10 tricks and tips to get money in online auction
Online auctions can be an excellent way to make extra money or a full
time income. One must remember, however that it is not a way to get
rich quickly. You need to be patient, take some time to educate
yourself, and learn what pitfalls to avoid. Here are some tips that
will get you started.
1. Use a site with plenty of traffic. There are several
different online auction sites available. The more popular sites you
can use are eBay, Yahoo Auctions, and Amazon Auctions. EBay is more
expensive than the other sites, but you will also sell your items more
quickly because they have more visitor traffic. The popularity of each
site may change in time, so it might pay to have profiles and run
occasional auctions on the other sites to test the waters.

2. Build your feedback before you start selling. You can do this by
making purchases. Spend a month observing auctions, especially for
things that interest you and make purchases that you would normally
make anyway through your favorite auction site.

3. Start by selling what you have. Clean out your closets, media
cabinet, kitchen cupboards, attic and basement. Since you already own
these items, the only costs you will incur are the selling fees.

4. Observe the items you listed that sold at a good price. Since you
already own these items, you already have knowledge about these items.
You may know how to buy these items at a discount as well as how to
recognize a good deal when you see it. You should concentrate on
selling such items.

5. Sell items and services with little or no cost to you. A writer
can sell resume services, business plan services, or educational
booklets. An artist can sell commissioned portraits or non-commissioned
art. A collector can browse estate and garage sales and get low cost
items in their area of expertise.

6. Do not cheapen your items by selling too many of the same
thing. For example, if you should come across a box of 20 Wonder Woman
posters from 1975, do not list them all at once. Auction purchasers
will pay more if they believe that they are getting a rare item.
Instead, spread the sale of these items out over a year and you will
probably quadruple your profits from these posters.

7. Do not purchase expensive auction sellers guides found on the
internet and infomercials. The same information can be found free in
the auction sites tutorials and by surfing for “auction tips” on the
internet.

8. Do not purchase drop-seller list information or memberships.
There will always be someone who can sell the same identical item for
less than you. There will be no way to make more that $1.00 or two per
auction if you sell at the lowest price, and you may even end up losing
money by trying to undercut the prices of other auctioneers.
Drop-sellers also have hidden costs for which you will find yourself
responsible, including handling and transaction fees. They also charge
high shipping fees, which may turn your prospective customers off.

9. Do not be a copycat. Do not copy the words or images from
someone else’s auction. This is considered plagiarism and it is
illegal. It will also gain you a bad reputation. It is advisable to
read other auctions for items similar to yours to get some listing
tips, but in the end, you need to write your auction description using
your own words, and you also need to take and upload your own photos.

10. Avoid fads. If you notice that cigar box purses have
suddenly become popular, do not run out and make cigar box purses. Just
as soon as the fad started, it will end if the market becomes
oversaturated with these items. However if you see such a fad, and have
some cigar boxes lying around, by all means, list them for sale.