Are you still paying for home based business leads? If you are reading this article, you are probably looking for ways to get your own home based business leads. Generating you own business leads is one of the best ways to grow your home or online business. Most of the home based business owners do lack the knowledge of generating their own leadsHow can you generate leads? Is there such a thing as free leads? The answer is there is no such thing as free leads. You have to put in your time online to connect with the online consumer, build a relationship and you have a lead, the difference – the lead you got is well qualified lead.Generating your own home based business lead is beneficial to you, as the lead is serious and a valuable prospect. You will know exactly where the lead is coming, what avenue or what site. The trouble that most people who are in home business are facing is that they do not have enough people to talk to who are interested in starting their own business. If and when they find someone who is the least interested in making some extra income, most home business owners try to force their company and scare away their prospects.The other method that home business owners use is buy leads. Most of the time, they do not know where the leads come from or how the leads are generated. Home business owners; spend one hundred dollars or two hundred dollars to buy leads and get excited about making some sales but their excitement is crushed, when they start making some calls. What they receive is “I did not sign up for it” or “how did you get my number” or “the computer said they were giving something for free so I signed up”. How many times have you heard the above phrase? Stop wasting your money on leads and learn how to generate your own online leads.
10 Things You Should Know Before Investing In A Home Based Business
Ask These Questions First and You Won’t Regret It Later.1) How many years have the Current Owners had Control of the Company?I recommend that you do not do business with a company that has not been established, with its current owner for more than 7 years. Most businesses (approx. 80%) will fail within the 3-5 year mark, if they make it that far. You don’t want to invest all of your time and energy into a company that is going to close its doors on you, just as you start to make some money. Some companies are aware that people look for this and will buy an established name or trademark so that they can claim they have been established for longer. It is important to include the phrase ‘under current ownership’ when you ask the question.2) Do I need to Stock, Sell, Distribute, or Package Any Products?It is a very time consuming activity to resell products when you have to package up other peoples orders, collect their money, deliver, etc. The days of doing letterbox drops of brochures, flyers, etc are gone – so should be the need for you to handle other people’s money and orders. If you are going to partner with a company where you are required to do these things, ensure that you include the time taken to perform these tasks in you cost calculations. These costs can easily be 25% to 50% of your potential profit, is your time worth that little?3) If You Invest in the Company and Partner With Them, What Sort of Guarantees do They Offer?If a Company is a good and as reputable as they should be for you to partner with them, they will provide you with a written (and in modern times web-published) guarantee that you can get your money back if down the track they don’t pan out to be everything that you hoped they would be. Most reputable companies will extend a minimum 30-60 day money back guarantee. Ask specifically what is covered by the guarantee. Some companies only cover minor elements related to the costs even though you may be lead to assume they cover all aspects of your start up investment.4)Is the company private or public?There is really no major benefit either way, except knowing what tools and resources you will have available to determine the strength of the company. For example if they are publicly held, there are a number of filings that they must make available to you. If they are privately held you can run a credit check or various companies such as Dunn and Bradstreet will share the company’s credit rating to insure they are financially stable. If they are privately owned, it may become even more important to be aware of the time the company has been operating under current ownership.5) Will the Company Provide You Annual Growth Trends/Sales Statistics?If you want to know how a company is going to perform in the future, look at how they have performed in the past. Look at the sales performance for the most recent five years. If they won’t reveal sales figures or trends – there’s probably a reason. (ie. They’re embarrassed by it.) Reputable companies realize the need to provide you with sales information, especially if they are asking you to invest in their business or as a home based business partner.If they will not give you this information, we suggest you walk, no make that run away. For those who do, you are looking for positive growth trends and sales volumes. That’s one indicator for selecting a growth company to partner with and one measure of how safe your investment may be. We don’t recommend partnering with a company that’s stagnant or declining in sales. It can also be pertinent if possible to have a look at what happened with the trends during a recession… If they can survive and grow then, then they should be fairly stable.6) Ask about ‘Hidden Costs’.I have researched many home based business opportunities and this can be a real issue. I will tell you now about some of the more common hidden fees that you don’t get told about until after you have made a decision. Many companies offer websites as an added value when you start your home based business. It can be a very valuable and powerful tool. We have found that a ‘Free Website’ isn’t usually free at all. Some offer a website free but have a whole host of hidden charges associated with using it. Some charge to shorten unusually long website names known as URLs to a more manageable length. That’s just a way to charge you for that supposedly free website and not very ethical.Many will not disclose this option until after you start. Others may charge you for user fees, full use of all features including the database, calendar, members areas or even monthly maintenance just to mention a few. Be sure to ask about any and all costs associated with the ‘FREE’ options like websites. Make sure that if you are being offered a website, that hosting is included also… this is real big one – so many companies out there offer a free website… the catch is that you have to host it with their hosting company at your expense. This is usually an extremely inflated hosting fee. Reputable companies don’t have hidden costs – they practice full disclosure. If you identify hidden costs they didn’t tell you about voluntarily, be very cautious. You don’t want to be associated with a home based business that preys on others inexperience.7)Ask about Awards that the Company has Received and what Reputable Organisations they are Registered With (ie. Better Business Bureau)?This can be a bit misleading, so be very careful. A large number of companies will tout numerous awards from organisations that they have created. A reputable company will have numerous awards from tangible and respected organisations, such as the Better Business Bureau, or Ernst & Young, even right up to the U.S. Chamber of commerce.Whilst awards and recognition on a global scale are evidence that company has a strong foundation and good business sense, always ensure that the awards listed are from reputable organisations, and ask about what criteria the company needs to meet in order to receive these awards.8) What are People Actually Earning?When I researched hundreds of home based business opportunities, I found very few were willing to provide income statistics about there representative for very apparent reasons. There are only a very select few who are actually earning an income, and they are the ones that were there at day one… which was probably several years ago. Most people who represent them are actually running at a significant loss. The companies will probably tell you that they don’t release those statistics in the interest of protecting their member’s privacy. This is usually just an objection cover straight out of Sales 101 when someone asks for information that would embarrass the company. No income statistics will usually mean no income for you.9) How are the going to help you, not only in the first 30 days, but for your business life?This is by far the biggest indicator of your potential to succeed with this company. What do they offer you to help. Will there be charges for mentoring after thirty days, will you be required to pay to get access to the training website (if they have one) at any stage. What tools and resources do they have to help you achieve the success you deserve? Sadly a large number of people and companies hide behind a home-business opportunity. They don’t care one way or another about your success, all they care about is how much money they can wrangle from you. They will offer to mentor you at a price, give you a “do it all” website for a price, they will basically offer you all of those things that you do need, particularly when you are first getting started at a price that you probably cannot afford.10) What are their products like?First of all, if they do not have a product, it is probably an illegal pyramid scam. Most people are aware of that now, so the less reputable companies will have a how to e-book or something of the like that you pay $997 for. (Which would struggle to sell on its own for $7?)Other Companies will sell tangible products, but at absurd prices… Products that would not stand the test of time without a business opportunity to support them. You probably know some of the things I’m talking about like $13 tubes of toothpaste, $60 bottles of juice, or even a phone plan that will easily double your next bill. What you are looking for is a company that stands head and shoulders above the rest when it comes to things like price, product quality and customer satisfaction. Another positive is sign is products that have patents. To determine if the company is right for you, look at the products, the quality and the price in particular and ask yourself… If there wasn’t a business opportunity here, would I still purchase these products? The answer will speak volumes about whether or not you should pursue a partnership with that company.Reputable businesses will not hype you up on some figure head, the insane income opportunity or just how simple it is. They will provide you with all of the facts that you need to make an informed decision on your own… They know they have the best, they know you will join them sooner or later and they will leave you to decide when will be the time for you. They flaunt it – because they have it. Bottom line is that if you think the information is important, and they won’t give it to you before you join them… BE VERY CAREFUL! The best situations are evident when they offer a wide range of support, training and tools to help insure your success. The best do not have hidden charges or undisclosed add-on costs. The best do not charge for the advice they promised to provide before you got started. You should expect to be paid for your efforts but don’t expect instant success. You have to work at it. If they tell you it doesn’t require hard work that’s a reason to steer clear in itself.For more details visit my blog: http://therealhacks.blogspot.com
Success in the Home Based Business Industry
