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Earn $600 Every Week With Your $300 Camcorder With This Small Home Ebay Business. The camcorder never lies. My camcorder cost $300 two years ago. By today’s standards it’s a piece of junk. I’d show you a picture of it, but it’s the only one I’ve got so I can’t take a picture of it (without using a mirror). It’s an out of date, scratched, standard resolution miniDV Sony camcorder. You could possibly pick one up second hand on eBay or in your local papers for less than fifty bucks. BUT THIS SMALL HOME EBAY BUSINESS MAKES ME $1000 A WEEK WORKING FROM HOME! But all I actually NEED to know is how to point it and take a short video or picture of the thing that I’m pointing it at! That’s it! Oh and maybe how to connect it to a PC. Hardly brain surgery eh? If you can do that, then you are equipped to make money from your camcorder. In fact you could earn enough in a single week to buy yourself a brand-new high definition camcorder with all the bells and whistles! Although why anyone would want to do that is beyond me. Especially when the alternative is using the money as your new income - quitting work and spending your working week at home, doing just a few hours work if you want to. I’m not kidding – it really is like this! You have no idea! But you soon will have. Once you start to work for yourself, you will NEVER look back. And for those people out there who started their own businesses and failed dismally, let me say this: You’re NOT going to need any huge start-up capital for this small home eBay business except a camcorder and about $50 to start things off. Compare that to a ‘normal’ business where you might need $100,000 to open a shop or start a franchise (and the rest). Starting your own small home eBay business, on your own terms and in your own way, by putting in a little effort, is what this manual is all about. Small Home Ebay Business. Small Home Ebay Business. So Let’s Get Started! If you’re reading this, you’re at a distinct advantage, because it means you have at least some experience with computers and the internet. Now you don’t have to be an expert in any way at all. You simply have to know how to do the basics, because this is the basis for your business. You also need to know how to use one other thing. eBay. The chances are you’ve already used eBay, but don’t worry if you haven’t, because it’s really easy, great fun and very profitable. Millions of people buy and sell items on eBay every day, but there are also millions of people who HAVE NO IDEA what eBay is, let alone how it works. What’s more, they are struggling (I’m mean really struggling) to sell their unwanted household items for a good price through the old-fashioned ways of advertising in local papers, putting cards in shop windows or on supermarket notice boards. THESE are the people who desperately need your help. What’s more they will be smiling as they hand over cash to you, and will be clambering over each other to get to you, because they have nothing to lose and everything to gain. The real beauty of this system is NEITHER DO YOU! Small Home Ebay Business. Small Home Ebay Business. Why Use A Camcorder At All? They say a picture paints a thousand words. Well video paints a million words! This is the age of video. Just look at the success of online video share sites like YouTube. People love them. And they are perfect for eBay auctions, as they allow you to show the item you are selling in 3D. Sound can be advantage sometimes as well for certain products. Since using video in my eBay auctions, I have seen a huge increase in interest and items sell much faster. You could of course, do this small home ebay business with just a digital camcorder and just use pictures. That would still work, although I don’t believe you will have as much success as you will using video. The seller is also impressed when you turn up with a camcorder and start filming. A camcorder simply allows you to show off the item to its best effect and it also makes your eBay auction stand out, as surprisingly few people still don’t know how to put a video on their auction. It’s so simple, a child could do it and I’ll show you how later on. Small Home Ebay Business. Small Home Ebay Business. So How Does It Work? You will be operating this small home eBay business in your own area dealing with people who are desperate to sell their goods. You will be selling these goods for them on eBay (although they don’t need to know that). You will, of course, charge a generous commission by simply videoing or photographing their item and listing it on eBay on a ‘no sale, no fee’ basis. That is a HUGE selling point! You will not have to carry or store any goods with this small home eBay business, nor will you have to put any money up front (in fact you will have taken payment and passed it on to your customer, minus your commission, before you even put the buyer and seller in touch with each other. There are a few things you need to have in place before you can start your home video business. Here’s a step-by-step guide of the first three things to need to do. If you can, DO THEM RIGHT NOW. 1. You need to register with eBay. It’s free and easy to do. Go to www.eBay.com and follow the simple instructions. You will need a credit or debit card for verification purposes 2. You need to register with Paypal. You can do this for free at www.paypal.com . Paypal is actually owned by eBay and has over 100 million users worldwide, so you can feel very safe using it. Again you’ll need a credit or debit card. Why join Paypal? It means you can accept credit and debit card payments for the items you are selling for your client, which makes the whole process much quicker and safer. Ebay buyers also expect to pay with Paypal as it is so safe. You will then simply deduct your commission (details on that later) and present the balance to your very happy client. 