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Auctionbytes-Update, Number 159 - January 22, 2006 - ISSN 1528-6703
This & That: Online Auction Roundup
1) About.com Collectibles
By Ina Steiner
Reminder: AuctionBytes does not endorse the products and services featured in the "This & That" column, which often features new Web sites. (Anyone can set up a Web site.) Fraud has become widespread in the online auction world, and you should think twice before giving private information or User IDs and passwords to any third party.
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Good news, Barbara Crews' articles are available through an RSS feed. I've been subscribing to her About.com email newsletter for years, and now I can also read them as soon as she posts them online through my Bloglines RSS reader.
http://collectibles.about.com
2) Reading List: FutureShop
By Ina Steiner
There's a lot of talk about eBay drop-off stores, and now there's a book that talks about the trend by Daniel Nissanoff, president of Portero (http://www.portero.com). I haven't had a chance to read the book yet, but you can read a review from Fast Company magazine, "Reading List: FutureShop. High-tech is hot again. This month's book finds riches in the eBay economy."
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/102/playbook-reading-list.html
3) Polish Sniping Service Launches in U.S.
By Ina Steiner
Snip is a sniping service launched in 2001 based in Poland. The service has launched in the U.S. market and says it has over 125,000 users (30,000 in the U.S.) and makes almost 280,000 automated bids per month on eBay. Snip charges $0.19 for each successful shot that enables its buyer to win the auction. The service does not charge for shots that are unsuccessful. New users are given five free shots to try the service out at no obligation.
http://snip.pl
4) eBay Tools for Mac Users
By Ina Steiner
Companies providing auction-management tools for Mac users exhibited at the recent MacWorld conference. Iwascoding released GarageSale 2 (http://www.iwascoding.com/GarageSale), and Equinux released iSale 3.0 (http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2006/1/emw331457.htm). (4D Inc. also provides software for Mac users - http://www.marketblast.com.)
5) Video for eBay Listings
By Ina Steiner
Pic2Vid is a web-based service that automatically generates streaming video content with voiceovers from digital photos and text. eBay sellers visit the Pic2Vid website, upload photos, add pan and zoom edits, type in copy or use the system's phone-in feature, and Pic2Vid generates a video clip with voiceover.
http://www.pic2vid.com
6) Blog about Auction Classifieds
By Ina Steiner
Danielle A. Farrar, Marketplace Product Manager for ANG Newspapers, is writing a blog about the launch of http://classifieds.insidebayarea.com. It's a beta test of auction classifieds using CityXpress. Local advertisers will be able to sell their stuff online using bidding, make offer, etc but all locally in the Bay Area. Interesting if you follow the local-listing scene.
http://www.ibabuzz.com/talesfromthesales
7) Shipwire Adds Fulfillment Service
By Ina Steiner
Online shipping service Shipwire.com has expanded its service to include order fulfillment. Shipwire offers multi-carrier shipping; Web service for auditing a merchant's FedEx, UPS and DHL invoices; trade show shipping service; online packaging services; and a Web-based fulfillment service.
http://www.shipwire.com
8) IRS Tax Assistance
By Ina Steiner
April 15 is not far away, and businesses should be thinking about tax preparation. The IRS can help taxpayers get forms and publications and answer a wide range of tax questions. Visit the IRS website (http://www.irs.gov) or call 800-829-3676. Taxpayers may ask tax questions by calling the toll-free customer service line at 1-800-829-1040 for individual tax issues or 1-800-829-4933 for business-related tax issues. TTY/TDD users may call 1-800-829-4059. Barbara Weltman has written some articles for AuctionBytes on tax issues (http://digbig.com/4gaye), and a book specifically geared toward helping eBay sellers minimize their taxes was just published by McGraw-Hill, "Tax Loopholes for eBay Sellers," by Diane Kennedy and Janelle Elms. (http://digbig.com/4fyfa)
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