Are You an Ebay Shopper?

As I write this article, I am keeping an eye on an item on eBay. Do I have to keep an eye on it? No. I have set up a program that swoops in in the final seconds of the bidding, leaving the previous bidder, who thought they had the item, wondering what happened.

Is that what is happening to you in business? Do you think you have customers sewn up; success just with your grasp, but something always goes wrong?

There is talk in the news about the Retail Industry slowdown in home décor, furniture and home improvement sales. Pier 1 mentioned they are streamlining and cutting their merchandise offerings by 25% to focus on their core customer. Many retailers who were interviewed mentioned that they have been watching the slowdown trend for a while and already have plans in place to manage what's happening.

Is that how you run your business? Do you look at seasonal, regional and/or global trends that will affect the future of your business or do you wait until the bottom falls out and then wonder what you are going to do. Wouldn't you rather have a heads up on what's happening, before it happens?

Sometimes even experience researchers find it difficult to be guided by research. Instead they look for facts and theories to support the hypothesis that is already formed.

If you think that research takes too long, sign up for a number of newsletters and let the information come to you. If you worry about being spammed, use a hotmail account. Keep an open mind. Rather than coming to conclusions before you have the information, make a list of specific facts and assign weights that will influence your decisions. Create a chart and fill in the answers from each information source, tally the weighted results and then make your decisions based on fact?tempered by entrepreneurial intuition. Set up a system that works for you and commit to use it.

If you are in Retail then these two web sites have newsletters that report on trends from all over the world.

http://www.springwise.com

http://www.trendwatching.com

No matter what your business, somewhere on the net there are newsletters/RSS feeds that can deliver information to give you the edge you need, so you aren't sideswiped?knocked out of the game in the final seconds.

And my purchase on eBay?.I missed the first one because someone else paid more than I thought it was worth; but the second one?the competition is still wondering what happened and my purchase is on it's way. I used my proven system and won.

Do you want things to be your way in your world or do you want to know what's really going on in your industry so you can anticipate challenges and make plans to avoid problems?

A theory must be tempered by reality. -Jawaharlal Nehru

Copyright(c) 2005 Nancy Fraser Nota Bene Consulting, All Rights reserved

Nancy Fraser is the President of Nota Bene Consulting. She has been helping clients improve their advertising results and grow their businesses for over 20 years. Free advertising and marketing information in the Notable News http://www.notable-marketing.com

---

Just The Ticket - How To Make Hundreds Per Day As A Ticket Broker On eBay!

It should be simple - your favourite team/band/theatre play is just about to perform in a couple of weeks. You've waited months for this, now you're going... Read More

Drop Shipping Is Your Perfect Home Based Business Solution

Drop Shipping Is Your Perfect Home Based Business SolutionDrop shipping is one of the greatest businesses to operate from home. With drop shipping you sell another company's... Read More

Police Auctions & Government Auctions Professional Resource Information

Police Auctions Information:No, a police auction is not where you go to buy a policeman. Most people do not realize that police agencies, including local police departments,... Read More

Mr. Rich vs. Mr. Job: How to Start a Dropship Business on eBay

Mr. Asset vs. Mr. Job....Discover the Secret Formula of the Rich!Mr. Job (a.k.a Just Over Broke) Mr. Asset (a.k.a. Financially free)Would you like to work less and... Read More

Ten Sure Fire Ways To Lose Bidders

The way some auction sellers approach their auctions, it's clear there are as many ways to lose bidders as there are to skin a cat. If you... Read More

How To Convert eBay Surfers into Bidders!

Do you know the phrase "A Call To Action"? Well, using "A Call To Action" on your eBay Auction could help increase your sales almost immediately. As... Read More

The Top Ten Tips For Auction Success!

If you were to look through eBay, or any other online auction site for that matter, you would find that many people make some very basic mistakes.... Read More

A Picture Paints a Thousand Words and Creates Auction Euphoria on eBay

Ever since I sold my first item on ebay I have been addicted to the site and I have steadily developed it as a supplementary source of... Read More

Auctions Make Money!

An untapped online business resource--outside of your basic Yahoo and Ebay, among others--is setting up your own auction sales venue.Since most families have items in their home... Read More

Be Realistic When Selling on eBay

As some of you know, I spent many years buying and selling both on and offline and several of my products are based upon my own experience... Read More

Making Money on eBay is Really Easy

If I can do it you can.Let me tell you my story...After having tried many other ways of making money online and failed, I was left with... Read More

How to Survive the Jungles of Ebay Selling

Come with me, we are going to take a safari into the jungles of eBay selling, sometimes wrought with danger but most often rewarded with treasure.Beware of... Read More

Taxing eBay Part Deux

When my column on paying income tax on eBay profits ran it brought a wave of emails on whether you were required to report income earned from... Read More

How To Sell On Ebay: The Money Is In The Back-End

Many people who sell on Ebay completely neglect the follow-up process. They post an auction. Someone wins. They send an automated message to the winner. They ship... Read More

What To Do After Your eBay Auction Closes

So your auction closes. Now what?Hopefully you made a sale or several sales. Now the important work begins. Here are some tips on what to do after... Read More

Eating and Thriving On-Line

The Internet SHOULD be "the place to shop" for low-carb dieters, diabetics, celiacs, and anyone else on a special diet. The posted prices are well below those... Read More

The Webs Best Online Auction Sites

The best online auction links for buyers and sellers are - not surprisingly - eBay, eBay and eBay. eBay began the entire wacky world of online auctions... Read More

Drop-ship or U-ship: That is the Question

For small Internet retailers, drop-shipping is one of the best innovations since sliced bread. How else can a start-up offer a wide variety of products and convince... Read More

How to Sell Your Crafts on eBay

Artists, craftspeople and photographers are successfully selling their wares everyday on the online auction site, eBay. According to a recent analysis of eBay sales, a crafts-related item... Read More

Are You an Ebay Shopper?

As I write this article, I am keeping an eye on an item on eBay. Do I have to keep an eye on it? No. I have... Read More

Your eBay Username - What Does It Say About You?

Have you tried to register a decent eBay username and been frustrated at the poor names left available? With over 125 million people using eBay in 2004... Read More

Dropshipping on eBay, Does It Work?

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... Read More

Your Auction Headline Or Title - The Most Important Part Of Your Auction

The words you select to describe your item will have a tremendous impact on the final price it receives or if it receives any bids at all.... Read More

eBay Listing Service : Make Managing Your Auctions Easy

Do you want to have a lot of auctions going but don't have time to keep track of them all? Trust me, you're not alone. With more... Read More

Tips on How to Profit from eBay Buy It Now Auction Listings

eBay is an online auction site so it stands to reason that most users will tend to auction off their items aiming to get a high price.The... Read More

Is it Antique and is it Worth Anything?

Is it an antique and is it worth anything? Would you know?At some point in our lives most of us are going to put in a position... Read More