3. Register with YouTube at www.youtube.com It takes a couple of minutes to do and then you will be able to store your videos her and show them on eBay (More details later). 4. Get 50 business flyers made at Kinkos or a similar printing service with your contact details on and a brief description of your business. Most people who use and are happy with your service will do so again – in fact they may actually go looking for other stuff to sell once they’ve had a successful sale through you. If they don’t have anything to sell (at the moment) tell them to stick the flyer on the fridge door, or keep it behind the clock until they do. That way you will create ongoing business for your small home eBay business. Small Home Ebay Business. This is what a typical flyer for your small home eBay business would say: NEED SPARE CASH NOW? Why not free some of the cash tied up in your unwanted belongings? Let us sell it for you for a great price. No sale, no fee.You keep the item until you get paid. All items considered. Let us do all the work and you get the money. We charge a 15% fee on all sales. No hidden extras. Phone Tony now on 01234 567890 Simple but effective. You DO need to stress that you don’t take the goods away until they receive the cash. Building trust is really important with this small home eBay business and you will need to do everything you can to put them at ease, especially older customers. So you must be aware of the fact that a lot of your customers will be very wary to start with, so you must make them feel as secure as possible. Of course, once you’ve successfully sold something for them and they have the money in their hand, you’ll be their best friend in the world and recommending you to all their friends and family. Notice the headline on your flyer isn’t something like ‘LET ME SELL YOUR JUNK’ or something like that. That’s because it’s BORING and no-one likes to be told their belongings are junk. Headlines must always appeal to the emotions. Everyone wants more money. So that’s the very first few steps done in starting your small home ebay business. You’re ready to sell on EBay, you’re registered with Paypal to take credit cards and you’ve got a bunch of business flyers. Small Home Ebay Business. Small Home Ebay Business. How Much To Charge? This is the fun part. I would recommend you charge 15% of the item you’re selling. So if you sell an item for $200 for your customer, you’ll get $30. Doesn’t sound a lot does it? But the point of this small home eBay business is to have multiple items for sale on eBay at any one time. It’s easy to have TWENTY items or even more listed on eBay at any given time. If they all result in a profit of $30, then you’re now looking at $600 per day! But for now let’s set the amount of money we’re trying to earn at $600 a week. Not a vast fortune I agree, but it’s a nice figure to get started. Once you’ve achieved this figure, you’ll understand how easy this business is to profit from. If you set your sights at $5000 a week, then it would seem like a much harder task. Once your mind has seen that you can very easily earn $600 a week from home, then it’s much easier to condition it to expect a figure of $5000 a week. To earn $600 a week, you need to sell just ten items worth $400 a week. That’s two a day. More info about the best sort of items to sell later on. You also have to make sure that your eBay and Paypal fees, internet connection charges, phone, petrol (if you have to drive to see customers), mobile phone and all other expenses are covered in the total price you charge. Small Home Ebay Business. Small Home Ebay Business. So how do you do this? Well if you’re listing a $400 antique tea caddy on eBay, it’ll cost you around $20 total in fees. All your other costs might come to $40 a week (petrol, internet charges, phone calls and whatever). Now obviously you can’t put all these charges onto one item or you’ll never sell them anyway. You must do two things: 1. DO add your eBay listing and eBay fees onto the single item that incurs them. 2. Divide the rest of your expenses by the number of items you expect to sell in a week. For example if your costs are $40 a week and you expect to sell twenty items, put another $2 ($40 divided by 20 items) on the price of each item. So your sale would look like this: Your customer tells you she wants you to sell her antique tea caddy for $400. You agree and tell her your fee is 15%. So now she knows that she will be receiving $400 less $60 (15%) for her caddy = $340 THIS IS YOUR CONTRACT WITH HER! Should the item sell, you must present her with $340 as per your agreement. So how do you build in your listing/eBay and overhead fees? You add your expenses onto the item and put a reserve price of $422 ($400 + $20 eBay/Paypal fees + $2 weekly overheads. If the item doesn’t sell, return it to your buyer. No sell no fee, as per your agreement If it sells for more, for example $500, your contract with your customer is still for $340. You have the option of either telling her it sold for more and giving her the extra, or realising that this is part of your business and as long as you honor your original agreement, everyone is happy. The choice is yours to make. Either way, your customers will be absolutely delighted when you return with a fistful of cash for them. You’ve done all the hard work and they’ve been presented with some very handy extra cash. Sometimes you may even receive a tip on top of your agreed . Think of it from their point of view. You’ve arrived at their house and have taken a photo or video of their