http://www.articletrader.com/ Articles at ArticleTrader en-us http://www.articletrader.com/internet/online-business/selling-on-ebay.html http://www.articletrader.com/internet/online-business/selling-on-ebay.html Wed, 04 Oct 2006 00:00:00 -0500 Getting The Most From Your eBay Store

How much profit you want to make is entirely up to you. Depending on what you sell, if your products are priced too low you’ll be working for peanuts, price it too high and you won’t be selling any.

You need to factor in all the individual line item costs before you set your retail price. eBay takes a percentage of the final sale price (final value fee). If you use Paypal to accept payments electronically they'll take a percentage as well, plus a small transaction fee. eBay does not include shipping costs when they calculate their final value fee while Paypal does.

Other eBay fees include auction, buy it now, store inventory and those for additional pictures as well as any optional listing features.

However, you can save on the eBay insertion fees by pricing items just at or under the break range. For instance, if you want to sell an item for $50.00 then price it at $49.99 (instead of $50.00) and you'll save 50% on the insertion fee. (eBay Basic Fees)

You must also consider the cost of your shipping material. By knowing the exact weight of each item including the shipping material, you can tell if a buyer is being truthful if they claim that an item was not included with their order since the shipping weight is printed on the postal receipt.

Some sellers set up their listing to use the shipping calculators while others use the flat rate option. It may boil down to a matter of choice, but on some items one be better to use than the other and sometimes the calculator is unavailable which can result in a lost sale.

If you use eBay's Turbo Lister, you can easily make a duplicate copy of a listing, one with flat rate shipping and the other with the calculator. Experiment with each to see which give you the bst results. Stores with a large volume of products should use the calculator.

Keep in mind that savvy buyers know if they are being overcharged for shipping. Don't risk losing a repeat customer by overcharging for shipping. A small handling charge is an acceptable industry standard.


GUARANTEE:

Just what is your guarantee? Your guarantee and any store policies should be clear and well defined. Wishy-washy policies are sure to confuse your buyers. Work with your buyers. Consider bending the rules for a valued customer or a large order if it will mean future business.


FEEDBACK:

Open any business and you automatically have a reputation. It is within your power to create a good reputation or a bad one. For eBay sellers and buyers your feedback page is your reputation and is one of the most widely viewed pages.

Trying to keep a 100% positive feedback is the ultimate goal. However, there are some things that may be beyond your control, for instance, a buyer may have had a bad day and decided to take their frustration out on you.

Still certain buyers may have their email accounts set up to block spam, AOL and hotmail accounts are notorious for this. Avoid including any links, pictures, attachments and/or HTML code in any emails sent to these accounts.

If you need to contact a buyer with an AOL or hotmail email address, first send a basic text only email to let them know you are contacting them and then follow it up with an email that contains HTML.

Lapse a store policy if it could mean the difference between getting positive feedback and negative feedback.

If an item is out of stock, email the buyer as soon as possible. Include an estimated shipping date.

SHIPPING:

Some sellers use UPS while others use the USPS. The Laundry Bag Store Online uses the USPS so these tips are based on shipping with the USPS. Some of the information you may already be aware of.

The USPS offers several types of free shipping boxes, mailers and envelopes. However, some of these can add extra weight and thus add extra cost to your shipping. Aside from using postal rate calculators you can print or ask your local post office for Notice 123, rate fold. The notice includes all the current postal rates. You can print Notice 123 in PDF format by visiting http://pe.usps.gov. (do not include the www.)

You will also need a Postal Service Zone Chart, which is not included in Notice 123 but is available at: postcalc.usps.gov/zonecharts/ (do not include the www.)

13.1 oz. is where First Class postal rates ends and Priority Mail or Parcel Post rates begin up to 70 lbs. The cost of shipping most items Priority Mail vs. Parcel Post is small and can be the difference between getting positive feedback or negative feedback, a satisfied customer or a dissatisfied customer.

