Property Auction & Why You Should Run A Mile From Them

That's A Funny Thing To Say About Property Auctions; They're All The "RAGE, Aren't They?"

From The Desk Of Colm Dillon

Hello Colm here ...

So why would I make such a comment like that; I mean, they're happening everywhere, aren't they?. They're even on TV. property auction,

So let's go back a bit. Can you remember back to when they were a rare happening. Some big house owned by the local rich family or the farm or antiques; that kind of thing. property auction,

Now it seems to be just about every three-bedroom homeowner is being convinced to sell that way. property auction,

So let's look at what or who has driven this upsurge, and why they would have done it? property auction,

I like to go back to basics and ask the Question; Who Benefits? Because whoever benefits, you can bet they're the ones driving the "A" truck, and are trying to get us all up on the tray property auction,

It's the media barons folks … the major newspaper and TV owners have convinced the Real Estate Agents to push you into auctions, because it generates BIG ADVERTISING REVENUE. property auction,
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Newspapers don't make money out of the news. The NEWS is only the reason they can sell advertising and it is from advertising that they make a profit. property auction,

The Real Estate bosses have fallen for their line hook line and sinker. Agents have become advertising salespeople for the newspapers. property auction,

So why does the big "A" appeal to the big real estate bosses? property auction,

1. It brings a sale process to an end with a definite date … the "A" date. property auction,

2. The agent doesn't have to commit to an achievable sale price. property auction,

3. The normal sale process is hard work requiring a higher skill level. property auction,

4. The client pays all the advertising up front.

5. Advertising makes the Agency look big and successful, but with Client's Money. property auction,

6. All the pressure is put on the client to sell. property auction,

7. Failed auctions don't get advertised in the mediaproperty auction,

8. They earn commission from the newspapers for selling advertising for them. property auction,

It brings a sale process to an end with a definite date … the "A" date. property auction,
Tip! Find out what the buyers premium is for that particular government auto auction and remember to factor that into the equation, it is typically 5% to 10% of the winning bid. Most first time car auction buyers do not even know about the buyers premium.

It sells or it doesn't sell! Accordingly it's relatively easy for the agency boss to estimate his income from a regular flow of auctions. property auction,

Private Treaty sales require individual inspections and negotiations and an end date is not easy to determine. property auction,

The agent doesn't have to commit to an achievable sale price. property auction,

At the auction sales presentation, you the owner, would like to know 'What Price" you will get for your property. property auction,

The answer is always,'THE MARKET.' And of course, so the story goes, THE MARKET will usually recover the advertising expenses you must pay up front; especially for a beautiful house like yours. property auction,
Tip! Biggest tip: Get to the government auto auction early. You have got to pick out the cars you are interested in and inspect the cars thoroughly.

The normal sale process is hard work requiring a higher skill level. property auction, The agent, therefore, does not have to give you a possible range, within which your achievable price will fall. By definition this allows the agency to employ people with high sell ‘the auction' ability but reduced real estate experience. property auction,

The client pays all the advertising up front. property auction,

OH, did I mention that you now have to part with a Substantial Cheque of many thousands of dollars in order to promote your property. You will be presented with a well-prepared advertising campaign. Your only choice will be the ‘pink one' or the ‘yellow one.' property auction,

That is the $7,000 one or the vastly superior $11,000 one. If your house is a high price ticket, you can double these costs. property auction,

Advertising makes the Agency look big and successful, but with Client's Money. property auction,

OK, the campaign is off and running and you first advert appears in the Color Pages. Yes it is small, isn't it? As a matter of fact the most dominant FEATURE on the page is the AGENCY'S NAME. Then, of course, we have the sales person's photo, perpetuating the ‘cult of personality.' property auction,
Tip! Try to add bonus items to your auctions where applicable to encourage bids. Free ebooks, extra ad space (if you're selling ad space), free software, free samples of related items you sell, coupons for free shipping of the next item the bidder wins, etc.

Oh yes, then there is the picture of your house and a few lines of description in typeface you can just read. ‘Umm,' you think, ‘maybe I should have gone for the bigger size ad. property auction,

Let's move on to the day just before the auction, and when all your money has been spent. The agent and the auctioneer visit you and tell you that there has been a good response to the advertising. Of course, you don't have a clue what quantifies as a ‘good response.'

‘We need to establish a Reserve Price" they continue. As someone once said, ‘please explain?'

Oh, it's the minimum price you would accept! ‘But.' you say, ‘I didn't go to auction to get the MINIMUM PRICE, I want the MAXIMUM PRICE; what's this minimum price business?'

‘Well,' says the auction agent, ‘now that we have completed this big campaign for you,' they continue, ‘you want a result don't you, so let's not send the people who turn up get away.' ‘No,' you should reply, ‘I don't want any result, I want the best price plus my advertising cost back.' Question! How well do you sleep that night?
Tip! And, assuming as a result of the search your auction has been returned in the list along with many others, the title now has to persuade the searcher to click through onto YOUR auction description page - your sales pitch.

All the pressure is put on the client to sell.

Let's skip now to the BIG DAY, and ask the question, "who is under the greatest pressure, you or the agent? I THINK IT ‘S YOU!

How many will turn up? Will they be ‘Tyre Kickers & Sticky Beaks'? I've just spent thousands of dollars to get to this point. Boy I hope we sell, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, sell at a great price. A price that will beat the price I could get just selling it normally + my advertising costs.

THE AUCTION

Let's just say that the ideal prices for your home is $550,000.00, OK!
Tip! When the auction has just over 12 hours left, go in to the auction and revise the auction duration to 5 days. Wait for someone to buy.

In the crowd there are a number of genuine buyers, whose profile range from:

* Investors (who want to steal your property for a low price, say $100,000 under)

* Normal home buyers (who will pay a fair price, say $520,000.00)

* And finally there is one ‘heart' buyer who will pay up to $580,000.00).

Once the auction starts it is easy to see how the investors get knocked out of the bidding, after all they are only there to grab a bargain when an auction fails and the seller is desperate. But they do get the ball rolling.

Next the bidding stops at $520,000.00 where the normal buyer has reached their limit. They get knocked out as soon as the Heart buyer goes another $5,000.00.
Tip! When the auction has just over 12 hours left, go in to the auction and revise the auction duration to 7 days. Wait for someone to buy.

So your house is now at a bid of $525,000.00 with no other bidders to get it up to the possible top bid of $580,000 which is the capacity of the person who last bid.

The auctioneer will now halt proceedings and have a private "pressure" chat with you. Now remember you do not know the highest bidder can go higher.

No matter what words come out of his mouth the essence will be,‘the best bid I can get is $525,000.00 and no matter what I say I cannot get another bid. So do you want to sell at $525,000.00 or not?'

I did mention pressure earlier on. Are you beginning to feel it yet, after all, you have spent thousands of dollars, and now you are $25,000.00 under the price you wanted. If you say NO the audience walks, and you are left with a debt, and the hope of selling privately after the auction.
Tip! Bidders will use eBay search to find auctions matching their requirements. As you may know, by default eBay's search facility only checks auction titles for the presence of the keywords input by the searcher.

Failed auctions don't get advertised in the media.

Now comes the next problem. As an auction is such a PUBLIC event, all the agents and all the neighbors know at what price your auction failed. So I'm sorry but that failed price is now "THE PRICE" AND IT IS HARD TO GET PEOPLE TO PAY MUCH MORE AFTER AUCTION.

Ever notice how auctions that fail never seem to be newsworthy. Well, you see, it's bad for the organization that has a vested interest in promoting auctions. If you happen to own newspapers and a TV network you could always create a program and why not call it Auction.
Tip! Search for some image hosting services. There are a couple of free image hosting companies out there allowing ‘hot linking” to eBay auctions.

Just like any soapy, before long all the people start to believe in auctions. They can even see themselves as being the person on TV. But folks we have to remember that it is ENTERTAINMENT.

They earn commission from the newspapers for selling advertising for them.

Remember I told you that the agents who promote auctions are really working for the newspapers, so naturally they're entitled to be paid? As a matter of fact their employers are so happy that they put on a big annual celebration black tie dinner.

And they give out prizes and plaques. So when you go into a big agency's office have a look at the plaques on the wall. "For the Agency that booked the biggest Dollar Value Advertising for the Month - Year; For the Agent within the Agency who booked the biggest Dollar Value Advertising for the Month - Year etc.

