Work From Home

eBay’s Downslide Continues in Q1

Don’t Get Taken by a Fake Wholesale Supplier!

We grabbed this article Written by: Chris Malta
to keep you aware and to inform you of potential “fake” suppliers out there. I know a few people that got mixed up in these systems for large amounts  of money.

Written by: Chris Malta
If you want to start your Home-based Internet Business for very little money, you need Wholesale Suppliers who Drop Ship.
 
 Why? Because working with drop shippers eliminates the need for you to carry expensive inventories. You don’t have to rent a warehouse, hire employees, establish accounts with UPS and FedEx, etc. You can sell the best brand names on earth from your home computer, and make good money at it.

Wholesale Suppliers who drop ship send the products you sell directly from their warehouse to your customer, with your business name on it. All you do it take the order from your customer and pass it to the distributor. You keep the difference between the wholesale price the distributor charges you, and the retail price you sell to your customer for.

Of course, there are a lot of places out there that want you to THINK they are wholesale drop shippers. They’ll set up accounts with, say, 10 real drop ship suppliers. Then they’ll call themselves something like “GetYerStuffHere.com”, and claim that THEY are the wholesale drop ship supplier. Then it’ll go like this:

1. GetYerStuffHere.com will place advertising all over the Internet proclaiming to be the greatest source that ever existed for all kinds of great products, and they’ll drop ship all those products to your customer.

2. You’ll get all excited because YOU can actually place everything from Sony electronics to Coleman Camping gear on your web site and sell it.

3. GetYerStuffHere.com will charge you an account setup fee, to cover their “processing”. (Note: REAL Wholesale Suppliers almost NEVER charge you an account setup fee).

4. GetYerStuffHere.com will send you a nice, shiny list of products and show you where to get the product images and descriptions to place on your web site.

5. You’ll get all excited, and put all this great stuff on your site, set your prices so that you can make a profit over what GetYerStuffHere.com.

6. You’ll launch your site, and you hardly sell a thing.

Huh? What happened? Nobody’s buying! You can’t survive on just a few orders a month!

Disappointed and discouraged, you start to go out and check other web sites that carry the same products. Maybe they have better images. Maybe they have cooler descriptions. Maybe their pages look nicer. You find that it’s none of those things. So what DO you find?

The other sites’ PRICES are lower. A LOT lower.

You just got nailed by one of the most popular scams on the Internet.

GetYerStuffHere.com took you for a couple of hundred dollars in exchange for a CD full of product images. They may have even locked you into a contract where you have to pay them every month to be a “member” of their “distributorship”.

Oh, GetYerStuffHere.com DOES ship the products they claim to. Of course they do. It’s just that when they get an order from you, they turn around and place your order with the REAL Wholesale Supplier, and take a profit. By the time YOUR price is calculated, you’re paying not only wholesale, you’re paying GetYerStuffHere.com’s extra markup of anywhere from 10% to 30%.

In order for YOU to make a profit, you naturally have to mark up the prices you get from GetYerStuffHere.com. By the time you do that, you can’t compete on the ‘Net. Your prices are just too high.

At this point, you can do one of two things:

1. You can lower your prices to the point where you’re making mere pennies on your products in order to compete.

2. You can bypass these jokers and go to the REAL sources.

I’ve been in Systems Engineering for 19 years. I’ve been involved in ECommerce since it began. In that time, I’ve seen this scenario played out over and over with companies I’ve done work for.

The real sources can be hard to find. They don’t market themselves as Internet Wholesale Supplier. They are established wholesale companies who have been supplying big chains like Sears and Kmart for a very long time.

Many of them are now realizing that a good part of their future lies in Internet sales, and they are establishing drop ship and light bulk wholesale programs. There are even a few big name manufacturers who are beginning to supply Home-based Internet Businesses right from their factories. That’s where YOU need to be. In direct contact with the actual Wholesale Supplier or factory source.

When you’re looking for a drop shipper, here are a couple of things to be careful of:

1. Any company that tells you that they’ll set up your entire web site AND PROVIDE THE PRODUCTS FOR YOU will NOT make you rich. They’ll make THEMSELVES rich on your setup and hosting fees, and you’ll piddle along with thousands of other small sites all selling exactly the same things at the same prices.

(NOTE: Don’t confuse this with companies who just offer to set up your ECommerce web site. There are a lot of great places out there that will build and host sites for you. It’s when they tell you that you HAVE to sell the products that THEY provide that you should run for cover.)

2. Any distributor who wants you to pay a “membership” or “setup” fee is probably not a true Wholesale Supplier.

3. If it sounds too good to be true, it’s too good to be true.
Written by: Chris Malta

Amazon under investigation by US Postal Service

Stop Donating your Money to the IRS!

