Do You Use eBay to Grow Your OTHER Businesses?
Ah eBay. Hundreds of thousands of people buying and selling on a daily basis.
Everything from emptying the junk from the basement, to quite a few making full time incomes; some very high incomes.
But, did y’all know that many of the people who make money FROM eBay don’t actually make all of that money ON eBay?
Yep, you read that right. There are all sorts of ways you can use eBay to give your existing businesses a boost!
Supply: If you have any leftover stock or used items from another business you run, then why not sell them on eBay?
You can make this a regular thing, using it to get rid of things that won’t sell for the premium you ask for in a shop, or items that are no longer in demand in the town or city where your business is based.
You can really make a lot of money this way, if you know what you’re doing.
You will of course already be an expert in the items you’re selling, as you use them in your business, and you’ll know that the items are of high enough quality to be sellable.
This is a whole new market for your old inventory!
Not only that, but remember that your good eBay reputation will make you a great buyer!
If there’s ever anything you want to get for your business, the chances are you’ll be able to get it on eBay for a discount.
Sales: Here, though, is where the true power of eBay lies. eBay give you an ‘About Me’ page, where you can write anything you like and link anywhere you like.
This means that you can get traffic to your business’ website by linking to your website from your About Me page and linking to your About Me page from each auction.
Did you get that? Two links - Auction to About Me page…About Me page to anywhere you like. 
To create an About Me page, just click on ‘Community’ on the toolbar, scroll to the bottom of the page, and click ‘Create an About Me page’.
You then get the option to either enter your own HTML or let eBay guide you through the process.
All you need to do is write a little about your website, link to it, and you’re done - you’ll notice that more people start to come to your site straight away.
There are thousands of people who swear by this technique to drive traffic from eBay to their website.
With a little persuasive sales copy on your site, they say, you can sell directly to buyers; cutting out the eBay middleman.
What’s more, all the traffic you’ll get will be targeted traffic - because the people who click through were interested in your auction to begin with.
This can be a really powerful technique, especially if you’ve already got an e-commerce site.
Even if you haven’t, you might find it worth your time to set up a website that does nothing but list your eBay inventory with a few dollars off each item, with a PayPal ‘Buy Now’ button for each item.
Then simply make the link to your About Me page read ‘Visit my website for even more bargains!’, and you’re done. Nice huh?
Check out this awesome free 12 minute video for another “hidden trick” for eBayers.
Use the fantastic Misspelled eBay tool to find some real hidden nuggets.
Be sure to check back for more Auction Marketing Tips, as I present them. But first I’d like to know…
Do you eBay? If not, why not? If so, I’d love to see your About Me page.
To our mutual success!
Dennis
Related posts:
- Home Business Site For Sale! (Not Mine Don’t Panic) Hey everyone, I thought this was a pretty cool weekend...
- Mistakes To Avoid While Designing Your Landing Page - Guest Post Landing Page is the most important element for an online...
Tags: eBay, ebay marketing, ebay toolbar, inventory, linking strategy, misspelled ebay tool, over stock, sales, sales copy, traffic technique, video
Jaq @ Net Age Web Design
Kev
Latief@AnotherBlogger
sherry
November 2nd, 2008 at 9:35 pm
My bad, shame on me. I know I should show first, but it’s on the top of my to-do list now!
November 2nd, 2008 at 10:03 pm
getting traffic from ebay … mmm seems like a nice trick.
people always think about driving traffic to ebay, not the other way around
Acakadut´s last blog post..You Can Vote However You Like
November 3rd, 2008 at 12:35 am
hehe this is something new, never heard of that technique before! COuld be because I’m not a big eBay guru but this is certainly interesting and I nice way for business to drive some extra traffic and some extra bucks! Good stuff!
Ben Tremblay´s last blog post..SEO - Cut the crap
November 3rd, 2008 at 1:22 am
I used to be a big user of Ebay but have not been on for quite some time now i must try and get back to it.
Boosh Online´s last blog post..4 Tips to Finding a Profitable Niche
November 3rd, 2008 at 7:15 am
Hi Dennis,
I have seen a few blogs on fashion using the above mention methods to drive traffic to their blogs and have seen successes in it. Would try to do this when I have an EBook written to be market in EBay. Do share with us if you find any success formula in there.