You bet, every little dedicated worker gets a prize. They unfortunately don't have a prize for the Agency that rebates the newspaper kick back commission to the vendor!

And so we end the sorry saga of:
Tip! You need to find a suitable used car online auction service that provides tech support, an updated database of vehicles for you to choose from, and a service that is fast. The last thing you want is to sit around at a slow car auction site.

Auctions & Why You Should Run a Mile From Them?

Are You Saying Auctions Should Never Be Used for Selling Property?

No. I am not saying that at all. If you have a unique property that has features that may only appeal to a limited number of people in your immediate market, then you should auction.

The vast majority of Aussie Home sellers can get a better and cost effective result from selling by normal Private Treaty method. Remember it is the Net Result after all costs that ends up in your pocket.

And I did mention the ‘pressure' of the auction process and the ‘public profile' of the failed price does not work in your favor.

PS: The correct way to sell your property is by Private Treaty with a knowledgeable real estate agent with whom you are comfortable and in whom you have confidence.

The Real Estate Development Coach

Copyright Colm Dillon, October 2003 All Rights Reserved.

Tip! Gather information -if possible, you should first study the real estate property in question. In order to know how much to bid in a foreclosure auction, you should have a clear idea about the true value of the property.

Colm Dillonauthor of "Residential Development Made Easy" the only 'How To' Become a Developer eBook, selling in 38 Countries, has developed $1.2 Billion worth of real estate - read more on his web site http://realestatedevelopmentcoach.com/realestatedevelopment.html

Real Estate Investing: Family Feud with an Auction Deadline - Adventures in Probate/ Estate Purchase

One of our investor students told us of an interesting probate deal or "adventure" they're working on now and while it's a good story, it also illustrates lots of the ins and out of probate or estate issues and purchases.

The Seller (we'll call him Scott) co-owned this house with his mom, and he co-signed on the loan with mom. Mom has been deceased for 3 years now.

Scott says his sister lives there and is not making the payments, so the mortgage is behind 6 months in payments, and he's ready to sell the house. He said Mom left no will for her estate, but there are 6 other siblings. If that's not enough of an investing adventure for you yet—Scott then tells us that the bank is threatening foreclosure.
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They're not just threatening….we discover that the house is scheduled to go to the courthouse steps in 3 weeks. Why would anyone even try to purchase a mess like this with a short timeframe? Well, Scott owes $33,000 + $5000 in back payments on a cosmetic, light fix-up $10k rehab house that's worth about $140,000 when it's all fixed up. So let's do a little math to see if there's just a wee bit of profit in it.

ARV $140k minus Rehab $10k minus BuySellHold $21k minus Profit $25k equals MAO $84k

So the max we could afford to offer on this house is $84k, and he has to have $38k to cover the mortgage and the back payments, say another $35k so that each Scott and every other sibling/heir gets $5k profit too. That's a total of $73k, still leaving $11k EXTRA profit for the investor!! There IS big money to be made if you understand issues like these!
Tip! When the auction has just over 12 hours left, go in to the auction and revise the auction duration to 5 days. Wait for someone to buy.

Now, how do we work through the estate stuff. Well first we (or Scott) would have to negotiate this price with all the siblings to reach agreement on their share. Next they'd all have to verify that "mom didn't leave a will". If so, Scott could petition the probate court to appoint him as Administrator of the estate and he'd have to run a notification of the estate ad, and get all the siblings to sign document agreeing to his being made Administrator. Now Scott could sign the Purchase Contract as "Scott, Administrator of the Estate of Momma".

If the siblings said "no, Mom DID have a will"….then we'd spank Scott for fibbing, and see who was appointed as Executor of the estate in her will. That person would then have the court probate the will, and run an ad. Then the Executor would have to sign the Purchase contract as "[Name], Executor of the Estate of Momma", and sell the house and distribute the profit to the sibling/heirs as described in mom's will.
Tip! When the auction has just over 12 hours left, go in to the auction and revise the auction duration to 3 days. Yes, you can do this - as long as there is at least 12 hours left.

In the meantime, don't forget the upcoming foreclosure auction either. It's a race between the probating and the foreclosure to see who will hit the 'finish line' first. So the investor (she can say she's a friend of Scott, just helping out) will need to talk to the lender or their foreclosing attorney, in order to stall the auction.

She'll need to get a 'statement of account' to find out what the loan balance is, and also what the back payments, penalties and attorney fees add up to. These additional fees could be paid by the investor as preparation for a subject-to purchase. The risk is that if there is no will AND the sibling/heirs couldn't reach a quick agreement on price, she'd have to keep making monthly payments to the lender to prevent foreclosure but she wouldn't yet own it until (hopefully) the siblings reach agreement and appoint Scott as Administrator.
Tip! Search for some image hosting services. There are a couple of free image hosting companies out there allowing ‘hot linking” to eBay auctions.

I can hear you saying "but the investor could try for a short sale purchase direct from the lender, and not worry about all these siblings and probate issues"….problem is she can't get all the borrowers (momma's deceased) to sign all the short sale paperwork, and she doesn't yet have the property successfully probated to have a new legal Adminstrator/Executor that could sign either.

So no one can yet legally sell, nor sign short sale paperwork until either estate is probated or the lender forecloses and takes back ownership of the property….the clock is ticking…we shall see.

Best of success & abundance,

Lou Castillo

Now, Easily find all the real estate funding you'll ever need! This complete system will show you how to acquire unlimited real estate funding, even without using banks, hard money or your own credit! Learn more in this FREE Report!!

Real Estate Financing

How To Buy Bargain Property At Auction

Do you want to invest in profitable property or simply buy a new home at a bargain price? If so, you want to consider property auctions.

Properties sold at auction are often owned by mortgage lenders after repossessions, former council / housing association homes or have being empty for some time after the owner passed away.

In each case, the owner has put the property on auction for a quick sale and this can lead to some great deals on the market value.

Finding an auction

As auctions tend to cater for property professionals, rather than the general public, advertising and awareness of auction houses is limited.

A good place to start is looking through the telephone directory, yellow pages or searching on Google or Yahoo.

Another good tip is to keep an eye out for For Sale signs outside homes. Where the board says 'for sale by auction', call the telephone number provided. You will either get through to an estate agent acting on behalf of the auction house, or you will get through to the auction house directly.
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If you get through to an estate agent, ask them for the contact details of the auction house. The estate agent may be reluctant to do this, so it is worth being persistent.

Once you are able to make contact with the auction house, ask to be put on their mailing list. Although there is likely to be charge for this, you will begin to receive details of properties due for sale.

Before you bid

Having identified the property that you want to buy, you will need to arrange finance. For most people this will mean approaching a mortgage lender and it is important to do this in advance of the auction.

Remember once you win a bid, you are legally bound to purchase the property and you need to be able to pay within a set number of days.
Tip! When the auction has just over 12 hours left, go in to the auction and revise the auction duration to 10 days. (Don't forget this will cost you a small fee on eBay.

The mortgage lender will require a basic valuation of the property, but it is advisable to invest in a full survey as the property may be at auction due to structural problems, which the basic survey would not pick up.

Before bidding for your desired property, you may want to attend a few auctions to get a better idea of the experience.

Winning your bid

Set yourself a price limit, but do not get carried away and bid beyond it. Having had a valuation done, you will have a good idea of the market value and should not go above the amount agreed with your mortgage lender.

If your bid is successful, you will be legally bound to purchase the property and will need to put down a 10% deposit of the property's selling price. You will be asked to sign a contract, which you would have seen before the auction and the seller will be legally bound to complete on the day.
Tip! Bidders will use eBay search to find auctions matching their requirements. As you may know, by default eBay's search facility only checks auction titles for the presence of the keywords input by the searcher.

Finally you will need to pay the remainder of the selling price within an agreed period, such as 28 days.
Tip! The auction concludes naturally.

Congratulations, you have just picked up an auction deal.

Don Suter is Managing Editor of the UK Property Portal (http://www.ukpropertyportal.co.uk), an online directory for UK property sales, rental, surveyors, mortgages, conveyancing, property insurance, removals, news, investment and development.

For more information and advice, search our property sales pages

Five Top Tips When Buying Property At Auction

Buying property at auction can often produce a bargain purchase, but equally there are many pitfalls when buying in this manner. It is quite easy to make a disastrous mistake, so beware. Here are my five top tips to consider when buying a house at auction.

