A new mentoring program with a difference

Many new online marketers are joining programs and sites that claim to ‘mentor’ people to success, So is ‘Planetsms Digital Monthly Mentorship’ any different to so many that don’t provide value, Or is is one of the few that do?

I may be slightly biased in favour of this program - because I have bought products from John Thornhill in the past and he always over delivers and offers great support for those.

The first thing I noted from reading his site is that John Thornhill, known on ebay as planetsms, isn’t just promoting it as another ‘make money from ebay’ type of product.
He does use his ebay id as part of his credentials as a person qualified to teach others, as well as the fact that he has authored some best selling ebooks, and is an ebay powerseller.

What he says about ‘the secret to success’ being to follow someone who is successful at internet marketing can’t be argued with, (provided they are teaching what they know and do to make money on the internet)

This monthly membership goes a lot further than just the mention of selling on ebay though. It claims to teach exactly what John does to generate multiple streams of income from the internet marketing arena in general.

The claims made on the sales page include:

- A Digital Newsletter Delivered to Your Inbox Each Month. In which he claims to reveal methods he actually uses to make money, and admits many of them are not just from ebay.

- Audio/Video Training Which will show and ‘walk us through’ what he does and the strategies he employs.

- The Tools Required to Help You Succeed. He includes in the package the tools and private label/ brandable material he says will be needed for some one to start their own online income.

- The Opportunity to Get Personal Help. Offering to have direct contact with subscribers/members to help them where needed (but only on a limited number basis) - so I would assume this may be removed at some point?

- A Monthly Question and Answer session. Promising to answer any marketing related questions

- Further ‘undefined’ help Offering to be flexible and help as needed with other avenues of making money online such as list building, product creation, sales page building and help with ebay listings.

- And Also - Almost Guaranteed Income.

Where he is offering to promote members products to his subscriber base, in order to help generate them some sale. (I note he does have some small print in there - only promising to promote appropriate products) This presumably covers him against any obligation to promote poor quality or non related products?

Finally his price for membership is set at $10 per month. (this is where I believe he differentiates himself from many mentoring programs I have seen - most go for the higher end price ticket - this does seem exceptional value if he lives up to his claims)

For which he also offers a money back guarantee. (presumably with it being a clickbank product - he will have had to offer such a guarantee) Never the less it is comforting that one can ‘Try’ him out without risk or fear of loss, knowing that if he doesn’t provide quality and value he would soon be out of pocket.

See the site here

So that’s the sales page and claims outlined, with a few comments from myself where appropriate. As a brand new service - time will tell if he continues to provide value…
But I can say this much -

I have had access to his first Video Newsletter and can confirm that he does go into great detail of a strategy he is currently using. He gives details of exactly how to set it up for maximum profit, with a step by step follow along video that any new marketer could easily follow. Clear and simple and with a full explanation of where he did what he did, how to do the same etc.

He then went further than expected and showed exactly how much income and sales this strategy provided from his own business and also for comparison, a new marketer with a smaller list and less experience and no product of his own.

I do believe this will help many and was sufficient to justify the first months subscription without any of the other benefits quoted.

So my conclusion so far is that I genuinely believe this could be a valuable resource and it certainly looks as though planetsms digital monthly mentorship will be a keeper for me.

My recommendation would be to join and try it out. with the money back guarantee the small $10 risk is removed. I believe new and intermediate marketers will find value and benefit in the first issue. And surprisingly - even many of the more experienced marketers are not using this particular strategy!

So I wouldn’t rule it out assuming the low price would mean there was nothing a successful marketer couldn’t learn.

See the sales page here

Do come back and post your comments if you found this review useful.
 

We all know one. There is at least one in every family, and one in every circle of friends. There is even one in every office! There is always that one person that you know who is absolutely impossible to buy a gift for! These people either have everything, or want nothing. They don’t drop hints at all, and when asked, they simply say that they don’t know,  they don’t care, or they don’t want anything.

Well, now you can buy a gift for that person. The solution lies in an eBay gift certificate! This will allow your loved one to essentially buy anything that they want, in a very exciting way. eBay gift certificates can easily be purchased through paypal, in varying
amounts.

There are things that you should point out to the gift recipient, however. For instance, eBay gift certificates do expire. eBay gift certificates will not be accepted for all auctions either – they can only be redeemed for those auctions that accept Paypal as a form of payment. Other than that, your loved one should not have any problems redeeming their eBay gift certificate!

