As a personal finance blogger and a dot com mogul-super affiliate tycoon wannabe (I’m joking), I regularly spend sums of money on domain name registrations, web hosting services, and home office computer supplies. However, the bulk of my tax deductible business expenses consist of expenditures for online advertising through top search engines like Google, Yahoo, and MSN. While compared to the big boys (and girls) my advertising budget is comparatively puny, I still seek to maximize my money however I can, whether that means utilizing free promotional coupons for extra savings and free online advertising, or taking advantage of credit card offers to earn cashback rebates on Google Adword purchases.

Online Advertising Through Pay Per Click Works, But It Can Get Expensive Depending On Subject Niche

Those who are familiar with online advertising know that there are a variety of ways and methods to get your website brand or blog name into the search engines and thus into the public eye for maximum traffic. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that all of the methods are created equal. Currently the most popular search engine with the most capability to leverage the most search traffic by far is run by Google. But while the Google Adword program’s certainly the most dominant player in the online marketing world, there are also other lesser options worth mentioning – most notably Yahoo Search Marketing and Microsoft’s MSN AdCenter. Neither Yahoo Search nor MSN AdCenter are likely to topple the 800 pound gorilla of Google Adwords anytime soon, but the smaller search sites still own a small, albeit dwindling piece of the search engine pie.

For those who spend money on internet advertising through Google, Yahoo, or MSN, probably the bulk is spent on paid text link advertising or pay per click (PPC) promotional campaigns. Both paid text links and PPC advertising are used by many bloggers and website promoters to generate traffic needed to convert organic search traffic into profitable affiliate sales. Personally, I highly advise against engaging in buying or selling paid text links, and refuse to engage in paid text link buying or selling myself. The frowned upon practice is a form of marketing suicide in my opinion, and is the number one way to incur the wrath of Google, which sees the buying and selling of paid backlinks as a form of guerrilla attack on the integrity of the Google search engine algorithm.

In contrast, pay per click advertising and the purchasing of approved advertisement links through Google, Yahoo, or MSN’s network of publisher banners and ads are proven and permitted ways to drive website traffic. However, as anyone who engages in pay per click advertising or other affiliate marketing means through Google Adsense or Yahoo Ads knows, the cost to promote a successful PPC ad campaign isn’t cheap. While newbies to internet advertising are unlikely to spend much money initially (a few hundred dollars a month at most), larger scale promoters frequently spend upwards of hundreds to thousands, or even hundred thousands, of dollars on monthly pay per click advertising alone.

Use Credit Card Rewards To Save Money On Online Business and Advertising Expenses (Google Adwords, Yahoo Search Marketing, MSN AdCenter)

Smart business types should always try to find ways to minimize business expenses and utilize as many discounts and promotional offers as possible to net the greatest overall profit. One of the best ways for bloggers and affiliate marketers to save money in this area is to maximize and strategize their use of credit cards rewards. Presuming you are savvy and responsible with your usage of credit, and maintain a respectable FICO credit score to boot, reward credit cards are essential ways for online entrepreneurs and advertisers to maximize their small business spending. Surprised that there are credit card reward programs dedicated and suited for web based businesses and online marketers? Don’t be! While Yahoo and Google credit card advertising rewards are not as well known as say, credit card discount programs for groceries and gas, the area is a steadily growing (albeit not fully tapped) segment of the credit card rewards market. Currently, most of the best cash back credit card rewards for bloggers, webmasters, and internet marketers are not widely advertised, and to get the details requires some digging, which I’ve done below.

For the tax minded business folks who wonder if there is an income tax on credit card rewards or aren’t sure whether one is obligated to report all cash back rewards and point rebates earned through the use of credit cards, rest assured – there is no such tax. Credit card rewards earned by consumers and businesses are viewed as purchase incentives by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the nature of discounts and coupons, not subject to personal income tax liability. So don’t miss out on the cash back savings and discount potential of specialized credit card incentive programs designed to help you finance and pay for your online advertising and promotional efforts.

1) Google Adword and Adsense Pay Per Click Advertising – Get Up To 5% Cash Back With Reward Credit Cards

Until the day Google announces the release of its long awaited Google credit card and starts up its own Google credit card rewards program, the following card offers are your best bet when it comes to earning cashback for money spent on Google advertising. Personally, I can’t wait for Google to come out with its own Google credit card and would be the first to camp out in line for something like that – I’m quite the Google fan. Just the thought of earning Google rebate rewards on a percentage of all Adwords expenditures and the ability to redeem points for either cash or Google branded products like T shirts, mouse pads, and even portable Google fridges would be quite lovely. I used to carry around a Yahoo credit card back when Yahoo offered its own card program. When they eventually discontinued the Yahoo credit card rewards program, I was sad to see it go. It was pretty neat being able to redeem points for cool Yahoo T-shirts and other merchandise – techie stuff you couldn’t get anywhere else.

In the meantime, for those of you who spend a lot of money or even just a little bit on Google Adwords and Google Adsense advertising, here are the best credit cards cards to help you save money and get cash back rewards on your PPC advertising efforts. The rewards you earn can be used for whatever you wish, including plowing them back into more PPC marketing. While Google does not currently have any special deals with any particular credit card issuer to offer Google discounts, there are a few specially suited cards for such purposes.

1. Advanta Platinum BusinessCard For Online Marketers – Also known as the Advanta Platinum Business Card With Customized Cash Back Options, this card offers cardholders the ability to earn as high as 5% cash back on all online marketing expenditures. It’s probably the best overall reward credit card for new bloggers and affiliate marketers who are just getting into the PPC advertising scene. The expenditures that are covered include Google Adwords, Yahoo, MSN Search, and eBay fees. The Advanta rewards program also covers office expenses as well. The high 5% rebate rate is only provided for the first $1,500 of qualified expenditures, and after that it’s a tiered 1% cashback on everything spent.
2. Advanta Kiva Business Card – With the Kiva business credit card offer, online marketers get to earn up to 5% cashback on money spent on online advertising services like Google Adwords or Yahoo Search. There are no restrictions as to which affiliate or ad network must be used. The card also earns up to 5% cashback for business office related expenses like gas, computers, utilities, and even charitable contributions. There is also a nice 0% balance transfer offer for 15 months.
3. American Express Plum Card – With the highly advertised Plum Card from American Express Open (the Plum card yogurt commercial is everywhere on TV these days), you get an astounding 2% cashback rewards on everything purchased with the card if you pay within 10 days of your billing cycle. The catch is you’ll need to spend above $5,000 a month with your Plum credit card. Anything less and you’ll only earn 1% cashback. Of course, the card was designed for big time spenders and small businesses with high expenses. If you spend a lot of money on Google Adwords or other forms of advertising, you may want to think about the Amex Plum card. There is a hefty $185 annual fee that’s waived for the first year, but it’s easily worth it if your business spends a lot of money on online advertising or other business expenses.
4. Fidelity Rewards Signature Card – While the card requires a Fidelity Investment broker account to maximize rewards earning potential, if you’ve got one or are willing to sign up for one, you can earn 1.5% cash back on all your online advertising efforts. Actually, coupled with a Fidelity account, the card allows you to earn an effective 1.5% cashback on all products and services you purchase with the card, with no category or store limitation. Most comparable card programs only offer 1% back for general purchases so if you are a major spender, this is an ideal and recommended card to get. The Fidelity Signature is one of the reward cards I use on a regular basis.
5. Chase Business Cash Rewards Card – With the Chase Business Cash Rewards offer, online entrepreneurs and small business owners can earn up to a tiered 5% cashback on all purchases with no merchant or category restrictions. Your rewards earning potential is unlimited and there is no restriction as to how much you can earn. Your cash back percentage rate rises and falls depending on how much you spend per month. For online marketers who expect to spend more than $2,000 a month on Google Adwords (that’s when the high 5% kicks in), this is a nice card to have.

2) Yahoo Search Marketing – Get 5% or More CashBack Savings Using American Express Business Credit Cards

Currently, savvy online entrepreneurs have the ability to take advantage of American Express’ Open Network Business credit cards to net themselves more than 5% cash back rewards when they spend money on Yahoo Search Marketing services. Through a special partnership between Amex and Yahoo announced not too long ago, American Express business credit card users will now get to enjoy a 5% discount on all their Yahoo based advertising and web promotional expenditures simply by using their Amex business cards. This not only includes pay per click advertising using Yahoo’s Search Marketing, but also includes Yahoo publisher services ranging from web site hosting, e-commerce, to domain name registration.

