(The following is a recap of a review I wrote for a DP Directory newsletter, having found the book quite impressive.)
I was mesmerized by this book. I actually read all 374 pages of it in one sitting, pausing only to take a few notes.
Okay, I will admit - it was Super Bowl Sunday, and what else was I going to do? But that by no means can explain how intensely fascinating I found this inside glance into the world of eBay's elite club of "Power Sellers."
In my few meager attempts, I haven't been very successful at selling on eBay. Having a quick trigger finger for those high-pressure final minutes of an auction, I'm much better at buying. Now at least I know why my sales didn't go so well - I was doing almost everything wrong.
Did you know that the color blue sells better than any other color on eBay? I certainly didn't. Did you know that ending your auction on one certain day of the week, at certain peak hours, dramatically increases your chances of success? It never occurred to me that ending my auctions at 1:00 a.m. on Tuesday morning was a bad idea. (But when I read the book I certainly had a "duh" moment.)
While reading this book I learned about the scads of services that have grown up to support and enhance trading on eBay. For example, Sellathon tracking software will help you run multiple auctions, a free auction newsletter (AuctionBytes) keeps you informed of the latest trends, and you can even listen to eBay Radio broadcasts!
"eBay PowerSeller Secrets" covers everything, from calculating sell-through rates (although I think the math was a little fuzzy at times) to working with shipping services. I liked the stories about the "real people" behind the eBay handles.
Why do I care about eBay Power Sellers? I am a software developer who sells games on the internet. The Power Sellers are very successful at selling online. According to the eBay criteria, they must sell at least $1000 a month for 3 months running. Some of these Power Sellers average $150,000 per month in online sales, and these top sellers were the main focus of this book. Software developers should pay close attention to what they are doing right.
Automate Everything. More than anything else, perhaps, the book stressed the necessity of automating every possible process. In one excellent passage the authors pointed out that time spent in doing things by hand is just like money out of your pocket.
Software developers who want to sell their wares on eBay may well find the actual listing tips to be the most valuable information in "eBay PowerSeller Secrets." Once again we find that content and selling go hand-in-hand. This fascinating book explains that you need to fully describe exactly what you are selling; the more information the better. Make it fun; that's a big part of eBay's charm. Use the About Me page to give some personal details about you or your company. The buyers want to know there is a real person behind the listing, and one whom they can trust.
Linking your auctions gives them a better chance of success too. "eBay PowerSeller Secrets" covers this topic, and a great deal more.
Anyone who wants to achieve a degree of success selling on eBay, or anywhere else for that matter, should find this book useful. Since it is particularly relevant to online selling, I predict this book will intrigue both budding and seasoned Internet entrepreneurs.