Depending on the weight and size, some items may be best shipped via Parcel Post instead of Priority Mail. The saving amount between Priority Mail and Parcel Post increases significantly as the weight increases and you can pass this saving on to your buyer.

Shipping Parcel Post takes a few days longer so make sure your buyer is willing to accept the delay. However, keep in mind that there are specific guidelines when shipping packages via Parcel Post. Notice 123 and the USPS web site lists all the required criteria.


Another shipping option offered by the USPS is Priority Mail Flat Rate. You can ship to any US destination regardless of weight for a specific cost. The post office offers free flat rate boxes in two sizes as well as a flat rate mailer.

If you buy your own shipping boxes the size of the box may exceed the USPS shipping limits and you may have to pay additional shipping. The combined length and girth of a piece (the length of its longest side plus the distance around its thickest part) may not exceed 108 inches.

However, to be safe in most cases the combined length and girth should not exceed 84 inches. The formula is simple. It is 2x the height + 2x the width + the length. For example, a box measuring 24" L x 12" H x 16" W is 80 inches. (24H+32W+24L)

Self adhesive poly bags come in various sizes and are extremely durable. These may provide an inexpensive way of shipping certain items and may even save your some money on shipping if you are including it in the sale price.


SHIPPING LABELS:

Shipping labels come in various sizes. What size and type to use depends on what you ship and how you ship it. We use a 4" x 5" self-adhesive label 4 to a sheet. You can use a label software program or download a free Avery template for use in Microsoft Word.

Make it as easy as possible for the shipping company to get your items to their destination. A poorly prepared label can cause an overwhelming array of problems, an unhappy customer which may result in negative feedback.

Aside from a return address in the top left corner, your shipping label should contain the phrase "SHIP TO:" in all capitals and the first letter of each word of the destination address capitalized. Many times a customer will type their shipping address in all lowercase letters. However, always double check when editing any shipping information. We compare the shipping address on the eBay invoice to the shipping address on the PayPal invoice. Also some customers add notes or special instructions to either the eBay or PayPal invoice.

While in your PayPal account it is wise to verify the payment amount and double check any purchases.Once in a while an email gets lost, especially if you are fowarding emails to a free email account.

If you print your own shipping labels on an ink jet printer, tape over the entire label covering the ship to and return address. The ink will run if it comes in contact with any water making the label illegible.


INSURANCE AND CONFIRMATION:

Depending on the retail cost of your products, insuring shipments is always a wise choice. If you ship via UPS then your packages up to $100 in value are insured for free. USPS insurance is extra. For USPS online and APC you can insure packages up to $500, over $500 requires a trip to the post office.

The USPS refers to tracking as delivery confirmation. There is standard confirmation and signature confirmation. You should use signature confirmation for shipping expensive purchases and standard for the others. Insured shipments over $50.00 require a signature anyway so signature confirmation may be redundant. When you do ship with confirmation or insurance the counter person will give you a green receipt for confirmation and a blue receipt for insurance. On each is a section to write the name of the buyer.


APC MACHINES:

In the lobby of certain post offices is an automatic postal machine. These can speed up shipping significantly. The machine is easy to use and walks you through the shipping process. However the system and the current version of the software have a few drawbacks. Sometimes the package drum is full. Make sure you can open the drum before you start shipping. Don't ship any fragile items or they could get damaged when other packages are inserted on top of them.

The machine is capable of confirmation or insurance but not both. You can ship a flat rate mailer but not a flat rate box. According to the counter person you can buy the exact postage required for a flat rate box or mailer. You can also buy first class postage stamps. You can't ship to an APO.

It can print two sizes of labels, a large and a small. If you plan on using the large label make sure you leave enough room on your package for it. Use this label if you plan on adding insurance or confirmation. Keep in mind that it does not print address labels, just postage labels. Since you have to type in the destination zip code make sure you double check it before printing the label, after printing compare the destination information on your APC label with your destination address information.

