The idea of starting a home business seems a bit defeatist. In a society when people equate success with big corporation, starting a home based business does not seemed to be something to be proud of. Home business seems to be the domain of people that can not make it in the corporate world. However, the statistics I am going to give will prove this common perception is wrong.If you do a research with the Small Business Administration (SBA), immediately you will see that a lot of people are doing business at small scale level. The statistics says there are 27 millions businesses in the USA today, and out of this huge number, about 26,9 million are small businesses. So, it is 99,7 percent. Here is the definition for small business. The government defines small business as businesses with less than 500 employees. And of these 26,9 million of small businesses, about 13,5 million (52 percent) are actually home based businesses. This statistics is eye opening. Actually, a lot of people are doing business from their home.Home business, or now popularly known as home based business, is not for people that “can not make it”. But, for various reasons, people choose to start and operate a business from their homes.There are many reasons for starting a home based business. To start off, you become your own boss. It is very liberating not to work under the pressure of someone else and not to keep the 9.00 5.00 office hour. Secondly, you can start a business selling something you are good at. Thirdly, financially, if managed well, is very rewarding. And fourthly, you get to spend more time with the family.Home business is a worthy option to consider for anyone desiring independence and financial reward. There are already 13,500,000 people in the USA alone taking this steps. You might want to join them by having a home based business started soon.
3 Necessary Tools For Serious Home Based Business Owners
If you are a serious home based business owner I know the title caught your eye. And it should have because we are always looking for ways to maximize our efforts while cutting down on time. Some of what will be mentioned may seem a little elementary because this is written for those that are getting started in this industry.I define a tool as an instrument of some sort used to provide more leverage in getting a task done effectively. Hopefully you noticed the keyword of leverage. That’s all a tool gives. It’s not an end all be all, not the holy grail, not a business opportunity, not any of that junk that people make it out to be. A tool just provides more leverage so you can get whatever task done effectively and in a timely manner.I’m not one of those entrepreneurs that are always preaching “this is so easy everything is on autopilot.” While I do like to put as many things as possible on autopilot some things do require manual labor (in a sense).Now if you have this understanding in mind then you will be able to appreciate what I will share with you.Lead Capture Page: This is also known as a landing page or squeeze page. This web page is simply the door to your marketing funnel. It gives just enough info about what your customer is in need of. Its main design is to peak the interest of your customer and have them submit their name, email, and phone number to get more info on the next page. This does a little bit of the selling, telling and explaining for you.Auto Responder: I am so very thankful for this. Studies show that it usually takes a potential customer 7 times to see a product or info on it before they make a purchase. Auto responders allow you to automatically follow up with potential customers virtually on autopilot. A savvy home based business owner will always have a pre-written set of follow up emails to send out periodically. This allows you to stay in front of your potential customer and educate while at the same time sell them on why they NEED your product or service. This does all the selling, telling, and explaining for you.Lead Generation System: Before I explain why this is important let me give a disclaimer. I highly recommend using this in conjunction with you actually learning how to market online. That being said a great lead generation system allows you to build your home based business at a faster steadier pace in the beginning stages of you starting out. If it is really good then you can use it throughout. This tools sole purpose is to provide high quality leads for your to converse with about your business. There are several software out there that “scrape” the Internet for contact information (name, email addresses, and phones numbers) and they compile it in a spreadsheet. It is then your responsibility to contact that person.I know a lot of people that use this type of tool just think they are to sell them on their product or service. Those that have this approach are going about it all wrong. Its always best to see what common ground you can establish with that individual, build a relationship, and then offer based on that person’s needs.One reason I recommend a lead generation system for beginners in the home based business industry is because it will give them a steady flow of people to talk with, allow them to fail fast so they can get good, and provide a income on the backend that they can use to put back into their business.
Home Based Business Opportunity Seekers – Does Your Business Have These Two Vital Elements?
