For the past 5 years I have been using a blog service from MySt technology. It has worked well and I have grown my reader base to over 500 readers a day.

During this time I have been aware that WordPress has grown into the largest and most-popular blog service. I recently started another blog on WordPress and was amazed at how simple it was to create the blog and create posts, and how fast the readership grew.

So I am now a WordPress convert.  There is an additional advantage that my blog will now be hosted on my website, instead of another server. This will help increase the traffic and ranking of my website.

So if you wish to get my blog, please visit http://www.skipmcgrath.com/blog

When you get there you will see this same post.

Once you are there you can add that page to your favorites –or even better, click on the little button that says RSS and add my blog feed to your home page. This way you can see the title of my posts right on your homepage within a few minutes of publishing.

I have just uploaded the August 20 issue of The eBay and Online Sellers News. You can read the current issue here:

http://www.skipmcgrath.com/newsletters/current.shtml

This week I am giving away three free eBooks:

• eBay Secrets Mini Course
• Using Twitter to build eBay Profits
• The Future of eBay 2009

We also have some great articles in this issue:

1. Do eBay Auction Ending Times Really Matter Anymore?
2. ArtFire: Trying to Change the Landscape for Selling Handcrafted Goods Online
3. Niche of the Month: Coupons Are Back
4. eBay Wholesale Sources for August 2009

See Also

*FREE ~ Subscribe to the eBay Sellers News
The oldest and largest newsletter for eBay and small online sellers.
* How To Start and Run an eBay Consignment Business
Complete training course by eBay PowerSeller Skip McGrath. Includes sample contracts, forms, advertising posters and ads and pre-written sales letters.

I was surprised when I looked at one of my eBay listings yesterday and saw the Top Rated Seller Badge displayed.  Here is a screenshot of what it looks like:

It will be interesting to see how this affects sales. I did notice that my placement in Best Match search was a little better on most of my fixed price listings, so that should turn into an advantage. My auction listings didn’t seem to be affected, as they are more driven by item ending soonest.

If you would like to see how it appears in real time, Click here to view my auctions.

See Also

• Subscribe to the oldest and largest FREE Newsletter for eBay Sellers
  Now in our 9th year of publication. Free eBay tips, tools, news, articles and wholesale sources for eBay and small online sellers.

eBay announced the Top-Rated Seller program last week.  Unlike the Power Seller program that looks at quantity and high DSR ratings, The Top-Rated Seller program will look at low DSRs (1 and 2 stars). Power Sellers who remain above 0.5% low DSRs and meet other requirements, will earn the Top Seller Badge and a 20% fee discount as well as advantaged placement in search.

eBay will select a handful of sellers to test the badge placement and reaction.

If you want more information about the changes on eBay, please look at our August newsletter that  was posted on the website today at:

http://www.skipmcgrath.com/newsletters/current.shtml

In This Issue:

Musings from eBay and beyond

1. How Will the New eBay Policies Impact Sellers?
2. eBay to Change How Search Results are Presented in Best Match
3. Dropshipping with Amazon Fulfillment Services
4. You Make Money on eBay With Thrift Shop Finds?
5. Breaking the ClickBank Code for Profits
6. Wholesale Sources for Books, Movies & Music

See Also

• How To Start and Run an eBay Consignment Business
  Complete business manual with all instructions including contracts, business forms, pre-written advertising, and sales letters

I first published How to Create and Sell Information Products on eBay, Amazon and The Internet two years ago. The first edition was limited to selling information products on eBay. When the second edition was released, I added information to help sellers sell via websites and in this edition we have added Amazon, including selling products into the new Kindle marketplace.

The first two editions were delivered in a clamshell binder with a printed manual and the bonus materials on three CDs.  With this edition, we are now delivering the entire package as a download from the web. Although I have always been partial to printed works (call me old fashion), this method has several advantages:

• New lower cost: The savings in printing and production cost have allowed my to lower the price by $30
• Immediate delivery: Once your credit card or PayPal payment is processed you will be directed to a page where you can download the product and all of the bonuses instantly
• Printable: Our downloads are set to allow printing if you want to read it later –or just print out the parts you need
• Instantly updatable: Lets face it. eBay is always changing their policies and the internet is evolving constantly. With this system I can instantly update the version so all purchasers have the latest infomation and prior purchasers can download the latest issue.

When I first started publishing, there was a large market that preferred printed products. However as the web has grown in acceptance and there are more security controls available, more and more people are comfortable with downloading products.

The Information Market is Still Growing

I like to call “information” the perfect product. You own it and control it. Once you create your product (eBook, video, audio recording, etc) you have an unlimited supply and you control the costs. It used to be that when people mentioned “info product” they were pretty much talking about eBooks.  But today the market includes much much more. In How to Create and Sell Information Products on eBay, Amazon and The Internet we show to how to create, sell and deliver a wide variety of info products including:

• eBooks
• videos
• webinars
• membership sites
• digital photography including photo collections
• public domain producs and collections
• audio files including music, lectures and courses
• and more

How to Create and Sell Information Products on eBay, Amazon and The Internet is available now for immediate delivery –updated and at a new lower price.

