Time-Saving Tips for Your eBay Biz Successful entrepreneurs know that every minute counts. Stop wasting your valuable time doing menial tasks. Use these tricks to free up time and boost your business.

Many PowerSellers share tales of coming to a point in theirbusinesses where 24 hours in a day just wasn't enough. Theyrealized a person, company, process or piece of software couldallow them time to become more productive. Here are some of thePowerSellers' time-tested secrets for being successful oneBay:

Tools for Automation

The eBaySolutions Directory is a good starting place for findingquality solutions providers that can help increase yourproductivity in selling, listing, product sourcing and muchmore.

Brad Lerch, owner of ListAssist in Blandon, Pennsylvania (eBayUser ID: listassist), tested various auction management programs tohelp streamline his business and chose Kyozou to do the job.This efficient software helped speed the sales process and freed upLerch, 29, to grow his business. Two weeks after implementing thesoftware, and only four months after the business's inception,Lerch became a PowerSeller. His company now helps businessesliquidate their overstock.

Worrying about how much a tool costs is one of the biggestmistakes new--and even experienced--entrepreneurs make. Whenevaluating solutions to help scale your business, ask yourself ifthe cost of the product or service justifies the return on yourinvestment.

Creating an eBay Store

Upon setting up their eBay Stores correctly, many eBay sellershave typically seen an increase of 25 percent in sales within threemonths. This increase in exposure was exactly what PowerSeller RobSmith (eBay Store) was seeking for his Freeport, NewYork-based business on eBay. "Opening my eBay Store and usingauctions as a tool to drive business not only increased my profits,but lowered my overall fees as well," says Smith, 48.

eBay Stores offers a fully customizable e-commerce solution foryour business. For as little as $15.95 a month, eBay Stores helpsbuild your business brand, provide you with seller reporting toolsto analyze your sales and, most important, provide a vehicle to getyour store and your listings indexed in the major search engines.An eBay Store is integral to easily scaling your business withouthaving to invest time and money in the creation of a website with ashopping cart.

Plus, where else can you get an e-commerce site that ends up onthe big search engines such as Google for less than $20 permonth?

Learn more about opening an eBay Store.

Marketing Made Easy

Successful PowerSellers realize that marketing is a requiredpart of their business, and many use inexpensive guerrillamarketing techniques to promote their businesses. Techniquesinclude knowing where to get unlimited free business cards(www.vistaprint.com), tapping into the power of theeBay e-mail marketing program within their eBay Stores, and takingadvantage of eBay's popularity to help boost the visibility oftheir own businesses.

"I had a very definite turning point in my eBay sellingcareer," says Lewiston, Maine, PowerSeller Bill Cartmel, 52(eBayStore). "An article about our eBay business in our localnewspaper was picked up by newspapers throughout New England andthe Eastern Seaboard. The focus was on vinyl records, which wereonly a small part of our business at the time. I received so manyresponses from people from New York to Maine who wanted to selltheir rare, high-end record collections that we have now become thefifth largest seller of LPs on eBay, and our goal is to become No.1."

Selling Internationally

Many sellers are looking outside the boundaries of the UnitedStates as a way to increase their customer base. eBay offers thesefive solutions for selling internationally:

1. Accept paypal as a payment option. PayPal is nowavailable in 56 countries and territories and accepts multipleforms of currency, including euros, Canadian dollars and yen.

2. Offer international shipping. Maximize your globalexposure by choosing which countries you're willing to shipto.

3. Include shipping costs. eBay's Shipping Calculatormakes it easy for you to offer international shipping options andinstant pricing to your buyers.

4. Use item specifics. A little-known eBay fact: When youfill out the item specifics for your item, such as the size ofthose shoes you are selling, that number will be translated on theeBay international site it is viewed on.

5. Download the International Selling Toolkit PDF. This in-depthreport is the best place to start when targeting your internationalbuyers.

Find additional information about sellinginternationally.

Sourcing More Products

A joint study by eBay and ACNielsen recently concluded that thenumber-one barrier to increasing sales on eBay was finding productsto sell on the site.

