people not understanding 1p starts

ksh123

soolin wrote: »

I have several IDs and that is perfectly OK on ebay as long as none of the IDs interact with each other.

I have a main selling account and at least 2 smaller selling accounts for unique products (although one of those in now entirely unusued). i also have several buying accounts, which has the advantage that I can buy one day and resell the next if I choose. i am also less likely to fall foul of a malicious bidder if I run into problems and had bought on my selling account.

That makes such good sense - which may be why I have never thought of doing it . You really are the eBay oracle Soolin. You need to write a book (or perhaps you already have:T ).

StaffsSW

ksh123 wrote: »

You need to write a book (or perhaps you already have:T ).

There is more money in becoming one of these - http://pages.ebay.co.uk/espteach/ - than writing a book

There is a reasonably well known author of ebay books who posts on these boards, and the royalties are not that great, mainly because the subject matter is out of date so quickly.

boombap

stevew8975 wrote: »

The golden rule is that no account shall interact with another, or they all come down like a house of cards.

I know that if all accounts are linked and then you get a suspension on one account all are screwed....is this what you are referring to or is there something else that I should be aware of?

Thanks

S.

iieee

For god's sake soolin, don't tell her you have another account, she'll probably tell you that ebay are going to boot you off at her behest for the deception. :rotfl:

soolin

iieee wrote: »

For god's sake soolin, don't tell her you have another account, she'll probably tell you that ebay are going to boot you off at her behest for the deception. :rotfl:

I never ever let on despite temptation, she is happy to think she can keep my money but she'll have a shock when she realises she can't.

fatgit

soolin wrote: »

There are also vigilante buyers, we had a thread on here last year, who contact companies when they get franked post asking if the employee is using the postage with permission.

Some people have far too much time on their hands!

StaffsSW

squee wrote: »

I know that if all accounts are linked and then you get a suspension on one account all are screwed....is this what you are referring to or is there something else that I should be aware of?

Thanks

S.

Aye - shill bidding, or bidding on your own auctions will get them all pulled pretty quickly, but likewise if you are suspended for seller non-performance, all accounts will also be suspended.
"Listing Restrictions" only apply to an individual account though - it's a shot across the bows from eBay and is normally enough for most people.

The problem is that it is based on a raw percentage, so for a small seller, it may only take 1 or 2 problems from 20 sales to get a restriction/30 day suspension, but for a higher volume seller the same ratio applies - 100 problems in 2000 sales.

ksh123

"Beyond this, I have a couple of accounts that I keep separate for strategic reasons - It's pointless trying to sell a wide range of products from the same ID, instead I can use separate ID's to target buyers, and to improve Search Engine Optimisation."

How do you do that then? It could be something I should have done years ago :cool: . Does it matter that I am only a personal or business seller? Can I still have different selling accounts and can they all be linked to the same PayPal account?

I don't know how to "use separate ID's to target buyers, and to improve Search Engine Optimisation." So for an eBayer with apparently minimal brain cells could you give me some examples or show me where to find out more?
thanks

StaffsSW

ksh123 wrote: »

How do you do that then? It could be something I should have done years ago :cool: . Does it matter that I am only a personal or business seller? Can I still have different selling accounts and can they all be linked to the same PayPal account?

For example, my wholesaler does a wide range of products, from radio controlled cars to lingerie. I know I can make a good margin on both, but they are not really complimentary products to eachother. If I open a shop or create an ID to cater for both, what do I name it, or how do I brand it, and how do I market it to appeal to both groups of buyers? With shops you can have a few custom pages, so you can add guides and product information, such as size charts. With these two products, it's clear that separate identities would be better, but even from a related product view, I could probably sell Batteries and RC cars from one ID, but they may well work better with their own identities.

When you create a listing, you have to enter a paypal email address, and there is nothing stopping the same destination email being used across multiple ID's. I often list personal sales on my OH's eBay ID, but the paypal money still goes into my account. (and it's great if she forgets to change it back on her next listings!!!)

Business or Personal makes no difference, but to be fair, if you are selling at this level, it is a fair assumption that you should be a registered business.

ksh123 wrote: »

I don't know how to "use separate ID's to target buyers, and to improve Search Engine Optimisation." So for an eBayer with apparently minimal brain cells could you give me some examples or show me where to find out more?
thanks

Once you have a shop, there are a few tricks that you can do to make it appear higher in google searches, such having a strong, descriptive name, and also adding things called "meta tags" - these are the keywords that search engines latch on to in order to help decide what order to display products.
Using the above examples, it would be better to have a series of related keywords such as "bras, thongs, knickers, lingerie," than "bras, thongs, tamiya, RC, Remote control"

If you have a shop already, then you can find the meta data with this link - http://cgi6.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?StoreMgmtViewCustomKeywords

And to get an idea of some good related keywords, try using http://freekeywords.wordtracker.com/ - this will show you the alternative words and phrases that people use to search for items.

*Scottish*Lass*

Um, I've just read this thread & the nosy part of me is dying to know if this has gone any further yet? lol