If you still want the old printed proudct, I do have a few left for sale on eBay –but they are at the old higher price. Here is the link to the listing on eBay.

See Also

• The Complete eBay Marketing System – Learn how to sell on eBay from a Power Seller who sells on eBay every day
  Complete printed insruction manula shows how to start and run a profitable eBay business

Some of you may have missed the announcement, but a few months ago I started a new company aimed at the Senior market.  We publish books, articles and newsletters that are designed to help seniors make, save and invest money to insure a great retirement. We call our publishing company, The Official Geezer Guides. Although we are aiming at the senior market, don’t worry if you are not there yet our books can help anyone.

We have just published our latest title, The Official Geezer Guide to Making Money on Craigslist by Richard Geasey.  Richard is one of our stable of Geezer Guide authors.

Craigslist is best known for selling physical products and services -but there are other ways to make money on Craigslist without a product. We will show you three ways to do this -but you have to do it right.   Break some simple rules and Craigslist will block your ads.

Some more of what you will learn in The Official Geezer Guide to Making Money With Craigslist:

• What sells on Craigslist -and what doesn’t
• Where to find products to sell on Craigslist
• How to use Craigslist to sell even if you don’t have a product
• How to accept credit cards without a merchant credit card account
• Learning the best times and days to post your item for sale
• How to write a killer, attention grabbing title for your postings
• The key elements you need to have in all your titles
• How to price your items
• How to use Craigslist to build a profitable mailing list
• How to use the new netSpray selling service on Craigslist
• How to protect your identity on Craigslist
• How to start an event ticket business on Craigslist
• How to start a Craigslist consignment business

We have several other titles in the Geezer series including books about making money on Amazon, creating ebooks and a great overall training manual for anyone who wants to start an online business.

See Also

• Learn How To Sell on eBay with The Complete eBay Marketing System
  Complete PRINTED business manual by an eBay PowerSeller who sells on eBay every day takes you step by step through starting and running a profitable eBay business.

The Official Geezer Guide is my new website dedicated to helping seniors and retired folks living on a fixed income find no-scam ways to supplement their income and earn additional money.

The latest book from Official Geezer Guides is The Official Geezer Guide to Creating and Selling eBooks ~ A step-by-step guide to making money with eBooks, by Julie A. Fast.

Julie is a proficient and highly profitable eBook writer. She has written and sold five different eBooks and now she shares her knowledge with you. 

Julie Fast started selling eBooks before people knew what they were in 2002, and sold copies the very first day she had them available on her website. She still makes her living selling eBooks from her website. Now she’s written the complete guide that walks you through the steps of creating eBooks for profit. She shares exactly how you can make money year after year with eBooks, and you don’t even have to be a writer!

When Julie began her eBook website, the eBook market was brand new and only a handful of people even knew what an eBook was and even fewer had any idea how to research a topic, create an eBook, set up a website for sales or market an e product.

She admits now that she really didn’t know what she was doing in the beginning either, but she taught herself using the ideas you can read about in the book.

Things have really changed since those days but Julie has stayed way ahead of the curve and will teach you how you can too!

The Official Geezer Guide to Creating and Selling eBooks is available now from the Geezer Guide website at www.officialgeezerguide.com. We also have two other titles available:

The Official Geezer Guide to Starting and Online Business by me (Skip McGrath) and

The Official Geezer Guide to Selling on Amazon by Steve Lindhorst

See Also

• The Insider Secrets to Selling on eBay by Derek Gehl
  Two Volume Printed Manuals with CDs and Videos takes you step by step to set up and make money with an eBay niche business

This week is the official launch of the Official Geezer Guide Website.  I have been working on this project in secret for several months.  The Official Geezer Guide is an information website aimed at helping seniors, retired and about-to-retire folks learn about ways to make money online in a scam-free environment.

Besides reviewing and recommending various online business training programs, we will also publish a free monthly newsletter and publish The Official Geezer Guide line of books and training courses.

Our first two books available now are:

The Official Geezer Guide to Starting an Online Business from Home by me (Skip McGrath)

The Official Geezer Guide to Selling on Amazon, by Steve Lindhorst.

We have two more titles in the works that should be available later this week:

The Official Geezer Guide to Selling on Craigslist by Richard Geasey

The Official Geezer Guide to Creating and Selling eBooks by Julie A. Fast

For the next few months we will be rolling out several more titles including a new book I am working on for Geezers who want to sell on eBay and books about making money with blogs, Google AdSense and content-rich niche websites.

We are also planning a series of webinars and monthly conference calls and eventually we hope to put together an annual Geezer Get-together.

