May 12^th is the official day the shipping rates change with the United States Postal Service.

The USPS website states: ”Priority Mail will have an average 3.5 percent savings for customers who use electronic postage or meet other requirements.”

I’m assuming this will be reflected into those of us using PayPal for our shipping labels.

PayPal has made life so much easier by supplying us with the convenience of printing our own shipping labels directly.

If you’re not using this service yet, I highly recommend it!

It works like this:

• The customer pays for the item with PayPal.

  I view the item as “Paid” directly from my “My eBay” dashboard.

  I click “Print Label” and I am taken directly to PayPal.

  My customers name and shipping information is already pre-filled into the shipping label. I simply add the weight of the item and the type of shipping I prefer. If I am shipping a book, I may use “Media” or if the person asked for Priority, I will select Priority Flat Rate Envelope.

  Once approved, the label will print out directly from my printer onto a standard 8.5 x 11 piece of paper.

  Trim the label and save the receipt for my records.

  Tape the label to the package and we’re good to go!

  Ready for Pick-up!

I love the way the Post Office will pick-up my items! It’s very easy to schedule a pick-up direct from the Post Office. PayPal has made it easy for us to “request” a pick-up after our label has printed.

The USPS does require at least one of the items be priority or Global in order to schedule a pick-up.

If you have a relationship with your mail carrier you may want to discuss a pick-up arrangement with them direct.

I once left a note on my mailbox saying “Please Beep Your horn. I have a big box for you!”

Another added bonus the Post Office does is providing a few priority boxes for us with the eBay logo on them. Anyone can order these boxes. I provide a direct link to this service from the “Selling Tools” page of my website. If you scroll down to the bottom of the page you will see the banner I created for this service! (Thanks in advance for visiting my website)

eBay has assured us that the rate changes will be a smooth change over as the PayPal/eBay system is prepared to automatically adjust the rates as needed. Many may remember the last time there was a Postal increase the rates took awhile to enter into the eBay system. My understanding is those using calculated shipping, the rates will be adjusted for all our store items and “core” items automatically.

The Postal service has a friendly presence at eBay Live usually. I hope to see them this year in Chicago as well. Any one attending, I encourage you to find their booth and pick-up shipping tape with the eBay Logo on it! This is the only place we can get tape like this! eBay Live, Chicago: June 19^th -21^st. Hope to see you there!

HAPPY SHIPPING!

NOTE:

Happy Mother’s Day from the eBay Community Cookbook Group. Click the cover and download a copy of our PDF e-Cookbook.

Enjoy!

Meet Shelly Mitchell:An amazing energetic eBay seller.

I had the opportunity to speak with Shelly about her eBay career on my radio show “Let’s Talk eBay.” It was such a pleasure to meet someone so full of enthusiasm with a strong drive to make her eBay career a success!

This gal is managing not only one eBay store but ”two” eBay stores at the same time:

Addicted To Rockabilly and Punk

&

Fanatic FanFare

She is a true “Power Selling Mom” at its best!
It is my pleasure to introduce her to the Practical eCommerce world.

Shelly has several talents besides being an eBay Entrepreneur; she has a passion for sewing.
Her skills shine through her creations which she donates a portion to charity, supporting the Susan B. Koman Fondation.

Being a true “Floridian” which means: born, raised and still living in Florida, her sports team of choice is the Florida Seminols.

These custom designs can be tailored to fit the needs of her customers and having that “Sports Fan” appeal! College gals will look darling wearing these handcrafted tops to all the football games!

Shelly was also featured in: Entrepreneur’s eBay Start Up Guide magazine.

They recognized her skills and ability to be a successful eBayer.

Teaching “The Basics of Selling” as an eBay Education Specialist in Hollywood Fl she enjoys reaching out to help others in the community.

Shelly’s eBay stores reflect her skills as an “eBay Trading Assistant.” Selling items for others on consignment!

I know first hand the work involved with many of the “hats” Shelly wears. This was another reason I had so much respect for her and wanted to “Show Off” my new eBay friend!

