The Ebay Entrepreneur

What Does Your City Have To Offer

by Tristen OBrien on December 13, 2011

Today I want to take a step out of the eBay world, and talk about a service that I have started to see great success with. That service is called Fiverr.com. You may have heard of it before, or maybe this is the first time. Just like the name insinuates, buyers will pay you five dollars for your task/item/idea/service. This service is called Micro Jobs, and you list what you will do for $5. This may not seem like a lot, but in the past 3 days I have made $55 for less than 1 hour of work!

People are doing some really creative things on Fiverr! For example, some people will sing a 1 minute song, draw a picture, like you on facebook, call a friend, do a backflip, record a testimonial for someone’s product, and much much more. Really you can be as creative as you want! The benefit of this site is that its only $5, so buyers are not afraid to spend the money! The services I offer are more video related. I create quick video intros for blogs or business. With that said, there are many Fiverr (gigs) that you can offer from just looking around your home town! Lets take a look at some of the “city” related (gigs) that are on Fiverr right now:

1. Send a post card from your city. There are several sellers on fiverr who are doing this! Better yet, create your own post card and send it!

2. Write someone’s name in the sand. If you live where you have access to a beach, then you should be good to go! People are paying for this service! Think wedding thank you cards

3. Be a virtual guide or provide assistance to travelers into your city.

4. Help businesses that are outside of your city/state. Provide a service where you will hand out flyers in your city.

That is just the very tip of the iceberg, and really, the options are endless! If you want to check out my Fiverr page, it can be found HERE! So have fun, and post what creative Fiverr gigs you are going to do in the comment section below!

For more eBay tips and tricks, check out The Keys to a Successful eBay Business HERE

On a side note, The Daily Insider is back up! Check it out HERE

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Why I Have A Separate Clearance Store

by Tristen OBrien on December 12, 2011

Most of you know that I am a fan of having separate eBay stores/ID’s. I use this technique to target specific niches, and this way they do not have to surf through uninteresting items to find what they want in my store. I have finally narrowed my store/ID’s down to five, and that includes a clearance store.

Ever since I have been an eBay seller, I have seen the value of a clearance store. I try to put my feet in the buyers shoes, and feel the excitement of a clearance deal. When I say clearance, in most cases that means just a few dollars less than the regular price I was selling it for. I know that doesn’t seem like much of a deal, but a lot of my buyers comment to let me know that they appreciate the savings. I also use this store in a couple different ways:

Clearance Store – Like I mentioned above, the items have a discounted price from what I was originally selling them for.
Land of Misfit Auctions – If I list an auction several times, and it does not sell, I send it to this store. If it still doesn’t sell, I return it or donate it.
Test Store – I use this store as a testing ground and sell it against my other active listings. I may be selling the same thing, but I use different wording and keywords. Which ever does the best gets to stay.

Here is one secret of mine…. 99% of the time I only list in this store when eBay lets us list for free. Since these are misfit auctions and clearance items, they are already priced low. So to keep some extra money, I use my favorate saying, ”When its free, its for me…” Whenever I sell an item in a different store, I write a think you note to go with it. I also include my clearance store information for them to check out. I have a great returning customer rate, and thats really why I have this store.

As some of you know, I have mentioned that I did not want to share my eBay stores and ID’s in this format. I have had some trouble before with some sellers/competition buy my items to ONLY leave a negitive feedback. They were trying to discredit my store. Also, if I shared all of my eBay ID’s, then I would have nothing to write about in this blog. You would see all of my secrets

, but I think it is fair to show you my clearance store. This store does not have much in it right now, but like I said, I only list when eBay offers it for free. If you want to can take a look, and maybe look at some of the completed listings to see how I list my items. HERE is the link. This one store is called The Frugal Tree.

For more eBay tips and tricks, check out The Keys to a Successful eBay Business HERE

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A Christmas Item That Sells All Year Round

by Tristen OBrien on December 9, 2011

So its almost Christmas time, and most people who celebrate this holiday have already decorated their house. Not only have they already decorated, they probably went through their old decorations and donated what they thought was junk, and bought new. This is good for us eBay Entrepreneurs, because some common Christmas items can be worth really good money!

There is one item that I have seen over and over again, but I really didn’t know its value. Thats until my sister gave me the “insider” tip. Rotating (and sometimes musical) Christmas tree stands. I’m not kidding when I say that I have seen at least five of these at Goodwill. At my Goodwill, you can buy them for under $5, and they are selling on eBay between $40 – $150+. These vintage/retro rotating Christmas tree stands are selling great right now, and buyers are wanting them fast! Lets take a look at a couple completed listings:

Like I stated before, they all rotate, but some of them play music. You can get more money for those. I know this goes against my eBay rule, but I think I am going to keep one for myself. They are to cool to pass up! Anyway, keep an eye out for these at Thrift Stores. You also might be able to find more when Christmas is over. People don’t like to pack up, so they just donate. Also, you don’t need to only sell these during Christmas time. There is a newer trend where people keep a tree up all year round. They just decorate it for the season. If they are willing to do that, then they probably will want a rotating tree stand!

For more information on what to sell on eBay, check out The Keys to a Successful eBay Business HERE

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