Although selling items found at garage sales and secondhandstores can be profitable, many PowerSellers would rather sellproducts they can purchase from consistent suppliers. Instead oftaking one picture, creating one listing, shipping the item in asingle box, then starting over again, a PowerSeller would ratherpurchase 500 of the same item, take one picture, create onelisting, use the same size box over and over again, and hit"relist" for the additional inventory.

It's difficult to find legitimate and thorough sourcinginformation. Many PowerSellers have come to trust two companies,What Do I Sell and Worldwide Brands Inc.

What Do ISell is an eBay Certified Provider that teaches eBay sellerscreative, professional strategies and techniques for selectingproducts to sell on eBay, locating legitimate suppliers andeffectively selling in the eBay Marketplace.

WorldwideBrands , a Certified Solution Provider, isthe only directory publisher of drop-ship and wholesale productsourcing information on the internet.

Find a unique wholesale buying opportunity through eBay'swholesale listing portal.

Streamlining Shipping

Though shipping is one of the more time-consuming processes ofselling online, it can be automated easily in two ways. First, makesure your shipping area is organized and accessible. Next, reduceor eliminate the time you spend waiting in line at the post officeby printing your postage online and having the U.S. Postal Servicepick up your packages at your house. "One of my best businessdecisions was to start using Endicia for my postage needs," explainsCharlene Anderson, director of online sales for Main Event inJackson, Wyoming (eBay Store). "It's fast and easy to use--agreat timesaver."

eBay's integrated shipping solutions allow you to printlabels, pay for postage through PayPal, and set up a time when USPSpicks up your packages. Learn more at www.ebay.com/shipping.

Customer Service That Sells

Successful sellers on eBay realize the importance of gold-levelcustomer service. This service starts with your listing andcontinues all the way through the post-sales process. We have allseen the eBay listings that assume guilt--"MUST hear from youin three days. Payment MUST be received in seven days. NEGATIVEfeedback WILL BE LEFT!" Customers can't click off thoselistings fast enough. Instead, offer what your competition doesnot: a pleasant buying experience.

Don't make your buyers assume anything; tell them what youare willing to do for them. This could include gift wrapping,shipping the gift to Aunt Martha in Oregon, gift notification andfaster delivery options. Your customer service should continuethrough the communications after the purchase. Your buyers hadtheir choice of millions of others sellers, and they chose you.Thank them for buying from you.

"First and foremost, I am a success because my wife and Iwork hard and long hours, and our customers are our most importantbusiness asset," says PowerSeller Bob Lippman, 61, who ownsLippman Enterprises in Palenville, New York (eBay Store)."If you take care of your customers, they will take care ofyou."

Staying on Top

"What really helped me take my business to the next levelare the continuing education classes. I originally went to eBayUniversity and learned a ton," explains Tom Hergert, a25-year-old PowerSeller and owner of Bellevue, Washington-basedTallzag Auctions. "eBay is anever-changing environment, and if you lock yourself up and keepyour same habits every time, you will fall behind yourcompetition."

eBay University tours the United States with experts who teacheBay sellers how to sell more effectively with classes onphotography, selling tools, eBay Stores and more. Sellers can alsotake classes online in the comfort of their own home.

PowerSeller Carol Hearn (eBay Store) believes applying common sense to HearnEstate Jewelry and Collectibles, her Bothell, Washington-basedbusiness, is the most important factor in keeping it on track andgrowing. "If you believe everything you hear and try everyproduct you find in the marketplace, you'll never get yourmerchandise sold. A certain amount of focus is an absoluterequirement in operating any single-person enterprise, butespecially one requiring the amount of time that selling on eBaydoes," says Hearn, 59.

"The truth is that just about anyone can sell on eBay, buta much smaller percentage have the self-discipline to do sosuccessfully," Hearn explains. "Even though it feels likea game at times, it's a serious business."

JanelleElms is a PowerSeller, bestselling author and eBay Universityinstructor.