There are a plenty of free e bay.com free auction template services out there and I would like to help you find the service that will best suit your needs by comparing what i feel is the top two contenders. FoamTemplates.com and Auctioninsights.com.

In the left corner… we have www.auctioninsights.com with the number one ranking website in google for the coveted search phrase, “free auction templates” This site contains a large amount of helpful information but the Template Designer does lack customization options. You can enter a title, description, and shipping details like most template makers, but are limited to 3 full size pictures, and there is no easy way to change your color scheme without diving into Html. I would say this site does have an edge on reach because of the helpful e bay.com related information and the site age is much greater so there is a slight reputation boost as well.

In the right corner… we have www.foamtemplates.com. This is a new site and lacks the trusty useful information the opponent has, but it has the strength of being able to not only format your information into tables, but also the ability to easily edit everything there is to edit about your templates design. Many free colors, fonts, and backgrounds are available. You can also upgrade to the premium edition for unlimited picture uploads. When you upload a picture to foam premium, it is optimized, resized, and can also be automatically thumbnailed for you. Great time saver.

I hope you find this review to be helpful in determining which site will best suit your needs. And above all, enjoy the FREE templates and information!

Try http://www.foamtemplates.com
today, for Free Auction Templates!

Recently I wrote an article entitled, “Future Internet: Collaboration without loss of individuality: Example 1: Ebay”. Since then it has come to my attention that like all other areas of life the comedians and jokers have invaded and put their mark on this incredible new phenomenon. I am by no means against humour as I am a firm believer in the idea that laughter is the greatest medicine of all. If humanity just learned to laugh at ourselves a little bit more instead of taking everything in life so seriously, I think we could achieve both individual and social harmony much more quickly.

There are several websites on the Internet already dedicated to weird things that have been offered and even bought on www.ebay.com. A few that I’ve seen are found at: http://www.whowouldbuythat.com/, http://www.weird-websites.com/WeirdEbay.htm, and www.whattheheck.com/ebay/.

Certain eccentric as well as just plainly silly people have tried to sell anything from their own virginity (had to be a hoax) to the now infamous ‘ghost in a jar’. The ‘ghost in a jar’ sale was so popular that a whole slew of copycats have followed suit ranging from ‘ghost droppings’ to a ‘ghost in a bra’. The ‘What the heck’ site seems to have the most comprehensive list with items being categorised into: Fan favourites, People, Body parts and fluids, Animal Kingdom, Metaphysical Stuff, Face it you’re addicted to Ebay, Technology and accessories, Health and Beauty, Dirt, Water etc, Just plain evil, Gross, Weird inventions, and Stuff we’ve yet to categorise. One of my favourites is for the sale of Snow. Here’s what the seller had to say about the product:

“So far, we’ve got over a foot, and it’s still coming down. We really don’t need more than a few inches here, so we’re making the rest available to the highest bidder. Due to the perishable nature of snow, and because not even 4WD vehicles are having much luck on our local roads, the winning bidder must make arrangements for pickup. This snow doesn’t pack very well, so you’ll have to make your own packing arrangements as well. Note that I’m only offering the excess snow from our own property. If you need it, I may be able to arrange for you to get more. I’ll accept cash or money order for payment. If you clear a path from Interstate 40 to my house, I’ll discount your winning bid, charging only an amount equivalent to the Ebay fee for the closing bid. Take our snow, please…”

I also laughed when I saw that drug-free urine, raccoon’s penis bones, the Internet (someone bid 1 billion dollars-it’s real worth would be priceless), nine used toothbrushes, dirt from the US civil War, a UFO Finder, a Russian sub (a real one!) and Absolutely Nothing were on sale. Here’s what the seller said about the latter:

