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There's Gold in Them There EBay Hills!

Guest post by: Ron Ruhle

Article Overview: Gold! How Valuable Is It? Answer: It depends how much there is and how many people want it. If there is a high demand and low supply of gold then the value shoots up. If there is a low demand and high supply of gold then the value plummets. You know that.

There's Gold in Them There EBay Hills!

Normally, gold is priced relative to the global value which is based on global demand and global supply.

A gold mine shuts down at the same time as the people in the area start wanting to buy more gold... and the price just about stays the same. Why? Because the global demand and supply has hardly changed... it's only changed in that particular area so it doesn't make any difference to the global price.

So the best you can do with gold is to buy it in a country where the price is

lowest and sell in a country where the price is highest. But after you've paid for shipping (it's VERY heavy) you're not left with much profit. You'd have to ship TONS of the stuff and ALL the time to make any cool money.

Which is possible.

But on eBay, the perception of supply and demand can be changed. You can make the supply look low and the demand high... regardless of the global price.

This means you can buy gold from someone who has made the supply look high/demand look low and resell it making the supply look low/demand look high.

I call it "Supply and demand intensification".

It's a VERY powerful strategy indeed!

Before I give you the example, let me explain how it works...

For a supply to be perceived as high, the item must be everywhere you look. Loads of people all selling the same thing means you can get one at any time... sometimes if you wait long enough the effects of competition will force the prices down.

So you get loads of people selling it and not many rushing to buy it.

But if it's a one off, immediately you've got a situation where the supply is VERY low AND loads of people all rushing to buy it (Because it's scarce)

As a result, the selling price goes through the roof!

So when using this strategy, your main objective is to position your item as a one off. And the only way to do this, because of the fact that eBay has set categories with no option but to be listed with all the others, is to insert the word 'Rare' into your main title.

Buyers use the word 'Rare' in addition to their item keyword to whittle down the results and save them time looking. So instead of just typing 'Gold' they type in 'Gold rare' or 'Rare gold'.

EBay then searches for all titles with those two keywords in.

When an eBay buyer types in 'rare' they know that the results that come up will almost be 'once in a lifetime' buys. So these buyers are ready to snap something up.

The ones who type in 'Rare' alongside the keyword are THE best buyers you can get! The supply looks very low and the demand (due to the fact you've used the word 'Rare') seems very high.

Not only do they buy at a higher price, they also buy as soon as they possibly can!

A DREAM scenario.

Here is the title of the item I bought...

1911 GEORGE V 22 CARAT FULL GOLD SOVEREIGN

I ended up getting two of them for £82 each plus £2 postage.

I used our listing template and inserted the same information they used in their description but in our style. I then changed the title to...

1911 GEORGE V CORONATION GOLD MEDAL VERY RARE AU

You'll notice that I changed the word 'Sovereign' to 'Medal'. This is because I know that more people use the keyword 'Medal' than 'Sovereign'. Mainly because it's quicker for them to type in.

I also added 'Coronation' which I thought was an important keyword, and the letters AU which is the chemical term for Gold. Then there are the words' Very Rare'.

That one sold for £212.48. 10 day listing. £1 starting bid. I even donated some to charity which may have helped a bit.

Not particularly happy about this, I put the other one up using this title...

1911 GEORGE V CORONATION GOLD MEDAL AU - RARITY

Same everything else, just changing 'Very Rare' for 'Rarity'.

It sold for £475!

That's more like it. £393 profit less eBay charges.

I'm not 100% sure why 'Rarity' out pulled 'Very Rare'. But I think if you look at both those terms, 'Rarity' implies it really is a one off, and 'Very rare' implies there are quite a few. 'Very' could mean anything.

I wondered if this could be applied to any item. I wondered if I could buy a DVD or something that was in high supply, call it rare and sell it for a profit.

But then I remembered the golden rule: Honesty sells!

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Article Tags: buy on ebay, ebay book, ebay buying, ebay selling tips, how to sell on ebay, make money on ebay



Related Forum Posts
Re: When something's suffered damage it becomes more beautiful. - This one is for David and all. David lives in Japan I have traveled, lived or worked in over 55 countries, and while we continue to remember the history and barbaric nature of war brought on by few then and now, our various cultures, religions, etc, I find the real beauty is not in the Gold, but in the majority of the people. who ever they are and from where ever they come. Our Japanese craftsman in this piece, showed his beauty to us through his work through the use of Gold to mend this dish. I am further reminded of the power of God with the recent earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan. I was truly amazed at how the beauty of the people came through the crisis. Lines and lines of people all organized waiting their turn; there was no shoving, pushing, do you know who I am mentality, or me first. The sick, disabled and the elderly were given priority not by the organizer by the people I wrote of this discipline in a article for Ezine, but it wasn't accepted. I guess it fell outside my declared resources Our maker gives us beauty, and it may be destroyed by the maker as a reminder, or perhaps by 1 or more of us through war after war, the beauty of the majority must survive and bring back the beauty for all to see .
Re: Did you buy into the iPhone 3G craze? - Kevin, Arent you the EBay guy?? oh well, we all make mistakes....like me buying new tires at Active Green & Ross after I blew out a tire on the 401. I let the guy scare me into the sale and then when I took my care into my mechanic he told me I got hosed....and to never let anyone scare you into buying stuff again.... anyway, I'm glad you got the new battery in any case. I think we will soon be able to go completely without contracts so we arent held hostage... J
Congratulations - Hi Shri, Congratulations to your win. Next time you will go for the 'Gold Medal'. This does not happen everyday. All the hard work is paying you off. We wish you well for future projects you have in mind. Be encouraged! Kindest Regards Beat "Unlock People's Potentials!"
Kevin, are u an ebay expert? - [quote="TheRainmaker":3j4dw900]Kevin, Arent you the EBay guy?? oh well, we all make mistakes....like me buying new tires at Active Green & Ross after I blew out a tire on the 401. I let the guy scare me into the sale and then when I took my care into my mechanic he told me I got hosed....and to never let anyone scare you into buying stuff again.... anyway, I'm glad you got the new battery in any case. I think we will soon be able to go completely without contracts so we arent held hostage... J[/quote:3j4dw900] Are you an Ebay expert? If yes do you have any report on your expertise?
Starting New Business Venture would like some tips - Hello I am new to this website and just want to say its awesome!! currently I am involved in a new business venture, I am new to the business world and I would like some extra help on this subject. Our company specializes in Custom Gold Foil Printed Ribbon, and Personalized Products (Napkins, Buttons Etc). so if anyone has any ideas of where to go, who to contact, or even if your looking for these types of products yourself, let me know and any tips to help me out it would be greatly appreciated.


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