goods. You’ve then gone away promising you can sell it for them. The item is still with the customer, There’s no fee if it’s NOT sold, and there’s no risk whatsoever for them. No wonder they’re happy to see you arrive waving cash. There’ll be more about selling techniques later. For now I want to talk about the most important aspect of your small home eBay business. Small Home Ebay Business. Small Home Ebay Business Customers. Obviously you can’t run your business without customers. The good news is, in this particular business you can divide customers into one of two categories: 1. They’re extremely easy to find and are grateful when you contact them 2. They come to you. To start with, you’re going to have to go and find customers. When you first start there are two ways of doing this. I would start with the first, and while you’re waiting for business to come in, get on with the second. If you do this, you will need to put a mobile number on your flyer. The first method is to get 1000 copies of your flyer printed up by a local printer. This shouldn’t cost more than $40 if you go to the right place and haggle a little. Tell him there’ll be repeat orders. Then pick a nice day, put on some comfortable footwear and go post your leaflets through 1000 letterboxes. Pick a more affluent part of town. Be cheerful and polite with anyone you meet. It gets a little boring but never forget, you’re working for yourself. The profit from this little exercise goes straight into your own pocket, not some factory owner or wherever else you may be working. When you’ve fly-posted 1000 homes (keep a record of which streets you’ve done), you can move on to the second of your marketing strategies for this small home eBay business. Go to the nearest newsagent and buy copies of all you local papers, free Ad papers and free local papers. When you get home you need to go through ALL the classified adverts in all the papers looking for items to sell. Below is a list of all the items I’d go for, in order of desirability. Small Home Ebay Business. 
Small Home Ebay Business.The top ones are the most desirable, right down to the bottom of the list that are a little more hassle to sell, but just as lucrative. 1. Items valued over $200 that are small and can be easily and cheaply i.e. they’re not too heavy! 2. Technology that is priced well below shop value or is the ‘latest’ thing- at the moment e.g. ipods are very desirable second-hand. 3. Collectables and Antiques (the higher the value the better) 4. Jewellery 5. Vehicles, boats, RV’s etc The more valuable the item, the better. If it small and easy to post, even better. If it’s all of the above and unusual too then you’re onto a winner! Avoid heavy bulky items unless your profit margin is worth it. Circle the items that interest you. I reckon about 50% of all ads are potential customers for your small home eBay business. You need to be able to either send items to your buyer, or have them pick it up. You can do this by telling them so in your eBay listing, and where the item is, geographically. People who cannot get to your part of the country to pick up their purchase simply won’t bid, so you don’t have to worry about them. As I said, when you’ve ringed the items (use different color markers so you can contact the priority ones first), it’s time to pick up the phone and call them. WHAT!!?? Sales calls? I hear you say??? I can’t do that!! Don’t panic – this bit is optional. You can stick to leafleting and putting your flyers into shop windows if you want. I would recommend that you try this though as it can generate great rewards for your small home eBay business. It’s easy, gets results, and once you’ve done one or two, there’s nothing to it. Set yourself a target of making 20 calls a day while using your other advertising methods at the same time. It’s well worth it. Once you start talking to your customers, you’ll love it! Remember, you’re doing them a great service. Small Home Ebay Business. Small Home Ebay Business Back To Your ‘Sales Calls’. Well, for a start, they’re not sales calls exactly – you’re simply helping people out who are having problems selling their goods. Here’s how to do it. 1. Go to your priority Ad’s that you circled. 2. Pick up the phone and dial (smile when you speak – it’ll come across to the other person) 3. When they answer, use the following ‘script’: 4. ‘Hi, I’ve just seen your Ad for the antique tea caddy, is it still available’? If they say ‘No I’m sorry it’s sold’, say thanks and hang up. They don’t need your service. If they say ‘Yes it’s still available’, continue with the following: ‘If you’d allow me, I could sell it for you. In fact, I think I have someone already lined up for it. All I’d need to do is take a quick picture of it. There’s no fee if I don’t sell it and the item stays in your possession at all times’. THEN SHUT UP AND SAY NOTHING! The temptation here is to follow up with all kinds of promises and assurances, ALL of which will have one outcome – they’ll make you sound desperate! Keep quiet and let them think about it. If they say no, ask if you can leave a number in case they change their minds. Then thank them and hang up. If they say OK, or more likely, ask more questions, you’ve got them. Just answer the questions honestly and make arrangements to video the item. Be honest with them, but whatever you do, don’t tell them HOW you sell it, or they’ll do it themselves. You can avoid giving specifics by saying you have ‘contacts in the trade’ or have a number of regular buyers. Say whatever you want, just don’t tell them about eBay. They obviously don’t use eBay themselves or they wouldn’t be advertising in the local paper. Take the address, make the appointment and you’re on! If you’re