Tags: eBay gift certificate

There are numerous eBay courses that are available on the Internet today. These books and courses are designed to help you become more successful on eBay. Unfortunately, not all of these courses are worth the money that you will pay for them. Some of them are full of what used to be good information – when it was relevant – and others are simply junk information, written by someone trying to make a quick buck.

Before you purchase any eBay course, find out when the course was written. If it was written in 2004, for instance, you don’t want it. Even though that hasn’t been very long ago, eBay changes so fast that much of the information will not be relevant. However, if the original issue of the course was written several years ago, but the course is updated each year, this will probably be a good course for you.

Again, use care when purchasing eBay courses. They can be quite helpful and enlightening, but only  if the information in them is still good. Talk to other eBay sellers – preferably successful ones – to find out what courses are recommended.

If you hope to own an eBay business, and make a full time living at it, you can easily make that dream come true – even if you don’t have a product of your own to sell. eBay provides many people who want to quit their corporate nine-to-five jobs with a way to
make a good living, without having to put up a lot of start up capital. This is made possible with the help of drop shippers.

Drop shippers send merchandise to the customers of business owners. If you have an
eBay business, you are a business owner. This will allow you to offer a wide variety of stock in your eBay store, without having the need to warehouse all of those products!

All you have to do is set up your auction, and sell the product. You then pass the customer’s information on to the drop shipping company. The drop shipper does the rest, and they will even use your company information, as well as your company logo if you have provided it to them. When the product arrives at your customer’s home, they will have no idea that your company didn’t send it. The drop shipper will package, label, and ship the products that you sell, allowing you more time to set up even more
auctions, for greater profits.

You must establish a relationship with several drop shipping companies in order to become successful. In the beginning, most companies will require you to pay for the items that your customers order before they are shipped. You need to fill orders in a
timely manner, so you should pay for the items with a credit card for speedy service. Eventually, you will be able to have the drop shipper fill your orders, and then bill you for them later.

When you set up your eBay auctions, make sure that your reserve price is set higher than the price that the drop shipper will be charging you for the item. The idea, of course, is to earn a profit! Depending on the item you are selling, a markup of about 10% should be about right, but you should do some research to see if the item is selling for a
lower price in another eBay auction, or through other online sources.

By starting an eBay business using the drop shipping method, there is essentially no financial risk involved. The product will be sold before you pay the drop shipper for the item. This is one of the few businesses where you can actually turn a profit before you have expenditures!

If starting an eBay business is your goal, as opposed to just auctioning a few items off for some extra cash, you need to use the eBay business solutions that are available to you. Because eBay’s success depends on the success of its sellers, they strive to help you at every turn. eBay Business Solutions is the key to starting an eBay business.

eBay Stores is one of the better solutions for eBay business owners. An eBay store will allow you to list multiple quantities of the same item, and allow you to keep them listed for longer time periods. eBay Store owners also enjoy lower auction fees, and have access to advanced merchandising tools.

Eventually, you should consider upgrading to an eBay Pro Store, which will allow you to customize your storefront with your own brand and web address.

There are many other eBay Business Solutions,  such as seller tools, the eBay solutions directory,  and the merchant solution center, but you should definitely start with your very own eBay store,  followed by an eBay Pro Store.

If you are running an eBay business, you may not
realize that the need for great customer service still
exists – even for online auctions. When a buyer
receives quality customer service from you, they
will potentially do one of two things – or both. They
will give you great feedback, and they may look for
more of your auctions in the future. If you hope to
make a living from eBay, you have to stop thinking
of it as an ‘auction’ and start running it like a
‘business.’

If you owned a brick and mortar business, how
would you treat your customer while they were
standing at your counter, waiting for you to finish
ringing up their order? You would be helpful and
respectful of course! You would do everything that
you could to guarantee that customers return to
your establishment in the future. You would bend
over backwards to make sure that their buying
experience with you was both satisfactory and
enjoyable. Why would you do any less at the
close of one of your eBay auctions?

First, act quickly at the close of your auctions.
Contact the winner, and congratulate them. Describe
the item they have won and how the item will be
shipped – even if this information is already part of
the description for the auction. Remind them of their
winning bid amount, and give them payment options
and instructions. Let them know when the item will
be shipped.

Close your email by thanking them for participating
in your auction. You might even take this opportunity
to tell them about other open auctions that you have
as well. Think of this contact with the winner as a
conversation that you are having with a customer
who is standing at your counter in that imaginary
brick and mortar store.

Once the payment and shipping details have been
taken care of, contact your buyer again. Let them
know when the item was shipped – the exact date
and time – and when it is expected to arrive on their
end. During this contact, let them know that if they
have any problems or questions, that they should
contact you through the eBay site. If they do
contact you in the future, make sure that you
answer promptly, and that you do all that you can
to make them happy with their purchase – even if
it means issuing a refund.

