We are living in the golden age of information and technology. In case you haven’t noticed (of course you have because you are reading this) you can download information on any conceivable topic instantly from the net with little or no investment of time or money and the information available is relevant and reliable.
The internet has totally changed the way that we can live our lives because of the way that it has given us access to information and if we use it wisely we can make anything of our lives. The abundance of people seeking out quality information in the web also extends to eBay. Hundreds of information products are sold on eBay every minute – from instruction on dog training to recipes to eBay education itself!
If you follow a few simple rules then you are able to offer information products on eBay that you write yourself or that you have the right to sell and distribute and you can make a full time income out of this activity alone.
eBay used to be a lot more flexible with information products, but recently they have made some changes that you need to be aware of. It used to be possible to list an item for sale on eBay that could be downloaded by the successful buyer instantly the moment the sale was complete. This is nolonger the case. You cannot sell downloadable items on eBay anymore. There are a number of reasons given by eBay for this change, but it doesn’t matter. The fact is – the old way is gone.
There have been a number of sellers who have been deeply upset and angry by this change and I have to agree with a lot of what they are saying, but the fact is that you can still offer good quality information products for sale on eBay with a few conditions.
First, the item cannot be available for instant download. This means that if you are offering an Mp3 file of your bagpipe playing, for example, you must actually post a CD with the recording to your customer. Similarly, if you are selling a book (like this one for example) you must either print it out and post the printed material, or otherwise post some physical form of the item, such as on CD – just as you would have received this book if you bought it from eBay.
Let’s face it. Burning a digital file to a CD and posting it costs virtually nothing and so you can still keep the cost of your digital item really low and with postage services nowadays it doesn’t take long for delivery, so customers are still really keen to shop with you. Also, like I have done with this book, you can add value by including numerous files on the one CD as bonuses. Besides, you don’t actually have to burn anything to CD until you have sold something and so there is no cost for inventory – which has always been the huge advantage that digital items have to almost any other item that you could sell. Just use your computer hard drive to store your information for free until you have received the cash to cover your costs, then burn, post and repeat. The process couldn’t be easier.
Just a final warning: eBay are very strict on this policy and if you violate it or are even seen to be possibly violating you will be suspended. Don’t risk this happening to your account. State very clearly and in no uncertain terms that you are the copyright owner of the item that you are selling and that the item will be sent in physical form via the post. This should keep eBay happy and keep you sales soaring!!
