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Free eBay Helplines

Free eBay Helplines

My empwronline post, regarding seminars about eBay selling (which I strongly advise you don't waste your time and money on) has received an interesting response both her and on Tamebay. Thank you to everyone who has commented or emailed me privately: I've heard from some seriously disgruntled ... Read more »
Smallbizpod Scribblings

Smallbizpod Scribblings

File under 'plugging'. I'm a huge fan of the urbane Alex Bellinger, smallbizpod and the superb smallbizpod podcasts. So it was a pleasure to scribble some thoughts for the smallbizpod blog about things people should know about eBay. In other news. The smallbizpod piece and my own post ... Read more »
My concerns about EmPwrOnline

My concerns about EmPwrOnline

Last week, I attended a two hour seminar held by EmPwrOnline in Brighton called 'The secrets of proven eBay selling success.' If you are interested in selling on eBay or want to improve your eBay selling skills, I would strongly advise that you don't attend these events. The event has been ... Read more »
eBay Sellers: Have you considered 'Shill Buying'?

eBay Sellers: Have you considered ‘Shill Buying’?

Getting top billing in search on eBay has never been more complicated. In the system they call 'Best Match' there is a lot that remains unknown. What do we know for sure? We know that Feedback DSRs are important. We also know that having made a sale on a 30 day multiple BIN listing boosts your ... Read more »
eBay: Thanks for the encouragement.

eBay: Thanks for the encouragement.

It's taken me about 4 years to get to 1000 Feedback on one of my accounts. I got my red shooting star. The next star is 5000. Thanks for the encouragement. ETA ... Read more »
Why isn't eBay promoting Skype?

Why isn’t eBay promoting Skype?

Spotted this on ebay.co.uk today. Isn't Skype the internet phone service for small businesses? ... Read more »
Home Truths for eBay Sellers

Home Truths for eBay Sellers

Everyone loves a whinge. Hell, I'd list it as a hobby in Who's Who if I was illustrious enough. And it would be just that: a hobby: not business. But, and I'm willing to take the flak here, there is a cohort of eBay sellers who are in the business of complaining and they outclass even the ... Read more »
Small Business 2.0: Social Marketing Links

Small Business 2.0: Social Marketing Links

Further to my post about Small Business 2.0 and my talk, I thought some of these links might be useful 'Further Reading'. New York Times: Blogging for small businesses How you can use Stumbleupon - elance How Digg can help you market your business - elance.com Techcrunch: 9 ways to build your ... Read more »
Third Party Ads on the eBay.co.uk Homepage

Third Party Ads on the eBay.co.uk Homepage

Hardly a surprise and not a first. But it's pretty saddening to see a great big ad on the eBay.co.uk homepage and above the fold at that. eBay reported last week that ad revenues were one of the few areas of the 'marketplace' business that are still growing strongly. So I guess it's the shape of ... Read more »
Small Business 2.0: Social Marketing

Small Business 2.0: Social Marketing

I presented at Small Business 2.0 on my chosen specialist subject of 'Getting closer to your customers'. It was all about using Web 2.0 services, social networking and online communities to talk with existing and potential customers. The audio should hopefully be available soon. Here's a precis ... Read more »
eBay Everywhere: Overheard on a train

eBay Everywhere: Overheard on a train

Tonight, on the train home. I sit down next to a man I don't know, who's already jabbering away on his mobile telephone to someone else I don't know, about things that don't interest me. Then something piques my interest. I pause my iPod and listen in. And remember, I only have one side of this ... Read more »
eBay.co.uk Changes: Shops, SIF and BIN

eBay.co.uk Changes: Shops, SIF and BIN

eBay have announced another raft of changes today, this time to fees and selling formats. As ever, there's dense detail, unanswered questions and a great dea of speculation. Sellers will be getting calculators out to try and understand whether these changes advantage them. They'll also need to ... Read more »
eBay for 'older' entrepreneurs

eBay for ‘older’ entrepreneurs

Every now and again I'll get some questions from a journalist: they want a talking head for an article and I'm usually happy to oblige. Typically, I'll provide quite a lot of material and a few sentences will be used. I sent these responses to a journo last week, so I thought I'd puiblish my full ... Read more »
eBay Everywhere: Overheard on a train

eBay Everywhere: Overheard on a train

Tonight on the train home. I sit down next to a man I don't know, who's already jabbering away on his mobile telephone to someone else I don't know, about things that don't interest me. Then something piques my interest. I pause my iPod and listen in. And remember, I only have one side of this ... Read more »