“ABSOLUTELY NOTHING for sale, zero, zilch, nada. NO RESERVE on this vastly under appreciated commodity. Why suffer the disappointment of shelling out big bucks on junk you don’t want, can’t afford, and don’t need, when, for a small fee, you can completely bypass the disappointment! You expect nothing, and that’s precisely what you will get. I’m hoping I can build up a regular clientele for absolutely nothing, because finding nothing is much easier to acquire than most of the other items I sell. And shipping costs are minimal, because, well, nothing weighs nothing. And it’s very cheap for me to buy, as it costs me nothing. So forget about those Beamers, those houses in the suburbs, those electronic gadgets, those fashionable clothes that are outdated before you leave the store; THEY won’t bring you happiness, NOTHING will! The ancient Chinese Sage advised us that less is more. Therefore, NOTHING is most. Here is your chance to FINALLY get exactly what you’ve always deserved! Bid with confidence, because I guarantee NOTHING! Aren’t you weary of everyone whining that they can’t find NOTHING to buy? Well, here it is, ladies and gentlemen, step right up and mail me your dollars, I have an unlimited supply of what you really need most in your life, but were never quite sure how to acquire it. You could pay hundreds, thousands, even tens of thousands of dollars for the same thing from any one of a hundred political organizations, religious groups, or federally mandated taxing organizations, and not get one single thing that I’m not providing for a nominal fee of a $1.00 bid. And don’t despair if you get sniped out at the last minute this week, I’ll have a fresh supply available next week as well. Item is guaranteed to be exactly as described. California residents please add 8.25% sales tax.”

So, with every great step forward for humanity we have our tricksters helping us along with their great powers of humour. With Ebay a new way of collaborative consumerism has entered the so-called ‘first world’ psyche. The question is: Where do we draw the line between supply and demand for what we need to have a sustainable existence, and buying for the sake of addiction to shopping? I recently heard of a new term coined Affluenza. It is the disease of always wanting more money and material objects even if it means having a lesser quality of life. Hey, someone has even sold the ‘Meaning of life’ on Ebay for a mere $3.26!

This article has an accompanying image that can be viewed at http://www.m6.net/articles/images/comic.gif

Jesse S. Somer
http://www.m6.net

Jesse S. Somer didn’t like it when he saw that a girl was selling her ‘booger’ over the Web. However, in this girl he sees the power of creative imagination that is furthering our species’ consciousness.

Whether you’re succeeding in your online auction attempts, just getting by, or failing to make money; Joint Ventures Can, and almost certainly will, Multiply Your Income Without Spending A Single Penny!

Joint Venture, or JV, is a big general term for setting up creative ways to cross promote or cross market with other people Just Like You.

How do I know..? I’m living proof that it works and works well. Last year I made more than a quarter of a million dollars online that I can directly attribute to Joint Ventures. I don’t have any employees or an office. I work in my pajamas, at home.

No matter what product or service you’re marketing online. Possible JVs are all around you:

1. Find another seller that sells things that compliment your products and/or the other way around.

- I guess the first order of business is to get a general understanding of how many sales can be made in a very short amount of time by taking good care of your previous customer list and newsletter subscribers. Ever heard, “The Gold is In The List”..? This is a fact that had to be literally beaten into my head a few years ago and now I can’t imagine why I thought differently. Trust me, other sellers have massive lists and keep those subscribers by taking care of them with free information contacts and taking care of them by always being on the lookout for offers that may be of interest to them.

- Complimenting products or services are easy to figure out once you really step into another seller’s customer’s head. If I bought my digital camera from seller “A”, he should assume that I may want to hear about seller “B” who sells quality camera accessories. If I on webmaster “A”s website design newsletter list, she should assume that I would want to know about where some really good search engine optimization software sells for a fair price.

2. Think outside of the normal way of retail or real world selling and marketing.

- Advertising does not need to cost anything at all online! Cross promote each other to your own customer lists and link to the other sellers product with an affiliate link. I’ve found that the email or promotion of other products like this works very well if you show your emotion when describing the product’s good points. It really should be personal or don’t expect anything other than upset subscribers that feel wronged by some spam.