still not sure, think it through the other way around. If you were trying to sell a used laptop (and you didn’t know about eBay) for $600, and had advertised for a week in the paper without a single call, you’d be little depressed wouldn’t you? You might consider taking it to the local computer shop but you phoned him first and he offered you $300 to take it off your hands. So you thought ‘$300?? No way’ and decide to put it in the paper. A week goes by with no joy. THEN you get a call from a polite person (YOU) who says they can sell the laptop for you for around $600. All they need to do is come round and shoot a quick video of the item and that’s it. You don’t need to pay any money up front. You don’t need to DO anything else. And best of all, the laptop stays with you the whole time, so you know they’re not up to anything suspicious. Wouldn’t you say yes? I would too! Small Home Ebay Business Small Home Ebay Business. The Appointment. So you’ve got your first few customers and your small home eBay business is up and running. Arrange to see them when it’s mutually convenient, and turn up bang on time with your camcorder. Incidentally while we’re on the subject, one of the BEST places to find customers is by placing your own ad in the local paper in the classified section. This has two advantages. Firstly, people will see your ad while they’re checking that their own has been correctly worded and run, and will call you when their own item hasn’t sold. Secondly people will remember your ad and associate it with the local paper, therefore giving you more coverage and more respectability. It doesn’t matter WHERE your customer came from, the classified ads, word of mouth, shop window advertisement or from your leafleting, the following applies to all. So you’ve turned up, on time, camcorder and notebook in hand. Look smart. You don’t have to wear a business suit (or you’ll look like a double glazing salesman!), but DO be neat and tidy. Be polite. Answer any questions they have. Elderly people especially, can feel threatened by a stranger in the house. So don’t be pushy or abrupt. These are the people who will be the core of your small home eBay business. Don’t be afraid to move the item around to get the best angle for a picture. I find the best results are in daylight, but using the flash. Ask if the customer has a white tablecloth to put the item on as a backdrop if it’s small. GET THEM INVOLVED! That way you will get all the co-operation you need. Take about five minutes of video and five or six still photos. Show the pictures to the customer on your LCD screen and see which one they think is best. You won’t be able to go back without looking like an amateur, and unless you have an appointment immediately afterwards, you can download all the pictures and video from your camcorder onto your PC when you get home. Next you need to talk to the customer about the item they’re selling. They might know about its history, or some technical details you hadn’t realized. Note how it makes them feel and remember to use emotive language in your eBay auction description. People buy on emotion, not on rational decisions, no matter what you might think. Make good use of your notebook and write lots of notes. You could also use a digital recorder if you prefer. Just make sure you come away with the following information: • How much they want to sell the item for, but make sure it is realistic. You can always check on eBay to see how much similar items have sold for. • They understand how much commission you charge and how much money you will be giving them back (i.e. sales price minus your commission. This step is simple but VITAL). Write it down for them and make it crystal clear. • That they must NOT advertise the item while you are trying to sell it – usually 5-7 days. • Make arrangements for hading over money and picking up item for shipping. You need to do the packing and shipping as the buyer can leave feedback on your eBay seller ID, so you need to know it’s been done properly. • Make, model, serial number, technical specs, and other DETAILED info about the item. You also need to come away having established a good relationship with your customer. If they like you, they are likely to use you again, regardless of the outcome of the sale. Small Home Ebay Business. Selling The Item. So now you’re armed with your digital video, photos and all details (make, model, technical data etc). Now it’s time to list your item on ebay and sell it. First of all, write out a description of it in rough, before you come to type in onto the auction page. I’m assuming you’re familiar with eBay at this stage (If you are unfamiliar with eBay I suggest you buy a book or an online tutorial and familiarize yourself with the basics of how eBay works. Then come back and read through this section again). Make sure you use descriptive language. Which sounds better and more enticing? Antique Tea Caddy Or Stunning Antique Rosewood Tea Caddy I don’t even know if tea caddies are made from rosewood, but I DO know that I’d find out from the owner when I get details). I would use all the info I had to make my auction description as inviting as possible. Remember the more money you make on the item, the bigger the commission you get. Edit your video into a 30-60 second clip using MovieMaker for free on any Windows PC or use iVideo on a Mac. Add some titles and background music to make it look more appealing if you wish. Upload the video to YouTube by following the simple instructions. When it is uploaded, copy the ‘embed’ code that is underneath the YouTube video description. Then simply copy and paste the code into the ‘html’ tab in eBay when creating your auction. Your video will then appear in your auction