As the popularity of owning a home based business continues to rise, it is clear that there are more and more people desperately searching for another way to make money and survive. Recent reports on the population of the USA puts the number of people who want to start their own home based business, using the Internet, at over 70 million.Even a recent MSNBC study says that 75% of all new jobs being created right now are as a direct result of small home based businesses.On top of that, the US Census Bureau says that home based businesses account for 49% of all businesses in the USA. The number of American citizens who own a home based business is put at over 45 million by some industry analysts.Numbers which possibly don’t mean a great deal to you right now, but which do point to a growing trend for starting an Internet based home business, in spite of the ongoing economic problems. As if this point needed hammering home any further, Yahoo!® interviewed it’s user-base, and found that 75% of them claim the Internet had helped them to start their own business.Even though all we hear on the news and in the media is more and more bad news about the economy from around the world, people are still trying to start their own businesses, as they’re forced to take matters into their own hands to ensure their survival. It’s now obvious to most that nobody else can help, least of all any government.Although more and more businesses are being started by people, who are to be applauded for taking action, far too many are still falling short, with the failure rate standing firm at an eye-watering 97%!For any business to survive, irrespective of the economy, there must be a steady flow of prospective customer leads, which in turn drive sales and income. These leads will inevitably come from a variety of marketing activities, which makes the ability to market well, extremely important; lacking this ability can, and will, severely and fatally harm your business.The absence of effective marketing to drive up revenue and sales has been at the root of nearly all business failures, and is a path that you too may find yourself following if you lack these same vital skills. All marketing costs money in some way, shape, or form, and bad marketing will not see any return on investment. Bad marketing is worse than no marketing and only serves as a financial burden on your business that can’t be sustained. Some may blame ‘cashflow’ for failure, but the root of that lack of ‘cashflow’ is often a result of the heavy financial drain from bad marketing that brings a business to its knees and ultimately causes failure.However, on the other hand, there are many businesses that see great success, and these all have two things in common:MarketingBeing able to market your business properly is one of the most important ingredients in having a successful business. Some businesspeople may claim that they don’t market their business, but rely on the endorsements and testimonials of their customers. But it is as a result of receiving quality and value that these customers are ‘spreading the word’, and as such, referral marketing is still marketing, whether these businesses see it that way or not.Giving value to the customer is the first step in setting this whole process in motion. How often have you recommended someone’s services to a friend based on the experience you have had? The more exceptional the service, the more likely there will be positive recommendations and so some companies will strive to provide exceptional value which whether they know it or not, actually becomes part of their marketing strategy. This is a very powerful marketing tactic, because most people will accept the word of a friend’s recommendation over anything else, which when combined with the greater reach and power of the Internet, becomes explosive!The description I’ve given above can easily be applied to the mechanics behind social networking websites. These websites effectively take the social interaction that has always been there between people, and puts it on steroids! Tapping into the power of these websites such as Twitter® and Facebook® is enabling a great many Internet marketers to exploit the power of this marketing strategy on a completely new level.Customer will naturally be attracted to any business that provides real value and it is taking this first step by providing value to your prospects that results in more customers approaching your business. Sometimes known as providing a ‘loss leader’ to attract customers, it is one of the most valuable marketing techniques that all Internet marketers should be making extensive use of. If this is new to you or you’re not sure how to implement it in your own business, then you should seek out some training and get a good marketing education.Without a good marketing education, you will never really be able to keep up with those who power ahead using the same strategies that you are in the dark about. Worse than that, your business may completely fail as you fail to capitalise on this lead generating strategy.SystemThe World Wide Web is now littered with examples of online businesses that have come out of nowhere to completely dominate a market in no time at all. The leverage that the Internet provides, means that there are now many businesses such as Twitter®, Facebook® and YouTube® who just didn’t exist not that long ago.However, whilst the Internet has helped to move things along at a much faster rate, it’s not the only major factor in their success. There are many more ‘traditional’ businesses such as McDonald’s® or KFC® that have another core element that is vital to their success:A System!The power of a system is its ability to allow tasks and processes to be standardised so that even unskilled workers can undertake them. McDonald’s® is a prime example of how a system allows you to deliver a consistent product and service despite massive differences in staff qualification. To make fries only requires the most basic of skills because the system of standardising the equipment, the ingredients and the cooking process removes the human variable from the equation. This practise of employing a system that can quickly be rolled out is at the heart of all successful businesses, particularly those employing the franchise strategy for expansion. If you are in any doubt as to whether your business needs a system, then you only have to make a comparison between those successful businesses with systems, and those without.So how does this work in a small home based business? Well, combining the need for marketing and a system is going to allow you to leverage your time so that it is not spent taking on the tasks that are not generating revenue directly.The ‘telling and selling’ processes of your sales funnel are prime candidates for a system. Sales is just a game of numbers, where the more prospective customers you’re able to push through your system, the more sales you will make.If this is all news to you and sounds complicated, then your prospects for succeeding in any home based business are going to rely heavily on you getting educated in how to market effectively online. Even if this is all old news to you, and you’ve heard it all before, then proceeding without a system is only going to mean you exerting lots of time and energy unnecessarily.A good marketing system combined with a proper education in how to market your business effectively online is an absolute must for anyone who wants to have any hope of succeeding as an online business entrepreneur.