- Swapping testimonials for each other’s products or services is a real good way to Joint Venture. It works on a couple of levels simultaneously. One, your partner will sell more because you say that he’s trustworthy or worthwhile to buy from. And, two; your testimonial will undoubtedly contain a link to your website or ebay store which will tap into traffic and possible customers that you did not have otherwise…

- Even if you find a seller that doesn’t realize the power of these kinds of exchanges, you should surely be able to talk he or she into swapping links to each other’s store.

3. Take the time to really figure out what you want before approaching a possible partner. If the seller is worth venturing with, then he’s probably very busy and if you take his time without showing him some quick results; he may not respond or just string you along without wanting a confrontation.

- When you first run a crossed a seller or an idea like this that gets you excited, be sure to dive right into researching that seller PRIOR to approaching them. If you email or call them without doing your homework you may be wasting his time as well as your own.

- If you feel like there is a real possibility of working together with someone, but the answers aren’t obvious to you; go to Google and start looking for examples of scenarios. They are not as simple to run into as an Ipod would be, but the real difference between success and failure here is whether or not you give up.

Once you realize that this is a viable way of compounding your income with the least amount of work or advertising cash, a good rule of thumb for me has been, “If you can remember each JV you have off the top of your head, you don’t have enough of them!”

Now be careful because, just like customers, your joint venture partners need to know that they are important to you.

Do yourself and your partners a favor by checking out the JV Contact manager that I had a programmer create for me when my rule of thumb started to haunt me; VarsityJV. It’s the only one of its kind and its one of the lowest priced products that I’ve ever sold and I’ve sold thousands of products just in the last year…

Respectfully,
Chuck Mullaney

http://www.PajamaExecutive.com

http://www.VarsityJV.com

Chuck Mullaney, aka. the original “Pajama Executive”, is a High Level eBay Powerseller with 100% positive feedback and has generated close to a million dollars online, in the past 10 months. Chuck is an eBay trained Education Specialist, currently ranked number 1 out of the 583 eBay certified trainers worldwide. Chuck has zero employees, and as the founder of PajamaExecutive.com, you can actually find him working at home, alone, in his pajamas.

By the time that a product has made it to your local retail store, it’s probably changed at least three people’s hands, possibly even more than that. And each one of those people had to mark up the cost of the item to cover their investment and make a profit. That means that by the time it makes it to your hand, even if it was on the clearance rack, it’s been marked up. A LOT!

But, if you have a business license and a tax ID number and want to get your hands on products long before they make it to the retail segment, you need to know all about buying wholesale, which is trickier than it may sound. Especially since retail stores aren’t just going to volunteer where they got the products you’re buying. They don’t WANT you to eliminate the middle man.

But, I do. Because I’ve been there. And I know that there’s enough to go around. More than enough.

So, here you go. To get you started, check out these ten resources (listed in no particular order) that have helped me along in my way. These are free resources, with no membership fees or set-up costs…..

1. http://www.1usacloseouts.com/loads.htm - This site offers wholesale name brand clothing, with a low minimum order of just 350 pieces. Great for eBay sellers! They also have other related accessories and products.

2. http://www.aaacloseoutsnetwork.com/index.html - This wholesale company offers several different products at low, low prices. Minimums vary per products, enquire for more details.

3. http://www.camerawholesalers.com/ - All you need to know to start your own wholesale camera business.

4. http://www.closeoutsconcepts.com/ - closeouts concepts is a worldwide distributor and exporter of department store returns and closeout merchandise, liquidation merchandise, salvage, surplus at pennies on the wholesale dollar! (The site listed that they too have a 350 piece minimum order)

5. http://www.computerwholesalersinc.com/ - Computer Wholesalers, Inc. is based in Sarasota, FL and is a reseller of quality new, used, refurbished hp9000. DEC, Cisco, 3Com, Micom, and Xyplex equipment. You’ll need to call or email them for their minimum orders.

6. http://www.giftsofnaturereps.com/ - This company creates natural health and beauty products and is looking for distributors. Click and check them out.

7. http://www.imperialtrading.ca/ - The Imperial Trading Company offers products like men’s and women’s clothing, linens and more. Their website says that they do have a case minimum, but that’s actually pretty great!!