Wei Liang
Wei Liang | ABloggerBlog´s last blog post..Lesson 16: Comment Marketing
November 3rd, 2008 at 8:30 am
I’ve heard some success stories using the link from the About Me page too. I don’t sell much on eBay … I stick with the driving traffic to them myself … but I do have some stuff around here I should get rid of on there. Thanks for the reminder LOL*SmiLes* Suzanne
Money Making Ideas ~ Suzanne´s last blog post..How Do I Plan To Win This Season’s Blogging Idol Contest?
November 3rd, 2008 at 10:21 am
Acakadut - You hit the nail on the head right there.
Keep us updated if/when you try it out!
November 3rd, 2008 at 10:24 am
Ben - Thanks! You’re right, apparently the eBay big shots tried to keep this one to themselves for YEARS until someone spilled it a year or so ago.
That’s when I first heard of it, but like you I wasn’t all that into eBay.
I know some readers are though.
Keep us posted as well if you give it a shot.
November 3rd, 2008 at 10:26 am
Boosh - Definitely let us know if you go back, it’ll be good to hear some from a real user!
Cool name btw, and I like the blog. I’ll be back to it! Thanks for dropping by.
November 3rd, 2008 at 10:28 am
Wei - I will share no doubt, and please do the same. I’d be very interested to see what kind of eBook you come up with.
November 3rd, 2008 at 10:31 am
Suzanne - I’m just a reminder machine lately, huh?
See, now you can go to and from! Keep us posted.
I also haven’t forgotten that you’re my BANS connection when the time comes!
November 3rd, 2008 at 11:46 am
These are some terrific tips, Dennis. FYI, I forwarded your blog on to a friend who wants to start doing business on e-bay. Probably more I could do with it, too!
Quick question on Comment Luv, can you register more than one site? I don’t see anything actually ON my blog that indicates there is a Comment Luv connection, although evidently I was successful in registering the site. Would you leave a comment on my blog so I can see what happens?
Thanks!
Paula´s last blog post..Do Not Get Antsy Over Delays
November 3rd, 2008 at 12:32 pm
Hey Paula, welcome! Thanks so much for the forward, I really appreciate that. I have a couple good eBay posts up so far.
I was just having this discussion with Andy (plugin author)…currently it is 1 site per registration…more would need different email addresses.
I will comment as soon as I get a chance, but I don’t see an indication of it on your blog either. He recently released the blogger version, did you install it ok?
November 3rd, 2008 at 12:33 pm
I just moused over your heart and it says you are actually not a member of commentluv.com.
That’s separate from installing the plugin, but apparently you’re not registered either.
November 3rd, 2008 at 5:16 pm
Getting traffic from ebay is a great idea…definitely didn’t think of it before…but how do you tackle the issue of people who are new to ebay using it as well as the fact that ebay charges you a fee for their services? Is it really worth it?
November 3rd, 2008 at 8:02 pm
Ebay really can be a nice source of supplemental traffic.
Becoming a power seller is not terribly difficult and you can quickly have a store set up to drive traffic as well as revenue.
However, the flip side is that if you end up doing a lot of actual selling, you will have to be careful about Ebay Costs.
These can quickly add up on items, especially big ticket ones, but many people do end up calling.
Listing the items in an eBay store is usually the way to go as opposed to running an auction.
Tiger´s last blog post..Blood Age Linked to Infections in Transfusions
November 3rd, 2008 at 8:07 pm
David - Introduce it to newbies! Maybe I’m not understanding your question?
They charge for auction listings themselves, I don’t believe they charge for the other cool stuff.
November 3rd, 2008 at 8:10 pm
Tiger - nail on the head there my friend. Sure it may not be to hard to list hundreds of things to become a powerseller …..if you have hundreds (thousands?) of dollars to do it!
Yes a store is definitely cheaper, but most of the biggies will tell you that you still need some individual auctions to drive traffic to the store.
Thanks for the input!
