine which may be subject to pricing or shipping regulations. Similarly, although companies may be tempted to describe their goods for auction with glowing words to encourage bidding, they should bear in mind that all the rules, regulations, and laws which govern the conventional sale of goods still apply.

4. Privacy

Most auction sites require that users, both bidders and sellers, register before participating. The registration process usually involves collecting some user information, including name, address, phone number, etc. The auction site owner should publish and adhere to a "privacy policy" regarding how it collects and utilizes user information online. This includes compliance with the EU cookies rules in EU member states as well as Data Protection.

Auction rules do vary significantly in other countries, so companies may wish to limit participation to their own country. However, if you do allow those in other countries to participate in online auctions, you must be aware of international privacy laws and regulations.

5. User feedback

Following the lead from eBay, many auction sites now provide a feedback mechanism through which registrants can provide post-transaction commentary about other users. This user "feedback" is meant to keep the bidding process open and honest, and to allow customers to communicate their satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the seller and its goods. However, user feedback has already become the basis of at least one libel lawsuit, in which one car retailer sued another, alleging that the defendant had posted false and defamatory feedback.

Companies should incorporate rules concerning the content of user communications in their web site terms and conditions (not the same as bidder terms and conditions) as well as expressly disclaim all responsibility and liability for user-provided content.

6. Website terms and conditions

Website terms and conditions govern visitors' use of your website. It covers issues such as legal notices, ownership of intellectual property, use of hyperlinks and disclaimers.

A "clickwrap" agreement requires the users to view the agreement and click "I Agree" or some similar wording before gaining access to the site or a feature. Terms and conditions are usually accessible through a link at the bottom of the home page of the site and do not require viewing or consent. Although many companies opt to have terms and conditions rather than clickwraps because of their more user-friendly nature, as between the two, clickwraps are more likely to be found to be enforceable in court.

7. Money laundering

In a cash high business, you have to take a zero tolerance attitude towards money laundering. Not only will the regulators come down heavy on an organisation that doesn't have sufficient controls in place to prevent money laundering, but it also doesn't look good from a commercial and professional standing.

And finally...

Auction companies tend to outsource the online part of their operations to hosting companies such as i-bidder. Not only does this ensure that expertise and service is consistent, but the auction company will also get access to a wider market as well as Internet savvy customers. All in all, professional auction houses will always ensure that customers have a safe and enjoyable browsing experience when bidding online.

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Buying Items On eBay

Before buying anything on eBay, here are a few simple things to be aware of:

1. Check Feedback score

2. Check Postage details

3. 'Auctions Only' Tab

4. Saved Searches

The feedback score is a gauge of how frequent a person uses eBay and how satisfied his customers are.

It is a risk buying from somebody who has a score say below 30 as this person hasn't had much eBay experience and doesn't know the eBay etiquette and protocols.

If the item you want to buy is of low value, this is less of an issue. You have less to lose if the item is not as described, or goes missing, or you don't get any email response from the seller when prompted with a question.

If the item you want is available from more than one person or supplier, then this first step of checking feedback is probably the best bet to decide who to buy from.

Other considerations are where the item is coming from:

The postage details give you a wealth of information. Where the item is located - can you easily go and pick it up if it is a large or heavy item?

If the item is in Land's End and you are in Scotland or abroad, then you will want it to be carefully wrapped and you may require some tracking information especially if it has cost a lot to buy. The buyer decides how the item is going to be posted, so you may not have a choice, although a postage suggestion to the buyer can always be made via email.

The days when most eBay sellers made a profit on charging ridiculous postage charges are gone, but check the charges against the cost of the item and decide whether it is worth it to buy, as another listing may include or have lower postage costs

Always remember that clicking on the 'Auctions only' tab at the top of the listing tends to remove all the traders selling new stuff. This is for those of us who want to browse at what used items other people are selling, a bit like a proper auction.

If you are not in a hurry, you can always wait until a particular item becomes available on eBay by using the 'save search' feature where you will be emailed as new listings matching your search come up. (The 'Save search' link is right at the top, on the same line as your search description).

These days, it is a buyers' market on eBay and you can really get some bargains, but be careful!

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What You Need to Know About Auction Sites

In these hard economic times, there are two reasons that auction sites have become popular. These sites allow you to both buy things at a cheaper price than you can get in a store and to sell things that you own to add a bit to your income. There are a few things you need to know before you choose what auction site to use, though.

Membership Sites and Payment Guarantees

About half the sites that offer auction products require that you register and pay a membership fee. Sites that do this charge lower listing fees to the sellers. While this sounds like an equitable distribution of costs, it is known that most people who buy a product at one of these sites use the site only two or three times during a year. Some of the memberships are quite costly.