8. http://www.toydirectory.com/L1_193.htm - Here, I’ve given you a link to a master list of Toy manufactories and Wholesalers of “Gifts” as the website says. It’s a really long list. Have fun!!

9. http://www.cffresh.com/ - Compared to a lot of other items, organic fruits and vegetables may be a bit more of an “un-tapped” market. You’ll be better able to create for yourself a niche market. A great opportunity to create your own ezine, start writing a few free articles, and creating a name for yourself and a farm!

10. http://www.wholesalecentral.com - This is one of my absolute favorite wholesaler resources. Their website says that they are “The Internet’s largest wholesale directory and marketplace of active wholesalers, importers, and manufacturers” and I absolutely believe them. Inside their site, you’ll find links to everything you can image, and the minimum order of the majority of the sites isn’t that bad.

With these ten resources added to your favorites, you’ll spend hours searching through great sites that have even better prices than you may think.

But don’t spend too much time browsing!! Get out there and start selling and making some money!!

Jennifer Gibbs is a freelance professional who lives with her husband and son in South Georgia. If you’re looking for free content for your site or newsletter, a freelance writer, marketing or administrative help or free business resources, check out her website at http://www.JenniferGibbs.com

eBay offers any business owner a new global market to sell his products or services on. You are no longer constrained by geographical positioning. Your small local businesses, when taken online, can become one of the biggest players in the industry. While eBay is a great potential resource, one of the best tools for maximizing your efficiency, and profit, is dropshipping and eBay is the perfect place to start.

Dropshipping basically works like this: a merchant offers a certain good on the market. He has large quantities of that product and needs dealers to advertise the merchandise and bring in buyers. You can become a dealer for a certain product, study the product’s specifications, price and quality, take a look at demand and competition and offer it on eBay. Doing business on eBay, especially if you’re using dropshipping as a method, requires some careful planning. The more you know about this constantly changing environment, the better are your chances of achieving the success you are looking for.

OK, but where does the profit come from? Well, the dropshipper usually bills you, the trader; only about half of the retail price you sell their products for. If you sell something to a buyer and get $100, about 50% of that will go to the dropshipper, who then has to package the product, label it with your name and return address and mail it to the buyer. This is an excellent way to make some profit.

Of course, you will have some additional costs and won’t get to keep half the retail price. eBay charges are one of the fees that you will have to pay. You also have to send your labels to the dropshipper, so that they can attach them to the product. You will also have to pay for your own advertising. This can be done by attracting people to visit your listings on eBay from outside the actual web site. You can get buyers from forums, discussion boards or through your own website. These are all costs you will support on your own, as it is your responsibility to attract paying clients.

As an answer to the title – YES, dropshipping on eBay can work for you! However, as with any business, you need to invest time, energy and money in order to put it on the right track. You have to find those products that sell well and area easy to find by customers. You also need to know how to employ advertising secrets in order to grab attention and bring more buyers your way. Dropshipping on eBay is just a tool, an amazing one, true, but without proper management it can turn into a bad idea. On the other hand, if you keep connected to the dynamics of eBay and the dropshipping process you may see your profits increases steadily.

Steve Dawson is the editor of the online Freelance Network magazine which focuses on eBay, Dropshipping and Homeworking. Forums and a comprehensive wholesale and dropshipping directory are many of the features available. Find out more at http://www.freelance-network.net

Finding profitable items to sell on online auctions can be a frustrating
process for some people. Your auction site business depends on selling items
that are in demand, yet can be sold for a substantial profit online. If you’re
having difficulty finding items online for your auction business, here are some
worthwhile tips.