Juggling a family behind the eBay scenes is what it’s all about! Shelly does indeed keep her family as number one and will drop everything when duty calls.

This is the advantage of working at home and selling on eBay. Staying motivated, focused and setting goals is the key!

Stop by Shelly’s eBay stores, give her a “Shout Out” and cheer on this Work-At-Home-Mom while she continues to climb up the ladder of success!

Listen to the radio interview and learn about the meaning behind her eBay stores. We did have a few techinacl problems during the interview but the facts managed to shine through. I try to keep the “human/real” aspect with all my radio shows. Nothing changed or adjusted.

The “Real Deal!”

Shelly is planning to attend eBay live in Chicago this June and I hope to meet her in person.

Anyone needing eBay Live tickets, they are still on sale, better hurry before they run out. Stay in touch with eBay live details at my website: PowerSellingMom, eBay Live 2008!

Some of you may of heard of the ” eBay Foundation” and some of you may not. I felt this was the perfect time to introduce the ” eBay Foundation” to the Practical eCommerce world!

Philanthropy : (from Wikipedia) is the act of donating money, goods, time, or effort to support a charitable cause, usually over an extended period of time and in regard to a defined objective. In a more fundamental sense, philanthropy may encompass any altruistic activity which is intended to promote good or improve human quality of life. Someone who is well known for practicing philanthropy may sometimes be called a philanthropist.

eBay Foundation History and Mission: (borrowed text from the pages of eBay)

Philanthropy has been an important part of eBay since its very beginning. eBay Foundation was established in 1998 and, reflecting eBay innovation, was the first corporate foundation to be endowed with pre-IPO stock. This pioneering decision has inspired over 400 corporations to follow eBay’s example and set aside equity to endow philanthropic programs.

eBay Foundation’s mission is to contribute to the economic and social well-being of local communities. In carrying out this mission, the Foundation engages eBay Inc.’s Community members and employees and supports their pursuit of charitable giving and volunteerism.

Each year eBay Foundation provides grants of more than $2 million to improve the lives of those who most need help, with many of the recipient organizations selected based on Community member and employee recommendations. Consistently recognized as one of the Bay Area’s top corporate foundations, eBay Foundation has made over $16 million in grants since its creation.

Today’s message was posted on the eBay announcement board by:

Bill Barmeier, Vice President of eBay’s Global Citizenship team.

“I’m very pleased to announce today the launch of the eBay Foundation “Community Gives” campaign, which offers you, our Community, a way to participate in our giving efforts.

The Community Gives campaign helps create good in the world by inspiring people to contribute together to causes that matter. To this end, the eBay Foundation is donating $1 million to three worthy nonprofit organizations – to be split equally among them – and is asking the eBay Community to join in. For each Community member who contributes to one of the nonprofits during the campaign, the Foundation will donate an additional dollar, up to $100,000. Imagine what we can do when we all give together! “

“The eBay Foundation worked with active Community members in eBay’s Voices of the Community program to set appropriate selection criteria. After identifying a number of nonprofits that met the criteria deemed most important by our Community members, the Foundation evaluated them further, reviewing their history and accomplishments, their fiscal responsibility and strength, their impact on the causes they address, and their rankings based on public charity standards.

From this review, eBay Foundation selected the three nonprofit organizations to be supported in the Community Gives campaign — First Book, Best Friends Animal Society and Oxfam. The Foundation then worked with these nonprofits to identify specific projects to fund, as this ensures that our dollars will truly make a tangible difference. Through these projects, we will help:

• First Book provide new books so that hundreds of thousands of low-income children can discover the magic of reading,
• Best Friends Animal Society build a puppy care center so that hundreds of abused and injured puppies can have a chance to find loving permanent homes, and
• Oxfam supply access to clean, safe water to alleviate poverty for tens of thousands of people in Ethiopia and Zambia.

Donate today; eBay and PayPal fees waived!
We welcome your participation in the Community Gives campaign! To participate, or find more information about the campaign, please go to www.communitygives.org. The Community Gives campaign runs from now through eBay Live! in June.”