I have already had several questions from people who have visited the site asking me if they have to be a geezer to buy from the site, or why we are selling to the senior market.  The answer to the first question is easy –we don’t discriminate. Anyone can buy our books.  As for the second question, the Geezer Guide concept grew out of the realities of the market.  The baby-boom generation is starting to retire.  Today there are 14,000 people who retire every day.  By 2010 that number will jump to 20,000.  Those are staggering numbers and a natural market for anyone who wants to target it. And a large percentage of those folks do not have enough money for a comfortable retirement and will need to make some extra money.

There is a giant myth out there that old folks don’t know how to use computers. This may be true of my mother who is in her late 80s and retired many years ago, but most people who have recently retired, or will retire soon, are highly computer literate.

Some of you may just use a computer to search the web, shop, share photos with the kids and send email. But, others are quite skilled -having come from jobs in the tech world where they used a computer daily. Whichever description fits you, as long as you have some basic computer skill then our business guides, methods and systems for making money online will work for you.

So if you are already a geezer or think you might be one soon, I hope you will take a look at The Official Geezer Guide website and see if there is anything there that might help you.  We have a free monthly newsletter loaded with money-making tips and scam alerts to avoid and tons of free articles to advise readers about many online business opportunities and other ways to make and save money during your retirement.

See Also

• How To Make Extra Money Selling Used Books on eBay, Amazon and The Internet
  The used book market is growing and used books are easy to find and sell. This is one of the easiest and lowest-risk online business opportunities.

Wholesale Sourcing for eBay

The series consists of 5 videos and several free bonuses for opting in
to see the series. I have seen the first two videos and they are excellent.
Each video is 8 to 10 minutes long and packed with great information for
the eBay or small website seller.

And it’s not just about wholesale sourcing. These videos contain lots of information you can put to use right away to build your business during this difficult economic environment.

Here is the link to see the first video and sign up for the whole series. And
yes –they are completely free.  http://tinyurl.com/4u3pzk

In case you missed it, my June 08 Newsletter is now available on the website at:

http://www.skipmcgrath.com/newsletters/current.shtml

Look for my next newsletter right after eBay Live. In the meantime be sure
and check my blog.skipmcgrath.com for any breaking news or events

eBay Live Info

If you are going to eBay Live, be sure and attend the free eBay Meet and Greet party on the evening of Wednesday the 18th, in the M/X Lounge at the Hyatt Hotel right next to the eBay convention center. The party starts at 6:30 and is a great chance to meet and greet your fellow eBay sellers.  This is NOT an official eBay event. This is just a bunch of sellers who get together each year to network and socialize.

I will be giving away a door prize –A set of DVDs from my latest eBay Boot Camp. Raffle tickets will be given out at the door between 6:30 and 7:30 with the drawing at 8PM.

Hope to see you there

Skip McGrath

See Also

• The Complete eBay Marketing System –a printed manual and workbook to help you start, build and grow a professional eBay business
  Learn to sell on eBay from a Power Seller who has been selling on eBay for 9 years and makes his full-time living on eBay
• The eBay Seller’s News is the largest and oldest FREE NEWSLETTER for professional eBay sellers
  Our twice monthly newsletter contains news, tips and techniques to help you build your eBay business

Karen and I are closing in on the end of our vacation in Italy.  Yesterday we drove from Florence to Sienna and then on to Rome.  Didn’t know it but, Friday was a big national holiday. We arrived in Rome right in the heart of Friday holiday weekend rush hour.  I am dodging traffic, motor scooters and pedestrians trying to find a tiny little street with nothing but a crummy little map that only listed major boulevards. It took two hours, and lots of arms waved and finger gestures given at us but we finally found our hotel.

We put the bags in the room and went straight to the bar where I ordered a double scotch. It was 9 Pm and we hadn’t eaten since noon, so we then set out to find a meal. All of the restaurants in our neighborhood were full and had lines of people waiting.  After an hour of hunting we went back to the hotel and ordered room service and crashed.

It’s Saturday morning now. We are rested, refreshed and in ROME.  Four more days and then we are headed home. If anyone is interested we have some new photos uploaded on Photobucket.  Here is the link:

http://s303.photobucket.com/albums/nn142/SkipMcGrath/?special_track=nav_tab_album

Now – on to eBay.  We were checking the eBay Live boards this morning and there is a hilarious thread on the eBay Live discussing, You Know You are an eBay seller when…

Several of these are wonderful and worth keeping, but I can’t steal people’s posts and put them in my blog, but you can read the whole thread here:

http://forums.ebay.com/db1/thread.jspa?threadID=1000677328&tstart=0&mod=1208730564803

Unless something important happens on eBay in the next few days this will be my last post until I get back. We didn’t do a mid-April newsletter, but the May newsletter will be out Monday, May 5th.  We will have details about the eBay Live meet and greet and my speaking schedule at eBay Live.

Ciao – Skip McGrath

See Also

• Ten Little Known, but highly profitable eBay Niche Business that anyone can do
  Ten great little eBay business niches for part –or even full time income, that almost anyone can do with little or no investment