How to Create A Killer eBay Listing

Want to learn how to sell on eBay? Maybe you already sell on eBay but find that your auctions are lacking viewers, watchers, bids and interest in general. Today I've taken the time to write this article on how to make that killer eBay listing. There are lots of steps involved in an eBay listing, so lets get started.

1) The Title of Your Listing The title of your listing is incredibly important. Your title will determine your main keywords that allows your listing to come up when people search. For example, if your title is "Sony PlayStation console", when somebody searches "Sony PS3 80gb", your listing is not going to come up, or it could possibly if you have put those keywords in your description, but it would be on the last pages. This is why you should fit as many popular keywords to do with your product your selling in your title. Although, make sure it still looks good. More popular keywords in your title means getting into more search results. eBay allows you to use 80 characters in your title. so if you were selling a used 80gb Sony Ps3, this would be the title I would use:

"Sony PlayStation 3 PS3 Console 80GB Excellent Condition"

I have used capitals at the start of each word and put PlayStation 3 as well as PS3. As some people will search one and some the other. This title is detailed enough and yet I had many characters left over.

2) The Details / Features of The Item This section isn't difficult, just make sure you tick all the features the item your selling has, and any accessories included with it. This will make it clear to viewers what they are receiving if they win.

3) The Pictures The picture(s) are extremely important in producing a successful listing. After you listing appears in search results, people will be drawn to looking at all the pictures of listings, if yours does not have one, or it isn't of good quality, they won't be tempted to click on the listing. To take a good picture, you will need to mess around with the camera for a while. I always find myself taking 10 photos before getting one that I'm happy with. for the best results, use a good quality camera, take the picture in lots of light and try and get as close as possible so that everything just fits in the picture.

4) The Description Your listing description is the point where you are telling viewers about your item, giving them all the details and trying to convince them to bid on it or buy it. The trap that many sellers fall into, is that they are too aggressive when producing their description. If you browse through listings on eBay you will find that some descriptions say things like; "PAYMENT MUST BE MADE BY PAYPAL WITHIN 24HOURS", or "NO TIME WASTERS". Sellers use capital letters to try and get their message across but really they are just scaring away potential buyers.

The best way to produce a description is to be casual, explain nicely what your selling, what is included and what condition everything is in. Do not use words that make the condition of your item sound slightly worse or better than it is. Just be completely honest. Leave a line between each section. For example:

"Your items name" (space) "What it does" (space) "Condition"

And so on. I have started to place everything in the middle of the page, as it looks a lot nicer I think.

If you are a reseller, and are selling multiple items brand new, you won't need to write as much and try to be more formal, but still polite.

On any description, for my entire time I have been selling on eBay, I have been using words at the end such as "thanks for looking", "any questions just ask" and "happy bidding". I don't use all of them on one description but I am being polite and encouraging buyers.

5) Your Starting Price This only concerns auctions. Obviously if you are producing a buy it now listing you have the price that you want people to pay. For an auction, people have different views of what to start their listing at. I personally start all my auctions at 99p, and have always had success. In my experience auctions that are started at 99p always go for more in the end than auctions that are started at just below what the person wants for it. 99p auctions will get more attention at first due to the low price and in most cases, towards the end of the auction a bidding war will start. Auctions starting at high prices will not get attention because people immediately think they can get it for less. Therefore in the end, it will possibly get 1 or 2 bids. 99p auctions will have many more bids than this and end up going for more because people have started to bid on this item and they are determined to win it. Maybe they don't want to spend time looking for another auction as good as this, or they just get carried away with bidding. In the end, better results are achieved. I do not recommend reserve prices as people will get bored of trying to bid over the reserve price or will not even bother in the first place.

6) When to Start / End The Auction Again, people have different ideas of when to start and end their auctions. However I have never ended an auction on any other day than a Sunday. From my point of view, this is when most people will be looking on eBay. Their not at work. Their probably not going to be out. Their most likely going to be at home. I usually start the auction on a Sunday for 7 days so that it ends next Sunday at around 4-8pm. This has always worked well for me so I have not been tempted to change.

Four eBay Money Making Ideas   More People Are Now Shopping At Online Auction Sites   Viral Drop Shipping - Generating More Income From Online Business   Making Money Online Out of Auction Websites - Moving Your Business Online   

What Are Some Good Ways To Make Money On eBay?

Discovering how to make money on eBay can be very liberating, especially if you are actually able to maximize the true potential of this phenomenal sales platform. This is how many individuals with limited start-up monies build thriving small businesses. With the right attitude and the best strategies, you can start earning substantial profits on a regular basis.