Top Five Ways You Know You Have Been Duped After Purchasing a Home-Based Business Online
Later in this article, I’ve mentioned what to look for, when going through the rigors of purchasing a home-based business opportunity online. So to begin with, here is your official Letterman-like countdown, of the top five ways you know you’ve been duped, after buying a home-based business opportunity online. So, here we go…You know you’ve been duped, when right after buying a home-based business opportunity online…#5- It turns out that the instructions you just received about your purchase, is the actual product they tell you to sell to your own list of “dupe-ees”…that you now have the most esteemed privilege of hand-picking.You know you’ve been duped, when right after buying a home-based business opportunity online…#4- You realize it only caters to an overwhelmingly unenthusiastic audience of one- you.You know you’ve been duped, when right after buying a home-based business opportunity online:#3- You find that the “purchase now” button is the shape of a little dude snickering, in preparation of the belly laugh he lets out, right at the moment you click it.You know you’ve been duped, when right after buying a home-based business opportunity online…#2- The first tutorial you click on activates a pop-up window that says, “Please click here to pay $19 for instructions in English”.You know you’ve been duped, when right after buying a home-based business opportunity online…#1- You find out it’s a front for the largest online fraud sting in the history of the internet- right at the exact moment you hear a bang on your door with someone yelling, “Open up, it’s the police”.I know these are tragic, if not humorous extremes, but how many times have you gone online and purchased something, only to find out it’s the furthest thing from what you expected? Well, welcome to the big wild world of the internet. Home of the million and one business opportunities- just waiting for your antsy little clicker finger and that handsome sixteen digit code that resides on that piece of plastic in your wallet.But wait. With a little awareness and what I’m about to give you, perhaps we can save you from falling prey to at least some of those unscrupulous offers, shady tactics, and the dreadful brain-lock that’s typically caused by dead-end deals.What you first need to know is that not all online business opportunities are bad, assuming that with each and every one, you’re going to get the five-finger frisk, the minute you step down off of your horse. That’s simply not true. But the more prepared you are in spotting the gopher holes in your garden of prosperity, the cleaner you can keep your sassy little spurs from getting tarnished in the long run.In another article I wrote, I addressed what I call the twelve qualifiers of a solid online home-based business opportunity. And that my friend, is a good read. But for this article, since the general human attention span is probably much less than the time you’ve given me already, I’m only cover the first three of those awesomely crafted opportunity qualifiers…leaving the other nine up to you and your due diligence. So here goes..Qualifier One: Cost. If it’s not palatable to your purse or wallet from the get-go, or if you don’t feel like you’re being “sold right”- making you feel uncomfortable when it comes time to come out of pocket with your cash…or if the method in which they continually try to bump-sell you with more and more products on every squeeze page becomes unbearable- just simply back away from the whole enchilada, period.Qualifier Two: Compatibility. When you buy it, you own it, characteristically speaking. So, picture what this online business opportunity or program might look like on you. That’s right. If you feel like it’s going to show a little too much skin and it going to make you feel too exposed and uncomfortable in the public eye, well…it’s not for you, babe. Or if it swallows you up whole and you think you’re going to lose your soul in the process of making a go at the darn thing, then lose it before it does you.Qualifier Three: Ease of Set-Up. If it seems like there’s something missing in the translation or the flow of the initial delivery or presentation, that could very well be the warning flare lighting up the field of possibilities that something could be amiss as well, in the delivery of the most important aspect of the launch: your step-by-step set-up instructions. Yep, the tutorials, videos, and PDF’s that are supposed to help you, when it comes to birthing this baby into toddlehood. Still, when a bad set-up is a bad set-up, there’s simply no amount of coddling that’s going to make your investment in a online opportunity worth your time.
Pinterest Marketing Part 3 – Small Business Success With Pinterest
Small businesses used to be subject to suppressed marketing from big business, but with the advent of social media websites like Facebook, twitter, Pinterest etc… , small business can market their products efficiently. Pinterest is all about sharing pictures and videos. It is a place where people come to see products of their choice. It can be anything varying from car exhausts to sweaters. If small businesses can display their products well, interested visitors can pin that picture and the picture keeps on getting shared, leading to an efficient marketing system.Efficient marketing leads to a larger number of hits, then it takes the hospitality of the site owner to convert that guest into a permanent client. Small businesses have great products nowadays but the only thing missing is the visibility of the business. The power of Pinterest can be utilized through visualization; a strong image with a pinned post gets re-pinned and gets more user engagement.It is important for small business to pin posts with strong and captivating images, more over introducing one`s business is also an important part of being alive and telling the audience about its existence. Pictures of employees can be very helpful with the introduction part. Pinning such images actually connects you to the audience.Usually small businesses avoid pinning a large number of pictures to avoid chaos because posting similar pictures again and again can actually add negativity to the reputation of the company. When there are a few pictures posted, pinning videos is also a great idea of showing off your products, your business, your employees, fun at work, and so forth. Even videos relevant to industry can be helpful because it helps in providing valuable information to the visitors.I know it’s extremely easy to create pins by just repinning. But you really need to be creative and unique here. People repin things because it is something awesome and great, what they have just seen. But let me assure you they repin that item because they haven’t seen it before.A single post on Pinterest can go viral and can get more and more hits with the passage of time. The best thing about Pinterest is that pictures on Pinterest don`t get obsolete. Even after a year, if a user pins it, it has same chance of getting re-pinned as it was a year back. This is because users keep on changing, human parameters are variable and so are their choices. Every individual has a different set of interests and choices.Small business firms should also add a guest pinboard for users as they may feel more connected with your business. It actually gives you an insight about your users opinions and interests and can be used as a market survey. Similarly a feedback pinboard is also a great idea for engaging customers; customers love to tell about their experiences but only if they are given a suitable platform. Pinterest gives them an option of telling more about your business and that feedback should be treated with high priority and gratitude.Small businesses should not just start using Pinterest without a definite plan. Once you are prepared with a strategy, you should create a well defined plan. You should be ready with the next ten posts when pinning a post. Small business owners should be very careful, as it is the same social media which can make your product the most loved amongst users or the other way around and break you.