You will notice when you visit the site, everyone that donates has their name scrolling across the bottom of the page. If you look closely, you will see mine a few times!((smiles)) I’m looking forward to seeing YOUR name on the marquee too!

TELL A FRIEND

“Add me to your Favorites” is a popular statement you may have seen posted on many auctions. It simply means you will be adding the seller to your “Favorite Sellers” list. When you add them to your favorites list you will then receive updates about the seller’s listings. This is a great way to stay up-to-date with your favorite sellers and follow along with the items they are listing.

Many sellers like me also offer a newsletter. This is a great tool for eBay sellers to not only market the items they are selling but to “touch base” with their customers.

Communication can enhance your eBay business which includes repeat customers.

When you join an eBay seller’s newsletter the seller will be able to see your eBay name on their list of subscribers.

When you only add the seller as a “favorite” the seller has no idea that you are watching them. This is a great tool for those “Lurkers” or competitors that like to keep up to date with what others are selling.

Some sellers have several Newsletter options to choose from. Make sure you check mark the one you would like to subscribe to. You can subscribe to all the options or only a few. The choice is yours. Notice mine has two options: Ask Danna

When I’m teaching students a more advanced eBay selling class, I show the benefits of adding a newsletter sign-up to all the eBay listings. I go into details by using my own eBay selling experience and how this system works so well for me as a “seasoned” eBay seller.

1^st you have to get the viewers to sign up. My subscriptions grew when I added a LARGE “Join My Newsletter” moving banner to all my auctions. This banner can not be missed! By adding a bit of a FLASHY or CATCHY style will help your list grow. Use your creativity! Have fun with it!

Suggestions to use:

• Clickable Banner
• Clickable Text

I do sell a simple banner in my eBay store that includes an eBay store name inserted into it. I can also customize a banner to meet most any styles of eBay store selling. Animated or simple, both styles will help build a subscriber list.

Once you’re ready to start sending out a newsletter, try not to send them too often and try to keep them interesting. Include special offers, sale items only available for subscribers. Offer them something FREE when they shop with you. Try giving away some FREE shipping to your subscribers. You’ll be amazed at the dedication when you treat your subscribers “special!”

Store owners can set up a SALE! I’ve done this a few times and it works great. I first set up a “sale” campaign by using eBay’s “Mark Down Manager.” I will run a special for 3 days and then send out a newsletter with a link to the store special I’ve set-up just for my newsletter subscribers. I have had a few people purchase items that were not on my subscribers list. And that’s ok too! Just to let you know it may happen.

Many eBay sellers, including myself offer a newsletter on and off eBay! I recently started a new webpage called: JoinMyNewsletter.com. I added a banner to my ME page encouraging eBay sellers to sign up. I also started an advertising campaign by offering 1 year ads on my new webpage with some limited spots. My idea was to have a one-stop site for everyone interested to learn through the power of Newsletters to easily pick and choose which types of newsletters to sign up for.

There is plenty of Newsletter space for everyone! If you have an existing newsletter, you may want to consider a spot on my new webpage!

Newsletters on and off eBay help everyone to communicate better, share ideas and network in this ever changing eBay world!

As on a few social sites you may ask people to “Be Your Friend” or to “Follow You.” In eBay Land we ask people to “Add Me as a Favorite and/or join my newsletter!”

Free Auction Promotion at PowerSellingMom.com

The spotlight shines around the world this month on our Environment.

eBay Giving works is promoting the cause. Headlines read: “Shop now to support the Spotlight on Saving Our Environment campaign!”

You may of heard the sayings “Think Green” or “Go Green” and today I am here to encourage you to head on over to eBay giving works and do some “Green Shopping!”

Green shopping is not about the “Luck of the Irish” nor is it about being “Green With Envy!” It is about making a purchase and helping the environment at the same time.

Example:

I’m sure you have a special item on your mind you were going to search for on eBay? You were going to purchase this item anyhow, so why not search through the Giving Works pages and see if your item is available with a portion of the sale going to help save the environment?