Success in the home based business industry is a process and not an event. Even those seemingly overnight successes were anything but. It took months-maybe even years-of preparation, hard work, and determination to make that home based business work. To the outside, it looks as though the success happened overnight, but it truly never does.So why do people persist in thinking this? It’s the downfall of living in a microwave society! We are used to having things fast and easy-not necessarily high quality, but that’s another story. We can log on to the Internet at any time and find anything we want. There’s instant movie on demand ordering, drive through meals, ATMs in case we need cash at midnight.This has effected how people view success in their home based business. They expect to start today and be rich tomorrow. Anyone call tell you that doesn’t happen.In fact, the expectation of instant success is so powerful that people will just dive into an MLM home based business opportunity with no parachute-no alternative means of supporting themselves until the business takes off. When overnight success doesn’t happen in their home based business, they decide to quit.The real problem is that they didn’t do their due diligence to choose a better business model-a model that could help maximize their earning potential with fewer headaches.You see, a home based business is just like any other business. It has to be sustainable; it has to have a large enough target market willing to pay the price of the product or service; and it has to have an effective way of marketing the product or service to the target audience. Check it off your list: If the home based business model you are looking at doesn’t have all three of those elements, it’s not going to work, trust me!You also need to look at volume of sales in your home based business. If the product is priced low, you are going to have to sell a large volume to have any hope of making money. If it’s priced high, you don’t need very many sales to sustain your business.Once you do find the right home based business opportunity, you need to put in the work. Don’t just slap up a website and think that customers will blow your doors off. You need to build a brand and make it visible and compelling to qualified prospects. And guess what? This takes time. Success is a process-not a one-time event.Look at Donald Trump. After his first success, did he stop? Absolutely not! He kept going, kept building new properties. He didn’t stop there, either. He signed on for the TV show. He kept going! To this day, he is still releasing books, still building his brand. He knows that success is a process, not an event.Test this out for yourself. Find a successful person in the home based business industry. Ask them what they think-was their success a one-time deal or an ongoing process? I’m betting 10 out of 10 will tell you it’s a process-and you can never quit. When it comes to success, there is no finish line! Join a community of successful entrepreneurs who are creating substantial monthly profits in record time by using this Successful Business System!
Home Based Business Leads: How to Get Thousands of Quality Leads
The #1 factor most network marketers struggle with is the best way to get more home based business leads that ultimately convert into sales and make a ton of funds! Leads are critically essential, whether or not online or offline, since they develop a list of contacts that is invaluable. We use leads not just to develop an enormous down line, but also to produce a list that we OWN in order to produce long-term relationships and leverage for future sales.Widespread Mistake Created With Home Based Business Leads:Most network marketers search on-line and buy any home based business leads they find by the hundreds or even thousands, spend thousands of dollars, only to find out that the leads had been 2 years old, are completely broke and have no want or desire for much more in their lives. I know a TON of network marketers that have tried to do this only to get discouraged and frustrated.Don’t get me wrong, A lot of network marketers have created tons of cash by buying home based business leads, but most of them did it via a co-op or a lengthy time ago. These days, folks are used to being hit over the head a million times over with advertisements and bad network marketing and advertising pitches, so it’s becoming harder and harder to develop a decent list via buying leads.So what’s the other option to purchasing home based business leads?Why not produce them?! Whenever you create your own list and own leads, as opposed to purchase them from somebody else who created them, you develop a relationship, a brand, along with a following that will last for a long lengthy time. It takes some time to get it rolling, but long term it saves you thousands of dollars and hundreds of wasted hours on phone calls to people who have no thought who you might be.Envision folks calling you because they want to work with you! They know who you are, they love your training/content, and they’re dying to get into whatever home based business you’re involved in no matter what it really is. This is what these three suggestions are about and why most home based business leads organizations won’t tell you about them.Three Ideas to Effortlessly Get Many More Home Based Business Leads:Tip #1: Home Based Business Leads By means of Content:Most of my sign ups come from people seeking me out now. It didn’t used to be like that, it used to be that I prospected each and every single day (among the greatest ways to develop a foundation team) and did my content creation inside the background. Now, over a period of about a year, tactics have changed and I’m leveraging my content and name to obtain a lot more home based business leads.Content creation is the number 1 method to get followers online.So what do I mean by content creation? If you want to expand into online marketing and produce leads as opposed to getting them, you just have to produce content on various personal sites that individuals can follow. Should you do