Finding the right prospects on eBay
eBay.com is an ideal source to find bartering prospects. It’s not usually used for bartering, but
it is the perfect environment for these type of transactions to take place.
eBay contains 3 main features that make it appropriate.
√ A large community of people and items
√ People trying to get rid of/sell those items
√ Free Membership to contact those people
Laksman often turns to eBay for different items he is looking for.
Here’s a partial list of products he has successfully bartered for through eBay (all items were
sold brand new by
merchants):
√ Office Supplies & Stationery (Dr. Grip Pens, etc)
√ 760w Sony XPLOD Amp
√ Buslink USB Portable Hard drive 64Mb
√ Nike Rio Portable MP3 Player
√ Digital Web Camera
√ Designer necklaces and jewelry
√ Car Audio Equipment
√ Lava Lamp
√ A4 Tech Wireless Keyboard/Wireless Optical Mouse
√ Stylish headphones
√ Electronic Equipment (surge protectors, battery backups, etc)
√ Printer/Scanner/Copier
√ Weight Equipment
√ 304 CD Case Holder/Binder
√ New Gel-nimbus Asics Shoes
eBay is the premiere online marketplace. Whatever it is that you are looking for, it’s very likely
that eBay has it.
This is where most of Laksman's deals come from. If you’re not an eBay user yet, you’ll need
to register by clicking here. Having a membership will allow you to use the contact seller
feature on auctions, but he does not encourage contacting a member directly through eBay
because this activity is forbidden. If they find out, they will
suspend your account for contacting someone regarding off-site selling of items.
However, it is still possible to make a deal with the seller. Most sites you will be targeting are
run by small internet businesses that will have their actual website address listed somewhere
on the auction, whether it be at the top of the page, the bottom of the page, in big bold print, or
in a captivating graphic, they will usually place it somewhere on the auction. You can then
follow the link to their website and contact them through their website and not eBay’s system.
It can be tricky getting the seller to bite onto your deal. Before you email, you have to
understand the seller. There are many sellers out there ready to jump at what you have to offer
them, but some sellers are probably not interested in bartering. There is a reason for this. It’s
not too hard to tell the difference, I’ll explain more later. For now, let’s start at the beginning.
First login to eBay. This will keep you from having to log in each time you want to contact a
seller.
Next, begin to search for the item you want. There are usually many auctions for one certain
item. For example, at the time of writing this e-book, searching for the term “lava lamp” on
eBay returns 491 auctions. That’s a whole lot of bartering prospects. All you need is one.
Once you find an auction page selling the exact item you want, you can contact the seller by
clicking on their username. This will bring up a page with a form box to email them. However,
before contacting the seller, you need to ask yourself a few questions in order to see if it’s
even worth emailing them.
Is the seller a Power Seller?
Power Sellers are sellers that have consistently met with eBay’s guidelines and rules.
They will have a little logo similar to the one above next to their eBay username. Since this
shows their credibility, you can be more confident in having a smooth transaction when doing
business with them. Laksman has been able to find a Power Seller for every product out there
I’ve bartered for on eBay. They are more reliable. Also, take note of the seller’s feedback %. It’
s just a hassle to deal with sellers that are not dependable, so look at their feedback to see if
anything stands out at you. In Laksman's Networking Bolt software, you can do a search that
will return only the PowerSellers.
It will also show you their feedback percentage.
How many items has the person sold?
Next to the seller’s name, you’ll see parenthesis with a number inside. This number is the
number of items/transactions that this person has completed successfully. When bartering
with eBay, if the person has not sold at least a 1,000 items, I would not bother contacting
them. There are two main types of people selling on eBay. One is the person who has found
junk around their house and sells it occasionally or needs to get rid of something so they
decide to setup an eBay account. These people usually sell “for fun.” The other type of person
is the person who sells many items on eBay, probably for a living or extra income. These are
the people you want to target with your bartering propositions. It would not do much good if
you email a house-wife selling off a brand new lava lamp she got as a present but decided
she did not want it.
You need to look for the aggressive seller, the seller that does business, the seller that could
be interested in what you have to offer. There are an abundance of these type of users on
eBay, more than you probably think.
Is the seller selling more than one of the same item?
Under the seller’s username, click “View seller's other items” and check to see if the seller has
multiple auctions running for the same item. This is usually a good sign that the supplier has
the product you are looking for in bulk, making it easy and convenient for him to give you one
in a bartering deal.
|
|
