This is the last issue for 2008. I thank you readers for a great year. I have a feeling 2009 will be a challenge for many. I will continue to share things I find beneficial, and I hope you continue to make money selling online. I'd love to read your predictions for ecommerce in 2009.

Here are the topics for this issue of the newsletter:

In This Issue

1. A Lesson in Pricing on Amazon
2. Six Month Update: Niche Stores Compared
   
3. Using Fulfillment by Amazon for All Your Orders
   

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1. A Lesson in Pricing on Amazon

I learned a lesson a couple of weeks ago. I had a book in my inventory about the Detroit auto industry. When I listed it, I set a price of $6.99. Ho hum. No big deal. Then all the talk about bailouts and the big three started. The book sold after sitting for several months. I thought I should look to see the price of comparable books and evidently, mine was the last hardbound version sold. The lowest price for the paperback version was $25 in "good" condition.

It's easy to list inventory on Amazon and forget it. It just sits there. But we need to keep track of what we have, and also pay attention to trends - even sudden trends and adjust prices accordingly.

When Sarah Palin was chosen as McCain's VP pick last summer, her biography Sarah sold out quickly. Prices on eBay and Amazon jumped. The same happens when a big celebrity dies, or is otherwise in the news for some outstanding reason.

No matter where you sell, keep track of your prices so you don't lose out on sudden opportunities when the item gets hot.

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2. Six Month Update: Niche Stores Compared

Last summer I spent a lot of time building Niche stores to earn some extra money (it's never really extra though). I built several using BANS (Build a Niche Store) and a couple using a Wordpress blog with the phpBay plugin. All of these sites are affiliate sites, meaning when someone clicks through to buy products, I earn a commission. Both types of sites primarily list products from eBay.

I wanted to build sites that would generate commission without me having to spend money on pay-per-click advertising. I wanted them to get indexed by the major search engines, and show up in organic search results.

I spent about two solid weeks on these sites, tweaking, writing some content, creating a few graphics. Then I pretty much just left them alone. My goal was to see if there really was such a thing as an "autopilot" site. I have good news and bad news. First let me say, since August, I've made around $1000 on a handful of sites - from two weeks of work. They're still earning. Now that I know what works, I'll create more of the strong sites, and I won't mess with the weak ones.

First the bad news...Build a Niche Store Sites

The BANS sites started really well. One site did really well for a few months. They were showing up on the first page of Google search results, getting totally organic traffic, and generating affiliate income. Then, for some reason, Google went on a BANS killing spree. Google has been de-indexing BANS sites right and left. Eventually, they got to mine, and killed it. My best site, Schwinner.com is pretty much dead. (I'm now in the process of reconstructing the site.)

It seems no matter how much content you produce, no matter what the design of your site, it's a struggle to stay out of Google's crosshairs. One odd thing is the sites that are getting de-indexed are mostly the BANS sites that are created with BANS 3.0. I have some older BANS sites that are performing just fine. For some reason, it seems Google people see the BANS sites as "thin" affiliate sites. Thin affiliate sites that just redirect traffic without adding much else. My personal opinion?

(Tin foil hat time.) Google has already de-emphasized eBay in the organic search results. There is no question about that. So I think they are also hitting the sites that simply redirect traffic to eBay listings too. Sites built with a product like Build a Niche Store are easy to track down, since they have common parts that can be located simply by searching. BANS sites are "low hanging fruit."

While I'll still use BANS (especially if I can build sites using the old version) I cannot really recommend the product if you're new at building affiliate sites. It is just too much of a struggle to keep the sites up. I believe you need to keep adding fresh content to stay up in the organic search results, but BANS makes it too hard.

Now the good news...Wordpress sites with phpBay Pro

Since blogs are heavily favored by search engines, I thought I'd try building a complete site from a Wordpress blog, with the phpBay Pro plugin. I built two sites like this, and they're both still receiving traffic and making money. And I haven't touched either of them for a few months. Autopilot indeed.

In November I did a full article explaining phpBay Pro along with a special offer (see item #2.) I didn't share my niche store with you then, but I will show you one of my sites that I built with phpBay Pro. It's at www.VwPartFinder.com. This is an amazing product and combined with Wordpress this site allows a VW fan to shop by model, shop by price, etc. Does it rank well in search results? As of this writing, if you search for "volkswagen jacket" I rank #2 out of 1,090,000. (That may change day to day. Since products are always refreshing.)

I am determined to build more Wordpress based sites going forward. This product only gets better. In fact, phpBay Pro creator - Wade has just released a version of this plugin that adds Amazon products to a Wordpress blog. I think I'll have to go add some more products to my site...

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3. Using Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) to Handle ALL of Your Orders

Amazon has over a decade of experience processing and shipping orders from their warehouses. Not long ago, they decided to share their vast experience with you, the average seller.

How would you like to focus all of your efforts on selling, and have Amazon worry about fulfilling the orders? That is exactly what happens with the Fulfillment by Amazon program. You send your products to Amazon, they store them in their warehouse, customers purchase the products, Amazon then picks, packs and ships the products to your customers. Fulfillment by Amazon is currently available in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, and Japan.

You do not have to be a large seller to use FBA. There is no minimum on how much you store, or how much you have to sell, to use their services. In fact, you don't even have to sell the products on Amazon. You can use FBA to fulfill orders from other channels, your own website, eBay, or even in-store retail sales.

There are generally speaking, two types of fees associated with FBA. The first is an inventory storage fee. This is determined on a cubic foot per month basis. The fee is initially $.45 per cubic foot per month for the first three quarters, and rises to $.60 per cubic foot on the fourth quarter.

The second fee is the fulfillment fee. This fee varies based on the specifics of the order. There is one chart for Amazon orders and another for non-Amazon orders. In each case the fulfillment fee involves Amazon picking, packing, and shipping the items for you. The prices are quite reasonable and really free up a seller's valuable time to focus on selling and not on fulfillment.

One more good thing about Amazon's FBA program. Amazon will be responsible for all related customer service and order returns sold on Amazon.com. You can find more details about the program at: http://www.amazonservices.com/fulfillment/

Thanks! See you next year!

Steve

I hope things are going well for you in this busy selling season. I'm working on an expanded, updated version of "Selling on 'the River" which should be available soon. And I've decided that if you purchased the first version, you will receive the update at no charge! The new version will have sections on Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), and updated info on dealing with UPCs and restricted categories.

Here are the topics for this issue of the newsletter:

In This Issue

1. GIFT eBook: 10 Things Small Sellers Can Do to Get Their Mojo Back
2. Grow Profits by Cutting Shipping Costs
   
3. Giving Bonanzle a Try - My Two Cents Worth
   
4. New Section: Product Reviews
   

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1. Gift eBook: 10 Things Small Sellers Can Do to Get Their Mojo Back

Grab a copy of my new 43 page ebook for small sellers. It's full of practical tips and suggestions to help you deal with the current selling landscape. It deals with four main areas:

1. Platform - Figure out where you should be selling, and don't let it get emotional.
2. Products - Product sourcing and building a product line with a combination of your products, drop shipping, and affiliate sales.
3. Visibility - How can you get eyeballs on your listings? Find out.
4. Deliverability - When everything else is equal, shipping and customer service is what will make you stand apart from your competition.

