advanced internet business strategies

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Advanced Secrets and Strategies for Selling

on the Internet

By Joel Elad

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Today’s Agenda

Wholesale and dropshippers Determining what to sell on which site

(eBay, Amazon, Yahoo, etc.) Opening your own store (eBay/Yahoo) How to Sell on Amazon Saving money when shopping retail The power of referrals Getting noticed on the Search Engines Getting paid on other people’s sales

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I’m assuming you know the following…

What eBay is and how to buy and sell

How to use an Internet web browser Using the Internet to research prices You’ve heard of or used the

following sites: Yahoo, Google, eBay, Amazon,

Overstock, Craigslist, etc. etc.

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Step 1Find your Products to Sell

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Start with what you can get…

Great place to start: storage/attic Friends and family – Do they (or their

workplace) have a product to sell? Liquidation Auctions (Storage comp.) Local manufacturers / distributors Trade shows/craft fairs – Hobbies

Hey… what about buying wholesale?

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Wholesalers Wholesaler: You buy direct from a wholesaler to

get better prices, usually in large quantities and then resell the items online. They typically provide pictures and descriptions for you to use, some link to eBay.

GOOD: Better discount than going retail, you have a dependable source to get more if a product is profitable, usually have selection.

BAD: You pay up front and have to store, pack, and ship the merchandise yourself. Most wholesalers don’t take returns, so if it doesn’t sell, you have to liquidate at a loss.

DO YOUR HOMEWORK BEFORE YOU JOIN!

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Most wholesalers let you order through their

website

Create and monitor your orders Get product descriptions & pictures Alert you to new products

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Some wholesalers use e-mail to alert you to new

deals

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Drop-Shippers Drop-ship: You sell the item, THEN you

buy it from a wholesaler, and THEY ship out the item directly to your customer.

GOOD: No up-front investment for the item, no time needed to ship out the item.

BAD: Your reputation is on the line, and you usually never get to meet your drop-shipper to see their operations. If you’re part of a wholesale “club”, you’re competing against other members.

DO YOUR HOMEWORK BEFORE YOU JOIN!

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Some examples

WorldwideBrands.com - Directories DOBA.com (Wholesale) – Annual fee LiquidXS.com – Certain categories Genco.com – Buy 1+ pallets of stuff! Alibaba.com – Buy direct from China! Liquidation.com – Business surplus GoWholesale.com – Portal of info

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The Definitive Resource for Product Sourcing• Find the Products Buyers Want

• Locate Legitimate Suppliers

• Sell Profitably in the eBay Marketplace

eBay Certified Service Provider Co-author Best Selling Book “What to Sell on eBay and Where to Get It”

Contributing Editor Entrepreneur Magazine Product Sourcing Radio Show

Featured Speaker 2005 & 2006 - eBay Live! Product Sourcing Panel

Monthly eBay Workshops on Product Sourcing

Featured in Top Publications and Radio Shows, Including eBay Radio

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Business Building Strategies

• How to Find the Products Buyers Want• Translate Trends into Products™

• Tune into Trending Information through Idea Hotspots™

• Profiles of Today’s Hot Retail Niches • How to Build a Fresh Dynamic Product Line • Locate Suppliers for Any Type of Product• Strategies to Work With All Kinds of Suppliers• Use Multiple Sourcing Venues to Expand Your Product Line• Creative Selling and Marketing Strategies to Maximize Sales• Add Value to Your Products and Services• Define a Unique Selling Position• Drive Repeat Sales through Customer Retention

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•

Subscription Based Website Hundreds of Professional Strategies Continually Expanding Library All Original, Exclusive Content Step-by-Step Techniques LIVE Monthly Member’s Only Teleseminars Audio and Video Training Interactive Member’s Only Discussion forum No Long Term Contracts

Get the What Do I Sell.com Advantage™Training Methodology

http://www.whatdoisell.com/joelelad

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eBay Reseller Marketplace

Only available to PowerSellers Wholesale lots Reputable Sellers eBay benefits

http://www.ebay.com/reseller/

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Step 2Determining the Right

Channel

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So, why should I care about different channels?