Why Do Most Home Based Businesses Fail?
Each and every day there are thousands of people who start their own home based business and thousands more looking into starting a home based business. The problem is that the vast majority of home based businesses fail. It’s a fact we all know. But why does it happen?
Well there are a number of reasons, beyond the scope of this article, why home businesses fail but one of the major reasons is because the aspiring entrepreneur fails to see that the business opportunity they joined was complete junk to begin with! Is this something that can be avoided? It certainly is! All it takes is learning how to spot scams and schemes, and find the good business opportunities.
Here are five of the main reasons why many home based businesses fail:
1) Unproven Opportunities.
The fact is that many of the home business opportunities are just too new. The market for the products and services is not well-established, the owners may not have enough experience, it may have incurred huge debt starting up, etc… There are about a thousand things that could be a problem with a new opportunity. For the most part opportunities that are brand new are too risky!
While it is possible that they may end up being the greatest opportunity in the world and you would have been well off if you got in early, the chances of that happening are slim and if you are just starting your home based business you are much better off going with a proven opportunity.
2) Same Old Crap.
Most of the home based business opportunities are the same old recycled plans and programs. Many opportunities claim to be completely new or “never before seen,” but really aren’t. Do a little research and you will find that there is nothing new about them at all. Sure they might have put a little twist on things but overall they are just the same as a million other programs out there. It’s important is to find a home business opportunity that really is different and better than most others.
3) Recruiting.
Many home based business opportunities rely heavily, or even entirely, on recruiting. So unless you are very well skilled at marketing or have a huge contact list the chances of success are greatly reduced. More often that not those considered to be “heavy hitters” or “super affiliates” are the only ones who make any real money because they are the ones who have all the connections. When choosing an opportunity of this type be sure that they have very good training and good information to help you with marketing.
4) Immoral and/or Illegal.
A significant amount of home based business opportunities are immoral or downright illegal. Obviously these opportunities should be avoided at all costs! Don’t ever get involved in any opportunity that violates ethics and laws. Usually you can figure this out by doing a lot of research before joining. Also, if it just doesn’t feel right then stay away.
5) Hype, Hype, Hype.
Many home business opportunities are pure hype with no “real” product or service behind them. There is no firm foundation for the company. When all the hype runs out, the opportunity collapses on itself.
Always be sure to figure out what the product or service is behind the opportunity, what kind of market this product or service has, and if it is possible to build a good income without all the hype. Never join a home business opportunity based purely on hype and no real product or service!
That’s it! Five major reasons why many home based businesses fail. Be sure to find a legitimate home based business opportunity from the start. Taking the extra time to find out everything you can about an opportunity will greatly increase your chances of success!
But do remember one last thing… No opportunity is perfect in every way. Don’t waste your life trying to find it because it doesn’t exist! You just need to find a good, legitimate home business opportunity and stick with it.
Small Business ERP – Be Aware of These Things
Finding the right Small Business ERP for your company
Small Business ERP is a unique category of enterprise software. It typically needs to have all the functionality of large corporate ERP software, but it needs to have as few clicks and screens as possible to ensure that the users are not overburdened with a lot of time spent entering data. The size of the business does not necessarily change the functionality required in the software. Rather, the small company often has a need for higher efficiency since they cannot afford the manpower to maintain the system.
When you look at ERP software, there are three tiers of applications. Tier 1 is large multi-national software solutions, such as Oracle, SAP, and JD Edwards. Tier 2 is the mid-market level. These applications are suitable to businesses in the range of 50M to 250M. This is the sweet spot of the market. Like any bell curve, the mid-market has both the most customers, as well as the most product offerings. The last tier is the Tier 3 offerings which is the small business ERP category. These are systems suitable for 1 person start-ups to about the $50M level, although some of these products become inefficient if they have more than 20 users on the system. So while they claim to be Small Business ERP offerings, they are for the smallest of companies.