You can get your copy at: www.thenichebook.com/mojo_ebook.html.

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2. Grow Profits by Cutting Shipping Costs

While packing up a small poster the other day, I discovered that I'd run out of small poster tubes. My shipping label was already printed, with the weight for the small tube figured in. What would you do in that case? I did what I've done before. I got out my utility knife and hacked off the end of a larger tube and sent the package. I learned a long time ago that the weight of your packaging eats into your profits.

The lesson is this: pennies add up to dollars. Mind the cents and the dollars will follow. As I talk to other sellers about business, it's amazing how many still waste money in this area.

Here are a few simple ways to save money on your packaging and shipping. You will ultimately save time, as well as money. First take a look at your packaging. If your items are consistent in size, you will save money by buying your packaging in bulk. I buy shipping tubes by the case for my posters. But for book sales on Amazon and other sites I buy boxes. It's pretty easy to estimate how much you'll sell over a few months and be prepared. If you can buy locally and pick up your packaging materials, you'll save a ton in shipping charges. Ironically, shipping supplies cost a lot to ship. In the small town where I live that's not an option, so I have found ULINE (www.uline.com) to be a reliable supplier, with very good service.

You Can Print Your Own Shipping Labels

If you're not already printing your own shipping labels, you should start today. You will not need to use a paid service such as Stamps.com or Endicia. You can print labels on your own printer at home, using PayPal with no subscription or special software. You can create these labels for any package, regardless of whether it was sold on eBay. You will not need special label paper either.

When I started selling through Amazon, I missed the seamless integration between my eBay seller account and PayPal shipping labels. Really though, it's not that hard to work around. Amazon orders are required to have a packing slip inside, so I just print all of my packing slips out, and copy the addresses into PayPal's Ship Now page. I get the option to ship packages Media Mail rates, and I get a trackable, pre-paid label for my package. The payment for the label comes out of my PayPal account. Obviously, this will work with any package. So if you're selling on a site other than eBay, you can still use this feature from PayPal. The link to PayPal's Ship Now page is: https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_ship-now

PayPal MultiOrder Shipping

When you want to create more than one label, PayPal's MultiOrder Shipping is a good tool. To find MultiOrder Shipping:

• Login to your PayPal account
• In the left column near the top under the heading "Tools" you'll find the link to MultiOrder Shipping. (It can be used to import your eBay listings, or you can use it to create your own labels, one at a time.
• Click "File" > "Create New Orders" and fill out the info

You can create package presets so you don't have to enter the information for each package. This is especially helpful with Amazon orders, since most books ship via Media Mail and fall into the same price category. I created a preset called "Amazon Book" that covers most books I sell. I simply select the preset, and then type in the customer's name. Then I click "Create Another" and it's saved to the queue and I'm on to my next label. Once they are all created, I print them all out at once.

Save Gas, and Time

You may be able to save the most money by simply having your carrier pick up your outgoing packages at your home. Both UPS and the US Postal service will pick up packages if the postage is printed out in advance. You can make requests for pick up through their respective websites or sometimes a friendly note works for your postal carrier.

If you have to go to the Post Office to send your package, having prepaid postage printed and applied should make it possible for you to avoid the long lines and just drop your packages off and run. Time is money, and money is money - don't waste either!

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3. Giving Bonanzle a Try - So Far, So Good

If you are looking for an alternative platform to sell your stuff, you may want to give Bonanzle a try. I have set up a "booth" there and so far I've actually had a few sales. Outside of Amazon, this is probably the best eBay alternative I've found. And right now, the price is right - it's free to list!

Here are a few things I liked about Bonanzle right away:

• Import your eBay listings easily
• Import your eBay feedback - you won't have to start at zero
• Use Google Checkout to accept payment (for you PayPal haters out there)
• Add your Bonanzle items to Google Base for more exposure

There are other cool things that you'll find as you explore the site, but I found I was up and running in just a little while. They have a good, friendly community of users too. Here are a few of the most recent developments:

I hope you'll join us live, December 4th, 2008 at noon (PST) or click here to listen to the archived interview.

Personally delivered to you by Steve Lindhorst, author of
"Selling on 'the River' and "The Niche Book"

A short issue this week. I hope you're all busy with sales. I know I have had a pretty good week on Bonanzle, Google Shopping, Amazon, and yes...even eBay. The best sale was a set of Time/Life "The Old West" that sold on Amazon for $150 (I paid $26 at a Friends of the Library sale. - WhooHoo!) And now...

Here are the topics for this issue of the newsletter:

In This Issue

1. EIGHT Ways to Choose Products to Promote as an Affiliate
2. Create a Promotion for Your Amazon Listings
3. Upcoming Gift for Multichannel Surfer readers
4. Reader Poll: Take a second to vote!
   

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In case you haven't heard of Avril Harper, she is a writer in the UK and may be best known for her ebook, "Make Good Money Tearing Up Old Books and Magazines and Selling Them on eBay." (Long title, great book.)

We correspond regularly, and I have to say, she is one straight shooter. Very honest, and incredibly smart at making money with the internet. She has written the following article and allowed me to post it here. If you have a website or blog, or use Build a Niche Store, you can use this info to make a lot of money. Enjoy. - Steve

1. EIGHT Ways to Choose Products to Promote as an Affiliate

As all successful affiliates know, the most important part of the marketing process is sourcing products with high selling potential. Without products people actually want to buy, no amount of marketing will compensate the affiliate for time, money and effort expended in their business. These tips will help you choose quality products with high selling potential generating good commissions for you:

#1 Go for goods and services that interest you as a buyer or enthusiast. It’s a well-known fact that selling products and services for which you are an actual or potential customer yourself, benefits you as a seller, both increasing your own enthusiasm in the product as well as helping you pass that enthusiasm to others.

#2 Go for high commission items over items of similar quality with lower rewards. They say it is just as easy to sell a high priced item as something costing just a few pounds.

#3 Go for unusual or highly specialised items where you effectively become one of a handful of sellers worldwide.

#4 Choose niche markets over general markets. Niche markets are those where buyers and sellers share closely defined interests, such as entering consumer competitions, collecting antique teddy bears, buying business opportunity books, and so on. General markets, on the other hand, are those where potential buyers share numerous interests, say good food and drink, holidays abroad, selecting Christmas gifts for family and friends.

Niche markets, by their very nature, comprise people known to be one hundred per cent interested in most products and services related to their shared interest.