You must find affordable ways to maintain a good inventory. If you want to make a lot of money you will have to find something good to sell. Once you determine which goods you would like to place your focus on, you can start looking for some of the cheapest ways to secure a significant amount of stuff. The less you have to spend in order to build your inventory, the less you can charge your customers and the more profits you can keep for yourself.

Sellers do best when they take the time to find out what people are buying the most. There are many different resources that you can use for this purpose. This will help you to stock up on goods that people really want to buy, rather than investing in products that will only draw a very limited amount of buyer interest.

Specializing in very specific market areas will help you to become more knowledgeable about the products that you provide and the people you serve. Rather than simply posting any old item that you think will sell, take some time to find a niche that you are actually interested in. People who shop on auction sites prefer to work with product experts because they know that these sellers will fully understand the nuances of their own products.

Never leave a customer dissatisfied. Each person that you service will get the opportunity to rate you. This review system can either make or break you as a seller. If you are committed to keeping your clients happy and willing to stand behind what you sell, you will be able to develop and maintain and impressive online reputation.

Make every effort to stand out from the competition by offering phenomenal services. Not every seller offers money-back guarantees on their products. If you do, more buyers will be eager to use you when securing new products. As you learn how to make money on eBay you will find that it is really all about building a good reputation as a seller and making sure that people are happy with how you conduct your business.

Four eBay Money Making Ideas   More People Are Now Shopping At Online Auction Sites   Viral Drop Shipping - Generating More Income From Online Business   Making Money Online Out of Auction Websites - Moving Your Business Online   

It All Comes Down to Price

There are two basic types of traders, discretionary and systematic. Discretionary traders attempt to figure out the lay of the land, the supply and demand as well as the macroeconomic and political outlooks on the markets they trade. They assimilate all of this information into an overall outlook on a particular market and synthesize a trading plan from those inputs. Most billionaire traders are discretionary. They are able to discern patterns that are not programmable and they are able to vary their bet size to match the current market conditions and their overall risk profile. Richard Russell, who I mentioned in last week's article, is a discretionary trader. Some more famous names include George Soros, Paul Tudor Jones and Julian Robertson.

Successful discretionary trading has become increasingly difficult due to the global political factors that make us all wonder what tomorrow's world will look like. Will the Euro burst? Will Syria use chemical weapons and catalyze a new Cold War between the U.S. and Russia? These low probability yet, high impact possibilities have made it harder and harder for discretionary traders to try and picture the world two, five or even ten years down the line. This is also the type of timeframe they need to position the billions of dollars that they manage. The net result is that many of the world's largest hedge funds and money managers have been moving to cash. It is becoming increasingly clear that they would rather not invest than try to guess correctly in a world that changes the rules both domestically, and globally by the day.

The mass exodus can be seen in the markets through declining trading volume. Trading volume in all major indices has steadily declined since the market bottom in February of 2009. The brief uptick last September was barely more than half the volume we generated in '09. Both the industry and the government have shaken investor confidence. Three quickly attributable causes are the demise of trading firms like Bear Sterns and MF Global, governmentally imposed restrictive short selling rules and the attack on high frequency trading. These events shake the faith in the system and force participants to the sidelines. Clients need to know their accounts are secure, that their positions pass muster and that bureaucrats won't destroy the laws of liquidity.

Systematic traders base their decisions on black and white rules or algorithms that will spit out the same response relative to the input received time and time again. Many trading systems were built on rules that held fast throughout the 90's and 2000's until the markets collapsed and the government got involved with quantitative easing programs and Treasury repurchases. The government's artificial manipulation of the markets relegated the historical rules of market relationships worthless. Therefore, many of the premises that these mechanical systems had been based on became not only useless but wrong. They became the equivalent of, "GIGO" garbage in, garbage out. The exit of mechanical trading systems from the market has further diminished overall market liquidity.

Manipulated prices by governments and ratings agencies have rendered the inputs of the decision models used by discretionary traders and the mechanical models of trend following systems virtually useless. Ironically, this brings my personal trading philosophy full circle. My discretionary trading came to an end shortly after I left the trading floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Discretionary pit trading allowed me to vary the size of my trades by being able to read the order flow and allowed me to capitalize on flush trading opportunities. However, a couple of years after returning to Sandusky to raise kids, I began to focus on mechanical trading systems. I understood that the game had changed and I needed new tools to successfully trade from a screen instead of the trading pit. The sole input to many of my early trading systems was simply the price of the market I was trading. The philosophy was, "There is no way I can assimilate all the variables in a market and cross reference the associated data streams. Therefore, I will assume that the fair value for the market I am trading is the last traded price. After all, it reflects all of the variables I'm trying to quantify."