Things to look for in Small Business ERP
When evaluating small business ERP solutions, it is important that you properly screen the potential software candidates to ensure you get a software that fits your business. If you don’t you will run into many different issues. Here are some tips:
1. Make sure that the small business ERP software you are looking at fits into your niche.
2. Make sure that the data entry is simple and efficient
3. Make sure that the database platform can be managed by you or your staff
4. Look at the support offerings of the small business ERP provider to ensure that it is tailored to your needs
5. Determine that the small business ERP reseller provides enough training to properly get your staff up and running
Let’s discuss these points. First you need to make sure that the software you are looking at fits within the business model or industry that you work within. A retail store should not use a software designed for distributor. See what other customers that the software provider has worked with in the past and ask for specific examples of companies in your industry.
You need to make sure that the users do not become slaves to the system. Make sure that the data entry screens are simple, efficient and do not require a lot of bouncing around to other screens to input simple things such as invoices or purchase orders.
The heart of the system is the database. You need to make sure that the database does not require a full-time system admin to maintain it. It should be designed to be self maintaining and easily managed. Learn a little bit of the technical requirements from the Small Business ERP solution provider. You do not want to be in the situation where you need to bring in a specialized database administrator if later something goes wrong.
Small Business ERP should have support designed for you the small business owner. You should easily be able to call in and immediately speak to a rep for support. You don’t want to have to wait for days to get answers. Be careful of small systems with small support staffs. Especially be wary where the system is developed and maintained by one or two people. Yes, they are also a small business, but it will be a big problem when they are not available to assist you.
Lastly, you and your staff need to have enough training to properly operate the application. Do not skimp on this point. You need more training than you think. In fact, it would be good to plan on training to go live and at least one other training session a month after go-live to answer any questions and resolve any problems from a lack of knowledge. You won’t become experts on the system in a day, so plan on future training sessions.
The future of Small Business ERP
The future of Small Business ERP seems to be one of two paths. There are those systems that will continue to be operating on a small network of computers and do quite well on them, such as QuickBooks or DBA Software. The other path is that of small business ERP companies such as NetSuite, who are leading the charge to bring small business ERP to the cloud. This means that you will have access to the application through a browser and no installed software will exist on your site. You are licensing access to a system that stores your data remotely and operates via an internet connection.
People often are concerned with this model as your data lives somewhere else. The fact of the matter is it is probably safer there than on a computer sitting in your back room. The data center security policies and the high-levels of authentication that are enforced by cloud computing providers truly lock down your data and its accessibility. Whereas your server in your back room is often open to anyone who happens to wonder by. This seems to be riskier. Nonetheless, whichever path you choose, you can be assured that the small business ERP industry is continuing to grow and develop.
What if you cannot make a decision on a Small Business ERP solution?
We know how hard it is to try and make a software selection on your own, but if you want to really be successful and choose the perfect fit software for your organization, you will need to find the right guidelines to help you be successful.
The Finer Points of Internet Auctions
WHAT IS A PENNY AUCTION?
Penny auctions have exploded in popularity with the massive growth of the internet. However, few people know the true origins of penny auctions.Beginnings actually stretch back to the Great Depression. Those were hard times for everyone, but even harder for farmers. Farmers struggled to bring in steady income because of droughts and crops not selling as well as they had previously. As a result, the banks would foreclose on the farmers who couldn’t keep up with their mortgage payments.
The banks weren’t satisfied with just repossessing the house, they wanted to raise as much capital as possible, so they resorted to selling off the possessions of the owners of the repossessed houses. There was not much the farmers could do about it so they began bidding ridiculously low prices, pennies, on the items while threatening others who dared to bid higher than a few pennies.
The auctions of today hardly resemble their tremulous beginnings. Being part of a penny auction today is exhilarating, fun, and addictive. It combines the selling format of auctioning with a little bit of chance factored in.Auctions are a game of strategy but also a game of luck.
The premise behind penny auctions is giving people the chance to win an item at a drastically reduced price.Auctions make that possible by spreading out the cost of the product among multiple bidders. In order for a person to take part in an auction, they must pay a set price for each bid. For example, if a person wanted to bid on a fifty dollar Amazon gift card then he would spend a dollar for each time a bid placed. If he ended up winning the gift card, then he would only have spent a few dollars for a fifty dollar gift card. Usually penny auctions sell bids in packages.
HOW PENNY AUCTIONS WORK!