While Yahoo is not the most popular or even a serious contender in second place, its PPC advertising fees are substantially lower than that charged by more popular services like Google Adwords where greater bidding competition among advertisers drives up promotion costs – making Yahoo a cheaper, but still viable alternative. Besides, it’s good to diversify one’s advertisement methods. One can even take credit card rewards one step further. Currently, there are certain select Amex business cards that offer even more lucrative rebate rewards on top of the existing 5% discount for Yahoo services. All of the following American Express Open business credit card offers below offer additional cumulative rewards on top of the 5% discount on Yahoo Search Marketing:

1. Blue Cash For Business Amex Card – With this high earning business credit card offer, you have the potential to earn up to a tiered 5% cash back rebate on eligible special category purchases. For everything else, including PPC advertising expenses, you get a tiered 2.5% cash back rewards rate. The special purchase categories include gas stations, drug stores, and supermarkets. In addition, Amex business cardholders also get to enjoy the usual Amex Open network savings on free hotel stays, car rentals, and airline travel.
2. American Express Business Gold Rewards – This popular premium small business card with no preset spending limit can help you save up to 25% off your business expenses. There is an unlimited rewards earning potential on purchases and your Membership Rewards never expire.
3. American Express Platinum Business Card – This business card from Amex is a popular choice to earn purchase rebates redeemable for retail, entertainment, and dining rewards. There is no annual fee and there is no limit to the number of points you can earn.
4. American Express Simply Cash For Business – You can use the card to earn 5% cashback on wireless services and home office supplies (like laptops and office gadgets). You also get 3% cashback on gas and 1% for everything else. There is no annual fee and no rewards limit.

3) MSN AdCenter – Get 3% Cash Back Rewards By Using Mastercard Business Credit Cards

Currently, Microsoft’s MSN AdCenter has a partnership with Mastercard’s network of business credit cards to offer MSN AdCenter advertisers 3% cash back rewards on money spent. While American Express is the card of choice for most business owners, the MasterCard partnership with MSN AdCenter makes Mastercard sort of a must have for heavy or even mild users of MSN’s advertising network.

To be eligible for the 3% cash back savings, Mastercard business credit card holders need to register and enroll their cards into the Master Card Easy Savings Network. While fairly straightforward, you can review the MasterCard Easy Savings FAQ if you need more info about the program. Keep in mind, along with the 3% rewards you can earn on all MSN AdCenter expenditures, you still get to earn the usual credit card rewards (if offered) on top of that. This has the potential to effectively boost your total reward earning percentage way past 3%. Here’s a list of the best Mastercard business credit cards for MSN Ad Center affiliate marketers and pay per click advertisers:

1. Advanta Platinum Business Customized Rewards Mastercard – This business credit card option by Mastercard is your best bet when it comes to maximizing your MSN AdCenter savings and online advertising spending in general. Along with the ability to earn 3% reward savings on all MSN AdCenter expenditures, you also get to earn an extra 5% cash back rate (with purchase limits) on top of the 3% for money spent on fees with online advertisers and merchant sites like Google Adwords, Yahoo, and even eBay. You also get cashback rewards for money spent on utilities and telecommunications, not to mention additional business savings for computer electronics and related office supplies as well.
2. Chase Business Rebate Mastercard – Earn up to 3% cash back on office supplies, restaurant dining, gas, hardware, and home improvement expenditures. Currently there is also a long 15 month 0% APR balance transfer promotional period as well.

Source URL: The Best Credit Card Rewards For Google Ads and Search Advertising

Copyright Protected © 2008 Money Blue Book: Personal Finance Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Back in the good old eBay days, one of my best past success stories was bidding and winning online auction sales for D.C. Metro SmarTrip cards. People in the Maryland, Washington D.C. and Virginia metro area use prepaid magnetic debit cards to ride the subway train to work in our nation’s capital. When the SmarTrip cards were first implemented on the subway system in 2004, I think I was one of the early few to immediately turn to eBay to buy subway cards in bulk denomination for maximum arbitrage savings. At the time, the whole concept of buying subway cards was still in its infancy so there was less competition for them online. Most of the SmarTrip sellers were federal government workers looking to unload their government issued cards to eBay buyers and make some money in the process (they probably weren’t authorized or permitted to do that of course). But regardless of the legality or morality on their part, I was happy to buy them. Since I worked in D.C. at the time and commuted downtown on a daily basis, I needed a huge supply of them at all times. Due to the lack of bidding competition, I frequently won for 40-60% off the face value, although I had to bid on higher value cards to maximize my cost savings. For example, for cards valued at $300, I usually only paid $140 for them. My auction bidding success lasted a few brief years, but as the years went by and the number of worldwide eBay users grew, many of the inherent market efficiencies were ultimately plugged up, causing bid prices to soar and eBay savings to become less and less. Nowadays, it’s hard to get any type of significant savings anymore as eBay auction prices usually get bid up to or close to the fair market value, negating the awesome bargains I use to enjoy.

By Bidding For Misspelled eBay Phrases and Keyword Typos, It Is Still Possible To Get Great Deals and Bargains

Over the years, eBay has continuously modified its search algorithm and implemented system changes to weed out arbitrage type opportunities that some suggest hurt the integrity of the eBay search engine and business model. However, while eBay may try to take measures to ensure bidding fairness and listing accuracy, it can really only do so much. You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink. There will always be absent minded people out there, and there’s little that big brother eBay can do to stem their perpetual cluelessness. Which brings me to the purpose of this article – One very interesting area of eBay that is still prone to arbitrage profit and bargains is the area of eBay typos and eBay auction spelling mistakes. While there are many factors that influence how an eBay product listing ends such as auction title, description, timing, number of eBay reviews, and the type of photos displayed, one critical human element that is often overlooked by sellers is spelling accuracy.

The power of eBay is that it is currently the most popular and dominating online auction service in the world and has the capability to bring in a significant number of buyers and sellers together into one open marketplace where products can be exchanged for maximum gain and efficiency. Because of the sheer number of potential buyers and sellers, as well as eyes and ears so to speak, there is little room for inefficiencies to flourish. Even expensive laptop computers valued at $3,000 for example that start the bidding process at $1.00 will absolutely bid up to its fair market value by the close of the bidding period. Even the concept of eBay auction sniping is already known by most people. Sniping, or the process of using special software to fire in your online auction bid at the very last second to keep bidding war competition to a minimum used to work well in the past, but nowadays it seems like everyone uses it on every auction as well. Thus the notion that one can somehow catch an arbitrage or significantly underpriced deal now as a buyer is difficult due to the inherent scale and efficiency of today’s eBay market place.

But this all changes drastically when the market place is altered in significant fashion. When the auction seller places an auction advertisement and fails to ensure correct spelling in the auction title or description, particularly for key phrases that denote what he or she is selling, this creates an inefficiency that is just begging to be exploited. This is a critical mistake because such typos prevent prospective bidders and buyers from being able to find your auction at all. Misspelled keywords in the auction title essentially eliminate the buyer and seller equilibrium usually inherent in eBay. Because the vast majority of prospective eBay buyers find their item by typing in keywords into the eBay search form, such spellings errors have the potential to make or break the final sale. However, due to the sheer size of the eBay marketplace, even such spelling error bargains are bound to be snapped up eventually, but there are simply more spelling mistake and eBay typo deals to be had than that with correctly spelled and properly placed auctions ads.

It’s clear eBay has at least recognized that spelling mistakes and typos are causing a portion of sellers to wind up with much fewer bids and lower bid values than they ought to have. While they have permitted a substantial number of eBay buyers and bidders such as myself to take walk away with nice bargains we would otherwise not have gotten, eBay doesn’t seem entirely committed to stamp out this little shopping loophole. While eBay has installed spell checkers and automated keyword suggestion tools into their online auction software, there is only so much the company can really do to force absent minded sellers to comply. Many grammatically-challenged eBay merchants simply continue to disregard the importance of spelling accuracy. Auction listings containing multiple spelling errors and typos continue to litter the eBay marketplace, to the delight of many potential bidders who can find them. I’ve been on both sides of the eBay auction, as both a seller and as a buyer. While there’s nothing quite like being the seller and experiencing the excitement of registering that first successful auction sale for the first time, I mostly prefer to be the auction bidder and buyer. I love stumbling onto great deals that others have overlooked. These days, my best eBay finds and bargains come from the spelling error misfortunes of others.

A Few Examples Of Critical eBay Spelling Errors and Auction Typos That Will Cause The Seller To Lose A Lot Of Money But May Allow The Buyer To Profit

The unfortunate part of this is that there are thousands of eBay sellers that are going to lose a lot of money due to lost profits caused by lower final bids as a result of less bidding competition brought about by fewer people being able to locate the auction through misspelled keywords. With less bidding competition is the creation of an inefficient marketplace where bidders can purposely keep bid prices low, resulting in anemic final bid prices. However, the reality is that one man’s loss is another man’s gain. It’s not our fault that others fail to properly title or write their ads to maximize their own business revenue. As buyers, we shouldn’t feel guilty when we can take advantage of a great bargain or deal find. After all, we don’t feel guilty when we haggle at a bazaar, flea market, or any type of barter exchange, so why should any of us feel guilty about being able to snap up savings due to someone else’s incompetence?