Why? Why Donate Your Money to IRS?

As a tax consultant for over 25 years I get surprised by the approach of many people towards tax planning.
In fact, for Americans, taxes are their number one expense – usually exceeding payments for food, lodging, clothing and transportation together. According to the IRS, Americans and Business owners generally overpay $320,000,000 a year in excess tax! So you may be paying more taxes than you are required to!
Still most of the people want to keep away from planning their tax strategies. They just leave it to their accountant. They are prepared to spend hours on phone for a $50 overcharge by credit card Company, but they are not prepared to spend even a few minutes to learn simple, yet valuable tips to save thousands of dollars from their taxes!
Its time to wake up and keep aside your misconceptions about tax planning.

Understand the little known tax secrets!
My approach is easy as pie. Everything is explained with the help of examples, pictures and no technical analysis involved.
 If you are doing a business from home, full time or part time, you can deduct, with proper documentation, your household expenses, your business vacations, your car expenses and food with colleagues if you can combine it with appropriate amount of business.
 
 How to deduct medical expenses of you and your spouse; how to deduct education and even wedding expenses of your children from your business!
 
 Your car is a tax deduction machine! You are usually qualified to claim a tax deduction for the use of your personal vehicle for business purposes.
 
 How to convert your cruise vacation into a deductible business expense? This is an excellent way of mixing business with pleasure.
 
 You can claim a big part of your home related expenses – insurance (homeowners and mortgage), repairs and maintenance, utilities and services, depreciation, security system, rent (if you don’t own your home) etc. towards business use. These expenses you are already paying as home expenses!
 
 Yes, you can deduct expenses on fun! Learn how to claim the cost of entertaining business contacts at nightclubs, restaurants, theaters, sporting events, hunting, fishing etc.
 
 How to shield yourself from the IRS weapon of classifying a business as a hobby?
 
 Your lunches and dinners with colleagues and associates can be considered ‘a deductible business expense’!
 
 Your personal travel expenses (even overseas) can be converted into business expense!
 
‘Stop Donating Your Money to IRS’ is so fat with resources, hundreds of tips and suggestions on all the above topics, that the only way to truly understand the power of it is to experience it.

What is Google Base? Will it work for me?

I have been using google base for some time and it has given me plenty of traffic. If you are selling items from your retail website and you want some traffic for relevant search terms in google this is the way to go. Grab a few of your keywords for what you sell, do a search on google, lets say “coach handbag” you will see at the top or bottom of the organic section of the page “Shopping results for coach handbag” this is where your items would show up. Having a google data feed setup would display your link  in this section. If your handy with an excel spreadsheet you can do this with ease and you will need to have a FREE google account to proceed.

Google Base is a place where you can easily submit all types of online and offline content, which we’ll make searchable on Google (if your content isn’t online yet, we’ll put it there). You can describe any item you post with attributes, which will help people find it when they do related searches. In fact, based on your items’ relevance, users may find them in their results for searches on Google Product Search and even our main Google web search.

• Cost: Free
• How to Submit: You can submit information about all types of online and offline content to Google Base, by either the standard web form or, if you have more than 10 items to submit, via a data feed. When you submit information via the web form, you can attach up to 15 digital files in the following formats: PDF (.pdf), Microsoft Excel (.xls), Text (.txt), HTML (.html), Rich Text Format (.rtf), Word Perfect (.wpd), ASCII, Unicode and XML. Please note: the files you upload may not exceed 20 megabytes total in size, and we reserve the right to review all items in order to ensure they comply with the Google Base Terms and Conditions.
• Languages: Google Base is currently available in English and German interfaces.
• Reach: Items you submit to Google Base might be found on Google properties like Google or Google Product Search.
• How it’s different: Google Base enables you to add attributes describing your content, so that searchers can easily find it. The more popular individual attributes become, the more often we’ll suggest them when others post the same items. Similarly, items that become more popular will show up as suggested item types in the Choose an existing item type drop-down menu.

Detailed instructions for providers in real estate, recipes, products.

1. Why should I use Google Base?
2. What are attributes?
3. Do I need a Google Account to use Google Base?
4. What kind of information can I submit?
5. How can I submit my item?
6. Do I need a website if I want my item to appear on Google properties?
7. In what formats can I submit my data feed?
8. Where will my item appear?
9. How will you control for irrelevant items like pornography or SPAM material?
10. How can I increase traffic to my items?

