Bikes and Classifieds
Online classifieds are a great way to begin your selling career. Most classifieds don’t require any fees to post on them and they take some of the complications out of selling online. The only disadvantage of classifieds is that there are no eBay policies, return programs, or customer service to act as your safety nets.
Because you won’t have these back-ups, be cautious about the terms you set up with your buyers. Have customers pay you upfront and establish several ways to contact them. Consider establishing a confirmation call that ensures they gave you correct and valid contact information. This will save you if you have problems with the customers form of payment or if you suspect they are attempting to avoid payment.
Take into consideration also, that you won’t get the same outrageous amount of traffic eBay gets. But, if your item will sell well in your area why not avoid extra fees? You will save yourself the cost of listing fees and possibly shipping fees.
Here are a few classified options I stumbled across:
Craig’s List: A very common and trusted source of online classifieds. This site has by far the most traffic of any classified site I came across. But, the traffic it receives from your area will depend on where you live.
Ebay Classifieds: A very professional classifieds option. While interaction on the eBay classifieds varies in every area, you’ll find much less competition than on eBay. Of course, this is partially due to the fact that the site gets less traffic than eBay, but it’s a great place to experiment. Plus, the risk is a lot lower since there are no listing fees. You’ve really got nothing to lose!
Localized Classifieds:
Local news stations or newspapers: For example KSL 5 of Utah offers a great website that is largely free. Local online classifieds can be a great way to get local business. Selling locally could save you loads of money on shipping charges. Your local sites may even get more local traffic than eBay Classified or Craig’s List.
Your postings could include a call to action to view your blog or website. This allows another point of entry and a back-link to your website. Plus, it gives you an example to try out product descriptions and pictures before investing money in them on eBay.
I’d like to end this post with some advice from entrepreneur Jason Fried’s post, “Making Money.” He advised, “Go buy something on Craig’s List or eBay. Find something that’s a bit of a commodity, so you know there’s always plenty of supply and demand. An iPod is a good test. Buy it, and then immediately resell it. Then buy it again. Each time, try selling it for more than you paid for it. See how far you can push it. See how much profit you can make off 10 transactions.
I love doing this, because there’s no real risk involved. If you already have a business, you don’t need to dream up a new product line or rock the boat with crazy experiments. If you don’t have a business, it’s a perfect way to work on your chops.”
nice blog go classified