Variety of userseBay has 244 million usersYahoo has 50-60 million shoppersAmazon has 57 million shoppersCraigslist and Google have TONS

Things don’t sell as well on one channel as they might on another channel

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The type of good can be a dead giveaway…

Books/Media – Look at Amazon 1st

Rare/One-of-A-Kind – eBay Auction Commodity good – Your Own Store Heavy/hard to move – Craigslist High-priced collectible – Niche site Homemade/Original good –

Everywhere

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Research to find your answer

Use the website’s search engines to see if that product sells on that site.

If it does sell, see if it’s a popular item on the site. Compare the prices the item gets vs. other sites. Was it easy to find? Are there lots of reviews associated with the item?

If it doesn’t sell, find out if it’s legal to sell on that site

Use Google or Yahoo to see where the item is popping up

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Shopping Comparison sites

Froogle.com Shopzilla.com Shopping.com Yahoo! Shopping

(shopping.yahoo.com) PriceGrabber.com

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See what other eBayers are bidding on!

http://pulse.ebay.com Seller Central “What’s Hot” Categories Report Most Watched Items Merchandising Calendar Buyer Behavior Report

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Look at what eBay is telling you about sales

data

http://pulse.ebay.com eBay watches their sales data like a

hawk, and here, they tell you: The 10 hottest search terms per

category The 5 largest stores per category The most watched items per

category

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Look at what eBay has learned from their own

sellers…

http://pages.ebay.com/sellercentral/ eBay gives you functions like:

Category Tips: Learn what’s In Demand through the Pulse program, read Seller’s Edge stories on category advice, or study actual Seller Profiles.

Advanced Selling - Seller OnRamp: Schedule an appointment with an eBay consultant for business selling on how you can grow your eBay business.

Best Practices: Advice on everything from Research & Pricing to Merchandise & Shipping.

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What else can Seller Central tell me?

What’s Hot – eBay tells you which specific subcategories have the greatest amount of growth

Merchandising Calendar – Find out when eBay is promoting specific products on the home page

News and Updates – Find out about listing sales, item specifics changes, etc.

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What is the Buyer Behavior Report?

• This report is a first in a series of detailed eBay usage reports highlights how buyers use eBay. (Go to Advanced Selling, Data & Research) Use this information to better understand eBay Buyer Behavior, refine your listing & merchandising strategies.

• This report covers the following topics…• Number of unique visitors to eBay.com per month• Visit patterns (by day of week, category, and time spent)• Typical user paths through eBay.com• Visitor demographics• Market research on active eBay buyers

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Advanced Research through

Data Analysis! Study pricing data for the last month,

quarter, or year!

Terapeak – www.terapeak.com PowerDesk – www.hammertap.com eBay Marketplace Research

Prices range from FREE to $25/month

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What can Data Analysis tell me?

The performance of a category over time How a “seasonal” category performs over a

year Average rates of returns and sell-through

ratios

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How precise can my eBay listings be with Data

Analysis?

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Step 3 Build your own Storefront

eBay Store Inventory Listings Using Auctions to draw Attention Cross-Promotion Reports and features Steady sales

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Why get an eBay Store? All your items in one place Fixed URL web address You can create up to 300 custom

categories Advanced FREE reporting options Advanced marketing techniques Great cross-promotion options Buyers can search only YOUR listings!

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What options are there? Basic store - $15.95/month

Free telephone support Unified storefront for unlimited items

Featured store - $49.95/month Free Selling Manager Pro ($15.99/mo

value) More marketing options

Anchor store - $299.95/month In addition, you pay up to 10% of

monthly sales as Final Value Fees

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What does an eBay Store look like?

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How do I manage my eBay Store?

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Should you use Yahoo for your e-commerce store?

1 in 8 stores on the ‘Net is a Yahoo! store

Full range of tools offered Easy to use Starts at $39.95 per month

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Why Yahoo? You own your own domain name They provide 300+ templates, shopping

carts, and website tools They provide powerful reporting features You get discounts on popular marketing

programs (credit towards Search Engine ads)

Free telephone support and advice during 1st 60 days of operation

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Yahoo provides lots of different functionality

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Yahoo Merchant Solutions

Starter- $39.95/month + 1.5%

Standard - $99.95/month + 1.0%

Professional - $299.95/month + .75%

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Other Website Solutions

GoDaddy: $9.99-29.99/month 1and1: $9.99 and up/month ProStores: $6.95/month (<10 items) Free websites – They own ads Your ISP – get some space? PayPal Shopping Cart/Buttons - free

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Why should you want your own website?

