Pillow makers: Making Money on Ebay

Ebay launched a Group Gifts service using Facebook’s application programming interface, aptly named for the ability to digitally pay for a present with contributions from more than one person.

Go to the group gifting page on eBay, and you see a button that can open the Facebook logon window, prompting the request for permission to access profile information, friend lists and their respective birthdays, among other data that might influence a group buying decision.

Group Gifting designates one person as the organizer who chooses the gift, and then invites others to contribute funds. I think version 2.0 ought to give you the option to invite friends first, and then make a group decision on the gift; offline, when we buy presents as a group, people often give suggestions about what to buy before coughing up any cash.

The next best thing to making a group decision on what to buy is looking at your intended recipient’s wish list on eBay, which you can certainly do right now using the current iteration of Group Gifts. And if your intended beneficiary doesn’t yet have a list on eBay, I suggest you look for it on other online retail sites, in addition to your friend’s profiles on social media and personals sites. It’s also helpful that the gifting service asks you the occasion for the gift, with a drop-down menu. Here’s another idea for version 2.0: Allow people to name their own occasion that isn’t on the list of choices.

For now, whoever initiates the group buy chooses the gift, then invites other would-be contributors and sets a deadline for contributing. No transaction goes through until enough people pony up money to meet the cost of the item.

If you have a sense of deja vu, perhaps you’re thinking of Facebook’s partnership with Amazon.com announced this summer, which enabled the ability to tap the social network for product recommendations. That integration doesn’t yet include group funding of gift purchases, but I wouldn’t be surprised if something to that effect became available in the very near future.

The group gifting service looks pretty cool and tempts me to start plotting acts of generosity toward the people nearest and dearest to me. I bet you’ll feel the same way after watching the explanatory video below:

If you are already selling on eBay; have you ever thought about selling on Amazon, you get different rates between the two depending on what you’re selling? Read on and I’ll explain the differences between the selling platforms.

If you have ever bought anything on Amazon, you may have seen the item offered by sellers too. There are individuals and businesses selling all kinds of goods on Amazon in the same way.

If you are selling on eBay it may be worth considering if you should also be selling on Amazon. It is safe to say that some items are better listed with eBay however Amazon might be the best choice for a different type of product. But there are many similarities between products selling well on both platforms.

What’s the difference?

The main difference between the sites is that eBay focuses mainly on the auction format whilst the Amazon Associates platform relies on a fixed price arrangement, although eBay also offers buy-it-now as a fixed price listing option.

Undoubtedly if you’re eager to shift something quick then the auction option is the best, although you may be disappointed with the end result if you haven’t set a reserve at the beginning of the sale.

For some businesses, especially those looking for a fixed price sale Amazon may be the preferred way forward especially if they are using this method on all their products. Even thought eBay is typically an auction site they’re moving more towards fixed price listings to compete more with the rise in Amazon’s market share in this area.

What are the Advantages?

There are some differences in the type of shoppers that use Amazon & eBay. eBayers tend to be the bargain hunters who will go to any lengths to find what they’re looking for cheaper, whilst Amazon shoppers tend to be more conventional, albeit looking for good value but at a fixed price. By selling on both sites you can take advantage of larger number of buyers that could potentially view and buy your products, giving you advantage over a number of your competitors and increasing your coverage.

Continued on the next page

eric seiger do

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Making Money on Ebay

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