They can be reached easily and at little expense, via specialist magazines and newsgroups, emailing lists, and such, unlike a general interest audience with members dotted here, there, everywhere.

#5 Choose products with repeat commissions and back-end sales potential. So, acquiring a customer can mean selling to that person many times over the years.

#6 Check that products and services are legal and acceptable in all your target areas. For example, gambling and alcohol illegal in some countries, and advertising is subject to more stringent rules and regulations in some parts of the world, and so on. So advertising material which is entirely suited to say, the American market, might well be banned in another country, or vice versa.

#7 Choose generous commissions over token rewards, especially where products are also in high-demand.

#8 Look for products that can be combined and marketed on one site. Here you can attract a massive audience of potential buyers for several, usually related products.

Avril Harper is a successful ClickBank vendor and affiliate and the author of A COMPLETE NEWBIES’ GUIDE TO MAKING MONEY WITH CLICKBANK. - Click here to learn more.

(I totally recommend this guide to ClickBank. I thought I knew all I needed to know, but I found several new things here for making money from my various websites and blogs. - Steve)

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2. Create a Promotion for Your Amazon Listings

One of the differences between eBay and Amazon is the way your items are presented. It can seem challenging to stand out on Amazon.com. If you are a non-media seller, in Amazon's Seller Central, you can create promotions for your items.

When creating a promotion, the type of offer is established by the first choice you make in the process. There are four basic types of promotion, based on the type of benefit being offered:

This is a feature that is often overlooked by Amazon sellers. Using it on your inventory is a great way to stand out in this competitive holiday season. Remember though, this feature is available to non-media sellers in Amazon's Seller Central. You can get more information at: https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/9451

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3. Upcoming Gift: 10 Ways for Small Sellers to Get Their Mojo Back

I'm working on an ebook for my subscribers that deals with the many challenges we have as small sellers. I'll be sending you a link via email in the next week or so, so keep your eyes peeled, I think you'll like it. No selling - just tips and advice.

I thought of calling it the "Small Seller Survival Guide," since it deals with things such as choosing a platform for selling, finding products, visibility, and delivery. So many people are leaving eBay, or at least trying to find alternate channels, that I think this will be helpful in settling on the best places for you to sell.

I'm going to spend some time dealing with the challenges of managing several marketplaces at once. And once you are up and running, how to build an email list so you can stay in touch with your hard-earned customers.

Watch for it, there is no charge for it for now, just grab it when you see the email.

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4. Poll: Would you like a forum here?

I have been thinking about adding a discussion forum on this site to answer questions, exchange ideas, etc. I think the exchange of ideas would be helpful. Before I set it up, I just wanted to know what you all thought.

Poll results were: 91% Yes   9% No

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That's it for this issue. Click here to read Past Issues. Leave a comment or ask a question if you have one. Thanks!

There's a little something for everyone this week. If you would like to see a certain topic, send me an email with a request. Anything from eBay or Amazon, to alternate selling channels, affiliate selling, or niches. Also, if you want to see the Table of Contents for The Niche Book, I've added below. And now...

Here are the topics for this issue of the newsletter:

In This Issue

1. Dealing with Amazon UPC Requirements
   
2. Make Money with a WordPress Blog & phpBay Pro (special offer)
   
3. Be Choosy When Buying "Make Money" Products
4. Housekeeping Issues for Readers
   

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1. Amazon's UPC Requirements - You can get help.

Amazon recently began require UPC (Universal Product Code) numbers on almost everything. This new rule can be a real challenge for sellers who may be:

1. selling a used item, and can't find the UPC.
2. producing one of a kind items. (Obtaining UPCs for each item costs too much.)
3. selling something that was not originally sold in a retail store, and has never had a UPC.

Amazon realizes that some things will not have a UPC, and it can be too expensive for small sellers to get one for each individual product. For those cases, you can request an exemption for your product.

Recently, I heard from a lady who makes baby quilts. Each one is unique, so she would have to have a UPC for every single product. A UPC can cost anywhere from $6 to around $50. This was obviously not something she could recover in her retail price. So she was in dire need of an exemption. Since there is little chance anyone else would ever create the exact items she was making, she should be able to get exempted from this rule.

Exemptions are category dependent. The Amazon staff dealing with each category is aware of which products will, or will not have UPCs. They also know when a seller should be able to get UPCs.

They only allow exemptions for specific reasons. So try to make sure you qualify before making your request. Here are the basic reasons they consider valid:

• Private label: Non-nationally branded product on your own company's label
• Specialized: Low-volume accessory part/item with a specialized function
• Non-consumer: A business-to-business product not sold in a retail store
• Pre-configured: Made-to-order or custom products

You can see Amazon's page on this question at: https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/48551

"What are the steps I should go through to request an exemption?"

1. The request must be made through Seller Central (not Marketplace). Click the link at the bottom of any page that says: "Get technical support."
2. In the contact form, for the topic, choose "Manage my products and inventory"
3. In the Short Description field, type: “request for UPC exemption.”
4. In the body, list your products, or if you have a large number of products, list some products that represent your catalog. This list should include brands, any relevant descriptions, and the total number you for which you need exemptions.
5. For each item, you'll need to explain why there won't be a UPC.

This is the best info I have right now. If you go through all the steps above, and still have trouble, let me know. I can't promise anything, but I'll try to help if you get stuck.

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2. Make Money with a WordPress Blog & phpBay Pro and a Special Offer

Can you still make money with eBay? Yes. But it's not what you think. And you won't have to ship anything, or deal with any difficult customers.

Blogs are powerful tools to gain organic search traffic. The search engines love blogs. By combining that power with affiliate links to eBay items, you can make some nice extra income.

Contextual Advertising Works

Weren't you amazed when you first noticed ads that related to the content of webpages? That is contextual advertising. A script looks at the words on the page, and displays an ad that is relevant to the context. The advertiser hopes that since you're interested in that page, maybe you'll like what they're advertising. It's very effective.

phpBay Pro uses that same concept, only you are in control of writing the page, and you control which products are displayed.

A Crash Course in WordPress

The most popular type of blog software is Wordpress. WordPress comes in two flavors. The free version can be found at Wordpress.com (www.wordpress.com). You won't need anything but an account to start your blog. You won't have to pay for a domain or a host. But you also cannot customize this type of blog.

If you head over to Wordpress.org (www.wordpress.org) you can download software (free) and upload it to your own server. That software installs and runs your very own WordPress blog. You can change all kinds of things on that blog.

The look and feel of the blog is controlled by a theme. Themes can be paid or free. You download a theme, and then upload it to the appropriate directory in your blog. Through your blog's admin panel you can install the new theme with the press of a button.