The main foundation of penny auctions is the pay-per-bid format. It is the key that allows bidders to win items at the fraction of their retail value and allows the auction owners to keep their site profitable. Most y auction sites run on the same premise: people pay a set amount for each bid, whenever a person places a bid within the closing seconds of the auction time will be added, the last person left with a unique bid after the clocks runs out will win the item. There are a large variety of items that can be won, but they tend to be popular electronics or gift cards to popular stores.
There are two types of auctions: lowest unique bid auction and highest unique bid auction. Lowest unique auction sounds confusing but it is actually quite simple. A unique bid is when only one person has a bid at a certain price. Bids usually start at one penny, a bidder can then place a bid at two pennies. Until another bidder places a higher bid, the most recent bidder will be the lowest unique bid because that was the only bid at two cents and nobody bid higher. However, penny auctions generally don’t stop at one penny. It is not uncommon to find auctions that end up at a couple hundred dollars based on the popularity of the item being auctioned. However, the same principles apply for those auctions. Highest unique bid auctions follow the more traditional auction format such as eBay. The person with the highest bid at the end of the auction wins the item.
Auction site owners turn a profit by selling bids. Say twenty people are bidding on a ten dollar gift card at one dollar per bid, at the end of the auction if there were twenty bids placed in total then the site owner would have made twenty dollars with a ten dollar profit.Auctions do seem like a win-win situation:The site owner makes money while the bidder gets an item for dirt cheap. However, not everyone wins in penny auctions. The people who paid one dollar each bid but left with nothing to show for their investments will not be so happy.
HOW TO WIN!
Penny auction has a lot of chance mixed into it, but one can incorporate strategy that will help raise the chances of winning. Playing smart can make all the difference between gambling and auctioning.
The first crucial tip to winning penny auctions is to know how to manage your bids. Your goal should be to win as much as possible without spending a ton of money buying bids. Managing your bids means that you should already know how much you are willing to risk in order to win an item. The amount of capital you are willing to risk will determine how many bids you can use. Once you know how many bids you have to spend on an item, then you will be better able to manage how and when you place a bid. That will keep you from blowing away all of your bids in the first few seconds of the auction.
The next tip is to practice time management. When fighting in the trenches of penny auctions, you have two enemies: other bidders and time. Knowing when to bid is a must if you want to have success. Placing a bid when there is a lot of time left on the clock is never a good idea. You have to remember that the key to winning a penny auction is being the last one standing when the clock runs out and that each bid increases the amount of time left. It would be a good practice to wait until the last few minutes of the auction before you begin to bid.
The final tip for successful auctioning is to keep your emotions under control.Auctions have a lot of similarities to gambling, and just like gambling, your spending can get out of control. If you keep your emotions level, it will keep you from making rash decisions and blowing loads of cash. Keep your mind clear so that you can gage the behavior of the other bidders and outsmart them.
HOW TO AVOID SCAM SITES!
Penny auctions are a great addition to the web whether you want to win an item that otherwise you wouldn’t be able to afford or if you simply enjoy the thrill that comes with bidding in auctions. Unfortunately, scam sites have tarnished the reputation of the legitimate penny auction sites. However, there are ways that you can protect yourself from scamers and enjoy your auctioning without having to worry about losing your money due to dishonesty.
Checking the reputation of the auction site before you start spending your hard earned money is always a good idea. Chances are other people have tried the site before you and some of them have left reviews. The reviews are your way to gage whether a auction site is trustworthy or not. If a site is getting overwhelmingly negative reviews, then that is a clear indication that you should steer your business elsewhere.
Another tool you can use to protect yourself is checking the Alexia ranks of the auction sites. Alexia rank will give a solid view of how much traffic the auction is getting. If you see a huge difference in the amount of traffic Alexia is projecting and the amount of active bidders on the site, then warning signals should be ringing in your head. Some auction sites have been known to set up robots that automatically bid on projects in order to keep the auction going and inflate the price. That is known as shill bidding. You can sniff out those sites by comparing the traffic the site should be getting to the amount of users using this site.
CONCLUSION!
New legislation may come out later down the road that will officially make penny auctions gambling, but until then, it is a fun, exciting auction that allows one to win the item they’ve always wanted but couldn’t afford.Auctions are also quite lucrative for the site owners because of the pay-per-bid strategy they’ve incorporated. Penny auctions had humble beginnings with farmers who just wanted to get back at the banks who kicked them out of their house. More recently, auctions have enjoyed an explosion in popularity with the rise of the internet.
There are two main formats fora auctions, lowest and highest unique auction, however they both run on the same premise where the last unique bid wins the item. Winning a penny auction will require a certain amount of mental tactic and a bit of luck. However, you can increase your odds of winning by practicing certain techniques such as managing your bids wisely, learning how to work with the time, and keeping a level head and your emotions under control. When you combine those three strategies to your bidding plan, you will find that you win a lot more often.