One of the best, most common, and perhaps most expensive example of critical eBay auction spelling errors is the keyword – “diamonds”. Strangely enough, many people still incorrectly spell it as “dimond“, without the letter “A”. Despite the existence of free eBay provided spell checkers and a myriad of warnings and alerts, many sellers continue to list incorrectly spelled diamond related products for sale. For the sneaky bargain hunter, this is a lucrative gold mine, or a diamond mine for that matter, of great deals. Of course, there’s always the problem of discerning fake diamond products from the real gems. eBay and other auction sites are filled with lots of internet scams and online frauds.

As for myself, I’m currently in the market for a new GPS system for my car. My old handheld global positioning map system is currently being loaned to a friend of mine so I’ve decided to search eBay for any special GPS deals. As you may or may not know, GPS systems are rather expensive and can range anywhere from $200-$500 depending on brand and model. One popular GPS brand is Garmin. A quick search for the incorrectly spelled “Gamin“, “Garmen”, or “Garnin” yields a few nice results, in the eyes of mighty bargain hunters like myself. I’ll be sure to keep my eyes peeled for any good GPS misspelling deals in the near future.

Another common spelling mistake is for the word “monitor” as in LCD or computer monitor. A couple of common spelling errors can be created with the simple juxtaposition of a few letters to come up with “montoir“, “montor”, and “moniter”. I suppose it’s a common mistake, but it can be a costly one for the seller, especially if he or she is forced to uphold the sale. Computer monitors aren’t cheap! For fun, you can also try entering things like “Playstatoin” or “Playstaton” for the Sony Playstation – you’re bound to get a few intriguing bargains.

Instead of manually coming up with common typos and eBay spelling errors, you can also try using online software programs like Fat Fingers to help you come up with misspelling ideas for your target keyword. There are a whole slew of other similar eBay-minded programs online that can help you take advantage of common spelling mistakes. If you’re lucky, you might score a great deal too! The scecret has been out for some time but as long as there are absent minded poor spellers out there, there will be great deals for us buyours, I mean buyers.

Source URL: Find Great Bargains With eBay Auction Typos and Spelling Mistakes

Copyright Protected © 2008 Money Blue Book: Personal Finance Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Spammers and Scammers Are Relentless And They Can Afford To Be – Sending E-Mail Lures With Scam Bait Doesn’t Cost A Thing

Starting very recently, I’ve been receiving nearly 20-30 spam related messages everyday. I have no idea how they are effectively evading my spam filters, but they are. These spam messages are driving me absolutely crazy and are irritating to say the least. But one can’t help but find some amusement from the content of these desperate messages. These spam letters that flood the web are mostly from the poor African country of Nigeria – sent by notorious computer users who run well documented Nigerian 419 scam operations. You know when you receive one of these classic Nigerian 419 spam letters as they are pretty recognizable. Usually the Nigerians use very flowery, British style English comprised of exaggerated legalese-type terminology to make the content appear more legitimate. However, oftentimes their lame use of the English language borders on comical and their complete lack of understanding regarding American and western male and female names makes me chuckle. For some reason they have a habit of using the funniest and oddest fake first and last names – using common first names as last names, and improperly matching up male and female names – like Peter John, Mark Donna, or Smith Karen for example – frequently it’s pretty obvious they’re fake names as the names simply sound unnatural. But then again, these Nigerians and African spammers are not incredibly bright. They may be criminally and diabolically clever, but they are not exactly all that well educated or worldly. They resort more to the law of probability and the long held truism that “a sucker’s born every minute”. By casting a very wide net, even their ill conceived attempts may net at least one or two potential biting fish in the long haul.

It’s not just the crazy Nigerians either, spammers and scammers live in other countries as well – all beyond the reasonable reach of established arms of law and justice. Most of them approach the spam and scam business utilizing the same typical shot gun approach. Since the Internet affords the ability to send out many messages at relatively little to no cost, they are able to send out massive amounts of spam emails to potential victims with one click of the mouse or a single tap of the keyboard. Perhaps 75% of their spam messages will be screened out by domain or email spam filters, and perhaps another 90% of those that don’t get filtered out are ultimately deleted by the recipients immediately. However, a small percentage will still get through and a small percentage will be read, and an even smaller percentage will ultimately fall for the scam bait. While the chances of an unwitting recipient acting acting upon the message and replying back to the Nigerian scammer are slim, some people still do.

Frankly, these scammers from Nigeria, Eastern Europe, and South East Asia have nothing to lose – the scams are usually quite profitable for them. Take the Nigerians for example – they live in a wasteland of a country – with a corrupt government, lax law enforcement, high unemployment, with little semblance of an economy. Any amount of money they can siphon from American citizens or that of other western countries is worth the effort and time. To them, there is simply very little risk involved since their government and police enforcement officials either turn a blind eye to their antics, don’t care, or are simply too financially overwhelmed to take on the challenge of cracking down on computer crimes.

Although I may have some sympathy for the poor economic lives the scammers must live in their native countries, their criminal attempts at trickery often leave me coldly and sarcastically insensitive. However, that doesn’t mean I can’t amuse myself with their lame shenanigans. That’s why I sometimes enjoy reading spam emails – they’re funny. They really amuse me – like something from the funny pages. Today I received an email from poor “Madam Ruth Moses” who addressed me as “dearly beloved in Christ”, stating that she was “suffering from a cancerous ailment” and that she was “married to Engineer Gilbert Moses an Englishman who is dead”. Apparently they lived a life of charity of helping the “down trodden and the less-privileged individuals”. Evidently she now has $4.4 million US dollars in some African bank due to a large financial payout stemming from her husband’s untimely death in a car accident that she is unable to retrieve, and is willing to give me a 25% cut if I assist by providing her a “small process charge” to help facilitate the release. Oh how generous and noble of Mrs. Moses – especially since she enjoys citing biblical passages in her message to me, for as she puts it “The Almighty will fight my case and I shall hold my peace.” Comical, yet pretty pathetic. If I ever had the chance to meet any of these spammers, I’d laugh at their face for 15 minute straight.

I Am Now Very Distrustful and Extremely Paranoid About Doing Business Or Any Online Communication With Residents From Proven Scam and Spam Prevalent Countries

Unfortunately, what scammers with their spam emails have done is made me very distrustful of anyone from traditional scam haven countries. The list of countries mainly stem from poor, and legally and socially undeveloped countries like Nigeria, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, and Indonesia, but it also covers countries like Russia as well. Many of these third world countries either have corrupt governments or are constantly experiencing tribal warfare and upheaval that prevent stable law and judicial enforcement to flourish. But as of now, I would never do any online business with people who live in those countries at the present time. I’ve already been tricked once and after my one time experience of getting scammed during my post college years, I’ve learned my lesson. It may not be politically correct, but I think it’s a smart business move to refrain from doing any online or Internet transactions with anyone from these countries – the financial risks are simply too high. My purpose for rejecting individuals from these countries is not to stir up racial, ethnic, or even social controversy, but simply to protect my own financial interests, so please don’t take offense. I would gladly do business with them and so would millions of American merchants on eBay, Craigslist, and other online stores if only fraud wasn’t such a huge and rampant problem in those parts of the world.

I run a few small online eBay and weblog businesses (take a look at my ebay business guide), and these days the quickest way to turn me off and cause me to reject your business proposition right off the bat is to say you’re from Africa – it frankly doesn’t matter which country in Africa. I have yet to meet a single African country (aside from South Africa, although that’s debatable as well) that I trust to do business with. The rampant scams and spams that originate from that continent have turned me into a hyper-vigilant person. Most African countries simply have undeveloped legal systems that prevent merchants or publishers like myself from being able to bring legal action to effectuate contractual disputes. That is why the U.S. is such a great country. Despite our over-lawyered and lawsuit-happy society, we have a perfected legal system that ensures legal disputes have a forum to be heard and resolved. Scammers and spammers have a much more difficult time operating their illegal craft here in this country. A few foreign rotten apples have really ruined the whole international tree and apple pile, but online entrepreneurs like myself have to do to what it takes to protect ourselves and our interests. It may seem racist and prejudicial to rule out a whole segment of the world’s population, but it’s not – it’s just smart business.

Despite eBay’s attempts to provide it’s buyers and sellers with more purchase and selling protection, many if not most major eBay Power Sellers now refuse to ship to certain dangerous countries, such as Nigeria or Indonesia. A sizable number of merchants have even ruled out shipping to any foreign destination due to the prevalence of scammers living overseas where they are shielded from prosecution. It’s terrible what these online and Internet scammers have done to the whole industry. These days as I browse through business propositions and offers I receive over email on a regular basis, even African sounding surnames, African cities (like Lagos, scam capital of Nigeria), African banks, and anything to do with Africa trigger glaring red flags when I evaluate Internet commerce deals. So if your online business is based in Africa, I’m sorry, but I don’t want to do business with you at this time. Perhaps someday when your government stabilizes and sets up a legal system that will protect and ensure my legal and contractual interests I will consider it. But until then, too bad so sad. If you are a legitimate African, East European, or South East Asian business, don’t be offended if established western and far east Asian businesses demand strenuous proof of identity and extra evidence of trustworthiness before doing business with you.

