The times are hard. Economy in recession, online shoppers are saving money and seeking for more bargains. This in turn translates into bigger competition among online sellers.

But it’s been said many times and we’ll repeat it again – it’s about selling SMART that will make the difference. And one of those smart things that gives the edge to every online entrepreneur is SEO – Search Engine Optimization.

SEO. Sounds very technical, doesn’t it? How many times you’ve heard this term and thought – “Oh God, it must be so complicated! Most likely only the big companies can afford hiring SEO specialists and maintain high Search Engine rankings…”

In all fairness, nothing could be further from the truth, our dear eBay seller! Read the rest of this entry »

Hello eBay Seller!

So many worrying things are happening in the business world these days and we’re sure you’ve read the headlines telling that eBay will slash their workforce by 10% as an attempt to improve their dwindling stock price, for example.

Yes, the global economy is undergoing a major shift at the moment and the companies are reacting accordingly trying to cut the costs as much as possible. However, smart folks don’t focus solely on reducing the expenses by all means. What they do instead is – analyze the overall performance of the company and try to increase the productivity and streamline the processes.

Even eBay – despite the ongoing dissatisfaction among the auction sellers – have started thinking about this. The lowered listing fees and the extended auction listings are just a small part of what the eBay’s Chief Executive John Donahoe is planning to carry out in the nearest future. Read the rest of this entry »

Great news! Probably the best news for any eBay seller within the last few years!

Buy It Now listings extended up to 30 days, insertion listing fees reduced to measly 35 cents for any amount of identical merchandise – how does it sound for you? Is it too good to be true? Not this time!

These changes will take effect on 16 September 2008 and it has been already announced back on 20 August by Lorrie Norrington – the President of eBay Marketplaces.

These new changes is really a big step towards a better selling experience on eBay. The auction style listing fees remain unchanged and those who prefer using the auction listings will certainly be able to continue to do so. After all, originally eBay was established as an online auction marketplace. And if your listing’s starting price is low enough – so are your auction listing fees. Read the rest of this entry »

Hello from Spicy Auction Templates Team!

We have great news for you – everyone who sells on eBay or any other online auction website!

Today we have added brand-new professionally designed templates to the members area on our website!

These listing templates are the latest creation of our designers’ team and we can proudly say – nothing like this has ever been seen in the online auction world before. Our existing members are very excited about this new addition and if you’re eager to see how exactly the new templates look – you can have a sneak-peak here: Read the rest of this entry »

Lately we’ve been hearing all sorts of news how eBay favor big sellers more tan eBay small business sellers – leaving individual sellers outraged.

For instance – when eBay bought Buy.com , they allegedly flooded search results with new listings which small sellers found very hard to compete against.

Yes, the whole world seems to be moving towards corporate business as opposed to individual. But it’s not the best model for eBay, though. eBay started off as a friendly community, and even though some of its spirit may have been lost, it still should be the place where stay-at-home moms can sell some stuff making nice extra income. Read the rest of this entry »

Hi All - eBay sellers and also those who just want to embark on this promising and sometimes over-simplified thing called - online auction selling!

Why we’re saying – ‘over-simplified’? Simply because so many folks are being led astray by story tales that auction selling is as simple as 1st grade math! Yes – the truth is that ANYONE can start auction selling on eBay or other auctions – and even those who don’t know a single thing about selling tactics, strategies and the psychological aspects of the shoppers’ behavior.

But eBay sellers-to-be are simply mislead to believe that auction selling is much easier due to the fact that you have a guaranteed traffic. They think – ‘right, this is the easiest way to sell something online so I basically have to drop my product on eBay and everything else will take care of itself!’ Read the rest of this entry »

This hasn’t been making the headlines lately – but did you know that a gang of 24 Romanian nationals has been arrested last week as prime suspects in a huge eBay fraud scheme? This time they managed to snatch a few millions from eBay shoppers’ credit cards before getting busted!

The Romanians are becoming notorious when it comes to online phishing and hacking. Low wages, low employment and high computer skills – these are the combined factors why Eastern Europe and Romania especially have become so active in eBay fraud cases. Read the rest of this entry »

This seems to be bothering eBay beginners more than PowerSellers since the last ones are already making a steady stream of profit in their eBay niches.

But finding what’s selling on eBay may be even a strategic question for experienced eBay sellers due to an ever increasing competition and need to find new niches and markets to start selling in. Besides, the online shoppers’ spending has been notably reducing due to the depression thus bringing the prices down and reducing the profit margins.

This all has made the question of what’s selling on eBay even more important than before. Many sellers have an impression they have to compete in markets of the hottest selling items on eBay. Just go to eBay Pulse and see what are the most popular searches on eBay – like ‘wii’, ‘ipod’ and ‘xbox 360’.

A big problem in these markets for honest eBay merchants is a high level of fake merchandise originating mostly from the Asia region. While it is possible to compete in such markets if you know the most effective eBay selling strategies, it’s always worthwhile to explore new niches and new profit opportunities. Read the rest of this entry »

Fellow SAT members and eBay vendors! Big and small, young and old – everyone who sells on eBay should at least have given a slight consideration to a fact how contemporary design can help increase buyers interest in the product.

We at SAT grasped it a long, long time ago and that’s why the Spicy Auction Templates community was planned, created and finally opened to everyone who sells on online auctions.

But what kind of an Internet sellers’ community doesn’t constantly seek to improve the selling performance? What kind of sellers we were if not continuously searching for new ways, new approaches and new methods to a better selling? Eternal development and bringing imagination to life are the most vivid attributes of a creative soul - and that’s exactly what our designers’ team is all about!

In around ten days time we will add ten BRAND NEW superb looking eBay TEMPLATE DESIGNS to our members area – to increase our community’s selling experience and take it another step further! Read the rest of this entry »

The American jeweler company Tiffany filed a complaint against eBay back in the 2004 blaming the online auction giant of encouraging sales of fake Tiffany jewelry.

However, the four year long lawsuit has finally come to an end and the judge declared that eBay cannot be held directly responsible for sellers’ unlawful actions.

Judge Richard Sullivan of the U.S. District Court in Manhattan ruled on Monday: Tiffany has failed to demonstrate that eBay knowingly encouraged others to dilute Tiffany’s trademarks.

SAT team completely agrees with the judge’s decision. How can a marketplace be blamed for backing up counterfeit product sellers once they’ve already have complied with all requirements in this regard? Read the rest of this entry »