Five Tips for Selling at Live Auctions

Ah, the old-fashioned country auction! The idea of a country auction conjures up certain images for people. The image of a fast-talking auctioneer offering up an antique table or chair is a popular example.

People who are buying household goods or collectibles are looking to get their items at the lowest price possible. However, the people who are selling their items at auction are hoping for the highest price!

Unless a person is in the business of buying and selling antiques or other items, not a lot of thought goes into how goods are prepared for sale via the auction process. However, if you are one of the growing number of people using auction venues to sell your collectibles or other inventory, there are a few things to learn first about how to sell at auction before you bring a truckload of stuff over to the next event.

Tip 1: Make sure the things you want to sell are a good “fit” for the auction house you’ll be using.

Never bring a load to an auction house without actually having been to one of the previous auctions. It’s important to get a feel for the type of goods that the house sells. For example, at one very rural country auction it was common for the owners to sell live chickens, pots and pans, car parts, and farm equipment.

After close investigation, this would not be the right venue for selling your daughter’s “Hello Kitty” collection. On the other hand, the spare John Deere parts that you bought at last week’s yard sale might be just the right thing for the buying crowd at this auction.

Tip 2: Be sure you clearly understand the terms and policies of the auction house.

Visit with the auctioneer ahead of time. Call to find out what the best days and times are to visit. One of the worst possible times to drop in for an informational visit with an auctioneer is the day of the auction. Call ahead and ask. While you’re at it, find out what are the best days and times to drop your stuff off.

Once you have a little time with the auctioneer, you’ll be able to find out what type of commission he or she takes from consigners (which is you), and what type of paperwork might be needed. Some auction houses send out Form 1099 tax forms at the end of the year. An auctioneer may need to see your identification and have you fill out a W-9. Be prepared.

Find out what happens to your items if they don’t sell. For example, some auctioneers may have a minimum starting bid. If, for some reason, one of your items does not sell, it may be grouped with another one of your pieces. Know the auctioneer’s strategy beforehand so that you aren’t surprised on pay day.

Tip 3: Make sure the auctioneer knows what you’re selling.

It might be perfectly obvious to you that the signed print you are consigning is a rare and valuable piece of art. However, the auctioneer may not know this particular artist. Make a note of anything particularly special about your items, and leave the note with the piece. Be sure to tell the auctioneer about it as well. He or she might determine that this is something to highlight on the company website or in the newspaper listing.

Tip 4: Present your items neatly.

No one likes to have to dig through a box full of grimy and greasy car parts to see what treasures might be in there. Separate the parts and lay them out on a flat, or use more than one box to de-clutter the lot.

There is no need to buy fancy display boxes. It’s easy enough to go to the local convenience store or supermarket and ask if you can have the emptied boxes or flats that they are discarding.

While it’s good to present clean items, take care not to ruin the value of anything by over cleaning. For example, if you find some old cast iron cookware, clean the obvious dirt and grime, but don’t scrub it to its original finish. For many people, this ruins the value of the item. So, clean and tidy and organized is the key here.

Tip 5: Don’t complain to the auctioneer if your stuff doesn’t sell for as much as you’d like.

The phrase to remember here is, “You win some; you lose some.” That’s just the way it is. There are some days where an auction house is loaded with people who all seem to want what you’re selling. There will be other days where the crowd is sparse, and the bidding is simply not competitive.

Remember that it’s in the auctioneer’s best interest to sell your things for the highest possible hammer price. But sometimes, it’s just not going to be a stellar sale. The auctioneer is only human, and is also disappointed if a sale doesn’t go as well as planned.

If you notice that every time you bring a bunch of goods to sell that you’re not realizing as much as you think you honestly should, try another auction venue and compare apples to apples. That is, bring the same types of items to the new auctioneer and compare the results.

Unless the auctioneer is particularly disagreeable or inconsiderate to you or buyers, there is no reason to confront him or her about a sale. If you find you just don’t care for an auctioneer’s style or methods, find another one. Believe me, there are plenty of them out there!

The primary thing to remember as you learn how to sell at auction is that the business is unpredictable at best. You will have good days, some not-so-good days, some great days. The more you sell, the more experience you will gain, and the more enjoyable the business will be.

Home Business Opportunities – Four Home Based Business Opportunities To Choose From

