This saves me over $200/month in Accountant fees

NOTE: This blog has moved to: http://www.HonestOnlineSelling.com

I am thrilled to share with you this killer eSales Bookkeeping Spreadsheet, it is going to make tracking my eBay and/or Amazon sales and expenses a LOT easier. (See it in action in the video below)

If you haven't done it already, NOW is the time to get this system - or ANY excel-based tracking system - in place.

2 reasons I am promoting the eSales Tracking Spreadsheet:

1. It makes tracking your sales and expenses 'hand-holding' easy with video tutorials;
2. The way Amazon and Paypal each 'lump' your sales reports into one dreaded .csv file is a HUGE pain-in-the-rear. My Amazon.com transactions alone made up 400 Excel pages and I had to pay a freelancer and my CPA big $$$ to go 'massage' all 400 pages so my expenses and sales could be properly categorized.

If I had this spreadsheet (it's really a 'system') a year ago, I would have saved WAY over $200/month in accountant fees. The cost? A measly one-time charge of $29.97 with free lifetime updates.

ALSO: Remember that Amazon will be reporting your income to the IRS (for the 2011 calendar year) *IF* you have $20,000 or more in annual sales AND 200 or more transactions.

Paypal is doing the same.

Regardless, you can get audited by the IRS if you are misreporting income far less than $20,000. I'm not trying to scare you, but audits to happen occasionally, and you don't want to have messy financials if it happens.

So start tracking your sales and inventory NOW...your CPA/Accountant will THANK YOU come tax-reporting time.

(If your total sales are over $500/month, I highly recommend (in addition to using the eSales) hiring an Accountant/CPA because things get MIGHTY complicated if you are going to report your income and expenses. (They'll get WORSE if you get audited).

I am double-backing this system's 100% Money-Back Guarantee! If for any reason the founder (Vickie) doesn't honor a refund to you (I know she will), I will refund you from my own pocket, personally.

You Profit When you BUY (for Halloween 2012)

NOTE: This blog has moved to: http://www.HonestOnlineSelling.com

Just a quick note for those of you who are lucky enough to have some extra space in your home/business.

Now is the time to start stocking up on massively-discounted Halloween costumes for NEXT year.

You can buy NEW:
-Local stores (think: Party City, WalMart, seasonal Halloween stores, Kmart, Target, etc) - Pay no more than 20% of the full retail price (i.e. look for signs 80% off an more).

-Major online retailers (buycostumes.com, costumeexpress.com, etc) - Pay no more than 20% of the full retail price (i.e. look for stuff 80% or more and free shipping).

You can buy USED:
Post a free craigslist 'wanted' ad with the title "We Pay CASH for Your Kids' Costumes" or whatever. Tell them the costumes have to be in very good to excellent condition - no tears, rips, etc., and offer to pay $3 to $5 depending on the condition and type (know what you'll pay before you go in - see below). 

Which costumes to buy (New or Used):

-'Evergreen' characters that do great year after year: Batman, Toy Story, Disney Princess, Mickey Mouse (and other characters), Flinstones, GhostBusters, Spider-man, Captain America, SpongeBob, Disney Tinkerbell, Pirates of the Carribean, Star Wars, Transformers, etc.

-Stick to Kids' costumes (Boy and Girl Toddler up through teen or so), where demand every year is the highest.

-Don't forget accessories! Gloves and magic wands and hats and sunglasses of 'major characters' sell well every year too. (For used offer $1 each).

If you want an indication of what did well this year (and thus will likely do well NEXT year), see this snapshot of most popular boys bestsellers on Amazon (disregard prices because they've likely come down off their 'peak'), girls bestsellers on Amazon, (disregard prices because they've likely come down off their 'peak'), and best-selling costume 'themes' via eBay Pulse.

-Jordan

Founder, FBAFinds.com and HonestOnlineSelling.com

I Got in BIG Trouble by Winning Jim Cockrum's Contest

NOTE: This blog has moved to: http://www.HonestOnlineSelling.com

Renowned Internet Marketer Jim Cockrum recently held a contest to see who could sell the most copies of his fantastic new book, 100% of the proceeds of which goes to Hope Village in Detroit.

