Tuesday, July 26, 2011

EBay: Tactics on How to Get More Bids on Auctions

Publisher: Earl Williams
Shop-Now Mini Mall

The more bids you have on your auctions, the higher your eventual sale price will be. The number of bids indicates to other bidders how popular your item is. The more popular it is, the more others tend to want that item.

So how do you get more bids on your auctions? Here are a few proven tactics.

=> Start Your Auction at $0.99

Starting your auction at $0.99 will virtually guarantee you'll get bids, especially if your item is worth significantly more.

You have to have a bit of confidence to do this; because often times your item won't actually get bidded up until the last hour of the auction.

While starting at $0.99 can often win you more bids, it can be a trade-off. Sometimes starting lower causes people to believe your product is worth less and therefore eventually sell for less; while at other times the extra bids drive the sales up.

Test it for yourself to see what works.


=> Aim for Snippable Times

Many eBay buyers prefer to bid at the last minute to prevent others from seeing their bid prematurely. This practice is called "sniping." As a seller, you want to make it as easy as possible for snipes to place their bid.

Therefore, look at ending your auctions either on weekends or at nights, when people can comfortably be in front of their computers.

When in doubt, take a look at when all your competitors end their auctions and time your items to be within a few hours of theirs.

Having a Unique Selling Proposition (USP) can really make the difference. So many sellers try to compete with one another selling basically the same item. It makes no sense.

Instead, come up with something unique about your item. It can be something as simple as a free guide to the product to be included when they buy; or a small related item for free.

Whatever it is, make sure you have something that sets you apart from your competition. Promote that USP shamelessly.

=> Clear Pictures, Description, Shipping and Refunds

Take several clear pictures of the product from all angles. Avoid using stock images or images from the manufacturer, as that's what everyone else will be using.

Answer common questions in your description. Make sure your shipping and refund policies are crystal clear. Know what questions others frequently have about the product and answer them pre-emptively.

Even in the competitive marketplace of eBay, there are a lot of bad listings. A lot of people just copy and paste their website into eBay.

By taking the time to really answer questions, take new pictures and create a professional description, you'll make your listing stand out.

If you craft your auction with clear pictures and description, have a rock-solid USP, end your auction at ideal times and start your auctions at $0.99, you'll almost certainly get a nice flow of bids for your items.


About the Publisher: Earl Williams is a real entrepreneur who own and operate his online mall. Shop-Now Mini Mall is the place whereby consumers directly buy goods or services from a seller in real-time online from a list of stores on our site. The consumer deals direct with the merchant for which we provide the store links. Our online shopping mall provides everything you need for shopping online.....

Google Patents Search - What Are the Benefits

Publisher: Earl Williams
Shop-Now Mini Mall


Google's patent search system makes obtaining patent data fast, easy and free for everyone on the internet. In the past, obtaining patent data from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) was a painstaking and potentially expensive process. By scanning all 7+ million patent documents filed with the USPTO, Google has made the process easier for everybody.

What are the benefits of being able to search for patents?


=> Determine If Your Idea Has Been Done

If you have a brilliant business or product idea, one of the first things you should do is make sure that nobody else has already come up with and patented the idea.

All you need to do is come up with a few keyword ideas to search for the patent. If your search doesn't turn up any patents, then you have a good shot at being first to the market.

=> Look for Patents to Lease

If you need a certain piece of technology but don't want to spend the money in developing it yourself, one cost-effective alternative would be to lease the technology instead.

But how do you find out who owns the right to certain technologies? Google Patent Search. As long as you can find the patent, you can also find who holds the rights to the patent, along with their contact information.

You can then contact them directly to strike a patent leasing deal.

=> Research into a Specific Inventor

If an inventor you know has created several products that have caught your attention and you want to see what else they've invented, you can find all the patents by that inventor using Google Patent Search.

Just click the "Advanced Patent Search" link next to the general search box and type in the inventor's name.

=> Find Inspiration for Product Designs

Need some inspiration for a product you're designing? Stuck on a specific engineering challenge? Why not look through past patent designs to see how previous designers tackled those issues?

Past patents can be ripe grounds for finding inspiration and solutions. That said, be careful - any idea that you want to patent yourself or use commercially needs to be sufficiently different from any past patent that it can be considered its own entirely different product.

Never take complete ideas from someone else's patent. Only use it as inspiration to come up with your own unique designs. If you absolutely need to use a design in someone else's patent, consider leasing just that part of the technology.

These are some of the uses for Google's Patent Search. With over seven million patents at your fingertips, you can now easily find just about any kind of information you want in relation to patents. From inventors to patent numbers to specific technologies, all the information is freely available.


About the Publisher: Earl Williams is a real entrepreneur who own and operate his online mall. Shop-Now Mini Mall is the place whereby consumers directly buy goods or services from a seller in real-time online from a list of stores on our site. The consumer deals direct with the merchant for which we provide the store links. Our online shopping mall provides everything you need for shopping online.....