Not only will you be finding a great deal, but you will be Saving the environment in a few different ways!

• · Saving Gas by shopping on-line!
• · Making a donation to a cause.

Just think, you will be a part of “Saving The Environment” AND doing a good deed for the day as well as getting that item you’ve been wanting to buy!
Give yourself a PAT on the back!

ATTENTION SELLERS:

You can help too!
Get busy finding a nonprofit you can support for the cause and be a part of saving the environment as well!

I personally like to seek out the nonprofits that need additional support. I found an interesting one called: Recycled Fish! I noticed they had no auctions listed for their cause. I took a look at their website and I was sold! This was the organization I wanted to support!
Visit their website at: www.RecycledFish.org.

You too can help support their cause if desired by listing an item on eBay. Visit the MissionFish page to get started.

Find a cause and list an item today!

Search through MissionFish by using a few keywords. Find a nonprofit from your area or worldwide. You can donate 10 to 100% to the nonprofit and eBay will even give you your fees back! They do give you the fees back according to your donation amount. If you donate 10% you will get 10% of your fees, 20% gets you 20% of your fees back and so on.

I personally enjoy supporting different causes each month.

And this month, let’s all pitch in and feel good about doing our part. Even a small part can play a big part in our environment.

“It is Easy Being Green!”

Norma Wilson’s fine art can be seen around the internet as well as at eBay’s online Marketplace!

Thanks to eBay, Norma has gained maximum exposure worldwide!

eBay offers a great opportunity for artist to receive fantastic exposure so they may grow and prosper as a their artistic careers.

Norma started her painting business as a “late Bloomer” at the young age of 40. You can listen to her story on my radio show “Let’s Talk eBay” she was my special guest and shared a bit of herself with those that tune in. The segment is in the archives and can be heard through your computer speakers.

Selling art on eBay has its ups and downs just like any type of business. Some months she will have many sales and other months she will be slow. Part of being successful on eBay as Norma has learned is:

• Customer Appreciation
• Communication
• Professional Shipping techniques
• Marketing Yourself

Norma is a regular blogger. She has a “Blog Spot” and a MySpace page. She also market’s herself through her website:

www.NormaWilsonFineArt.com and you can “Follow” her at Twitter.

Going that extra mile as an eBay seller will not only bring you more traffic, but it will indeed bring you more sales!

One of my favorite styles of painting Norma does is her Cow Paintings. These are not just your average “Moo-Moos” either! These are genuine Irish Cows! Painted from photographs she had taken while she was visiting Ireland. She fell in love with the beauty and personalities of these Irish cows and it shines through in her artwork!

Visit her amazing eBay store and just browse her art gallery.

She paints:
Original impressionism, modern realism, decorative fine art and more. Any art you may be looking for, flowers, food and wine, fruits and vegetables, seascape, floral still life, animals, cows, bison, deer, rabbits, bears, dogs, cats, birds, roosters and she even does custom work on commission.

Norma also shares her talent by teaching others how to paint in her local community. The details can be heard on my Internet Radio show.

I enjoy meeting such talented people on eBay such as Norma. The eBay community just keeps on growing and exploding with a world of talent.

Wishing Norma tons of success! And welcoming her into our eBay Selling Tips Group where we all gather to help each other grow our eBay careers and offer support. Our doors are open to all eBay members. Stop by and share a tip or two.

If you have an eye for art, I suggest you sign up for Norma’s newsletter and become a VIP! Only VIP members receive a notice of special offers.

Fine Art, by Norma Wilson, selling on eBay right now!

Announcement was made on Monday, March 24^th by eBay staff, Brian Burke Director, Global Feedback Policy. As of March 31^st no one will be able to sell items by using the digital delivery or electronic delivery methods that eBay has been providing for us over the last few years. These items will be allowed to be posted by using a classified ad. This means, we can sell and deliver them on our own, but no feedback will be exchanged through the feedback system. All the details can be read at:
New Policy Update: Digital Downloadable Goods in Classified Ads Format Only.