I won 1st place in the contest (I sold over 100 copies, and here's the proof). So a BIG 'thank you' to my subscribers here and at my other site, FBAFinds.com.

I won because I made a RIDICULOUS offer to my FBAFinds.com subscribers, if they bought the book. I mean OVER THE TOP ridiculous. (I offered a refund of 1 month's subscription to FBAFinds.com, and a couple of other perks).

The refunds are what got me in trouble. BIG Trouble.

See, I processed WAY over 70 credit card refunds in about 2 weeks' time, and the stuffed shirts nice guys and gals at my payment processor (PowerPay) threw a huge hissy fit and shut down my site's (FBAFinds.com) ability to take credit cards. All with 1 week's notice, no negotiating. The worst part is, they were really sneaky about it. (They avoided my phone calls and gave me veiled answers to a lot of questions). To make it worse, PowerPay knows NOTHING about e-commerce (In 2011? What's wrong with them. Oh, that's right, they're in Maine).

Anyway, I was able to find another payment processor (which was a nightmare too), but I learned a few things I want to share with you, if you decide to take credit cards on your web site.

> Most payment processors haven't the slightest idea about ecommerce. They think everything sold online is a scam. Prepare to have them be very skeptical of your operation. They lump legitimate sites (like FBAFinds.com) with stuff like SellYourCarToZimbabwe.com

> Don't dole out credit card refunds like they're candy, like I did. Refunds are called 'chargebacks' and in the world of payment processors, that's a dirty word. Payment processors completely wig out. I should have given the equivalent of 1 months' access instead by just extending my members' renewal date for another month. I don't why I didn't think of that when I did my promotion. Duh.

> The payment processing industry is due a major shakeup. It's a stalwart business. Payment processors are stalwart companies, who have to partner with stalwart 'payment clearing houses', which process payments from stalwart credit card companies. Everyone managing the payment 'food chain' is watching you like a hawk. Thank God Paypal (by comparison) is progressive. This industry needs 100 more Paypals.

> It's easier to just take Paypal. In fact, I would have just used Paypal for FBAFinds.com memberships instead, but Paypal isn't fully 'inegrate-able' with my membership site's ecommerce platform. But Paypal is fine in most cases. Some e-commerce purists will balk at only accepting Paypal, but the benefits for smaller e-commerce outfits far outweigh the potential headaches.

Ok I'm done sounding off. Do you have a similar experience with a payment processor? Or PayPal? Post by clicking on 'Comments' below.

-Jordan 'J.B.' Malik
Founder, HonestOnlineSelling.com and FBAFinds.com

Holiday Spending to Jump - Your Questions Answered!

NOTE: This blog has moved to: http://www.HonestOnlineSelling.com

E-commerce forecasts predict higher spending this year (need proof? see here and here and here)

I'm expecting my Amazon.com sales to double from previous months (they did last year).

Are you ready, too? If you sell on eBay or Amazon or both, your inventory selection is going to be critical (EVERY seller is asking themselves 'What can I sell for big profits?')

And we all know TOYS are among the biggest holiday sellers.

Here are the Questions I hear most from online sellers like you:

Do you have some predictions of hot-selling toys? Yes. Stuff I've already shared with you for free, here and here.

What other Toys can I sell this Holiday? I HIGHLY recommend you purchase either Jenni Hunt's Holiday Toy Guide OR a GOLD subscription to FBAFinds.com (our VIP subscriptions are temporarily sold out, but you can get on the waiting list for free, here). If these are a little out of your price range, you can get my Amazon Inventory Secrets Bundle here.


Do I HAVE to spend any money to research which toys will be hot? Absolutely NOT. See my FREE TIPS #1 through #5, and #9, here.

Is it too late for me to sell toys on Amazon? Nope. Amazon's holiday restriction does NOT apply to sellers who sell via Amazon.com's FBA Program. Here's all the info you need: Sign up to Sell on Amazon; Add FBA to your existing Amazon seller account; 2011 Holiday Toy selling restrictions.

Do you have questions about selling online this Holiday?  Post your questions by clicking 'Comment' below, or email me at honestonlineselling  @ gmail   . com (remove all spaces).

-Jordan 'J.B.' Malik, Founder
HonestOnlineSelling.com & FBAFinds.com