this each day, you can’t help but get leads. Content consists of a post, video, blog, etc. MLSP (MLM lead system pro or My lead method pro) is a step by step method that teaches you how you can do this and the best way to promote it if you are serious about your web business.Tip #2: Home Based Business Leads Through Social MediaSocial media is a quickly growing trend that has hundreds of millions of individuals actively engaged for hours and visiting every day. It is one of the most powerful sources of visitors right now. If you are not taking advantage of this to obtain more home based business leads, you’re fundamentally turning your back on hundreds of sign ups.Social media will be the ultimate guide to attraction marketing. By posting pics, producing fan pages, enticing statuses, etc, we are literally attracting thousands to look us up.Don’t SPAM FACEBOOK, LINKEDIN, TWITTER, or you will, by no means attract any one person to join your business. Lots of people are “daily spammers” that post their links all over people’s walls and in no way build any relationships. If you would like to guarantee being broke, follow those tactics until you’ve got no buddies left.If you want to produce true wealth and an amazing following, post issues that make people seek you out. Add pictures which are enjoyable and exciting or develop a particular “lifestyle” in the minds of your viewers. Show your family members, your pals, your life, (keep it clean). I’ve developed a TON of sign ups via social media free advertising.Tip #3: Home Based Business Leads By means of Warm Market:Oh NO! Warm market! Most of us make an effort to stay away from this category simply because we think it means pals and family. The truth is even if you do not have a warm market right now, you’ll be able to develop one! It’s a much better use of your time to go out and prospect/build relationships with new individuals as opposed to buy leads and call them.Whenever you purchase home based business leads, you’ve got no rapport with those individuals and they will dismiss you like a used sock. If you are too scared to speak to your warm market, most of the leading earners will just do that for you. There might come a day, if you don’t talk to them, that you see your best friend walk across stage and get a huge check, and they’re in someone else’s downline. My suggestion to you is to mix this tactic with the on-line tactics mentioned in Tip #1 and Tip #2 to really develop an enormous business.
The Pillars Of A Great Small Business Web Design
In the battle between big businesses and small businesses, it is the former which always have the upper hand. But while a small business might find it difficult to surpass a bigger business rival, a proper web strategy can catapult it to the top, and make it one of the leaders among its peers. However, one cannot negate the risk of failure. The owner of the small business is already on a tight budget, and he might not even want to spend extra bucks for gaining greater exposure in the market. But there is also no denying that both businesses and customers have changed radically. And when it comes to a small business (as it has to put in more efforts to succeed), this is the perfect time to create or revamp its online presence.Before we go forward, ask yourself this question: What is the very first thing your potential customers will search for when they look for your business online? You can still count and tell the number of customers visiting your store in person. Nowadays, it’s all about going online, and your power to hook in your customers with your online presence determines your success. And what is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the term “online presence”? Yes, you are right! It’s a website. A website is the storefront of your small business – the very first thing which your online visitors get to see. So if your web design is not up to the mark, you will fail to convert your visitors into customers.This sums up to the conclusion that your business website holds the primary key to your growth. As the owner of a small business, you do not need to spend like crazy behind your business. The website should represent your business just the way it is – in a simple and informative way. Here are some tips you need to blend into the official website of your small business:#1. Straightforwardness: You do not have time to waste, as your online visitors are not a very patient lot. Go straight to the point and show your straightforwardness. Don’t take more than 20 words to describe your business, and place it just under the header.#2. Availability: The first thing your visitors would want to do after liking your website is contact you. So make sure that your phone number and address are visible at the top of every page. Moreover, you also need to integrate a very user-friendly contact form.#3. Blog & Videos: Make it a point to include a blog section in your website. Keep updating it with fresh, original and relevant content. You must also make good use of videos. Create relevant videos about your business, and show them off on your website. These steps will make your website more search-friendly and attractive.#4. Go Mobile: “Going mobile” is now the ‘talk-of-the-town’. With the rise of mobile technology, you need to make sure that your website is supportable when viewed through any mobile device. You need to know about the latest web design trends, and implement them smartly.#5. Local Directories: This is the most important part. As you own a small business, you need to focus more on the local customers. You need to enroll your website into local directories and maps. This will enhance your visibility, and you will become easier to find in the SERPs.Conclusion:Once you ready your website with the help of these 5 steps, it’s a guarantee that your small business will find a blossoming growth in the sales figures. You just need to have patience, and follow the right path.