Unlimited number/type of products Independence Focus Lower cost Build repeat business Create a brand – your website is

the center of that brand

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What can you sell?

Products OPP – Other People’s Products Advertisements! (Google) Information Your own branded products

(CafePress)

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What do you need to open your online store?

Storefront provider (Yahoo, etc.) Merchant Credit Card account (PayPal) Business paperwork (Permits/licenses) Set of policies (Privacy, Return, etc.) Contact Information (Skype, eFax) A plan!

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Coming Feb 2008 – Web Stores Do-It-Yourself for

Dummies

Step by Step guide Yahoo, ProStores,

1&1 case studies Build, launch, and

promote your online store

$24.99 retail

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Selling on Amazon Earth’s Biggest Bookstore Today, 43 product categories As of last year, over 925,000 people sell

on Amazon

57 million shoppers, less than a million sellers?

30-37% of Amazon’s sales is from third-party people like you!

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How can you sell on Amazon? Marketplace

Books DVDs Music Consumer Electronics Computers & Video Games Musical Instruments Cameras & Cell phones Everything Else! (not in their main catalog)

Auctions

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Why sell on Amazon? List something in under 60 seconds In most cases, no photography, no

lengthy description Buyers are coming specifically to

shop, not browse like eBay No upfront listing fees – pay only

when it sells They ensure you get paid every time

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Cost of using Amazon Books, DVD’s, Music – 15% + .99 Everything Else – 10% + .99 Electronics – 8% + .99 Computers – 6% + .99 Payment processing is included Get paid every 2 wks from Amazon Pro Merchant - $39.99/month (No .99/item) Shipping profit

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How do you sell something on Amazon?

Look for the Sell Yours Here button!

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Step 1 – Select Condition & Write some comments

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Step 2 – Pick a price and Shipping Locations

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Step 3 – Review my Sales Information

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How can I save money at retail?

Shop at Best Buy, Circuit City, Target, Barnes & Noble, etc? GIFT CARDS!

People sell coupons online! Read Sunday ads in advance FatWallet, & other ‘coupon code’ sites Anandtech Forums

(www.anandtech.com/forums)

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How do you market yourself?

Search engine ads Newsletters E-mail marketing Blogs (online journals) Sell on other sites Writing articles in your subject Participate in discussions

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Getting picked up by the Search Engines

SEO = Search Engine Optimization Using keywords Using keywords wisely Not abusing the keyword

placement Submitting to the search engines Getting those referrals from others

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Referrals are key

Search engines judge your popularity by “incoming links”

Link Exchanging Getting mentioned in blogs Writing and distributing articles Getting quoted in other articles

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Where to put keywords?

Domain name/subdomainwidget.widgetsales.com

HTML Title of web page Name of the web page <META> tag Words that are linked to other sites

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Make money from other people’s sales

Google AdSense – make money by hosting search engine ads

Amazon Affiliate – Customer buys a book, you get a percentage

Clickbank Affiliate – You sell someone’s information product, you get a big %.

Affiliate Marketing in general

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Examples of Affiliate Marketing on your site

Google AdSense Amazon Affiliates

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The top sites for Affiliate Marketing

Commission Junction – www.cj.com Amazon www.amazon.com/associates/ Google – adsense.google.com Clickbank – www.clickbank.com VistaPrint – www.vistaprint.com/join Barnes & Noble – www.bn.com/affiliate/ Shareasale – www.shareasale.com

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List of Marketing Resources and their WWW addresses

Search engine advertising adwords.google.com searchmarketing.yahoo.co

m E-mail marketing

www.constantcontact.com Blogs

www.blogger.com www.wordpress.com

Articles www.articlemarketer.com www.ezinearticles.com www.articlesbase.com

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Conclusion

There are lots of ways to make money that not everyone is doing.

Make your own brand, control your sales, and build a customer following.

For help or to ask questions: annex@joelelad.com

THANKS FOR COMING!!!