Twitter seems to be everywhere now-a-days. It is actually kinda a little annoying to me because I really liked being part of something that not everyone "got". Oh well, the secret is out now so I guess it is time to blog about it.
I have been playing around on Twitter for awhile now, I'm not sure exactly how long, but was definitely way before Oprah! Dana Crawford (http://www.powersellingmom.com/) was the one to introduce it to me. I really got into it at eBay live when I discovered what a powerful tool it could be.
I'm not going to tell you how to use twitter because I believe that is part of its value. Twitter can be implemented any way that you want to use it. For those who aren't already in the know, twitter is a micro-blogging site that is free to use and gives you the opportunity to post 140 character posts. Some will post what they are doing. Some post thoughts, ideas, etc. Some post links to their websites or blogs. Basically, there are no rules. Write what you want.
The fun part (or at least in my opinion) is in the follow. I follow all sorts of people. It feels kinda voyeuristic because some (most) of the people I follow are the types that post about their personal life. I feel like I've gotten to know complete strangers. Complete strangers that I wouldn't even recognize if I saw them on the street. This is totally useless from a business sense, but because I get my twitter stream on my cell phone, is just something fun to pass the time.
Work. For work, I use twitter in a couple different ways. One, I post updates of things that I am selling or handmades that I'm creating. Two, I use the twitter search to keep up to date on trends or find out un-biased opinions on things. It is very powerful in that sense. You can type in a word or phrase and see exactly what people are saying about it in real time. I get most of my news from Twitter too. Of course, it usually comes in pieces, but it will at least alert me to the fact that there is something going on.
And, there are ways that you can make money on twitter using sponsored tweets. You can pimp out your twitter background or sell tweets. Neither make a ton of money, but like all things, it depends on how much work you put into it. Below is one such company that will pay for your tweets...
oh, and if you want to follow me on twitter, my handle is shelleyfaye
Friday, September 11, 2009
Twitter twitter everewhere
Why "Hot Sellers" aren't so hot for sellers
Just about any time people contact me about learning to sell on eBay or starting an eBay business they are wanting to sell what is "hot". I don't have the hard numbers in front of me, but I would estimate that about 80% to 90% of my students have been people wanting to sell designer handbags or jewelry. I see posts on discussion boards time and time again from people wanting to sell the latest electronic do-hickey or ipods. why?
eBay has done a fantastic job marketing this to people. They publish a list of the hot selling items and popular searches (eBay Pulse). They tell success stories about sellers that have a million feedback from selling cell phone accessories. The list goes on. All this makes new and potential sellers believe that this is where they will find success selling on eBay.
Ever heard the rule of Supply and Demand? The more that is available (supply) the less demand for the product therefore the price goes down. From eBay's point of view, an abundant supply is a good thing. They get more fees from more sellers listing the product, the saturated market pushes down the price therefore more buyers come to their marketplace to buy stuff at the cheaper price, leading to more money again for eBay in final value fees.
Now, look at it from a sellers point of view. Selling the "hot item" isn't so hot. The model I just explained doesn't benefit the seller. The seller is better off selling the item that is scarce, therefore in demand, so that the price goes UP!
This doesn't necessarily make eBay bad, they are just doing a damn good job of looking out for their shareholders. Now.... you go and look out for yourself and find something scarce to sell.