All About The Nigerian 419 Advance Fee Fraud – Also Known As The Check Cashing Scam (For Those Not Familiar With What They Are)

The classic Nigerian 419 scam has been around for a long time but scam success didn’t fully take off until the advent of the Internet and the World Wide Web. The country of Nigeria has all the essential ingredients that has enabled it to become the worldwide hub of Internet and computer crimes. The country is not only dirt poor, but unemployment is incredibly high, and the government is hopelessly corrupt and incompetent. The country also happens to be an English speaking nation – making it all the more easier for select scammers to communicate with their primarily English speaking victims all over the world. The 419 numeric designation refers to the Nigerian Criminal Code that covers the crime of fraudulently obtaining property through false pretenses. Unfortunately the 419 criminal code is a mockery of the Nigerian legal and criminal enforcement system as the laws in that country are frequently ignored and flaunted, thereby allowing scammers and spammers to run rampant with little fear of accountability. The Nigerian 419 scams have recently developed into a world wide epidemic of Internet fraud crimes that have branched and spun off into other criminal areas such as: charity scams, romance scams, lottery scams, and even threats of violence and extortion scams.

In its most common form, the Nigerian 419 fraud is also known as the Nigerian advance fee scam. The process works by its ability to successfully build trust and emotional confidence with the alleged victim over time, and ultimately persuade him or her to provide confidential financial information or to send sums of money for the possibility of a much larger gain in return. The scam appeals to human greed and the fallible desire to inherently trust others. Through easy and unregulated access to Internet cafe computers and connections, Nigerian scammers have been able to harvest e-mail addresses and contact information to use in their elaborate scams. With potential victim contact information in hand, they usually submit massive amounts of electronic letters to recipients though deceptive means such as spoofed email letters, and cleverly disguised and graphically adorned emails that hide their malicious intent and true source. Oftentimes they’ll write and pretend to be a wealthy heiress or someone who is terminally ill and dying from a disease like cancer, and plead with the recipient for an amount of money in exchange for the promise that they will pay back the amount plus more. Oftentimes they will cleverly claim that they have access to or are in control of a vast financial fortune to which they would be willing to offer the recipient a huge portion as a reward if he or she would provide some upfront money first.

These scam letters are frequently very, very elaborate, as they often disguise the email meta headers to make them seem like they came from legitimate sources such as governmental agencies (like the classic IRS email scam letter for example). Sometimes the headers aren’t even disguised all that well, but the messages still contain content indicative of a mass spam campaign to artificially inflate the stock price of a particular financial investment (penny stock scam spam). Oftentimes they’ll make references to real life current events such as tragic disasters or make reference to official business developments such as laying claim to being connected with some wealthy foreign business developer in the news. Oftentimes they utilize fake phone numbers that can’t be tracked down. One common ploy of the advance fee scam is to send the recipient a fraudulent Western Union or fake personal check for a very large amount of money, and write to the recipient to apologize for the excess amount that was sent and ask for a portion back in supposed good faith. The recipient, thinking he or she will get to keep a large portion for their services, deposits the fake check and cuts out a legitimate sum of money that he or she then sends to the scammers. In time, the check will undoubtedly bounce, forcing the recipient to swallow his or her losses with the bank – an unfortunate result that still happens despite attempts to thoroughly educate the public on the prevalence of Internet scams and how they work.

Source URL: Nigerian 419 Scams and Spam Emails Are Funny But They Make Me Paranoid

Copyright Protected © 2008 Money Blue Book: Personal Finance Blog. All Rights Reserved.

1) Never Buy Products From Anyone Who Wants To Be Paid By Western Union.

If someone asks for payment by Western Union, do not respond to them and avoid them immediately. Their low priced merchandise might be tempting, but it will almost always be a scam. Remember, it is your own responsibility to verify the reputation and legitimacy of the seller. Western Union is not responsible for the non-receipt or quality of any goods or services.

Common Western Union scams include, but are not limited to the following:

1. Seller asks you to pay by Western Union and tells you that the transaction will be safe because you can make the payment out to someone you know, but put the seller’s address on the payment. You are then instructed to tell the seller the money transfer control number (MTCN) of the payment so he can go to Western Union and verify that you have made the payment. Once you receive the shipment, you are then supposed to contact Western Union and change the payment recipient’s name to the seller’s real name so that the seller can pick up the money. It’s a scam everytime because once the seller knows the address or the control number, he can obtain the payment with no problem. Many Western Union agents in foreign countries never ask for proper identification.
2. Seller asks you to pay by Western Union and tells you to make the payment using Western Union’s secret question feature. The way this feature works is the Western Union agent will ask a secret question to whoever is picking up the money, and the person picking up the payment must answer correctly in order to collect the money. It’s a scam everytime because many times Western Union agents, particularly those outside of the United States, do not ask the question, and only care if the person knows the address or control number. Western Union even advises on their website not to rely on the secret question feature.

2) Never Use An Escrow Service Other Than Escrow.com

Escrow is verified and recommended by eBay. Note that Escrow.com will handle transactions in any country in the world, except Romania and Indonesia. Fraud is so rampant in those countries that Escrow.com cannot effectively and safely help you transact with sellers in those countries. What Escrow.com does is ask both the buyer and seller to agree on terms. The buyer must then send the required funds to Escrow.com. Once Escrow.com receives the funds, they notify the seller to ship the goods. Once the buyer receives the goods and confirms that everything is in order, the buyer notifies Escrow.com to release the funds to the seller.

Escrow.com is safe for both buyer and seller because the buyer does not have to release the funds to the seller until they receive shipment and verify everything is correct. It is safe for the seller as well, because even if a buyer claimed non-receipt of the shipment, the seller could provide Escrow.com with the tracking number for the shipment and a shipping manifest showing what was sent and received. In which case, Escrow.com would then release the funds to the seller.

Common Escrow Scams Include, But Are Not Limited To The Following:

1. Seller tells the buyer that they prefer an escrow company other than Escrow.com. The seller gives the buyer the website address of the escrow company they prefer, and indicates that this is the only escrow company they trust. The buyer goes to the website and discovers a cleverly designed site that looks legitimate, with promises of safety and security. It’s a scam because the website is actually owned and operated by the seller or the seller’s associate. Once the buyer sends their money to the so-called escrow company, they will have actually sent their money straight into the hands of the scammer.
2. Seller tells the buyer that they will do the deal securely through SquareTrade.com. It’s a scam because SquareTrade does not act as an escrow service. They do not approve deals or hold funds for anyone. All SquareTrade does is allow eBay sellers to place a SquareTrade seal on their auctions, which shows that the eBay seller is willing to allow SquareTrade to help resolve any future disputes. Anyone who claims that they will use SquareTrade like an escrow service is a fraud. The seller may even send the buyer a spoofed e-mail, one that looks like it came directly from SquareTrade. However, it will be a fake.
3. Seller tells the buyer they will use a shipping service called TNT, and that the buyer should send their payment to TNT, in which case TNT will hold payment until they can inspect and ship the seller’s merchandise to the buyer. It’s a scam because TNT is a shipping company and not an escrow service. They do not hold funds or inspect shipments on anyone’s behalf. The seller may even send the buyer a spoofed-mail, one that looks as if it came directly from TNT, complete with logo and tracking number for the shipment. However, the e-mail will be a fake.

3) Always Request That You Pay A Seller By One Of The Following Methods

1. Credit Card – Safe because most credit card companies will refund your money if you file a proper fraud complaint.
2. Escrow.com – Safe because it protects both buyer and seller, as mentioned in Rule # 2.
3. PayPal – Usually safe for purchases under $2,000, because PayPal will let you use a credit card and will verify the seller’s address, banking information, and identity (do not send money to someone through PayPal if they are listed as “unverified”).
4. Letter of Credit (LC) – Basically, this is like using your bank as an escrow service. For example, you can go to your bank and apply for a letter of credit for the dollar amount you need to pay the seller. Your bank will freeze the funds in your account, and issue a letter to you and the seller’s bank verifying that they are holding the money and that they will transfer the funds to the seller’s bank account as soon as delivery of the goods to you is confirmed.

Do Use Bank Wire Transfers Until Identity Has Been Verified and Confirmed

Be very careful with any seller that requests payment in advance by T/T (telegraphic transfer), also known as bank wire transfer. This is a tricky gray area because some legitimate international sellers do require money by T/T in advance. Sometimes it is for a deposit, and sometimes they want the full transaction amount. Before sending money by T/T, make sure you ask for the following:

1. Seller’s full name,
2. Seller’s address,
3. Seller’s telephone number,
4. Seller’s company name,
5. Seller’s business license number,
6. Seller’s bank’s name and telephone number,
7. A scanned or faxed copy of the seller’s identification card or driver’s license,
8. References from companies the seller has worked with before, preferably in your country.