Home business opportunities are virtually everywhere you look online. And the promoters of each home based business opportunity often claim that the opportunity they promote is the best business opportunity to join. This often makes it difficult for newbies to make the right choice, the choice that best suit their situation. This article takes a look at the four broad categories of home business opportunities so you can identify the option that suit your circumstances and therefore make informed choice.The four broad categories of home based business opportunities are:1. Opportunities that involve building an information rich web site from scratch and thereafter monetizing the resulting traffic2. Opportunities that involve joining affiliate programs that offer unique affiliate links for promoting the affiliate product or service3. Opportunities that involve joining a network marketing home based business opportunity that offer free distributor web site to members and4. Opportunities that involve getting paid a fixed amount for completing a set of tasks onlineLet’s take a closer look at each option above.The first online business opportunity involves building your dream online business from scratch.The right process requires you to do the following:
identify your passion
brainstorm topics that fall within your passion or interest using appropriate brainstorming software
identify a profitable niche that matches your passion or interest
Assemble low competition keywords that define your niche
Draw up a site blueprint
Design your web site
Write content for your web site using the low competition keywords brainstormed earlier
Promote your web site massively online
Add income generating streams to your web site
Cash your money month after month
If you conclude that the above process is tedious and time consuming, you’re probably right.But why?It’s because it’s business… it’s online business. And online business takes time, effort, and creativity just like offline does.The second home business opportunity mentioned above is affiliate program marketing. With this type of online business, you join the affiliate program of your choice and promote the affiliate links you’re given using a blend of online marketing techniques. Some online marketing techniques will produce more results than others. So, you need to track your sales promotion efforts or campaigns to determine what works and what doesn’t for the specific affiliate program you promote. Then drop campaigns that don’t work and do more of what works.The third category of home based business opportunities are MLM home business opportunities that offer members free distributor web sites to promote the MLM business opportunity. As with the affiliate program model, members of this type of MLM business opportunity promote their member web site url and register new team members using the tools on the member site they were given.The fourth online business opportunity involves completing a set of tasks in expectation of being paid a pre-determined amount.This kind of opportunities include:
paid to write
paid to attend to customers (online customer service jobs)
… and other such online job opportunities.WARNING: Verify that the internet job opportunity you’re interested in is legitimate before you join!Each of the home business opportunities described above have their pros and cons.Option 1 above requires you to do a lot of work without immediate reward. With this type of online business, you’re basically writing an online book or journal. And you don’t get paid for writing a book until it’s finished and it starts selling, right?In simple words, this option is a long-term business where you build traffic or your own customer base through content writing and marketing. This is a tedious but rewarding way to build a long-term business. With this type of home based business you own your traffic or customer base. And when you own your traffic, you own your business.Option 2 is affiliate program marketing. This system involves selling a product or service by finding a market for it. Depending on where you advertise or promote the affiliate programs, you can begin to make money right away.Here’s one thing to remember though.Not everyone makes money from promoting affiliate program products despite spending a lot of money in advertising.Why?It’s because affiliate program marketing success requires a set of skills. To succeed, you need to learn the skill-set that guarantees success. Option 3 is much like option 2. You get paid for promoting a network marketing opportunity.However, unlike most affiliate program opportunities that are free to join, virtually every network marketing home based business opportunity require members to join with a registration fee. Besides the registration fee, members must buy at least one pack of the MLM product they promote every month to stay active and qualify to earn commissions (at least in most programs). This means there is a maintenance cost for most MLM business opportunities.Option 4 is the most direct form of online business. You get paid to complete a set of assignments. The problem with this is that it’s like having a day job… when you stop working, you stop earning. Whereas with the other kinds of home business opportunities discussed above, you can build your business to a point where what you earn far outweigh the efforts you put in. And you can put your business on auto pilot.What home business option is right for you right now?It depends on your current circumstances. In my candid opinion, the overall best option is one that allows you to build a long-term business and put your business on auto pilot down the road.I’m talking passive income!Bottom line.It’s your life. Choose how you want to live it.Choose the opportunity that works for you.

Online Home Based Business Strategies – Earn Solid Income From Your Online Home Based Business

You might have heard or seen people starting their own businesses, or stories about rags to riches, and you would like to have your own business. If you prefer to work at home rather than working at office – probably setting up an online home based business might suitable for you. The main problem is this – how do I start earning money when I work at home? You would feel not very comfortable especially when you start your business from zero.If you’ve decided to build your own internet business – don’t be too hasty. Here’s the checklist to get started:1. Always have something to offer for your targeted audienceBefore you start a business, you need to find a niche so that you can have something to offer. For instance, finding a niche that you’re familiar with – is indeed important to provide continuous information to your readers. Starting business is not for a short while – you must have a far-sighted view and provide valuable information that attracts your potential readers. That’s the way of building credibility of your online home based business, as an ideal way of gaining trust of your readers. In short, if you’re able to build a high-credibility internet business – it’s easy to have your sales bloom, revenue increased spectacularly!2. Branding – start with a brand new name for your businessLet’s not discuss about the well-known products such as Apple, McDonalds and Prego, when you want to create a sustainable identity of your home based business. Firstly, you need to find a new name for your business and your website domain. If you couldn’t find one suitable name for it, you can think of a name related to your niche. For example, if you want to start a clothing online store targeting plus-size community, you can name it as “PlusSizeClothing101ForYou.com” – and this domain name has high-relevance to the selected niche that boosts the rankings of your website in the search engine results page (SERP).3. Market your online home based business at the right channelBesides focusing on what you’re offering to your audience, you need to figure out a solid way to promote your internet business. There are two ways to market your website – Pay-Per-Click Advertising (PPC) and article marketing. You can try one way or both, to drive traffic to your website. High-targeted traffic is the most concerned factor to get the right group of visitors, who are highly interested at your product, service or business – thus, such traffic is the key success of prolonging your online home based business. Always remember the following line – “No traffic, no sales, and no joke!”With all the hard work and perseverance, applying these tips above could bring positive impact on your internet business – making your business prosper than ever!