1. Why should I use Google Base?

If you have information you want to share with others but aren’t sure how to reach them, Google Base is for you. You can easily submit all types of online and offline content to Base, and if your content isn’t online yet, we’ll put it there. You can describe any item you post with attributes, which will help people find it when they do related searches. In fact, based on your items’ relevance, users may find them in their results for searches on Google Product Search and even our main Google web search. The main benefits of Google Base include:

• Free content hosting
  Google Base represents a new opportunity to put any kind of content online, even if it isn’t a web page.
• Distribution
  By bringing offline content online, Google Base is more accessible and useful. Even online content becomes more ‘discoverable’ when users are able to refine their search results based on attributes. You can also link users to your own website, thus making your content far more accessible to the world.
• Ease of Use
  Now you can go to one place to upload content to Google. You can post individual items by completing a simple web form or submit a data feed with ten or more items in standard formats such as TSV, RSS 1.0 and RSS 2.0.

Best of all, Google Base is entirely free. And you’re always in control; you can edit or archive your items whenever you want.

2. What are attributes?

Google Base lets you describe your items with detailed information called attributes, which will help searchers find your content more easily when they search on various Google properties.Attributes are words or phrases that help describe the characteristics and qualities of your items. For any given attribute you may enter multiple values separated by commas.For example: If you’re describing a recipe you want to share, your attributes might include ‘Theme: Breakfast’, ‘Main Ingredient: Eggs, Chicken’, and ‘Servings: 4′.

3. Do I need a Google Account to use Google Base?

Yes, to publish your own items, you must create a Google Account.

4. What kind of information can I submit?

Google’s goal is to organize the world’s information, and that includes almost anything you might want to contribute, whether it’s your store inventory, collection of original poetry, or research paper on cancer receptors. You can submit your information using either the standard web form or, if you have more than 10 items to submit, via our data feed options.When you submit information via the web form, you can attach up to 15 digital files in the following formats: PDF (.pdf), Microsoft Excel (.xls), Text (.txt), HTML (.html), Rich Text Format (.rtf), Word Perfect (.wpd), ASCII, Unicode and XML.Please note: the files you upload may not exceed 20 megabytes total in size, and we reserve the right to review all items in order to ensure they comply with the Google Base Terms and Conditions.

5. How can I submit my item?

To submit an item using our standard web form, visit Google Base and click on ‘Post your own item’. On the Post an Item page, choose an item type from the drop-down menu or create your own item type in the text box below. Then click “Next” to add details, edit, review and publish your item. In about 15 minutes, your item will have a unique web address and be visible to the world. If you have a website that you’d like to lead searchers to, be sure to include an attribute as type “Web URL” which includes the page’s full URL.If you’d like to submit more than ten items, you might want to consider submitting a data feed instead of doing so by hand (learn more about feeds).

6. Do I need a website if I want my item to appear on Google properties?

Nope. If you don’t have a website, Google will host your content (for free) on a unique web address.

7. In what formats can I submit my data feed?

Google Base will accept feeds in TSV, RSS 1.0, RSS 2.0 Atom 0.3, and Atom 1.0 formats. This means that content providers who already have RSS feeds can easily submit their content to Google Base.

8. Where will my item appear?

We’ll host your item online if you don’t already have a website, and show it to anyone who searches for its unique URL or finds it while searching for related topics. Based on relevance, your item may appear on Google properties like Google Product Search and our main Google web search. Some example Google searches which include items from Google Base are:

• jobs
• homes for sale
• indian recipes

 

9. How will you control for irrelevant items like pornography or SPAM material?

All items that are uploaded into Google Base must comply with our Editorial Policies and Program Policies. Items that don’t meet these policies may be taken down based on our own checks or in response to user complaints.

10. How can I increase traffic to my items?

You can increase the likelihood that your items will appear when searchers enter a relevant query by including highly structured information with each item. This means including rich attributes that accurately represent your content. You can learn more about improving the quality of your items here.

Dropshipping or stocking and why is it important to you?

Along with good customer service, finding the right products to offer to the public is probably one of the most significant challenges for those wanting to sell on eBay, amazon or any other online business. The main goal is to buy at low prices and to sell high. Of course, the majority of people just starting out on eBay begin by selling their own personal goods, all of that generally surplus merchandise they have in the attic, garage or basement. This is a good route to take with eBay, as it will help you to become familiar with the basics of listing, shipping, pictures, description writing and general customer service but at some point you will have an empty home if you keep moving in this direction.

When the house is empty you will need to find more items to sell. Many sellers will spend Saturday and Sunday searching around garage sales and flea markets, looking for merchandise and it soon becomes apparent that this it taking up a lot of time and money although I have found a lot of great things that I decided to keep for myself. What you really need is to find a wholesaler where you can buy in bulk at inexpensive prices and make your mark up on eBay then box and ship yourself. Search the items you want to sell for sales numbers before purchasing for stock. You do not want to get stuck with this stuff. Buy wisely.