complete with player controls. Is it better to use an auction listing or fixed price Buy It Now listing? I would always suggest an auction. All it needs are two buyers bidding against each other and the price (and therefore your profit) can go through the roof. You’ll definitely get more interest and action by using an auction. People want bargains and get ‘auction fever’. More people are more likely to bid for an item that starts at a low price, and then go much higher, than an item with a high Buy It Now price. There is a bit of psychology involved with eBay. Small Home Ebay Business Small Home Ebay Business I like to use the 3 day listing. They seem to work for me. I think people realize that they’d better bid now because it’ll be over soon. With a 7 or 10 day auction people seem to ‘watch’ the item for a while, which makes it easier for them to forget about it and change their minds. We live in a very ‘instant’ society, and I think people’s buying habits reflect this, although this is just my opinion and you will need to do your own testing. I would always set a reserve price at the price you have agreed with your customer. If it sells for less, you will have to pay the seller the difference. Don’t be tempted to create a second eBay ID and make bids on your item to get the price up as eBay are on to this practice and will suspend all your accounts. It’s just not worth it. When you’re listing your item, make it absolutely clear how the item will be transferred – will it be posted, couriered, collected or any other method. If you’re sending it by post, make sure you use the best service for the job – recorded, registered, special delivery etc depending on the value of the item. Also make sure you know how much it will cost so you can let potential purchasers know before they buy. Be as transparent as possible. Let them KNOW what they’re getting – hence the most important piece of equipment – the camcorder. It enables them to SEE the item. Remember the buyer pays the postage and packing costs. Be honest though – they best way to get negative feedback is to charge outlandish postage charges. Buyers are NOT stupid! You want a good reputation on eBay as well as with your customers. When it’s sold, email your buyer and make the shipping or delivery arrangements clear. Tell them what payment methods you take – Paypal is the only way in my humble opinion, as it is the quickest, safest and you get free fraud protection up to $1000. It’s important to immediately tell your customer that you’ve sold their item. That way they won’t try to sell it themselves. If there is going to be any kind of delay, TELL them. Keep the customer informed at all times. If it’s sold for more than you agreed, you may NOT want to mention this. It’s up to you. On the rare occasions that the buyer will pick up the item from the house of your customer, make sure you are there. In this case it would be wise to be totally up front with your customer about the selling price of the item. If it comes out in general chitchat with the buyer, things could get a bit awkward. If the item can be posted, go to your customer with the money ready in cash. Take the item and post it to your buyer. That’s it – a simple, extremely lucrative small home ebay business that you can start up almost immediately from home. Small Home Ebay Business. Small Home Ebay Business. Future Developments. There are various directions you can go in when your small home eBay business is up and running. The first move, and possibly the best step you can take when you’ve a little more confidence and experience, is to provide the same service that you give to your customers, but also do it for local shops. Antiques, cars, trucks, boats, RV’s, crafts, jewelry. The world is your oyster. You can sell anything using your camcorder and new-found skills. Dress up a bit and go see them. This time you will need a business card. Your flyer is aimed at the general public and will look a bit unprofessional to a dealer. Chat to the shop owner. Ask them what they do if something doesn’t sell – try and see if they already use eBay. A lot do, but a lot don’t either. Tell them you can sell their goods for them with no money up front. No sale, no deal. Go through exactly the same explanation of how your service works that you would with your everyday customers. Obviously don’t tell them about the eBay connection if you don’t have to, but to be honest, if you do a good job and sell the cars, what do they care? Take your camcorder with you. You might be able to come away with a deal there and then. Ask if you can prove it to them. Agree a nice piece and take some video and some photos. Go away, put it on a 1-day auction and phone the shop owner when you’ve got a buyer. They’ll be incredibly impressed. Again go for small, portable items, if a buyer has to call at the shop, it can give away the whole secret to your business. Leave them with your card and phone number and go on to the next shop. Get five or six of these shops agreeing to let you sell their goods and your business will be set up for a long time. The second progression for your new small home eBay business is to open your own shop. It’s not as hard as it seems. Of course there are overheads but this is for when your business is established and earning more than you thought possible! There’s more here than just running your own video eBay business, it’s the start of a whole new way of life. This is little competition, but has lots of potential and growth. It’s so easy and cheap to start, and the business can grow as big as you want it too. Best of luck to you. Small Home Ebay Business.
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Small Home Ebay Business.
Small Home Ebay Business.