You can also add dozens of "accessories" to your blog in the form of plugins. Plugins are little programs that - as the name implies - plug into your blog. They do all sorts of things for you. Some add features such as eliminating spam comments automatically, or inserting photos. Most customize the blog's behavior in one way or another, and most plugins are free.

phpBay Pro is a WordPress plugin. It adds a button to the editing panel that lets you insert selected eBay listings directly into your blog post. If you're posting about vintage TV shows on your niche blog, you can have phpBay Pro insert current items right into the post. Let's say I just wrote a post about the Andy Griffith show, with just a click I can insert the following:

Andy Griffith Show The Complete Final Season New DVD    US $25.17

ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW Complete 2nd Season New DVD Set    US $22.76

ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW Complete 5th Season New DVD Set    US $25.96

The Andy Griffith Show Complete 2nd Season 2 5 DVD NEW    US $22.09

Andy Griffith Show The Complete Third Season New DVD    US $25.73

NEW 5 DVD ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW THE COMPLETE 4TH SEASON    US $22.70

These are current eBay items. The links to the eBay products are affiliate links, and after clicking on my link, if you buy anything on eBay in the next seven days, I get a commission. I make about $150 per month using phpBay Pro on a few sites of mine.

phpBay Pro pulls the items, and displays them in the neat rows as you see them - all automatically. I just supply the search term. You can also configure the number of items displayed, choose a specific eBay category, and it works for eBay sites around the world.

phpBay and Search Engines

When you use eBay's widgets, the search engines don't look at the eBay listing titles because it's all generated by JavaScript. With phpBay Pro (as well as BANS) the information is translated into html, so the search engines see it, and index it.

What does that mean for you? It means that the rich keywords people use in their titles now become part of your content. Search engines see it, and associate your blog with that term.

phpBay Pro shows the latest listings. That is something you couldn't get away with when running a static webstore. No inventory to manage!

Yet Another Way to use phpBay Pro...

Inserting items into a post may be the obvious way to use phpBay Pro. You can use it in another very powerful way if you spend some time learning.

The unique structure of blogs allows for even more possibilities with phpBay Pro. I've discussed many features of blogs already, such as categories and posts. I mentioned that a blog dynamically displays a set number of posts on the blog home page, in reverse chronological order. You'll usually see, for example, the most recent five or ten posts of the blog.

There is another way to write content for your blog. This content stays put, rather than moving down the home page of the blog. Instead of a post we're talking about creating a page.

A page, is a way to create a more traditional webpage with a blog.

Imagine taking a WordPress blog with a phpBay plugin, and using phpBay Pro to create a collection of pages. Each page would display items in a certain category.

Wii Outlet is a site built with a WordPress blog, and phpBay Pro. You can see the site at www.wiioutlet.com. There is good content, it's well organized, and has the current listings for Wii consoles, Accessories, and Games. Each link leads you to a blog page that contains information and the latest products.

Don't forget, this is still a blog too. The ability to easily add fresh, relevant content is there in the form of blog posts. Remember those plugins you can install on your blog? Some of them automatically import news items from other blogs, and displays the headlines on your blog. Automatically adding more and more content. The possibilities are really unlimited.

Is this better than BANS (Build a Niche Store) ? The fact that your affiliate links are incorporated in lots of content is a real plus. It may take a little longer, but if you blog about a product, every day for a year, you'll have a nice blog, full of pages, with loads of up-to-date affiliate links. The search engines will love you.

With BANS, you suddenly have this "store," full of links, and usually very little content. The search engines may slap you for having a "thin" affiliate site, and your work will be wasted.

If you have the time, phpBay Pro incorporated into a blog will make you some real money in the long run.

The Bottom Line on phpBay Pro

phpBay Pro is an absolute winner. It is perfect for a niche, and really perfect for a niche blog. You can use it to build your own niche store on a blogging platform, and it's easy to use. The price is: $79.

The support is incredibly good and there are also some really helpful user sites that contain tips and tricks.

You can take a closer look at it here: www.thenichebook.com/phpbay.

AND...here is the special deal:

I have been communicating with phpBay's creator, Wade. He loved the idea of The Niche Book, and he created a special discount for those who purchase The Niche Book. Here are the specifics:

• You'll get a special 25% discount code
• This offer is only good for the first 100 people. Then it's over. (Wade sets the rules, and he set a limit of 100.)
  
• If you've purchased The Niche Book, send a blank email to: theNicheBook@gmail.com
  • Include the words phpBay Discount Code in the subject line
• You'll receive an email back, with a special link and the discount code

The savings nearly wipes out the original cost of The Niche Book! Don't wait, only the first 100 get the discount.

NOTE: You need to be signed up as an eBay affiliate before you can use phpBay Pro. You can do that at: www.ebaypartnernetwork.com.

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3. Be Choosy When Buying "Make Money" Products

One of the reasons eBay has so offended people is the way they've rolled out changes this year. They've not only confused sellers, they've also made it nearly impossible to see which things work.

Right out of high school I worked as an auto mechanic. When a customer came in with a problem, we had a method to fixing the problem. We tried one thing at a time, then checked to see the effect. That way we knew which thing we tried - worked. If we made five adjustments before checking for success, there's no way to know which one worked, and it was pretty impossible to learn to be a better mechanic.

Readers have written telling me about all the products they've purchased, but they haven't found out how to make money from them yet. They just keep on buying. They buy so much, they don't know which ones - if any - work.

I love when you buy products I sell or recommend - but please don't buy them without a clear plan in mind. If you buy a bunch of ebooks, or programs with no clear direction, you will probably be overwhelmed.

Be picky about spending your money. Research the products, ask questions. Ask me and I'll help if I can. But don't waste your money. I am not going to ruin my trust with you for one sale, if I think a product is junk, I'll tell you. If you buy something from me, and you really hate it, I will refund your money. Please keep that in mind.

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4. Housekeeping Issues - Odds and Ends

• A bunch of you took advantage of the SEO Wars ebook, with resale rights, for only $7. It's not only a great SEO tutorial, you can sell it on your own website too. I forgot to include the Resale Rights file in that download, click here to download the resale rights.

• I received several questions on what is contained in my new eBook, "The Niche Book - How to Pick a Niche for Profit." You may get a better idea if you look at the Table of Contents here.

• Is BANS really worth the effort? My answer is, "yes, if you are willing to put in the time." It is work for sure, but much of it involves writing content for your store pages. If you have a creative mind, you have a head start.

• Follow me on Twitter! I'll follow you too. I'm on Twitter with the name SteveLindhorst. I'm finally starting to get into it. Just jump in, you'll figure it out as you go.

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That's it for now. Feel free to comment. Thanks again for being there!

Steve

I'm very excited to release my new ebook, The Niche Book - How to Pick a Niche for Profit. I wrote it based on input from subscribers to this newsletter, and response from you has been great! Thank You all! I hope you use the information contained to make some money.