My business has been personally affected by this and I have been making some major changes to my eBay Store as well as my website.

The good news:

Many sellers are adjusting their selling styles and working out new selling solutions. eBook websites are popping up all over the net. Digital items do not only consist of eBook sellers, also affected are:

• Store Designers
• Auction Template Creators
• Music Sellers

Basically anyone selling any type of digital delivery item on eBay.

I’ve started to put my eBooks on CD and selling them from my eBay store. I will be shipping them instead of offering as digital delivery. However, all of my ebooks will remain available in my store as a digital download until March 30^th I will start to remove them on that date.
If you’re looking to download something from eBay and pick up a bargain, better SEARCH while you can!

I also created “The Snail Mail Club!” My plan for this is to invite subscribers to receive one CD a month and join: eBookaMonth.com /TheSnailMailClub.com and EbooksByDanna.com. This will be a fun addition to PowerSellingMom, Inc.

Since I was already a member at LuLu.com I downloaded my best selling eBook:
“How To Be an eBay PowerSellingMom” into the system at LuLu.com. LuLu is a free, self publishing website for writers and will provide digital delivery for eBooks sellers at no additional cost.

After the 31^st, my eBooks on CD will be shipped worldwide. The advantage to purchasing my eBooks on CD is the buyer will get MORE than just the eBook because I hate to waste space on a CD. Although I’ve not found any Earth Friendly Cd’s as of yet, I will continue to look for different options to help keep my eBook prices within reason.

Another route I took, I’ve started to create PayPal “Buy Now” button tabs and place them on my high traffic website. Placing each button next to my eBay Selling Tool item so that buyers can easily pay through PayPal and receive a direct link to the PDF file eBook for an instant digital delivery! My eBook about this procedure will soon be available at my website!

I can now continue to provide quality tools to help eBay sellers grow and succeed!

This is a perfect example:

When a door SLAMS shut on your fingers,
dry your eyes and don’t give up!

Start brainstorming for new ideas!

I’m a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. I’ve told my students for years and I still stand behind my statement: “When Plan A won’t work, never fear because there is always a Plan B!”

I have also believed that “Change is Good” even when it turns life upside down. I know that I know, there is “something” waiting for me to discover.

Stay tuned and keep PowerSelling!

Thanks to modern technology I’ve been able to open up my home office to the world!

A few weeks ago I taught a couple in Singapore how to find products to sell on eBay and how to use listing strategies. They had just opened up a store and their supply source fell through. They were on a new mission seeking out opportunities to become entrepreneurs.

After they signed up for a private on-line class, we decided on a date and time. The time zone was an issue and I did make an acceptation to be on-line with them at 9:00 PM EST on a Sunday night! They signed up and paid for an hour and I spent a good hour and a half with them. The amazing part is it was all done through my computer!

They were in Singapore sitting at their computer screen and looking at my computer. It was just like they were sitting next to me here in my home office! They could hear me crisp and clear and we talked back and forth with no problems at all.

The technology I used was with a Webinar service I joined and an awesome program called Skype.

Skype is an eBay owned company and it allows us to talk live through our computer with a microphone. I bought a nice headset with a built in mic. Found it on eBay of course and it even came with a webcam! I found a great seller you may want to check out. The headset and mic work excellent! The webcam is a nice perk and good quality too. A webcam is not necessary for taking one of my classes. I don’t want everyone to see me teaching in my pajamas! ((smiles))

With Skype we can talk for free to anyone else with a Skype account. They also have a great phone plan that will allow you to call a land phone as well. The quality is fantastic! I am very impressed.

I remember about 5 years ago or more, there was a service that let us make phone calls through our computer. I gave it a try calling my aunt and there was this long pause in-between talking. It was like you would talk, then you could hear yourself finishing up the sentence. Then she would talk and wait till it came through my line.
The internet has come a long way since then. I had no problems like that at all with Skype!
Talking back and forth to Singapore was a breeze. And, since then I have talked to several people from around the world.