It is important that you do your due diligence to protect yourself when participating in auctions. Not every auction is run by honest and trustworthy people. There are people out there who just want to take your money. You can protect yourself by ensuring that you only bid on sites that already have a very positive reputation from real users.
How to Find Great Live Auctions for Resale Items
Hi, my name is Walt. I’m an auctioneer with 25 years of experience in the auction business and licensed in the state of MA. I own Quick Auction Service, a company that specializes in building and running custom auctions, I’m also the webmaster of my own site and have been on eBay for 8 years. Besides eBay, the types of auctions I run most frequently are antiques and on-site estate auctions, although I’ve run everything from business overstock auctions to charity & special event auctions.
I enjoy sharing my knowledge and stories of the auction business. My goal for article is to help folks get the absolute most out of their auction experience.
Whether your fresh out of the package or a seasoned dealer I think I can offer something in this article to help you with your auciton adventures.
There may be as many reasons to attend auctions as there are types of auctions to attend. Maybe you want to attend an auction to buy items for re-sale on eBay, or some other market. Maybe you want to furnish your home with wonderful antiques, or you want to furnish your home as inexpensively without sacrificing quality.Some folks are just looking for a fun night out. With a little perseverance all these things are possible.
There are antiques and estate auctions, auto auctions, overstock auctions, absolute and no reserve auctions, real estate auctions, specialty auctions where only one genre of items are sold, tailgate auctions, live auctions, online auctions, sealed bid auctions, silent auctions, charity and fund raising auctions and many more.
Can you really buy for pennies on the dollar at an auction? You bet! Many times I’ve seen folks buy and re-sell at the same auction on the same night for a good profit, although be advised, this should only be done after the auction is over.
There are a lot of ways to find an auction, but here are some tips on how to find and attend the best ones.
Visit the genre of shops in the area that apply to the type of auction you want to attend. IE: If your looking for a good antique auction to attend, stop in the local antiques shops and ask for what there are for good auctions in the area. Sounds obvious right? But listen to what they don’t say as well as what they do say. Oftentimes when a dealer speaks poorly about an auction he or she attends, it may be likely that they are trying to keep a good thing secret. Think for a moment, why would a dealer keep attending a lousy auction?
Newspaper ads: I personally like to find ads in the classified ad section rather than flashy display ads. Flashy ads are usually indicative of an auction that will be high priced, may have reserves, (a set price on an item), and usually an enormous crowd. While any auction can be profitable to attend, it is usually best to steer clear of the glitzy ones, at least for the beginner.
Here’s the minimum you want to find out before you go. If there is a phone number in the ad, call and ask for the terms of the sale. What forms of payment do they accept? Is it an absolute auction? An absolute auction is one that has no minimum or reserve bids on items. These are the best auctions to attend! Is there a buyers premium? A buyers premium is like a tax that everyone who makes purchases at that auction must pay above the winning bid price. Most auctions these days do charge a buyers premium, 10% is not unreasonable but I feel much more than that is greedy, and the auctioneer that charges over 10% is counting on most bidders not doing the extra math as the bids quicken in pace.
A fair auction will have ample time to inspect the merchandise, usually at least 2 or 3 hours. Find out when inspection starts and make sure to attend! Never attend an auction if you can’t make the inspection, not unless your prepared to gamble. Most auctioneers sell at a rate of about 100 items per hour, which is why they sell “as is”. They simply don’t have the time to give a detailed description of all the items. Since almost all items at auction are sold AS IS, there are sure to be some damaged, refinished, fake and incomplete items at any given auction. Beware of any auctions that offer very little or no inspection time.
Good auctions will usually have 150 to 400 lots. A lot may be one item or a group of items. The exception to this are specialty auctions, auto auctions, real estate auctions etc.
When you attend your first sale, take note of the 1/2 dozen or so dealers that buy the most often. See if you can find out about other area auctions they attend.
When you do find an excellent auction, attend it as often as possible. By frequenting good sales, you help increase the bottom line of that business. It’s difficult for many auctioneers to keep the quality of merchandise consistent, so good attendance certainly helps. And when an auctioneer gets to know you as a buyer, he/she will go out of the way to accommodate you, to keep you coming back.
Hiring An Auction Company
Estimating your assets value:
Typically, one of the first questions a business owner will ask me is, “how much will the assets bring at an auction”. After taking the time to review the assets, the auctioneer should give the client a conservative estimate of the sale based upon his experience and the current market trends. It is important that the company give realistic expectations so the seller can make informed decisions based on their best interest.
Compensation and Expenses:
Is the company you are considering working for you or against you? The agreement you decide may determine this.
