Our Rock Stars Rock

·        Feedback

Our incredible Rock Star Alice, of Alice in Stitches just reached 5000 feedbacks!! And 100% positive feedback!!  AND her DSR’s are 4.9, 4.9, 4.9 and 4.8!!  Also, eBay isn’t the only venue she sells on…she has done an incredible class for us on Rock Stars about using Amazon, and she also sells on a variety of other sites as well!  That is truly incredible Alice – huge congrats.  You Rock!

·        PowerSeller Status

Our multi-talented Rock Star WebWendy is an amazing eBay Education Specialist and just received her ‘You Are a PowerSeller’ email!!  That is awesome Wendy – I know you are working very hard at creating multiple sources of income.  One of these days I hope you will include your hysterical writings in one of those venues.  You so Rock!

·        Forums

Our whirlwind Rock Star Stephanie never stops assisting Rock Stars in promoting their products – and boy has she come up with a great one for the Rock Star forums this time!  Check out the details below.  You Rock Stephanie! 

Do you sell e-books or other digital downloadable products?  New updates to help you continue to sell them

 (This is a continuation of the recent eBay announcement that they are eliminating digital downloads/e-books from the site by the end of the month)

One of our brilliant Rock Stars, Marlene of The Savvy Seller, was mentioning on the RS Forums that people with legitimate e-books should be turning them into CD’s and selling them as hard products on eBay.  Great idea and people love having something they can physically touch – it psychologically appears worth more and they will probably more than likely be put into use (as oppose to all of the e-books I have sitting unread in my ‘to be read’ folder).

eBay mentioned in this Chatter interview - http://www.ebaychatter.com/the_chatter/2008/03/digital-downloa.html the following:

Question: There is some confusion about what items this new policy covers. Can people still create auction-style and fixed price listings for digital media providing they send a physical CD ROM or printed piece to the buyer? 

Answer: Yes, media that holds digital content, such as a DVD or CD, is permitted for sale on eBay. However sellers may not offer the buyer the option of receiving the content via physical media or via digital delivery or electronic transfer. Any product that is offered to the buyer via digital delivery or electronic transfer must be listed using the Classified Ads format.

Well, we have another incredible Rock Star that does just that for a living.  She has done all of my new CD’s for the OSI Success Library that you have seen recently and I LOVE them (and her!)  She is professional, quick and offers a great price for such an amazing looking finished product.  (Plus she makes it really easy) Here is her information.  If you have e-products that you would like transformed into saleable eBay products definitely give her a holler:

Dany Byrne – Ghost Leg Media -  http://www.ghostlegproductions.com/duplication.html

Dany has created almost a dozen different projects for me and I couldn’t be more delighted (and you guys know how picky I am about who I work with!).  I simply tell her what I need, she does all the hard work, and I end up with a professional product that is created once and sold many times.  I also like the fact that I can have one created or 1000 depending upon what I need it for.  It’s fun doing special promotional cd’s for certain groups I am teaching to, or events I am attending.  She even creates these cool graphics for me to use in my promotions.  (oops, not sure if she does that for everyone – but I bet if you ask when you order your CD’s she would…she is awesome like that!)

Now another thing you’ll want to consider (and this is true whether you are selling e-books or any other products) is to eventually add a website to your business model.  I have always said that there is a perfect triangle of e-commerce success – an eBay auction, an eBay Store and a website.  The website part of that triangle is becoming more and more evident as eBay adjusts policies and fees.  Boy do I have the company to help you with that part.  We had an incredible interview today with Wendy of www.BWYSE.com who along with her sister creates websites.  I think our listeners were surprised at how open, honest, straight-forward Wendy was about creating a profitable website for her clients.  She definitely understands what an entrepreneur’s world looks like and provides services to help our businesses grow.  Check out the replay of this powerful interview below (she is coming back on to do a webinar in April about ‘Best Practices for a website’…details coming.)

Meet Wendy of the web creation site www.BWYSE.com

I was in awe of Wendy and her sister June from the first moment I met them.