One: Always go and see the property with your own eyes. It may seem so obvious, but you will be surprised how many people don't. If you don't inspect yourself, or appoint a qualified advisor to do so, how do you know the location is acceptable? If you don't go, you could end up buying a house situated under an electricity pylon, or opposite a sewage farm, or even worse, ten yards, or ten feet, from a rapidly eroding clifftop. The property might look incredibly cheap on the glossy pages, but in those cases would it really be so? Don't be persuaded by fancy colour photographs in the auctioneer's catalogue, and his flowery descriptions. That's their job, to sell to unwary buyers. Remember Caveat Emptor: buyer beware. Always see the house with your own eyes, or hire a pair of reliable eyes to see it for you.
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Two: Prepare accurate costings. It is pointless buying a house for 100,000 that needs another 100,000 spending on it, if it will only be worth 170,000 after the work is completed. Work out actual costings carefully, and don't forget to include financial arrangement fees, lawyer's fees, and if you are planning to sell straight away, your selling costs too, such as Agent's fees and any loan repayments. Professional fees can quickly add up, and if your potential margin is a little skinny in the first place, you could find those fees eating your entire margin away, or even worse than that, you might even end up having to throw cash at your project to bring it to a successful conclusion. Accurate arithmetic is an essential. Never stray off your planned path.
Tip! When the auction has just over 12 hours left, go in to the auction and revise the auction duration to 5 days. Wait for someone to buy.

Three: Set a ceiling limit to your bidding, and NEVER bust it. In the heat of the moment, in the excitement and anticipation of the auction room, a room that can be packed with eager buyers orchestrated by an experienced enthusiastic auctioneer, it is very easy to become sucked into the excitement of the moment. It is very easy to be persuaded to pay more than you meant to. When the auctioneer says laughingly "come on, what's another 5,000?" Or "you're not going to miss it for a mere 5,000 are you?" Remember that this is your money he is talking about, coming out of your profit margin. As soon as you hear comments such as that, you should be reacquainting yourself with your absolute maximum figure.

Never forget, it is the auctioneer's job to relieve the buyers of as much money as possible, and you're one of the buyers! The auctioneer is NOT your friend, he is not acting for you, he is acting for the seller, so treat them with the utmost care. Set a ceiling price and don't bust it. There is always another property round the corner; there is always another auction next week or next month. And ask yourself this: would you rather buy the property you really want, at 25,000 over your maximum price, or would you prefer to pick up a bargain next time? Some times it can take a very long time to get rid of a badly bought property. So don't buy bad!
Tip! Learn the government auto auction process, go to the auctions a few times and just observe and ask questions. This will prevent you from making costly mistakes on your first live auction.

Four: Read the contract terms, read the auctioneer's terms. This is most important, for if you don't read all the small print, what are you letting yourself in for? For example does the auctioneer charge a buyer's premium? What charges will they levy on you? What methods of payments will they accept? How much of the full cost of the house will they expect you to pay when the hammer falls? If you don't read all the small print, how will you know what you are agreeing to. The small print is there for a reason, and it is saying something. It is up to you to make sure that you know what that is. Remember, when the hammer falls, you are contracted to buy that property, come what may, and that includes all the terms and conditions that the auctioneer laid down beforehand. There is no turning back. If you don't know the terms, you are asking for trouble. Read the contract terms thoroughly, every time.

Five: Get to the auction in good time. Find yourself a nice seat and listen carefully to the opening announcements. Just like the terms and conditions, these announcements might be important. You'll miss them if you arrive twenty minutes late, and you would only have yourself to blame. Pay attention to what is happening, and listen carefully. Don't worry about scratching your nose and buying a house by mistake. That doesn't happen. And before the time comes for you to get involved, decide how you are going to bid. You could raise your hand, you could catch the auctioneer's eye and nod aggressively, you could wave your card or program, but stick to one method. Auctioneers can become confused if one moment it's a nod, the next a nose scratch, or an ear pull!
Tip! State in all your auction listings that customers can save on shipping costs by bidding on multiple items at the same tim. Include information about other auctions you have listed at that time that may be related to the product in the auction.

Buying a property at auction can net you a bargain, but only providing you have done your homework beforehand. Don't allow yourself to be caught out on basic errors, and the chances are you will find it an exciting experience, and walk away with a bargain. Never worry if you miss a particular property, for there is always another one around the corner, and there is nothing worse than paying far too much just because you fell in love with it.
Tip! In case you own a website you can make a special “ebay” directory for your auctions pictures.

David Carter's latest published work is SPLAM! Successful Property Letting And Management. Splam! contains over 240 pages of hints and tips on how to start your own property business on a limited budget, and how to successfully let residential property. You can view actual extracts of the book at http://www.splam.co.uk and order a download or a hard copy at this site or you can go direct to the publishers at http://www.lulu.com/dc. He also runs a holiday cottage website where you can access over 7,000 holiday cottages, apartments and villas worldwide at http://www.pebblebeachmedia.co.uk. Don't you deserve a holiday? Well of course you do! You can contact David on any matter any time at supalife@aol.com

Buying Foreclosure in Auction - Great Fortune

Sure you know what's auction. But do you know by buying foreclosure in auction, you can actually earn up to 100,000USD; or save up to that amount if you are buying a foreclosure home for residential purpose? Of cause, those profits happen with the conditions you have the resources needed.

Buying great foreclosure bargains in auction at local country house isn't that easy at all. It's not about how much you afford to pay, it's about how many info you have and how well you use the info. Thus, do research before stepping in the court house is very important. Find out the true value of a foreclosure home so that you know what your bidding limit is. For example, if the result of your research tells you that a foreclosure home's market value is 200,000, after deducting the repair cost, let say 20,000, you will still be earning a great amount if you bid at 130,000 after the last and nearest bid of 100,000. Yes, it's all about business in auction. You got the info, you got the money.
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Thus, research the foreclosure home in details. Check the neighborhood of the foreclosure home. Is it near a field? How far is the foreclosure home from town? Is there any factory near by? How's the piping system? What're the market current needs? These are factors affecting the market value of a property. And those are why foreclosure listings are growing more important in this buying foreclosure business. Foreclosure listings gather all the necessary info of a foreclosure home. You can always start your foreclosure research from the listings.

To win in auction, you need skills and info. You need to first find out the market value as well as other details of the foreclosure home. Knowing those things help you in setting your bottom line, your bottom line of bidding price. Because to win in auction, it doesn't mean how less money you spend to get the property, but how big is the difference between your bidding price and the market value of a foreclosure home. Set a bottom line for yourself based on your research. If the market value of the foreclosure home is 150,000, your bottom line would be around 130,000. (Lesser down your bottom line a bit from the market value in case of some calculation mistakes or changes of the market.) Stick to your bottom line in auction, because if you exceed your bottom line, you would have to bear unpredictable losses. There is no point to buy a financial burden instead of a bargain at first, isn't there?
Tip! Bidders will use eBay search to find auctions matching their requirements. As you may know, by default eBay's search facility only checks auction titles for the presence of the keywords input by the searcher.

There is no short cut for winning in a foreclosure auction. You will need to research and research to gather info as much as possible. Yes, it's not easy at all to win in foreclosure auction. However, the good news is, it's not that hard too to win. As long as you have the persistence, you will win. Seeing the fruitful return in foreclosure auction, it's worthwhile to put in efforts. To know more on foreclosure auction, I suggest you to get a foreclosure book as the book can show you more things which a piece of article can't.

Shawn Daren makes it clear on how to pick up great bargains on foreclosure home.Learn the key of earning 100k in buying foreclosure.To know more on foreclosure,visit his buying foreclosure website.

Foreclosure Auction - The Quest To Win in Your First Foreclosure Auction Bid

Auction is the stage of the foreclosure home process when the pre-foreclosure phrase of a foreclosure home has ended. Lenders will bring the title of the foreclosure home for auction and looking for new owner of the foreclosure home. The purpose of the lenders putting the foreclosure home on auction is to recapture the losses that the previous owner caused. There is only business in auction. People bid and the highest bid win the foreclosure home.