Here are the topics for this month's newsletter:

In This Issue

1. The Niche Book- How to Pick a Profitable Niche
   
2. Creating Information Products - A Guide to Cash
   
3. Use Your Online Skills for Offline Profits - A great new site.
4. Amazon 2008 Holiday Season Best Practices
   

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1. The Niche Book- How to Pick a Niche for Profit (or What I Did Last Summer)

It's been a while since I wrote the last newsletter. I try to only send you things when I really have something to say. I'm proud to say, I've finished my new ebook, "The Niche Book." It's over 100 pages of material, along with over an hour of videos.

It was hard to decide how to tackle so much information. I decided to put everything into two big sections. First, I covered how to find a niche market. The methods are the ones I've actually use (and still use). These methods have helped me choose niches for blogs, as well as several BANS sites.

The second section deals with ways to sell in your niche. A website, a blog? And if you're going to sell in your niche, will you sell as a direct seller or as an affiliate?

For direct sellers, there is some information on product sourcing. For affiliates, I go into the major affiliate networks, and cover a couple of affiliate products including Build a Niche Store and phpBay Pro.

If you haven't looked at the website yet, take a look at: www.theNicheBook.com.

I always get a lot of questions about Build a Niche Store, so I've included one of the videos from The Niche Book here. Watch me build a niche store with BANS in 20 minutes.

2. Creating Information Products - A Guide to Cash

If you could write an ebook, and make tens of thousands of dollars in six months - would you do it? I can tell you from personal experience, you probably have what it takes to do that. Instead of trying to find products to sell, why not create your own?

Think about it. You have likely lived for decades. You have figured out how to do your job, raise kids, pay bills, navigate banks, loans, and buy and sell homes. You may have dealt successfully with sickness or tragedy. Whatever you do, you've likely figured out little shortcuts to get it done. People will pay you to know those shortcuts.

Skip McGrath has a great product that tells you how to create information products, and how to sell them. He says they're good to sell on eBay - and they are. But you can also sell them on ClickBank, and you can sell them on your niche site. And when you put your product on Clickbank, thousands of affiliates can pick it up and promote it for you. Skip knows a thing or two about creating products that sell. He talks on the level of regular people. I appreciate that.

No matter which channel you use to sell online, this information can help you create a product you can sell over and over - and keep the profits. See how you can do it.

3. Use Your Online Skills for Offline Profits - A great new site.

Almost a year ago, I began writing Showroom Secrets - Make Money with eBay Motors without Selling a Thing. It shows how to take the skills you developed on eBay, and assist car dealers with listings on eBay Motors.

The skills you've learned on the internet are valuable. Right in your community there are people that will pay you to help them. You may have experienced the same thing I have. When you tell friends that you make money on the internet, they want to know how you can help them.

Local business owners are so busy running their businesses, they don't get time to learn how to use the internet. If they could tap into the power of the internet, imagine what it would mean for their businesses.

If you've ever found yourself looking for new ways to make money, with your existing skills, without paying a fortune - you might consider helping local, offline businesses. There are people making money their first time out. I can tell you from experience - it's pretty easy. And when you're dealing with brick and mortar businesses, you can often collect a check right away. On top of that, it's not a one-time deal. This is repeat income, month after month.

Visit the site, and get their free report at: OfflineBiz.com

4. Amazon Sellers - Are you ready for holiday sales?

A lot of you sell on Amazon. There are some good articles at Amazon Strategies for you. Especially one called Amazon 2008 Holiday Shopping Season Best Practices, I know, the title is almost as long as the article. In any case, if you're an Amazon seller, bookmark this website, it's full of good information.

Until next time - keep selling! And as always, your comments are welcomed.

The response to Instant Website Empire was tremendous. People are also snapping up Skip McGrath's new ebook about selling books online. This week I concentrated on a new niche using phpBay Pro. My collective average for all active eBay affiliate sites is up to $14.54 for every 100 clicks. This month my affilate sites have generated $183.99 so far. Here are the topics for this month's newsletter:

In This Issue

1. Instant Website Empire - Reader Response, and a Sample Site.
   
2. Learn to Sell Books Online - Skip McGrath's New Book
   
3. Your Amazon.com Selling Questions Answered
   

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1.Instant Website Empire - Reader Response, and a Sample Site

You readers really responded wildly to the Instant Website Empire. I found out a little more about the product that I wasn't aware of last week.

After digging around a little more I found out that the DVD you get contains over two gigabytes of ebooks, software tools, and graphics with resale rights. That means you can resell them under your own name. So besides the website templates, articles, and graphics, there is a second way to make money on this product.

Before I began writing this newsletter, I wanted to see how long it would take me to build a simple HTML website using a domain name I had sitting around. I only used the files from the DVD, and edited the header image with Photoshop. I built a five-page site in about one hour. It contains ads, an Amazon affiliate widget, and five articles that came on the Instant Website Empire DVD. It would be easy to expand on this, or tinker with the design. But here's my one-hour site virtually out of the box: www.OfficialFoodie.com.

It would be easy to add more articles, ads, or affiliate products from here. Or just not touch them again. Imagine if you had about 20 or even 50 of these sites generating $10-$20 per month.

In case you haven't checked it out yet, it's Instant Website Empire.

Now let me tell you about another thing...

2. Learn to Sell Books Online

The interest was also really intense for Skip McGrath's new book. It has a long title, but it's long on information too. It's a great companion to my book Selling on the River - the eBay Seller's Guide to Amazon.com (wait, maybe Skip got the long title thing from me...

Anyway, his book is called, How To Make Good Money Selling Used Books on eBay, Amazon.com and The Internet and it's full of information specific to used books. It covers scouting for books, grading and pricing, and then talks about selling on the various platforms of eBay, Amazon, Abebooks, and your own websites.

My sales have slowed a bit this summer, maybe yours have too. Now is the time though to hit the garage sales, and yard sales. I'm still finding great books out there. One of my recent finds is a book on the Black Panthers from the early 1970's for a buck. It's listed all over the internet for nearly $100. Now I'm just waiting for my buyer...

3. Your Amazon.com Selling Questions Answered

I have received many questions about selling on Amazon over the past couple of months. I have been on the phone directly with Amazon support this week getting answers straight from the "horses mouth." Please remember, I don't make Amazon's rules - I'm just reporting what they have to say. I have told them about you, and that I would pass this information along - so they realize the importance of accuracy.

Before I get started, let me say this: Amazon reported their earnings for the second quarter of 2008 this week, and sales were up 41% over last year. eBay could not say the same. People are buying product on Amazon, and sellers are selling. You may hit some roadblocks for now, but don't give up. I was told twice by Amazon employees this week that while restrictions exist for some sellers now, they are interested in accommodating as many sellers as possible and are working to do so. So if you've hit a roadblock, just stay tuned, they know you are there and want to help you sell.

Question #1 - "My country's Amazon site only allows sales of media items such as DVDs, CDs, Videos. How can international sellers take advantage of the US site?"

