how do you advertise your auctions or stuff you are selling online?
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
United States
November 17, 2009 11:12am CST
i switched from ebay to a lesser known but reperatable site called bonanzle and with it not getting as much traffic as ebay i am having to figure out how i can get some traffic.
i have set up like ads on groups where you sell things, tried traffic exchanges, made profiles on social sites with info and pictures etc but im running out of ideas..
i refuse to go back to ebay.. i loved the success i had there but i wasnt making anything after all the fees were taken out (i dont sell really expensive stuff so if its like 10 bucks or less 9% can really kill your earnings)
so if you sell online at a site or do auctions to sell stuff what do you do to get your name out there and bring in business? i havent been at bonanzle long enough to have a following yet or be really popular and i imported my feedback % from ebay to there so they know im legit (99.5% although on ebay it says 100% but 1 negative feed back from a seller that sold me a torn up book is continuing to haunt me even though its been like 5 years!) any ideas or tips? im thinking about listing on craigslist but i really dont want to have to meet up with people to get them the item since i dont always have a car and safety issues and i plan on getting business cards after a few more sales so im not paying anything out of pocket for them.. help!!
3 people like this
8 responses
@mentalward (14691)
• United States
17 Nov 09
I wouldn't know how to get traffic. I think that's a problem everyone has, especially at first. The internet is so full of stuff these days that it's hard to get anyone to follow our links.
Your business card idea might prove helpful. On it, maybe say something like "See what you can sell, see what you can find" and give your link. Sometimes, when people are looking for a place to sell their own stuff, once they see your stuff they'll be more inclined to buy. Using the guise of "helping" them find a place to sell their stuff gets them to see your stuff. Make sure you leave your cards everywhere you go, too. Doctor's offices, restrooms in stores and restaurants, on cars in parking lots, public bulletin boards, everywhere.
Am I making any sense? (My brain is pretty fried from this Medicare thing. 
)
)@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
18 Nov 09
thats a great idea.. using the "im helping you" to get attention to my booth.. and yeah your making sense but doesnt all this disability bs do that to you! it drives me nuts i feel as if they make me stupider and i got enough probs! lol
@mentalward (14691)
• United States
18 Nov 09
Yes! Fibro brings brain fog right along with it and we're supposed to sift through this Medicare BS? Right. I think I might just tell them where they can put this Medicare card and stick with my husband's insurance. I think it'll actually be cheaper that way. From what I've seen, I'll be paying MUCH more for my meds, even if I do the "by mail" thing! That offsets what I'd save with the card... more actually. From what I've figured out, I'd be paying around $450.00 per month with Medicare, including the co-pays for my meds, and I'm only spending around $350.00, including meds, on my husband's insurance. According to Medicare, if I decline by Dec. 22, they'll reimburse me for the monthly premium which is around $95.00 a month, meaning my check will be bigger. So, if I stick with my husband's insurance, I'll actually have almost $100 MORE each month!
Ah, gotta love our government, huh? (NOT!!!)
1 person likes this
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
18 Nov 09
yeah but if you can qualify for gov assistance on meds it really makes a difference.. i thought i was screwed and that this whole disability check would put us in the green a couple of hundred a month till i realized all this extra bs they get you for on insurance and then i freaked but then applied for assistance and ive been able to manage it.. of course i dont have all the docs i need to see like you do.. hell i would have to find one that knows wtf they are doing first.. but med wise it made the difference between me sinking and me being comfy/annoyed lol
@jennybianca (12912)
• Australia
18 Nov 09
I find it's getting harder and harder to sell anything online. It is so competitive.
I mostly use safelists and submitters (which contain hundreds or thousands of safelists), traffic exchanges, surfing site, an auction site, and an autoresponder.
The most successful are probably safelists.
1 person likes this
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
18 Nov 09
any suggestions on a good safelist? i have tried them before with something else and didnt have much luck but had a ton of email lol.. you can pm me a ref link if you want since i have no idea which site to go with etc
1 person likes this
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
23 Nov 09
ok. any reccomendations would be greatly appreciated
@danishcanadian (28953)
• Canada
4 Dec 09
It bugs me that a lot of sites like this will knock you right down if you try to even discuss your own work on here. I have two methods. One is a personal signature line in my e-mails with my website in it, and another is business cards that I hand out off line.
1 person likes this
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
11 Dec 09
i need to change my signature on my email to say my selling site instead of this one lol.. hasnt helped me get any refs on here anyways
@redkathy (3374)
• United States
17 Nov 09
I do use the social sites thing. I added the share this to FF and then throughout the day share things on different sites, like twitter, face book, and myspace to name a few. The other thing that I have heard people have success with is by reviewing products on a blog. I have two blogs
and I get exposure through sites like entrecard, and adgitize. Link up your blog to facebook through network blogs. Point everything you blog about back to your auctions. It's a bunch of work in the beginning, like most internet stuff is. I'm starting to gain momentum now. Hope this helps.
and I get exposure through sites like entrecard, and adgitize. Link up your blog to facebook through network blogs. Point everything you blog about back to your auctions. It's a bunch of work in the beginning, like most internet stuff is. I'm starting to gain momentum now. Hope this helps.1 person likes this
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
18 Nov 09
like use a signature of your auction link for everything? is that what your meaning? im tired so im a little slow haha
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
23 Nov 09
ive already started a blog up at myspace with an acct just for my selling and have been using a lot of traffic exchanges and my views have gone up.. just gotta get some bites now!
@jellymonty (2352)
•
18 Nov 09
You may want to stop by my store. There is plenty of traffic and best of all Free listing. The credits are insanely cheap (like 19 cents a credit) and there is always someone looking for cheap stuff to buy.
Here's the link http://tinyurl.com/faststore [B](NOT A REFERAL LINK!)[B]
If you need free credits just ask me and I'll give you some of my credits. Good thing is you set the fees and you get decide how much you want to charge shipping and handling. I use this to buy and sell stuff and I always make a profit from my sales as I don't pay high fees like on eBay. I dumped eBay ages ago and wouldn't recommend anyone to use it unless you're a pro. So have a look and I'll help you sell or buy whatever it is you need. Any questions please PM me.
Cheers.
1 person likes this
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
23 Nov 09
i will have to check that out.. about the credit system is it like a traffic exchange or something to earn credits or do you have to pay for all the credits?
@cambahorus2001 (19)
• Argentina
29 Dec 09
Hello, I can imagine what you posted here and sometimes its stressful to have a online business.
If you are selling by ebay for example or any other store and you are using barcodes maybe you can add you products to the databse of Shopsavvy I Phone application. This application gives traffic to your products and website.
If you want more information you can write me or you can go to the website www.biggu.com .
have a nice time
1 person likes this
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
2 Jan 10
hmm interesting i didnt even know about this possibility!! awesome
@TremendousMachine (779)
• Canada
17 Nov 09
I just noticed that on ebay now, the first 5 items of the month are free of insertion fees. What one could do is list a couple items there, point them to your About Me page where you can link to your other internet properties (perhaps even bonanzle). Make use of ebay blogs pointing it to your About Me page.
Leave a note on the package that you are sending, perhaps giving repeat customers a discount as it's easier to sell to repeat customers than in getting a new one.
Talk about auctions on social media like mylot maybe.
1 person likes this
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
23 Nov 09
i may hit up the library since i dont have the money to invest or buy books right now