Tell the seller you need this information to run a thorough background check. You can then use a service such as Intellius.com to run a background check on them. You can also hire an international buying agent in the seller’s country to go to the seller’s physical location and buy the items for you in person, and then ship them to you. Most buying agents will charge a reasonable fee to securely buy for you.

Remember, if the seller is legitimate, he will understand your need for verification and will comply. If the seller hesitates, resists, says he cannot delay anymore, or demands that you send payment as soon as possible, you should become very suspicious and perhaps reconsider the transaction. The seller is very likely a fraud. Do not let greed or haste overcome your common senses.

4) To Assure Sellers That You Are An Honest And Legitimate Buyer, You Should Become Verified

1. Obtain a DnB (Dun & Bradstreet) number. This can be accomplished by applying for a credit builder account at dnb.com. Dun & Bradstreet will verify your company information including company name, address, owners, and ongoing debts (credit cards) or lines of credit.
2. Get PayPal Verified – Open a PayPal account. Once you have one, apply to become a verified premier member. PayPal will verify your address and identification by depositing two small amounts of money into your bank account or credit card. Afterwards, you must verify the total amounts that were deposited to prove that you are the owner of the bank account or card.
3. Get an Alibaba Trustpass Membership – See the list of wholesale sources below for more information.
4. If you are in the United States, become a member of the Better Business Bureau Online.

5) Verify The Seller’s Identity

If a seller tells you that he or his company has a website, run a WhoIs check on the website to see if the seller’s name and address match the internet registrar’s record for the site owner. Beware of anyone who doesn’t have a name and address listed in the WhoIs section of their domain, or of anyone who just recently registered the domain.

6) Develop Your Own Private List Of Trusted Wholesale Suppliers

1. Worldwide Brands – Worldwide Brands carries over 4,000 products and they also provide drop shipping services. That means they can ship products directly to your customers, and you do not need to keep any inventory or perform any shipping. They are an eBay Certified Solution Provider, and they are also a member of the Better Business Bureau.
2. NAWCA – (North American Wholesale Co-Op Association) is another fantastic source for over 100,000 products via their 2,000 distributors, many of which can perform drop shipping for you. The NAWCA was founded by a collective of wholesalers and distributors in 2001. Highly recommended for eBay sellers.
3. Ingram Micro – Ingram Micro is the second largest electronics distributor in the world. They offer very good pricing.
4. Tech Data – This company operates a huge electronics distribution center in the United States.

Buyer and Seller Community Portals - There are excellent wholesale deals to be had here, but because these sites are part of the unregulated wild, wild west of international wholesellers, you have to be extra careful and vigilant in sorting the diamonds from the rough. There are definitely more scammers here than legitimate sellers. Be careful:

1. Alibaba – Alibaba is a well trafficked source for wholesale buyers and sellers to connect on the internet. You should check this site frequently and sign up for trade alerts for whatever you are buying or selling. Your priority should be to deal with Alibaba companies that are Trustpass verified, although that in of itself is not always a sure guarantee of reliability. You can also become an Alibaba Trustpass member yourself. For a small fee, Alibaba will have a third party credit agency contact you to verify your name, address and company identity. Once you are an Alibaba Trustpass member, you will have more credibility, and sellers and buyers alike will take you more seriously. However, do note that scammers are everywhere. Please read my personal scammer experience for more insight.
2. Exporters Singapore – Similar to Alibaba, but this site requires all members to pay a fee after a 30 day trial period. This method helps to keep scammers out.
3. Power Source Online – Power Source Online is a computer parts trading exchange for dealers, brokers and services companies. You can find cheap computer parts and components for resale.

Note: The rest of the communities listed below are similar to Alibaba, with less traffic, but it is advised that you review and join as many as possible to maximize your opportunities.

1. Global Sources
2. EC 21
3. Rusbiz
4. EC Plaza
5. Importers
6. Trade India
7. Offer 21
8. Fuzing

Source URL: My Powerseller Guide To Making Money From eBay Wholesale Products

Copyright Protected © 2008 Money Blue Book: Personal Finance Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Through his closely guarded network of online connections (he never disclosed them to me), he was able to secure excellent wholesale deals on hot electronics like laptops, desktop computers, and handheld PDA’s for sale on eBay. His racket continued for several years to my continued amazement as I wondered how he managed to stay so consistently profitable despite rising eBay fees and heavy online competition. One day I finally turned to him and asked him if he was reporting his eBay earnings as taxable income on his federal income tax. He simply smiled and changed the subject. Obviously, the answer was no, thus exposing the secret to his profitable eBay success – tax evasion!

Frankly I don’t really blame him for withholding his eBay profits from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), although I wouldn’t have done that myself. The subject of eBay tax enforcement has been murky for years, mostly due to the lack of proper paper trails and the undeveloped legal area of online auction income. However, the IRS has been recently making moves to crack down on eBay powersellers and auction proprietors to compel the reporting of all business profits. The IRS has also set its taxation efforts on other popular online auction sites like Amazon and UBid, as well as other online hobby market networks like Etsy. I suppose it was about time the almighty IRS dealt with the issue of online auctions.

The IRS Struggles To Compel eBay Sellers To Divulge Their Taxable Earnings

When it comes to reporting their sales income to the IRS, eBay sellers currently operate on the honor system. However, this honor system has resulted in a significant shortfall of under-reported and untaxed auction earnings. Currently, eBay does not report seller stats or submit sales records to the IRS unless it is honoring a subpoena request for information. Many amateur and aspiring eBay entrepreneurs have been able to work the eBay tax loophole for some time and avoid having to pay tax on their profits. It’s a risky game of tax evasion roulette, but the lax enforcement has allowed it to persist for some time.

Recently, the federal government and the IRS has begun to put pressure on major online auction retailers like eBay to cough up user information and sales records, and has even introduced legislation to require market hubs to report personalized sales activity. Of particular taxation concern are the millions of auction sellers who consider eBay as their primary or secondary source of income but fail to accurately report their earnings. Obviously this effort is going to encounter much resistance from sellers and even the auction sites themselves since new tracking policies will undoubtedly result in higher tracking and record keeping costs. The prospect of requiring sites like eBay to track user information based on individual Social Security Number will obviously have the usual online privacy advocates up in arms.

While this taxation crackdown may bug a few eBay sellers, the requirement to report auction income and taxable business earnings is nothing new and has always been around. It’s just only until recently that the IRS finally decided to work harder at plugging up the tax gap to stem tax evasion activities. Mandating the implementation of tools to enforce tax compliance already exists in most employment sectors and the IRS believes the new frontier of online auctions should be no exception.

When Do Proceeds From An eBay Auction Sale Have To Be Reported As Taxable Income?

From the amateur seller who considers eBay to be nothing more than a hobby, to the heavy traffic Powerseller who runs his or her operation as a profit generating business, no one really wants to spent the time to report earnings as income if he or she can help it. However, the IRS instructions make it clear that all sources of income can be taxed, which includes everything from online auction profits, and income from gambling activity, to even illegal “business operations” such as drug dealing and prostitution.

Even if the eBay seller makes a few sales here and there as a hobby, the IRS requires all income to be reported – this includes wages, salaries, tips, gambling winnings, money found on the floor, sweepstakes earnings, business income, and yes, eBay earnings (both hobby and business). The hobby or business nature of your eBay income only becomes an important factor when determining whether your eBay losses and operation costs may be used to offset your eBay income as a business deduction.

The correct question to ask regarding taxability is not necessarily the frequency or dollar amount of the transactions – but rather – did the eBay auction activity result in a net profit? For those who use eBay or other internet auction sites to sell old stuff that’s been piling up in your garage, you probably don’t have to worry about paying income taxes on the proceeds since the cost (the basis) usually exceeds the selling price. Under current tax law, an individual who sells an item online and collects more money than its original purchased value is expected to report that money as income on his or her tax return. Items whose original purchase basis value cannot be determined is typically valued at $0 under current tax law. Thus, it’s advisable for all eBay sellers to get in the proper habit now of retaining their purchase and sales records. You never know when the IRS will flip the switch and go nuts with the eBay seller tax audits. It’s only a matter of time.

Why Does It Matter If Your eBay Selling Is A Hobby Or A Business?

All eBay online auction sellers have a duty to report their earnings and to comply with tax law obligations to avoid an IRS audit. For most casual eBay hobby sellers who occasionally run the online equivalent of the garage or yard sale, they usually are not obligated to report their sales. That’s because for most online garage or yard type sales, the items sold are usually personal household items purchased over the years and used. As such, the resulting selling prices are almost always lower than the original purchase basis price. The exception occurs when the item for sale has appreciated in value. Even if the transaction was intended to be a simple online yard sale, if the item being sold was something like a set of rare baseball cards that had appreciated in value in excess of the original purchase price, the resulting earnings must be reported as taxable income.

