Do You Sell Tires By Mail? Maybe You Should eBay

I just received an interesting email from eBay and it got me thinking... Do you sell tires by mail? Maybe you should 'eBay' (yes it's now a verb as well as a noun)

I know, if you're in the retail business - you have a shop, staff, overhead and all that a physical location requires. But what would you say if I mentioned that [at the time of writing this] eBay had concluded over 8,275 auctions for tires and tire related products in the last 90 days. That's about 91 transactions per day. And that number doesn't include other completed auto part auctions which totalled 1,581,529 - that's 17,573 auto-part auctions per day.

A Retail Sales Dream

Now I'm not suggesting that eBay is the sales answer to your retail dreams, and some of those auctions never resulted in a sale - but a lot did. Those are online adverts that cost pennies to post and resulted in a great deal of traffic and visibility for your product.

Here's a little known fact - I'm a registered eBay Trading Assistant. What this means is that amongst all the other things I do, I am 'qualified' to show people how to best sell things on eBay.

An Online Garage Sale

Now this all started a few years back, I had some junk to get rid of, and just for fun I decided to see what this eBay thing was. Well, let's say that a garage sale is never likely to happen again in my household, and I cleared out all the things I never figured I could. I was hooked.

And here's the neat part. Being The Practical Marketeer?, I wondered how I could use this to my advantage - and here's what I learned.

If you have a website then you should sell on eBay - and not for the reasons you'd normally think. The main reason is search engine rankings.

Purple Widgets

While I was active on eBay, my adverts and auctions were consistently being indexed by the Google? Search Engine - I was always showing up in the top 10 searches for the items I was selling. If I was selling purple widgets, and someone went onto the Internet and typed 'purple widgets' thanks to eBay I'd show up - usually in position 3 for some reason.

Web Traffic For As Little As $0.30

Now pause for a moment?think about this. For as little as $0.30 (the base price of an eBay advert) you can post an advert on eBay and within a few seconds, hundreds, maybe thousands of people will see your advert.

eBay lets you link back to a page on your own website for more information - trying to cut eBay out of the deal by offering your products on the referred page is not allowed. They frown on that practise and the eBay police - yes, there are people who police eBay - will shut down your account.

But if you play by the rules and post adverts for products and services you'd normally sell in your store - and you offer them online for either the same price or less, you'll get exposure. And lot's of it if you do it right.

A Virtual Retail Store For Pennies!

You might think what's the point of someone 700 miles away seeing my advert - they'll never become a client. You're probably right about them not driving over to pick up their purchase - however 'eBayers' are used to paying for shipping and handling, so you would mail out your products.

So for pennies you get a virtual retail store, you'll get good search engine rankings, you'll get web traffic, and you can even expand your business operations by adding a mail order department (that'll impress the bank manager!)

So, as the title of this article so aptly asked... Do You Sell Tires By Mail? Maybe You Should eBay...

AUTHOR BIO: James Burchill is a freelance marketing consultant and author. He's also the editor and associate publisher for two of the automotive aftermarket industry's leading print publications and he's the publisher of http://www.CorrectLink.com - a new Internet publication for the automotive aftermarket in Canada.

In between all that, James helps people 'Sell more stuff, and make more money!' and publishes a series of informational and Internet products about advertising and marketing. His main website is http://www.JamesBurchill.com