You can pay with a debit or credit card but not cash. When you use a debit card it requires you to make separate payments for each package, thus separate receipts. Credit card transactions are printed on one receipt. When you add confirmation to a package the tracking number is printed on the receipt as well as destination zip code.


eBay TOOLS:

Thee are many free and fee based seller tools available from eBay. Some of the more common ones include Selling Manager, Turbo Lister, Andale Counters, Picture Manager and Sales Reports Plus.

However, another great tool is Omniture's Site Catalyst. It provides detailed reports on your site's traffic. Some of the stats include: the most often viewed pages and listing, the web sites and search term keywords that generated the most visitors and the path reports will show you exactly how they navigated to and through your store.


PROMOTING YOUR STORE:

There are several things you can do to promote your site. However, your site must be pleasing in design. You store listings should be consistent. Choose the same font size, and colors for each listing. Avoid the cute graphics and the rainbow text. This is one of the benefits of using Turbo Lister.

Utilize your storefront's real estate to offer sale items, special offers, your guarantee, and even shipping information. Put items in both auctions and buy it now. Use the subtitle to mention your store or key features about your product. Add a link in your listings to your store or other products. By reviewing the stats recorded by Omniture's Site Catalyst, you'll know exactly which items and pages are generating results.

That being said, getting a steady flow of visitors to your store is really the hard part. If you sell a hot item you'll get plenty of traffic but also have fierce competition and if you sell a niche market item you'll have to go out and get your traffic.

Another way of getting traffic is to list your store in ListMyStore. It is free to join and is exclusively for eBay stores. A sponsored listing is very inexpensive.

A link is available at the top of the Laundry Bag Store Online Home Page and also in our About Me page.

Advertising your site with Google AdWords and Yahoo Sponsored Search are two possibilities.

A link directory is certainly a popular way of generating traffic but usually requires a reciprocal link so your options may be limited. However, search with Google or Yahoo for a free links directory.

Be sure to test your link before you submit it and write your stores description ahead of time. Link directories allow only a certain number of characters in the description so make sure you get your best pitch up front.

If you have a non-eBay site like we do you can use that to drive traffic to your store. Did you know that eBay will give you a store referral credit off the final value fee if someone buys your item through a link outside of eBay? Search on "store referral credit" in eBay help for more information on how to set this up.

Join some forums outside of eBay. You won't be able to spam your store but you can set up your signature with your store's link.

Create landing pages. There are tons of free web hosts that you can use. If you don't know HTML you can use one of the free web host's templates. It would be advantageous to learn both basic HTML and then Search Engine Optimization (SEO) in that order. Pick up a book on both at the local library.

The areas you should know something about are the HTML Meta tags for title, description and search terms (keywords). If you can learn how to code HTML tables and the anchor and image tags you'll be able to modify your store's home page and listings at will.

If you sell different products you could make a landing page for each and even add a link exchange directory.

Press releases are great way to promote your Store. However, it can't be an advertisement but should be a newsworthy story. The Laundry Bag Store Online sends out press releases on an ongoing basis and these show up in the Search Engines rather quickly as well in RSS feeds.

If you have a verified PayPal account list your store in PayPal shops and then submit an application to have your store considered for a PayPal "featured shop".

Driving traffic to your store is an ongoing effort. Use the Omniture traffic stats to monitor exactly where traffic is coming from. Experiment with different ads, offers and descriptions to increase sales.

As you can see there are many aspects of operating an online store. If you do your homework you'll have success.

Best Wishes,
Laundry Bag Store Online eBay



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Laundry Bag Store Online

Laundry Bag Store Online eBay

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/entertainment/gambling/online-casino-slots-vs.-land-based-slots.html http://www.articletrader.com/entertainment/gambling/online-casino-slots-vs.-land-based-slots.html Sat, 26 Aug 2006 00:00:00 -0500
Today, the online casino gaming industry is booming, topping $6 billion in gross revenue in 2005 and is expected to grow to more than $16 billion by 2009. In comparison, state operated land-based casinos topped $29 billion in 2005.

