Customer Reviews

eBay PowerSeller Secrets: Insider Tips from eBay's Most Successful Sellers (2nd Edition) (v. 2)

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

(The following is a recap of a review I wrote for a DP Directory newsletter, having found the book quite impressive.)

I was mesmerized by this book. I actually read all 374 pages of it in one sitting, pausing only to take a few notes.

Okay, I will admit - it was Super Bowl Sunday, and what else was I going to do? But that by no means can explain how intensely fascinating I found this inside glance into the world of eBay's elite club of "Power Sellers."

In my few meager attempts, I haven't been very successful at selling on eBay. Having a quick trigger finger for those high-pressure final minutes of an auction, I'm much better at buying. Now at least I know why my sales didn't go so well - I was doing almost everything wrong.

Did you know that the color blue sells better than any other color on eBay? I certainly didn't. Did you know that ending your auction on one certain day of the week, at certain peak hours, dramatically increases your chances of success? It never occurred to me that ending my auctions at 1:00 a.m. on Tuesday morning was a bad idea. (But when I read the book I certainly had a "duh" moment.)

While reading this book I learned about the scads of services that have grown up to support and enhance trading on eBay. For example, Sellathon tracking software will help you run multiple auctions, a free auction newsletter (AuctionBytes) keeps you informed of the latest trends, and you can even listen to eBay Radio broadcasts!

"eBay PowerSeller Secrets" covers everything, from calculating sell-through rates (although I think the math was a little fuzzy at times) to working with shipping services. I liked the stories about the "real people" behind the eBay handles.

Why do I care about eBay Power Sellers? I am a software developer who sells games on the internet. The Power Sellers are very successful at selling online. According to the eBay criteria, they must sell at least $1000 a month for 3 months running. Some of these Power Sellers average $150,000 per month in online sales, and these top sellers were the main focus of this book. Software developers should pay close attention to what they are doing right.

Automate Everything. More than anything else, perhaps, the book stressed the necessity of automating every possible process. In one excellent passage the authors pointed out that time spent in doing things by hand is just like money out of your pocket.

Software developers who want to sell their wares on eBay may well find the actual listing tips to be the most valuable information in "eBay PowerSeller Secrets." Once again we find that content and selling go hand-in-hand. This fascinating book explains that you need to fully describe exactly what you are selling; the more information the better. Make it fun; that's a big part of eBay's charm. Use the About Me page to give some personal details about you or your company. The buyers want to know there is a real person behind the listing, and one whom they can trust.

Linking your auctions gives them a better chance of success too. "eBay PowerSeller Secrets" covers this topic, and a great deal more.

Anyone who wants to achieve a degree of success selling on eBay, or anywhere else for that matter, should find this book useful. Since it is particularly relevant to online selling, I predict this book will intrigue both budding and seasoned Internet entrepreneurs.

This book is not for the casual or hobbiest eBay seller. It is targetted
directly at those who want to either extensively supplement their income or
even make selling via eBay their sole source of income. To that end it details
such things as source of product, pricing strategies, auction listing composition,
automating the process, photography, tools and resources, shipping and
customer service issues. With it, you will benefit from the shared "how to"
provided by of dozens of eBay Power Sellers. Think of it as a
graduate school reference and you won't be far off. I wish it was available
when I started.

Too many eBay books have nothing more than common-sense and filler that is easily picked up from the eBay help pages. This book is different because it does not waste time on the basics and draws on the experience of successful sellers. Even seasoned PowerSellers will pick up enough ideas to make it an excellent investment.

Although I've been using eBay for several years, and have been a Powerseller on and off, I still learned a lot from this book. It was also an entertaining and interesting read and included a few interesting profiles of popular Powersellers with their stories of how they got started, what they sell, etc.

I certainly recommend this book for anyone interested in selling on eBay-well worth the money and certainly way better than any of the eBay for Dummies books.

One of the best "how to do eBay" books I have read. Even the most experienced eBay sellers will find many helpful tips and useful information about all aspects of selling on eBay. We found several ideas that have helped improve our six year old eBay business. The info is up to date and worth every penny this book cost. A great resource for all levels of sellers. Especially interesting was the "Meet a Power Seller" section at the end of each chapter.

This is the second book that I have read so far about Ebay. I found this book very helpful. As the title suggests, it gives the reader a great deal of insider information and advice on finding products to sell on Ebay, how to manage your inventory, getting payments for your goods, and maintaining good records. I would recommend it to anyone looking to sell on Ebay.

If you were to look at my eBay About Me page, User ID Harley glasses, you'd see I have read many eBay-related books. This book tops my list for many reasons. The authors, Brad and Deb Schepp, don't pretend to have come up with the information in their book all by themselves. Instead, they start by thanking all of the many, many Powersellers and other professionals who contributed to the book. Many are among the top 100 sellers on eBay and members of PeSA, the Professional eBay Sellers Alliance, or the Internet Merchants Association. Brad and Deb have all the right connections :-)

This book is great for beginners all the way up to advanced sellers. As the 2nd edition, it's been revised, and is the most current and up-to-date eBay book on the market. Here are some reasons why I'm such a fan:

·It's packed with information you can put to use immediately. The tips and secrets from experienced sellers are very real, and obviously work in their day-to-day operations. Sit down with the book and have a pad of post-it-notes handy because you are going to want to bookmark lots of sections to revisit.

·Each chapter profiles a Powerseller with a successful eBay businesses, which is very motivating.


·The format of the book is unique, in that each secret is clearly marked. You get the good and the bad points about eBay selling.


·The writing is entertaining and easy to read. The authors are effective and concise, no fluff in this book at all. It's hard to put down!


Brad and Deb's book encouraged me to create my own About Me page and helped me develop procedures that I use today. (Now I not only sell on eBay, but I have my own website as well.) They are solid, no bull writers who practice what they preach. I'm sure if they wanted to, with all the information they have gathered, they could be one of the top ten sellers on eBay. But you can definitely tell when reading their books that their passion is writing about eBay and technology.

I've read some questionable eBay books and can honestly say this is the best one out there. That's why it's #1 on the book list on my About Me page. Now that we have employees, this book has become our company training manual--it's the ultimate training reference for eBay and beyond.

PowerSeller Secrets (PSS) was the book which pushed me over the edge on the decision as to WHEN to put serious time into making money on line. PSS helped me clearly define my number one condition -- Ultra Automation. Hand in hand with high volume automation is out of this world customer satisfaction. My notes to myself included, "Opening every package should be as exciting as opening a birthday present -- with no peanuts blowing about the floor or clinging to your clothes." "Complaints don't make money, they cost money." "Time spent handling complaints is important, but time spent avoiding complaints is more important. Ask person complaining how you can avoid this complaint for everyone, then solve that individual's problem." I plan to reread PSS this week, make copious notes and expand the outline.

You can get more from this book than attending several of those darn $1000 eBay seminars. Fantastic insights. Great precise as well as theoretical business and eBay practices. COMPLETELY recommended.

I have researched several books on EBAY and have found this one to be the best. I am an Education Specialist trained by EBAY to teach people how to buy and sell. This is the one book that I recommend to my students. I have read it through several times, and it seems that I learn something new each time. You will be happy with this book.