The hobby vs. business debate matters when it comes to self employment tax obligations and tax deduction benefits. If the eBay operation is properly regarded as a business, the taxpayer may be entitled to business deductions to write off operating costs. Whether the eBay seller will be treated as running a business will depend on his or her intent to generate profit. Activities such as visiting pawn shops for resale bargains like my friend used to do will likely be seen as demonstrating business intent. Furthermore, when the individual is running a business operation that results in regular profit sales, he or she may also be obligated to pay self assessed quarterly estimated tax payments through Form 1040-ES.

If you lose money pursuing a hobby, you cannot deduct your hobby loss from other income, but you can deduct your expenses up to the amount of your hobby income on your tax return. A hobby loss is a miscellaneous itemized tax deduction, and as such, only the total that exceeds 2% of the adjusted gross income may be deducted.

For more information regarding the differing IRS treatment of hobby and business related activity, check out the IRS explanation. The IRS also provides a good tax information resource for online auction sellers.

Source URL: Are eBay Sellers Required To Pay Income Tax On Sales?

Copyright Protected © 2008 Money Blue Book: Personal Finance Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Exposing Money Making Get Rich Quick Infomercials

When most people have gone to sleep, the roaches come out to play. The vast majority of late light commercials fall into the slummy get rich quick category. Most are slickly produced sales pitches for useless packages containing rehashed literature and DVD tapes about how to earn big bucks flipping houses, dabbling in cash flow notes, or making money on eBay. Of all the late night infomercials, the one that really sticks in my mind is the so-called Shortcuts to Internet Millions gimmick being hawked by a guy named Jeff Paul. It’s not the fact that he is selling information that can easily be read and obtained online for free that makes me mentally nauseous and annoyed, it’s the gratuitous visual sales tactics that he uses to sucker gullible consumers into buying his promises of money making fortune. His commercials are full of ridiculous and extremely misleading assertions. Simply after watching his commercials for a few minutes, I felt my own IQ slipping down a few notches.

Without a doubt, it’s mostly the targeted male viewers, who despite their better judgment and gut instincts, still blindly succumb to the song of the financial siren. I guess many men find it hard to resist the message and promises of making millions when they are being flirtatiously whispered by beautiful curvy women surrounded by other attractive visual displays of lavish pools, opulent mansions, and luxury vehicles. Despite a world where society and the media continue to be pressured toward political correctness, in the world of advertising and product promotion, several sad truisms still ring true – “there’s a sucker born every minute” and “sex sells.” Much of these tactics are keenly and specifically demonstrated by the Shortcuts to Internet Millions infomercials.

Here are five of the more exploitive (but very effective) infomercial tactics used:

1) The Use Of Flirty Female Hosts To Mesmerize and Make The Sale – Without a shadow of a doubt, the use of sexual imagery is very effective at capturing the attention of the mostly male target audience. For the record, I want to make it very clear (to minimize email complaints), that I am moderately liberal in my social views. I don’t think there is anything wrong with women dressing up the way they want in real life. I have no problem with that. What I have a problem with is the use of this sleazy and blatant form of exploitation and allure to sell a product that frankly has nothing to do with the associated imagery – something I feel insults my intelligence.

The Shortcuts to Internet Millions infomercials feature two noticeably attractive and perky hosts, Kelly Britz and Tina Milano, as they gush and chat about how much money they are each making on the internet using the program. They go on and on about how it’s so easy and magical, and how all their (presumably very attractive) girlfriends are all logging on and getting into the online affiliate money making business without so much as breaking a sweat. Right……

The attempt at sexual innuendo is not even subtle. It’s not merely two attractive women sitting on sofas having a pleasant discussion about their unbelievable passion for internet marketing. We are talking about two very, very, very prominently endowed women bearing their bare cleavages, while gushing about how easy it was for them to make thousands of dollars a week through eBay with just a few mouse clicks – without having any knowledge or prior experience with computers or the internet. It’s like Jeff Paul swiped two girls from the preceding Girls Gone Wild commercial and handed them microphones so they can blab away about how they magically made money on this thing called eBay. Wearing extremely low cut tops as they chatted away on screen, the stereotypical bombshells offered zero credibility in my eyes and likely in the eyes of most serious consumers as well. However, in a warped way, their mere presence got my attention and likely the focus of many male viewers, and sadly, perhaps even luring a few into handing over their credit card numbers to order the ridiculous product.

2) Obsession With Associating Everything With Magic – Why do they insist on making the attractive female hosts seem so naive and brainless? “Do you really know how your e-mail magically appears on your computer screen?” one of them quizzes. The female genius then offers a few more “magical” references, concluding her powerful and persuasive argument of, “If you can type on your keyboard and click your mouse you can do this.” By golly, she’s right!

In the world of the Jeff Paul Shortcuts to Internet Millions’ infomercial, everything seems to magically appear – especially with the program’s so-called “3 Clicks To Cash” process. You type in your information and voila, your new business website “magically appears on the internet”. You send an email, and the words get “magically sent”. You don’t even need to do any work or online promotion because money will just “magically get earned” and checks will “magically come flying to you”. After all, the internet is just one magical fairyland where everyone magically makes money right? Try telling that to all the multi-million dollar dot com startups that went bust in 2000.

3) The Joke That Computer and Internet Illiterates Can Still Become Online Millionaires – I’m sorry to burst the combined delusional bubbles of Jeff Paul and his two babes, but making money on the internet requires a lot of computer and internet knowhow. Getting started online is easy – anyone can start up a basic template website. But to truly become a successful online entrepreneur requires substantial amounts of trial and experience, as well as committed dedication towards effort and learning, whether it be with eBay or any other online medium. It can be done but the process requires skills beyond mere flipping through a few book pages or clicking a few mouse keys to get your simple turnkey website on the web. To successfully promote your site and make money, you have to rank high in the search engines, particularly Google, which is a competitive and time consuming task. It requires that you not only roll up your sleeves, immerse yourself in the subject, but also dedicate lots of time to developing the business. No one makes money on the internet overnight. Those who think they can will be taken for a magic carpet ride that ends nowhere. If we were to buy into the program’s sad and misguided logic, then even computer newbies like my mom and dad could easily become internet millionaire tycoons with just a few instant mouse clicks.

4) The Idea That You Don’t Need To Have Your Own Line Of eBay Products Because You Can Easily Make Money From Drop Shipping – It’s so sad that people fall for this particular sales pitch. Drop ship products are merchandise that the manufacturer agrees to ship directly to the consumer without the merchant having to take possession for shipment. The fallacy is that it is lucrative and allows anyone with a website to make a ton of money. The reality is that drop ship products are the absolute worst when it comes to profiting from eBay sales and making money online. Sure it’s convenient, but because there is little buying risk to you as the eBay merchant, the so-called wholesale prices you obtain are not really wholesale at all. As such, profit margins are virtually non-existent and in fact, after eBay fees and transaction costs, you will almost always lost money or simply break even if you’re lucky.

Furthermore, most of the drop ship products are items that already face saturated competition on the internet and eBay, further driving down the selling price and negating any profit potential. Most of these drop ship products are also pretty lame and you will almost never find any hot products like top of the line electronics for drop shipment. To truly get eBay wholesale product prices, you need to buy in huge bulk from the manufacturer, which obviously requires tremendous upfront capital investment and the unavoidable carrying of substantial inventory risk.

5) The Sales Gimmick That Revolves Around the Giving Away Of Free But Traffic-Less Websites – The Shortcuts To Internet Millions program seems to be feel that they are providing the buyer a great offer by giving away ten supposedly free websites as incentives. The reality is that most of these sites are template turnkey sites that can be easily and instantaneously cranked out and given away – a million of them at a time. Without organic internet traffic, which takes weeks, months and even years to build, they are useless.

Do the hosts ever talk about how the new website owner is going to successfully drive online traffic to the site? Of course not. Because if consumers knew how much work they would have to put in, they would lose their greedy interest. Free websites are worthless if you don’t have the knowhow to generate links and build online traffic. Big companies spent thousands and millions of dollars promoting and advertising their sites all over the web. Do you think a simple consumer with 10 free template websites is going to somehow trump them all and rake in the sales overnight? Of course not.

There is a reason why although thousands of new online entrepreneurs jump onto the internet money making bandwagon every second, only a tiny percentage of them ultimately survive. Internet success takes a massive amount of online advertising and social link building to generate traffic. It takes a lot of time to investigate, research, and learn from others as well. Having a new commercial website without traffic, even one given to you for free, is nothing more than taking on a piece of trash. Even if the infomercial promised you a thousand free websites – all you would be getting in your possession, without weeks and months of computer training and internet expertise, would be a thousand heaps of trash – nothing more.