To win in auction, you must have understood the process of foreclosure auction. In most of the cases, lenders are the first mortgage holder of a foreclosure home. Thus, the fund collected from auction has to first give to the lenders. Once the first mortgage holder has been satisfied, any extra funds will be used to settle any other remaining obligations. Then only the funds will be disbursed to the foreclosure homeowner if there are any remain.
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1) Foreclosure Home Title Research Who don't want to make money if there are chances? To make money through buying foreclosure home in auctions, there are a few preparations you must do. If you are seeing a foreclosure home, you must first do a title research on it. The goal of doing the title research is to determine all the liens or judgments against the foreclosure home. These can include civil lawsuit judgments, unpaid personal property taxes and state and federal tax liens. This is because if you got the hammer knock on the foreclosure home, you will be granted the title to the foreclosure home subject to all liens and encumbrances. If you misjudge the hidden liens, there will be extra costs in your planning.
Tip! Search for some image hosting services. There are a couple of free image hosting companies out there allowing ‘hot linking” to eBay auctions.

2) Getting Finance Secondly, after doing the foreclosure home research and info collections, you need to be ready with financing. This is because in order to bid in auction, you need cash or cash equivalent to show you're affordable to participate in auction. They will record your cash amount and that will be your limit to bid. If your bid exceeds the limit, your bid will be counted as invalid. Besides, when you present the winning bid, you will need to pay a 5-10% deposit on the spot as the conclusion of the auction while the balance of the purchase price due within a few days. You will need financing to back you up immediately.

3) Psychology Preparation Thirdly, the psychology preparation you need is to get yourself used to the auction environment. It's recommended that you attend the auction for a few times before making the first bid. This act will help you to get comfortable with the auction process and give you confident. Auction is very intense during the process. People will easily get controlled by the intense environment and get high in auction. This is always the cause of mistakes. For foreclosure home, if your bid exceeds the value of the house, you will earn nothing though you've won the auction. Thus, you have to set a bottom line in your bidding and stick to it. Most importantly, stay firm with your bottom line in auction and don't easily get affected by the intense environment there.
Tip! Upon entering the used car online auction site you will do the following. Simply choose your model, and make of the car you wish to find, and click go! It really is that easy.

Buying a foreclosure home in auction could really be a great bargain. Because a foreclosure home is being sold based on the balance of the loan but not on the market value. That means a foreclosure home is more profitable if the differences between the balance of the loan and market value is huge. Buying foreclosure home in auction can bring you fortune. If you are a home buyer, u save money; if you are an investor, you make money when reselling the foreclosure home with market value. Either way, to enjoy the profit from foreclosure home, you need to first start your research with free foreclosure listings now.

For being involved in both home loan and real estate career offline, Shawn Daren is experienced to share his knowledge with us. Visit his site to learn more on free foreclosure listings and how to buy foreclosure.

Online Property Auction and Its Benefits

Auction is the process of selling and buying products by offering or taking bids and selling the same to the highest bidder. In short, auction is the open sale of a property or service.

Traditional auctioneering methods happened in public forums calling on people who were interested in buying the particular item for sale. The seller will have a particular amount in mind and when this is met in the auction, he sells the item to that particular bidder. Now, auction is taking up new forms with the use of increased technology. The birth of online auction is thus, a sudden process.

Online auctions happen on the internet. Participants in the auction process will bid for the products or services over the internet. This gives out a two fold advantage, advantage for the seller and also for the buyer. Online auctions open up a favorable condition for the buyer and it gives an opportunity to search for his needs and select the best. For the seller, it gives a chance to open up sales channels and display his new products.

Online auction has become a big business today. Now millions of people around the world are making money and buying products through internet auction methods.
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How online auctions function

* Registering

This is the first step in participating in online auction. This simple process requires people who are above 18 to participate in the auction. While registering you may have to agree with the terms and conditions of the online auction methods, be it service or product. You can also change your preferences in most auction site. Once you are a member of the auction site, you are eligible to participate in the auction process. You can also terminate your agreement when it is desirable and also with respect to the signed agreement.

Most of the sites will ensure privacy in all their dealings and your information will be kept secret.

* Auction fee

Some of the auction sites are free. But there are also others who charge you. Know about this beforehand and also whether they have any hidden rates or prices. The fees will be usually less in many sites.

* Know the rules

You need to know about the rules prior to participating in auction. If you are not aware of the rules and regulations, you might be put in difficulties. So, it is always better you know the rules and then go with participating in the auction process.

Tip! Find out what the buyers premium is for that particular government auto auction and remember to factor that into the equation, it is typically 5% to 10% of the winning bid. Most first time car auction buyers do not even know about the buyers premium.

The advantages of the online auction methods are many.

1. Feasibility

Internet is an easy medium. Rather than going to the place and attending the auction methods, it is always better you sit at home and do the bargain. There are no extra costs involved and no wastage of time too.

2. Better prices

If you are a seller, you get better prices through auction. You will get to know about other people, understand their interests and also compare the market prices with the internet rates. You will definitely get better prices in auction.

3. Quick sales

Sales happen fast as everybody interacts over the internet and the selling or buying happens so fast and easy. There will be no dragging of time at all as in forums because people from different streams can easily interact through the internet.

4. List more products

Internet enables to list more products. You can also search for the different characteristics of different products and assess whether it suits you or not. Unlimited choices are one of the merits of online auctioneering.

Buyers should take things seriously when the auction happens. It is better not to start with a higher price always and gradually make it high. Do not drag time when it is time for you to pay. Paying at the right time shows your professionalism. Sellers also should take up things seriously and answer all the questions correctly and truthfully. Do not include lengthy descriptions; rather make it concise and crisp.
Tip! Try to add bonus items to your auctions where applicable to encourage bids. Free ebooks, extra ad space (if you're selling ad space), free software, free samples of related items you sell, coupons for free shipping of the next item the bidder wins, etc.

Despite the advantages of online auction, there are also some demerits attached to it in the form of frauds. You should have a keen sense of determining the fraud and do not fall in to a trap because of carelessness.

Misrepresenting This often happens in fraud online auctions. Merchandise will misrepresent them and try to trap people. Things will be overstated like the amount, and they play hidden tricks.

Failure to pay Once the auction is over, some people will not pay and it will be later on noticed that they are frauds. You might also lose money if they had charged fees in the name of registration. There are also people who make you pay first and do not ship products. These things should be taken care of before you engage in the auction process.

Internet fencing This is the process of selling goods that are stolen through auction. You never know they are stolen until you are caught.

Credit card fraud This has become a common theft in the internet world. Credit card theft is also used in auction by some frauds and they act very honest and diligent. Here stolen credit cards are used to ship products and you pay for the same. Only when you are caught by the police will you be able to know about the trap.
Tip! You need to find a suitable used car online auction service that provides tech support, an updated database of vehicles for you to choose from, and a service that is fast. The last thing you want is to sit around at a slow car auction site.

Internet auction is thriving up in the market. Like any other auction methods, internet auction has its own protocol. It is necessary that both the seller and the buyer should follow these etiquettes to keep up the auction industry grow up and make it reliable.

Ron Victor is a SEO copywriter for propertyauctionzone.com He written many articles in various topics.

For more information visit http://www.propertyauctionzone.com Contact him at ron.seocopywriter@gmail.com

Foreclosure Home In Auction – Striking It With Profits

Buying a foreclosure home in auction for investment is very fruitful so to say. This is because foreclosure home in auction is usually being sold for 40-50% under market value. This scenario allows you to enjoy huge profits when you resell the foreclosure home with market value. Not to be over-exaggerate, 50,000 could be earned.

To earn this 50,000, this is what happens. First you research on a foreclosure home, second you prepare and equip yourself with info, third you get financing, and then step into the court house with confident and bring back the great foreclosure bargains. Easy? But a lot of people have get nothing after involving in buying foreclosure home in auction for so many years. Why?

Foreclosure Home Info is everything

Buying foreclosure home in auction isn't that easy as you think. Bidding in auction is like fighting in a war. To win this foreclosure auction and bring back your great foreclosure bargains, you need a lot of preparation. You need a lot of info to understand more on a foreclosure home. There are many things of a foreclosure home that we should know in order to win in the auction such as its loan info and market value. If you misjudge the market value of a foreclosure home, you might end up earning nothing from auction.
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Foreclosure Listings - Easiest way to obtain foreclosure info The easiest way to research a foreclosure home is through foreclosure listings. Although some say foreclosure listings are not complete with info enough, the listings provide you ultimate convenience. As foreclosure listings are very common now, you can easily access the info of thousands foreclosure home for auction online anywhere, anytime. Learn the location and the loan info of a foreclosure home provided in the foreclosure listings. Based on the info, you need to deeper your foreclosure home research such as visiting the location of the foreclosure home, contacting the lender for title research, etc.