• One of the simplest ways to get new ideas is to check out the auction
  sites. See what items are in demand by searching Ebay. You can quickly find
  which products are in demand, how much they’re selling for, and the average
  price they are sold at. Using Ebay is probably the easiest and quickest way to
  discover great products that already have a thriving market. Ebay can be one
  of your sources of product too. Check out the ‘wholesale’ and ‘large lots”
  area of the site.
• Don’t forget to check out auction site forums and message boards. Here
  many people talk about which products are hot… and not.
• If you live in a large town or city, check out local auctions you can
  attend. Look in your local newspaper or check online to find times and
  locations.
• Check your local newspaper for ‘going out of business’ sales. Stores often
  slash prices up to 90% before closing up for good.
• Obviously garage sales and flea markets can be great for finding saleable
  items. Be sure to arrive early for the best selection.
• Consider buying larger items. Although hard to sell and ship, a larger
  item (working or not), can often be disassembled and the component parts sold
  for more than the whole.

A key to selling online is to always be on the lookout for new product
opportunities, yet being patient enough to wait for a great deal.

Find more e-Commerce tips at pftown.com.

I was browsing through all of the classified sections, and stumbled on Wanted to Buy. I noticed that people were placing ads for items they wanted to purchase. Great! I could do this! The whole eBay market place was a complete turnaround from normal retail where you spend a huge amount of money to bring a customer to a brick and mortar store. The buyers are always there, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. You just have to get the product at a good price.

Before I even place an ad in the local paper I will use the eBay search tab to see if there is any demand for the product I am targeting. I purchased some used dss satellite receiver equipment from a local garage sale for $10/each. I went to eBay and typed in the make and model number. This looked good! The search indicated that the receivers alone went for $60 to $90, depending on the make and model. I then checked completed auctions for dss satellite equipment. I saw that the remote controls were selling for $15-$19, and then I saw people sell the access cards separately for $90-$185 . That meant that I could make up to $250 per complete system.

Jackpot! - I was really excited!! I placed a classified ad in the Wanted to Buy section stating “Cash for used DSS satellite equipment”. I ran the ad every Sunday, and would average 6-8 calls per week. This resulted in 5 satellite systems I could break down into components with an average of $200 profit on each system. Utilizing ads is a great way to get a steady stream of hot products to sell on eBay. Many of my students have implemented this technique for a great monthly revenue stream.

I was very successful using this approach, and I didn’t have to go to the garage sales, etc to find product. With a $9 ad, people would call me wanting to sell their items. Now, that is a great system!

Another classified ad success story, and there are many: Sue E from Montana used one of the eBay hot products categories I supplied - VHS Concert Videos. She placed a $9 classified ad in the Wanted to Buy section listing “Cash paid for VHS Concert Videos”. Sue’s average cost for the tapes is $4, and she normally is able to buy several. The selling price for each tape ranges between $29-$89 on eBay depending on the artist. Wow! Sue is a stay at home mom with three kids. She spends a few hours a week doing this and brings in $300-$500 per month.

Tim Gilberg is able to provide information and insight from a unique
perspective - that of someone who is actually doing what others just
talk about. Ebay Power Seller Platinum Status was Attained by Tim Gilberg, which is one of the highest sales levels attained selling on eBay. Tim is active on Ebay and liquidation.com as well as consulting
and working with other Top ebay Power Seller’s to give you real life
in use insight, not theories.Visit Tim Gilberg at his website Make Money on eBay

As an eBay Powerseller, I have had a fair amount of experience selling on eBay. One thing I can tell you for certain- it can be quite a ride! Most of my customers (but unfortunately not all) have been extremely pleasant and honest to work with. That in and of itself makes the eBay experience well worth the time and effort you put in to it. I have met, virtually speaking, some very nice people and have had some wonderful conversations with an interesting variety of people from around the world. If you are looking for an opportunity to interact with some fascinating people, then selling on eBay may be well worth your time.

That being said, there have been many, many articles written about how to sell on eBay and how to make great amounts of money. The possibility does exist but it may not be as simple as some would suggest. You cannot just go to a wholesaler and buy a pallet load of dollar store or overstock items, resell them on eBay and expect to make a lot of money. It just won’t happen. First of all, it is very difficult to locate wholesalers with quality, name brand items who will be willing to work with you. Secondly, if you purchase off brand or slightly defective items, you won’t be able to sell them at a profit.