Starting An Internet Home Based Business – Five Common Mistakes To Avoid
Many people who would like to start an Internet home based business have no idea of the best way to get started. Starting an Internet home based business is definitely exciting but the experience can also be overwhelming. There are vast numbers of Internet home based business opportunities available and researching just a few likely looking ones, can result in information overload.
You can easily succeed with an Internet home business opportunity if you avoid these five common mistakes when starting out.
So what are some of the most common mistakes that people who are starting a home based business can make?
1. Failing to plan and set themselves goals.
Starting an Internet home based business without making a business plan which includes budgets is the first step towards disaster. Having step by step goals and a plan of how much is to be spent at each stage is vitally important. It is essential to know what you want to achieve from your business and how much you intend to spend on start up and ongoing promotion.
2. Failing To Follow A Proven Business Model
There is no need to act like a pioneer in the Wild West when you are starting your home based business. There are any number of examples of proven money making business models on the Internet. Duplication will enable you to succeed with your Internet home based business: find someone who is in the position you want to achieve and duplicate what they did to succeed. If you join a turnkey Internet home based business opportunity, you will have access to training material which will show you exactly what steps you need to take to achieve success in your home business.
3. Falling for a get rich quick scheme
Don’t think starting an Internet home based business means you will get rich overnight. This type of unrealistic expectation is one of the biggest reasons people give up soon after starting a home based business. Getting any business into profit mode will take a certain amount of time, and an Internet home based business is certainly no exception.
4. Falling For The “Free” Myth
If you believe you can have a successful Internet home based business without making any financial investment, you are heading for a grave disappointment. There are many valuable free resources available online but expecting to start and develop a serious Internet business with out any outlay is simply not realistic.
5. Giving Up Too Easily
Your two best friends when first starting an Internet home based business will be patience and persistence. Actually, come to think of it, those two will remain your best friends all the way to reaching profit mode and beyond. Becoming successful with an Internet home based business will take time and you must be prepared to exercise patience while you are working towards your goals. You also need to use persisence when working at promoting your business because there are bound to be tasks that seem boring to you.
How You Can Use a Small Business List
Small businesses are usually sole proprietorships, partnerships or privately owned corporations. They employ a small number of employees and often do not have financial turnovers as large as those of large multinational companies. Small businesses are present in every industry. Ranging from interior designing to jewelry sales and even pet services, it is hard to avoid any of these businesses in our daily lives.
However, with so many small businesses selling products and services in society, we often forget that they can potentially be a very lucrative pool of customers as well. Any company that provides products or services to small businesses can benefit greatly from having a small business list.
Fortunately, the advancement of technology has enabled almost anyone to get access to a small business list with ease. There are online portals available for organizations and individuals to communicate with these small businesses, allowing them to get up-to-date information about company details and any other updates. One can also do a quick search online to look for such publicly available small company details. However, this is a potentially long and tedious process.
A good alternative is to look for small business mailing lists offered by list brokers and compliers on the web. The small business lists provided by brokers enable immediate access to a large pool of up-to-date information about other small businesses. The best part is that these lists are continuously being updated, so you won’t have to worry too much about getting outdated information. A quick rental of such a list would save one the time of having to personally search and update records.
Next, after having a small business list, individuals and other businesses can use it to their advantage. Entrepreneurs, start-up firms and home-based workers can use the list to conduct market analysis and research for example. This way, they easily identify market needs and are able to offer their products and services to these potential clients.
Another way a small business list can be used is to send out promotional material to highly targeted business prospects. For example, if you own an air-conditioning repair service, you could send out promotional brochures advertising your services to small businesses that could very well be your clients in the future. After all, which business office doesn’t own an air-conditioner or two?
The benefits of having access to a small business list is worth it’s weight in gold. But should one compile the list themselves, or rent one instead? If one wishes to manually compile the small business list himself, he will have to ensure that they are constantly being kept up-to-date.
This is because companies often make changes in their management, causing contact persons to change, or even a change in company address. The time and monetary costs required to maintain an accurate list of small business contact information is not small.
To avoid this, it would be best to rent a small business list and spend their time on making actual sales.
Having immediate access to a complied updated business list helps individuals and organizations to save time and money. When they require small businesses for their marketing needs or require help in their businesses, they can tap on this large resource base easily and efficiently.
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.