Foreclosure Listings Free Trial

There are many foreclosure listings providing free trials now. Without paying anything, you can use their service to search and research foreclosure home nationwide for several days. If you think the service they providing is good enough, go ahead for the fee-base service as you will need foreclosure listings to determine great bargains. You can also take this advantage to have peep on foreclosure listings and understand how the listings work. After all, you have nothing to lose.
Tip! Bidders will use eBay search to find auctions matching their requirements. As you may know, by default eBay's search facility only checks auction titles for the presence of the keywords input by the searcher.

Buying great foreclosure bargains in auction need your hard works. To earn that 50,000 in buying foreclosure home in auction, continuous research is important. But after you've hold firm the key of winning in the auction, earning thousands in auction is just within your finger tips. To conclude, why don't give it a try to research foreclosure since you have nothing to lose?

Shawn Daren is the webmaster of BuyingForeclosure.biz. His buying foreclosure website provides info on picking up great foreclosure bargains. Visit his site to learn more on free foreclosure listings.

Selling Your Home? Consider an Auction

It's a pity that very few people consider auctioning a house as a viable selling option. This may be because many believe that auctions are only done at Christie's for small works of art, or done by banks to get rid of their repossessed properties. The latter reason may also be the most compelling reason why home owners would rather not put their house on public auction, and choose to just wait it out.

Unfortunately, waiting for the right time to sell a house or the right person to come along and purchase the house will not be beneficial to your property's existing market value. Remember that the longer your house stays on the market, the older and the more new competition it gets. Although the land the house rests on may increase in value, the physical structure itself, devalues. In addition, you may be paying extra on taxes and maintenance, expenses that you can do without.

If there is an existing real estate demand or the property rates are high, why not grab the opportunity and put up your unit for an auction. It's a quick and effective way of selling a property at a short period of time and what makes it different is that you won't have to accept low offers. When your property is auctioned; you will most likely get maximum returns. Auctions also reduce haggling and negotiations as the buyers are to abide by the terms and conditions (including payment terms and deadlines) the seller sets.
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Auctions are usually done in a function room of a realtor's office. The official valuator will determine the true value of the property and bidding starts from there. By pitting several interested buyers together in one venue, the buyers will know how much they are up against and can easily outbid each other until a buyer offers to buy the property at a price no one would want to match.

Even if your property is up for auction, you are not limited to accepting the bids offered at the auction itself. You may entertain other offers to purchase and, in case the winning bid is lower than an external offer to purchase, you can put the property on hold (or set is aside) until you've decided to whom you'd want to sell your home to.

To know more about auctions, their procedures and your responsibility as a seller, it is best that you request a real estate agent to discuss these with you thoroughly.

LegalHomeForms.com provides Real Estate Forms and Contracts for buying and selling property. Download a Real Estate Contract today.

How to Get the Upper Hand in a Foreclosure Auction

Foreclosure auctions are events in which a bank sells a real estate property it has acquired through the foreclosure of a debt.

In foreclosure events, people are invited to bid for the property and the property is often sold to the person who offers to pay the most amount for the real estate.

In foreclosure auctions, you need to be careful in order to get the best deal out of the house.

Here are some tips in getting the best deal in a foreclosure auction:

1. Gather information -if possible, you should first study the real estate property in question. In order to know how much to bid in a foreclosure auction, you should have a clear idea about the true value of the property.
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For this, you will need to get the services of a qualified assessor. You will need to rely upon your instincts and observe every minute detail regarding the real estate property.

You should include in your research any potential developments in the community, which could affect the value of the property. You should take into consideration any potential uses of the property in terms of business or commercial developments.

In gathering information, you must certify that each bit of information you acquire will be relevant to the foreclosure auction.

You may need to screen out information, which proves to be useless in the said foreclosure auction.

2. Be discreet -if you stumble across something big, you need to be discreet and use it as a weapon on the foreclosure auction. This way, you will be able to quickly gain the upper hand.
Tip! When the auction has just over 12 hours left, go in to the auction and revise the auction duration to 7 days. Wait for someone to buy.

Discretion on your part will give you an advantage over the other bidders. Any information you stumble upon will help you set your boundaries and goals during the foreclosure auction.
Tip! The auction concludes naturally.

3. Self-control -the reason you need to gather information is to set boundaries for yourself. You need to stick to those boundaries, no matter how much you want a property.

Self-control means being master, not a slave, to your emotions. You can let your passion fuel the foreclosure auction, but you cannot let those feelings rule the auction.

You need self-control in order to get the best deal possible in a foreclosure auction. You need to know when to walk away.

Some people tend to lose themselves in the sheer competition of a bidding war. In the end, you will have paid so much more than what you have anticipated.

This leads to bad deals, and a lot of hyperacidity.

4. Be flexible -having self-control does not necessarily mean dismissing a deal out of hand because it failed to meet your projections.

In a foreclosure auction you need to know when to push the advantage. You need to know when to go on bidding, and when the property is worth the additional price.
Tip! The used car online auction service will go out to their updated database and find entries which match your query. The results will be displayed on screen and you can choose the used car of your dreams.

Being flexible means you can adjust your attitude and your bids according to the competitors in the foreclosure auction.

Remember that flexibility is what allowed the human race to survive thus far.

These are just some of the tips you may find useful in a foreclosure auction. In using these tips and techniques, you can be assured that you may gain some advantages over other bidders.

Remember always to keep to your plan, but be ready to divert when necessary.

And, as always, remember to be true.

insideforeclosure.com is a free information site that offers articles and resources on Fore Closure. If you want to read or share information on Business: Auction, you're always welcome!

Family Feud with an Auction Deadline - Adventures in Probate/ Estate Purchases

One of our investor students told us of an interesting probate deal or "adventure" they're working on now and while it's a good story, it also illustrates lots of the ins and out of probate or estate issues and purchases.

The Seller (we'll call him Scott) co-owned this house with his mom, and he co-signed on the loan with mom. Mom has been deceased for 3 years now.

Scott says his sister lives there and is not making the payments, so the mortgage is behind 6 months in payments, and he's ready to sell the house. He said Mom left no will for her estate, but there are 6 other siblings. If that's not enough of an investing adventure for you yet—Scott then tells us that the bank is threatening foreclosure.

They're not just threatening….we discover that the house is scheduled to go to the courthouse steps in 3 weeks. Why would anyone even try to purchase a mess like this with a short timeframe? Well, Scott owes $33,000 + $5000 in back payments on a cosmetic, light fix-up $10k rehab house that's worth about $140,000 when it's all fixed up. So let's do a little math to see if there's just a wee bit of profit in it.
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ARV $140k minus Rehab $10k minus BuySellHold $21k minus Profit $25k equals MAO $84k

So the max we could afford to offer on this house is $84k, and he has to have $38k to cover the mortgage and the back payments, say another $35k so that each Scott and every other sibling/heir gets $5k profit too. That's a total of $73k, still leaving $11k EXTRA profit for the investor!! There IS big money to be made if you understand issues like these!

Now, how do we work through the estate stuff. Well first we (or Scott) would have to negotiate this price with all the siblings to reach agreement on their share. Next they'd all have to verify that "mom didn't leave a will". If so, Scott could petition the probate court to appoint him as Administrator of the estate and he'd have to run a notification of the estate ad, and get all the siblings to sign document agreeing to his being made Administrator. Now Scott could sign the Purchase Contract as "Scott, Administrator of the Estate of Momma".
Tip! Try to add bonus items to your auctions where applicable to encourage bids. Free ebooks, extra ad space (if you're selling ad space), free software, free samples of related items you sell, coupons for free shipping of the next item the bidder wins, etc.

If the siblings said "no, Mom DID have a will"….then we'd spank Scott for fibbing, and see who was appointed as Executor of the estate in her will. That person would then have the court probate the will, and run an ad. Then the Executor would have to sign the Purchase contract as "[Name], Executor of the Estate of Momma", and sell the house and distribute the profit to the sibling/heirs as described in mom's will.

