If you are running an Internet business and you use eBay as your auction site, you may be surprised to know that both buyers and sellers are boycotting the site and moving to alternate places to do business

2008 was a difficult year for eBay with sellers leaving in droves because of complaints against this auction giant.

But what can the thousands of people who have turned their tiny cottage industries into profitable businesses using eBay do? If you are one of the multitude of people who are getting frustrated with trying to build a profitable business using eBay, there are other places you can go.

—Amazon.com has a marketplace, aptly called Amazon Marketplace that allows sellers to list items for free. Unlike doing business with eBay, sellers at Amazon only pay commissions on actual sales made. Items that Amazon allows are limited to the items it already sells, but Amazon seems to be expanding this list daily. However, you are competing not only with others also trying to sell their items, but with Amazon itself. Still, it is an alternative if you are one of the small business owners who have decided that eBay is not for you.

—Bidville is another site that allows sellers to list any item they have for sale. Depending on the actual final sale price, sellers will pay a commission of 5 percent or less.

—If you make your own items, such as jewelry or other craft-time products, Etsy.com might be a good alternative. It’s “the place to sell all things homemade,” according to the site. Etsy charges a 20 cent listing fee, as well as a 3.5 percent sales commission.

—Overstock.com also has an auction area with listings for almost any kind of product. Overstock charges fees that are based the percentage of the selling price and also offers a way for buyers to purchase an item outright without bidding.

—There are also online classified sites such as Craigslist which have become very popular. Though most people use these sites to get rid of things around the house, they are becoming more popular with home-based business owners. The listings are free, you don’t pay fees, but you do have to deal directly with customers.

In your search for a new auction site, there are things to consider before you begin to sell:

—Research price. Make sure you’re not the highest-priced item. See what others are charging for the same item. If you are selling via an auction, setting a reserve price that is too high will only discourage bidding.

—Take the time to thoroughly research your product. Although all business carries an element of risk, the last thing you want is to be stuck with a garage full of some product that is not selling any longer. —Sell stuff that sells. Sell hot items that continue to be hot! Women’s plus size clothing is a solid seller, and on the other side of the coin, exercise equipment and weight loss aids also do well. Designer clothing, sunglasses, handbags and other items also do consistently well—even if they’re knock-offs (which should be disclosed).

Like any activity, eBay can become routine. You list, you monitor, you sell, you email, you pack, you ship, etc.

Indeed, selling on eBay can become so consuming that sometimes you don’t have the time or energy to think about other options. Although you might begin to have thoughts in this direction if your profit margins reduce or your sell-through rates dip.

Instead of sticking slavishly to eBay alone, why not consider some additional marketing ideas? Here are a few thoughts…

Repeat Business
Businesses both off and online know that developing a clientele of regular customers can be responsible for producing more income. The more trading venues you have, the more opportunities you give those buyers to return to you for goods and services. One of the best ways of capitalising on loyal customers is by opening a website offering products which will be of interest to them.

Better Targeting
Some auction sites have a niche clientele of dedicated collectors who are willing to spend what it takes if you have the merchandise they want.

Cross-Marketing
When you add a website and other online storefronts to your eBay Store, you gain the ability to cross-market. Each site can link to the others, which gives you more attention and improves your search engine rankings.

Wider Range of Merchandise
Some auction sites let you sell things that are prohibited on eBay. LiveDeal.com lets owners sell animals, for instance.

Take a look at other auction opportunities. There’s a good list here http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/pages/sitepricing.

Some suggestions for additional options are presented below.

Direct selling through your own website
Many high-volume sellers regard eBay as a customer acquisition tool. Millions of prospects are drawn to the auction site each day. Once you hook them with a successful eBay sale, you can channel them to your personal pond.

Bargaining with your customers
iOffer http://www.ioffer.com provides a complement to eBay. If you aren’t sure of the value of an item or if the item did not sell on eBay, this is a good place to turn. You can invite offers or sell merchandise at fixed price. A software tool called Mr. Grabber “grabs” your eBay unsold auction items so you can easily relist them on iOffer.