November 3rd, 2008 at 9:53 pm
Dennis, I never thought of using ebay to get traffic. I used ebay many times to sell products and actually tried to start an ebay business. I did pretty well with it.
andy´s last blog post..The Blog Manual – Great Resource For Beginners
November 3rd, 2008 at 11:05 pm
Never used ebay to make money, i ve only spent money ebay
ZK@Internet Marketing Blog´s last blog post..6 Reasons to Join Twitter
November 4th, 2008 at 2:44 am
I haven’t tried selling anything on Ebay but have browsed around the BANS store/ Poor Man BANS stores and other online stores.. still a bit much for me to comprehend.
do let me know if it works for you:)
Dominique´s last blog post..Hello from Hong Kong
November 4th, 2008 at 2:58 am
Do I ebay? No, I don’t. But I’ve been reading this “about me page” on ebay for link building that caught my attention lately. I think it might worth the while.
Anyway, thanks for providing those additional resources…will get back to then when I could get proper internet connection here..;(
Yan
Blog for Beginners´s last blog post..Google Debunk Webmasters’ Myths
November 4th, 2008 at 10:01 am
Ebay is a traffic machine! Their classified option is an amazing way to drive traffic for 30 days!
Tara @ Affiliate Marketing Prodigy´s last blog post..Profiting from Private Label Rights: How to Use PLR
November 4th, 2008 at 10:33 am
I use ebay and make pretty good money at it. It works out well because I use some of my profits to help out with my blog and other websites I own.
I have a link on my about me page to my blog.
You can see it here:
http://members.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=larrmac
I have also went further and followed another Blogger’s advice and created a Blog at ebay to get a link back to my main blog.
Larry´s last blog post..Successfully Marketing Your Blog: An Overview
November 4th, 2008 at 11:08 am
Andy - If you return to it, be sure to show us your page and give us some sales tips!
November 4th, 2008 at 11:08 am
LOL@ZK - I read ya buddy.
November 4th, 2008 at 11:09 am
Dominique - BANS is on my to-do list as well; it seems to work nice;y for those that know what they’re doing.
November 4th, 2008 at 11:11 am
Yan - definitely keep us updated on your eBaying. Here’s to hoping for your connection soon! I know how friggin frustrating that can be.
November 4th, 2008 at 11:14 am
Tara - Thanks for mentioning that; I’ve heard the blogs there work quite well also.
I haven’t tried either yet, nor have I heard “lots” on it, but I’m sure it’ll be blogged when I do!
Care to guest post on the classifieds?
November 4th, 2008 at 11:16 am
Hey Larry, nice About page so far!
I just commented to Tara about the classifieds and blogs, but I have no personal experience yet…care to guest post on the blogging once you know some good results?
November 10th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
Though the About Me page does allow you to post your website, but for it to work, you need traffic and with ebays stock at its lowest today, there isnt much traffic anymore.
A friend sent me your link and I just thanked them, great blog!
November 10th, 2008 at 9:11 pm
Hey Cathy, welcome to the community and thank your friend for me!
Well, I can’t speak for stock holders, but there are still MILLIONS of buyers and sellers on a daily basis…these are the boys and girls that will be clicking your links.
November 13th, 2008 at 8:48 pm
I DO ebay, and as a matter of fact have plans for listing a ton of stuff next week. I never would have thought of this. Thanks for the tip!
Sheila
Sheila´s last blog post..Golden Mean and Fibonacci Numbers: Beauty in Math
November 14th, 2008 at 10:05 am
You’re very welcome Sheila, I hope it all works out! Please keep us updated on your progress.
January 16th, 2010 at 1:16 pm
I can’t use ebuy because in our country ebuy in not available.
Dennis Edell Reply:
January 16th, 2010 at 4:19 pm
@Tech Maish, Interesting. I didn’t think there were any countries left that ebay missed. lol
January 17th, 2010 at 1:21 am
If PayPal is not available in a country, then ebuy is also not allowed for that country.
Tech Maish´s last blog ..20 Most Popular Ways to Promot Your Blog
Dennis Edell Reply:
January 17th, 2010 at 10:35 am
@Tech Maish, Good point.