More Resources

eBay After Sales - as Important as the Listing Itself
Your eBay listing has finished and you have made a sale, now the next important stage starts - the after sales. Again we are aiming to develop the professional image or ourselves in the customers eyes to encourage them to come back to us again and again because it is easier to sell to a current customer than it is to a new customer.
Smart Ways Your Business Can Benefit From Online Auctions
It seems as if everyone is talking about online auctions. And why not.
Better Than Sliced Bread? Drop Shipping, The New Home Business Craze
Many of you will probably remember the days when the only way to start a successful home business was to join some sort of multi-level marketing program or sell makeup at parties. In those days, people would have to buy a membership in the 'program' along with an inventory of sample products that they would then sell to friends and coworkers at 'parties.
Drop Shipping Is Your Perfect Home Based Business Solution
Drop Shipping Is Your Perfect Home Based Business SolutionDrop shipping is one of the greatest businesses to operate from home. With drop shipping you sell another company's products, use their warehouse and shipping facilities, and they provide you with the sales tools you need like product descriptions and images and more - free of charge!Drop shipping is great for small businesses because you can start with literally nothing & gradually increase to higher levels of success.
12 Items You CANT Sell On EBay
Millions of would-be entrepreneurs want to sell things on ebay. eBay is the #1 home-business opportunity in the world right now, so it's natural that many are eager to find highly profitable items for re-sale on eBay.
Top Internet Businesses
The internet is packed with web businesses jockeying forthe attention of regular users. Selling everything underthe sun and offering a substantial array of services, theinternet is quickly becoming the favorite of users,surpassing traditional catalog and store shopping.
How to Generate Extra Cash in an Instant
With so many out of work, laid off or staying in dead end jobs to make the ends meet, we need creative ways of generating extra income. Here are a few simple, innovative ideas to get the cash you need quickly.
eBay Bargain Hunting - Spell Your Way To Success!
Have you ever wondered how identical items can fetch such widely differing prices on eBay? Or why some items fail to receive any bids at all?Sometimes it is a matter of luck, or just timing - especially for things which are pretty unique or where there are not manybuyers.Many commentators however suggest that it has much more to dowith the quality of the item title.
Five Ways To Detect Shill Bidders On eBay So That You Dont Pay Absurd Prices
There is as a lot of buzz about shill bidders on the eBay forums. But in actuality, shrill bidding isn't that common and is rather easily detected.
5 Ways to Drive Traffic Away from Your EBay Auction
eBay is a one-stop solution to any one who wants to make money online. Whether you just selling a few unwanted items from around your house or your want to develop a work from home business, eBay removes many of the obstacles for you.
An eBay Computer Purchase
An eBay purchase that turned sour.A story of fraud, deceit, and broken promises.
eBay Listing Service : Make Managing Your Auctions Easy
Do you want to have a lot of auctions going but don't have time to keep track of them all? Trust me, you're not alone. With more and more people making significant portions - if not all - of their income from their eBay auction websites the need has arisen for many people to have someone manage the listing of their auctions for them.
Turn Your eBay Experience Into Even More Profit
Everyone's talking about eBay these days. With the frequency of the TV advertising campaigns increasing, and no sign of any sizable competitors the eBay empire is only going to get bigger.
Save on EBay Fees with Free Image Hosting
Experienced sellers at online auction sites such as EBay will tell you that the single most effective tool of persuasion is a good image. Multiple images are even better.
What to Sell on eBay - 7 REAL Tips for Finding Successful Products
This question has become one for the ages. There are many answers to it, few of which will actually help you.
The International Affiliate Program of EBay
eBay trades in more than 33 international countries with over 157 registered users worldwide with 75 million based in the USA and 10 million in the UK.eBay's affiliate program must be the mother of all affiliate programs as far as size and potential scope for earning an income through promoting other peoples items.
eBay: Dont Believe All the Hype
Three billion dollars (that's billion with a "B") in revenues, 135 million users, millionaires all over the place at eBay! Yeah, eBaby!!!, to steal a line form another great author. (See "EBay: No Way?Yes Way (Ten Seller Themes) by Barbara Snyder M.
Dropship Your Way to Success
Many people know they would like to start an Internet business, but they don't have a product to sell. The solution is often drop shipping.
eBay Auction Bidding Strategies--Overcoming the most Frustrating Situation on eBay
The Problem..
Drop-ship or U-ship: That is the Question
For small Internet retailers, drop-shipping is one of the best innovations since sliced bread. How else can a start-up offer a wide variety of products and convince customers that they have a fully-stocked warehouse-while investing virtually nothing in inventory or warehousing? Before you jump right onto the drop-shipping bandwagon, however, there are some pitfalls to avoid.