In the meantime, don't forget the upcoming foreclosure auction either. It's a race between the probating and the foreclosure to see who will hit the 'finish line' first. So the investor (she can say she's a friend of Scott, just helping out) will need to talk to the lender or their foreclosing attorney, in order to stall the auction.
Tip! Biggest tip: Get to the government auto auction early. You have got to pick out the cars you are interested in and inspect the cars thoroughly.

She'll need to get a 'statement of account' to find out what the loan balance is, and also what the back payments, penalties and attorney fees add up to. These additional fees could be paid by the investor as preparation for a subject-to purchase. The risk is that if there is no will AND the sibling/heirs couldn't reach a quick agreement on price, she'd have to keep making monthly payments to the lender to prevent foreclosure but she wouldn't yet own it until (hopefully) the siblings reach agreement and appoint Scott as Administrator.

I can hear you saying "but the investor could try for a short sale purchase direct from the lender, and not worry about all these siblings and probate issues"….problem is she can't get all the borrowers (momma's deceased) to sign all the short sale paperwork, and she doesn't yet have the property successfully probated to have a new legal Adminstrator/Executor that could sign either.
Tip! When the auction has just over 12 hours left, go in to the auction and revise the auction duration to 5 days. Wait for someone to buy.

So no one can yet legally sell, nor sign short sale paperwork until either estate is probated or the lender forecloses and takes back ownership of the property….the clock is ticking…we shall see.

Best of success & abundance,

Lou Castillo

About The Author Lou Castillo FREE! Real Estate Investing Secrets To Earning $100,000 Your 1st Year! -- 11 Overlooked Real Estate Statregies That Will Turn Your Investing Business upside Down And On The Fast Track TO Success...Guranteed! Plus A Bonus Track With A Secret So Successful It Can Double Your Investing Income Overnight! http://www.InvestorSuccessTactics.com

Top Ten Internet Auction Shipping Tips

Here are some tips to help you with your Internet auction shipments.

1. Ship Small, Lightweight Products

The heavier and bulkier the product, the more it will cost to ship. Pick light items in preference to heavier items. Of course, downloadable e-books are the lightest product of all. On the other hand, if your customers want your heavy and bulky items badly enough, they should be willing to pay for the extra shipping charges.
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2. Ship Nonphysical Products

Having to ship physical products means more work. You need to pack and label your products, calculate shipping charges, and arrange for the orders to be shipped. Again, electronic downloads eliminate the hassles of physical shipping. However, tangible goods seem to have a higher perceived value. That being the case, you won't want to eliminate physical products entirely as they can be real profit makers for you.
Tip! In case you own a website you can make a special “ebay” directory for your auctions pictures.

3. Drop Shipping

Another way to avoid some of the hassles of product fulfillment is drop shipping. There are suppliers who will ship one item at a time for you. You don`t have to stock any inventory. You simply pay your dropship supplier out of the money you receive from your auction sale. They will ship the product directly to your customer.

4. Recycle

If you receive bubble wrap, styrofoam peanuts, bubble bags, or appropriate cardboard boxes, you may be able to reuse them for your shipments.
Tip! Search for some image hosting services. There are a couple of free image hosting companies out there allowing ‘hot linking” to eBay auctions.

5. Bulk Buying

If you do a lot of auctions, buy your packaging supplies in bulk to receive better pricing.

6. Free Shipping Supplies

Your post office or courier company may supply free shipping cartons for certain shipments.

7. Use Online Automated Tools

You can determine shipping charges from PayPal, the postal service and courier companies by visiting their websites and using the online automated shipping calculation tools. In many cases, you can even create prepaid shipping labels and then arrange for pickup or dropoff of your shipments.

8. Avoid Fragile Items

Obviously, fragile items need to be packed with more care than unbreakable items. Pick durable items in preference to delicate items to reduce damage claims.

9. Insure Valuable Shipments

If you can't afford the loss of a lost, stolen, or damaged product, be sure to insure your shipment. While you're at it, request a delivery confirmation, preferably with signature required.

10. Prepare Foreign Shipments Properly

Be sure to prepare the proper Customs Declaration for international shipments. Keep in mind that there are items you can't legally ship. Even your packing material should be considered. As an example, items shipped in a box labelled "liquor" or "munitions" might be delayed at Customs.
Tip! You need to find a suitable used car online auction service that provides tech support, an updated database of vehicles for you to choose from, and a service that is fast. The last thing you want is to sit around at a slow car auction site.

RESOURCE BOX:

J. Stephen Pope, President of Pope Consulting Inc., has been helping clients to earn maximum business profits for over twenty-five years.

For profitable Work at Home Small Business Ideas, visit http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/

To learn more about Internet auctions, visit http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/auctions.html

Top 10 Ways to Identify a Successful Reverse Auction Opportunity

"What can I reverse auction" is a typical question that we hear nearly everyday from our clients. This article will define and explain the Top 10 criteria that we look at to make a decision as to whether or not an item or service is a good reverse auction candidate. We have found all of these topics to be very important and they will provide a guideline to help you along the sometimes bumpy reverse auction road. While these points are not rules written in stone, they are based on research and our experience in helping reverse auction clients.

Here is eDynaQuote's Top 10 List:

1) "The dollar amount should be sufficient to generate the interest of potential suppliers." The sufficient dollar amount will be relative to the market, but larger dollar volumes will generate a lot of interest from many suppliers. And the more interested suppliers you have in a reverse auction the better.

2) "You should have at least two qualified suppliers." Have a documented supplier qualification requirement process in order for the vendors to know that their competition is legitimate and to validate your selection process. Qualifying your vendors is extremely important since you need to have your competition on a level playing field, and you do not want sub-par products or services.
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3) "Write clear and complete purchase specifications." You should know exactly what you want, how much you want and when you want it or your suppliers will not be able to bid apples to apples. A reverse auction is not an RFP where some details can be left to figure out later. You should be able to clearly specify your purchase before you choose to run a reverse auction.

4) "Define and document award criteria." Since most commercial purchases are based on factors other than lowest price, you should define, document and make available to the suppliers your award criteria. You should be able to accurately tell your vendors exactly what they need to do in order to win your business.

5) "Supplier change-over risk is low." Look for areas where the cost to change suppliers is low. Keep in mind that costs are not just a hard dollar figure for the product or service you want to reverse auction. Think of all the other costs involved such as training, compatibility issues and what the learning curve looks like.
Tip! And, assuming as a result of the search your auction has been returned in the list along with many others, the title now has to persuade the searcher to click through onto YOUR auction description page - your sales pitch.

6) "Have a good forecast of the quantities and dollar volume." Be sure to aggregate accurate data on how much you currently spend. You should be able to clearly document what and how much you are buying so you can provide those details as historical data to potential suppliers. You could be short-changing yourself and not getting as big a volume discount as you could be.

7) "Only include similar items in the same bid package." While you can have many similar line items in a reverse auction, you do not want unrelated items in the same lot or bucket. Keep dissimilar items separate to avoid confusion. This will also allow suppliers to focus on their core competencies, and not disqualify them from bidding if they do not provide one item in the lot you are reverse auctioning.

8) "Keep reverse auctions below ten line items." You want to keep the bidding simple, so do not over-complicate it by adding too many line items to the reverse auction. You can say "see attached spreadsheet" and include many similar items for them to bid on in one overall line item. Once you get too many line items, the suppliers will lose their focus and not be as competitive.
Tip! Be discreet -if you stumble across something big, you need to be discreet and use it as a weapon on the foreclosure auction. This way, you will be able to quickly gain the upper hand.

9) "Clearly define an alternate submission process." If alternates, substitutes or options are allowable, you will need to clearly define what the submission process is and make those alternates available for all suppliers to bid on. You still want an apple to apple comparison when using reverse auctions, so be as clear as possible as to what you will or will not accept as an alternate. You do not want to leave a potential supplier in the dark about what alternates you are willing to accept, or you run the risk of not having a successful reverse auction.
Tip! Start your Fixed Price single item auction off with 1 day duration. Wait for someone to buy.

10) "Are there compressible margins for the suppliers to compete on?" Stay away from using reverse auctions on items that have a market traded price such as oil and natural gas. You can reverse auction the distribution of these items though. The idea here is to reverse auction items that have prices set by the decisions of people and company pricing policies, and to avoid reverse auctioning items that have a freely traded market price.

