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No matter how many times I see it happening, I'm
constantly amazed at the number of people who are
literally throwing money away by making incredibly
simple mistakes when they sell items in an online
auction.

Over the last seven years, I've been making a great
living buying and selling products on eBay and other
online auction sites, and I've perfected a technique
that pretty much guarantees anyone can start making a
profit right away. That technique starts with avoiding
mistakes like these -- mistakes I've seen people make
every day for those same seven years.

If you're doing any of these four things, you're
leaving money on the table with every single item you
sell.

* Listing an item at the wrong time. It's a proven fact
more buyers browse Internet auction sites on Sunday
evenings than any other time during the week. If your
auction is scheduled to end at any other time than
Sunday evenings (specifically between 9 p.m. and 11
p.m. Eastern time), you're not getting the maximum
exposure for your auction at a time when people are
most eager to buy.

* Not giving your photos the attention they deserve.
There are two common mistakes people make with the
photos they use to entice buyers on eBay. One is not
having enough pictures to accompany your item's
description. Over the years, I've learned pictures of
your item are one of the most important components of
your sales page. (There are many reasons for this, but
I don't have the space to go into much detail here.)
Multiple pictures from various angles will ALWAYS help
you get higher bids for your products. The second
mistake is not making sure the pictures are up and
running on whatever server you're using BEFORE you list
your item. How many times have you been browsing an
auction site and seen a blank box where a picture of
the item should have been? That's a seller who's losing
money because of a very simple, and very common,
oversight.

* Using "Las Vegas style" listings. I'm sure you know
what I'm talking about here. A Las Vegas listing is one
that uses all kinds of flashing animation, multicolored
text and other bells and whistles in an attempt to
entice bidders. In fact, it does just the opposite.
Listings like these are distracting, hard to read, and
will always discourage people from bidding, resulting
in a lower final sales price. The descriptions that you
give of your item on your sales page ARE NOT designed
to get a buyer's attention (you already have that if
they've clicked on your listing in the first place).
They should be designed to get someone to actually
place a bid.

* Using a reserve. Using a reserve to guarantee that
you'll get a minimum price for an item will absolutely
kill your auction. Trust me, I've seen it happen too
many times to not accept this as a given. In fact, I
often use other seller's auctions that have a reserve
as a way to pick up items at ridiculously low prices
that I can sell "the right way" for a huge profit a few
days later -- but that's a different article
altogether. For now, just realize that nothing scares
away potential bidders better than seeing the "Reserve
Not Yet Met" tag. If you're truly concerned about a
minimum price, simply set your starting price a little
higher.

John Reese has been actively involved with online
auctions and eBay since 1996. Mr. Reese has written
several articles on the subject and has recently
created the "Internet Auction Secrets" Video for
teaching others how to start, run, and manage a
successful online auction business from home.

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