Yes. You should be open to issuing refunds,
depending on what the item is. Furthermore, you
should issue refunds promptly. Of course, it is
reasonable to expect the buyer to return the item to
you, at your expense, before the refund is issued –
but once you receive the item, issue the refund
promptly. This is just good business!

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Selling expensive items on eBay is really no different than selling low cost items. Essentially, no matter what you are selling, it all comes down to how you market the item. This doesn’t mean you have to surf around the Internet placing ads here and there – when it comes to eBay auctions, the marketing is all done at the eBay website. Basically, when you set up your auction, you are setting up an automated marketing campaign.

First, you must determine what the value of your item is, in three different ways. This will help you determine what your reserve price is. On eBay, the reserve price is the lowest price that you are willing to accept for your item. First, have your high priced
item evaluated to determine what the actual market value is. Next, research similar items from past auctions at eBay to see what price those items sold for. Finally, determine what the value of the item is to you. With this information, you should be able to determine the lowest amount you are willing to sell the item for.

Set your reserve price, and then set your opening bid  price lower than $50 – no matter how high your reserve price is. This is a marketing tactic. It will be hard to attract potential buyers to an auction for an item selling for hundreds or thousands of dollars –
but getting them to an auction where the opening bid is only $50 is quite simple. Remember, you don’t have to sell the item to anyone who bids less than your reserve price – unless you choose to do so at the close of the auction. This method of price setting resembles marketing gimmicks used by offline businesses that are simply designed to ‘get customers in the door.’

Work hard on the description for your listing. Use words that really describe your item well. Provide as many details as possible, including details that prove the authenticity of collectible items. Include pictures of the item as well. Do not try to deceive potential
buyers! If the item has marks or scratches, simply be honest about it, and make sure that the pictures convey this as well. State how the item will be packed and shipped. Also let potential buyers know that shipping insurance must be purchased as well
 – in case the item is damaged once it leaves your possession.

For higher priced items, most eBay buyers feel more comfortable using an escrow service. Offer this as an option in your auction, with the understanding that the buyer must pay for the service. This protects both parties from fraud, and it makes many buyers more open to spending the money to obtain the item. eBay has partnered with an escrow service that is commonly used for high ticket items.

Tags: ebay

Find Holiday Gifts

Everyone loves a great deal! Many people spend quite a bit of time searching for good deals on the items that they want and need – and when they find those deals, they experience a certain amount of satisfaction. These people typically haunt garage sales, stores that are holding sales, wholesale warehouses, flea markets, and especially online
and offline auctions. With the incredible number of auctions that are constantly going on at eBay, it can be difficult to find the items you want, at the price you want to pay. But it isn’t impossible to find great deals!

There are steps you can take to ensure that you are getting a great deal on the items you purchase through eBay. In fact, these same steps will also help to protect you against fraud. Participating in online auctions is a great deal of fun, but you must use caution as well. This caution entails doing your research before you place any bids.

Start with the auction in question. Make sure that you read every word of the description and the auction details. You can never have too much information –especially if that information is about an individual that you may be doing business
with. Pay special attention to what the description and auction details do not say. For instance, is a guarantee mentioned? Is the item new? Is it authentic? Is there proof of authenticity? Look for auctions that provide the right information – and the right amount of information. Avoid those that do not.

Who will pay the shipping and handling costs? Often,the buyer pays these costs, and sometimes, the seller tries to charge more than the actual shipping and handling costs are. Beware of high shipping costs, especially for items that will be auctioned off at a very low price. Also note when the item is supposed to ship after the bidding has ended.

Depending on what you are trying to purchase the item for, it may not arrive in time.

Don’t make the mistake of bidding on an item simply because it is a ‘good deal.’ It is only a good deal for you if the item is something that you really want or need. Many people simply bid for the sake of bidding – or winning – without having any real need or desire for the item in question. Before bidding on items that you do want or need, check prices
around the Internet and the prices available from offline sources as well. Just because it is on eBay does not guarantee that it is the cheapest price available!

Finally, learn more about the seller. Can you trust them? What is their rating? Read their feedback page! Failure to learn more about the seller can be costly. Not everyone is as honest as you are – and the seller may be trying to take advantage of people
that simply don’t know enough to find out more about them. Sometimes scammers make their auctions sound like really great deals. Beware of prices that seem extremely low!

Find Your Gifts On eBay. Shop Wise, Shop Smart

Tags: great deals, great deals