There are some very smart auction folks out there. These people have researched their interests, found objects they love and learned how to make money by following their passion. We can study and learn from them…
1) Be creative with clothing -- Clothing is a strong seller on some of the auction sites, and certainly lends itself to a lot of creativity. It is easy to buy clothing for very, very low prices and jazz it up to become quite an interesting item.
The auction sites themselves are a great source of supplies for folks who love to personalize clothes. For example, old buttons from the 1890’s have a listing…
The same seller offered 5 pounds of Victorian buttons. Look at the price for these little beauties…
2) Sell tools -- A retired carpenter with a fascination for tools, discovered a source for tool boxes where he could buy them very cheaply. He then auctions the boxes and receives a high profit. He often includes specialized tools with the box. Or he will create a collection for special people. For example, he has one collection that is for the newbie homeowner or a teenager just getting started with tools. The seller has a collection for anyone who wants to build wooden furniture. He also auctions gift certificates for his special collection.
3) Make ordinary items special -- One woman of my acquaintance has found a great buying source for inexpensive bed trays. She decorates and personalizes many of them while others are sold as is. She also discovered a source for marble paper towel holders.
4) Turn your hobby into money -- One successful seller has a mania for teapots. Since she is a smart marketer, she always includes small “extras” with her pots... recipes for various teas or cookies, instructions on how to stage a “high tea” party for your friends, a tiny sample of a unique jelly to put on scones, pictures of what the well-dressed woman will wear to a tea, how to make flavored honeys, or directions for making a tea cozy.
This bright lady illustrates a very important and lucrative idea. It takes very little imagination or creativity to make your items really special. Just add small touches such as these that will delight your audience and make you and your products memorable. Every seller can go this extra mile, no matter what your product.
5) Outdoor equipment is popular -- One seller who loves the outdoors began by specializing in all kinds of tents. These sold so well that he expanded his inventory to include all kinds of camping gear, and then added fishing and hunting equipment. When you buy one of his products, you are offered a free subscription to his electronic newsletter. He regales the reader with stories of fishing trips, hunting trips, climbing mountains and other such outdoorsy stuff. This seller is a perfect example of someone who has found a way to make money (lots of money) by following his passion.
Here is an example of a seller who understands the power of handmade items…
The description is clear and the benefits are clearly stated.
Camping equipment is very popular on the auction sites... in the warm months. The power of seasonal attention comes into play. Identify what you are going to do in the “off-season” to compensate.
6) Become a specialist in children’s items -- If you are interested in children’s items, here is something important to keep in mind. Otherwise sensible people will spend incredible amounts of money on goodies for children... money they would never spend on themselves.
7) Advertising signs are popular -- Grant makes almost all of his money off advertisement-related items. He sells tin signs which could advertise Coca Cola, Volkswagen, Route 66, Genuine Ford Parts and Shell Premium Gas. As well Grant has older companies like Ronco and Dr. Bruner’s Miracle Tonic. Some of his signs are reproductions but he also sells lots of genuine antiques. He finds these by poking around antique stores and flea markets and making contacts along the way. Poking around can be profitable!
8) Bath items are always in season -- Another smart lady, whom I have dubbed the “Boudoir Babe,” specializes in bath items that pamper her customers. Some of her best sellers are eye masks. She also sells a package that usually includes a stainless steel back brush, a loofah bath mitt and a long loofah back scrubber.
This is a perfect example of the power of “bundling” items. Boudoir Babe keeps careful records and insists that she almost doubles her profits by selling them this way. For example, she has five items that normally sell for $5 - $7 each. If she groups them under a romantic name, they usually sell for $50 $60. Same items. More profit. Less trouble because she ships several items to one person.
Value-bundling gives the customer the great feeling of getting something for nothing. Products that have a logical association with one another are grouped together and one price is set for the combination.
Value-bundling is a powerful method if the price of your bundle equals the price of the most expensive component. Customers are willing to pay that much for just that single item so, in their minds, the rest of the bundle is simply a delightful bonus.
9) Specialize in linens -- There are towels, great looking fabric shower curtains, bedspreads, even sheets that are successfully sold on auctions. Some sellers add lace, embroidery, appliqué and fabric paint to make one-ofa-kind items that sell for a premium.
Here is an example of a smart way to sell your merchandise. The seller is selling this canvas shower curtain...
The birds on the curtain are embroidered. She has a close up of the bird itself so that her customers can appreciate the details…
10) Pick up seasonal merchandise -- There are smart folks who enjoy shopping and don’t mind storing items. After a season or holiday is over, the unsold items can be bought for almost nothing because the stores simply want to unload them. If you don’t mind waiting for your profits, buy large quantities of these. If you regularly do this, you will have profits coming in year round because there is always a different occasion looming on the horizon.
11) Sports memorabilia and cards have a large following -- I assumed that most of this memorabilia was vast in quantity but low in price. Well, “it ain’t necessarily so!” Here are some of the pricey items for sale... a signed baseball from the 300 Win Club at $400, a picture of Sandy Kofax at $2750 and a bat signed by the 1986 New York Mets at $775
12) Outdoor activities need equipment -- Rachel auctions mountain climbing gear and she uses a great marketing tool --herself. Rachel’s ads all include really colorful pictures of herself, her friends, campfires, great scenery, the first flower poking its head through the snow and so on. Everyone who buys something from her automatically receives her very colorful newsletter, unless they opt not to. And why should they? They’re all mountain climbers themselves or at least they fantasize that they are.
13) Buy food in bulk -- I have a favorite supplier who sells food in bulk (http://www.bulkfoods.com/). One day, I received an e-mail from Tallie. She had been offering dried apricots for sale, without much success. She studied my ads and began copying them. She wrote to thank me for the ideas.
What did I do differently? I offered all kinds of ways to use these food products. For example, I had a wonderful salad at a Houlihan’s restaurant which contained dried cherries. I got a take-home version and included all the ingredients. A picture finished off my ad. I have also offered recipes for sugarless muffins and jams made with dried fruit (nice appeal for the weight conscious).
What does all this add up to? Spinoffs. Use your imagination and be creative. So many possibilities come to mind... how about creating gift baskets filled with product? Or pictures of the items in really pretty bowls or jars. Then sell the bowls and jars, too. Make a cookbook full of healthy recipes. Or develop a special edition for diabetics or for weight loss. Diversification in action, once again! See http://auctions.sitesell.com/ and find out how Site Build It! can help you generate traffic and then monetize that traffic profitably.
14) Concentrate on TV products -- The discount on these usually isn’t very high, even to wholesalers, so your profit per item may not be great. Nevertheless, they are usually very easy to sell.
Yellow caution light ahead... just be aware that where the money goes, the chain stores follow. Even if the auctioneer sells a huge number of this kind of item, many of her buyers will be very unhappy when they see this lower price elsewhere.