If you’ve never played online casino games but have played the free AOL or Yahoo games then you’ll have a good idea of what playing online casino slots and other casino games is like. For one, they run much smoother, have larger screens and better graphics and sound effects than the AOL and Yahoo games.

But how do the online casino video slots stack up when compared to land-based casino video slots?

From an entertainment standpoint both are strikingly similar. Each capable of spectacular graphics and incredible sound effects. Online slot games allow unlimited play in guest or demo mode to see if you like a particular game before using real money, not so with land-based slots. While many of the land-based casino slots do accept multiple denominations, casino operators tend to group their slot machines by coin denomination. If you want to play the penny, nickel, dime or quarter slots you simple head to that section of the casino.

The online casino video slots allow you set the coin denomination to a much wider range. You can easily change your game from a quarter slot to a penny slot with the click of the mouse. With the online casino slots, your favorite game is always available, unless of course the game server is down or you lose electrical power. With land-based casinos you may have to wait until a machine becomes available before you can sit down and try your luck at your favorite game, which can be somewhat annoying when the casino is crowded.

Tribal operated land-based casinos offer patrons a compensation system or more commonly know as “comp points". The more you play the more points you accumulate which can be redeemed for various items in the casino’s gift shop. Most state operated land-based casinos don’t offer “comp points" but do offer many contests that award free cash to play with.

Most online casinos offer both a point system and a cash award. When you first register and make an initial deposit you usually receive a cash signup bonus. Sometimes the signup bonus equals or matches your deposit while other times the signup bonus is a multiple of your deposit. Some casinos offer cash signup bonuses without requiring an initial deposit

Once you start playing you accumulate points that can be redeemed for cash. Like the tribal casinos the more you play the more points you accumulate.

Payback percentage is an average of total winnings paid out to total wagers placed. Neither online nor land-based casinos can randomly change the payback percentage. When a land-based casino orders a slot machine it orders the slot machine set with a certain payback percentage. The software that controls the payback percentage is sent to an independent lab for certification before it is placed on the casino floor. Changing the payback percentage once it is on the casino floor requires recertification. Many land-based casinos post their monthly payback percentage audit reports on their web sites.

Similarly, an independent auditing firm closely monitors the online casino's software for payback percentage accuracy. The online casino also post the independent auditors payback percentage reports on their web site.

Both the online and land-based casino reports usually list the overall payback percentage for the entire casino and then a breakdown for each type of game. You can also contact any online or land-based casino and ask what the payback percentage for a particular genre of game is. The payback percentage for online casino slots is the same in guest or demo mode as it is in real money mode. Playing in guest mode is a good way of testing any slot tips or strategies you may have.

Tribe and State operated land-based casino slots typically have an average payback percentage of approximately 92% while online casino slots are at 94% or higher. Las Vegas slots are usually close to 98% due to the heavy competiton.

Weather you play for entertainment or to make a few extra bucks you’ll find the online casino games everything the land-based slots are and then some.

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Visit Winning at the Slot Tips & Strategy for more information on playing online and land casino slots.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/home-and-family/laundry-tips-removing-ink-gum-collar-and-underarm-stains.html http://www.articletrader.com/home-and-family/laundry-tips-removing-ink-gum-collar-and-underarm-stains.html Thu, 03 Aug 2006 00:00:00 -0500 Laundry Tips

Remember to always read the garment label before trying

Removing Ink Stains

To help remove ink stains lay garment in a single layer on paper towel or rag to help absorb ink. Spray dried ink stain with a powerful stain remover (always test a hidden spot first for color fastness).

Let dry completely, spray again and launder garment using the hottest water temperature recommended by the manufacturer. Adding a little chlorine bleach (cap full and only for white fabric) to the wash cycle also helps. If this doesn't work have garment dry-cleaned. If ink is all over garment, dry-cleaning might be the best solution.

Washing Jeans and Clothes

Wash black denim jeans inside out to prevent white streaks from forming on the sides of fabric.