Many sites that provide bidding services for products require that the person making the bid place a specified minimum amount of cash in an account with the site. This is to guarantee that the person bidding has the money to pay for the item and any other costs assigned to the buyer. On the surface, this appears to be a fair request especially if you are the seller.

However, the amount deposited is often considerably more than the price you are willing to pay for an item and the site is not required to return the unused amount in your account. On some sites, this unused balance becomes property of the site after a period of time specified in a contract, which can be as short as 3 months.

If you decide to sell an item on a site, be sure to understand completely all the fees that you will be charged. For example, one site charges a listing fee for a certain number of days. Then, they add additional fees for relisting, for insurance that you will sell the product at the reserve price and a percentage of the price that you do sell the item at. In the end, you could end up with less than half of the money that you expected. Some sites require that you pay any taxes that are to be paid and any shipping charges from your own pocket.

Services Offered by Sites

Auctioning sites can be very profitable and trustworthy as long as you are assured that the site has services for any glitches or unexpected events. When auction sites advertise that they have customer service, it is suggested that you attempt to contact that department prior to listing any items on the site. Often there are customer service representatives but they cannot or do not contact their clients or customers in a timely manner. When you are bidding or selling on their site, timing is everything.

For example, if your item doesn't show up or it goes down earlier than the listing period, you will need to contact customer service immediately or forfeit any claim to reimbursement of free relisting services. If you are bidding on an item and you accidentally hit too many zeros, you need to be able to contact someone in customer service for assistance at notifying the seller right away. Try to find an online auctions website that has plenty of traffic, many items but not so many that you get lost in the mix.

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Repackaging For Extra eBay Profits

This is one of those things that usually escapes us. It's subtle in nature and the end product seems like such a value, we buy it. It has less to do with the value of the individual items in the package than the value we perceive because of the convenience of the packaging. Confused yet?

Think groceries. Take the Lunchables brand by Oscar Meyer. Imagine the enterprising product development team that brought this package out. At first it probably sounded ridiculous. "We want to take a few pieces of cheese, a few pieces of meat and some crackers and sell it as a kids meal". I'm sure it was hotly debated in the board room before it was ramped up for production. The first response was probably, "why would anyone pay that for one meal when they could assemble it themselves for a fraction of what we will charge?" Fast forward a few years and lunchables are everywhere! They even did it with the peanut butter jelly sandwich. Who would have thought folks would buy premade PBJs. Yet we do, to the tune of millions of dollars per year. Why? It's all about the packaging.

We want it easy. We're America dammit! We innovate and improvise. We invent and create. We can turn a profit on practically anything. If we can't, we repackage it and try again. We want the new TV to be delivered and in instant hook up condition. If it doesn't, we will gladly pay more for the one that does. That's how we roll! We want our new radio to come out of the box with batteries taped to the back and our favorite stations preprogrammed.

So what does all this mean when it comes to eBay? It's pretty simple. Repackage. If you can buy something for a decent price and make a little profit. Repackage it. Add some bells and whistles to the deal. If you're selling a digital camera, add a tripod and a memory card. Selling an iPod, throw in an iTunes gift card and a case. Throw in an extended warranty at no charge. You get the idea. It's a competition for bidders and buyers. Your items don't necessarily have to be the best price. Just the best perceived value. Primary products have small markups. Accessories have HUGE markups! Package them with your primary product to drive up the perceived value.

You can do this with practically anything you sell. Anything seems more valuable when there are freebies included with it. Remember value has more to do with perception of value than actual value. If your item makes my life more convenient because of the added value items. I will gladly pay you more for it. Don't believe me. Ask the Lunchable factory!

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Where To Find Storage Unit Auctions

The demand for storage unit auctions has steadily increased this past year, and it is no small wonder that people have also become increasingly interested in finding ways to augment their incomes.

Storage auctions are perfect for people who have extra capital to invest in goods that can be sold through physical stores and online. Seasoned auction hunters know how to maximize their profits by setting up small stores, and large online stores, so they can dispose of the goods that they have won from storage auctions.

Locating auctions

There are several ways of locating storage unit auctions in your city. The easiest way to locate nearby storage unit facilities is to check Whitepages.

Just type the keywords "storage unit" and add your city or state to the second search box. Hit search, and you will immediately see a list of storage facilities. Try to get the contact numbers of each facility that is within short distance of your location and ask them about their scheduled storage unit auctions.