Now don’t be completely discouraged because there are things you can do to make money on eBay. There definitely are people who do. I will let you in on a couple of selling secrets. One, you need to sell name brand items,. People often search for items on eBay by the name brand and that is what they are most willing to buy. Second, don’t sell extremely low priced items. If you are selling an item that you can get $20 for and you paid $10 that may seem like a good profit. However, once you deduct eBay fees, PayPal fees, possible auction management fees, and your time, your profit is next to nothing. Then consider how many of these items you would have to sell and ship in order to make a decent amount of money. Yikes! The trick to solving this problem is to find a niche in higher cost items that you are able to purchase at lower prices and leave yourself a considerable profit margin. You will need to do a bit of research to determine what your niche should be but this is an important step in developing your eBay business. We will discuss some ways to do research in future articles, but for now consider the areas you have the greatest interest or knowledge in as a starting point.

Finally, if you are going to sell on eBay as a business, make it a true business. Take it seriously and set up your business structure and your bookkeeping as you would any other business. You can find more information on this topic on our website, Inc to Wealth. Come back and check our future articles in this series for more information on the eBay experience.

Happy selling!

Karen Grant is CEO of Divine Finds, Inc. and has written the book “Incorporate Your Way to Wealth” which is included as part of the company’s business start-up package for eBay and internet entrepreneurs. This package is currently available at http://www.inctowealth.com She has also developed several websites, the latest being http://www.FindMoreFacts.com an informational website for home decorating, remodeling, and organization and small business resources.

While eBay can seem confusing to the beginning seller, there is a wealth of great advice available. Here are some particularly useful sources, many of them on eBay itself.

Why should you consider adding your seller’s voice to your auctions? There is a reason the big buzz about auction selling is adding audio to auction listings. Increasing bids and profits would motivate most ebay sellers to give auction audio a spin around the block.

What is the added bonus to using an auction audio service? A large percentage of your buyers are sellers. Your competitors want to know what you are doing as much as you want to know what they are doing. They will take note of your audio and increased bidders, click on the audio link and sign up to put it on their auctions, as well. Voila! You have just made a second tier sale.

According to Sellathon CEO Wayne Yeager, the amount of time an auction visitor spends looking at an auction page is a real eye opener. “We now know that the average time spent looking is 26 seconds, but more important, about half of all auction visitors - 48% to be exact - spend 10 seconds or less looking at your auction.“

Visit one of your ebay auction listings and assess how much a person can read in 10 seconds. Adding your voice to the auction can increase the amount of time spent by your auction visitors. Selling on ebay is competitive and you want to beat your competitors to the punch and get the bidders.

Adding your seller’s voice to your auctions is as easy as picking up a phone and recording your message. What would you like to tell your ebay shoppers? As an ebay buyer, what matters to you when looking at an ebay auction listing? What do you want to know about the auction seller?

An audio message about your customer service is very effective. Amanda Jane’s Attic uses a customer service approach and about us script for some of her auctions.

“Hi, welcome to Amanda Jane’s Attic.

We are a home grown company offering ……antique reproductions……….

We offer great prices and friendly customer service.

If there is an item you are looking for you have not yet found in our store, send me an email and I will see if I can find it for you.

It is our goal to make our clients feel as comfortable ……………………………

There is no question too small to ask…………………………………………..”

Do you ship daily? Do you package securely? Do you welcome emails with questions? Do you ship internationally? Do you have payment expectations you want your buyers to know up front? What would you like your auction visitors to hear about you? Use your seller’s voice to direct ebay buyers to read certain parts of your ebay auction. Audio is the very best way to add emotion to the sale. Excitement sells.

Buyers need to hear YOUR voice! They want to connect with you.

In a world of horrible customer service, tell your ebay auction shoppers how wonderful your customer service is.

Jane B. Clark trains people in buying and selling on ebay. She also advises car dealers on ebay Motors listing and marketing techniques. You can visit Jane at http://www.addauctionaudio.com or email Jane at jane@addauctionaudio.com.