My Recommendation If You Really Want To Make Money Online Or Become A Successful eBay Entrepreneur

For one thing, you should stay away from the late night infomercials. Watch them for the eye candy entertainment whatnot, but don’t even think about buying products through those late night shows. With the wealth of free information that’s available on the internet, there is no need to buy the information from some late night salesman. Please don’t be gullible and let your sense of greed cloud your better judgment. If you want to learn something about making money on the internet or want to know more about internet marketing strategies, you are better off following the blogs of proven online entrepreneurs such as John Chow, Darren Rowse, or Shoe Money. You’ll learn more about affiliate marketing, online blogging tips, and search engine optimization tactics from them than from any product toting guy or hot female hosts on TV. At least you won’t have to deal with the subsequent and continuous upsell attempts to get you to buy more expensive package upgrades, paid training, or costly mentoring services prevalent among these get rich quick infomercials. If you must throw your money away, buy one of those As Seen On TV Magic Bullet fruit blenders or something.

Source URL: Making Fun Of Late Night Infomercials Using Hotties With Assets To Sell Get Rich Schemes

Copyright Protected © 2008 Money Blue Book: Personal Finance Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Here is an overview of the key controversial eBay pricing and system changes that have sparked such emotional reactions as well as my own thoughts on the matter. You can view the actual eBay price structure changes (here).

1) Listing Prices Will Be Reduced But Final Value Fees Will Be Increased
The new eBay pricing changes will cause up front listing costs such as Insertion Fees and Fixed Price Listings to be reduced. This upfront listing fee reduction is to encourage more listings since eBay auctions have been stagnant for years now as auction interest has waned. Although it used to come at a small cost, eBay now plans to make Gallery picture listing free – a nice free addition that will save a few cents and dollars for some, but it’s basically a trivial bonus. It’s nothing that will greatly benefit eBay sellers, but with the way eBay has been cleverly marketing the changes by plastering the “lower fee!” mantra everywhere on its fee changes announcement, it’s clear eBay wants to make the listing price reductions a big deal. But I don’t think they are – the savings are paltry and unsubstantial.

Of course, as a profit driven business giant, eBay is not a charity, so with one price drop it’s obviously bound to raise prices elsewhere. To counter the listing fee reduction, eBay plans to jack up the Final Value Fees. Unfortunately, the increase in Final Value Fees will probably become the biggest profit killer for many eBay sellers – dramatically cutting into their profit margins. Insertion prices were never all that high to begin with so reducing them isn’t providing much of a cost savings for sellers. It’s always been the Final Value Fees that have chomped into the bulk of seller profits.

2) Sellers Will No Longer Be Able To Leave Negative Feedback For Buyers
Another substantial change in eBay’s new feedback policy is that sellers will no longer be able to post negative feedback or comment about their buyers in the future. The original purpose of the innovative eBay feedback system was to retain a history and honest record of member experiences for the future benefit of all prospective buyers and sellers. However, in the last few years, the system has deteriorated and become broken, because most buyers have grown afraid of leaving honest and accurate feedback for the seller due to the fear of negative feedback retaliation.

Even as an occasional eBay seller, I can attest to the existence of negative feedback retaliation. After the completion of every auction, as the seller, I would always solicit the buyer’s feedback submission before I would submit my own. This was to preserve my right and ability to retaliate with negative feedback if the buyer arbitrarily or unreasonably posted negative comments to my seller’s profile. Obviously without the ability to submit negative comments for the buyer, my options as a seller would become more limited as I would become subject to the whims and demands of unscrupulous buyers. To remedy this problem, eBay would need to do a better job of policing seller and buyer complaints. To protect sellers, eBay has indicated that it plans to regulate the system better against buyers having badly and has indicated plans to retroactively remove all neutral and negative feedback left by a particular buyer should the buyer’s account ever be suspended for eBay program violations.

As an eBay buyer, I wholeheartedly applaud the feedback changes. While I don’t agree with the pricing changes, I think the feedback policy modifications were sorely needed and will go a long way in improving buyer confidence in the accuracy of future eBay feedback ratings.

3) eBay Powersellers Will Become More Powerful
Under the new eBay policy changes, the most reliable and trustworthy Powersellers will enjoy new perks including greater Final Value listing price discounts up to nearly 15% off depending on their additional detailed seller ratings. Also, eBay intends to offer those high volume sellers that maintain an excellent customer rating greater exposure among the auction listings by providing them higher visibility under its Best Match search results. Of course I think this greater exposure for the most trusted sellers will help improve overall buyer experience by rewarding good sellers and encouraging good behavior. This one is actually a good improvement.

Final Thoughts About the eBay Policy Changes and Threats Of Boycott

Despite complaints about the new policy changes, the truth of the matter is, most eBay sellers can’t afford to lose their eBay business traffic. Any boycott would hurt the individual strikers more than it would ever hurt a multi billion dollar company like eBay. While there is no other online auction service that can even come close to the reach and traffic scale that eBay can provide, there are a few growing and viable alternatives out there like Amazon and Craigslist, that some dissatisfied eBayer sellers are starting to turn to. Amazon has indeed enjoyed great success lately despite its more regulated selling policies. Whether this continued success will be at the perpetual expense of eBay remains to be seen.

Source URL: Dishing Out Feedback About eBay’s New Pricing Structure and Policy Changes

Copyright Protected © 2008 Money Blue Book: Personal Finance Blog. All Rights Reserved.

It All Started With Too Much Greed

Shortly after college I decided I wanted to start a part time side business selling merchandise on eBay. But first I needed to find a wholesale supplier. After some research I decided I wanted to focus on consumer electronics such as GPS navigation devices and Apple iPods, and concluded my best bet at finding a supplier would be through a free network site like Alibaba, that helps connect sellers with buyers of goods. Little did I know at the time, but sites like Alibaba are crawling with scammers and evil doers.

I ultimately decided to focus on selling Garmin and Tom Tom branded GPS units. After a few searches, I was amazed to find numerous sellers offering brand new Garmin GPS units for very little money. The Garmin GPS model I was interested in buying in bulk retailed for more than $1200 on eBay at the time. The sellers I found on Alibaba were offering each unit for only $700 each. The asking prices were exceedingly low, but sadly I was too overcome with dollar signs in my head to realize that the offers were likely too good to be true. I essentially had blinders on and was too busy calculating all the profit I was going to make by selling these units for such high markup. Eventually I narrowed down a potential seller.

Greed Prevented Me From Recognizing the Warning Flags

When you are overcome with greed, it is hard to think clearly, even when a clearly fraudulent transaction is staring at you in the face. I should have been more aware of all the telltale signs that the seller was likely a potential scammer and a fraud. First of all, the seller provided me contact information based in Indonesia, a country like Nigeria that is notorious for being a hotbed of scammer activity. He also provided very limited company background information that could be used to verify his personal or business identity, or determine his true geographical location. The phone number he provided me did indeed work, but I should have realized that nowadays with VOIP technology, phone number locations are very easily faked. It’s easy to reside in one country and still obtain a temporary, disposable local phone number from another. Even paid identity authentication and verification services are subject to abuse and illegal manipulation as well. It’s not all that difficult for online scammers on Alibaba or any other Internet exchange service to obtain a genuine TrustPass or Alibaba Gold Membership certification using falsified identification.

Another thing that should have raised red flags was the fact that the seller offered to pay for shipping, which is an extremely unusual practice for first time wholesale purchases, especially since international shipping can be quite expensive. The seller also insisted on rushing the sale, frequently threatening to end the lucrative deal if I continued to demand more verification information and not move forward with payment. But otherwise, the scammer was extremely convincing in the way he portrayed the deal as completely legitimate. Rather than thinking that the sale was a scam, I just thought I was getting an excellent deal.

Because I was so motivated by greedy emotions, I was more fearful of losing the lucrative buy than I was of being scammed. There were so many warning signs that I simply ignored, such as the seller refusing to accept Paypal or even credit card payment. Instead, he demanded payment through bank wire transfer. If I had conducted more due diligence, I would have known that unlike Paypal or credit card transactions where my money would have been protected, bank wire transactions are permanent and irreversible once properly executed.

I Fell For the Trap – Hook, Line, and Sinker

Ultimately I sent him over $2,025.00 through bank wire transfer for 3 sample Garmin GPS units. Once he had the money, he disappeared without a trace. I attempted to contact him through the phone number he provided me, but the line had been disconnected. He never responded back to my e-mails and I never received the merchandise. My money was gone and I never recovered it.