Specialty auctions
If you are a knowledgeable collector in a particular area or if you specialize in selling to a dedicated niche group of consumers, consider posting merchandise for sale on specialty sites like PenBid.com ( http://www.penbid.com ) for fountain pens, LabX ( http://www.labx.com ) for lab equipment, or Just Beads ( http://www.justbeads.com ) enthusiasts. In addition to attracting buyers with well-focused interests, niche sites sometimes offer other perks: Just Beads does not charge for listing unsold items and provides members with free photo hosting, for instance. Listings on PenBid.com are free. PropertyRoom.com ( http://www.propertyroom.com ), Bid4Assets ( http://www.bid4assets.com ) and uBid ( http://www.ubid.com ) have stricter seller requirements, leading to reduced fraud, which can lead to higher bids from more confident shoppers.

Amazon.com ( http://www.amazon.com )
Amazon is worth a special mention. Suffice it to say that, while Amazon’s auction site doesn’t attract nearly as much attention as eBay, it’s easy to sell books, CDs, and household merchandise in the Amazon marketplace. Search Amazon to see if your item is already described for sale. Click the button ‘Sell Yours Here’ to offer your new or used version of the same item for sale at a reduced price.

Overstock.com Auctions ( http://auctions.overstock.com )
Sometimes, you just need to liquidate a lot of merchandise at once. This well-known site attracts a primarily female clientele (as opposed to eBay, which reportedly attracts a 55 percent male to 45 percent female customer base). Overstock is a good place to sell women’s jewelry and clothing. Volume sellers (those with 100 or more active listings) receive discounts on their listing fees.

eBay may be the king of the jungle in person-to-person sales, but it’s not the only game in town. Don’t wait until your business starts to break before you start to think about fixing it. By venturing into some other fields where the online auction sales game is played, you could end up with more sales.

Amazon, ebay, Walmart, and Target have become known for discount deals on merchandise, but is there another giant lurking in the shadows? You will be surprised!

Yes, indeed, there actually might be a new online discount store poised to bull-doze all these supposed giants in retail. True to my usual inquisitiveness, I started a campaign to research the new best deal on online retail websites. I started off comparing prices on Walmart, ebay, Target, and Amazon. I was trying to figure out which of these is the real discount store. I could not really come to a definitive conclusion because on certain items, these stores all price differently. Sometimes Walmart is cheaper on certain items than Amazon, and other times vice versa. Okay so I had an idea and I decided to google the term “dotcom savings” to find out which dotcom stores have the most savings- makes sense right? So I clicked on the first result from google. I was led to this website http://www.dotcomsavings.com.

At first glance, I was taken aback by the design of the website. It is not as flashy as target or amazon’s website (which is what I have come to be used to). It was just a simple white background site with products listed clearly and priced clearly. The first product that caught my eye on the site was the Evenflo 3801831 Triumph Advance DLX Convertible Car Seat. Well, this is because I have a kid on the way and I am trying to shop for kids stuff. This kids car seat was priced at $109.99. This is the link so you can see it for yourself: http://www.dotcomsavings.com/product/6414_m/index/Evenflo-3801831-Triumph-Advance-DLX-Convertible-Car-Seat-Parkside-903206414M.html. So I said hmmm, not bad but I want to compare it to amazon, target, ebay and walmart. So the first comparison was with amazon. Amazon listed the same product at a whopping $139.00. That is $20 more than it is selling for on http://www.dotcomsaving.com! This is the link to Amazon: http://bit.ly/7JF00. Okay so I go ahead and try ebay. The prices on ebay ranged from $129.00 to a staggering $163.00! This is the link to ebay so you can see it for yourself: http://bit.ly/uCw01. Walmart also had it listed for $124.88. This is the link: http://nux.cc/d63pgy. All these stores pride themselves on low prices, but as you can see, it is not low enough! www.dotcomsavings.com is the lowest!

From the above research, you can clearly see that http://www.dotcomsavings.com was far cheaper than their competitors ebay, amazon, target and walmart. Time will not permit me to tell you about more comparisons that I made on www.dotcomsavings.com.

All in all, at the end of my research, http://www.dotcomsavings.com was the cheapest online retailer on the world wide web. It most definitely beats amazon, ebay, target, and walmart by far! Don’t waste your money. Why pay more when you can have the same thing for less? Go ahead, google dotcom savings and click on the first result and see for yourself.