Doug Luthringer is a Client Development Manager at eDynaQuote (http://www.eDynaQuote.com) with over two years of strategy, implementation and training experience in online reverse auctions and over six years with online forward auctions such as eBay. Doug has also been invited to be a guest speaker to talk about how to properly use reverse auctions to small and medium size business, as well as university students.

School's Out for Summer – Except for Auction Bidders!

It used to be the case that auction sales came to a juddering halt with the onset of the summer social season and the school holidays. June typically represented the peak of activity with flagship sales at the major houses, accompanied by the serious business of sports spectating. You may have noticed that the Open Golf has just begun as has another Test series. Ascot, Henley and Wimbledon have been and gone as has the small matter of the World Cup. It can be difficult to find the time to attend to any business when confronted by the demands of wall to wall sporting coverage, alcoholic intake and cloudless skies.
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However, a few smart operators have recognised the virtues of conducting sales precisely when everybody is supposed to be in siesta mode, whether on or off the beach. Years ago, I remember that the very thought of a Christmas sale would have been dismissed but the global market and working habits have changed all that. There have been a number of successful sales over that period, often aimed at those who have stepped beyond the confines of the conventional calendar. Right now, there is a sense of stealing a march on the competition who appear less profitably employed negotiating the hazards of airport security and melanoma in pursuit of other summer comforts.
Tip! The auction concludes naturally.

There is a certain novelty appeal to summer auctions. One is often bewitched by the extraordinary variety in the room. Dress codes are truly a law unto themselves and very watchable. The lots can be pretty interesting too. However, the English in a state of partial undress can be something of a distraction, for better or for worse, and can sometimes overshadow the main event. The sultry heat encourages people to lose a few inhibitions but sales over the holiday season, both hot and cold, do encourage a greater generosity of spirit. There is a kindred spirit, a fellowship perhaps, among those who remain while the world at large decamps elsewhere. There also some fine bargains for the judicious buyers but the savviest auctioneers in future will be those who recognise that off peak sales are best combined with access to the latest sporting extravaganza and homespun hospitality. Bottoms up then - assuming, of course, you're already off your chair waving your paddle and exhibiting your personal style for all to see!
Tip! Be discreet -if you stumble across something big, you need to be discreet and use it as a weapon on the foreclosure auction. This way, you will be able to quickly gain the upper hand.

Howard Lewis, Chairman, Invaluable group of companies http://www.invaluable.com

Only Invaluable gives you unrivalled access to pre-sale and post-sale information for auction houses and salerooms across the globe.

Find art, antiques and collectables. Try our Keyword search, register at http://www.invaluable.com for a free 14 day trial.

Secrets of My Favorite Government Auction

I love bargains. And there's no better place to find bargains than an auction. And there are no better auctions than government surplus auctions. My favorite government surplus auction takes place the 3rd week of September every year in the County Park. I won't tell you which county park as this is my best-kept secret! Even though the auction is advertised in the local papers (as required my law), I usually find the same 20-30 people mulling around, looking at all the lots. And many of them I know are not high-bidders!

This annual auction is the county-wide surplus auction. You will find everything and anything here as the county has various and departments. They have the typical office equipment and furniture, cars, trucks, law equipment, etc. But some more unusual things that have been auctioned off have been things like a street sign maker (for making stop signs and the like), a row of metal lockers (from the old county pool), playground equipment, 5000 plastic cafeteria trays (that sold for $8!), a stainless steel chef's cart, a chrome torpedo trash can, and a fully operational dump truck that went for several hundred dollars.
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Since I have been attending for many years, I know what to expect and I know how much to pay. For example, they typically have a dozen retro office chairs that sell very well on ebay. The opening bid on the chairs is usually $5.00 each. However, by not bidding, I can usually wait (and luckily no one else knows what a gold mine these chairs are…they just look like dirty old chairs!), and the auctioneer will lower the opening bid to $3.00, then $2.00, then $1.00, then fifty cents! Still, I am patient and wait as he throws in two or three more chairs for fifty cents! My last trip to the auction, I netted seven chairs for $4.00! I turned around and sold them for $25.00 each!
Tip! When the auction has just over 12 hours left, go in to the auction and revise the auction duration to 7 days. Wait for someone to buy.

This is just one of the examples of the deals that I have found at the County Auction. The secret to my success is three-fold:

1. I know what is "hot" in the market by browsing ebay, watching HGTV, and flipping through home magazines. 2. I know what the going retail prices are and keep these in mind when I am bidding. I usually arrive at the auction early with a notebook and check out all the lots that will be auctioned. I jot down the lots numbers and the highest price I am willing to pay for that lot. 3. When the bidding starts, I wait for someone else to start the bidding. I place myself so I can "read" how badly they want the item. I will wait to place my bid. I never get caught-up in the bidding. And I always bow out at my high price that I wrote in my notebook. This way I can avoid buyer's remorse!
Tip! Bidders will use eBay search to find auctions matching their requirements. As you may know, by default eBay's search facility only checks auction titles for the presence of the keywords input by the searcher.

Using these tactics, I have successfully won many items at the local auction and have made a huge profit reselling these items. If you use these techniques, you will also be successful at your local auction. I just hope you never find my gem of an auction, and never bid against me!

Dean Novosat regularly attends local government auctions and participates online. Much of what he wins, he resells. He has several informative websites including http://www.buy-sell-gov-surplus.com sell-gov-surplus.com and http://www.government-deals.com. He maintains his own blog at http://www.novosat.us/wp

Are Mini-Sites The Answer?

Mini-sites come in different flavors but all have one
significant element in common. Each site is very tightly
focused upon selling a single product or service. No Flash.
No graphics. No links out. No banners or advertising of any
kind. Nothing that detracts from the site purpose, which is
to make the sale.

The Pure Definition

In simplest form a mini-site consists entirely of a sales
letter and order form. That is, your visitor either buys or
clicks the Back button. Your site offers no other option.

Suppose your current site is focused on selling ebooks
and software to help people raise their kids. Each product
is a candidate for a mini-site dedicated entirely to selling
it.

You might do well with, "How To Build A Sewing Site," or
anything specific of interest to some. Maybe show how to
remodel your kitchen, build a plane or boat. But a mini-site
dependant upon keywords such as "site design" or "site
promotion" isn't going to make it because there is simply too
much competition.

Affiliate Programs

In some cases, pre-selling your visitors before sending
them to the sales pitch on an affiliate site can work wonders
for your conversion ratio. In others, you're better off simply
generating a click to the site.

If pre-selling is a good idea for a program that is paying
well, then a mini-site consisting of only a page or two can work
well. You may need only your enthusiastic endorsement of the
product on a single page. Or you may want to add another
providing an in-depth review. All content points to links
to the sales pitch on the program's site.

This works, but as above, the major task is in drawing
targeted traffic. If this can be managed, then this is also
a good model.

Selling Hot Products

To take the notion of selling as an affiliate program one
step further, you may want to consider selling currently hot
items. For example, back up a couple of years and anticipate
the interest in MP3 soon to burst upon the scene. Make the
right pick, find the best affiliate program, and you may have
a winner.

This approach works only for those who already know how
to sell most anything. Without a background in selling
effectively, particularly on the Web, it's best to leave this
notion to those who do.

Profits To Be Expected

Your purpose in building a mini-site is to generate profits.
However, you are not looking to make a living off the site.
Quite the contrary. You simply want to generate a separate
income stream. And $200/month may be all you need. Given one
such site, the trick is to continue producing others, adding
to total income with each.

Claims Of Time

In notes about building mini-sites, one claim made often
really bothers me. That you can toss such a site together in
an hour or two. This is not even close to feasible for most.

Pros may be able to quickly gather parts of existing sales
pitches with information from the affiliate program or the
manufacturer of the product. Then, in short order, cobble
together a sales pitch that works at least reasonably well.
Still, I don't know anybody who really can manage this in an
hour.

To me, time is part of the cost equation. It takes time
to put together a slick sales presentation. More to define
an advertising campaign. And even more to track costs versus
results.

Generating Hits Is The Hard Part

Okay. You've got a good product, a neat sales letter,
and an order form. All is looking good. Now how do you
draw targeted traffic to read your pitch? This is the
critical issue, for profits depend upon success in doing so.