 When you have decided to start trading seriously on eBay, amazon or with any other online retailing business, there are some things to remember about the businesses where you are likely to be buying your stock.

·         Have a Business corporation, llc, partnership or sole proprietor set up.

·         Make sure your paperwork to purchase wholesale is in order, since this will be required by the supplier.

·         The wholesaler will provide you with all of the necessary information for you to buy from him with confidence.

·         Have your merchant account in place whether it is paypal or credit card processing center.

·         Search, Search and do more Searching, do as much research as possible. Be Confident in the items you choose.

After you have some of the basics covered you should have a great start on your online adventure. Good Luck!

Pathways to Additional Income from home

Finding Merchandise to Sell Online is easier then you think.

Maybe you have found something everyone is talking about or all the kids are pestering their parents for. That’s great. Now, how do you get hold of it to sell? Well, that’s one of the biggest challenges you will face when building your online business.

 There are a few very simple ways to track down manufacturers details. It’s actually easier than you think. The most important thing to remember is that you just need a few pieces of information to get your search started, a name or website address is often all you need to track down the full details. Here are some methods that you can try out.

 Lets say there is a fashion label that you really like and would love to sell online, they sell it in your town but you have no idea where it comes from. The first way is simple. Just ask. It sounds silly, but quite often if you ask the person at the counter or get friendly with someone in the shop they might just tell you that most of the time the owner of the shop doesn’t work there all the time. It’s worthwhile sometimes to ask the Saturday clerk, “Do you know the name of the company on the invoices that you get for these clothes?” You will be surprised how many people will tell you if they have the information available. If they are the only one in the shop they might have to go out the back to look it up. It’s possible that the chances are slim, but it’s definitely worth asking.

Keep an eye open for when they receive their stock arrivals. Usually a truck will pull up first thing in the morning to bring in the stock. This is a good time to take a good look. It ’s not unusual for the driver to leave a large number of boxes on the sidewalk for a while. If you can get close enough, just glance at the labels on the boxes as you walk by and look for the suppliers name or website address, or anything you can use to look them up. Perhaps, if the driver is friendly, he might tell you who the supplier is. He might even as he delivers exclusively for them. You only have to ask. Both these methods have been used by prospective sellers when tracking down specific brands, and they do work. It takes some confidence and a little aggression, but it could make a real difference to your business.

Why not try it out this week as an exercise with something you would like to sell.

Thanks – R.W. Casandra

eBay Wants Its Sellers Back. A bit late?

If you are new to EBAY then the past has not affected you. I was an EBAY seller for years and I was slowly getting discouraged by management with every day that past. Last year EBAY changed direction and new visions came aboard which had effected sellers they made there empire from. Do some searches and you can find the history. Now I use ebay as an advertising platform rather than sole income. I set out to lose “x” amount of $ – dollars – $ every month but the traffic to my site gains it three times back, not always but most months it does. Dont get me wrong I am not telling you EBAY is completely no good but it works for everyone different.

Thanks R.W. Casandra

See this article from webpronews.com

eBay Wants Its Sellers Back

By Chris Crum – Mon, 01/26/2009 – 3:49pm.

Makes Feedback and Payment Policy Changes

Early last year, eBay inflicted some damaging policy changes that sent many sellers running for the hills. Now, they apparently are changing the rules to remove negative comments left by customers towards the sellers.

A couple months ago I talked to a number of eBay sellers, and all but one of them told me that eBay’s feedback policy was their biggest frustration. It now seems that eBay has decided to hear the howls of disgust from its users that have been going on for the majority of the past year. Ecommerce Journal reports:

The move to change the Feedback policy was prompted by numerous requests made by the cross-border sellers who received negative comments from customers while there wasn’t actual fault with the merchants. Now eBay will be removing feedback if: the listing meets the Customs Requirements and/or the seller receives a negative or neutral Feedback comment, which references customs delays or customs fees. Merchants in turn are obliged to advise the buyers that import duties, taxes and charges are not included in the item price or shipping charges. These charges are the buyer’s responsibility.

There was also a lot of frustration about eBay’s payment policy. Many were enraged by the favoritism showed to eBay-owned PayPal. eBay will reportedly now be adding Moneybookers and PayMate as acceptable methods of payment starting next month.

eBay users have been quite vocal in their displeasure with the famous auction site. It seems unlikely that many of them that have been so passionate will be willing to go back to eBay just because they finally acknowledged these issues. But the brand power that eBay carries does pull a lot of weight. Are you (or were you) an eBay seller? What do you think?