Internet searches are extremely effective in finding not only how popular your topic is, but how to set up your autoresponder for maximum results.

A vast majority of internet users find what they’re looking for by searching, whether they use a general web search engine like Google or a site-specific engine to wade through consumer mega-sites like e-Bay and Amazon.

A quick search on your topic will reveal how many people are interested, and what convinces them to check products out.

Google

Without a doubt, Google is the most popular internet search engine—so much so, its name has become a synonym for the act of running a web search (i.e., “I couldn’t find that site that posts the winning lottery numbers, so I just Googled it.”)

Many internet marketers make increasing their site ranking—the “place in line” the site appears in Google results using their keywords—one of the key components of their advertising campaigns.

Obtaining a top 10 Google rank (appearing on the first page of search results) is akin to winning an Olympic gold medal in the marketing world.

How can this help you with your market research? By studying the top search results for pages you find through keywords relating to your topic, you can find out what these sites are doing to achieve search engine success.

The following steps will help you run an effective and informative Google search.

1. List keywords and keyword phrases relating to your topic. For example, if your topic is “working from home”, your list of keywords might be: work from home, working from home, work at home, telecommute, telecommuting, at home jobs.

2. Go to the Google home page and type in your first keyword or phrase, then click on “Google Search”.

NOTE: If you are not familiar with Google, clicking on “I’m Feeling Lucky” will not produce a list of web sites; it will take you directly to what Google has determined the most relevant site for your keyword. But if you’re in the mood for a laugh, you might try “I’m Feeling Lucky” just for kicks.

When you receive the search results, check out the pages that are relevant to your topic (search engines are by no means exact, and sometimes you will find results that don’t relate to your topic—or at least, not in the way you had in mind). The best way to do this is to right-click on the links you want to visit and choose “Open in new window.” This will keep the Google search results page open so you don’t have to backtrack through your browser to find it again.

3. Note the way the sites are laid out (is it appealing and easy to read, or does it make your eyes bleed?), what kind of text is on the front page (does it seem informative, or is it all hype? Are there a lot of spelling and grammar errors?), and whether there is an obvious available product. If there is a site counter, note how many visitors the site has received.

4. Repeat this process with the rest of your keywords. You will often find the same sites showing up in the top 10 for different, related searches. Pay special attention to these; they are the ones you may want to emulate when you create the web site for your autoresponder.

NOTE: If you run a Google search on your topic and find only two or three related web sites before the results turn up unrelated material, it may indicate there is a limited market for your topic. In this case you should either rewrite your keywords and try again, or consider choosing a different topic altogether.

eBay

It’s said you can buy anything on eBay, from cars and computers to clothing formerly worn by celebrities.

This massive online consumer marketplace and auction house is a haven for buyers and sellers looking for great deals from the comfort of their own homes.

Searching for products related to your topic on eBay can help you home in on your market. It will also help you determine how much buyers are willing to pay for products related to your subject.

Follow these steps to exploit eBay for information:

1. Sign up for a free eBay account. This personalizes your experience and allows eBay to provide you with relevant information every time you visit.

2. Go to the eBay home page and log in.

3. Choose one of the categories on the left-hand side of the page that’s relevant to you topic and browse through the listings, or search for a specific item or topic using the search bar at the top of the page.

4. Make note of the price ranges people are willing to pay for items or products related to your topic. This will give you a general idea of what to charge for yours. Also, note how many products are available related to your topic in comparison to other topics. This is not limited to books: you might find CDs, audio programs, or one of many forms your product can take.

Amazon

Amazon.com, the “other” internet consumer giant, is similar to e-Bay in that you can find just about anything you want to buy. Amazon’s biggest selection is in media: books, movies and music; but they also have an enormous inventory of electronics, toys, jewelry, clothing and accessories, and much more. Where e-Bay concentrates on selling used products through auctions and classifieds-style advertising, Amazon carries new products along with a healthy dose of independent sellers touting used wares.

Your purpose in using Amazon for market research is twofold: you will identify your competition and find out how popular your topic is, and you will familiarize yourself with how Amazon works, as you will likely want to consider making your product available through Amazon.

Here’s how to check it out:

1. Sign up for an Amazon account, if you don’t already have one. Like eBay, Amazon will give you personalized recommendations based on your searching and buying history, and keep you updated with the latest available information on your topic.