There are a lot of people and companies out there who will design a website for you - heck even some of them get the whole SEO thing. But the reason I love these two entrepreneurs is that they get OUR world. They understand what it is to be a growing family business, or small/medium sized company. They speak our language, not theirs. They do as much hand-holding as you want or not. Wendy and June even realize that most companies just starting off can’t pay upfront for the site, so they offer payment options for new businesses.

Come meet Wendy and hear more about:

• What is crucial for a solid business foundation
• Why you shouldn’t build a website yourself
• If you own an eBay Store, do you need website?
• Ways to sell products without paying eBay fees
• The differences between a web designer and a website builder
• What questions you should ask a person before hiring them to build your website
• What day you should send out a newsletter so people buy
• Using stats in understanding your customer and your business better

You can listen to this replay on OSI Rock Stars – see you Backstage!

Remember, if you are an OSI Rock Star, you will be receiving private instructions on utilizing eBay’s Classified Ads along with a website.  The class will include:

• What classified ads are
• Fees
• Do’s and don’ts
• How to set one up
• Marketing with eBay Classifieds
• And advanced uses

This will be an exclusive two-part class, and will be recorded and put on the OSI Rock Star site for your reference 24/7.  You can register for part 1 in the OSI Rock Star forums - http://osirockstars.com/topic.php?id=288&replies=1

Ready to become an OSI Rock Star?  Come join us Backstage at www.osiRockStars.com

Also, just a heads up because I know we have designers on this list…here is another Q&A from eBay today:

Question: What about custom services, such as website design services or resume writing services, which may include a digital deliverable, such as the custom web site pages or the draft or final resume?

Answer: Custom services, where the buyer and seller work collaboratively to develop a custom designed website, will be treated as a service, like they are today. A single template page, even if customizable (e.g. pick your color, “place your name here”) are not considered custom services and will be required to be listed using the Classified Ads format.

Great new forum to help you promote and SELL your items

The Rock Stars are learning a new way to “Share Our Wares” in the forums with our first “Share Your Wares” thread in the eBay Q&A forum, moderated by our own fabulous Stephanie of Katiyana’s Collectibles. 

“Share Your Wares” threads started on the eBay Discussion Boards as an eBay sanctioned way of advertising your items (which normally is not allowed in the forums at all).  Each week there would be a theme, and you would be allowed to post 2 items that fit that theme.  Stephanie thought we could try Share Your Wares - Rock Star style, so she has created our first thread for the eBay Penny Promotion currently underway.

The thread is located here:

http://osirockstars.com/topic.php?id=293

All you have to do is come tell us what kinds of items you’re listing during the penny listing special, and give us a link to your store (with the referral code ?refid=store at the end of course!), so we can come check them out!

Why would you want to participate in our Share Your Wares threads? 

Well, first of all this is a GREAT way to get to know more about our fellow Rock Stars, see what kinds of items they sell, and maybe go on a little shopping spree (Rock Star Sellers are also great Rock Star Buyers!). 

It’ll also help to remind you to provide links to your store with the referral ID coding in it, and provide more links to your store - which is always a good thing for SEO.  Stephanie got things started with a link to her store, Katiyana’s Collectibles, plus a link to her 99 cent listings.

If you’re putting up listings to take advantage of the penny listing special, you should come show off your goodies to the rest of the Rock Stars and Share Your Wares with us!

Trading Assistant opportunity in Seattle - easy

Just received this email from the amazing organizer Laura Leist.  Let me know at info@janelleelms.com if you are interested in handling this sale (and then you have to promise to tell us who the ‘very well known name’ is – LOL…teasing.)

Do you have someone that can help us – we have a client – very well known name of someone here locally – that wants to Ebay some very high end clothing (designer stuff).

Thanks,

Laura Leist, CPO®

Certified Professional Organizer

Eliminate Chaos, LLC

1 CENT insertion fees for high DSR’s – March 25^th – 31st

From eBay…

Start it low and listing fees are just a penny.
List any item for just a penny when you:

·         List it auction-style starting at 99¢ or less, and

·         Specify your shipping costs

·         Detailed Seller Rating requirement applies

Get more details at: http://pages.ebay.com/promo/startlow08/

huge blessings,

j