The major advantage to trading systems is that one brain doesn't have process the day's events of the world and attempt to predict how they will impact the market being traded. There are times when a trader will nail a government report number right on the head only to have the market react in a completely different manner than had been expected. It's a hollow feeling to be right and lose money. The primary objective of participating in the markets is to turn a profit. The fewer things make sense, the more important it is to know our own limitations. Mechanical trading may not hold the same potential of the great discretionary traders but it does allow me to grind out an expected profit.

The Gann Technical Analysis of Price Movements   Various Orders in Futures Trading   Reasons Why China Wants Its Citizens to Own Precious Metal   How and Why CFD Traders Fail?   

Third Stage Growth in Agri-Business

The run up in food prices this year has, hopefully, shined a bright light on the oligopoly that controls the world's grain markets. An oligopoly is a market that is controlled by a small number of producers, which allows them to collaborate and set prices for the market as a whole. OPEC is the most common textbook example. The U.S., Brazil, Argentina and Australia dominate the grain industry. There is grain production in every country but these four control the vast majority of the export market. That may be about to change and bring new, long-term investment possibilities with it.

When crude oil topped $145 per barrel in 2008 it was a painful, but simple adjustment to the world's lifestyle. When the grain market soared to all time highs this summer, forcing food inflation on the world's population, the adjustments weren't so simple. The mechanization of the global grain production process places more and more of the world's food production in the hands of fewer and fewer people.

The global grain stores are running at multi year lows, just as they were at the beginning of this U.S. growing season. This summer's drought was the worst in 50 years here. The weather pattern also knocked 13% off of Australia's wheat crop and they're the world's largest wheat exporter. This also led to a nearly 60% decline in their ending stocks over the last three years. The only thing keeping prices in check at the moment is South America's increasing efficiency. Brazil's soy production may surpass the U.S. this year and thanks to their long growing season, double crops of corn are becoming normal.

The global demand growth for coarse grain production has been fueled by the Pacific Rim's meat production industry, rather than by population growth. China's population growth is less than one percent per year, yet their hog market is growing by an average of 3.5% per year. The growth in their agricultural markets for both grains and meats has been astounding, as production of both have shifted from individual farmers on their own land to the mechanized version of agri-business that is the model of the industrial world. Their soybean imports, which are used for feed, have grown from 3 million metric tons in 1997 to approximately 56 million tons this year.

These wheels have been set in motion and will not be derailed by a collapse in the Eurozone or a surprise in our elections. The trends in population growth and the move towards global improvements in diet are really just beginning. The United Nations and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) just reported that global wheat prices for 2012 were up 25%. They added further that source inputs have now caused the price of dairy to rise by 7% in just the last month.

The arguments over who gets their principal back on a Greek or Spanish Bond is far less important to Greeks and Italians than the ability to put food on the table. Food inflation, as a result of the commodity rallies of '07 and '12, was also a primary cause of the Arab Spring. It is far easier to control a population with a full belly than it is to placate a parent unable to stop the crying of a hungry child.

So, where's the trade? The trade starts with slowing global growth and negative growth across Europe. Negative growth will increasingly put the pinch on Eastern European countries like Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Russia. This is the main breadbasket of Europe and North Africa. Bottom up analysis of these macro trends reveals very large growth potential in several African countries. The

BRIC's have received most of the attention over the last ten years and rightfully so. However, as more and more resources are pulled from African countries for global production, it becomes clear that these countries are also next on the open borders list to develop.

Therefore, using the pending global economic contraction as the setup, I'll be using declines in the stock market to knock the valuations of agri-business stocks like ADM, Monsanto, Cargill, AgroSA, Bunge, Caterpillar, DeutzAG, down and for retail investors to get washed out. There are two important things to take away from this. First of all, I am not a stockbroker. These trades cannot be executed through me. I stand to gain nothing financially from anyone following this advice. Secondly, I believe that we will get an equity selloff similar to 2008 and I plan on being ready to put cash to work in companies that stand to profit the most from the commodity markets I know best in the coming decade.

The Gann Technical Analysis of Price Movements   Various Orders in Futures Trading   Reasons Why China Wants Its Citizens to Own Precious Metal   How and Why CFD Traders Fail?   Sandy's Effect on the Cattle Market   

Aluminium ETF: An Intelligent Investment

The last decade of economic turmoil has very actively shifted investor's focus on to metal industry through equities, ETFs & other investment tools. The stark contrast between supply & demand figures, & a steady growth in consumer & Industrial demand for popular metals & especially Aluminum has established a common fact that Investing in Aluminum Industry is surely a safe bet for seasoned traders, long-term & retail investors alike.