More Auction Information:

Related Articles

Louis Vuitton -- Avoiding the Ebay Nightmare Fakes
Without a doubt, eBay was one of the cleverest on-line ideas that anyone has had so far. The idea of creating a site where you can bid on and buy items ranging from an eggcup through to a disused Boeing 747 or a Nuclear Missile Silo was pure genius.
Photos on my eBay Auctions: How Do I Add Them?
On another forum I'm involved with, someone's asked a great question: I want to sell products on eBay, but I want to include photographs with my items. How do I do that? What kind of camera do I need, and what settings should I use?The first step is to buy a digital camera.
Four Huge Mistakes Ebay Sellers Make (Even Some Moderately Successful Ones)
No matter how many times I see it happening, I'mconstantly amazed at the number of people who areliterally throwing money away by making incrediblysimple mistakes when they sell items in an onlineauction. Over the last seven years, I've been making a greatliving buying and selling products on eBay and otheronline auction sites, and I've perfected a techniquethat pretty much guarantees anyone can start making aprofit right away.
Online Auction Sellers - Seize Control Of Your Business!
As the online auction model of business continues to evolve toward a more commoditized, corporate marketplace, it is time for online auction sellers to seize control of their business, before it's too late.In this article we will highlight some effective steps you can take to shift control back to your own business.
eBay Auction Sellers Guide to Finding Hot Money Making Products
You might be one of the thousands of individuals who open a trading account with eBay and dream about making auction selling a full-time home-based business.However, before that dream can become a reality, you need to do many important things while running an auction business.
eBay - Getting More Bids Using An Auction Preview
If you sell in small niches as I recommend and are organized enough that you know what you will be listing on eBay 1 to 2 weeks ahead of time, you should give serious thought to previewing your upcoming auctions for your customers. The result can be increased sales and higher final bids.
eBay and Dropshipping - A Perfect Fit!
eBay and Dropshipping go together like a hand in a glove. As you read this article, right now, thousands of eBayers are running there own auction business.
The Benefits of Buying and Selling Locally
Shop at a flea market in Oaxaca, Mexico. Trade with a vendor in London, England.
The Secret Of The Ebay Money Machine And How To Get Your Share
If you have all the money you need, then this information wont be of much use to you!If however, like most of us, there are times when you could do with a little more, read on.At times we all come across circumstances where we could do with some extra income, be it that extra special present we need to buy, that unexpected bill that needs paying or just to make ends meet.
Is Selling On eBay Just A Hobby Or A Real Business?
Q: I made extra money selling things on eBay last year. These were items I picked up at yardsales mostly.
Is The eBay Fee Increase Actually Good For Business?
Fee Increase Leaves Some Sellers Angry, Others ThrilledMuch of my email from readers this month concerned the recent announcement from eBay that it will increase many seller fees on February 18, 2005. Since many business people use eBay's online store system as their primary ecommerce point of sale, it's no surprise that most of the emails I received were of the angry variety.
Auction Seller Guide To Success
When its time to clean-up around the house, some people havea hard time deciding what to keep and what to throw out.What they need is an incentive.
eBay Gold
Internet auctions are relatively new having been around since the mid 1990's. There are several Internet auctions including Yahoo Auctions and UBid.
The Top Ten Tips For Auction Success!
If you were to look through eBay, or any other online auction site for that matter, you would find that many people make some very basic mistakes. And, they repeat these mistakes over and over again.
Top Secret Ebay Powerseller Technique: Classifieds Produce Auction Power
I was browsing through all of the classified sections, and stumbled on Wanted to Buy. I noticed that people were placing ads for items they wanted to purchase.
How Professional Ebay Auction Templates Can Boost Your Ebay Sales
Do you like to sell on eBay ? It's easy and fun, isn't it ? In fact, it's one of the easiest online business you can start almost overnight, without any major investments. That's the best thing about it.
The International Affiliate Program of EBay
eBay trades in more than 33 international countries with over 157 registered users worldwide with 75 million based in the USA and 10 million in the UK.eBay's affiliate program must be the mother of all affiliate programs as far as size and potential scope for earning an income through promoting other peoples items.
Search... Search... Search Your Way To eBay Cash!
One of the most valuable things in life is the ability to learn a skill. One of my dad's favorite sayings was "You can give a man a fish and he will eat for a day, or you can teach a man to fish and he will never go hungry.
Authentic or Fake?
1. Admit It: Old business models are no longer working.
Online Auctions Business
Online auction sites are a great way to find a bargain on almost anything and an excellent way of getting the best price for selling something of your own. Online auctions are different from their real-world counterparts.