Answer: To sell on the US site, a seller must have four things:

• United States telephone number
• United States checking account
• United States billing address
• Credit Card

There are some international sellers who have managed this, with the help of friends or relatives. Otherwise, you may have to wait for more opportunities to open up in your area.

Question #2 - "Is it true that Amazon requires a UPC for every item? How can I sell my one of a kind or antique item without a UPC?"

Items such as antiques, handmade items, or other items without a UPC can still be sold on Amazon.com. If you have such an item, and you have a Pro-Merchant account, you can still create a product description page using the Everything Else category. A word of caution though: If your item SHOULD have a UPC and there is a category specifically for it on Amazon, you may not use the Everything Else category as a work-around. In other words, don't try to cheat. Everything Else means "everything else" other than categorized items. Amazon is pretty strict about keeping the site well organized.

There are two things you can do to try to get around the UPC requirement. First, you can talk with a rep on the phone. If you've been frustrated with eBay phone support - you'll be happy with Amazon. From your Manage Your Inventory Page, in the upper right click "Seller Help" and have Amazon call you. Then ask them what you should do to be able to list your item.

Second, if you hit the UPC wall, you can email Amazon and ask for an exception to the rule for your product. There is a good chance you can get one if you make your case well. Be polite, and don't get nasty if you can't get an exception right now. They assure me they are working on a number of things to accommodate the large number of eBay sellers beginning to sell there. (I predict a "Collectibles" category in the future - you heard it here first.)

Here is some information directly from Amazon you should find helpful:

Currently, we require a Universal Product Code (UPC) or a European
Article Numbers (EAN) for many products submitted through our Create a
Product Detail Page feature. We require this identifying data for the
following products:

* Baby Products (UPC or EAN)
* Camera & Photo (UPC or EAN)
* Electronics (UPC or EAN)
* Home, Kitchen & Garden (UPC or EAN)
* Music CD or Cassette (UPC or EAN)
* Musical Instruments (UPC or EAN)
* Software (UPC or EAN)
* Tools & Hardware (UPC or EAN)
* Toys & Games (UPC or EAN)
* Video & DVD (UPC)

If the item you would like to sell falls under one of the categories
listed above and does not have the required product identifier, it
cannot be listed using the Create a Product Detail Page feature.
However, if the item being sold was manufactured or printed prior to
the establishment of UPC codes, you can write to our Seller
Performance group to request permission to create the catalog page
without the UPC. You can contact this department via email using the
following address:

seller-performance@amazon.com

For more information on obtaining a UPC or EAN, please contact:

Uniform Code Council Inc.
8163 Old Yankee Road, Suite J
Dayton, OH 45458 USA
Telephone: (937) 435-3870

http://www.gs1us.org

Question #3 - "Why can't I see the instructional videos, and other announcements on Amazon Seller Central? How can I get access to Seller Central?

Seller Central is for Amazon's Merchant Sellers. They are the upper tier sellers who sell things other than media items. They are generally bigger, more professional sellers, and they are allowed to set their own shipping prices. Think of them as Amazon's "Powersellers." Most of us sell in the Amazon Marketplace (Marketplace Sellers) and while we may have a Pro-Merchant account, we are not Merchant Sellers per se.

See you next time everyone! Thanks for being there!

It's been a while since the last issue, so this one's a little long - but there's lots of good stuff. I've been very busy with my Build A Niche Store sites -and they're making money! I'm averaging $13.53 for every 100 clicks. I've also been selling on eBay and Amazon - but summer has been slow. Here are the topics for this month's newsletter:

In This Issue

1. What you asked for...I'm working on it now.
   
2. Instant Website Empire - (You're the first to see this! And it's cool.)
   
3. Selling Books on Amazon - a few tips
   

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1. What you asked for...I'm working on it now.

In the poll last month, you said you wanted to know more about Build A Niche Store. Well, I have been working my tail off with about ten sites. Some are beginning to do well, others still need work. But let me tell you this: I've been at this seriously for about six weeks and I have more than paid for Build a Niche Store.

Last month I spoke at eBay Live! in Chicago on the topic "Picking a Niche, and Pricing for Profit." It was standing room only. On the flight home, I decided my next ebook will be based on that information, but with a lot more details than I could cover in 90 minutes at eBay Live! I was really only allowed to focus on eBay there, but in my next ebook I'll focus on growing your niche business into areas such as Amazon, eCrater, and blogs.

I have learned a lot of ways to identify great niches. One niche store I set up is getting relatively few clicks, but it's my top earner at $186 per hundred clicks! Now if I can just get more clicks on that one!

There are three niche site platforms I am using, Build a Niche Store, phpBay Pro (and another one I'll tell you about in a minute). phpBay Pro is used along with a free WordPress blog to build your own customized niche store. It is awesome. You need to be a little more comfortable working with code to use it, but if you can do that you can build an amazing site, optimized for natural search. Plus it's created on the WordPress blogging platform so the search engines love it.

Just to whet your appetite, here are two of my Build A Niche Store sites - www.Schwinner.com and www.cnc-spot.com.

and here are two of my phpBay / WordPress sites - www.VWPartFinder.com and www.cricut-shop.com.

Now let me tell you about the newest thing...

2. Instant Website Empire

Lots of you have expressed a desire to start new revenue streams to support your income. Passive income is the favorite. Start up an affiliate site, and let it just churn out the cash. Well, it's not quite that easy - but it's also not all that hard. One thing I've learned is you can't just put up one affiliate site and expect all that much. You need several. That's why I have my first ten up and growing, and another ten in the wings. My goal is to get them up, have them indexed by Google, Yahoo, and MSN Search by Labor Day, and try to cash in on the holiday season.

At eBay Live! I spoke with my friend Mike Enos about this, and he told me he was just finishing up a super-secret new product that automatically builds a nice-looking websites, with templates for dozens of niche markets. He has taken a TON of knowledge and put it into this product. You are the first readers to see this outside of Mike's own mailing list, and it is pretty cool. It's different than Build a Niche Store, because it doesn't rely so heavily on eBay affiliate sales. There are multiple streams on these sites, and they really do basically run on autopilot once they're set up. It's called Instant Website Empire.

There are a bunch of niches already built in to this product, but I told Mike I wanted to be able to pick my own niche too. He said that was not a problem, it's customizable and you can build as many sites as you'd like.

You're going to hear about this product from others soon. But take a look at it now. This economy is driving people online to save gas and money. They will use your sites this Fall and Winter. Start Your Own Instant Website Empire!

3. Selling Books on Amazon

A lot of you dear readers have purchased my book, Selling on the River - the eBay Seller's Guide to Amazon.com and I am very grateful. I've received several emails describing the success some of you have had finding books in your local thrift stores and antique shops, and selling them on Amazon. Others have asked what works for me, and how I sell books there. Especially when the dreaded "Penny Booksellers" are lurking everywhere.