A business owner should carefully consider how the auction company is compensated. The most common commission structures include: straight commission, outright purchase of assets, guaranteed base with a split above to both auctioneer and seller, guaranteed base with anything above going to auctioneer or a flat fee structure.
In a straight commission structure, the company is paid an agreed upon percentage of the total sale.
In an outright purchase agreement, the auctioneer simply becomes your end buyer. The company purchases your assets and relocates them. While this can be an option in some unique situations, keep in mind that they will want to purchase your assets at a very reduced price to make a profit at a later date.
In a minimum base guarantee, the auction company guarantees the seller that the auction will generate a minimum amount of sales. Anything above that amount either goes to the auction company or split with the seller. While a seller might feel more comfortable doing an auction knowing that he is guaranteed a minimum amount for his sale, keep in mind that it is the best interest of the auction company to secure a minimum base price as low as possible in order reduce their financial liability to the seller and secure higher compensation for the sale.
In a flat fee structure, the auctioneer agrees to show up for the sale and call the auction. There is no incentive for the auctioneer to get the best prices for your assets. The auction company is compensated regardless of the outcome of your sale.
What is the best option for business owners? In my experience, an agreed upon straight commission structure. This puts the responsibility on the auction company to offer the best outcome for everyone involved. There is an incentive for the auction company to work hard for both parties, set up and run a professional sale, get the highest bid and sell every item on the inventory. Successful auctions translate to a higher bottom line for both the seller and the auction company.
Auction Expenses:
In most auction agreements the expenses to conduct an auction are passed to the seller. If the auction company pays for the expenses, it is simply absorbed in higher commission rates.
All expenses should be agreed upon in advance in a written contract. Typical expenses will include the costs of advertising, labor, legal fees, travel, equipment rentals, security, postage and printing. A reputable auction company will be able to estimate all expenses based upon their experience in previous auctions. An agreement should be actual costs charged as expenses, not an estimated amount.
Advertising is typically the highest cost in conducting an auction. The auction company needs to set up an advertising campaign that will promote the sale to its best advantage and not overspend to simply advertise the auction company.
Once the auction is complete, the auction company should provide a complete breakdown of all expenses to the seller, including copies of receipts within the auction summary report.
Buyer’s Premium:
What is a buyer’s premium? If you attend auctions regularly, you are very familiar with this term. The auction company charges a fee to the buyer when they buy an item at auction.
The buyer’s premium has been around since the 1980′s and is standard auction practice. It was first used by auction houses to help offset costs of running brick and mortar permanent auction facilities. Since then, it has spread to all aspects of the auction industry. It is prominent in online auctions and allows auction companies to cover added expenses incurred from online sales.
It is the responsibility of the auction company to provide clear disclosure of the buyer’s premium to both the buyers and the sellers. Those not familiar with auctions are often taken back by the buyer’s premium. They looked upon it as an under handed way for the auction company to make more money. Reputable auction companies will provide full disclosure within the auction contract, advertisement and bidder registration.
Typically, an auction company will charge online buyers a higher buyer’s premium percentage than those attending an auction in person. Extra fees are incurred with online bidding and are charged accordingly to online buyers. This provides the seller a level playing field for both online buyers and those attending the auction in person. Without the buyer’s premium, there is no way to do this.
Pre-Sales:
We’ve all been there. We’re looking forward to attending an auction only to find that some items were sold prior to the auction date.
As an auctioneer with over thirty-six years of experience, I can honestly state that pre-sales will hurt an auction. When a company decides to liquidate their assets, it is easy to sell off high-end pieces of equipment through online sources, equipment vendors or to other businesses. The seller receives instant cash and avoids paying a commission to an auction company.
Auctioneer’s find themselves appearing to acting in a self-serving capacity when potential clients say they are planning to sell off parts of their inventory prior to an auction. It’s hard not to consider the auctioneer’s commission when they warn you not to pre-sell anything. Yes, the auctioneer wants to earn a commission on those sales but it is more important that the auctioneer protect the sale from potential negative backlash that comes from pre-selling. The buying public knows when an auction has been “cherry picked” prior to the sale and it reflects in their bidding. It becomes a sale of “leftovers” and that impacts prices.
A buyer who purchases prior to the auction usually does not attend the sale. They already bought equipment at a good price with no competition. If they do attend the auction, they tend to let others know of their great pre-sale purchases which again, impacts prices and the overall excitement of the sale.
It is important to understand that auctions work best with a complete inventory. You want competition on your higher end equipment. The easy to sell items make it possible to gain respectable prices for hard to sell items.
When a business owner decides to liquidate their equipment assets, there is only one opportunity to do it right. Hiring a reputable auction company will assist you with a professional, orderly and timely liquidation.