Technorati Profile

Mark your Calendar for the eBay event of the year:

This year overlooking Lake Michigan in the Windy City of Chicago Illinois!  McCormack Place will be the home front of the eBay Community for 3 days and 2 nights of learning, networking, entertainment and some Chicago style food!

The “West Wing” is the new addition to McCormack Place with eBay having the pleasure to break it in right!

If you’re not familiar with what all this means, eBay live basically is the biggest eBay event of the year!
I would call it a cross between a tradeshow, a convention and a 3 day seminar all rolled into one!

You can read all the details on the official eBay Live webpage.

If you buy your ticket’s now you can save money as they do go up in price after April 30^th. And they have sold out in past years. I do suggest you get your ticket early! I already have mine!

You can even be a VIP with a special pass! Those tickets sell out very fast as space is limited. With a Priority pass you will get special seating and attention.

Information is also available on the eBay live website.

Last year was my first year to be able to attend an eBay live event. It was held in Boston and I finally had the time to get away. I learned so much and had such an awesome time, I made my decision then that I would never miss another eBay Live again!

I even met Practical eCommerce at eBay live in Boston and look where I am now!  Perfect example of the power of networking that takes place at eBay Live!

I created my own networking meeting on one of the days and had an overbooked table of people. Made several friends and one gal and I stayed in touch with and we’ve met twice since. 1^st time we met for lunch and another time we got together with our husbands. I’m sure we will be meeting up in Chicago too!

I will blog more about this subject as the date grows nearer. Right now I wanted to get the word out that registration is open and for those new to this, start making plans now because I promise you, you will NOT want to miss this event!

Read: The Event At A Glance! 

eBay University has provided thousands of sellers with the proper education to start selling on eBay. Over the years the University was on the road, offering live classes throughout the country by a team of instructors. Jim Griffith, better known as “Griff” is the Dean of Education at eBay University and is author of The Official eBay Bible.

In 2007 the traveling University closed the doors to live teachings across the USA. The reason: Because of the thousands of eBay Education Specialists that have been trained to teach the same curriculum as the official eBay University. Instructors can be found around the world!

To locate an instructor in you’re area, simply enter the City, State and Zip code into the Education Specialist Directory.

I highly recommend this type of learning style for all those wanting to learn eBay.

Look for the official eBay Education Specialist logo and ask for credentials.
You can always search the directory for the instructor in your area and see what kind of feedback their students have left for them. Confirm they are authentic Education Specialist. If you notice someone using the logo and they are not in the directory, please report suspicious activity to: Need Help?

All Education Specialists including myself take our responsibilities very seriously. We’ve all worked hard to test into this program and acquire the skills to deliver by using the most up-to-date styles of selling on eBay. As an instructor myself, I find it extremely rewarding to teach the program and watch my students succeed!

Anyone in the Ocala Florida area can sign up for one of my classes. I was teaching out of my home office and have recently been contracted to teach at our local college here in Ocala FL. Schedule is posted through December and filling up fast:

“CFCC” Central Florida Community College.

The eBay Classes I teach are:

• The Basics of Selling
• Beyond the Basics of Selling
• The Basics of Buying
• eBay Stores
• eBay Giving Works

For those experienced eBay sellers wanting to start teaching others to sell, I highly recommend becoming an Education Specialist and join this team of awesome educators!

By being a part of the program you will be able to stay informed of eBay changes with up-to-date information available as well as a private discussion board and data base only available for current Education Specialists. Many “perks” are involved when you invest in an eBay career by taking it to another level.

I’m proud to be able to share all I have learned over the years in combination with the eBay University Curriculum.

I’ve had students travel from all over the state of Florida to take my classes. I asked one gentleman why he would travel so far, he said he wanted to take a class from a “Seasoned” eBay’er!

I took that as a great compliment!

With that in mind, take it from ME this Old Seasoned eBayer is doing well teaching the trade and encouraging others to start selling on eBay today!