Washing clothes right side out will get them cleaner than washing them inside out. Except for underarm stains most stains are usually heaviest on the outside of garment. This also makes folding laundry quick and easy.

For stained baby clothes, diapers and bibs spray with Stain Remover first and wash as usual. For heavily stained baby clothes pre-soak before washing. You can also add a scoop with your regular load as a laundry booster.

Line Drying Garments

If the manufacturer's care label reads "line dry" after washing, place garment in dryer with other clothes for 2-3 minutes (or longer for heavier fabrics) to remove excess water, decrease wrinkles and return softness to material. Hang or lay flat to dry.

Removing Gum

To remove chewing gum from fabric rub ice on gum until it hardens, peel off as much gum as possible then wash as usual. If gum didn't come out the first time, repeat process, don't put garment in dryer until it is completely free of gum or you will have a gooey mess.

Preventing and Removing Underarm Stains

There are usually two types of underarm stains, perspiration (sweat) and antiperspirant or deodorant buildup. Perspiration stains tend to be yellow, brown or green in color. Colored clothes may show a white border around the stain where body salt has settled from sweating. Both types sometimes feel hard or crusty.

Buildup from antiperspirant and deodorant stains will either be white or clear, chalky or greasy. It's usually easier to remove these stains when they first appear. Stains that have gone through the washer and dryer several times may be more difficult to remove.

Most deodorants leave less of a buildup than antiperspirants and just switching from using an antiperspirant to a deodorant may reduce the problem significantly or resolve it entirely. Many people shower and then apply antiperspirant or deodorant while the underarms are still moist and then dress. To minimize stain build up, dry the underarms completely before applying antiperspirant or deodorant and let the antiperspirant or deodorant dry completely before dressing.

There are several techniques for removing underarm stains.

The two most common are white vinegar and baking soda. (Always spot test a hidden area of the garment to see if the dye will run before applying)

Turn garment inside out. Spray or sprinkle the stained area with white vinegar. Turn the garment right side out and repeat. The acid from the vinegar breaks down the sweat and antiperspirant/deodorant buildup. Wash in the hottest water recommended by the manufacturer. Another technique is to make a thin paste out of baking soda and apply it to the stained area and let stand for 15-20 minutes and then wash in the hottest water recommended by the manufacturer. Dress shirts can be sent to a shirt service.

For a commercial solution we recommend OxiClean ® Laundry Stain Remover. It is chlorine-free, color-safe and removes a variety of tough stains including wine, blood, pet and grass. Just spray the stained area and wash as usual.

Preventing Ring around the Collar

To prevent/minimize ring around the collar on button down cotton shirts, wipe neck with rubbing alcohol or skin toner to eliminate excess oils from skin. A build-up of oils on skin and collar attracts more dirt and makes collars harder to clean. Also, try to keep hair gels from nape of neck for they also attract more dirt and oil and accumulate on collars making ring around the collar more noticeable.

Make your Shirts last Longer

To make starched shirts look newer longer, alternate between starch and no starch whenever sending your shirts out to the cleaner. Starch builds up on shirts causing the fibers to weaken and fray a lot sooner than they would if you didn't have them starched. Alternating between starch and no starch will extend the wearability of your cotton shirts.

Removing Stains from Dry Clean Only Garments

When getting stains on your dry-cleanable garments just blot with a clean cloth. Do not wipe or rub with water or other liquids, water and dry-cleaning solutions don't mix, especially on silks. Let your dry-cleaner get it out, show him/her the stain and tell him/her what it is, they will do their best to remove it.

Find specific details for the OxiClean products we recommend on our Laundry Detergents page and additional laundry information can be found on our Do Laundry - Steps to Cleaner Clothes page.

Laundry Tips Provided by
Laundry Bag Store Online - Nylon & Mesh Laundry Bags in 14 Vibrant Colors!


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The Laundry Bag Store Online has been online since 1999. Visit the
Laundry Bag Store Online

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]>