Afterwards, I felt very stupid and ashamed, but I learned many valuable lessons as a result. I’m glad I experienced this hard knock life lesson earlier in my life when the potential stakes were lower. I thought something like this could never possibly happen to me, but it did, and I allowed my greedy emotions to get in the way of rational caution. You and I, we may think we’re very smart and that we’re so clever, but we are only human, and still susceptible to basic human emotional irrationality. Difficult to control emotions like greed, fear, and pride. So my friends, it’s important to always stay vigilant – scammers are everywhere and one day you might be in their cross hairs too.

Source URL: How I Got Scammed By a Seller On Alibaba

Copyright Protected © 2007 Money Blue Book: Personal Finance Blog. All Rights Reserved.

But getting to the game won’t be easy. We aren’t season ticket holders and because the Washington Redskins are so popular, tickets will be difficult to obtain. The game is also a division game so tickets will be extra expensive due to popular demand for them.

We Will Score Some Tickets

Regardless, we are determined to bid and win a pair of tickets to the Redskins-Eagles game. I tend to avoid popular online stores that sell tickets since they generally charge a higher markup and an unfair premium for them. You won’t find any lucrative deals through sites like Ticketmaster – I’ve looked. Our best bet will be to rely on amateur scalpers that sell tickets through online sources like eBay and Craigslist. It’s a bit more work, but that’s where the deals are.

But, I’ve been trying for the last few days, and haven’t been successful yet. I keep getting outbid by other crazy fans who keep hiking up their bids at the very last moment. I’ve tried sniping in at the last second but their maximum proxy bids still outshine mine. I probably will have to increase my maximum bidding price to win an auction.

Since I’ve done this before, I’ve learned a few things. When you buy tickets online for sporting events like football, there are certain things you have to consider as you make your purchase:

1. Seat Location – I always like to pull up the stadium seating chart to decide what vantage point I would like. Some like to sit closer to the field near the 50 yard line, while others like to sit higher in the stands or in the endzone area. Sitting closer to the field you become more involved in the crowd action, but sitting higher up you perhaps get a better complete view of the entire field. I personally prefer being closer to the field. After all, how else is the opposing team supposed to hear my taunts?
2. Budget - After doing some searches through eBay, you should have a general idea of what is the reasonable market value for tickets. You should have also figured out that prices vary greatly depending on where the seats are. located The closer they are to the center of the field (the 50 yard line in the case of football) and the closer the seating row is in relation to the field, the more expensive they are. Since I want a seat closer to the field where prices are higher, I’ve had to increase my ticket budget several times to better compete with other auction bidders. I think this time I bid high enough to win.
3. Parking – Parking is very expensive at football games and most sporting events. If the auction includes parking, this is an attractive addition to consider. Parking at the Redskins Fedex Field cash lots can cost $35 or more.
4. Cost and Speed of Shipping, Or Pickup – If the game will be happening in a week, you will need the tickets to be sent to you using overnight shipping. This is obviously a more expensive option but you don’t want to miss out because you were unable to receive your winning tickets by game time. Some online auction sellers will give you the option of picking up the tickets in person, but will most likely require you to pay in cash. If you choose to pick up in person you won’t be able to make the eBay purchase through a shopping portal like Fatwallet to earn 1% cash back or get additional cash back using reward credit cards.

Source URL: Tips On Buying Sports Tickets Using eBay and Other Online Sources

Copyright Protected © 2007 Money Blue Book: Personal Finance Blog. All Rights Reserved.

1) Run eBay Searches Using Different Keyword Combinations

The example I’m going to use to demonstrate my eBay buying tricks will be from my experience in buying Smartrip metro cards. These are the magnetic debit cards that people living in the Washington D.C. area use to take the subway. The card can hold upwards to $300 at a time and like gift cards, there is an eBay market for people looking to buy them at a discount.

When running searches for the metro cards, I use a wide variety of keywords such as Smartrip, SmartCheck, D.C. Metro cards, D.C. subway cards, and Smart Trip. People frequently advertise their products on eBay using different names. Try punching in spelling errors like “dimond” rather than “diamond”. You won’t believe how many sellers frequently misspell their ads, thereby limiting the number of available buyers bidding on their auction. Less bidding competition gives the smart eBay buyer a greater chance of getting a great deal. It’s really not all that difficult to profit from ebay typo bargains.

You can also create a favorite saved batch search for several keywords. At the eBay search prompt, select “Advanced Search”, enter you keywords and remember to click on the box that indicates “Save This Search to eBay”. If you want to create a search that will automatically look for several keywords, just enclose them in parentheses and separate them with commas without the space in between. After clicking search, you will have the option of saving it.

2) Contact the Seller Directly To Make An Offer

This one is a bit more controversial, but I’m providing it just for alternative information. You may or may not get into some trouble with this one.

Rather than starting out by bidding for a product, I contact the seller directly and send him a suggestive proposal, hinting that I may be interested in offering a certain amount of money which will also include the cost of shipping. I also indicate that I can pay as soon as possible via Paypal since prompt payment is attractive to sellers.

I’ve gotten the best deals by contacting the seller directly. I used to frequently negotiate deals of paying $160 for a $300 Smartrip metro card and saved a lot of money by doing this.

For this method to work, it’s very important that you make sure the seller is trustworthy so check to see that the seller has ample reviews (the more the better but at least 50).

I note again that this method has been suggested to be a likely technical violation of eBay’s policies. I have yet to see them enforce this matter however and I’ve been doing this for over 8 years.

3) Scout Out How Much Other Winning Buyers Bid To Win the Item

The great thing about eBay is that there is a lot of auction history information for buyers and sellers to research. Oftentimes sellers will run more than one auction for the same type of item and might even have sold several units already. All of this historical information is available.

I like to search through my target seller and check out the reviews left by people who have bid and won similar items to see what the fair final bidding price would be. Sometimes I like to contact other buyers just to see if the product was as advertised.

4) Bid on eBay Auctions At the Very Last Second

If you are a seasoned eBay buyer, you know that the greatest bidding activity occurs in the last few minutes of any auction. If you are looking at an eBay auction that still has hours before expiration, you should know that you are not looking at anything close to it’s final fair market value. The closer to expiration the truer the market value. By waiting till the last moment you will ensure that you don’t get into a bidding battle with another determined bidder. Just remember to bid a fair value or you might get outbid by someone else’s higher proxy offer.

Source URL: How To Buy On Ebay And Get the Best Deal

Copyright Protected © 2007 Money Blue Book: Personal Finance Blog. All Rights Reserved.

When I was an active seller, I focused primarily on electronics and gadgets that I liked and that were must-haves at the time. One rudimentary search of eBay’s auctions reveals the obvious – consumer electronics was and is still in great demand and there is fierce competition for steep discounted prices for such products. EBay consumers have grown accustomed to paying discounted prices for their electronics and this has made it more difficult for sellers today to profit from their sales.

Selling Electronics Is Tough

New eBay sellers will come to discover that consumer electronics is the toughest category to compete in. This is due to the slim margins for consumer electronics. Even Powersellers in this category often times only break even. The key to profiting from sales of consumer electronics is the bundling of products with value added accessories.

Successful eBay sellers make their money with accessories, or create packages that include items that have higher profit margins such as earphones, or padded protectors. This allows sellers to avoid competing on price alone. Profiting from the addition of accessories works because as a general psychological matter, buyers tend to be less adverse to paying for accessories and additions then they are for the primary product.

Think about when you are buying a lunch sandwich at your downtown city deli. The sandwich itself might be a good deal and reasonably priced at say, $5.00 (some might beg to differ that this price is reasonable), but with the addition of a soda or a drink, the total price has jumped to $6.50, not including taxes. The price of the drink was likely a substantial markup, but in the mind of most consumers, the focus of the meal – the sandwich itself, was a good bargain. Successful consumer electronics sellers often package their products in ways to successfully take advantage of the price increases that can they can charge due to the addition of accessories that create value in the eyes of their customers.

Source URL: Selling Consumer Electronics on eBay – It’s All About the Accessories

Copyright Protected © 2007 Money Blue Book: Personal Finance Blog. All Rights Reserved.

The guide is more for beginners or those who have had only light experience selling products on eBay. The pros probably already have a list of established wholesale sources that they closely guard. Ebay selling is very competitive as auction consumers have severely driven down the prices, but it can be done. I’ve never used it to replace my full time income, but it can be a worthwhile hobby and a way to generate a steady alternate income stream.

I recommend making sure you are familiar with the hazards of selling and buying on eBay first before diving deeper into running an actual eBay business. The world is full of many unscrupulous individuals who will try to take advantage of those who are unfamiliar with the process. Scammers are everywhere so please be cautious. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

It is important that you are well informed about the ins and outs of eBay before committing to purchases involving larger sums of money. To making money successfully through eBay requires a lot of preparation and work, and competition can be stiff at times, but if you persist you will find the business experience to be very worthwhile and financially satisfying.

Source URL: Writing An Ebay Wholesale Guide

Copyright Protected © 2007 Money Blue Book: Personal Finance Blog. All Rights Reserved.