Yahoo and other directories will ignore you. And response
from search engines will be limited. Their visitors are not
looking for sales pitches, so yours may not show up.

Many who demand that a mini-site be only a sales pitch
and order form are excellent marketers who have been quite
successful. Thus they have a large list of followers, many
interested in reselling what is offered. They produce a sales
letter, announce it to their list, and sales follow almost
automatically.

Since few have such lists, options are reduced to
advertising. Personally I feel the pay-per-click search engines
are the best starting point. GoTo.Com can bite pretty hard with
their fees. While less significant, there are many smaller
engines of this type that can be used for experimentation.
For a list, see

You Can Lose A Lot Very Quickly

If your mini-site is generating say $200/month and it's
costing you $100/month to advertise, you're in a risky position.
For one, you need to commit serious time to make sure your
advertising costs remain reasonable. If you don't, you may take
a look one day and discover you're spending $300/month to
generate $100/month. Not exactly profitable.

Only when confident that an $M investment will consistently
yield $N, will you be able to delete the tracking time factor
from your costs. What M and N need to be will vary with the
individual. However, many will be content with spending
$50/month for $150/month profit, provided results can be
expected to be consistent for a reasonable amount of time.

The Potential Is Grand

A good mini-site can be a steady income producer. It's
something we all should consider doing. For myself, the models
above seem insufficient. I prefer what might be called a themed
mini-site. While the evidence is not conclusive, there are
indications that search engines like such sites.

In this model, beyond the sales pitch there needs to be good
content closely related to the theme. I haven't tried this as
yet, but plan to do so. I like the fact that I can generate
hits from search engines with this model, then experiment with
advertising and pay-per-click search engines to generate even
more targeted traffic.

The Best Starting Point

Just go and sign up at BizMinisites.Com
(Or read the sales presentation
at ) It's not much over
$3/month, and you don't even need a domain name.

There's no better way to go. It's an offer that can't be
beat. It's the brain child of one of my favorite people, Sydney
Johnson, author of "Make Your Net Auction Sell." (See
for my review
of this outstanding work.)

Is This For Everybody?

Yes and no. Skills are required. If you do not have them
and do not have the time to develop them, then I'd wait a time.
But this aside, the answer is yes. Here's what you need.

> Go for a one page site with an order form, then work with
the pay-per-click search engines to generate hits. If you lack
bucks, pass on GoTo.Com in getting started.

> If you go for a themed mini-site, in addition to the
above, develop search engine friendly content pages. (For
notes about building content pages that rank well, send any
email to contentpage@sitetipsandtricks.com .)

In either case, risks of time and costs are minimal.
And potential is unlimited. So take the shot!
_________________

For an earlier article on mini-sites, please see

About the Author

Bob McElwain, author of "Your Path To Success."
How to build ANY business you want, just the
way you want it, with only pocket money.

Get ANSWERS. Subscribe to "STAT News" now!
mailto:join-stat@lyris.dundee.net

Will Your Products Sell? Testing For HOT Online Demand

To be successful with your online business, you need to
find ways to discover what people want so badly, they will
pay almost any price.

The goal is to create a swarm of interest, activity, exposure
and demand for your product - but how do you tell in advance
if your idea or product will create such a frenzy?

You may be surprised by the number of tools available
to you, at no charge, to tap into pockets of demand online.

KEYWORD POPULARITY

To start with, you can tap into keyword popularity
indexes - here are some of the best:

1. Overture Keyword Search Tool:
http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/

2 Google Search Engine Trends:
http://www.google.com/press/zeitgeist.html

3. Yahoo Top Searches:
http://buzz.yahoo.com/

4. Lycos Top 50:
http://50.lycos.com/

CONSUMER DEMAND

Next - you can tap into the ultimate online consumer
sites - Ebay and Amazon:

1. Ebay Auction Big Ticket Items:
http://pages.ebay.com/buy/bigticket/index.html

2. AMazon Movers and Shakers:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos g/new-for-you/movers-and-shakers/-/books/002-5835206-2525607

3. Amazon Best Sellers List:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos g/new-for-you/bestsellers/-/books/

4. Amazon Software Best Sellers List:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos g/new-for-you/bestsellers/-/software/002-5835206-2525607

5. Amazon Video Games Best Sellers List:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos g/new-for-you/bestsellers/-/video-games/002-5835206-2525607

ADVANCED KEYWORD ANALYSIS TOOLS

If you are really serious about online business and marketing, then these
two resources will help give you the edge:

1. WordTracker:
http://www.highertrustmarketing.com/part/wordtracker

2. AdwordAnalyzer:
http://www.infoproductcreator.com/part/adwanalyze

ONLINE EAVESDROPPING

There's no better way to figure out what people want than by "listening" in
on their conversations.

In the offline world, you do that by listening to your customers,
attending conferences, clubs, societies and networking institutions like
the Chamber of Commerce or other trade associations.

The online equivalent are forums, discussion groups, chat groups,
business clubs, mentoring organizations, membership sites, etc...

When I want to test a new market, product idea or concept - I type in my
area of interest plus the words "discussion forum" into Google and
find a few active, high quality groups to "listen" in on for a few
days.

Look for patterns, signs of frustration and desire - you will no doubt
find these very quickly.

You can even ask for opinions of information or services people
desire and would pay for - if you are subtle.

COMPETITIVE REVIEW

Believe it or not, you do WANT to find competition. If you are
considering a product in an area that seems to have NO competition,
then be concerned.

To limit your risk and truly believe there is demand for your idea,
you need proof that a market exists AND that they will spend money
on your area of interest.

The best proof of all is a past history of spending money, you can
find that by looking - even networking with your competitors.

Once you get a read on the top 5-10 competitors in your field,
purchase their products and services - find out what they are
offering and most important - how you can improve on their offer
to help your customers to achieve their desires faster, less
expensive, more complete or better way.

BUILD A LIST FIRST

A terrific way to tap into specific ideas for your own products
and services is to go ahead and setup a website aimed at your
target market, then offer related affiliate products - but
most important...

Focus on building a list from the traffic you attract.

Once you have a few hundred people on your list, you can survey
them, start a forum, an interactive blog or use any other
method to get their feedback on ideas, products and services
you could offer them.

My recommendation is to NEVER just leap ahead into developing
products that take months to develop BEFORE using the techniques
outlined above.

Finally, there is a service that can take the mystery out of
finding niche markets and product ideas that has been just
launched!

In fact, they even go so far as to offer you pre-packaged
books that you can immediately sell, or use the content as
you wish in several niche markets.

This can cut your time down by months to getting your own
income-generating, niche products to market - it's an incredible
service, well worth investigating...

http://www.highertrustmarketing.com/part/nicheology

Being smart about idea generation and testing is what separates
the TOP GUNS from everyone else online. If you want to be an
elite online business owner, use the techniques above to leap
ahead of your competition.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Discover how to create your own best-selling eBooks,
Special reports or books to sell online ...AND keep
100% of the profits. Limited time complimentary access to
7-Part Minicourse will get you started quickly and
easily. Visit:
http://www.highertrustmarketing.com/

Business Names Can Bring Good Fortune

Judging only from the name, which company comes across as more crisply efficient, Order Out of Chaos or Ockahochee Organizers, Inc.?

Which business seems more innovative, Kabloom or Finest Flowers?

Which consulting firm seems more dependable, RP&G Consulting Partners or Skyhunters Consulting?

A company name can influence perceptions - attracting or repelling not only customers but also media people and joint venture partners. It does so through these and other factors:

* the style of the name

* how the name comes across to the ear

* the length of the name

* the personality it conveys

* any explicit or implicit message the words convey

* echoes of famous names and expressions

* associations of component words or syllables

* associations with a specific era, culture or locale

* its vagueness or specificity

A great name also must steer clear of unsavory reminders or implications. Adolf's Auction House would raise eyebrows in Europe or the U.S. And while Fishkill is a respectable town in New York State, the name Fishkill Florists suggests a regrettable juxtaposition.

Name wisely!

About the Author

Marcia Yudkin is the author of 6 Steps to Free Publicity and ten other books hailed for outstanding creativity. Find out more about her new discount naming company, Named At Last, which brainstorms company names, new product names, tag lines and more for entrepreneurs on a budget, at http://www.NamedAtLast.com