Most storage unit facilities located near middle class communities and commercial zones have regular auctions. If you can, buy a journal and jot down all of the information you're going to get over the phone.

Don't forget to ask questions and, if possible, have the companies fax you upcoming auction schedules. The best source of information is still the companies themselves - don't rely on information posted by third party websites, as these bits of information may be outdated or completely false.

You wouldn't want to drive up to a storage facility expecting an auction - when there is really no schedule auction that day.

The best storage auctions are located in your city. We don't recommend that you travel far and wide for auctions, as there is a chance that you might not win anything lucrative and you will end up wasting gas money. Take it slow during the first few weeks, and devote your time to learning the ropes of this business.

The second best approach in finding auction information is to sign up for free and paid storage auction services online. These services routinely communicate with dozens of public storage facilities all around the country just so they can update their customers about upcoming auctions.

These services are more reliable than random storage auction blogs because most of the blogs that we have seen (as of this writing) appear to be outdated and poorly managed. Websites such as AuctionZip are a good choice - but then again, that's just an example. There are many other reliable websites out there that provide updated information.

If you dislike the idea of following so many websites, you can just subscribe to a local broadsheet that features storage unit auction ads. Find broadsheets that have the widest reach in your locality, and you will most likely find the auction ads there. Subscribe to these publications to keep abreast of the latest scheduled auctions in your city.

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5 Guidelines to Improve Your RSS Feeds

Here are some of the helpful guidelines to improve RSS feeds since it gives your site a better online visibility. The tips to be given will help optimize the RSS feeds for popular search engines.

1. Make sure to build your feeds title tags meaningful because Google gives more importance to the title tag. The title to be inserted on the title tag must be about your site and integrated with essential search keywords. Your website can surely get great publicity on the web if you make your title significant with right keywords.

2. The feeds are usually arranged in alphabetical order when it comes to feeds presentation. Hence, the feeds beginning in letter "A" will be part of the first feeds while those feeds beginning in letter "Z" will be part of the last feeds.

3. Never forget to set the opening of the link in a new tab or new window instead of the same tab when inserting external links in your content. It will help to keep the visitors stay on your website.

4. For excellent performance, submit your feeds to websites that are popular and do-follow and with high PageRank. There are many site directories that allow RSS feeds submissions.

5. Use your business logo and images in your RSS feeds since it will help enhance your business nature and of course, identity. Always bear in mind, never use JavaScript for your RSS feed because search engine bots stop when they see JavaScript on their way. Once the search engine bots views a page and see JavaScript codes it will automatically leave that page. Thus, the content of your website remains the same on Google and the links you created for the main site is not counted. Your website content may be updated in the script but not in the actual state. Just follow the quality SEO tips above, your RSS feeds will surely enhance its performance.

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Syndicating Your Content to Promote Your Small Business

Your small business today has to take on more marketing tasks than it did in the past, but this can be a good thing. Syndicating your content to promote your small business is not terribly difficult to do. First, it's good to have a blog. If you don't have one, get one. You want to start out by using the RSS feed for your readers to subscribe. Once they have subscribed to your really simple syndication, or RSS feed, your subscribers can read your content easily and quickly. If you offer special discounts or offers only to blog subscribers, this can be huge for your business.

RSS feeds are really helpful for people who want to keep in the know about several websites or companies. What happens is that they will use Google reader or Bloglines to follow their feeds. There, they can take a look at what's new and what you have posted without visiting each website or blog. There are some ways syndicating your content to promote your small business is made easier. The first is using an RSS feed burner like Feedburner. This will post your content on the RSS feed, and also on social network pages. You can set it up to post on other social network pages such as Facebook. You can also send your RSS feeds to directories.

There are a few other places to submit your content while you are in the process of syndicating your content to promote your small business. Submit to Google, MSN, Yahoo, and other search engines. Also you should consider submitting them to social niche networks. One example of this is ning.com. In addition, you will want to ping your feeds and blogs wherever you can. The traffic that your blog will get in return is pretty phenomenal. Traffic does it all, so check into it.

Syndicating your content to promote your small business doesn't have to be an impossible nor a terribly time consuming task. With RSS technology, your subscribers can have a great ability to access your updates via social networking sites or RSS feeds like Google reader. This is a great way to keep your customers thinking about your business and how beneficial it is to them. Using these valuable tools will make your business work smarter. Whenever possible, include links in your blog posts to take the consumer to your website because that is what you need to drive and grow your business.

I have covered a number ways that you can syndicate your content to promote your small business However, a complete Internet Marketing Service will have many more strategies you can utilise to increase traffic to your website and improve your overall SERP.

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