First, I use my cell phone to check prices before I buy. If you haven't received my "Scouting for Top-Sellers with Your Cell Phone" report, let me know. It works.

In any case, I personally use a few standards when I have only a brief time, and my wife is sitting in the car honking the horn. If I have to hurry, here's a few shortcuts to the better items:

I often buy books by the box at garage sales here. I find that the mass-produced books are the least likely to bring a profit. But often I find at least one or two that are a little less common. I just found two books yesterday (at $2 each) that are listed for over $25 on Amazon.

As for the penny booksellers – I have sold two books this week for over $5 with other sellers listing along side me at much less. I try to be funny or clever in the condition comments to catch the shopper’s eye and it seems to work. Price the books for what they’re really worth and they will still sell.

When choosing books to sell though, it’s generally best to look for non-fiction, and titles that deal with very specific subjects. For example, when I look through a bunch of cookbooks, I look for “vegetarian”, or “how to make sausage”, instead of general cookbooks. I never buy anything published by National Geographic, Readers Digest, or Time/Life because there are likely a ton of them out there already. (An exception to the Time/Life rule is if you find a full set.) In non-fiction I look for books written for specific niche markets, often the author is a PhD and is writing to other PhDs.

I always look for coffee-table books on very specific subjects, especially by individual artists. I found one recently for $3 and the Amazon price is $197 minimum. Friends of the Library sales are great sources for books. I've never come home with less than $300 worth of books. One of my last finds was a book all about bamboo for $.50. It sold in three days on Amazon for $45. Not bad.

When it comes to specifically selling books on Amazon, eBay, and other places on the web, Skip McGrath's newest book is a good one. And based on my experience, you can make the cost of the book back on your first sale. Take a look at it Learn how to sell used books online.

See you next time everyone! Thanks for being there!

It's been a few weeks since the last issue. I've been very busy creating my store on eCrater, and I've set up about ten Build A Niche Store sites -and they're making money! Etsy.com is still on the list, along with Amazon and eBay tips.
Please vote in the poll in the far right sidebar for what you're most interested in seeing in future issues.

...now for the newsletter.

In This Issue

1. Free Images in Your eBay Listings?
   
2. A Great Tool to Learn HTML
3. Are they really giving all of this away?
4. How to Make More Money on Your Yard Sale Treasure

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1. Free Images in Your eBay Listings?

eBay is not known for giving anything away for free. But with a little know-how you can add as many photos as you'd like to your eBay listings, all for free.

As you may know, the first photo on your eBay listing is free, but each one after that costs you $.15. If you list 20 listings with a couple of extra photos each, you just spent an extra $6.00. In a recent eBay class, my students wanted to know how to include photos within the item description. There are a few methods, but I'll share mine to get you going.

Step 1: Sign up for a free Photobucket account. Photobucket is a site that allows you to store your images on their site. You can decide how you want to arrange them, but they allow you to create albums to keep things organized. Once you've signed up, you should upload images you want to appear in your eBay listings.

Once you've uploaded your images, you'll see each one has its own "web address" or URL. In fact, each image you look at online already has its own address. Now yours will too.

Step 2: Write your description in eBay's Sell Your Item form. Note that you have two tabs above the window where you enter the description. One is "Standard" and the other is "HTML". You can flip back and forth between the two while you're creating your description. The HTML view shows what you've written, along with the HTML tags.

Step 3: At the point where you would like one of your photos to appear, copy the URL from the appropriate photo on Photobucket. (Note: You may want to have two browser windows or tabs open so you can switch back and forth between eBay and Photobucket.)

Photobucket gives you a few choices as to which link you'll need. You should choose the "HTML Code". All you have to do is click your mouse once over the code and it will be copied for you automatically.

Step 4: Now go back to eBay, and make sure you have the HTML tab selected above your description. Paste your HTML code at the point where you want your photo to appear.

You'll notice your HTML code includes < and > on the ends. The image tag will have img src= before the address for your photo. Photobucket should have automatically included this for you.

Step 5: Go back to the "Standard" tab on eBay and look at your photo. If it's way too big, you can adjust the size by adding the width or height attribute. (You don't need both.) Back on the HTML tab, find the part of the tag that says "img src=". Add a space after "img" and type width="450" followed by a space. Leave the src and following code the same. Now you've set the width for that photo at 450 pixels. If you want it bigger or smaller, just change it again. Take a look at it in your "Standard" view.

You can also adjust the photos right, left, or center in the standard mode. Just click once on the photo in the Standard tab, and use the buttons on the editing bar to align the photo as you wish.

That's all there is to it. Once you do this a few times you can add as many photos as you'd like. The good thing is, it doesn't cost you a thing! You can see an example of this in one of my listings, look at my Chicago Bears book.

2. HTML Can Make You Money

HTML is simply a language. It is the language your Internet Explorer or Firefox browser uses to display this page right before you. As we just saw, learning a little HTML can save you money right away. But knowing a little more can actually make you money. I am a big believer in having your own website or blog - or both. Knowing HTML is crucial so you can make work on your own sites without having to call the "internet guy."

When I look at new products, I use the "Mom method" of judging the difficulty and usefulness. If my Mom could use it, and would use it, it should work for average users. I found this product called "One Hour HTML" that I think passes the Mom test. Using this material, you should be quite capable of handling basic HTML in a very short time. He offers a full guarantee, so it's risk free. Give it a shot, visit One Hour HTML.

3. Are they really giving all of this away?

A few weeks ago, a company that I have a lot of respect for, Worldwide Brands, sent out a survey to their customer list and asked what their main concerns were.

Almost 75% of them said they were worried about how the recession will affect their business.

So, Worldwide Brands went to work and created videos, audios, and tutorials to show their customers what they needed to do to grow their online business in troubled times. (I'm even in video #2!)

Initially, this content was only available to their customers, but for the next few days you can get access to it for free. I took the time to watch the whole thing, and believe me, it's worth watching. I was encouraged by all the free advice.

You'll get case studies, free tutorials, audio interviews, and free videos showing you exactly what you need to do to take your online business to the next level no matter what the economy looks like.

Click here to watch the first video and sign up for their in-depth video series.

4. How to Improve on Your Yard Sale Treasure

There is still good stuff to be found at yard sales if you keep your eyes peeled. I picked up a box of books for about $10 at a local rummage sale and found this Chicago Bears - An Illustrated History. I was a little disappointed to find that it was not going for much on Amazon or eBay. Generally under $10. On top of that, it didn't have a dust cover. So I set it aside to list it later.

Once I got through the box, I was even more disappointed. I had a bunch of gold books that were pretty worthless. I finally got back around to the Bears book and opened it to get the ISBN. Then I saw the names inside. Here is the lesson for buyers of books: don't assume every name is the former owner's name. I thought, "Oh great, not only is it not worth much, it's got the name inside too." Then I looked a little closer, and saw "Best Wishes..."