Aluminum, although, once known as a Nobel metal, is now a major economy driver simply because of its unique properties. The lightweight metal is the first choice for Auto & Aeronautic manufacturers. In comparison to steel, aluminum components may reduce the automobile weight by more than 50% & still adhering to the Industry accepted crash standards. It's non-toxic & non corrosive properties has led to extensive use of Aluminum in the Packaging Industry for producing tins, cans & foils or wherever the contact with food is required. Furthermore, due to its superb conduction properties, Aluminum is a primary raw material for the Energy Transmission sector.

Although, Being one of the most abundant elements on the planet, the hurdle is that Aluminum is not available in free-state, rather in an ore comprising of more than 250 minerals, primarily bauxite & Generally 4 tons of bauxite produces 1 ton of aluminum..

Even a casual study into the current scenario of Aluminum mining, production & usage figures reveals a good positive future outlook for investing in Aluminum Industry.

The most prominent price booster for the metal is transportation or Auto Sector in general. USA along with emerging economies like China & India are the major demand markets. China alone accounting for about 40% of the total Aluminum consumption, promises a growth of about 9-10 % each year for the next 4-6 years. Its widespread industrial application leaves no doubt that heavy influx of the metal is required to drive the production. As per Alcoa, World's largest producer of the metal, Aluminum's last year's global demand has grown to 14%, its' highest since 1996 & the current year demand rising to 12%. On the contrary there has been a steady global decline in the inventories of all major Aluminum producers. The Universal Law of Supply & Demand only indicates the sharp surge in the prices. Due to such evident factors Investing in Aluminum is on a definite uptrend today.

From Investor's point of view, Aluminum ETF emerges as quite a convenient option. A flexibility to invest with small amounts & be able to track & trade just like any other equity gives a lot of confidence, even to a first time investor.

Even so, like Silver or Gold ETFs, none of the Aluminum Exchange Traded Funds [Alum ETFs] available today in the market have physical back-ups, instead they have holdings in the major Aluminum mining & production companies. In instances of any rise in the prices of Aluminum, these companies stand for obvious large gains due to their first mover's advantage.

Dabbling with investments in Aluminum Industry & in particular Exchange Traded Funds, backed with rationale data provides a lot of security & confidence for investors compared to the speculation that is attached with equities. For an intelligent investor, who is acting mainly on the facts & figures, Aluminum ETFs present a good investment case, only to be encouraged with a simplistic investment procedure as well. One can start with as low as $1000.The investments can be tracked on a real time basis on the relevant index, and there are easy exit plans, as the units can be traded during normal exchange hours.

The Gann Technical Analysis of Price Movements   Various Orders in Futures Trading   Reasons Why China Wants Its Citizens to Own Precious Metal   How and Why CFD Traders Fail?   

4 Useful Tips for Better Spread Betting

Financial spread betting is a serious trading. Traders cannot just base their success on lucks. This is because trades and positions should have bases, which are from researches, studies, projections, markets trends and appropriate strategies. Aside from these, there are also some tips that traders can employ in order to have a higher chance to earn profits. In this regard, there are at least four (4) useful tips that people can explore. These are about staggering the entry, chart one strategy as well as sticking to the plan and even reading the news.

Staggering Trade Entries

Firstly, what traders can do is to use an estimate entry range and eventually adapt to short term chart in order to come up with a more reliable entry point. This is instead of just aiming an entry at a certain price only. The result of this is that this allows the trader to have a clam position with low risks and staggered entry.

In other words, what this simply means is for a trader to build positions by adding some small bets one at a time. By doing this, people can take advantage of having no commissions to pay when it comes to financial spread betting. This is in contrary to share dealing or trading. Hence, traders better take this opportunity in order to have a greater chance in earning profits.

Chart One Lessons

After entering the trade, players could wait for the market to settle in at least a day. This is before entering the second entry. The strategy here is to make the entry when the market is moving a little against the position, but still within the bearable range. Traders then need to wait for another milestone level in order to place this other bet. However, there is a catch to this. When the position is moving against the trade of the initial entries approaching the lower boundaries of the bearable range, then there is no point of adding more bets to that. If traders will add more bets on the losing positions, then the sure result of this is epic failure.

Sticking to the Plan

Thirdly, another very important reminder for many players in financial spread betting is to always stick to the original plan. This is, in fact, a common mistake for most traders. While this is very basic, some traders still violate this. Well, this is because they get too much excitement as the market become challenging. The tendency of many traders is to change track, most especially when the market moves favorably into them.

Readings Charts and News

Fourthly, but not the least, always getting updates to the markets trends is extremely significant. What traders need to do is to monitor charts and key market indicators to be ahead.

The Gann Technical Analysis of Price Movements   Various Orders in Futures Trading   Reasons Why China Wants Its Citizens to Own Precious Metal   How and Why CFD Traders Fail?   Sandy's Effect on the Cattle Market