2. Once you’ve signed up, go to the Amazon home page and log in (you may be automatically logged in; Amazon really likes keeping track of its customers and often will keep you perpetually signed on, even when you leave the site…)

3. Using the search bar at the top of the page, choose “Books” from the dropdown list and type in your topic or keywords. The results you get will be both print books and e-books. Since Amazon deals primarily in new product, you will be able to view the retail price of competitive products.

4. Make note of prices and the number of titles available relating to your topic. Also, you might want to consider checking out the Listmania sections on the product pages you view (you can find this by scrolling down on the page, almost to the bottom). Listmania is an Amazon program that promotes customer recommendations by allowing Amazon users to compile lists of their favorite books on Amazon. Checking out Listmania picks helps you understand what type of product your target market is interested in, and how much they are willing to pay for it.

5. Once you find a product, if you scroll down past Listmania you will find sections on “similar items by category” and “similar items by subject.” You can browse through the available products related to your topic in this way without going back to your search results page.

The purpose of market research is an important one: you are going to determine who will buy your product, where they hang out both on and offline, and how you can best reach them through advertising your autoresponder program. The more you can pinpoint your target market, the better success (and profits) you will see.

Here is a partial list of topics to choose from that have high marketability factors:
Making money
Investing money
Saving money (on consumer purchases)
Starting a business (online or offline)
Running a profitable web site
Dieting and weight loss
Time management
Relationships and dating
Finding a dream job
Working from home

eBay

It is said you can buy anything on eBay, from cars and computers to clothing formerly worn by celebrities. This massive online consumer marketplace and auction house is a haven for buyers and sellers looking for great deals from the comfort of their own homes. Searching for products related to your topic on eBay can help you home in on
your market. It will also help you determine how much buyers are willing to pay for products related to your subject.
Follow these steps to exploit eBay for information:
1. Sign up for a free eBay account. This personalizes your experience and allows eBay to provide you with relevant information every time you visit.
2. Go to the eBay home page and log in.
3. Choose one of the categories on the left-hand side of the page that is relevant to your topic and browse through the listings, or search for a specific item or topic using the search bar at the top of the page.
4. Make note of the price ranges people are willing to pay for items or products related to your topic. This will give you a general idea of what to charge for yours. Also, note how many products are available related to your topic in comparison to other topics. This is not limited to books: you might find CDs, audio programs, or one of many forms your product can take.

Amazon

Amazon.com, the other internet consumer giant, is similar to e-Bay in that you can find just about anything you want to buy. Their biggest selection is in media: books, movies and music; but they also have an enormous inventory of electronics, toys, jewelry, clothing and accessories, and much more. Where e-Bay concentrates on selling used products through auctions and classifieds-style advertising, Amazon carries new products along with a healthy dose of independent sellers touting used wares.
Your purpose in using Amazon for market research is twofold: you will identify your competition and find out how popular your topic is, and you will familiarize yourself with how Amazon works, as you will likely want to consider making your product available through Amazon. Here is how to check it out:
1. Sign up for an Amazon account, if you do not already have one. Like eBay, Amazon will give you personalized recommendations based on your searching and buying history, and keep you updated with the latest available information on your topic.
2. Once you have signed up, go to the Amazon home page and log in (you may be automatically logged in; Amazon really likes keeping track of its customers and often will keep you perpetually signed on, even when you leave the site)
3. Using the search bar at the top of the page, choose Books from the dropdown list and type in your topic or keywords. The results you get will be both print books and e-books. Since Amazon deals primarily in new product, you will be able to view the retail price of competitive products.
4. Make note of prices and the number of titles available relating to your topic. Also, you might want to consider checking out the Listmania sections on the product pages you view (you can find this by scrolling down on the page, almost to the bottom). Listmania is an Amazon program that promotes customer recommendations by allowing Amazon users to compile lists of their favorite books on Amazon. Checking out Listmania picks helps you understand what type of product your target market is interested in, and how much they are willing to pay for it.
5. Once you find a product, if you scroll down past Listmania you will find sections on similar items by category and similar items by subject. You can browse through the available products related to your topic in this way without going back to your search results page.

So, you have to work to do. Most important is to take action!