It turned out to be Mike Ditka's autograph. On the other page was the signature of former Bears quarterback, Jim McMahon. Wow! Maybe the $10 I spent will pan out after all.

Increasing Your Item's Value

I still had one problem. The book didn't have a dust jacket. That really reduces the value of the book for collectors. Then I thought, "Well if they're not going for much on eBay, I may be able to fix that." I found the same book with a nice dust jacket for about $5.95 plus a few dollars shipping. I won that auction and once the book arrived I took the dust cover off and put it together with my autographed copy. Now as you can see, I've listed it on eBay.

Amazon or eBay?

I picked eBay because I cannot figure out how much this would be worth at a fixed-price. If it wouldn't have been for the signatures, I would have listed this on Amazon for about $5. But eBay is still the place for collectible items. I will let the market do its job. Add my item to your Watch List and see how it turns out.

Check out the Bears book on eBay!

In This Issue

1. How to find a niche market using Terapeak
2. Why you should consider an Amazon aStore
3. "I won $35,000 of product on eBay while I slept"

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1. How to find your niche using Terapeak

This year at eBay Live! I'm speaking on "Choosing Your Niche and Pricing for Profit". There is all kinds of information on the internet about how to find a good niche market. I sifted through a lot of information, and thought I'd share a little of what my presentation will cover. I am going to shamelessly promote Terapeak as the best eBay research tool. I've tried eBay's Marketplace Research, and HammerTap's eBay Research tool. But to me, Terapeak beats them both. They've just revised their program and I believe it's better than ever. You can try Terapeak for free here.

First, let me share what I found on the question, "What is a niche?" Let me quote Philip Kotler, who some refer to as the father of the marketing industry: He says "An ideal market niche would have the following characteristics:

• The niche is of sufficient size and purchasing power to be profitable
• The niche has growth potential
• The niche is of negligible interest to major competitors
• The firm has the required skills and resources to serve the niche effectively
• The firm can defend itself against an attacking major competitor through the customer goodwill it has built up.

In all the research I've done, that is the best explanation of a niche market I've seen. There are literally thousands of niche markets on eBay that you can exploit. Keyword and sales research can help you find them.

Here is the example I came up for my presentation at eBay Live!, using Terapeak. Outside my office window, are three birdfeeders. I love feeding birds. I've seen people plop down $100 for a birdfeeder and a pole. So I chose birdfeeders to begin my search for a niche.

• Step 1: I used Terapeak to search completed eBay listings over the past 30 days that included "bird feeder". I looked for a good average selling price, a good number of items, and high sell-through rate. Bird Feeder results: Avg Price: $15.14; Items 7,745; Sell-through 27.51%
• Step 2: I noticed in the results the word "Squirrel" appears in the higher-end bird feeders. So I added that term to my search. "bird feeder squirrel" and got these results: Bird Feeder Squirrel: Avg Price: $29.92; Items 552; Sell-through 48.28%
• Step 3: Seeing the jump in sell-through rate and average price encouraged me to whittle the results even further. In these results I see the word "Pole" quite a bit, and selling very well. So I now search for "bird feeder squirrel pole". Bird Feeder Squirrel Pole: Avg Price $67.92; Items 23; Sell-through 67.22%

Now I've found a nice little niche where I can begin working. Looking at the results I can see a few specific products that I should research, and try to obtain. If it was me, I would use Worldwide Brands OneSource product to find a vendor and strike a deal for product. I have been using this system to find niches on eBay for my niche stores. I'll provide updates to all those stores in upcoming issues, if you've wondered about using the "Build a Niche Store" program, or you have a store you'd like me to feature in the future, send me an email, I'd be happy to share what I've learned so far.

2. Why you should consider an Amazon aStore

Whether you're selling on Amazon yet or not, you can still make money with an Amazon aStore. Amazon's affiliate program is called "Amazon Associates" and you can find it at the bottom of the home page. Sign up, and you can sell virtually anything on Amazon using a variety of widgets and links. One of the best tools they provide though, is the aStore. An aStore (affiliate store) is a collection of products you choose, categorize, and display on your own website or blog. You can check out my aStore at GenuineSeller.com as an example.

I've chosen to sell books - none of which I wrote - that I think my visitors would find helpful. If a visitor buys a product, I get paid a commission. You can customize the look of your store quite easily, and if you're familiar with editing .css files, you can really get creative with the fonts and layout.

As for what you should offer...if you have a blog about digital cameras, or well, anything you can find on Amazon, you can offer an incredible selection to your visitors. The higher the prices, the higher your commissions - so find a good niche with a high profit potential and use the aStore to tap into it.

3. "I won $35,000 of product on eBay while I slept"

Maybe some of you are wondering why I haven't talked about listing on Etsy.com yet. Well I've been a little busy.

I woke up Monday morning and checked eBay only to find I'd "won" over $35,000 worth of merchandise overnight. I also could not log into my Gmail account, and my Amazon account had been locked down, with all items ended, and PayPal was restricted. If all that's not enough, we had a little earthquake here about 10:45AM that, although small, leaves a person a bit "on edge". In case it ever happens to you - here's what I did.

1. I used eBay Live Help and got right through. The criminals had changed my password so I could not log in, by the way. The Live Help person was extremely quick about fixing things, and helped me get access to my account within 10 minutes. He was able to flag the sales as "null and void" so I didn't have to deal with a lot of mad sellers.

2. I desperately needed to get into my gmail account, but could not find a way to contact Google. I finally used a customer support number for Google AdWords (which is all connected to my Gmail account). They got me through, and corrected the problem within about an hour. TIP: If you use Gmail, make sure you have a back-up email that you can access. When trying to reset my password, they sent a new one to my secondary email address. I haven't used that address in so long I couldn't get into it - so I was stuck. If you ever need to call Google and speak to a human - try 1-800-2GOOGLE and you should be able to get some help.

3. I used the Amazon Click-to-Call feature, which I discuss in "Selling on 'the River'". It worked beautifully. I spoke with a real human, who called me on my phone. He got me "unfrozen" and back on track within a few minutes. The only down-side was all of my listings were canceled, and I had to relist them. My monies were safe however, and that's the most important thing. If you ever need Amazon support, use this link to reach them.

4. PayPal was the most difficult. I really wanted to speak to a human, since my account seemed to be stuck on "Under review". The customer service numbers I have are: 888-215-5506 and 888-221-1161, but I couldn't get relief there. I cheated on this one and called an inside contact. It was handled in seconds. Unfortunately, it makes me wonder what would have happened if I hadn't known someone on the inside. Scary.

I hope this helps teach a lesson though. It can happen to even experienced internet users. And the second lesson is: always have backups, email, payments, even the inventory I had to relist on Amazon. Backups helped a lot. Now as for the earthquake - so far it looks like the Nigerians are not responsible.

See you next week!