Turn the Tables... Make eBay Work for You
Instead of You Working for Them!

From Theresa Coffey, TNT Editor...

Think about the reasons why you were attracted to Net auction selling (and eBay, specifically) in the first place...

• easy to do
• no financial risk
• only an auction listing is required
• lots of targeted traffic actively searching for your type of product or service
• fun and excitement
• etc., etc.,

These positive attributes paint a rosy picture of e-commerce, and for the most part, this "picture" is valid. That's why entrepreneurs (like you) continue to join and stay with eBay. The payback potential is high and there is a strong sense of community among auction sellers. On a daily basis, you get to meet and/or do business with people who share similar interests to yours.

However, it's only after you have been in the auction business for awhile that the blush begins to fade a bit. Net auctions require real work just like any other real business. And therein lies the rub... all your hard work to succeed is not building a business of your own with true value (i.e., one that can be sold). It's really building eBay's equity. And we all know that eBay is presently worth billions of dollars... and growing. That's why their shareholders sleep so well at night!

Here's why eBay has the upper hand at this point (later on, you will see how to "turn the tables" on eBay) ...

1) eBay gets you, and millions of others, to do the tough, physical part (sourcing, packaging, shipping, payment collection, etc.) for them, from home, as free labor. So they don't ever need to own, warehouse, or ship a single product.

2) eBay collects a small amount for each transaction -- which now adds up to billions of dollars per year.

3) eBay owns all the traffic -- their automated software runs the network of buyers and sellers. This is not good news for you because if you don't own your traffic, you can't own your business.

So, realistically, you are working for eBay. You are depending on eBay for what is basically an hourly wage, while your "business" fails to build its own equity. All those hours of scrounging for boxes, packing sold items securely, trips to the post office, e-mail correspondence, payment collection... and it's eBay shareholders who are profiting! Arggh! It's time to turn the tables!...

It's time to take back your business and dreams!

But wait! There is no cause for panic... you don't need to stop your online auction business (it's making you money) or stop your eBay activity (they offer a great service), or start over (continue to build upon what you have now). You just need to use your SBI! site in a SMART way...

Use its power to take control of your business and its future. Here's how...

STEP #1) Own your targeted traffic -- This is essential. As was mentioned earlier, if you don't own your traffic, you don't own your business. So how do you eliminate your dependency on eBay for traffic? Simple... follow the SBI! process step by step (i.e. follow the Action Guide). As you build more and more keyword-focused, content-rich and SE-optimized Web pages related to your theme, more and more interested, targeted traffic will come directly to your site through SE search results pages rather than via e-Bay. Building Web pages with high SE rankings (so easy to do with SBI!) is the most effective way to solidify your own traffic foundation. And that foundation is an essential prerequisite for the next step...

STEP #2) Diversify -- Use eBay/auction selling as only one part your monetization plan. Once you see your traffic gaining momentum (remember traffic must come before monetization -- see DAY 4 of the process as a refresher), introduce two or three additional income streams that fit with your theme. One of them will, of course, be your already established auction business. By opening up other options, eBay no longer has the same grip over your business as the sole money-making source. This independence allows you to use eBay, rather than the reverse -- eBay uses you. Take advantage of their well-oiled gigantic network to drive traffic to your auction listings and to supplement your own traffic efforts to your Web site. (That's why it's important to promote your URL in your auction listings whenever you can).

Diversification helps you make every visitor count (see DAY 4 of the Guide for a broader discussion on this topic). For illustration purposes, let's say that you specialize in US commemorative coins. Your monetization plan might look like this... list a few coins at eBay on a regular basis, sell coins from your site (using CCNow or PayPal Shopping cart for credit card payment), promote your locally-based coin appraisal service and/or recommend a couple of quality coin-collection books at Amazon. Chances are your site's high-value content will PREsell your visitors to follow through and generate income from at least one of those streams. (And speaking of informative content, remember to check out Google's AdSense program as another revenue-producing option for your site.) Diversification will definitely improve your bottom line -- which leads nicely into the third and final step...

STEP #3) Build equity -- The way to do this may surprise you... publish a quality, information-packed e-zine. If you do that, you will easily build a large subscribers' address list. This list is more than just a list of names and e-mail addresses. It is your lifeblood. It will help you generate recurring sales (or commissions or leads, etc.). This is THE essential ingredient for sustaining your business longterm. Sure, you'll get some signups to your e-zine from your eBay traffic -- especially, your buying eBay customers. But now you can really grow your own list and build a credible satisfying relationship with present and potential customers. (Please review e-zine publishing and relationship-building in DAY 9 of the Action Guide, if necessary.)

So why are these three steps so critical?...

If eBay tripled their fees tomorrow, or did something else that would have a detrimental effect on your auction business, you would still have all your traffic generated by your site, your e-zine subscribers' list, and your customers. And you could react assertively and immediately to eBay's actions by either...

• Moving your visitors to other auction sites in a flash or by switching some of your auction business to a category-specific auction option.
• Shifting greater emphasis to other monetization models.
• Modifying your e-zine content appropriately, so that recurring business generates other types of revenues (for example, direct sales instead of auctions).

The bottom line?

YOU own your business (and not eBay). You depend only on yourself. And your equity is yours. A WIN situation for you!

eBay will come to love it because you will be sending them more traffic than they send you. You will be reversing their leakage problem (i.e., once someone buys from a seller, many simply "buys direct" the next time.) A WIN situation for eBay!

It looks like the auction selling "picture" just turned very rosy again!